Lynn gazed at him with morbid cruelty, the chainsaw in his hand madly tearing through his skin, flesh, and muscles.

"Because in this godforsaken place, if you don't become a monster, you can't take a single step forward!"

"Ahhh!!!"

Accompanied by that piercing scream, his massive body was gradually lifted off the ground.

The wildly dancing tentacles emitted bursts of screeching.

In the distance, Bai Yi, who was hanging from the flagpole, watched this scene with shock and a pale face, watching that monster who had just been suppressing him now being pulled into the air like a piece of meat waiting to be slaughtered.

And he finally understood just how terrifying his Big Brother truly was.

Indeed!

To survive in this world, you absolutely must adapt!

You must transform into a Calamity! Arm yourself with all kinds of power! Even if that turns you into a malevolent ghost wearing human skin, as long as you can truly survive...

That itself is a kind of happiness!

Squelch—

With a loud sound of tearing flesh amidst the roar of the chainsaw, the monster was cleanly bisected on the spot by Lynn.

Crimson blood droplets splattered across Lynn's eyes.

As the monster let out a hysterical, agonizing howl, Lynn reached out and seized his neck.

Squinting, he said, "A cruel and indifferent father, a butcher wielding a slaughtering blade, a devil wearing a mask—is this the image you presented in your daughter's eyes?"

"I must say, this is quite interesting!"

Buzz—

Instantly, his pitch-black left eye sharply focused.

Camell immediately felt an icy, bone-chilling curse spreading from that eyeball throughout his entire body.

Under his trembling gaze, his head began to melt.

That intense pain and the cold sensation of dissolution made him let out one final, skyward howl as he melted.

Splash—

Countless flesh and blood transformed into viscous fluid that fell to the ground, bubbling and emitting smoke.

A System prompt sounded in Lynn's ears.

[Ding! You have completed the mission: The Masked Camell! You have received 1000 base experience, 500 Skeleton Coins, and a special reward: The Witch's Veil!]

[The Witch's Veil]

[Quality]: Cursed Object

[Ability]: Resists burning.

[Introduction]: A veil from a shaman who was executed by burning at the stake. Before the witch-hunting cross, the blazing flames consumed that witch, and this veil, removed by her beloved just before execution, became the very noose that personally sent her to ashes.

Splash—

Half of Camell's body, nearly completely melted, dropped onto the floor.

Lynn retracted all his tentacles and bio-armor, slowly landing on the ground.

Click, click—

The head with its features completely melted slowly moved its molten lips, emitting ghost-like murmurs.

"You... why... not... kill me..."

Lynn picked up his head, gave a light laugh, adjusted his Monocle, and said:

"Ah, because you are my second Medicinal Ingredient. If I kill you, how will I treat your daughter's illness?"

He casually tossed it to Zuo Zuo for temporary storage.

Then his gaze fell upon that towering spire.

He turned his head, raised a hand in a beckoning gesture toward Bai Yi, who was still hanging from the flagpole and almost dumbstruck, and smiled as he signaled:

"Fellow countryman, it might still be very dangerous next, so just hang there for a while. After I finish seeing my patient, I'll come get you down."

Bai Yi was utterly stunned.

He immediately put his hands to his mouth and shouted, "Big Brother, be careful! You must come out alive!!"

He knew that right now, he couldn't help Big Brother at all and might even distract him.

But he believed in Big Brother's strength.

Because this was a senior who had managed to survive in this different world for so long without dying!

...

Outside the castle.

The Doll Mistress pressed down on her sunhat, gazing toward the castle's spire, and blinked as she said:

"It seems your Disciple has won. That aura just now, if I'm not mistaken, seems to be one of those cutting-edge creations from your Demonkin Association, doesn't it?"

Bloodsaw thoughtfully hefted his chainsaw and said, "Probably spoils from after he destroyed the Association. But I'm also a bit puzzled—how did he use those creations? Logically, those kinds of biological weapons require strict and precise pairing..."

The Doll Mistress glanced at him and said:

"Hey, tell me the truth. In your hands, he probably hasn't been that ordinary human from two years ago for a long time now, has he?"

Bloodsaw rubbed his chin and said, "How to put it... Once, a customer dug out his heart, so I reluctantly performed a minor surgery on him... He said he was very happy..."

"..."

...

The spire.

Lynn carried his chainsaw on his back, step by step ascending the spiral staircase upward.

The further he went, the stronger the intense gloom and bloody smell became.

It was as if someone had once conducted a meticulously planned slaughter here, dismembering some creature piece by piece, cut by cut.

Finally.

A decayed wooden door appeared before Lynn. The chains on it bore mottled rust stains, and one could faintly make out dim, bloody handprints one after another.

"Alice."

Lynn wore a smile on his face.

"You've watched the splendid drama too, haven't you? Since you didn't come out to stop it, that means you also very much wished for someone to do these things for you."

A cruel and tyrannical father.

A malicious mother who let her daughter endure hunger.

A brother who sadistically and morbidly tortured his own sister.

Locked in a cage in a high tower for years, enduring inhuman abuse and torment—is this your experience from when you were alive?

Facing cold indifference, suffering cruel torture and murder, being dismembered piece by piece—the hatred in your heart with nowhere to vent. Even after becoming a malevolent ghost, even after falling into this Dark World.

Is it still an irresistible craving to yearn for a Happy Home?

Creak—

The decayed door slowly opened.

A foul, rotten stench mixed with the smell of blood surged out from the darkness within.

And Lynn saw the scene inside.

A massive iron hook descended from above, and a small, rusty cage, only about one meter in size, hung from that iron hook.

It felt like being instantly transported back to a long time ago.

The walls were splattered with crimson bloodstains;

the surroundings were everywhere covered in filthy, sticky mixtures of excrement and blood.

Compared to the luxurious decorations inside the castle, this place was simply hell.

And at this moment.

Standing in front of that cage was a little girl wearing a snow-white dress. Her entire pale form stood in stark contrast to the surrounding dark, foul environment.

The little girl had her back to him, her skin covered densely with crack after crack.

Maintaining a calm smile on his face, Lynn adjusted his glasses and said:

"Miss Alice, let me introduce myself again. I am the doctor you hired, Lynn."

"Pleased to be of service."

[Ding! You have triggered a special mission: Cure and Annihilate!]