The other person really did seem quite weak—there was no faking that—but not as seriously as he was pretending.

William Clark crouched down earnestly: “There’s no water, so eat some snow.”

“Negative emotion points from Edward Carter, +170…”

Edward Carter, lying on the ground, was completely baffled. Since when did people become so unfriendly? Was it really this hard to get a drink of water after coming inside?

He struggled to sit up: “Can you help me into the house…”

Edward Carter thought maybe this kid just hadn’t encountered this kind of situation before and didn’t understand what he meant, so he decided to be direct.

However, just as he managed to sit up halfway, William Clark pushed him back down to the ground and said tactfully, “No.”

“Negative emotion points from Edward Carter, +800…”

Oh my, William Clark was absolutely delighted. Who knew a single person could give him so many negative emotion points? This was so much fun!

He could already see himself earning enough for his first starfruit.

At this moment, Edward Carter finally realized something… This boy in front of him didn’t misunderstand at all. He even said he didn’t know him when calling 120, and now he wouldn’t even let him into the house when he asked directly. Was he afraid Edward Carter would try to scam them?!

The expression on Edward Carter’s face gradually calmed.

William Clark’s heart tightened. Was this guy planning to silence him? If the other person really was on the run, then as a witness, he might become a lead for those chasing him.

If the other person really wanted to silence him, what should he do?

Surely not, right? In these peaceful times, people who kill at the drop of a hat shouldn’t be so common that he’d just run into one.

For William Clark, even though he was now peering over the well’s edge and seeing the possibility of another world, the first seventeen years of his life had been peaceful.

His worldview was basically peaceful too—no bloodshed, no war, no outlaws fleeing justice.

For a moment, William Clark’s mind was racing with all sorts of wild thoughts. At this time, Edward Carter gathered his strength, trying to sit up.

But just as he got halfway up, William Clark pushed him back down again.

Edward Carter glared at William Clark, and William Clark looked back innocently at Edward Carter.

“Negative emotion points from Edward Carter, +100…”

Edward Carter tried to get up again, and William Clark pushed him back down again. The two of them went back and forth like this five or six times, and Edward Carter finally realized—this kid was actually pretty damn strong…

Meanwhile, William Clark was nearly grinning from ear to ear at the new negative emotion points piling up in his account. He was almost at his second starfruit!

Chapter 10: Hero, Let Me Go

Edward Carter had to admit that he really couldn’t get up with this kid holding him down, and his face looked pretty bad: “Why are you holding me down?”

“You need to rest…” William Clark explained.

Edward Carter: ???

Have you ever seen anyone lying down to rest in the freezing snow? Edward Carter felt he couldn’t waste any more time. It hadn’t been easy to escape from that place, and those people from that department were probably still searching for him, so he couldn’t risk staying here any longer.

He’d originally just wanted to find a random house to hide in. When he passed by and saw the two snowmen—one big, one small—in the yard, he thought that someone with such a childlike heart might also be kindhearted.

The two snowmen, though ugly, stood together in the snow, and somehow the sight of them huddled together felt rather heartwarming…

But it was exactly this judgment that left Edward Carter lying on the ground, unable to get up now…

One misstep, a lifetime of regret!

Suddenly, Edward Carter grabbed William Clark’s arm. In the minus four degree wind, a warm current surged from Edward Carter’s palm, then turned into an intense heat!

Edward Carter hoped to intimidate William Clark with his ability—not to actually hurt him, but because he really couldn’t get up with William Clark holding him down…

In that instant, William Clark was startled. So this was the other person’s ability. He hadn’t expected him to be able to use it even in such a weakened state.

But he also noticed that, at that moment, Edward Carter’s face looked even worse.

Did using his ability drain his energy? William Clark kept thinking. There weren’t any visible injuries on Edward Carter, so it seemed he hadn’t been subjected to any particularly inhumane torture after being taken by the men in black coats.

But why was he so weak? Was it because he’d started that big fire in the city center and exhausted himself?

If that was the case, then Edward Carter showing up at his door was probably just to find a place to catch his breath, and he was confident he could recover.

In a flash, the white snow on the ground was suddenly illuminated by a burst of firelight, turning a dangerous shade of red. The light’s reflection flickered across the snow, and the wind changed direction!

William Clark was about to let go and quickly get away from Edward Carter, but found that Edward Carter was already gripping his arm.

But the problem was… for some reason, the fire in Edward Carter’s hand suddenly went out with a puff.

The atmosphere suddenly turned strange. William Clark stared at Edward Carter, while Edward Carter looked blankly at his own hand gripping William Clark’s arm…

He tried to use his ability again, and once more a scorching flame ignited.

At that moment, the white flame inside William Clark’s heart gave a gentle flicker, and the fire in Edward Carter’s hand went out again…