Worldwide Awakening: My Soul Kinds Are Lost

Wang Linchi, holding the Muddy Skull, was about to enter his room when he heard crashing sounds and terrified screams coming from the three rooms where the other Players had just entered.

As the old saying goes, a close neighbor is better than a distant relative. When I witness injustice, I must step up, Wang Linchi thought. I feel like I'm about to gain 3 points of spiritual power... no, it's an opportunity for a good deed. I've done quite a few mischievous things; it's time to accumulate some merit.

Without hesitation, he threw the Muddy Skull into the room for the Saint Master to roast and went off to capture the Erroneous Sin.

He kicked open the door of the nearest room. Inside, he saw a huge, black, mantis-like creature attacking a burly man.

The burly man offered no resistance. Upon closer inspection, Wang Linchi saw that the man had already been decapitated by this "master splitter." His body was somewhat intact, but his head was being chewed in the mouth of the Erroneous Sin.

I was a step too late. Couldn't you have put up more of a fight? Wang Linchi felt a bit frustrated, like scolding iron for not becoming steel.

The black mantis swallowed the head in one gulp and charged at Wang Linchi. Normally, it wouldn't have targeted others. However, Wang Linchi's appearance had disrupted its feeding rules, so it now considered him food as well.

Its sharp limb slashed out but was caught by Wang Linchi's hand.

This thing should be like a lobster; there ought to be meat inside, Wang Linchi thought, gripping the insectoid limb that resembled a blade and firmly pinning down the black mantis.

The black mantis struggled wildly in Wang Linchi's grip; its strength was considerable.

This thing is really wild, Wang Linchi thought, then fiercely headbutted the black mantis's small head.

Wang Linchi's Physique was poor, but this was only in comparison to his spiritual power, which was in the tens of millions; it wasn't truly weak.

That single headbutt caused the black mantis's small head to explode.

Hmm, this Diamond Indestructible Soul Seed Page is quite good, Wang Linchi thought, very satisfied.

The headless black mantis wasn't dead; its head was slowly regenerating.

Erroneous Sins cannot be killed by normal means. So, even if it were ground into paste in its prime, let alone just losing its head, it could still recover.

But that was fine; Wang Linchi needed it to recover.

Dragging the massive black mantis, he went straight back to his room and casually tossed it to the Saint Master, instructing him to roast it along with the Muddy Skull.

Then, he hurried to another room.

Sigh, you people. Couldn't you have lasted a few more minutes? Even if I want to save you, I need time, Wang Linchi thought as he kicked open the door and dispatched another Erroneous Sin. This Player was even unluckier than the last; no complete corpse remained.

Given the digestion efficiency of Erroneous Sins, the Player could be considered completely gone.

The three Players had died very quickly, in no more than thirty seconds. Even if Wang Linchi had been faster, it's not like he would have wholeheartedly tried to save everyone.

Ultimately, people have to save themselves.

If they had truly listened to Wang Linchi and gone to the correct rooms, this tragedy wouldn't have occurred.

In the last room, Wang Linchi didn't find an Erroneous Sin. However, the corpse was perfectly intact, its face frozen in terror.

This Player had died differently from the previous two; they had been scared to death.

You're probably the unluckiest of the lot, Wang Linchi mused.

Being scared to death meant that even if resurrected, their Spirit might collapse. The Game System could resurrect Players, but if a Player went mad, it wouldn't necessarily save their sanity. So, there was a high chance that even if resurrected, this person would become a lunatic.

Too bad, it got away, Wang Linchi thought, looking around. He found no trace of that Erroneous Sin.

Some Erroneous Sins eat after killing, but not all do. Some only kill and don't eat.

There were also some that didn't eat but would collect parts, like the Shadow of Devourer. It would store various parts of its victims within its body, making them a part of itself to create certain special effects.

No traces. It was likely intangible and formless. I wonder what it would have tasted like. Hopefully not like eating air, Wang Linchi thought with some regret as he returned to his room. He casually shut the door and began to stuff the Muddy Skull, which the Saint Master had roasted black for him, into his mouth.

I never imagined the charred flavor would actually be the best part of its taste, Wang Linchi grimaced.

When he took a bite, he had braced himself for an unreasonably foul taste. Yet, the reality still exceeded his worst expectations, catching him completely off guard.

