Chapter 102: I Want to Give You a Home

Fan Li’s voice was calm and warm, seemingly imbued with a special power.

The woman had never heard such words. Its body stiffened where it stood, its head tilting slowly until it reached a right angle, finally drooping onto its chest. It always felt that this position allowed it to better observe the true nature of humans.

Monsters are obsessed with bringing fear to others—be it through sudden frights, lurking in dark corners, or performing contorted movements that leave people chilled to the bone. Rather than calling their behavior eccentric, it would be more accurate to say that they were searching for a justification to kill.

Because of their appearance, they are incompatible with normal people. They exist within one urban legend after another: cruel, bloodthirsty, hair-raising, and wickedly dark—it seems every gloomy word in the world could be used to describe them.

Monsters are very lonely.

The purpose of their existence is to incite fear. Whenever they see people reacting with panic or abnormal emotions, they tear away their disguises, turning the encounter into the blueprint for a new urban legend.

Everyone who encountered Ellie would only run away; no one ever asked it, "Are you hungry? Would you like some snacks?"

Monsters do not ask for much; perhaps they only desire to be treated fairly.

"You're very lonely, aren't you? You're all alone and very lonely, right?" Fan Li said softly, then took a step forward.

Seeing Fan Li’s movement, the woman instinctively recoiled. Its dead-fish eyes even flickered in avoidance; it had never seen such a person or heard such words.

It did not know when it was born. The woman had simply appeared, muddled and confused, on small paths. It would hold a pair of scissors and ask passersby, "Am I beautiful?"

If the person nodded, it would pull off its mask and ask again, "Am I beautiful?"

Most people would scream and flee, and then the woman would kill them with its scissors. Some, however, would force themselves to stay calm and lie, saying, "Yes, you're beautiful!"

But the woman knew they were lying; their bodies would tremble, their legs would shake. Their so-called praise was merely perfunctory. Who could truly love a self like that?

The woman would not kill those hypocrites; instead, it would grin hideously, use its scissors to gouge out their eyes and snip off their tongues, then transform them into monsters with the same appearance as itself.

Without eyes, they would never see ugliness again; without tongues, they would never lie again. And with grotesque faces, they, too, would experience the same sense of alienation—being rejected and feared by others.

This was its life. There were no ups and downs, only the endless creation of new catastrophes.

But the woman had never imagined it would meet someone like this. His gaze was sincere and warm, devoid of fear or distance. It seemed he truly was not afraid of it.

This man was, as the rumors suggested... extraordinary.

But... but... would he still be this way if he saw what was behind the mask?

The woman’s mind had long been corroded by blood from its endless killings, much like a rusted gear—even if it could still function, it moved with a grating, creaking sound.

It could not distinguish right from wrong like a normal person; it recognized only one truth: whether people would scream upon seeing its face.

The woman’s head began to straighten, and its right hand climbed toward its mask. This was the first time it had removed its mask before someone had answered its question. It did not know why this was happening; it... simply wanted to verify something.

Within Fan Li’s field of vision, the woman’s appearance was suddenly revealed.

The woman’s skin was fair, just like a human’s, with a faint, healthy flush, appearing quite supple. Its eyes were moderate in size, its nose bridge straight. If not for the mouth that split open to the earlobes, its appearance could easily have been rated an 85.

That mouth looked as if it had been artificially sliced; the wounds were neat, stretching directly to beneath the ears. Compared to the faint pink of its skin, its lips were deathly pale and covered in dry, peeling patches.

It wore its hair loose, looking at Fan Li with vacant, expressionless eyes, attempting to strip away Fan Li’s facade. No one had ever remained calm upon seeing its face; it was waiting—waiting for Fan Li to flee, waiting for his scream.

However, its wait was destined to end in disappointment.

The first monster Fan Li ever possessed was Ellie, a little girl with no facial features, only teeth. Compared to Ellie, the woman before him could only be called ugly, not evil. It had a nose and eyes—wasn't that enough? Monsters aren't judged by their looks; why chase people around all day asking if they’re beautiful?

This was simply putting the cart before the horse!

Shouldn't a monster be using its abilities to slay zombies? Shouldn't it be helping him accumulate more kill points to increase his capital for survival?!

Not to mention Ellie, look at the Butcher. He has hundreds of scars all over his body, and his entire frame is likely stitched together from different pieces of skin. He is ugly too, and perhaps out of insecurity, he wears a pyramid headpiece that covers his entire face.

But has anyone ever seen the Butcher idly walk up to someone and ask such a boring question as, "Am I handsome?"

To fall into darkness requires a certain demeanor. Compared to Ellie and the Butcher, the woman’s actions were, in Fan Li’s eyes, undoubtedly affected.

Fan Li was not a person who could hide his feelings; his moods were always written on his face. The woman was still waiting for a change in Fan Li, but to its surprise, Fan Li’s brows furrowed—not with the panic it expected, but with a trace of faint disappointment.

"What do you want to tell me?" Fan Li’s tone was solemn.

Under Fan Li’s scrutinizing gaze, the woman felt a sense of discomfort and could not help but lower its head slightly.

"I am not beautiful."

It spoke the second sentence of their meeting.

"Is this the problem that’s been bothering you?" Fan Li shook his head, his tone tinged with pity. "I don't care what you think; I care what I think!"

"You are not ugly!" His tone was firm and serious.

"You are just too lonely, and you like to get trapped in your own head. I will introduce you to some new friends. Once you meet them, you will realize that you are not only not ugly, but quite beautiful."

"Come with me. Stop wandering. I think... I want to give you a home."

After Fan Li finished speaking, a few seconds of silence fell between them. Because the woman kept its head bowed, he could not see its expression, only that its shoulders were trembling, rising and falling.

A few drops of blood fell to the ground. The woman raised its head; its cheeks were already streaked with fresh blood. Its once dead-fish eyes seemed to gain a glimmer of vitality as the blood flowed.