<<What is your desire?>>

[Wuwuwuwuwuwuwu finally saw it, so good-looking~]

[Wife, wife, look at me!!!]

[Streamer, what are you waiting for? Go take a close-up photo, I’ll give you a rocket!]

[Damn, don’t you care about the streamer? Hahaha, they’re here to scam, pretending to be gods and getting to the evil god’s presence, so funny.]

[Streamer, if you can still act like a commoner in front of Ranen, I’ll give you a battleship (rose in mouth).]

Ranen’s guess was correct.

This player team consisted of three members, led by Baba Hao ^[1] Big Banana , all of whom were unruly people.

And one of the members, Ye Ye Hao, was also a game anchor. The selling point of their live broadcasts was, of course, the unruly behavior of the people in this super-free game, as well as their repeated failures.

This is why, when the game launched, most players were focused on Ranen, and he didn’t follow the crowd. While most players were fixated on Ranen, Ye Ye Hao instead noticed the potential of the game itself.

The rest of the restraining elements were just embellishments, and he quickly used the characteristics of this game to come up with the selling point of the current live broadcast room, which was the troublemakers… ahem, it was free behavior.

Just like now, most players obediently went to find Ranen or Karens to pick up tasks. But not them. After understanding the basic rules of the game, the three of them discussed and eventually chose different character cards: a con artist with a focus on [Persuasion] skills (Ye Ye Hao ^[2]Because I didn’t mention Baba Hao, I also didn’t include it here. I got feedback that this is pronounced as ‘Hi Grandpa.’ ), a mystic enthusiast with skills in [Mysticism] and [Performance] (Shushu ^[3] Uncle Hao ^[4]Because I didn’t mention Baba Hao, I also didn’t include it here. I got feedback that this is pronounced as ‘Hi Uncle.’ ), and a thug responsible for combat (Baba Hao).

In the end, they accumulated a fortune through deception, completed a few fortune-telling tasks through their own channels, and their livestream’s popularity kept rising. Everyone was waiting to see when they would mess up.

“Alright, please follow me, great shamans. The person who needs your help is on the second floor.” The woman’s expression was noticeably kinder when facing the players. However, Baba Hao and the others exchanged glances for a moment and didn’t immediately head upstairs but looked towards Ranen.

As Baba Hao and the others cast their gazes towards him, Ranen suddenly had a bad premonition.

And that premonition became reality when the group of players approached.

“Mr. Ranen, you’re here too.” Ye Ye Hao respectfully nodded at Ranen, completely ignoring the barrage of teasing comments in the livestream.

No joke, even though they are troublemakers, they still don’t want to die for nothing.

Ranen:… No, please…

Fortunately, things hadn’t yet developed in the direction he feared the most. The players hadn’t been foolish enough to reveal Ranen’s identity directly. Instead, they approached him mysteriously and said, “Don’t worry, we won’t expose your identity.”

Ranen looked at him with a blank expression. As expected, the woman looked puzzled and asked, “Do you know each other?”

“No, not really. But I’ve been to Dr. Ranen’s psychological therapy room before. His medical skills are excellent, so there’s definitely no problem in saving your brother,” Ye Ye Hao assured.

Ranen wanted to cover his mouth to stop him from saying more.

Besides, when did these players ever seriously seek psychological treatment from him? They only came to the therapy room to chat, show off, or stare blankly at the screen!

As expected, after Ye Ye Hao’s comment, the woman’s attitude toward Ranen changed.

Ranen thought, ‘God knows… I really just came by to earn some therapy fees on the way.’

Ranen opened his mouth but couldn’t bring himself to admit weakness. What else could he say? He could only maintain a smile and asked, “May I ask where the patient is now?”

“Just on the second floor. I’ll take you there.”

Indeed, after hearing what the players said, the woman’s attitude became much warmer, and she led them to the innermost room on the second floor.

When the room was opened, Ranen raised his eyebrows in surprise.

