After that farcical mess, we calmly set off to find the so-called Demon King—whose location was a total mystery. But the team hierarchy had shifted. I silently took the rear position to guard against sneak attacks from behind.

Sure, this absurd Cat God faith probably wouldn’t fool Mengxiang and Lingchuan. But places that worship the Cat God do exist here—maybe even a major nation. I didn’t make it up. Still, explaining with real-world knowledge was useless. To them, I was just making excuses.

So, with a bruised face, I walked last. I comforted myself with one thought: protecting the rear from monsters or bandits. It helped me accept my fall—from team leader to the absolute bottom. A pit I’d never climb out of.

Mengxiang and Lingchuan’s bickering echoed from the front. They never stopped arguing, yet agreed perfectly on punishing me. Were they secretly close, pretending to be enemies? Or just united in oppressing me? I really hoped it wasn’t the latter.

Their fight seemed to be over the leader spot—the first thing they wanted after kicking me down. Where was team spirit? But I wasn’t angry. I’d lured them with a lie anyway. None of us knew where the Demon King was.

Zixuan walked ahead of me—surprising only me. I’d expected her beside or behind me. I wasn’t mad—just confused. Was she still shy from earlier? Or some unknown reason? I had no idea.

In short, I was completely ignored.

That NPC who bridged me and Zixuan seemed gone. Hooray, hooray.

"If I’d arrived a second later, would you have cursed me?" a voice hissed in my head. "Or were you relieved I vanished for hours, you thick-headed fool? I never thought you’d be so heartless—"

"Aaaaaah!" I screamed suddenly. The girls ahead spun around. I shook my head to calm them—but seriously, scaring me like that?! And since when was I thick-headed?!

I’d just enjoyed the silence after that buzzing voice left. Now it was back, reminding me of someone familiar. Zixuan turning into a cat had shocked me at first. Now? Not so much. Not with an Egyptian Anubis and a healer who only uses basic attacks around.

"Do you just nickname people like that?" the voice snapped. "Sure, they make sense, but your chaotic delusions bother me! Erase those disgusting memories now! And—is your pig brain over-delusional?!"

I’d been insulted by mature lolita voices before, but this was brutal. I recognized it—Lemon, Lingchuan’s sister. Her voice matured fast mentally! I mean mentally—don’t think weird thoughts!

"Forget my delusions," I shot back. "Where’s the Demon King? At this rate, we’ll never find him. Especially with this team of deadweights."

Since she could peek into my mind, why couldn’t I do the same? I had no plans to beat the Demon King. But if he existed, I’d find his location, scare the others off, and start my solo adventure. I’d become a Long Aotian here—marry beautiful wealthy women, reach life’s peak, build a harem! No more real-world worries!

"The Demon King’s obviously in his castle, you idiot!" Lemon retorted.

"That’s what I’ve been asking—the castle’s address! What did you think? Are you stupid?!"

Lemon’s IQ hadn’t improved in this world—in fact, it dropped. Such a shallow suggestion. Could she be more clueless? I know she’s a kid, but this is another world. Ditch real-world habits.

"Show respect!" she yelled. "Who’s the idiot? Your brain’s broken! Why else would I waste time living in your head? If you were normal, would I need to?!"

Her words confused me. Broken brain? A hole she filled? Ridiculous—I didn’t believe it!

"What? You doubt me?" she pressed. "It’s thanks to me a single-minded creature like you has human intelligence! Otherwise, you’d be a vegetable, alone in bed forever—"

"A single-minded me can walk? Amazing! Can think? Are you joking? Don’t be so ridiculous!"

I hadn’t planned to say this aloud. Normally, I’d rant internally. But she saw my thoughts anyway—why hide it? I hate trouble. So I told her directly.

She didn’t reply. Had she realized she was wrong? Fine. I’m not petty. I still had to lead the others to the Demon King—

I made a silent victory declaration and looked up. The three girls stood frozen, staring at me. I thought they felt guilty, ready to apologize. But no one spoke.

An eerie silence hung in the air. A chill ran down my spine.

I waved at Zixuan, the closest. She snapped out of her daze—eyes regaining life. Then her pupils shrank in terror.

Her gaze wasn’t on me. It locked on something behind me. Before I could react, Zixuan screamed—a piercing cat’s screech. It stabbed my eardrums. I covered my ears. Then the other two screamed. They fled like ghosts haunted them, vanishing into the distance.

"What’s with that look?" I muttered nervously. "Ghosts don’t exist here, right?" I turned my stiff neck backward.

A blood-soaked severed head stared back—

The next second, sharp pain ripped through my abdomen—