"Taking things casually."
The Zoldycks, who owned the entire Kukuroo Mountain, encouraged me to take things casually?
Doesn't that sound strange? A family with so much money and power, instead of giving me something brand new, they tell me to pilfer someone else's second-hand goods? Doesn't that lower their prestige?
The motive is too obvious. This is the Zoldycks testing me.
The Zoldycks are a family of assassins, belonging to the villain faction, not the Justice League. Their test for me is not in the conventional sense of traditional virtues, but in the basic professional qualities of a killer… and my loyalty to the Zoldycks.
Although "not taking things casually" is one of the professional qualities of an assassin, judging by Silva's attitude of turning a blind eye to my "collection" of glowing items in mission instances, as long as it doesn't go too far and affect the Zoldycks' reputation, they won't interfere with petty theft in missions. The glowing items I collected were all cheap vegetables and the like, which the Zoldycks considered harmless.
In this mission, the Zoldycks were very clear: they allowed me to take things casually, with a formal limit of "at most two." Therefore, "not taking things casually" is not the point. The test is what happens after I bring back the "toy" – for example, whether I would "become obsessed with beauty and lose my ambition over trivialities."
Oh, I just happen to like the effeminate type of the opposite sex?
They think this will become my weakness?
They underestimate me!
Yes, the Zoldycks are not genuinely supportive of my so-called "hobby." They don't want to expend extra energy and money; they just want to use a low-cost, disposable item for testing. This way, regardless of the outcome, the Zoldycks will suffer no loss.
This almost undisguised probing by the Zoldycks clearly indicates that I cannot simply refuse.
If I refuse this time, there will definitely be a next time, until they get the result they want.
Yes, this leads to the Zoldycks' second objective: testing my loyalty to them.
Kikyo has repeatedly expressed her dissatisfaction with my disobedience. A few days ago, my impulsive bombing of the Zoldyck main residence exposed my wolfish ambition. The Zoldycks have realized that I am a potential threat and are considering how to deal with me.
To put the Zoldycks and Silva at ease, I need to proactively offer my weakness.
Since they believe I will be swayed by effeminate men, I will play along with their plan and hand over the "weakness" and "hostage" to them, much like the hostage system in the Warring States period, where rulers of various countries exchanged their children as hostages to gain each other's trust.
I must bring back the "toy" I am "interested in" as the Zoldycks instructed, and show concern for the "toy." This way, the Zoldycks will believe they have a handle on my weakness, thus relaxing their vigilance and control over me, allowing me to gain more freedom.
Of course, I cannot show too much concern for the "toy"; I need to maintain a balance. Otherwise, it would be "obsessed with beauty and lose ambition over trivialities," which is not in line with the basic professional qualities of a killer.
Based on common tropes I've read in novels, the Zoldycks will likely order me to personally eliminate the "toy" when I am extremely fond of it, proving my loyalty to them and that I am still a qualified, cold, and ruthless professional killer.
Never act with any emotion~ Never look back~ The initial feeling, won't hurt, won't hurt~ Dilated pupils, like a dream~ A happy illusion, warm and embracing~ Perhaps I even expect~
Stop. Stop the lyrics. It's not time to sing. Don't forget you're mute right now.
Hmph, Zoldycks, your petty tricks have been seen through by me, who has read countless works!
First, I'll sort out my thoughts, then I'll tackle the mission instance. After successfully eliminating the mission target, I'll gather the target's "toys" and start interviewing them to see which one is suitable to take back to the Zoldycks as a report.
The mission target played with "toys" in an extremely arbitrary manner, indulging in cross-dressing, drugs, and torture. After eliminating those who were mentally unstable, physically disabled, and the younger ones (the youngest being around ten years old), there were five "toys" left who appeared relatively normal on the surface. These "toys" were purely disposable items, much like single-use plastic bags. Taking away two would go unnoticed, consistent with the information provided by the Zoldycks.
Hmph, the Zoldycks underestimate me too much.
You believe me when I say "I like all good-looking people"?
It's hilarious. I, who have seen countless paper characters, would never casually develop feelings for a character illustration. That's just a combination of colors and lines, soulless.
The "toys," having undergone the cruel baptism of the mission target, were very obedient and had strong psychological resilience. Amidst the splashing blood, they were all silent, not running or screaming, obediently staying in place, and following commands like puppets.
The five seemingly normal "toys" lined up in front of me.
One of them had silver hair and blue eyes. In a two-dimensional world where faces can be easily confused and changing hairstyles creates a new character, this one was, roughly speaking, equivalent to an important figure of the Zoldycks.
If I took this "toy" back, it would be too sinful, downright audacious, like dancing madly on the Zoldycks' sensitive spots. Forget what Kikyo would think of me; Silva might not mind spending some time letting me relive the Zoldyck family warmth with "I am your father.jpg."
I can't afford to provoke them. This is an absolute prohibition. Don't make such a low-level mistake.
Picking up a flower from the vase beside the sofa, I used it as a dart, embedding it into the forehead of the "toy" who was disqualified based on appearance.
Eliminated one, four remaining.
The illustration quality of the four interviewees was similar. They were good-looking, but not to the point of astonishing me. They were like the common, mass-produced gacha mobile games that hire a bunch of awesome artists for character illustrations and sell character skins. I'm a bit aesthetically fatigued.
This is it?
The Zoldycks want to shake me?
Oh, they think I, who has lived in seclusion, have little knowledge of the opposite sex. They don't know that in my "real world," I have seen countless character illustrations from anime and game works. I've seen countless beautiful faces. In the Hunter world, my standards are "top three beauties" as a starting point, and those are the "top three beauties" from the original artist's most beautiful phase. Okay, as a face-connoisseur, I admit I'm picky.
