System, You Didn't Say the Villain Can Read Minds! - Chapter 33

Chapter 33

◎It Hurts, It Hurts Too Much.◎

“Why go to the City of Hope?” Liu Bai Ying was surprised.

To put it harshly, many people who came to the Ability Users Alliance didn’t choose it actively. Instead, they came here as a second choice because they couldn’t go to the City of Hope.

Some of these people, like her, had grudges against certain individuals in the City of Hope.

Some were simply criminals wanted by the City of Hope.

Liu Bai Ying didn’t know if Mo Jiu and Yun Wenzhou were the former or the latter, but since they had already come here and seized her position as Alliance Leader, what was the point of going to the City of Hope?

Are they planning to grab a wave of supplies here and then go live in the City of Hope?

The more Liu Bai Ying thought about it, the more nervous she became, fearing that Mo Jiu still intended to kill her.

In stark contrast, Mo Jiu’s inner voice could only be described as innocent: I wonder what the environment in the City of Hope is like? Curious.

But she certainly couldn’t say that out loud, nor could she admit it was for a system mission.

She could only say: “The Abomination Crystals you gave are too few, and the Abominations outside have almost been wiped out by us. Since the ordinary people in the City of Hope can become Abominations, we’ll go on a killing spree and then return.”

This answer caused Liu Bai Ying’s brain to crash for a few seconds before she suddenly realized: “Are you the Abomination Hunters from the rumors?!”

“What?” Mo Jiu was confused.

“Well, the rumor is that there are two powerful ability users roaming around hunting Abominations. Wherever they pass, Abominations lay dead everywhere. When others see an Abomination, they run away, but they run toward where the Abominations are. I thought…”

I thought they were two thrill-seeking men.

Yun Wenzhou scoffed.

Abilities had been around for a year, and people were still using stereotypes about men and women.

In a world where the weak are prey, only strength matters. Power determines everything!

Speaking of which.

“Sister, I heard the City of Hope is researching Abomination Crystals to develop a drug to inhibit human transformation. They must have stockpiled a lot of Abomination Crystals, right? Should we…” Yun Wenzhou stopped short.

She felt that Sister, who pursued power, would definitely not pass up an opportunity to acquire Abomination Crystals.

However, hearing this, Mo Jiu felt a chill run down her spine.

She suddenly realized she had been overlooking a problem all along, or rather, avoiding thinking about it.

That was—what if Yun Wenzhou insisted on following the villain’s path?

“Replace Yun Wenzhou as the villain and be killed by the female lead” was her ultimate goal, but the act of “replacing” had never truly existed.

She could certainly choose the villain’s path and die at the female lead’s hands.

But for Yun Wenzhou to survive, she had to avoid the villain’s path.

However, Yun Wenzhou was a character in a book. She didn’t know the ending of the villain’s path, so she wouldn’t change her current choices to avoid death.

As long as her personality hadn’t changed, and her values hadn’t changed, she would still make the same choices and rush toward the same ending.

Mo Jiu pursed her lips, grabbed Yun Wenzhou’s wrist, pulled her away from the gazebo, and led her to a secluded corner of the garden.

Then, earnestly: “It’s fine to pursue power, but there must be a bottom line. The Abomination Crystals gained from hunting Abominations belong to us; they are the result of our labor. But the Abomination Crystals in the City of Hope are the City of Hope’s property. Taking them without asking is theft.”

System: Warning! Considering whether theft is appropriate does not align with the Host’s persona of stopping at nothing to become stronger. Please immediately retract this statement, or punishment will be executed.

Mo Jiu quickly added: “If Ye Lan finds out, she’ll kill us! Which is more important, the Abomination Crystals or our lives?”

It would be hilarious if we were actually stronger than Ye Lan right now…

Yun Wenzhou looked up and met Mo Jiu’s eyes, listening to her inner voice. She knew Mo Jiu’s last sentence wasn’t true—Sister wasn’t actually afraid of Ye Lan, nor did she come to the Ability Users Alliance to avoid her.

