''Is that so?'' Ryuk replied in aposed tone, the voice of the system echoing in his mind. As he opened his inventory, his clothes adhered to him due to an auto-wear feature, clinging tightly like a symbiote merging with his skin.


    [Host, why do I feel like you just ignored me? (?ー?_?ー?゛?) ]


    ''.....'' Ryuk remained silent, choosing to disregard the system as he began to walk toward a lone survivor groaning in pain about ten meters away.


    The individualy on the charred ground, which bore no traces of blood, stark evidence ofplete devastation where lifeblood had evaporated along with those who had been reduced to ash.


    "Uurghhhh…! W-water…" Lin Feng cried out, sprawled on the scorched earth.


    His clothes and upper body were entirely burned, his flesh beginning to fester from the lingering heat that had ravaged his form.


    It was clear that his internal organs had suffered immense damage, likely to an extent that healing seemed impossible.


    ''Heal him,'' Ryukmanded inwardly as he approached Lin Feng. He looked down at the man''s battered body, which seemed beyond recovery.


    Yet, almost instantly, a green light enveloped Lin Feng, and Ryuk watched calmly as the flesh began to visibly regenerate.


    The wounds closed, the burned skin restored, and soon enough, the man waspletely healed—though now lying naked before him.


    [Healing Process Complete]


    The system sessfully restored Lin Feng to his perfect state.


    However, the damage had already been done.


    After a week of ingesting human poop, his digestive system was irrevocably harmed, leading to multiple internal infections that the system did not heal.


    While it could have solved these issues, it chose not to, considering it would be waste of it''s efforts to make him eat poop for a week.


    ''!?''


    Lin Feng''s eyes widened as he instinctively darted his gaze toward a shadow looming over him.


    Panic surged through him, and he quickly attempted to back away, but his frail body betrayed him, causing him to copse onto his knees.


    At that moment, the agony of his diarrhea paled inparison to a searing heat coursing through him, a sensation worse than anything he had ever endured.


    "Who are you?!" he managed to gasp, struggling to regain hisposure.


    Without wasting a moment, Ryuk, standing imposing and authoritative nearby, cut straight to the chase. "Tell me about Be Iliyas."n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Given that Lin Feng was the host of the Neolith Harem System and had been entrenched in the Jade Dominion from the very beginning, it was usible he held valuable information regarding the whereabouts of both Jenny and Be—information Ryuk sought.


    "B-Be!? N-no, is all of this for that woman?!" Lin Feng gasped upon hearing the name that had haunted him for months.


    His mission had been to win her heart while burdened with the low status of an outer disciple, a position that scarcely afforded him the chance to meet her, let alone impress her.


    He was constantly threatened by the system, which loomed ominously, ready to kill him if he failed.


    Everything had been challenging, nearly impossible to endure until this moment.


    Now, standing on the brink of death, he realized the entire outer pavilion was no more; everyone had been ughtered by a mysterious figure who hade to take part in trial.


    This figure was now demanding information about the same woman who had tortured Lin Feng''s mind.


    "Tell me where she and her friend Jenny are," Ryukmanded, his tone leaving no room for defiance. He had at least gleaned that Be and Jenny had forged some semnce of friendship during these few years.


    While it wasn''t a rtionship built on unquestioning trust, he believed that if he could locate any of them, he might be able to extract vital information about Jenny''s whereabouts.


    "Wh-why are you searching for… the princess?" Lin Feng stammered, his eyes darting nervously between Ryuk and the cloth he wore.


    The figure standing before him wore a strikingly foreign outfit—nothing like the attire he had seen in the Jade Dominion.


    d in a ck suit with detailed grey embroidery and sharp boots, Ryuk''s golden eyes only heightened Lin Feng''s confusion.


    ''Hm, not unexpected,'' Ryuk mused as he listened to Lin Feng mention Jenny as a princess.


    It became clear to him that she was likely the daughter of someone prominent within the main family of the Celestia Phoenix Order.


    In that moment, he began to piece together the fragments of information he had gathered,ing to a solid understanding of the situation at hand.


    From the very instant he arrived, making his way through the middle town and then ascending to the upper levels, he noted that the individuals he encountered did not pose any real challenge.


    With one exception: the woman he had met in Heindal when he was five years old.


    Now, as he stood in this ce existing after upper town, it struck him that she should have to be also present here, yet he had yet to see her again.


    His previous conversation with that woman had hinted at restrictions keeping her from arriving in Lower town at  that time, the pieces fell into ce in his mind.


    He realized that this woman was none other than the matriarch of the Celestial Phoenix Order.


    ''Now, what should we do with you?'' Ryuk narrowed his gaze as he contemted the fate of Lin Feng.


    The system had informed him that killing Lin Feng would trigger the release of the Neolith Harem System, which would likely seek a new host for itself.


    This was the sole reason he chose not to kill Lin Feng outright.


    Instead, he channeled the surging energy in a way that depleted all the internal energy stored in Lin Feng''s reservoirs without killing him.


    As he circled around Lin Feng, arriving behind him, Ryuk reached out and grabbed his neck from behind, slowly lifting him off the ground.


    "Khuck?!... L...leave... me!" Lin Feng gasped, desperately struggling. Although his body had healed, he was left with no clothes due to the burns he had suffered.


    His hair and eyebrows had been singed away, leaving his skin looking unnaturally smooth, rendering him a ghastly sight, reminiscent of a lifeless doll as he iled helplessly in Ryuk''s grasp.


    [ Host, Beware (?●?′???`?●?) ]


    ''Why?'' Ryuk asked, hearing the system sounding anxious. Lin feng was currently suspended in mid-air with his neck crapped by Ryuk.


    [ What if he farted? (?;???﹏???) ]


    ''....'' Ryuk maintained an impassive expression, but the system''s warning had caught his attention.


    His eyes automatically drifted downward to a straight line of sight, where Lin Feng''s butt was pointed squarely at Ryuk''s chest level.


    Given that Ryuk had lifted him by the neck, the position undeniably seemed precarious.


    This realization prompted him to immediately hurl Lin Feng away, sending him rolling across the ground like a rag doll at a significant distance.


    Of course, the true reason for throwing him was not the absurd warning from system; it was because Ryuk anticipated that the system would inevitably spout something ridiculous again.


    [ Saved you (????▽????;?) Imagine someone eating poop for a week farts whilepletely naked on your face? I bet even your aura can''t protect—ERROR ]


    ''Have you been talking a lot moretely?'' Ryuk had begun to notice that the system was bing increasingly articte and loquacious during their conversations, which was downright unsettling.