The room was filled with butterfly specimens and various flower specimens. The only prominent piece of furniture was the bed in the center, where a man, looking emaciated and haggard, lay with bloodshot eyes fixed intently in one direction.

The woman explained, “Collecting these things was my brother’s hobby. He loved beautiful things, especially butterfly wings.”

Ranen remained silent, and Baba Hao was the first to ask, “When did he become like this?”

“He suddenly changed last week,” the younger sister said with tears in her eyes. “It felt like he just fell asleep and, by the next day, started to ignore everyone and stayed in bed. At first, we thought it was just because he was upset or had some problem. But then he continued like this the next day and the day after. Eventually, he stopped talking to us and barely ate.”

The players glanced at Ranen and, seeing that he remained silent, Ye Ye Hao stepped forward, his gaze fixed intently on the woman’s face as he asked, “Has he done anything unusual in the past few days?”

[Psychology Check, Persuasion Check]

[Psychology: Success]

[Persuasion: Success]

The woman thought for a moment and shook her head. “Nothing unusual. His activities in the past few days have been the same as usual. He ate and slept normally.”

Ye Ye Hao scrutinized her expression, then nodded to the other two.

If nothing special happened, why did this person end up like this? Ye Ye Hao was somewhat troubled and couldn’t help but glance at Ranen, who was standing in front of the man on the bed, waving his hand in front of him and ignoring their side.

—-

The barrage of comments started to appear.

[Ranen doesn’t seem to have any intention of intervening…]

[It’s normal, isn’t it? The forum previously analyzed that he’s hiding his identity now, so he must be disguising himself as an ordinary person and can’t take action personally.]

[Then why did he come here?]

[Not sure…]

[Ranen had been staying in the psychological therapy room before. We can consider it his base. He’s an evil god, so he must have money. The psychological therapy room was definitely a cover for his identity. Now that he’s suddenly come out, he might have some ulterior motive.]

[Then what could it be for?]

[Maybe this commission is not as simple as it seems.]

—-

As the barrage continued to analyze Ranen’s reasons for coming out, Ye Ye Hao watched with deep interest, while half-heartedly engaging with the woman and keeping an eye on Ranen’s movements.

What was Ranen doing at this moment? Actually, not much. He was just contemplating what he could do. Currently, the only card he had to play was the influence of his own face. Although he didn’t understand the exact principles, he knew that when people saw him in a state of mental and emotional turmoil, they would often enter a strange, trance-like state. This state, combined with psychological hypnosis techniques, usually yielded remarkable results.

However, Ranen was troubled because the man lying on the bed never ‘looked’ at him. Even if Ranen waved in front of his eyes, it was useless. It seemed as if his soul had already left his body, with his eyes fixed somewhere unknown.

Given this situation, even if the players used mental analysis skills, it was likely doomed to fail. If Ranen couldn’t even get the patient to acknowledge him, it was impossible to stabilize his mental state.

Thus, Ranen didn’t have a good solution. Thinking of the Kamui tribe’s expertise in pharmaceuticals, he asked hopefully, “Have you given him any medications in the past few days?”

The woman quickly responded, “Yes, we have. We gave him these medicines. Some had effects, but others didn’t.”

“Can you show them to me?”

The siblings promptly brought several different medications to Ranen.

Ranen was stunned when he took the medicines into his hands.

First-tier Heart Nourishing Potion, second-tier Tonics, Blood Supplement…

As expected of the Kamui tribe, they have no shortage of magical potions.

Ranen studied the medicines thoughtfully. The woman quickly added, “Our family relies on selling potions for a living. We had a lot of stock before, but most of it was bought by a major client. My brother is better at making potions than I am, but in his current state, he can’t brew better ones and can only use less effective ones…”

“Can’t you send him to a hospital?” Baba Hao couldn’t help but ask.

The woman looked at him strangely and shook her head. “It wouldn’t be of any use, and we don’t have money or health insurance.”

