"I have a mission to attend to."

Fearing the Little Succubus might grow suspicious again, Fusiming hurriedly added this before she could recover from her shock-induced stupor.

Well, at this point, the Little Succubus was utterly crushed.

The current situation had formed a completely unsolvable closed loop.

First, given the East District’s extremely abnormal and eerie conditions—combined with yesterday and today’s long stretches of empty-handed hunts—Nainai had completely given up on finding prey here.

Second, Ashi City had announced a full curfew and lockdown. Considering how law-abiding West District citizens were, prospects there seemed extremely slim.

Finally, if she tried her luck in the West District, Nainai felt she’d likely be found first by patrolling Scavenger Squad vehicles—and forcibly dragged back home.

Perhaps it was because Nainai knew exactly what she did daily; or her innate fear as a small-time citizen of law enforcement; or her worry that the Scavenger Squad might revoke her freebie subsidies if they discovered her actions...

In any case, Nainai would rather die than target the Scavenger Squad uncles.

There was always that... that feeling...

Hmm... everyone gets it, right?

Like seducing an undercover cop during an entrapment sting.

Pure self-sabotage.

Though those preyed upon by Nainai lost all memory of her due to desire extraction,

as the saying goes, you can’t walk by the river without getting your feet wet.

During past "hunting peak seasons" with abundant prey, why risk targeting Scavenger Squad uncles?

Avoiding them was hard enough.

Now, in this mysterious "off-season" with vanished prey—and after discovering yesterday that Fusiming resisted memory loss—Nainai dared not take risks...

Wait!

Nainai suddenly looked up, staring blankly at Fusiming’s face.

—This Fu guy was also a Scavenger... Could his resistance to her Great Memory Erasure ability be some group buff the Federation gave them?

Before the Erosion Disaster, such thoughts were pure nonsense.

But this world had been turned upside down by Corruption Essence from the Erosion Disaster!

If Esoteric Ability Users, Extraordinary Beings, and Subhumans roamed freely, what was impossible?

Still, realistically, it was impossible.

If Fusiming knew Nainai’s thoughts, he’d correct her seriously.

After all, he didn’t know why he resisted the Little Succubus Nainai’s innate memory-shattering power.

Perhaps it had to do with his father’s "bloodline"?

...

In short, Nainai—over-imagining things—clutched her head in disbelief, slumping dazedly into the corner, questioning her existence.

"What... what should I do now..."

The vacant-eyed Little Succubus stared blankly at her skirt’s crumpled folds between her legs, murmuring softly with a hint of tears.

All her escape routes were blocked, yet Nainai still hadn’t targeted the young man.

Simply put, she couldn’t stomach his trivial, breadcrumb-like desires mixed with stubborn, rebellious emotions.

"Wah, Nainai is so hungry, Nainai is starving..."

Softly crouching in the alley corner, the Little Succubus buried her head in her arms, curling into a tiny ball, sobbing quietly.

Completely unlike her earlier unreasonable, tyrannical novel-sidekick act, this helpless, whimpering figure might be Nainai’s truest self.

But then again...

No job, no income, no social life, no power...

Fusiming, knowing her background, probably thought this.

Of course, she might be acting.

After all, from Ji Mengzhu, he’d learned this seemingly young, delicate Little Succubus was actually a middle-aged "old man" older than Wanghong.

Hmm, old man...

A conflicted light flickered in his silver pupils. He couldn’t connect the sobbing girl before him with "old man."

Could the body truly influence the soul’s thoughts?

Fusiming didn’t understand.

At this moment, he recalled the dorm question from that evening...

"Huh? The person you care about transforms? Do you like their body or soul?"

"What? A guy turns into a super pretty girl? Even better! No one understands men like men..."

"I suggest you snatch her up fast! Pretty girls are common, but pretty trans girls are rare!"

"Type fifteen characters quick, +3 XP, peace out."

...

