The Mastermind

The lingering pain overwhelmed his five senses, covering Ye Yousheng’s entire body.

Simply standing, simply opening his eyes, simply breathing—pain asserted its presence.

It clung to him like leeches, wrapping around his body and sucking away his blood…

Though at this moment, Ye Yousheng had no blood left to be drained.

His remaining HP was 0.

No mistake—0.

The status panel recorded it clearly: HP: 0/460 (Near Death).

Near death, yet not dead—this was Ye Yousheng’s current state.

Because of the skill [Game Life], Ye Yousheng had obtained a body that ‘would not be injured.’

Thus, his HP was fundamentally different from that of other living beings.

For others, HP represented life itself—when it reached zero, they died.

But for Ye Yousheng, HP represented the value used to ‘repair his body.’

That’s right—he wasn’t truly immune to injury.

His body simply continuously regenerated itself.

All his previous wounds had been healed by consuming HP.

For example, if his left arm were bitten off, a certain amount of HP would be consumed to regenerate it.

To put it simply, if Ye Yousheng were compared to a machine, then HP was his parts inventory.

Whenever something broke, he would simply replace the part.

And now… this ‘inventory’ had finally been depleted.

All his HP had been exhausted.

It had barely restored his body to a state where he wouldn’t die—but that was all.

The wounds all over his body would no longer heal on their own.

His broken bones would not return to normal.

At this moment, Ye Yousheng was effectively half-crippled.

If he were attacked again, it would truly be the end.

But in this state… what could he even do?

Fight these flesh-devouring monsters with a body that could barely walk?

That was a joke.

And yet, he still stood up.

He followed the goddess’s words, because there was still someone who needed him alive.

Alicia was still alive.

That alone was incredibly good news.

It seemed that shielding her in his arms at the last moment had yielded even greater results than expected.

Since Alicia hadn’t died, how could he die before her?

No matter what, he had to bring her back to the surface.

That was their promise.

He struggled to lift his head and searched for Alicia.

Five meters away, he found her collapsed on the ground.

Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, and her abdomen was also bleeding.

Her condition was extremely bad.

Using Observation, he saw that her HP had already dropped below 100—and it was still slowly decreasing.

If she wasn’t treated immediately, she would definitely die.

At that moment, an ugly pigman approached Alicia with a lewd grin.

The waterfall-like drool pouring from its mouth revealed the filthy thoughts in its mind.

“Hey.”

The voice wasn’t loud, yet it echoed across the entire area.

All the monsters turned to look at the battered human.

“Touch her and see what happens.”

“Believe it or not, I’ll kill you.”

An endless killing intent erupted from Ye Yousheng’s body, instantly covering the entire space.

All the monsters felt it.

A prickling pain pierced their skin like needles, and in their minds flashed the image of themselves being killed by the man before them.

It was absurd—what could a human in such a broken state possibly do?

And yet, they all stepped back in unison, widening the encirclement.

No matter how tough their skin or sharp their weapons, the fear in their hearts refused to fade.

Sweat soaked their bodies.

The pigman, engulfed by the killing intent, fared even worse.

It collapsed to the ground, scrambling backward in panic.

Thud.

It hit something.

Unable to raise its head, the pigman turned around.

“Yo.”

In that instant, its fear doubled.

Tears, mucus, and urine spilled uncontrollably.

It already regretted being blinded by greed and committing such a foolish act.

The shadow tilted its head and asked,

“What were you trying to do just now?”

“Ee-yao! Awoo! Awo—!”

“What? Just wanted to play with her?”

Seeing that it hadn’t been killed immediately, the pigman realized there might still be a chance to survive.

It nodded frantically without stopping.

“You’re saying you wanted me to eat food covered in your disgusting fluids?”

The figure wasn’t large—smaller than a human, even.

Yet from its body emanated a terrifying presence.

Different from killing intent, it was a more tangible pressure.

Even Ye Yousheng, standing nearby, felt it.

That pressure was eerily similar to the goddess’s!

Under that overwhelming mental pressure, the pigman seemed to age decades in an instant.

It howled desperately, trying to prove its innocence.

But all of it was mercilessly cut off.

“That’s enough. No need to explain.”

Its life and death were firmly in the shadow’s grasp.

“You dared to privately claim my food.”

“You’ll pay for your greed and stupidity.”

And now, it had no chance left.

“Die.”

The last thing the pigman saw was its own reflection in the shadow’s eyes—

its head crushed by a giant hand, consumed entirely by fear.

After disposing of the underling, the mastermind behind everything finally stepped onto the stage.

Accompanied by a sharp, grating voice, the shadow walked toward Ye Yousheng.

“But you, a mere human, didn’t die…”

“That’s truly, truly, truly… what a surprise!!!”

It was a half-human, half-monkey creature.

Its tail functioned like a hand.

Its entire body was covered in fur.

Red eyes, black face…

It possessed intelligence.

It could speak human language.

It was cruel and wicked.

And—

Its level could not be seen.