Just like in the U.S. in his previous life, hospitals here had high fees, and without health insurance, the poor basically couldn’t afford medical care.

Ranen examined the more commonly used potions: those for blood and qi replenishment and those for mental nurturing. Seeing how the man on the bed had deteriorated from a normal state to this withered condition in just three days, and noting the room full of butterfly specimens, Ranen suddenly remembered something and moved closer to examine the specimens carefully.

The three players felt a bit awkward. Since Ranen remained silent and stopped looking at the patient, they had to face the woman and her three siblings’ gaze and proceed.

Ye Ye Hao straightened up his resolve and said, “I’ll begin exorcising him now. Please prepare these items…”

—-

[Here it comes! Hahahahaha]

[I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, it’s hilarious.]

[Exorcising in front of an evil god, you guys are really something (doge face)]

—-

To be honest, if they weren’t known to be incapable of magic at this point, Ranen might have been fooled by their performance. They were putting on quite the show, and it seemed they had invested all their skill points in [Deception] and [Performance].

Ye Ye Hao and Shushu Hao each played their roles perfectly—one a mystic and the other a con artist. Together, they were in perfect sync, sprinkling water, setting up magical arrays, and reciting incantations of unknown origin. The woman and the three siblings, who had initially been skeptical, were soon thoroughly impressed.

Ye Ye Hao chanted as he sprinkled holy water and arranged the magical array on the bed, but the man remained expressionless, maintaining his initial state of misery. As time passed, the looks on the woman and the siblings’ faces began to shift.

—-

[LOL, are they really about to be exposed?]

[I’m just here to watch the troublemakers get their comeuppance (doge face)]

[Let’s place bets on whether the troublemakers will be kicked out.]

[I see trouble coming, I bet they’ll be dealt with on the spot, lol]

[Ranen: Whatever, I’ll take action (wry smile)]

—-

Whether Ranen would actually intervene was uncertain to the players. Although they hadn’t dealt with him before, they knew from the forums that this NPC, suspected of being an evil god, was still in a lurking state. He was disguised as an ordinary person in human society and even opened a psychological therapy clinic to throw people off. Clearly, he had a significant agenda.

To avoid drawing attention from the official organizations, he was unlikely to act easily.

But the players hadn’t been idle either. Remember how Ye Ye Hao had strategically approached Ranen? In fact, he had hoped to make a connection with Ranen and perhaps get him to help them out.

After all, in the eyes of this family, they and Ranen were acquainted. If they were exposed as frauds, it would also implicate Ranen…

With this thought in mind, Ye Ye Hao kept glancing at Ranen, but unfortunately, Ranen didn’t even spare him a look, seemingly engrossed in admiring the butterfly specimens collected by the man.

‘Woe is me.’

When Shushu Hao, the mystic, even started stumbling over his incantations, Ye Ye Hao’s hopes sank, and he felt that all was lost.

Perhaps getting exposed was just the fate of troublemakers…

The livestream chat was ready for a celebration. Two of the young men among the three siblings had anger clearly written on their faces. With a fierce look, they grabbed Ye Ye Hao by the collar and demanded, “Is this how you’re treating my uncle?!”

“It’s a misunderstanding!”

The two youths didn’t listen to his explanation. They began pummeling Ye Ye Hao and Shushu Hao, knocking them to the ground. They continued to beat them mercilessly. The two players, lacking evasion and combat skills, were as easy to deal with as catching chickens.

The only player with combat skills, Baba Hao, found himself overwhelmed by the four hands and was about to receive a severe beating.

—-

At this moment, Ranen suddenly noticed something. With quick reflexes, he grabbed one of the butterfly specimens from its glass display case.

At that moment, the man, who had been lying on the bed like a withered corpse, suddenly reacted. He began to struggle violently on the bed, as if trying to get up, making a ‘hiss’ sound from his throat that resembled an old-fashioned, malfunctioning organ.