Undoubtedly, these were random weird remarks from forum bros reacting to Fusiming’s meme topic.

No one was serious; no one cared if he genuinely sought answers.

Everyone just spammed for +3 XP.

Fusiming wasn’t an internet dinosaur—he knew this.

Yet, facing that glaring word "like," he still pondered.

For Nainai, this pink Little Succubus he’d known two hours—was his feeling truly "like"?

Fusiming thought not.

"Like" required long-term mutual understanding, where both sides tolerated flaws.

Though he knew Nainai’s past, he didn’t truly know her.

As the saying goes, "all love at first sight is just lust."

Fusiming felt he might lust after her beauty...

Or crave that strange thrill when his Corruption Essence surged like a runaway train after skin contact with her?

Clutching his chest, breathing rapidly like a drowning man gasping for air, he couldn’t figure it out...

He’d never thought about this before.

Fifteen years ago, after his parents died, his colorful world collapsed.

In an instant, his home, his sanctuary, vanished.

If not for Wanghong—severely injured and retired from the frontlines—adopting him, he might have been thrown into an orphanage.

Mature beyond his years, he’d understood his situation then.

As a silent child. As an obedient child.

He needed to think about nothing, understand nothing.

Just be himself, and live forever alone... He’d do anything else.

After all, the two who cared most were gone.

He’d become a homeless, rootless orphan.

...

Looking back, Fusiming realized his past mental state had been dangerously fragile.

Fortunately, Wanghong adopted him.

Wanghong—stern and upright, yet hiding a gentle heart beneath his rugged exterior.

Without his careful upbringing... Fusiming wouldn’t be "Fusiming" today.

Either a mindless thug in the underworld, or long reduced to bones.

Thank you, Wanghong. Thank you...

---

Jagged pillars rose in the darkness, no sunlight in sight.

This was an abandoned, half-finished underground parking lot.

The only light came from a dim, yellowish hanging lamp in the center.

Beneath its flickering glow stood a square table.

Two massive figures sat opposite each other.

They stared, their crimson pupils gleaming with utterly different lights.

One wild and ferocious; the other restrained and deep.

"You know we must lie low now..."

"Our secret—the ‘Blue Gold’ secret—if the Scavenger Squad discovers it, consequences will be unimaginable."

"It could summon the entire Federation’s might. If things escalate, we’ll all be doomed."

A deep, thunderous voice rolled out, echoing across the vast space.

His tone was calm, stating an indisputable fact.

"So, we must break our blood oath and swallow our pride?"

The responder’s voice was hoarse, thick with anger and murderous intent.

Molten lava churned within him like a volcano ready to erupt.

The heat warped the air around his body.

"*Lie low*? Hmph..."

He snorted scalding steam, dripping with disdain.

"Chief, you’ve forgotten our oath, our ideals, our bond..."

"*Subhumans are supreme; we must build our own home with our own hands*—I remember you saying that."

"But now? You’ve abandoned our creed for wealth and desire."

"All this talk of the gang’s survival, its future—it’s just to satisfy your own Greed."

His mocking laughter, suppressed with rage, was piercingly harsh.

Yet the mocked "Chief" didn’t retort angrily.

"All misunderstandings will resolve one day."

"You can wait until then."

"Except for the bond of wolf blood, all else is impure... I’ve never forgotten the ‘King’s’ teachings."

"Even if... the ‘King’ betrayed us and left this world forever."

At this, the "Chief" fell silent.

He slammed the table, heaved his colossal body up, and left without a word.

Behind him, crimson eyes filled with brutality watched mockingly.

"How laughable."

"The bond of wolf blood... do you even have it anymore?"

"If you truly did, why tamper with the brothers’ rightful shares? Why hoard far more than your due?"

"Hypocrite. Pathetic."

"Though ‘I’ have patience for ‘misunderstandings’ to clear, ‘we’ might not..."

"Your purity is far too low now..."

He hissed with laughter, lighting a cigarette for himself.