Although there were many confusing points, Yun Wenzhou understood why Sister was saying this.

“Even with the lack of law, Sister doesn’t want me to commit crimes,” Yun Wenzhou said. “But to me, Abomination Crystals aren’t important, and my life isn’t important. Sister is the most important thing. As long as I can protect Sister, I’m willing to do anything.”

The implication: To protect Sister, I need power, and for power, I will stop at nothing.

Mo Jiu understood, and a subtle silence fell.

She once thought she had raised Yun Wenzhou badly. She once thought Yun Wenzhou shared no resemblance to the original book’s villain besides her name.

But now, she realized she was wrong.

Yun Wenzhou’s persistence was innate; her childhood experience was not the cause, merely the catalyst.

Mo Jiu changed her, but only changed the object of her obsession, not her obsession itself.

The original book’s villain was obsessed with power, wanting the whole world under her control, believing that only then would she not be bullied.

The Yun Wenzhou standing before her now was obsessed with her, wanting to protect her. But protecting her also required power, and for power, she could equally stop at nothing.

If Yun Wenzhou were just a few lines of text in a book, Mo Jiu would definitely not like her.

Mo Jiu disliked people who acted without considering the consequences.

She liked to view problems from a macro perspective, believing that only when humanity’s moral standards were generally high could a society be harmonious and friendly.

Therefore, when Yun Wenzhou said she was willing to be her dog, or willing to give up everything for her, Mo Jiu wasn’t happy; she was only troubled.

Even though she was the one who initially asked Yun Wenzhou to be her dog, even though Yun Wenzhou had truly almost paid the price of her life for her.

Mo Jiu raised a hand to stroke Yun Wenzhou’s face, her movement gentle, yet her expression was blank.

Yun Wenzhou felt her touch. It was a scene she had longed for, yet she didn’t feel happy either; she had a bad feeling.

Because she heard Mo Jiu’s inner voice.

This cannot continue.

Yun Wenzhou nervously called out softly: “Sister?”

Mo Jiu ignored her and instead questioned the System in her mind.

Mo Jiu: What is the penalty for OOC (Out of Character)? What is the penalty for failing a mission?

System: OOC will result in the deduction of a certain amount of reward points, 100-500 points depending on severity, not excluding the possibility of a negative balance. Failure to complete a mission may result in a rollback or world reset, depending on the mission’s importance.

Mo Jiu: Okay.

“Yes, I don’t want you to commit crimes, especially not for me,” Mo Jiu said to Yun Wenzhou. “I haven’t been good to you, so I may not have the right to demand how you act, but I hope you can consider your own future. Extreme actions will eventually backfire.”

System: Warning! The original host would not use such a gentle tone with the villain. Please provide a reasonable explanation, or punishment will be executed.

Mo Jiu ignored the System’s warning and continued to persuade Yun Wenzhou: “I repeat, it’s fine to pursue power, but there must be a bottom line. I don’t want you to become enemies with the entire City of Hope for my sake, understand?”

System: OOC. Deducting 100 reward points.

It hurts, it hurts too much.

Mo Jiu fell silent, patiently awaiting Yun Wenzhou’s response.

Yun Wenzhou looked at her for a moment, then responded with two words: “I understand.”

“Do you really understand?” Mo Jiu worried that Yun Wenzhou was just placating her.

Yun Wenzhou was silent for a moment, then suddenly lifted her skirt, pulled a dagger from her leg holster, and in Mo Jiu’s slightly bewildered gaze, aimed it at her left pinky finger.

The finger dropped, and blood spurted.

Mo Jiu stared blankly at the scene, every hair on her body standing on end. Her adrenaline surged, causing her heart to race, her blood pressure to rise, and her head to buzz. She couldn’t believe what had just happened.

This was real pain, not the financial pain of having reward points deducted.

But Yun Wenzhou acted as if she felt nothing, speaking emotionlessly: “Ultimately, Sister still doesn’t trust me. In that case, I swear by this severed finger that I will never harm others, never steal. If Sister wants me to be a saint, then I’ll be a saint. Sister is responsible for the killing, and I’ll be responsible for praying for the dead. Is that satisfactory, Sister?”