Ye Ye Hao and Baba Hao, closest to the man, were startled by his almost dislocated skeleton and quickly tried to restrain him on the bed.

The woman and the three siblings were also shocked but quickly reacted, grabbing the man’s limbs. Thankfully, they were alert, because in the next moment, the man, who had been in a state of complete collapse, suddenly erupted with immense strength, nearly throwing the players off.

Seeing this, Ranen let go of the butterfly specimen, which remained in place. The man on the bed gradually calmed down and returned to his original state.

However, his legs were dislocated from the intense struggle, making him appear even more weakened. The woman and the three siblings were both terrified and heartbroken. They hurriedly pleaded with Ranen, “Please, save my brother/uncle!”

They had figured out that the man’s reaction was likely related to the butterfly specimen Ranen had touched. And Ranen, who understood this, was the only one present who could save him.

—-

[As expected, Ranen finally stepped in. What a pity, I wanted to see the troublemakers get beaten up.]

[Of course he stepped in. Ye Ye Hao was too cunning before, deliberately striking up a conversation with Ranen. If Ranen didn’t step in, he would’ve been seen as being in cahoots with those scammers.]

[Lol, Ranen probably noticed something was off as soon as he walked in, but since Ye Ye Hao messed with him, he deliberately waited until the players got beaten up.]

[Ranen: Noted in my little book.]

[Ranen: I always get revenge on the spot!]

[Am I the only one curious about why Ranen came here? It feels like Ye Ye Hao and the others stumbled into a dungeon storyline! Maybe they’ll trigger a hidden quest?]

—-

Ye Ye Hao and Baba thought the same. After all, in their eyes, Ranen’s identity was so mysterious that solving a simple novice village quest shouldn’t have been a problem for him.

So why didn’t he say anything earlier…? It must’ve been because he saw through their scam and was annoyed that Ye Ye Hao dragged him into it!

But thinking about how Ranen must have his own reasons for coming here, they figured that even if he was annoyed, he would still go through with his plan.

As if to confirm their thoughts, Ranen looked up and pointed to the butterfly specimen beside him, saying, “This is the reason he ended up in his current state.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the players’ long-awaited prompt sounded in their ears.

[Bonus Pool Quest—“The Butterfly Chaser” has been activated.

Content: Strange butterfly specimens have suddenly appeared at the gathering, being bought and sold, and quickly changing hands due to the owner’s death… The number of butterfly chasers is increasing. Before the butterfly flies away, please investigate the whole story.

Requirements: After the task time ends, the bonus will be distributed based on the importance of the clues submitted by each player. A fee of 50 Western Dollars is required to accept the task.

Current remaining task time: 48:45:50]

With the system notification sound ringing in each player’s ear, the forum instantly became lively.

Of course, nothing compared to the excitement of the people directly involved. At this moment, the three players were all staring intensely at Ranen, their gazes predatory and fierce.

The bonus pool quest! Whoever finds the key information will walk away with the most rewards. This was a rare opportunity to gain an advantage over other players, and now the clue to starting the task was right in front of them!

Ranen was somewhat surprised by the notification he heard. Of course, he couldn’t accept the task, but just receiving the notification was enough. It meant he could keep track of the players’ movements at any time!

Of course, now was not the time to ponder this, because after the system notification appeared, the three cunning players’ gazes towards him had become quite intense.

—-

[Bonus pool quest… To some extent, the rewards are even richer than hidden tasks!]

[Ugh, I’m so envious, these three crafty players are so lucky!]

[As expected, sticking close to Ranen is the way to go! He must be the central main character of the game!]

—-

Although the three players didn’t speak, and Ranen didn’t see the increasingly sycophantic live stream comments, he somehow understood from their expressions what they were not saying.

He was momentarily speechless.

How does he know that what he said casually actually turned into a bonus pool quest.

