Duya swallowed hard.
He forced himself to stay calm.
The two figures before him were clearly not normal beings…
So he couldn’t let them get away.
With that thought, Duya took a deep breath, reached out a hand, and addressed them.
“Could you tell me about your Heavenly Father and Savior? I’m all ears.”
“Sorry, we got the wrong person.”
The two turned to leave immediately.
They didn’t dare utter another word to Duya.
Judging by the terrifying look in his eyes just now, this guy clearly wanted to eat them!
What kind of human was this?
Even a malevolent god wouldn’t be this creepy!
“Wait, you two.”
Seeing them try to leave, Duya immediately rushed forward and placed his hands on their shoulders.
“I’d be happy to join your… whatever cult it is?”
Since they had just met, Duya naturally didn’t know who these two were, but the priority was to first stabilize their… emotions.
No matter what, he couldn’t let a performance metric that delivered itself right to his doorstep just run off, could he?
The two trembled as they turned around, looking at Duya’s face with its dark circles, which appeared very gloomy, and… that gaze that regarded the two of them as prey.
It was no exaggeration to say that these two octopus monsters were terrified.
“Can’t I just be curious and ask around?”
Duya also sensed their fear.
He tried his best to put on a smile that looked very kind and amiable.
“A church needs the common people, right?”
The octopus monsters were utterly unnerved by Duya’s stare.
They swallowed hard.
The man holding them… was definitely not human!
He was very likely some kind of supreme existence!
What was the point of recruiting him into the cult?
He might as well just sit on the throne himself.
That’s what they thought, but the octopus monsters certainly didn’t dare say it out loud.
Meanwhile, one of them whispered in the other’s ear.
“Look at his skinny arms and legs… should we test him? What if it’s just our imagination…”
“What are you two muttering about?”
Duya’s voice made the two octopus monsters jump in fright, their attention snapping back to him.
Only this time, what they saw was an enormous, indistinct phantom floating behind Duya.
They could see the phantom, but the two octopus monsters couldn’t describe its shape in any language.
Their brains were trembling, their thoughts beginning to scatter and blur…
Sinking…
Sinking…
“Hey?”
It wasn’t until Duya’s voice sounded again that it pulled their consciousness back from the abyss.
“So, what’s your church called? Care to share?”
“…”
Neither dared answer Duya’s question, and they began to slowly back away.
Having never witnessed such a horrifying sight before, the octopus monsters were now shaking in their boots.
One of them seemed to have gone weak in the knees and nearly fell to the ground.
Luckily, the other tentacled creature beside it desperately propped him up, preventing a complete collapse.
After backing up about two meters, one of the octopus monsters shivered and spoke.
“Babo… sh-should I call the police?”
The octopus monster named Babo shot him a fierce glare.
“Call the police? Look at us! The police would arrest us first! Do you want me to go to jail? Or a research lab?”
Seeing Babo’s reaction, his companion couldn’t help but look utterly miserable.
“But it’s better than losing our lives! This guy is clearly not right. He’s either a higher being or a man-eating lunatic. I don’t want to end up in his stomach!”
“Bobba, calm down, calm down!”
Under Babo’s reassurance, Bobba managed to calm down a bit…
Until Duya took a few steps forward.
Calm down?
Calm down my ass!
“Don’t come any closer!!”
Seeing the man approach, the two octopus monsters screamed as if they’d seen a ghost and then fainted on the spot, completely unresponsive.
Duya: …?
Even Duya was baffled by this turn of events.
He hadn’t even made a move yet.
How did these two octopus monsters just drop to the ground?
Could it be that even among the bizarre, there were creatures who knew how to fake injuries?
But regardless, Duya stepped forward, took out a rope, and securely tied the two up.
“Grr~”
But as he was tying them, Duya’s stomach began to growl loudly.
“First, contact the Special Dispatch Investigation Team… then go buy some late-night snacks.”
….
Much later, when the police car arrived at the scene, the two octopus monsters rushed toward the officers’ legs as if they’d seen their saviors, crying pitifully and hysterically.
“Save us, save us, save us! That guy over there wants to eat people, he wants to eat people!”
“Just arrest me, please! I’ll never preach again!”
“…”
The Special Dispatch Investigation Team members looked utterly confused at the two octopus monsters kneeling before them, clutching their legs.
Then they glanced suspiciously at Duya.
“Brother Duya, what did you do to these two?”
“Ye Lu, how should I know what you’re asking?”
Duya shrugged.
“I just took two steps forward, and these two passed out. Is that my fault?”
Ye Lu’s mouth twitched.
Looking down at the sobbing octopus monsters at his feet, who were swearing to turn over a new leaf, he could only say helplessly.
“Judging by the current situation… I feel these two octopus monsters seem more like the victims.”
“How is that possible!”
Duya immediately retorted.
“If you ask me, I’m the victim here! These two were trying to recruit me into their cult in the first place.”
“…”
Hearing this, Ye Lu couldn’t help but cover his face with his hand.
“Alright, alright. I’ll take them back. Senior Duya, you should head home and get some rest.”
“Thanks for the hard work, everyone.”
After handing over the octopus monsters, Duya set off again for home.
It was nearly ten at night.
Looking at the vibrant, neon-lit world, Duya couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.
He had to admit, the real world was better.
It had games when you wanted games, and delicious food and drink when you craved them.
Wasn’t that much better than whatever that game was?
Lost in his thoughts, Duya arrived at his front door.
The moment he stepped inside, he felt his entire body and soul completely relax.
It was as if his whole being had been sublimated.
Duya stretched his arms wide and headed toward the kitchen.
Ever since encountering those two octopus monsters, he had felt incredibly hungry.
He wondered if there was anything good to eat in the kitchen.
But as he entered the kitchen, he caught a whiff of an incredibly fragrant aroma.
It was a scent hard to describe.
Roughly speaking, it was like the smell of a simple noodle soup, but far more appetizing.
At the same time, Duya noticed a note on the table.
Judging by the handwriting, it was from his younger sister.
Duya picked it up and read it.
It said: “Brother, I left a bowl of soup for you. Remember to heat it up before eating.”