He A'd It

The intense spiritual contamination left Luo Wei instantly paralyzed.

He gritted his teeth, helplessly watching as the twisted entity before him slowly inched closer.

"Brother..."

"Why did you betray me?"

"What did Helena do wrong?"

Her voice remained shrill and bizarre, unlike any sound a human organ could produce.

"So, everything I did was useless after all..."

"I should just kill you, brother. As long as... as long as we can be together forever..."

"That would be nice, so nice..."

Countless pitch-black tentacles wrapped around Luo Wei's limbs, as if threatening to devour him.

[Sanity Check...]

In games, a sanity check involves rolling dice to test attributes and luck.

In reality, it manifested as Luo Wei's fierce mental struggle.

This time, he was on the verge of failure.

It felt as if something snapped in Luo Wei's mind. The powerful mental impact nearly made him lose consciousness, his eyes gradually becoming lifeless.

His arms fell limply, the vial dropping to the ground, its contents splashing onto the tentacles beneath Helena's skirt.

Although the suppression drug was largely ineffective against this level of alien creature,

Helena's contamination level still decreased slightly.

In that instant, Luo Wei's thoughts finally regained a bit of clarity.

Thankfully, thankfully he had that vial of medicine. Luo Wei was immensely grateful for his earlier decision.

He stared intently at the twisted being before him.

[Negotiation/Pacification (Master)]

[0:00:00]

The skill cooldown had ended. He seized this fleeting opportunity and unhesitatingly used it on Helena.

In a flash, it was as if a flood of unknown and complex knowledge poured into his mind. Luo Wei's entire mental state became calmer and more composed.

As a master negotiator, to persuade the other party, one must first have a stronger psychological advantage.

This holds true even when facing twisted monsters.

Who would have thought this skill would become an unexpected tool to combat the spiritual pollution of evil entities? It was truly a pleasant surprise.

Amidst the countless tentacles, Helena's bloodshot eyes suddenly revealed a hint of confusion.

Because she found that even in this situation, her brother showed not a trace of fear, but was smiling instead.

That calm smile made her feel annoyed.

"What are you smiling at, brother?"

"Are you mocking me?"

The tentacles began to exert force, making terrifying sounds on Luo Wei's limbs. He was about to be dislocated.

But Luo Wei continued to gaze at her impassively.

"I am indeed mocking you, Helena."

"What?" Helena's eyes widened menacingly, her entire face twisting into something horrifying.

"I just want to ask you sincerely," Luo Wei said calmly. "Aren't you just running away by doing this?"

"Running away from what?" Helena was stumped by his question. "What are you talking about?"

It must be the effect of [Negotiation/Pacification]. Helena actually listened. If it were like before, Luo Wei would have certainly been killed by her already.

He inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

But he didn't show it on his face. Luo Wei continued smiling calmly.

"You want to kill me? You think this way you can have me? What kind of logic is that? Aren't you just running away by doing this?"

"You're so afraid they'll take me away from you. It shows you're a loser, the most pathetic and unfortunate loser, a pitiful creature curled up under the bed with your eyes covered."

Luo Wei chuckled lightly, his smile making Helena even angrier.

"What!?"

Her face became ferocious and terrifying.

"I'm a loser? No! I'm not a loser! I got you, I got everything I wanted. They all lost! I'm the happiest person!!"

"Hehe, yeah right." Luo Wei's smile became more sympathetic as he looked Helena up and down, as if regarding a blustering but cowardly wretch.

"Can you tell me, what is your goal? Is it just to have me? To have your brother?"

Helena sneered, "What else could it be?"

"But that's not the goal, it's just the means to achieve your goal." In this situation, Luo Wei actually started lecturing her on logic.

"Wait! Wait!" All of Helena's tentacles were involuntarily trembling. "You've confused me! What are you trying to say?"

Luo Wei chuckled, "It seems you've been lying to me, Helena. You don't read much, do you? You haven't sorted these things out."

"Sigh... As your brother, it is indeed my responsibility... It seems I need to give you some remedial lessons when we have time..."

Helena stared at him, utterly baffled.

"Huh?"

Seeing Helena's emotions wavering, the smile on Luo Wei's lips deepened.

"It seems I need to spell it out for you. All your scheming, all your racking your brains, it's not to get your brother."

"It's to grasp happiness. As you just said, Helena wants to be the happiest person."

Luo Wei gazed at her intently. He could see Helena was caught in a conflicted thought process, her expression particularly struggling.

"Haven't you ever considered another possibility, another ending to the story?"

"What ending?" Helena's mind was in complete disarray. The feeling was very strange.

She knew her brother was saying these things to buy time, or for some other purpose, but she just couldn't harden her heart to kill him outright.

As if possessed, at this moment Helena truly wanted to hear him continue. She also wanted to know what was really in her heart, what she was truly pursuing...

Luo Wei revealed that characteristic gentle smile of his.

"That little girl who once lived on the streets, hiding and running, never knowing where her next meal would come from, thin and sickly, not looking good at all..."

"Doesn't she long for her favorite brother to come home from school every day, specially preparing a table of hot dishes for her?"

"Maybe it's cream of mushroom soup, or pasta with seafood sauce from Brugge by the sea, sprinkled with some onions, or maybe that soft bread fresh from the oven like when I first met you. Mmm... just thinking about it makes my mouth water."

"If you kill me now," Luo Wei blinked, "you'll never get to enjoy that wonderful life again, you know~"

Those bloodshot red eyes were still fixed on him, but the pressure from the tentacles had imperceptibly lessened.

It meant she was listening.

Luo Wei pressed on, going straight for the heart.

"Don't you look forward to walking down Saint Callen Street on a sunny day during the holidays, going to the bustling market, happily buying a new outfit, you twirling around joyfully in a pretty little dress, or maybe your brother winning a prize and stuffing a big, big teddy bear into your arms?"

Luo Wei looked at her earnestly, even disregarding his inner revulsion to push aside those tentacles and pat her head as he used to do.

"These are things that ordinary girls your age get to experience. It's perfectly normal..."

"Because of your terrible childhood, you've never experienced these things. Brother is actually very sorry. In the past, I neglected your feelings and never did these things..."

"Your life is still very long. Wouldn't it be too much of a shame if you never got to experience all these happy things?"

"Brother will help you fulfill the wishes you couldn't fulfill before."

"Isn't that better than us becoming two cold corpses? If you die like this, what will you have won compared to those you resent?"

Luo Wei looked at her pitifully, "You've lost. You still have nothing."

"So... stop deceiving yourself. Stop continuing to lie to yourself."