Honestly, Ranen had only come out to make a little extra money, and meeting the players was purely coincidental. Of course, he didn’t intend to have them get beaten up. It was just that with so many butterfly specimens in the room, it took him a bit of time to find what he needed.

As for why recognizing the weakness of the man in front of him was related to the butterfly specimen… it’s quite a coincidence because the information about this butterfly specimen was also very famous on forums in his previous life.

The players, along with the woman and the three siblings, actively approached the butterfly specimen Ranen pointed out and examined it closely.

At first glance, this butterfly specimen looked no different from the others. If anything, its wings were extraordinarily vivid in color—the black was an extremely deep black, the red was a blood-like dark red, and the red patterns, resembling blood veins, were spread across the dark color, forming an eye-like shape.

[Scouting: Failure]

[Intuition: Success]

[Intuition: Failure]

Among the three players, only Ye Ye Hao’s intuition succeeded. He looked at the butterfly specimen, and the patterns on the wings seemed to come alive. The eye-like patterns rotated and actually looked toward Ranen as if they were real eyeballs.

“Ah!” The onlooking Ye Ye Hao was startled, his heart rate instantly spiking to 100. He pointed at the butterfly specimen and shouted, “It’s alive!”

The crowd was startled and quickly looked at the butterfly specimen, but saw no unusual movements from it, and they looked at Ye Ye Hao in confusion.

The other two players and Ranen were not overly surprised because the players knew that Ye Ye Hao might not have been mistaken; rather, it was likely that he was the only one whose intuition succeeded. Ranen knew that Ye Ye Hao was right—the butterfly specimen was indeed alive.

Ranen glanced at the man who was staring intently at them and said, “Let’s move to another room.”

So the group relocated to an empty room next door. Ranen didn’t hold back and calmly asked, “Have you ever heard of the Soul-Eating Butterfly?”

“Soul-Eating Butterfly?” The three siblings murmured, each furrowing their brows in deep thought. The woman hesitated for a moment before saying, “I think I’ve come across that term in some book… But isn’t it just a legend?”

“Of course not. The Soul-Eating Butterfly only appears in special regions, feeding on human vitality and souls. Even… would not dare to provoke them lightly.”

Ranen continued, sharing information that was no longer a secret in his previous life but was still incredibly new to the players: “The most terrifying thing about them is their immortality. According to legend, this type of butterfly ages every ten years. Before they die, they go to a special place to sleep. While they sleep, their wings remain as bright and vibrant as when they were alive, but they lose all signs of life, appearing just like a specimen.”

“But in reality, they are not dead; they are simply waiting for the right moment to emerge from their cocoon again. Human vitality and souls become the nutrients that allow them to recover. Once they complete this process of being reborn from death, the Soul-Eating Butterfly returns to its clan, fully revived.”

In his previous life, players had to achieve significant successes at the Kamui tribe’s archives or in Arkham City’s library to find this information in ancient texts. Now, Ranen revealed it directly.

“How could such a cheat-like creature exist in this world?” The three siblings were stunned.

Of course, they exist, Ranen thought. In the game, the Soul-Eating Butterfly is classified as an A-level anomaly.

Once something reaches the A-level, it can’t be judged by common sense. These creatures are usually extremely difficult to kill, unless they encounter a stronger anomaly. Even players who encounter A-level anomalies can only avoid them or use items to temporarily drive them away. In fact, up until Ranen’s transmigration, no player had ever been able to confront them head-on.

Ranen smiled, glanced at the players, and then, with a thought, said, “Although the Soul-Eating Butterfly specimen is very dangerous, it is also one of the core ingredients for a certain important potion, and it’s extremely rare.”

In the later stages, obtaining butterfly powder from the Soul-Eating Butterfly would be nearly impossible. In terms of attack power, the Soul-Eating Butterfly isn’t as terrifying as other A-level anomalies, but the tricky part is that they always appear in swarms. When their numbers exceed 1,000, the weaker evil gods have to retreat.

