TBR CH84

“Extreme high and low temperatures, water-soluble deadly poisons, all cold weapons and most hot weapons cannot cause it effective harm. I can boldly say that Alpha’s power surpassed? the limits of humanity, able to easily bring about disaster. Based on this, I hope you reconsider what I’ve mentioned to you…”

—An old letter hidden in the file cabinet of the director’s office. The latter half was blacked out, the handwriting unrecognizable.

__

The system never expected that Hill’s carefully constructed mental resolve would collapse so quickly.

In terms of progress in conquering this world, the system was quite satisfied with the results achieved so far. To be honest, while it often had to sweet-talk its host, this host’s obvious personality flaws made him easy to manipulate. His striking beauty was enough to make him willingly do its bidding.

This world was meticulously chosen by the system after plundering Noah’s luck value to escape. The research institute was practically a paradise tailored for collecting luck. Where else could one find a place where villainous monsters were gathered together, yet almost entirely unable to communicate with one another?

Even if the Heavenly Dao tracked it down here, it likely wouldn’t be able to disrupt the system’s plans quickly. The monsters were confined to individual rooms, unable to share information. Moreover, while the system coveted the SSS-level monster most of all and was determined to obtain it, there was far more leeway in choosing slightly lesser villains.

Due to the unique nature of this world, every high-level monster held immense potential worth tapping into. Unlike humans, monsters didn’t need communication—only frequent contact with the host, who needed to feign friendliness. Over time, their power would flow steadily into the system’s grasp.

Everything seemed too perfect, which made Hill’s current retreat utterly incomprehensible to the system.

“I can’t do this!” The blond, blue-eyed boy’s face was deathly pale, his facial muscles twitching uncontrollably. Tears streamed down his jaw, making the mirror reflect his breakdown even more clearly. “No way, absolutely not. It’s too terrifying, too…”

He seemed at a loss for words, his expression briefly blank. Facing the bathroom mirror, the boy suddenly felt an inescapable dread. He slowly turned his head, only to see nothing behind him, allowing a fleeting moment of relief. But then he whipped his head back to the mirror.

“Oh God!” Hill screamed. “Its eyes are watching me!”

“It’s all an illusion,” the system explained, trying to remain patient. “You’ve been making great progress, which is why it’s revealing more of its true self to you. I’ve checked—your bodily functions are all normal. Its activity is confined to the sea behind the door. You just need to rest, and you’ll be fine.”

“I… I don’t think I can keep going,” Hill stammered, his vision darkening in waves. He now realized that his earlier trips to the bathroom to retch after monster encounters were merely due to disgust—a far better state than this. In past interactions, the monster had only shown its grotesque, writhing tentacles, nothing more.

Perhaps it still held some wariness, or maybe it sensed the boy’s veiled disgust beneath his facade. The SSS-level creature had cautiously approached Hill with its tentacles, careful not to scare him. Hill had only touched its tentacles or glimpsed the massive shadow lurking in the dark sea from afar.

Until today, during their usual interaction time, the monster seemed unable to contain its affection for the angelic boy and revealed a fragment of its true form. The sea churned with an ominous, sulfurous hue, tentacles flickering in the towering waves, and countless pitch-black eyes blinked densely at him.

Hill was so terrified he broke down in tears on the spot.

Sensing his reaction, the monster immediately halted. All its eyes retracted beneath the surface, and it hesitantly extended a tentacle toward the boy, as if hurt by his change in demeanor. But Hill stumbled back in panic.

“It’s just trying to be friendly,” the system couldn’t help but remind him. “Don’t be afraid, Host. This is a great opportunity.”

Friendly? No. Hill was certain he saw malice glinting in those black pupils. This wasn’t a creature humans could comprehend—it could tear him to pieces with a mere flick of its power. Though the system claimed he had protective measures that would prevent an easy death, in his overwhelming fear, Hill couldn’t help but think: What if?

Driven by instinct, the boy bolted back to the control room, found the emergency button, and slammed it. Gasping for air, he refused to glance at the sea outside. His body was rigid until the calm voice of the special operations team crackled through the intercom, finally letting him exhale.

Only then did he spare a sliver of attention to the system’s warnings amid the blaring alarms.

“Didn’t I tell you not to be afraid?” the system snapped, its mechanical tone wavering with frustration as its host recoiled in fear. “After all this time, the monster only reveals its true form to those it trusts. Don’t forget your mission.”

Hill might not have known, but as an entity observing the monster from another dimension, the system was fully aware that the creature bore no malice toward its host. On the contrary, its tentacle was wrapped around a massive pearl, intending to offer it as a friendly gift.