Mo Jiu: “…”

Aaaaaaah!

Mo Jiu abruptly crouched down, picked up the severed finger, stored it in her space, then swept Yun Wenzhou up in a bridal carry and rushed toward the City of Hope at the fastest speed.

Yue Xinghe, save my wife!

Yun Wenzhou: “…”

Who is your wife?

Are you admitting I’m your wife now?

Yun Wenzhou’s eyes were slightly red.

The pain from the severed finger only began to manifest now. It hurt so much that Yun Wenzhou’s body instinctively tensed up, leaving her in no mood to wrap her arms around Mo Jiu’s neck.

She knew Sister didn’t trust her because she wasn’t trustworthy. Sister hadn’t misjudged her; she truly did act extremely and never considered the future.

However, she was still upset, still sad, still filled with pent-up anger.

Why wouldn’t Sister trust her?

If Sister was willing to trust her, then she could prove to Sister that she was worthy of trust, and that she wouldn’t disappoint her.

Mo Jiu was filled with self-reproach now.

She finally realized how much damage her deep-seated distrust of Yun Wenzhou had caused.

Since her crazy confession a year ago was shut down by Mo Jiu calling it “a moment of madness,” Yun Wenzhou had never vented her emotions to her again. But that didn’t mean she had no emotions; she just didn’t know how to express them in a way Mo Jiu could understand.

[It’s all my fault.] Mo Jiu’s eyes were red too.

The wound was on Yun Wenzhou’s hand, yet Mo Jiu was in so much pain that she was nearly grinding her teeth.

What persona, what mission—at this moment, she didn’t care about any of it!

If living wasn’t happy, what good was living for a few more decades?

If living was happy, dying tomorrow wouldn’t matter!

She only wanted Yun Wenzhou to be okay while she was alive!

She wanted a happy, physically intact Yun Wenzhou!

…Wait a minute, didn’t she have healing potions?

Mo Jiu suddenly stopped, put Yun Wenzhou down, and redeemed a healing potion for 100 reward points, forcing it down her throat.

The bright red liquid in the clear, diamond-shaped glass bottle brought to mind a shiny poison apple, giving it a fairy-tale unreality.

But Yun Wenzhou drank it without hesitation.

Sister would never harm her.

Then, a miracle happened—the sensation of pain vanished, replaced by a strange itch.

Along with this itch, her severed finger actually grew back!

Yun Wenzhou stared at her newly grown pinky finger in astonishment, then looked at Mo Jiu, a bit confused.

Sister, what other secrets do you have that I don’t know about?

Mo Jiu didn’t realize what she had exposed and asked Yun Wenzhou cautiously: “Does it still hurt?”

Yun Wenzhou brought her pinky finger closer to her: “A little bit. Can you blow on it for me?”

She said it defiantly, not expecting Sister to indulge her, but to her surprise, Sister actually cupped her hand with both of hers and gently blew on it.

Yun Wenzhou was momentarily stunned. Her tensed body finally began to relax at this moment. Simultaneously, feeling the heat of the air on her itching finger, a slight blush appeared on her face: “…Does Sister believe me now?”

“I believe you!” Mo Jiu responded without hesitation. “I believe every decision you make. Everything you do has a reason. You are right. The Abomination Crystals in the City of Hope can make us stronger. We must seize them at all costs!”

Yun Wenzhou: ?

You don’t have to be so…

“Is Sister serious?” This time, it was Yun Wenzhou’s turn to doubt.

Mo Jiu wasn’t going to cut off a finger to prove it, and besides, the statement wasn’t true anyway, so there was nothing to prove.

Her view on theft hadn’t changed; she had simply figured something out.

If you are the sunlight, I shouldn’t force you to walk with darkness.

But if you are already the abyss, then let me drown in your arms.

“Yes, I’m serious,” Mo Jiu said with a smile. “I want to protect you too. I also need power. For you, I can also stop at nothing.”

Let’s sink deeper together, until we are beyond redemption.

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