Chapter Twelve: The Lonely Soul

When Ji Xiaodao came to her senses, it was all over.

More than a dozen knights lay fallen with their steeds in a vast pool of blood, as crimson and haunting as a hellish tableau. Mo stood at the center of this abstract painting he had woven himself. His cloak’s hood was lowered, and he smiled as he raised his hands to the sky, as if embracing some unseen force. The upper half of his face was hidden behind a black mask that covered only his eyes, which burned with an uncontrollable madness tempered by an abyssal stillness.

Contradictory yet harmonious.

For some reason, staring at the figure standing amidst the blood with such grim delight, Ji Xiaodao suddenly felt an inexplicable, unreal ache. This girl, who since birth had only been close to her parents and sister and rarely anyone else, now seemed to perceive the soul of that man not far off. Beyond solitude and despair, there was nothing else.

She wanted to turn away, afraid that the silently howling spirit might engulf her at any moment.

But she did not want to leave. Deep inside, she found herself unable to abandon that lonely and desperate silhouette.

That man seemed to be rejecting this world—or perhaps hating it.

No matter what, she refused to just leave him behind.

What am I thinking... This is just a game, after all. That person is just another player like me. Am I overthinking this? Has my delayed adolescent phase finally kicked in...?

She rubbed her temple, silently blaming herself for the sudden strangeness of her feelings.

At that moment, Mo returned with the sole surviving ordinary knight—a young man with chestnut short hair. Though unharmed in the massacre, he looked as if he had lost his soul. His face was pale, and his right hand trembled violently as he gripped his longsword, unable to accept the brutal slaughter of his comrades.

“I’m going to take care of my business now. I hope you leave immediately,” Mo said softly to the black elf girl who stared blankly at him, his patience clearly wearing thin. “I have very little patience. Very little.”

Ji Xiaodao bit her lip and shook her head gently. Though her sister had dragged her into many mental simulation games before, she had never encountered such a terrifyingly vivid scene. An ordinary girl might have disconnected forcibly, unable to bear it. Yet she quickly overcame the psychological barrier and met Mo’s masked eyes stubbornly. “What I do is none of your business!”

To her surprise, Mo, who claimed to have little patience, did not summon the power to send her back to respawn. Instead, he shrugged and said faintly, “Alright then.”

He ignored her.

“Look at me,” Mo ordered the surviving knight he had deliberately spared. “If you don’t want to experience a death that lasts for dozens of minutes, you'd better obey.”

The soldier’s mental defenses shattered completely; he lifted his head and stared vacantly into Mo’s eyes.

They were indescribable eyes, as if reflecting the most primal horror itself—the embodiment of sin.

“Watch her,” Mo said, pointing to Ji Xiaodao standing aside. “Don’t let her interfere. Of course, don’t stop her from leaving either. When I return, kill yourself.”

Original Sin
Innate Skill
Note: The original sin you embody can also corrupt others, allowing you to command a target to obey one of your orders unconditionally. Cooldown: 24 hours. Cannot be used again on the same target permanently.

Though only one command is mentioned, through previous tests, Mo discovered many hidden effects. For instance, when the target’s mind is fragile, the skill can compel them to obey a series of commands issued in rapid succession within their comprehension—extremely useful.

Ji Xiaodao watched as the soldier stiffened, then naturally nodded obediently. “Understood.”

He then raised his sword and stood there, vigilantly watching her.

Mo limped away with the knight captain, whose right forearm had been shattered in the initial explosion, disappearing down a narrow path from the girl’s sight.

Instinctively, Ji Xiaodao wanted to follow, but a long sword blocked her way.

“You can’t pass, elf,” the chestnut-haired young man said earnestly. “You may stay here or leave, but you cannot go further.”

Ji Xiaodao glanced at the soldier who had looked near death moments ago and asked, “Are you okay?”

“I’m not,” he answered briskly. “My squad was wiped out. Banther City is said to be destroyed. Our captain probably won’t survive. He always looked after me like a brother, but...”

He calmly looked at Ji Xiaodao. “You still can’t go.”

“You’re crazy,” she said, unable to fathom his state of mind from those calm, unfathomable eyes.

“Crazy?” The soldier shook his head. “No, I’ve never been so clear-headed.”

...

“If possible, knight sir,” Mo bent low to the barely breathing captain and smiled, “Please share the intelligence you know with me.”

A mouthful of blood spat out, followed by a cold retort: “Why don’t you ask the others? Like the souls you killed? Bastard!”

“I made a mistake,” Mo shrugged. “My first stop was the lord’s banquet, where nearly all those with valuable information were present—the lord, the finance minister, the hereditary count, the guild leader, beautiful women... too many. When I thought I needed some intelligence to reference...”

His eyes flashed with chaotic light and something else. Grinning, he said, “They’re all dead.”

“Pure evil...” The captain sighed. “Just kill me. I won’t tell you anything.”

“You will,” Mo’s fingertips traced countless intricate runes as he chuckled. “Good news: Banther City had a large Black Wizard Association. The clever ones there caused many security problems, now all solved. Oh, mind telling me your name?”