Having only one character illustration is too boring. To increase the game's fun, it's necessary to understand the character's background setting to pique the "player's" interest more, such as a genius scientist, a member of a mysterious organization, a corporate president, a superstar, a prince from a neighboring country, a fallen demon king, an alien, and so on.
Forget it. Characters with such background settings wouldn't become "toys." Although it's a bit of a pity, those characters require careful攻略 (gōnglüè - strategy/capturing), involving constant life-or-death situations, which is troublesome. For a "retired player" like me who chooses to lie flat, if I don't want to play a masochistic game where NPCs actively do this and that to me, I can only play low-threshold, idle养成 (yǎngchéng - raising/cultivating) games that focus on collecting character illustrations.
Sitting on the sofa, I used the voice-generating device I was "wearing" to issue the next command: "Each person has two minutes to introduce their background. Starting from my left, one by one."
To summarize, the background settings of the interviewees were: orphan, poor, orphan, orphan.
Boring. So ordinary and plain? They should have at least given me a fallen noble, a separated twin, something with a story. Alas, this doesn't pique my interest at all.
Using Hisoka's favorite description, these are "rotten fruits."
The Zoldycks indeed look down on me, Molus.
Eliminating two illiterate ones and one short one, I announced the interview results to the only remaining interviewee: "It's you. Shut your mouth, don't look around, and follow me quietly."
The "toy" nodded, obediently lowered his head, and followed me away from the mission instance. We boarded my private airship. After I sat down, he knelt about half a meter from my feet, continuing to look at the ground, a qualified captive.
I [took out] a mirror to check my current state. In the mirror, I looked listless, clearly "returning disappointed."
This won't do. I need to appear "content and satisfied" to put the Zoldycks at ease.
Recalling the worldly resources I've seen, I still couldn't muster any enthusiasm.
Enthusiasm isn't something you can just conjure up.
"..." There's no other way. To achieve true acting, to deceive all the Zoldycks, I must uphold the actor's self-cultivation and make a necessary sacrifice.
Just like actors who can't shed tears need eye drops, I, who can't muster enthusiasm, also need medical assistance.
With half an hour left to Kukuroo Mountain, I [took out] aphrodisiac (lethal dose) from my inventory and drank it down.
Recalling the worldly resources I've seen, I still couldn't muster any enthusiasm.
[Poison Resistance: Level 7]
Damn it, my resistance level is too high, and the aphrodisiac is ineffective on me. I need another bottle.
I only started to feel something after drinking the 8th bottle. Fortunately, I bought 99 bottles in case of emergencies. I'm so foresighted! Give myself a clap!
Hic, I drank a bit too much.
I went to the restroom and splashed cold water on my face. Looking up, I saw myself in the mirror. It was the most beautiful I had ever felt in my life. I want to… no, calm down, Molus, you're not Narcissus.
In any case, I felt much invigorated and could greet Mrs. Kikyo with a cheerful demeanor.
As the airship entered Kukuroo Mountain's airspace, Kikyo would have received the news. She was already waiting for me on the tarmac. "Welcome back, Mol."
Molus, this is your unspoken battle with the Zoldycks. It's time to test your acting skills!
I nodded, walked up to Kikyo, and lowered my head to her. She understood and hugged me, stroking my hair. "Good child, the mission went smoothly, didn't it? You seem to be in a good mood."
Hooray! A good start is half the battle. The aphrodisiac wasn't drunk in vain.
After interacting with me, Kikyo looked at the "toy" following behind me. The "toy," who had been silently looking at the ground, had a strong survival instinct and tried to minimize his presence. I called him to look up and introduced that I had brought back only him.
Kikyo, after a brief appraisal of the "toy," did not offer any opinion and directly instructed her butler to take him for examination.
Then, we walked towards the main residence together. Kikyo asked me where I planned to keep the "toy."
I hadn't thought about this question. I assumed the Zoldycks had already made all the arrangements for me. I honestly replied that I hadn't decided and asked Kikyo for her suggestions.
"Mol, shouldn't your belongings be decided by you?" Kikyo laughed. I saw that she was in a better mood than me, which meant my soft approach was very successful. She liked the feeling of having control. "It's not appropriate to keep such things in your room. How about this: choose one of two options, a guest room or a cell. Pick the one you like."
As expected of the renowned villain faction, the Zoldycks. Dungeons like the yandere reverse harem otome 18x games and male-oriented harem 18x games, with their dark routes, exist in your home as naturally as breathing.
Speaking of which, although I play reverse harem otome 18x games and male-oriented harem 18x games, I'm really not the type of person you think I am.
So I choose the guest room option.
"Don't you need to prepare any torture devices?" Kikyo seemed slightly disappointed.
Fortunately, Silva's physical attack back then cured my yandere tendencies. Otherwise, Silva would have walked down the path of the "little black room" and been subjected to torture. I broke out in a cold sweat for Silva. Are Kikyo's unrestrained plays so extreme? But come to think of it, it sounds quite exciting and like a game CG worth collecting. My smile gradually became distorted… Hey!
I artfully stated that it wasn't needed "for now." Kikyo gave me a knowing smile and said I was worthy of being her daughter.
In conversations filled with villainous atmosphere, before reaching the main residence, we encountered our dear Alluka, the only little angel in the renowned villain faction, the Zoldycks.
He was chasing a ball. Upon seeing us, he quickened his pace, picked up the ball, and ran up to us, raising his head to greet us. "Mom. Sister, you're back."
Translate, what is called a damn surprise.
Coming home and being greeted by Alluka saying "you're back" is a surprise.
I think the reason I haven't betrayed the Zoldycks is mainly because of Alluka. Employee loyalty is built this way.
Alluka's fluffy little head is really nice to touch. I (and Kikyo) enjoyed stroking it to our hearts' content.