The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

Long, long ago, back when Andy still lived in the far-off borderlands of Twilight Province, he had heard the village elders talk about the Thunder County Maze.

They said it was the territory of the Demon King.

Every night as darkness fell, winged demons would fly out from the maze, snatching away children who disobeyed their parents.

Andy had always taken the elders' words as gospel. What he didn't expect, however, was that despite being such an obedient child, the demons still found him.

And in broad daylight, no less.

Hiding behind Andy, his young sister tugged on his sleeve and whimpered in a voice on the verge of tears.

"Brother..."

"Don't be afraid. I'll protect you." Though his heart pounded with panic, Andy still gripped his sister's hand tightly, mustering his courage to look up at the three demons flying in the sky and say, "Come after me… just leave Maggie alone. She's too skinny—there's not much meat on her."

The Translation Crystal rendered his words into a language the players could understand.

The three players exchanged glances with one another.

Finally, Jingluo Nanbei couldn't help but chuckle, responding in a playful tone.

"We don't eat kids."

Andy froze for a moment, not comprehending at first, until a monotonous voice repeated the she-demon's words for him.

"Then… what do you want?" he asked, trembling.

Watching the terrified child, Shadiao couldn't resist an impish grin, raising her hands and mimicking clawing motions.

"What do we want? Isn't it obvious? As minions of the Demon King, of course, we want your souls... keh keh keh!"

"Eek!"

"Brother..."

The two children were scared out of their wits.

Maggie, the younger sister, fainted on the spot.

As for the boy still conscious, although he hadn't fainted, his face turned ghostly pale as he stood there paralyzed, clutching his unconscious sister in silence.

"Damn... am I that scary? Ow—!" Shadiao mumbled to herself, only to be hit on the head by a rogue snowball.

"Alright! Quit scaring them already—we worked so hard to trigger this hidden quest…" said Little Wan Can't Eat Enough, the voice of justice, as she sneered at Shadiao while brushing snowflakes off her head.

The Translation Crystal conveyed her words once more.

However, the little boy looked bewildered after hearing them.

"...Quest?"

"Yup, yup," Jingluo Nanbei nodded with a mischievous smile, flying down to a spot just two steps away from him. "Take a look around—do you see any kind of buttons you can interact with? Like to set rewards or issue a quest or something… oh, and if there's a reward customization option, could you kindly toss in eight zeros for us?"

Andy stared at her blankly, utterly baffled.

Buttons? What buttons...

He nervously glanced around, then looked back at her uneasily and said.

"I… I don't know."

Seeing the young boy's clueless expression, it became clear that he really didn't have the ability to issue quests, and the trio's faces fell with disappointment.

"Damn! Looks like he's just a lost kid."

"So, what now?"

"Eat him?"

"No way we're eating him, come on!"

"Hmm..." Jingluo Nanbei crossed her arms thoughtfully for a while, then finally said, "Well, let's just take them back for now. If we let the two of them wander around in the forest, they might freeze to death."

"Agreed."

Shark East and West raised an arm in approval, then turned to the boy who looked at them with timid eyes and said in an authoritative tone.

"Hey, kid, what's your name?"

Summoning all his courage, Andy replied.

"Andy... and you?"

"Me?" Shadiao blinked, surprised that an NPC would ask her name, but she quickly responded offhandedly, "I'm Shadiao. That's Jingluo Nanbei, and the other one's Little Wan Can't Eat Enough."

Making an effort to commit those complicated names to memory, Andy took a deep breath and said.

"Shadiao… is it? You can have my soul, but please spare my sister. She's still just a child…"

Shadiao burst out laughing, unable to hold it in.

"Hahahaha."

Andy's frost-bitten face flushed purple with anger as he glared up at her.

"What are you laughing at!"

Jingluo Nanbei smiled gently and said.

"We don't need your soul. That was just a joke—don't take it seriously."

Andy stammered nervously.

"Then… what do you want?"

"Let me think..." Jingluo Nanbei pondered for a moment, and then her eyes lit up with an idea as she said, "We need your devotion."

Andy froze, staring at her in confusion.

"...Devotion?"

"That's right," Jingluo Nanbei said with a playful smile. "We need you to wholeheartedly offer a prayer to Lord Demon King… after all, we saved you. It's not too much to ask, is it?"

Andy mulled it over for a while, then nodded earnestly.

"Not too much… I'll do as you ask."

"Good boy," Jingluo Nanbei said with a warm smile, her tone turning soft as she continued. "In a moment, carry your sister and follow us. We'll take you to our camp. Once the snowstorm stops, we'll help you find your family."

Andy nodded seriously and hoisted Maggie's limp body onto his back.

Seeing him struggle, Little Wan Couldn't Eat Enough couldn't bear it and descended to hover behind him, using her hands to prop up the unconscious girl and lighten his load.

Andy shot her a grateful glance.

But just then, he recalled the tales told by the village elders, and after much hesitation, he couldn't help but softly ask.

"Are you truly demons?"

Glancing at his innocent, wide-eyed face, Jingluo Nanbei pressed her lips into a mischievous smile and replied.

"Without a doubt, we are."

Andy: "But…"