“Owen,” the pale, nearly translucent middle-aged knight said, eyes locked on Mo’s. “I swear I’ll curse you!”

Mo whistled and nodded. “I believe you will. But until then, we have plenty of time to try out some of the good stuff I found in the Black Wizard Association...”

...

[You have exited the game; mental connection severed. Good morning.]

Mo Tan sat up in the gaming pod, clutching his head as the familiar dizziness faded. He immediately glanced at his phone.

7:00 AM.

“If the first time was an accident, then the second is definitely a problem or an incident,” he muttered, then swiftly took a shower, washed a few clothes wearing only his boxers, ate a couple of pieces of bread, and hurried out.

Out to feed the cats.

Mo Tan lived in a rather poor neighborhood, with a shabby environment, inconvenient transportation, and old buildings. Many stray animals liked to linger nearby. Whenever possible, he would squat at the gate every morning to feed the cats. If he found any plastic bags, empty bottles, or cigarette butts on the way, he tidied those up too.

From this, we can see that just after waking, Mo Tan was in a Lawful Good mode—after all, in the other two modes, he would be extremely reluctant to go out early and endure the cold, let alone do some charity work on the side.

This personality shift is hard to explain. As mentioned before, his personalities are not independent entities; they all belong to Mo Tan himself. He is always aware of what he does and why, merely differing in mood.

Perhaps we all suffer from this to some extent. For example, one day on a bus, seeing an elderly person board, influenced by personality, morality, and habitual thinking, you would naturally give up your seat. But in another scenario, facing the same person, you might make a completely different choice—even resorting to a fight and possibly paying damages if the other is smart.

This example shows how our mood and personality subtly change constantly. These changes are not obvious but can lead to dramatically different outcomes.

The same person, taking a bus a hundred times, might give up their seat ninety, eighty, or seventy times; but Mo Tan is different.

His personality does not change subtly like others but splits completely into several modes.

Using the faction categories from the game "Realm of Innocence"...

Mo Tan in Lawful Good mode will always give up his seat 100%.

In Chaotic Neutral mode, he decides based on mood and the other’s appearance, but it’s never random—under identical circumstances, his choice is always consistent.

In True Neutral mode, influenced by standard moral views, he will give up his seat 100% of the time, though inwardly he may grumble; this is just a conformist personality—doing what most think right, otherwise not.

In short, Mo Tan was currently surrounded by stray cats, happily patting them while feeding, occasionally greeting passersby, helping an old man carry groceries, or accompanying a neighbor lady to dance...

A model young man indeed.

Near noon...

“Ah!” He slapped his forehead, muttering, “My silent characters didn’t log in yesterday, and I don’t know what happened to the caravan. But they should manage to break through... I wonder what it’ll be like when I log back in...”

His mouth tasted bitter. He sighed and stood up. “The Black Van’s account still needs to gather, Tan Mo’s account just started planning. Being able to build several characters because of this illness is supposed to be a protagonist-level privilege, but why do I feel so miserable... It’s exhausting, and besides...”

His phone vibrated.

“As expected...” Seeing the caller was his friend Yidong, Mo Tan answered, “Hey, Yidong, what’s up?”

The friend chuckled, “So you’re an honest man now? Feeding cats?”

“You’re the honest one—your whole family is honest,” Mo Tan replied, tossing the empty cat food bag into the trash. “How’d you guess my current state? I’ve been curious.”

Yidong said quickly, “Simple. Because only then do you call me by name on the first sentence after picking up, not Buddy A or some nonsense. By the way, why couldn’t I add you as a friend yesterday? Not playing?”

“Long story.” Mo Tan didn’t mind sharing. Climbing stairs, he said, “Yesterday wasn’t convenient to explain. Actually, I met a bug...”

He explained about being able to create three characters and switched personalities once during the conversation, but Yidong was used to it. Apart from the change in style, nothing else.

“So that’s about it.” Mo Tan deftly switched computer systems while speaking. “You must have made your own character. Let me guess, Chaotic Neutral faction, right?”

Yidong exclaimed, “Damn, you really are amazing. How did you guess that?”

“No big deal...” Mo Tan tapped the keyboard rapidly, answering casually, “You’re too naive and open-hearted. A little deduction and it’s obvious.”

Yidong chuckled helplessly. “Alright, we’re just polar opposites. I’m Winter in the game, going for an ice mage path. Level three wizard, Eternal race, currently at Ice Storm Fortress. Nothing else heard.”

“What the hell is the Eternal race?” Mo Tan laughed. “Zombies?”

“Sort of,” Yidong replied grumpily. “Theoretically, my character’s soul is attached to its corpse. Luckily, it looks almost the same as when alive... Anyway, let’s meet up in the game.”

Mo Tan rolled his eyes. “I still haven’t figured out where exactly my characters are.”

“Player Independent Space,” Yidong said. “Didn’t the official site announce that?”

“We’ll see.” Mo Tan squinted slightly at the screen. “Gotta go, I’m busy...”

He put down the phone, pressed both hands on the desk, leaned forward, and muttered, “I think I’ve seriously underestimated you... Futaba!”

Chapter Twelve: The End