“Puchi puchi”—blood spurted wildly as the two beauties closest to him were seized by Ethan Brooks, his sharp claws tearing open their scalps and plunging straight into their skulls.

　　Is that really me?

　　It was as if his soul had returned to his body. Ethan Brooks saw himself howling fiercely as he charged at the women, blood splattering everywhere. He was like a terrifying demon, mercilessly ripping apart delicate bodies, severed limbs flying in all directions.

　　“Give your soul to me.”

　　A strange, bewitching voice whispered softly in the depths of his mind.

　　Ethan Brooks wanted to tremble in fear, but his body was completely out of his control. It now belonged to another, incomparably powerful will, which drove him to kill mercilessly, utterly destroying all life around him!

　　“Give your soul to me, and you will gain unimaginable power. In this mortal world, you will become an invincible being!”

　　The eerie voice echoed again and again, like a haunting specter, a sinister curse, a raging storm, trying to completely engulf Ethan Brooks’s mind. He watched helplessly as his own furry hand plunged into the chest of the last beauty, digging out her heart while she was still alive.

　　“No!”

　　Ethan Brooks suddenly clutched his head and roared, “No!”

　　A flood of blood-red light surged before his eyes, golden stars danced wildly, and his head felt like it was about to split open, as if countless sharp needles were stabbing into him. His body was being torn apart by two opposing forces, a thousand blades slicing through his organs, as if he would be shattered into pieces.

　　Ethan Brooks let out a miserable scream and fainted.

　　When he woke up again, his appearance had completely returned to normal. The snow-white fine hair had vanished, the sharp claws had receded, and even in the depths of his mind, that strange voice was gone.

　　Even his body, which had been drained of energy after making love to the beauties, seemed completely unharmed.

　　What he had just seen must have been a nightmare.

　　Ethan Brooks climbed up, still shaken, and saw the cave littered with corpses, blood everywhere, mangled limbs in utter chaos, and the air thick with the stench of blood.

　　Ethan Brooks’s lips trembled, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

　　It wasn’t a dream.

　　The terrifying monster who killed them was really himself!

　　“Give your soul to me.”

　　Ethan Brooks suddenly realized—it was that strange voice! Everything he had done was connected to that voice! It was the voice that turned him into a monster, that controlled him, that slaughtered everyone!

　　Why did this happen? Could it be related to the virtual world he was in? Could the world designed by the Security Directorate even change human nature?

　　It was truly terrifying.

　　Ethan Brooks’s trembling gaze fell on the bloody, mangled corpses. These women were not some illusory images, but real, living people! But hadn’t George Hill clearly said this was a high-tech simulated world?

　　Ethan Brooks, both shocked and horrified, walked out of the stone cave, a thousand questions rising in his mind, his thoughts tangled and chaotic.

　　All around, only the lonely, heavy footsteps of Ethan Brooks echoed. After thinking for a long time, he finally decided to set aside the other questions for now. No matter what, the most important thing at the moment was to find a way to survive. Since his “I surrender” declaration was now useless, facing death, he had no way out.

　　Even with no way out, he had to survive.

　　Ethan Brooks clenched his fists tightly.

　　Ahead, the sound of running water could be heard. Ethan Brooks returned to the rocky shore where he had first parted ways with the monster.

　　Ripples danced on the blue water, crimson twilight scattered like stars, as if brilliant flowers were blooming among green leaves.

　　Ethan Brooks’s stomach began to growl. It was already the second day since he entered this fantasy world, and he hadn’t eaten anything. After several fierce battles, and the intense physical exhaustion from making love earlier, he was already unbearably hungry.

　　It seemed that finding food was now the top priority.

　　Suddenly, a shadow appeared on the water’s surface, growing larger. A fierce wind howled in the sky as a jet-black, scale-covered dragon beat its massive wings and swooped down from above.

　　Ethan Brooks quickly dodged back, his gaze fixed on the dragon’s thick thighs, secretly swallowing as he seemed to smell the tempting aroma of roasted meat.

　　“So it’s you, Ethan Brooks!”

　　The dragon suddenly spoke. Ethan Brooks was slightly startled, only then noticing that there was actually a student riding on the dragon’s back. Because his skin was as black as the dragon’s, and his body was extremely thin and small, he was hard to spot as he lay against the dragon’s massive back.

　　“Hello, Sarah.”

　　Ethan Brooks nodded in greeting.

　　“So, what do you think of my mount?”

　　Sarah patted the dragon’s head proudly. “This is a dragon from ancient legend! Only heroes from mythology can tame it. I heard your IQ is as high as 228, but when it comes to dealing with such beasts, it’s us strength-type students who have the advantage.”

　　Ethan Brooks smiled faintly and said, “That’s true. In a life-or-death one-on-one, no matter how high your IQ is, it’s useless.”

　　Sarah immediately became smug, boasting for a while, then asked, “So, what is this place?”

　　“Go further in and you’ll find a series of stalactite caves…”