I took the stuffed bear from the little girl's hands. The moment my fingers brushed against the worn-out fabric, a mechanical sound abruptly rang out, bringing up a crystal-clear System panel in my mind:
[NOTICE: GRADE A ITEM RECEIVED]
Item Name: Stuffed Bear
Function: Heals minor injuries.
Usage Limit: 3 times / day.
Cooldown Time: 8 hours.
I was taken aback, my eyes widening slightly in surprise. Hiding my astonishment, I looked at the demon girl and smiled gently: -"The little teddy bear is really cute. Thank you."
With that, I decisively stepped into the Demon Gate to return.
Even though the mission had ended, my mind remained a tangled mess of chaotic thoughts: If Butler Li was truly an accomplice, why did he want us to stay for a few more days? Why did he provide us with clues using such bizarrely shaped dishes? Was it due to some twisted fetish?
And speaking of what just happened... The System's notification chime was still echoing in my ears. I let out a soft, self-deprecating laugh. So this is what those characters in movies or novels usually feel like, huh? Thinking back, it actually is a little interesting.
However, that fleeting joy was quickly extinguished. My footsteps slowed, and the surrounding space seemed to fall silent as my chest tightened. I remembered the terrible memories always buried in the dark corners of my sanity. These past two years... for two long, agonizing years, I had created a sweet illusion for myself about my mother. I kept lying to myself that she was still alive, waiting for me somewhere. But as it turned out... had she passed away a long time ago? This cruel reality was like a bucket of freezing water splashed straight into my face, dragging me out of the dream world I had woven myself.
From the depths of my heart, a suffocating, uncomfortable sensation welled up, choking my mind. What on earth have I been striving for all this time? I threw myself frantically into life-or-death situations, struggling to complete these bizarre missions like a psychopath... what's the use anymore? When the person who loved me most in this world has already left this life, never to return? My motivation to live, my faith - everything collapsed in a single instant.
My head began to throb in sharp, violent, and rapid waves. The pain felt as if it wanted to split my brain apart. I knew I had just accidentally touched the boundary of that old agony - the bleeding wound that had never healed.
It was truly... awful...
I gradually emerged from the quiet and dark space of the Demon Gate.
When I opened my eyes again, the World of Living Demons filled my vision. A faint dawn was shining in the high sky. Qing Yashu gently shook me awake. At this moment, both of us were lying by the roadside, right in front of our familiar coffee shop.
I exhaustedly looked up at everything around me. The passersby seemed more crowded than usual, but my mind was completely blank now, without a shred of energy left to pay them any attention.
Afterward, Yashu and I quietly walked back into the coffee shop to prepare for work. The demon hair strand that had been carefully stored in the glass jar suddenly vanished into thin air - a clear signal indicating that we had officially survived and returned. But at this point, I no longer cared or gave a damn about these rewards. Total exhaustion washed over me; I just wanted to rush straight into my room to hide from everything.
The coffee shop today was strangely quiet. The space was completely deserted, without a single staff member in sight, and not a single customer dropping by.
The exact moment I turned my back to head to my room, Manager Ming suddenly appeared. He stopped to talk with Yashu for a bit. Looking from afar, her expression seemed quite cheerful, a stark contrast to my gloomy aura.
Right now, in the dark room, I sat dazed on the bed. I lifted my soulless eyes, staring pensively at the palm of my hand. Unbeknownst to me, the old wound caused by the rose thorn from the previous mission had split wide open. Fresh blood began to ooze out again, staining my entire palm red.
Just then, from outside, Yashu lightly knocked on my door:
Click... Click... Click...
The steady sound echoed, but for some reason, I didn't want to get up and open the door. My spinning head made me gradually become frustrated and annoyed by those noises. Perhaps right now, I only craved to be left alone in silence, even if just for a little while.
Knocking repeatedly without hearing me answer, Yashu's voice, laced with clear anxiety, drifted through the gap of the door:
-"Are you okay? Can I come in?"
Listless, I let out a faint "Mm" from the back of my throat just to get it over with. Immediately after came the sound of the door being slowly pushed open.
Yashu stepped into the room, holding a warm cup of milk coffee in her hand, and gently placed it on the small table at the head of the bed. Seeing me still sitting dazed and slumped on the mattress, tightly clutching the old stuffed bear while my ruptured wound was bleeding without me paying any attention, she frowned slightly. Yashu calmly sat down beside me, her voice grumbling but unable to hide her worry:
-"Hey, your hand is bleeding, aren't you going to bandage it up? The life-or-death mission is over, worry about resting and recovering a bit."
For some reason, the three words "mission is over" uttering from her mouth suddenly stabbed hard into my ears, causing a surge of ultimate discomfort to rise within my heart.
Rage and resentment erupted, overpowering my sanity. I swung my hand fiercely, knocking over the coffee cup sitting by the bedside. The cup shattered completely, and the warm liquid splashed all over the floor, slowly blending into the cold tiles. Watching the coffee flood the floor, the anger inside me could no longer be contained.
I screamed, my voice hoarse with despair:
-"So what if the mission is over? What's the point of surviving? What the hell am I risking my life and struggling to get through this wretched place for...?"
Looking at the coffee she had taken the trouble to brew being knocked over ruthlessly, Yashu was stunned for a moment, and then a flame of resentment also flared up in her eyes. She snapped to her feet, straining her voice to shout right into my face:
-"I don't care what you just went through, and I don't give a damn about what you fought for before. But for the past whole week, all I saw was that you were the one who risked your life the most to survive. You dragged me out of the jaws of death, you were clever, you were so resilient... was it all just an act? Now you're planning to throw this life away just because of some damn reason that just happened?!"
It was the first time I had ever seen Yashu this angry. Watching her chest heave with rage, I instantly fell silent. The impulsive surge passed, leaving behind a miserable sense of guilt. I realized I had just done wrong, taking out my uncalled-for anger on the only person who cared about me right now.
Yashu took a deep breath, staring piercingly into my eyes, dropping every word with absolute steel:
-"If you can't find a reason to keep living, then consider living for the sake of the life that you and I skinned our knuckles to trade for in the last mission! I don't want my teammate to survive the clutches of savage demons, only to end up dying from self-harm in this room. Stand up and bandage your wound for me right now. If you haven't found a reason to live yet, then just keep walking, and eventually, you will find it."