At this point in his previous life, no player understood its value. It wasn’t until much later, during a certain instance quest, that they realized just how rare the Soul-Eating Butterfly specimen was. This involved the extremely important Dreamwalking Potion, which was a shortcut to smuggling into the Dream World.

The three players were stunned for a second before Baba Hao was the first to react, turning and rushing into the room, followed by a cry of joy.

Ranen smiled again. “Looks like they’ve figured out its value.”

The woman and the three siblings hesitantly looked at Ranen. They had no intention of fighting over the specimen. In fact, they were so furious that this butterfly specimen had nearly harmed their relative that they wanted nothing more than to destroy it. They were simply surprised by Ranen’s generosity.

His generosity was not just about his indifference to the valuable potion ingredient but also his willingness to share the knowledge that the Soul-Eating Butterfly could be used in potion-making. For them, as a lineage with a long tradition of apothecary practices, this knowledge was far more precious than just a mere magical ingredient.

Even they could only find sparse mentions of the Soul-Eating Butterfly in ancient texts, yet Ranen could casually speak of it as if it were common knowledge, and he didn’t even seem to care. Who exactly was he?

At that moment, Ranen wasn’t paying attention to the complicated looks the woman and the siblings were giving him. He was focused on trying to recall the details of this quest.

As for the Soul-Eating Butterfly, that precious potion ingredient… To be honest, when Ranen first recognized it, he was quite tempted. This temptation stemmed primarily from the player’s instinctual urge to collect things. But then he thought, what use did he have for this potion ingredient?

Make the Dreamwalking Potion? The reason this potion was so valuable to players was that it allowed them to sneak into the other world—a special instance in the game with the highest level and the best rewards. Although it was filled with treasures, it was also incredibly dangerous. Each trip there was essentially trading one’s life for attribute points and rare items.

If he were still a player, he certainly wouldn’t shy away from risking his life for wealth. But now, he only had one life to get through this game, so why would he put himself in danger by going to such a perilous place?

Ranen’s current goal was simply to live well in this world. Ideally, he hoped to open a Psychotherapy Room and return to his old profession.

But then again, now that he had directly explained the use of the butterfly specimen, would that cause the quest to end prematurely?

Just as Ranen had this thought, a sudden loud crash came from the adjacent room.

Ranen was startled and exchanged a glance with the woman and the three siblings before quickly heading next door. Upon opening the door, they were met with a room filled with thick smoke. The two brothers leading the way inhaled the smoke and immediately turned pale, quickly warning the others, “No, it’s knockout gas!”

The situation inside the room was hard to make out, but they could vaguely see four figures. Three of them were already collapsed on the ground, while the only one still standing quickly ran toward the window. The woman’s expression changed, and despite the threat of the gas, she rushed forward and grabbed the person tightly.

The three siblings followed suit, but seeing that the situation was unfavorable, the person used a dagger to cut through the collar being held by the woman. With a ripping sound, the person unhesitatingly jumped out of the second-story window.

The two brothers wanted to give chase, but their bodies had weakened due to the inhaled gas. Ranen approached the window and watched as the figure disappeared around the corner, narrowing his eyes when he spotted a poker card tattoo on the person’s back.

The effects of the gas didn’t last long, especially on the Kamui clan members, who were the true masters of pharmacology. Years of exposure and ingestion of various herbs had given their bodies natural resistance. While the players were still struggling to get up, the three siblings and the woman, who had inhaled the knockout gas moments ago, had mostly recovered.

Baba Hao opened her eyes, feeling a bit dazed. “Just now… that person…”

“They got away, probably took the Soul-Eating Butterfly specimen.”

Ranen stood with a grim expression in front of the display wall, where one specimen was now missing. At that moment, the man who had been lying motionless on the bed suddenly moved. His emaciated throat emitted a howl that didn’t sound human, like a wail from the depths of hell. His limbs convulsed, as if a will not belonging to his frail body had descended upon him, driving him madly towards the window.

