Xiong Ying opened his eyes. He could not see any color other than black.
He knew he wasn't blind; he was in a dream.
"When I came here before, it was pure white, with only that twisted thing appearing dark. Now it's like this... I really am dead, aren't I?"
Sitting up from the ground, Xiong Ying didn't feel much sadness. Although his final act of stepping forward was impulsive, he didn't regret it. He was only a little worried about his parents. Sudan Novel Network
"The afterlife is like this. It's a bit too dull."
"This is not the afterlife," a resonant voice, like a great bell, declared. The clear echo made Xiong Ying feel as if the air were vibrating.
Xiong Ying turned his head. In the darkness, he saw a beam of light. At the center of the light sat an old man with white hair and a white robe, smiling kindly at him.
When he was young, he often fantasized about such an old man bestowing him superpowers to uphold justice.
However, after the trials of the Demon Heart, he was no longer very interested in such things.
But he was familiar with this scene. Every time he saved someone before, he would see a similar scene, though back then it was a formless, twisted entity within black mist.
"Not the afterlife... then I'm not dead yet. Was I being deceived by the Demon Heart all along?"
The old man shook his head and said, "It did not deceive you. It indeed weakened with your good deeds, and your life would indeed end with its demise."
"Then what is this now..."
Xiong Ying tilted his head and asked. After truly coming to terms with his impending death, his perspective on many things had changed.
"Your body is on the verge of death, but what you have done before should be rewarded."
"The Demon Heart is destroyed, and the Hero Heart will be reborn within it. The mortal body withers, and the hero's body shall be renewed!"
"You will not come here again. Use the power of the Hero Heart to be the hero you wish to be!"
After speaking, the old man's body transformed into white light and, bit by bit, entered Xiong Ying's body.
Watching the old man's words, which sounded like a chanted poem, Xiong Ying's expression was calm. He was not moved to make vows and commitments.
He didn't want to be a hero for recognition; he wanted to be a hero because he himself desired it, which was why he acted as he did.
"No matter what you become, I only want to be myself. Don't try to arrange anything for me."
"You just need to be yourself..." With that, the old man's figure completely vanished into the air.
Xiong Ying's consciousness gradually blurred. He knew he was about to wake up.
...
After venting his malice, Wen Wen had become very zen and had decided how to face Wen Rui.
That was, if he had truly died in the car accident nine years ago, then everything that had happened before would not have existed.
And he would no longer deliberately target or avoid the 'Truth Society'; everything would proceed as usual.
Since he had returned to normal, there were some things he should do.
So, Wen Wen altered his appearance, bought a large batch of hot pot bases from the 'Find Hot Pot on the Lake' restaurant, then went to the market to buy tons of ingredients, and finally went to a mall for a major shopping spree.
After completing his purchases, Wen Wen returned to the containment facility and let all the monsters, including the jailers, enjoy a hearty hot pot meal. This made San Zai Er very happy, as it now had an endless supply of hot pot base...
Next, he began distributing various gifts such as clothes, books, small toys, and game consoles.
These monsters had helped Wen Wen greatly before, so Wen Wen generously gave them some rewards.
Each monster received a gift that Wen Wen deemed suitable, though whether it was truly suitable was a matter of opinion.
For example, for the rabbit demon Bai Xiao Mi, he bought a carrot-shaped pillow and a bunny girl cosplay outfit; for Little Red Riding Hood, he bought a pile of gun models; and he gave the broken relics stolen from the church to Pu Guang Angel...
After distributing the rewards, Wen Wen began to examine the two items he obtained from his museum visit.
A music box and a book.
Regardless of whether they were containment items or not, the value of these two items was at least equivalent to a disaster-level containment item, so Wen Wen needed to study them.
First, the unknown music box. When Wen Wen opened it, a peculiar melody emanated from within.
"Doo-loo doo-loo, doo-loo doo-loo, doo-loo doo-loo-ba-ba-ba... I'm playing in the mud in the Northeast, I have no home in the Northeast..."
"This... is way too catchy. I thought it would be something like Swan Lake."
Although the tune was peculiar, Wen Wen inexplicably found it stimulating, and he felt a slight urge to dance to the music. However, he quickly sobered up and stared vigilantly at the music box.
"That thing just tried to control me... and with considerable force, even though I'm the one using this music box."
Wen Wen dared to test containment items directly because he could unleash disaster-level strength within the containment facility at any time. Ordinary containment items were incapable of affecting him.
If someone else had opened this music box, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
To test the music box's effect, Wen Wen found the imprisoned monsters and jailers to test its efficacy.
The music box had no winding key, only an on/off switch. As soon as it was turned on, it would play that song on repeat.
All ordinary people who heard the music would instantly turn into unfeeling dancing machines, performing a bizarre dance, unable to stop no matter what happened.
If no one were to turn off the music box, they would likely dance until death.
Monsters had a certain resistance to this music, but only disaster-level beings could be completely immune, experiencing only a slight, negligible urge.
Disaster-class and calamity-class monsters, depending on their strength, could resist the urge to dance for a certain period.
However, once they started dancing, the dance would not end until the music stopped.
Therefore, for Wen Wen, this item was an interesting toy. If he had this music box during his previous pranks, he could have pulled off many elaborate tricks.
As for the other item, a book, it completely captured Wen Wen's attention.
The book was as thick as a brick, with a metal cover, imprinted with a beast-like head pattern and several indecipherable characters.
But these were not what attracted Wen Wen the most. What surprised him the most was that the book was alive!
Yes, the book was alive!
The opening and closing pages were like a sharp, gaping maw. If not slightly restrained, this thing would bite like a rabid dog.
Wen Wen tested its biting force with a pork hind leg. As a result, the thing directly swallowed the pork leg!
"This is truly... interesting!"