The system simply couldn’t fathom its host’s behavior.

Under the system’s coercion, Hill forced a pale smile, weakly explaining to the writhing tentacles in the sea that his earlier outburst was due to feeling unwell. The boy now doubted whether the creature could even understand him. Though the system claimed it possessed high intelligence, a monster of that caliber…

He didn’t want to stay a second longer. When the voice on the intercom informed him that the door’s access had been granted, he hurriedly pushed it open and bolted out.

He brushed past the armed team arriving to assess the situation, their leader staring at him in astonishment.

Hill ran all the way to the bathroom deep in the corridor. That’s when his conversation with the system took place.

“Hill,” the system interrupted his repeated cries of “I can’t do this anymore,” its tone hardening for the first time.

“Are you really okay with going back to being your mediocre self? Have you forgotten how you died in obscurity in your original world? Being chosen is a second chance granted by fate. Look at your face now—do you really want to give all this up?”

The words struck straight at the boy’s deepest vulnerability.

He glanced at his reflection in the mirror. Even in terror, his beauty was captivating, with hair like soft gold—the appearance he’d always dreamed of. The thought of abandoning the adoration and the role of a savior he now possessed was unbearable.

Seeing the boy fall silent, the system finally let out a sigh of relief.

“It’s just a minor hiccup. It likes you too much. The monster won’t hurt you. All you need to do is endure a bit longer, and you’ll soon conquer it and leave this world. You know what you have to do—”

“Give me some time to rest,” Hill said, loosening his tightly clenched fingers in a reluctant compromise. “I wasn’t mentally prepared this time. It should be fine next time.” Though he still saw ominous shadows when he closed his eyes, he forced himself to ignore them.

The system couldn’t rush things. After a moment’s hesitation, it agreed to the boy’s request.

…A brief pause shouldn’t matter. Besides, this time could be used to continue interacting with other monsters.

—

Isidor was on his way to get a cup of coffee. Starting from the staff lounge, he passed through the corridor of Area F-11, where something seemed to have happened. If the institute taught its employees anything, it was to mind their own business. The people passing by gave the area a quick glance at most before hurrying on.

But the institute’s rules kicked in at times like this. Soon enough, wild rumors would be flying around the coffee machines and sofas.

Typically, a cordon meant a bloody incident—usually a monster breaching containment. The air carried the faint smell of dissipated gunpowder. Isidor hesitated, stopping in the corridor. His emerald-green eyes quietly scanned the floor.

Blood. So much blood.

Like a stream, the partially coagulated blood snaked out from the barricaded corner at the corridor’s end. Humans didn’t have that much blood—unless there was a pile of corpses stacked at the other end. Lingering a bit longer, the sweet-bitter stench of blood crept up, and the bloodstains underfoot began to darken. That wasn’t human blood.

Isidor recalled that this area housed the containment room of the SS-level monster “Limb Nest.”

As its name suggested, it was no easy opponent. Contrary to common assumptions, this creature—composed of a grotesque mass of flesh and fragmented limbs—moved at an unimaginable speed. The synchronized motion of its countless legs was a nightmare to behold. While not highly aggressive, its chaotic tangle of limbs left no exploitable weaknesses.

It was essentially dead.

How strange. The institute had kept it imprisoned for years, conducting countless experiments without ever finding a weakness, only sending people to their deaths. Yet now, this monster was undoubtedly dead. Even from half a corridor away, the heavy, decaying scent of death wafted over.

A passing employee gave Isidor an odd look. In situations like this, most people steered clear. If someone was looking for thrills, there was nothing but bloodstains in the corridor—what was the point of staring at an empty hallway?

Snapped out of his thoughts, Isidor raised his eyes and offered a gentle smile to the passerby, signaling he was fine. But then, another unexpected figure appeared, visibly far more shaken than he was.

Hill’s eyes widened in disbelief as he took in the scene.

“What happened here?”

“Limb Nest” was the first SS-level monster Hill had interacted with after arriving at the institute. It was relatively docile for its rank. As if aware of the boy’s aversion to its appearance, it always tried to curl into a ball during their meetings, showing its white, hard-shelled, net-like back instead of its red front.

This behavior made Hill far more accepting of it. Moreover, it was one of the first monsters to reveal a human-like form to him. Though Hill openly complained about its grotesque ugliness after leaving the room, after the ordeal with Alpha, he had requested a few days’ leave from the higher-ups.

He’d planned to retreat to his comfort zone, basking in the loyalty of the monsters he’d already conquered.

But when he arrived, he was met with a scene straight out of hell.