The three siblings struggled to hold him down, nearly being overpowered. Logically, a person this weak shouldn’t possess such strength, yet the three young and strong siblings almost couldn’t restrain him.

Ranen turned around and was about to step forward to help but suddenly froze in his tracks.

A ribbon of iridescent light appeared, floating from the man’s body and faintly connecting to somewhere outside the window. The light was multicolored, and the vague, painful face of a man began to emerge within it.

What is this?

Ranen hesitantly looked at the ribbon of light but noticed that neither the players nor Kamui’s people had any reaction.

They can’t see it?

With the help of the players, the three siblings finally managed to tie the man to the bed. However, upon closer inspection, the strength he had just displayed seemed like the final burst of energy before death, as his condition visibly deteriorated at an alarming rate.

Ranen recalled the characteristics of the Soul-Eating Butterfly. These creatures fed on human vitality and souls, using the patterns on their wings to lure humans into keeping them nearby, becoming hopelessly addicted, much like being hooked on opium. If the connection was severed early on, there might be a chance for recovery. However, once it reached the late stage, even if the butterfly specimen was removed, the person would still gradually weaken and die.

Unless the butterfly specimen was destroyed, it was essentially a death sentence.

But the butterfly specimen had just been taken away, and judging by how quickly the man was weakening, it was likely already too late.

The others present had also noticed this. The woman pulled the three siblings to their feet, and before Ranen could react, they all knelt down in front of him in unison.

Ranen was startled. “What are you doing…”

“Please, save him, we beg you,” the woman pleaded, tears streaming down her face. Following the highest custom of the Kamui people, she placed her forehead on the back of her hand and prostrated herself on the ground. Ranen tried to pull her up, but she wouldn’t budge.

The three siblings also knelt on the ground alongside their mother. The youngest sister lifted her head, her large, round eyes brimming with tears, filled with a desperate plea.

Seeing those eyes, the words of refusal that Ranen had intended to say got caught in his throat, unable to come out.

He understood the despair of watching a loved one weaken before your eyes, feeling utterly powerless to help.

The players stood quietly to the side, as even the most unruly among them knew better than to cause trouble in front of children who were about to lose a loved one.

After a long silence, Ranen finally spoke. “I can try, but you shouldn’t get your hopes up too high.”

Ranen then ushered the players, the woman, and the three siblings out of the room, leaving only himself and the man alone inside.

The woman and her children couldn’t help but pace anxiously outside the door, occasionally staring at it. If not for the presence of the three players, they likely would have already tried to eavesdrop on what was happening inside.

It wasn’t that they didn’t trust Ranen; they were just deeply worried about their loved one. 

In contrast, the players were much more relaxed. As soon as Ranen stepped in to help, they knew there wouldn’t be any real danger. Now, they were casually bragging about it on the forums. After all, Ranen is an evil god—what could he possibly not be able to handle?

—-

Ranen looked at the weakened Kamui man on the bed, his face full of worry.

Although he had promised to help, he honestly had no idea how to proceed.

He looked at the ribbon of light emanating from the man and remembered the discussions on the forum in his previous life about the Soul-Eating Butterfly’s mental control. Could it be that this ribbon of light was like a feeding tube, delivering nourishment to the butterfly?

Ranen tried waving his hand through the light but, as expected, touched nothing. If he weren’t a psychologist and sure he wasn’t losing his mind, he might have considered giving himself a psychological analysis.

He glanced again at the man’s intense focus on the window and realized that his mind was still under the butterfly’s control, completely ignoring Ranen.

To be honest, Ranen was tempted to give up. After all, he was here just for the consultation fee—why risk his life for 400 Western Dollars?

But as soon as the thought of giving up crossed his mind, he remembered the tearful and desperate gaze of the youngest sister.