It's so sticky to chew. I didn't eat it wrong, did I? Wang Linchi chewed vigorously. The substance from the Muddy Skull was like sticky rice cake, constantly adhering to his teeth. It felt as if it was about to take root and sprout, making it impossible to swallow.

After chewing for a long time, Wang Linchi had no choice but to pull it out of his mouth. He rolled it into a ball and then forced it down his throat.

This time, he wouldn't chew. He refused to believe this thing could still cause trouble.

With his Thought Field forcibly pushing it into his stomach, he finally managed to digest and absorb it.

This isn't working, Wang Linchi thought, looking at the Muddy Skull. It's not just that it tastes awful—I can grit my teeth and force that down. But it's the difficulty of eating it that's the problem. What he had just shoved into his stomach was one-third of its skull. Besides the remaining two-thirds of the skull, there were also its limbs and torso.

Stuffing something so large into his stomach was no simple task.

He couldn't just roll it into a ball and jam it down his throat every time.

Truly, money is hard to earn, and eating shit is tough...

This was worth 1 point of spiritual power. If he finished it, it would save him a lot of Hang Up time. Besides, he had already eaten one-third of the skull. If he didn't eat the rest, wouldn't his previous suffering have been in vain?

Wait a minute. If I don't eat it, my previous suffering was for nothing. But if I do eat it, I have to continue suffering. Neither option is pleasant, Wang Linchi's expression darkened.

In the end, he could only silently detach the Muddy Skull's head and forcibly knead it into a round pellet.

The reason it wasn't so sticky in his hands was that they were enveloped by his Thought Field, Heart Light Shield, and Soul Shield. If it did stick, he could just sever that layer.

Repeating this process several times, he finally consumed the entire Muddy Skull.

The Book of Soul Resonance's appetite has also grown somewhat. Currently, it can probably take about three more, Wang Linchi estimated its absorption capacity and felt quite pleased.

Its digestion speed has also increased considerably. If I plan my time right, I can keep feeding it continuously.

The Book of Soul Resonance wasn't a single-track system that could only eat but not digest.

The remaining Black Mantis and the other Erroneous Sin weren't as difficult to handle as the Muddy Skull. The Black Mantis, in particular, after being roasted, had a shell that was crunchy even if not fully cooked. With his teeth, eating it was like chewing on pork crackling. The only issue was that its innards tasted terrible.

If that last one hadn't escaped, I'd probably be full by now, Wang Linchi felt a nagging sense of incompleteness.

It was almost perfect, but one piece was missing.

This made Wang Linchi consider whether to catch another one to eat, perhaps the Erroneous Sin in the stairwell.

He glanced outside; the night was now as deep as it could be.

Going by the usual tropes, this should be when those Erroneous Sins are out roaming.

Logically, one shouldn't go out now. Going out means death.

Of course, normal logic was for normal people to follow. He wasn't quite normal, so he certainly didn't need to adhere to it.

In Wang Linchi's eyes, this wasn't some gathering of ghosts; it was practically an all-you-can-eat buffet.

If it were truly a "Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts," he could just grab whatever he fancied. He wouldn't have to worry about ending up with an Erroneous Sin like the Muddy Skull, which was both disgusting and a pain to eat.

But when he opened the door, the entire corridor was eerily silent. Not a single figure was in sight.

This left him momentarily bewildered.

Where was the great crisis that was supposed to happen? How had it all vanished?

Looks like I'll have to catch the Erroneous Sin in the stairwell first, and then maybe eat the one at the front desk too, Wang Linchi mused.

Wang Linchi wasn't concerned about how many Erroneous Sins were in the stairwell. He was more interested in how the one at the front desk tasted. As a Human Pupa Insect, once its outer human skin was peeled off, it would become a pupa. It should taste something like a cicada nymph.

Unless, of course, it was the caterpillar type.

But even if it were a caterpillar, Wang Linchi was determined to eat it.

Just as he reached the emergency exit and was about to open the door, he heard a deep, resonant sound.

It sounded somewhat like an air-raid siren. Looking at the time, it was just past twelve o'clock.

A wave of crimson surged forth, instantly coating the corridor, ceiling, doors, and everything else.

What? Are they taking a page from Silent Hill? Wang Linchi withdrew his hand, curious to see what tricks the Night Hotel had up its sleeve.