Behind the bug, Su Xi stepped out from a small patch of shadow where no one had noticed her.

Zhou Heng clearly saw the smoking, pistol-shaped weapon in the little girl's hand.

Little Su Xi loved showing off. The moment she stepped into the light, she struck a cool pose, raising her pistol and blowing the smoke from its muzzle with her pink lips. Of course, she didn’t forget to boast to Zhou Heng, either.

“Well? Impressive, right? This Duality Pistol cost me half a year’s worth of points to redeem. Its firepower is incredible. Hmph, a Taboo Species, they said—something that could threaten an intercontinental-level region. They made it sound like nothing on heaven or earth could match it, like one punch could destroy a city. I went to all that trouble to prepare, and in the end, one shot was all it took!”

Su Xi lowered her pistol and waited for Zhou Heng to panic, flailing and shouting.

In her short life, Su Xi had carried out more than a dozen hunting missions. At least half of them had brought her face-to-face with ordinary people. She especially loved seeing those ordinary people lose their composure and bawl their eyes out during or after a mission.

Her world was different from the world of ordinary people. In her world, mere mortals could only cling to her side, begging for her protection with pitiful, laughable humility.

To Su Xi’s disappointment, Zhou Heng made no sound. The little girl was puzzled. Was this burly, gutsy-looking man actually a coward? Had the shock left him stuck in disbelief, unable to recover?

It wouldn’t be surprising. Su Xi had seen mortals who were so terrified by a Danger Rank monster that they didn’t start sobbing hysterically until half an hour later.

Su Xi turned toward Zhou Heng, ready to offer a few words of comfort to this frightened little bird who’d nearly wet himself. But when their eyes met, something unexpected happened.

Su Xi was surprised to find no fear on Zhou Heng’s face. No bewilderment, either, or the helpless confusion of someone caught in an emergency.

None of the expressions she usually saw on mortals’ faces were there. Zhou Heng wore an expression she’d never seen on a mortal during any of her missions.

It was the look of sudden realization.

Perhaps sensing the little girl Su Xi’s puzzled gaze, Zhou Heng gave his body a shake. When he realized he still couldn’t break free of the bug’s grip, he raised a hand to his face and wiped away most of the slime and the bug’s chitinous shell.

Zhou Heng asked Su Xi.

“Is it over?”

Su Xi nodded, still stunned. Zhou Heng was far too calm. He was so calm that she almost thought he belonged to their world. No— even someone from their world shouldn’t be this calm after a battle like that.

This bug was a Taboo Species, after all.

“Good, as long as it’s over. Now tell this big guy to get his hand off me. And bring out your camera crew, director, and all the other staff. Damn, what were you thinking? When you couldn’t scare anyone, you resorted to an explosion? That cheap, stupid trick wasted all those elaborate props.”

Zhou Heng stared at the bug’s elaborate costume and sighed.

“What a shame. What a shame.”

“W-wait a second.”

The voice came from behind him. Zhou Heng turned his head and caught sight of top student Su Mo, wearing an expression of sheer disbelief.

“Even now, you still think everything that happened was fake?”

Zhou Heng burst out laughing and patted the bug’s arm where it gripped his shoulder.

“I admit, you’ve got a really dedicated film crew. The props and acting were both excellent. But you messed up a few details. That’s fine, though. No movie is without plot holes, and even less so when you’re acting it out live.”

Zhou Heng looked at Su Xi, whose mouth hung open, with scorn.

“First of all, the biggest plot hole is you.”

Su Xi pointed at herself and asked in surprise,

“Me?”

Zhou Heng nodded furiously.

“After you fired, I saw you glance at your sister. Su Mo’s arm is severed, but after that glance, you didn’t care about her condition at all—you just came over to show off to me. Your sister has lost an arm! There’s blood all over the floor! With an injury that serious, you don’t even check on her. You just hurry to strike a pose and run your mouth. Does that make any sense?”

Zhou Heng struggled to point at Su Mo.

“And you—you’re a plot hole too!”

Su Mo, clutching her severed arm, stared wide-eyed, at a loss.

“When I first came in, you were holding your breath, like you were trying to endure something. But once I started talking to the bug, your breathing went back to normal. Miss Su Mo, do you know what it means to have an arm severed? To have a wound? To bleed? You’ve had your arm cut off this whole time, and there’s not a hint of weakness or pain in your breathing. What are you, made of iron?”

“And more importantly, you.”

Zhou Heng turned his gaze to the headless body of the bug.

“You’re not dead. I can feel it. Even when you exploded, the flow of qi and blood in your body didn’t speed up or slow down. That means you don’t care at all about having your head blown up. And why don’t you care? Because you’ve rehearsed this scene so many times that you’re used to it.”

“Am I right?!”

“You are…”