With a mysterious smile, Bo Ting quickly immersed himself.
“Hmm, first, exchange for some game coins.”
Help Upstart Bro test the gaming features.
Bo Ting scanned at the self-service machine and exchanged quickly. He even forgot about the revenge-seeker.
Happily, shark head bobbing through the crowd.
After repositioning, the Copper Splitter, no matter how impatient, had to turn direction and head to Kaka Road based on Bo Ting’s new location.
The massive gaming mall loomed before it.
The Copper Splitter tugged its robe. As soon as it entered, someone handed it a flyer with a wink.
“Bro, aren’t you hot in that robe?”
“Cosplaying what?”
The Copper Splitter: …?
These foolish humans.
It walked past the flyer guy expressionlessly.
The Copper Splitter scanned the mall, sensing the “human” was inside the game hall.
But precise location failed in the lobby; even it couldn’t pinpoint which floor.
Whatever.
Just control a human and ask.
The Copper Splitter turned to the front desk ahead.
“Did anyone come in half an hour ago?”
“Which floor did they go to?”
Front desk: …
Who asked questions like that?
As Mengjia City’s biggest gaming paradise, even on weekdays, the mall was packed.
Let alone half an hour—even a minute ago, people had entered.
The front desk girl, upholding friendly service, smiled and suggested.
“Sir, if you’re looking for someone, you could call them to ask, or provide more specific information so I can check for you?”
The Copper Splitter had only clashed with that human online and hadn’t probed their information in reality yet. At this moment, its expression darkened.
Even stranger, this was already the second time. This human showed no reaction to its erosion?
The front desk girl only saw the strange man across from her change his expression as he spoke, and she couldn’t help but mutter to herself inwardly.
Was he a lunatic or something?
Her hand had already subconsciously rested on the alarm button.
Fortunately, seeing that she couldn’t provide an answer,
the man in the long robe gave her a deep look before turning and heading upstairs.
The front desk girl let out a sigh of relief. She didn’t react until he had left, then immediately called the manager to report it.
The noise upstairs grew even louder, with boisterous human voices mixed with the electronic beats of human technology, making the Copper Splitter extremely impatient.
Its gaze swept over one human after another standing in front of the game machines, trying to identify the target.
But one after another, they were all ordinary humans, without a trace of anything special.
Bo Ting had just finished a round of a game and given Upstart Bro some feedback. He was just about to head to the next machine.
The next second, however, he suddenly spotted an odd figure in the crowd.
Hmm.
The man stood out as strange because, amid a group of people seriously playing games, he simply didn’t fit in.
His eyes darted around, as if searching for someone.
No.
Bo Ting grew alert.
Wait, could he be here for me?
He suddenly recalled what Upstart Bro had said about that thieving hacker preparing to PK him offline.
Bo Ting thought thoughtfully: Could this be the guy?
He did look rather suspicious, like he could pass for some fake evil god.
He frowned slightly and instinctively wanted to call the Population Census Office.
But then he hesitated, worried about what if he was wrong?
Wouldn’t that be wronging an innocent person?
And… cough, what if there was punishment for false reports?
Bo Ting mulled it over in his mind and decided he needed to test the man first.
After exchanging for a few more game coins, he mustered his courage and walked toward the man in the long robe.
The Copper Splitter had already been preparing to head to the next floor. It turned toward the staircase.
Just then, it heard someone ask, “Bro, you wanna play this game machine?”
It turned around with a grim face, about to say “No,” when it was momentarily stunned by the oncoming shark head.
What kind of lunatic was this?
A blue, fluffy shark head appeared before it, looking extremely out of place.
For some reason, the Copper Splitter felt increasingly uncomfortable the more it looked at that shark head.
It even gave off a bit of the uncanny valley vibe humans felt?
Could this be a weird item?
Its gaze turned eerie for a moment as it looked at the approaching human, instantly suspecting their identity.
Their eyes met, and man and anomaly both held back.
Bo Ting thought there were too many people here for a move, so he pointed ahead.
“There’s a restroom over there. Let’s talk there.”
The Copper Splitter didn’t care about such things, but there were indeed too many people. If a big commotion broke out, the Resurgence Management Office would show up soon.
It didn’t object this time.
In the instant it turned, frenzied erosion silently enveloped the shark head.
A cold smile crept across the Copper Splitter’s golden face beneath its robe.
It began to slowly corrupt the oblivious human before it.
Daring to steal its money.
Truly courting death.
Muddled murmurs blended with the pulsating music. As Bo Ting walked, he felt like he had misheard something and shook his head slightly.
