The two exchanged blows and kicks with increasing ferocity. Amidst flashes of emerald light, it seemed as if two shadowy figures were clashing back and forth, making it impossible to tell who had the upper hand.
"DiDi, employer detected in danger. Recommending a heroic rescue to increase positive rating!"
Why now, of all times, would the system chime in? Was this a setup?
Ren Yuanhao parried blows repeatedly, having gained the upper hand. But now, he had to abandon his advantageous position to go to the rescue!
His moves became increasingly unconventional. When he forced his opponent into a corner, he suddenly sprang backward, swift as the wind, darting towards the exit.
"What's this kid up to?" The man in the black robe was already panting. He knew his sister would be hard-pressed to stop Ren Yuanhao, so he accelerated his pursuit.
By the time Ren Yuanhao reached the vast cavern, he saw Yin Shili bandaging her wounds. Amidst the swaying emerald light, a snake, slithering in an 'S' pattern, fell directly from above her head. Its deep red tongue was about to touch her almost translucent skin!
"Miss Yin! Quickly, dodge!"
In his haste, Ren Yuanhao inexplicably quickened his pace. Hearing Ren Yuanhao's exclamation, Yin Shili reacted swiftly, sidestepping to the side of the stone bed. In that lightning-fast moment, Ren Yuanhao shot out his right hand like a bolt, capturing the snake. He then hurled it like a shot put against the smooth stone wall, splattering a patch of dark blood.
"Sister, why aren't you acting!"
The black-robed man, catching up, roared sternly. The success or failure seemed to rest entirely on his sister.
However, Yin Shili could not bring herself to attack someone who had just risked their life to save her.
"Brother, if you ask me to attack a benefactor who saved me, then aren't I no different from a beast?"
"With our condition, what else could we be but beasts? Have you forgotten how those people mocked us behind our backs? Vampires? Albinos? Zombies? Sister, he's saving you to gain your sympathy! Don't be foolish!"
The man in the black robe stomped his feet in anxiety. He had already made one mistake and didn't want to let it escalate. If the medicinal ingredient disappeared, their vampiric affliction would be utterly beyond hope!
"Brother, I've grown accustomed to it. Even if the illness is cured, what great and magnificent chapters can my blood-stained hands truly write? If everyone who suffers injustice attacks the benevolent, then how can society possibly endure?"
Yin Shili's voice grew increasingly resolute. She then turned her head and said softly to Ren Yuanhao, "Young Master Ren, thank you. If I hadn't met you today, I might have committed a monstrous sin. Hurry and leave. I will hold my brother back for you."
"Well, well, turning your back on your own family! Sister, have you too been enchanted by this man? Aren't the humiliations you've endured enough to see through the ugliness of human hearts?"
"I once thought I had seen through it. My writings were filled with people of extreme ugliness. But it is never the wicked who drive society forward. Brother, we were wrong. Wake up!"
As the two engaged in this verbal battle, the system's sly voice chimed in once more with dramatic flair.
"DiDi, branch linear task updated. Option one: you can deal with that man and take Yin Shili with you. Option two: you can exchange points from the system store for medicine to treat their vampiric affliction. Both choices will lead to different endings. Please consider carefully."
"Are you sure you're not here to fleece my points?"
"You could see it that way. However, sometimes letting go of something is not a bad thing; it might even lead to unexpected gains."
Bah! You're just trying to trick me out of my points. Let's see if I can call your bluff!
Ren Yuanhao raised his eyebrows slightly and addressed the system, "Come on, tell me how many points you want."
"Not much, just ten thousand."
"You might as well kill me. My total points are only 2500. You're asking for the moon, but you've got the wrong person."
"Not at all. Don't forget, you still have 25 million that haven't been converted into points."
"I think you don't want your cold pulse anymore. Fine. You leave smoothly, and I'll pretend I didn't hear anything. What a load of rubbish, this branch mission."
"Alright, suit yourself."
The system, with a drawn-out trailing tone, slowly faded away.
After disconnecting from the system, Ren Yuanhao's consciousness returned to reality.
"Young Master Ren, hurry and leave. My brother won't hurt me. I don't ask for your forgiveness, only that after you report this, you push all the blame onto me and don't implicate my brother~"
Ren Yuanhao looked at the aged woman's face before him, his emotions surging.
In his past life, he couldn't even control his own destiny, let alone the fate of others. He lived a life where he was fed and his family was not hungry. Back then, he felt he was beyond saving.
However, since the appearance of this mysterious system, it had allowed him to experience a sense of superiority he had never known.
This feeling was incredibly seductive. At times, he was completely lost in the pleasure of being in control, even believing he could deceive death itself. With the system's support, he felt he was the only god under heaven!
Yet, hidden within this was a temptation that drew him deeper, making him unable to extricate himself. He knew it was the power and wealth he had always craved but could never attain.
When a person has no choices, they only need to consider how to survive. But once choices multiply, troubles inevitably follow.
He now stood awkwardly at a crossroads of decision. However, his scales had already tipped towards Wang Xin, who was consumed by illness. As for the two before him, he could completely ignore them. All pain seemed so pale in the face of death.
Ren Yuanhao subconsciously took two or three steps back, as if his subconscious had already made the choice for him.
I'm sorry, I don't dare to take the risk. I... can't save you.
Ren Yuanhao quickly disappeared into a side passage, simultaneously finding Zhang Jing, who was hiding, and sprinting towards the cave entrance at high speed.
Don't worry, that's just 'vampire disease,' it's not fatal. And there's someone unconscious on the sickbed waiting for me to save. I can't hesitate, damn it!
It was unclear how much time had passed, but Ren Yuanhao and the other two finally returned to the surface.
The sky was interlaced with azure lightning. The mountain wind howled, and the trees all tilted and bowed towards the base of the mountain. The surroundings were filled with skin-crawling creaks and rumbling thunder.
"Yuanhao, what's wrong? You haven't said a word all the way here."
"It's nothing. I was just thinking about how difficult things are for them, the brother and sister."
"Indeed. Especially that young lady. To save me, she didn't hesitate to stab her own arm, making her brother think she was injured because she couldn't defeat me."
Ren Yuanhao's expression subtly shifted. In his mind, the employer's location had barely changed. Perhaps, just as she had said, her brother would never harm her.