Ranen sighed and decided to try a little harder.

He looked around, rummaging through the plants and specimens, and managed to find a few useful items. Based on his somewhat hazy memory, he arranged them around the man and then drew a circular array on the bed with a charcoal pencil.

In his previous life, NPCs in the game seemed to have special templates. The versions kept changing, but players’ growth always lagged behind the NPCs’. However, players had their unique methods.

One such method was communicating with the evil gods through a forbidden ritual magic that involved sacrificing organs/lifespan/attribute points to gain explosive power.

This was considered one of the most forbidden of all forbidden magic by the Inspection Bureau, and due to its cruelty, it was sealed in the archives by the high-ranking officials. But how did this top-secret magic end up on the player forums? It all started with the unruly players who maxed out their [Skillful Hands] and [Disguise] skills.

From that day forward, the evil gods were subjected to the ruthless harassment of the players.

After all, players weren’t afraid of death—if they failed, they could just reload and try again the next day.

What’s the fourth calamity? (Thunderous voice)

Ranen, of course, knew this magic in his previous life. He was so skilled at it that he could recite the steps from memory, so even without a system now, he could perform it quite accurately.

He arranged several common core materials and crystals in fixed positions, but when it came time to recite the prayer, Ranen hesitated.

It wasn’t that Ranen was faltering under pressure, but he was unsure which evil god to offer the sacrifice to.

Evil gods had vastly different personalities. Some were straightforward in granting power but demanded organs, while others might grant power if they were in a good mood, but if they were displeased, they might turn the sacrificer into a monstrous minion. It was akin to opening a mystery box.

The ritual magic had a fixed process; the main difference was in the prayer, which determined the specific evil god it was directed at. While Ranen was still agonizing over which evil god to target, the charcoal he was using to draw the ritual began to emit a fluorescent glow.

Ranen was stunned—He hasn’t even started reciting the prayer yet, so why is it activating?

This isn’t right!

What Ranen didn’t know was that ritual magic, to some extent, established a communication channel with the evil gods. It could also be understood as a signal point to attract the attention of an evil god.

When a sacrificer used the signal point, it would direct the prayer to a specific evil god.

However, if an evil god used it, it would spontaneously connect with nearby worshippers.

—-

The man lying on the bed, Kamui, felt as though he had been trapped in a nightmare he could not wake from.

He had not been completely unconscious these past few days, but rather existed in a state of dazed stupor, his mind and vision consumed by the black-red butterfly. The strange patterns appeared before his eyes like a kaleidoscope, displaying various beautiful designs that occupied his entire being.

So beautiful, so beautiful.

As Kamui’s body grew weaker, the small will to survive within him fought a final, desperate battle against his increasingly addicted mind, but it was gradually suppressed by his deteriorating spirit.

Until now.

Just as Kamui’s life weakened to the point of being a flickering candle in the wind, with even his soul on the verge of being completely drained, a sudden glow appeared deep in his mind. It connected from one point to another, forming a circle, and gradually took shape as the lines of a magic array.

As the array took form, Kamui’s previously scattered will began to reassemble. He heard a voice:

“What is your desire?”

His long-weakened spirit was too drained to react.

“What is your desire?”

Summoning the last of his strength, Kamui managed to form a single thought:

“To…to live…to survive…”

The voice paused:

“Granted.”

The image of the butterfly in Kamui’s mind was suddenly expelled, replaced by the imprint of the magic array that Ranen had drawn.

In the real world, Ranen was still staring at the array, uncertain whether to continue or not. Just then, he noticed that the ribbon of light that had been hovering over the man was beginning to disappear.

Under Ranen’s shocked gaze, Kamui slowly opened his eyes, still dazed. He was incredibly weak, having been reduced to a frail, almost unrecognizable form after breaking free from the control of the Soul-Eating Butterfly. However, the moment he woke up, his eyes locked onto Ranen with intense fervor and reverence, unable to look away.