This undoubtedly pleased the Copper Splitter.
Its erosion had already begun to control this ignorant and audacious human.
Did he think a weird item on his head could fool it?
Just a mere human.
The Copper Splitter couldn’t fathom where this one got the guts to touch its things.
Had he just become an Ability User and knew nothing?
Clusters of malice spread, and even before reaching the restroom, the Copper Splitter had already foreseen the fate of the one beside it.
His face would twist.
Soon, his head would split with pain, his body mutating.
That was the price of gazing upon it.
How could a god be like a mere human?
A smug smile played at its lips.
The Copper Splitter could already imagine, after dealing with this trash, enjoying a delightful holiday eroding some humans in Mengjia City before leaving.
Rounding the corner, the two finally reached the restroom.
The distant restroom was completely different from the lively hall opposite.
The surrounding music finally faded.
Bo Ting let out a breath of relief. Any louder and he felt like he might start humming along.
He had no idea what was up with this guy—did he carry a speaker around while out playing?
Bo Ting hadn’t noticed at all that the disordered murmurs had appeared directly in his mind. He thought the other guy had brought a mini speaker.
He turned his head and walked to the sink ahead, pondering how to confirm the man’s identity.
Just straight-up ask about the one million and see his reaction?
Would that be too direct?
Bo Ting turned on the faucet and, without thinking, glanced into the mirror.
“Bro, you’re not from Mengjia City, are you?”
The Copper Splitter: …
Chattering on even at death’s door. But it could indulge him and appreciate his terrified expression before dying.
The anomalous god, which usually disdained speaking to humans, spoke indifferently.
“No.”
It looked maliciously at the shark head by the sink, its tone teasing.
“Guess where I’m from?”
In the silent, empty restroom, the eerie question would have scared anyone else witless.
But Bo Ting was here to expose a fake today. Without thinking, he blurted out upon hearing this,
“Lena City.”
The Copper Splitter: …
How did this damned human know?
A flicker of suspicion passed through its eyes, and it sneered.
“Indeed, Lena City.”
By the last sentence, its voice was no longer human speech but echoed alongside the murmurs in his mind.
It became an invisible hand, brutally twisting the human’s brain.
The Copper Splitter’s form began to blur and expand illusorily, its human-like appearance turning into a bizarre copper statue.
And just as layers of copper dust spread across its face,
Bo Ting suddenly clapped his palm, realization dawning.
Lena City—it had to be!
Upstart Bro had told him that morning the hacker’s IP was from Lena City.
Now this strange robed man said he was from Lena City. It matched perfectly!
Looks like it really was him!
Taking a deep breath, Bo Ting turned his head, only to see the robed man across from him staring oddly… at his head?
Huh?
Was something wrong with his headpiece?
The Copper Splitter was somewhat surprised.
No blood flowed from beneath that shark plush…
This human wasn’t dead yet?
Indeed suspicious, no wonder he could steal its money.
Unwilling to believe it, it looked at his head again.
But Bo Ting’s fluffy head turned back in confusion, showing no sign of discomfort.
The Copper Splitter’s form paused slightly. As an anomalous god, this was the first time it encountered a situation where it couldn’t kill.
Something was off.
It stepped back.
“You’re not human?”
Humans naturally felt chaos in the presence of an anomalous god. Yet the one opposite showed none.
Only one possibility—he wasn’t human?
Bo Ting jolted in shock.
He hadn’t expected such a line out of nowhere during his probing.
Wait, did the guy know he was an air conditioner?
Had he been staring at his head earlier to see the real body under the hood?
What to do, what to do?
No, he absolutely couldn’t admit it.
In a flash, Bo Ting denied it vehemently.
“How could that be!”
“I’m human!”
“Can’t you tell?”
The shark head tilted weirdly, amplifying the uncanny feeling.
The Copper Splitter was now convinced there was an indescribable face under that shark head.
Its expression darkened. It hadn’t expected to encounter a kindred spirit.
Man and anomaly faced off across the space.
The Copper Splitter narrowed its eyes. Realizing it couldn’t twist and burst the other’s brain, it shifted targets to the shark head.
It would see just what lurked beneath this fellow pretender’s doll.
The grotesque, toothy shark grinned slightly, as if mocking it, igniting a nameless rage of being looked down upon.
Intense malice and desire erupted.
Before it even realized, the Copper Splitter warped the air and yanked off the headpiece.
It opened its copper eyes.
The next second, the air froze. As a smile crept onto the Copper Splitter’s lips,
it beheld an even more horrifying sight that triggered its uncanny valley response—a human face.
