Volume 2. Game Update in Progress
Because it seemed that more powerful beings existed in the Inner World, I clearly sensed that the Evil Spirit Form wanted to enter it.
Yet, it feared certain existences within.
In the end… the Evil Spirit Form gave up on entering the Inner World.
As its devouring desire was satisfied by the Goat-headed Monster, the Evil Spirit Form gradually regained control.
However, by then, my consciousness had already fallen into a nearly dazed state.
The Goat-headed Monster had devoured hundreds of souls.
The memories of those souls exploded wildly in my mind.
Countless first-person movies flashed frame by frame before my eyes.
Countless voices echoed in my ears.
Men.
Women.
Old.
Young.
Husbands.
Wives.
Children.
Parents.
The hunger of poverty.
The glory of wealth.
Countless different memories and emotions almost made me unable to distinguish who I truly was.
Even in that state, I still knew I had to return to my body.
With that little bit of remaining rationality, I returned.
I made it back to the villa and finally completely lost control.
Then came the month-long coma.
And now… here I was.
During the battle, I had tried to use the World Watch.
However, while it could be used, the moment I activated it, the Goat-headed Monster’s body became invincible.
It felt as if the whole world had paused.
I had been removed to a place outside of it.
Although I remained at the same coordinates on Earth, my body had essentially relocated somewhere else.
It felt like a transformation of multidimensional space.
Regardless of the explanation, I had survived.
As for the month-long coma, my soul had been purging countless people's memories.
Almost deleting them in chunks.
Still, even in that state, I retained a great deal of knowledge.
Now, in terms of knowledge alone, I carried the accumulated information of hundreds of people.
So many forms of knowledge had truly opened my eyes.
From the small—like which tools were most comfortable to use for carpentry—to the large—like the structure of rocket launchers or how to manufacture nuclear weapons.
Even some advanced and cutting-edge techniques.
The vast amount of knowledge made it hard to adapt all at once.
“Hoo…”
Letting out a long breath, I felt my body gradually recovering its strength.
What I needed most now was to eat something.
After all, I hadn’t eaten for a month and had just expelled a month’s worth of waste.
My body urgently needed nutrients.
I slowly raised my hand, and a black shadow separated from my palm.
The black mist formed a hand, back-to-back with mine, moving flexibly according to my will.
“The Evil Spirit Form has strengthened a lot. My control over the body is also smoother now. But… controlling the Evil Spirit Form itself has become more difficult.”
In the past, the Evil Spirit Form could remain outside the body for thirty minutes at most.
Now, that number had dropped to less than five.
It made me uncomfortable.
Thirty minutes—regardless of its strength—at least meant it was usable.
But five minutes?
I shook my head.
Forget it.
Better not to think about that for now.
Having lain in bed for a month, even though Aunt Zhao had frequently wiped me down, I hadn’t been able to bathe.
Now, I felt much more comfortable.
I moved my joints a little, rusty from the lack of motion.
Then I turned off the shower, walked to the edge of the bathtub, reached out to test the water temperature, and confirmed it was okay before sitting down beside the tub.
I had to admit—the difference between men and women was really felt at moments like this.
This sitting posture really dug into me uncomfortably.
Quickly, I changed positions and sat in the designated seating area of the bathtub.
At least that spot was flat.
Although a bit cold, it wasn’t painfully hard.
I casually pressed a nearby switch.
A seam opened along the side of the bathtub, and a waterproof touchscreen display slowly rose.
I adjusted the water temperature and massage settings.
Then I opened iQIYI and searched for The King of Pitfalls Arrives.
While watching the show, I slowly leaned back along the tub’s edge and lay down into the water.
Watching Lao Guo’s solo performance, I grabbed a milk bath packet from the drawer, scattered it into the tub, tossed the packaging aside, then leaned back onto the anti-corrosion bath pillow.
I closed my eyes and enjoyed the peace of this moment.
Although I had been in a coma for a month, my mind had been filled with all kinds of voices.
It had never been truly quiet.
As the water streamed down my back—warm and wrapping around my entire body—the comfort made me let out a moan.
“Mm~”
Hmm… that sounded kind of suggestive?
Well, whatever.
No one heard it anyway.
After a month of deep sleep, my brain wasn’t tired at all.
My body was gradually recovering its strength.
Of course, the replenishment from the Evil Spirit Form couldn’t match the speed of physical nourishment, but it was much more comprehensive.
I could even feel the slight soreness from bone extension.
The rate of growth wasn’t fast.
By my estimate, next year around May or June, when I entered high school, my height should surpass 165 cm—maybe even reach about 168 cm?
“Looks like I should clear out my wardrobe. I wonder if Aunt Zhao wants any of it. After all, it’s all name-brand stuff, and most of it is ready-to-wear. I’ve barely worn any. If sold as second-hand, it could probably fetch a hundred thousand or so…”
As for the bags… those could go too.
I wasn’t fond of feminine handbags.
I’d keep a few more gender-neutral ones.
The rest?
I’d get rid of them.
It’s not that I liked carrying bags, but now that I was a girl, I had to.
Even if I didn’t need makeup, I still had to carry things like wet wipes, sanitary pads, and such.
Handkerchiefs and tissues were must-haves too.
All in all, being a girl meant I couldn’t ignore these things.
As for makeup… me, wear makeup?
Hmm… even though I absorbed the memories of several makeup artists among those hundreds of people, watching others do makeup or putting it on them was fine.
But doing it for myself?
I was a grown man—what was the point of looking pretty?
Even if I didn’t sell much, at least it could make up for devouring the soul from Aunt Zhao’s shoulder, right?
As I thought about it, I couldn’t help wondering what to do next.
I wanted to reach for my phone to take a look, but I didn’t feel like moving.
Still, I had my own solution for moments like this.
The Evil Spirit Form’s arm detached from my physical body.
I watched my charred, emaciated arm rapidly extend.
It opened the bathroom door, entered the bedroom, grabbed the phone from the bedside table, and retracted quickly.
On the way back, it even gently closed the door so as not to wake Aunt Zhao, then brought the phone in front of me.
Though it had been a month, my phone had never been powered off.
Aunt Zhao might be timid, but she was very meticulous.
I casually flipped through it and couldn’t help but frown.
“Special mission reward… permanent mission difficulty increased, time extended? How is that a reward?”