Chapter 124: Unrealistic Ideals!

"I came to this secret realm because the last human body I possessed fell under suspicion. I was hunted down and killed right here. Afterward, I took over the body of an Emerald Ant."

Wang Chen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Then why do you want to possess me?"

"Those hunters are still searching for me. They seem to have detected my presence." The strange face's expression shifted to one of worry. "I need to seize a human body and escape this secret realm."

Wang Chen noticed that its emotions were highly unstable. It had shifted from its initial, rather twisted playfulness to a blank, wooden expression without any external trigger. He suspected this was a side-effect of its frequent possessions.

"How could they find you? Did they see you?" Wang Chen asked, probing for information.

The space he was currently in was likely some sort of mental domain. If others could see this strange face, then perhaps there was a way to escape. He wanted to coax this information out of it to find a way to free himself.

"I don't know either." The strange face returned to its wooden state. Whenever its expression changed, it was like swapping a mask, leaving no trace of transition.

"Look, every debt has its debtor. Since they're the ones hunting you and caused you to lose your body, why don't you go possess one of them instead?" Wang Chen asked tentatively.

A mocking sneer instantly appeared on the strange face. "By your logic, you also caused me to lose the body of the Mystic Abyss Toad. So of course, I can take yours."

"You can't put it that way. You attacked me out of nowhere, and I was forced to defend myself. I accidentally crippled the toad—you can't blame me for that, can you?" Wang Chen argued.

The strange face swayed from side to side. "Attacking you wasn't without reason. That area-of-effect skill of yours killed too many beasts. The path you walked left behind a virtual vacuum of monsters. If I let you keep slaughtering them, I might not have any beasts left to possess. That's why I had to stop you."

Wang Chen scoffed, "This forest is massive. How could I possibly kill them all?"

"A few every day, like you did today, and it wouldn't take more than a few months to wipe out all the smaller beasts," the face said blankly.

"I'm not some psychotic hunter. Why would I kill that many?" Wang Chen said, exasperated. "I'll leave this secret realm once I finish leveling up. Haven't you possessed a human before? Don't you know about Class users?"

"I seem to recall something like that," a trace of contemplation crossed the strange face, "but I can't remember it clearly."

Wang Chen frowned. "When you take over someone's body, can't you inherit their memories?"

"I can," the face replied. "But it's too painful. I stopped absorbing memories a long time ago."

"Painful? Why?" Wang Chen asked, while secretly trying to activate his skills.

"Too many emotions and memories get crammed into my head. Too much joy, too much sorrow—just too much. How can humans have so many feelings? Feeling their joys, anger, grief, and happiness makes me slowly forget who I am..."

Like a theatrical mask-changer, the face flickered through a rapid succession of expressions within the span of a few sentences, as if it were recalling those bright or gloomy emotions once again.

Wang Chen focused on his palm for a long time, but he couldn't even summon a spark. It seemed this space was indeed a purely mental domain; nothing from the physical world functioned here. Even the system remained silent. He called out to it in his mind several times, but that rebellious system of his didn't respond at all.

Wang Chen's mind raced. "Look, how about we make a deal? You find a beast to possess first, and I'll find a way to take that beast out of this secret realm. Then, I'll help you deal with the people hunting you down."

The strange face stared at Wang Chen blankly for a moment. "Are you trying to save yourself? It's pointless. Now that you know of my existence, I must erase your soul." It spoke without a shred of emotion. "And as far as I know, there is no way to take a beast out of this secret realm unless one pays an immense price... If you could afford such a price, you wouldn't be trapped here by me."

Wang Chen felt utterly screwed. This bastard was the one who had appeared on its own and invited him to ask questions, and now it claimed he knew too much and had to be erased. What kind of bullshit logic was that?

But he was at a severe disadvantage. Even if he wanted to stitch this strange face into a toilet seat cover, he couldn't show it. He had to keep negotiating.

"I don't know about the price you mentioned," Wang Chen said. "But it doesn't seem that hard to me. I have a battle pet, and it can stay inside my ring's spatial storage, going anywhere with me." He suggested tentatively, "Maybe we can sign a similar contract, making you my... partner. Then, you can freely stay inside my ring's space."

"So that's how it is. I understand. Now I have a spare body. Thank you," the strange face replied, completely impervious to his persuasion.

Anxious and infuriated, Wang Chen gritted his teeth. "I advise you not to possess me. I have a lot of enemies out there. The moment you step outside, who knows how many people will be waiting to chop you to pieces."

A brief look of contemplation appeared on the strange face. "I see. In that case, I'll just have to read your memories and avoid them. How troublesome. I'll have to experience that pain again. But there's no choice; it's all to survive... Wait, why do I want to survive? I seem to have forgotten again..." the strange face muttered to itself. "Never mind, I'll think about it later."

After a moment of thought, it looked back at Wang Chen. "Since I need to read your memories, I won't have to erase your soul. And there's no need for you to ask any more questions. Goodbye," the strange face bid him farewell blankly.

It then flew toward Wang Chen. He tried to dodge and run, but the moment he turned around, the incredibly swift face caught up to him and swallowed him whole in one bite. He didn't even have time to utter a cry of alarm.

Wang Chen felt himself being consumed—not just his body, but his emotions, memories, thoughts... everything that made him who he was.

"Ah... you're an orphan. That's good. Parents are usually the quickest to notice changes in their children. Now I don't have to worry about that."

"Your grades are quite good, which means you're smart and capable of managing your emotions. Excellent, this will save me a lot of trouble when adapting to this body."

"You have a few close friends. That's a bit troublesome; I'll have to find a way to fool them. Hmm, you actually thought this girl's feelings for you were just simple friendship? What a dense human."

The strange face wantonly drained Wang Chen's memories, offering sarcastic commentary from time to time, as if the entity had reverted to its initial, twisted state of amusement.

"Oh, you're a man with dreams. But unfortunately, your dreams are nothing but a fool's fantasy. How tragic."