135: Chapter 135 Human Nature

Inside the blood-red barrier.

Amidst the expectant gazes of everyone in a certain hiding spot, a youth's figure appeared out of thin air. Accompanying his appearance was the headless corpse of a Star Beast.

The youth's clothes were stained with the green blood of the Star Beast, and the expression on his face was one of indifferent apathy, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

*Thud!*

He tossed the massive head of the Star Beast in his hand onto the ground, producing a heavy thud.

Everyone watched the youth before them with excitement; some even began to view him as a deity sent to save the world.

Simply because he had killed a monster that, in their eyes, no one had ever defeated before.

No one knew how he had managed to kill a Star Beast that emanated such a terrifying aura.

In their eyes, just as the youth had finished treating the injuries of a woman in the hiding spot, a frenzied Star Beast had suddenly appeared and launched a surprise attack on them.

Most of the people in this hiding spot were ordinary people, so almost everyone felt they were doomed.

At that moment, the youth stepped forward. With an indifferent expression, he reached out toward the charging Star Beast, while simultaneously, a massive phantom of a black scale emerged behind him.

In an instant, both the human and the beast vanished from the spot.

A moment later, things had turned out as they were now...

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said those things about you back then. Can you please keep protecting me? I have money. We can discuss however many Credits you want afterward!"

Suddenly, a bald man rushed out from the crowd and grabbed the youth's pant legs tightly with both hands.

Qian Mo glanced at him and immediately recognized the man.

When the little girl had first led him to the hiding spot, he had specifically burned spiritual power to act as a light source to see the surroundings clearly, thereby revealing his identity as an Esper.

But to his surprise, the people in the hiding spot did not respect him for his status as an Esper; instead, they treated him with cold indifference.

This bald man had even directed his dissatisfaction toward the little girl, loudly venting his frustration in public through veiled insults.

"Kid! Why did you bring an Esper here? Don't you know that Espers have a strong attraction for those monsters outside? Do you want to get us all killed?!"

The little girl was moved to tears by the scolding, stammering and repeating only one thing: "He can save my mama..."

At that time, Qian Mo ignored the crowd that showed him not a shred of goodwill, merely speaking coldly:

"I have other things to do. I'll leave as soon as I've saved her mother."

And now...

Qian Mo looked at the bald man clutching his pant legs with the same expressionless face, then looked up to scan the hesitant crowd around him.

"I've said it before, I have other important matters. I'm leaving once I've saved the person."

"No!"

The bald man's reaction was intense.

"You're so skilled, you must be from the Security Bureau. You have to be responsible for us! Even if it's not for me, you have to protect everyone's safety!"

"Tsk..."

Qian Mo clicked his tongue inwardly and scanned the people surrounding him once more.

Most of them looked shaken, yet despite this, no one moved to let him pass when the youth said he was leaving; instead, they tightened their circle around him.

"Please don't, everyone! Big brother really has things to do. There was another big sister with him before. To help me, he let that big sister go ahead with the mission. Now he must be rushing to help her. Everyone, please don't stop him. I beg you..."

The little girl who had brought Qian Mo here earlier stood between the youth and the crowd. Her voice was tearful, revealing her deep confusion at everyone's abnormal behavior.

Suddenly, she felt a large hand cover her head.

She turned her head to see the youth behind her smiling at her. His mouth opened slightly, and a gentle voice drifted out:

"Close your eyes and cover your ears."

The little girl instinctively did as she was told.

*Bang! Bang!* (Gunshots)

*Squelch.* (Sound of a blade entering flesh)

"Agh!" (A man's scream mixed with the gasps of the crowd)

...

By the time she opened her eyes, the youth was nowhere to be found. The hiding spot seemed to have returned to its previous quiet state. Everyone stayed obediently in their own corners, their bodies trembling slightly with fear.

But judging from their expressions, this fear seemed even more intense than before.

She scanned the surroundings and noticed what looked like a fresh pool of red blood on the ground.

"Oh right, that bald uncle who was grabbing big brother seems to have disappeared too..."

...

[Ding! Sob sob~ The System thought the Host had washed his hands of his past and was going to be a new man. I didn't expect you to still kill people so decisively.]

Among the ruins, Qian Mo used everything he had learned in his past life to conceal his form, moving cautiously but swiftly toward his destination.

"It can't be helped, that's human nature... If I didn't kill the chicken to warn the monkeys, I really wouldn't have been able to leave..."

The areas with spiritual power fluctuations were becoming fewer and fewer, which meant that almost all the Espers here had perished in this anomaly.

And this also meant there were fewer external conditions to provide cover for his movements.

"Roar! Roar..."

As he drew closer to the Ferris wheel in the center of the amusement park, the roars of Star Beasts became more frequent.

Before he started moving, he had sprayed himself with a previous mission reward—Star Illusion Liquid. Its effect was to mask the user's aura and, more importantly, hide the attraction his Star Body had for Star Beasts.

A massive sense of pressure rolled over the youth's body like a tide again and again, but relying on his excellent professional skills, he managed to avoid exposing even a trace of his presence despite the search of numerous Star Beasts.

When he had fought that Three-Mark Star Beast earlier, he had already gained a vague estimate of their strength:

The comprehensive strength of one Three-Mark Star Beast was equivalent to ten ordinary Third-Order Ability Users. However, since they possessed almost no intelligence, they could still be slain if one actually dealt with them.

It was just that... it would take a great deal of effort...

Qian Mo suddenly stopped in a damaged house, staring intently at the patrolling Star Beast outside the window.

It seemed to have sensed movement here and was quickly running toward the house.

"My spiritual power has only recovered to seventy percent. This recovery potion really isn't potent enough..."

Although he could already sense the disgusting aura of the Star Beast rapidly approaching, the youth forced himself to control his body's reflexive trembling and continued to hold his breath and focus.

Until the very last moment, he absolutely could not let his power erupt like this.

Two meters, one meter...

*Boom!*

Under the Star Beast's impact, the entire roof was blown away.

The Star Beast grabbed the roof and smashed it to pieces with a casual swipe. A metallic sphere glowing with blue light subsequently appeared in its palm.

"As expected... Star Beasts are interested in anything that can provide energy. No wonder they are called the parasites of Blue Star and resource plunderers..."

Feeling it was a false alarm, Qian Mo lightly wiped the sweat from his forehead. Ignoring the Star Beast that was eating the Energy Core, he continued to move forward...