On the third floor of the haunted house, Pardofelis, with her suppression lifted, followed Hua's altered cognition and memories, targeting Bizarre Kiana's soul.
"Khorne" had a strong suppressive effect on those weaker than herself. Against Bizarre Kiana, whose corruption level was far greater, this ability was useless. But with Li Mo's reminder, Pardofelis locked onto Bizarre Kiana's soul.
Under the judgment of the rules, Pardofelis was surprised to find that Bizarre Kiana's soul was incredibly fragile, forcibly split in two, yet connected by a thousand threads. Her soul was constantly being torn and squeezed.
Bizarre Kiana clutched her chest, feeling a heart-wrenching pain. She walked toward Li Mo, muttering, "Mo... my heart hurts..."
However, what awaited her was a cold and ruthless left hand piercing her heart. In the empty cavity, hellfire blazed, beginning to burn every part of her body.
Li Mo carried Bizarre Kiana toward the ninth room, opened the door, threw the hellfire-suppressed Bizarre Kiana inside, and slammed the door shut.
Then, without looking back, he walked back to the stairwell, surrounded by numerous malevolent ghosts that showed no sign of attacking him, instead seeming completely subservient.
"Just like that, it's over?" Pardofelis was puzzled. Li Mo hadn't said a word throughout the entire process, not even blinking an eye.
"Mo..." Hua followed, but was cut off by Li Mo as soon as she spoke.
"Keep an eye on the ninth room. Don't let her out. As for the rest, I'm enough."
"But, the black fog has spread to several nearby countries. If we all stay here, many people will die," Hua raised a very practical problem.
"The ninth room is indeed not so easy to break..."
"We can have Elysia deal with the spreading ghosts now to minimize casualties."
"There's no need. If they die, they die. They sacrificed themselves to exterminate the Bizarre. Their deaths were worthy."
"???"
Hua stood frozen, her eyes filled with confusion and doubt.
"If you want to die, be my guest."
After speaking, Li Mo ignored them, closed his eyes, and quietly waited for time to pass, for the Soul-Ferrying Passage to open again.
Li Mo's sudden change in attitude left the rescue team baffled. They had seen the extremely rational Li Mo before, but one of his major considerations when dealing with the Bizarre was the developmental trajectory of the world he was in.
Normally, Li Mo would do his best to ensure the world returned to its normal course, and even if the Bizarre began to spread, he would strive to contain the sacrifices and deaths.
But now, Li Mo seemed completely unconcerned with how many people died, as long as the source of the Bizarre could be dealt with, as if nothing else mattered.
"Really... Little Mo, speaking in half-truths won't win you any girls' favor..."
A dazzling light transformed into an arrow, condensing on a bow blooming with a hundred flowers. But this time, Elysia frowned, aiming the arrow at Li Mo.
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What is tragedy? Tragedy is destroying beautiful things for people to see.
The attending physician had seen too many pure-hearted children die in war, or develop serious illnesses because of it. The Li Mo before him seemed more mature than his age, but his words were sincere and genuine. Yet, he was the most miserable of all the children.
Most of the other children only had frostbite. There weren't many like him, covered in wounds from shrapnel. Moreover, each piece of shrapnel was less than half a finger's length away from a fatal spot.
It was a stroke of luck that Li Mo was even alive; otherwise, he would have died in the snow long ago, with no need for rescue. But compared to being truly paralyzed, having a healthy body without the matching physical strength and condition was perhaps the most regrettable thing.
A good kid, ruined by war. In modern warfare, humans can only die like livestock, without dignity. It doesn't care about will, body, status, or gender...
Li Mo was wheeled out of the operating room, down a long, clean corridor. On one side of the corridor were identical rooms, dimly lit, with several figures bustling about.
A private hospital must cost a lot of money. From the attending physician, Li Mo learned that Cocolia's rank was captain, which was quite good. But if she was just a captain, she probably couldn't afford the equipment and doctors of a private hospital. She must have also used her position to engage in gray-area industries.
But it didn't matter. Li Mo didn't care.
"Ugh..."
After repeated attempts, Li Mo finally confirmed one thing: his body was now truly very weak, and not just because of his injuries. Surviving was already the best outcome; he shouldn't ask for more.
But...
Li Mo raised his head and looked at the operating room beside him. He couldn't see the people inside, nor could he be sure if Shigure Kira had followed him. If Shigure Kira had completely passed through the Soul-Ferrying Passage, she would have likely become one of the thousands of ghosts in the haunted house.
Then, he might have to deal with her himself.
"..."
Li Mo shook his head vigorously, trying to keep his mind clear. Without the help of the Bizarre, a human brain tired easily, and fatigue would greatly affect thinking and judgment. In addition, his physical condition was irreversibly declining.
In the future of this world, there were probably many things he wouldn't be able to do, at least not personally. He could only be a behind-the-scenes manipulator.
Li Mo began to sort through all the clues. The most difficult thing to understand was why he hadn't died, but had instead come to a world that seemed to be the haunted house's world from a dozen years ago.
This could perhaps be explained by the mysterious nature of the Soul-Ferrying Passage, or that it had an unknown rule that would be triggered if a living person died inside it.
Secondly, his current body was only three or four years old, and he had no memory of his original body. Because of the aftereffects of the surgery and the loss of Bizarre Kiana's power, he was worse off than an ordinary person.
And what Li Mo was most concerned about right now was... how was Shigure Kira?
Don't panic, don't panic. Li Mo comforted himself. If Shigure Kira was still alive and had also come to this world, he would have plenty of time to find her. The most pressing matter now was how to survive.
Li Mo looked out the window. It was dusk. The golden afterglow of the setting sun spread across the hospital lawn. A continuous stream of wounded were being transported in.
Among them were many women and children, which meant the person who started the war had gone mad, completely disregarding international law and humanitarianism, engaging in indiscriminate slaughter.
The roar of airplanes could still be faintly heard in the sky, along with the continuous sound of artillery fire and smoke in the distance. This meant that this private hospital was still within the war-torn area.
Who knew when the enemy might launch a surprise attack, a bunch of soldiers with guns storming the hospital and shooting everyone.
This body was too weak... He had to find a way to leave the war zone. Otherwise, dying under a shell was only a matter of time. Although Cocolia was willing to rescue them at all costs, if a real emergency occurred, she would still choose to abandon some and save the children who had a better chance of being saved.
This was understandable, as a person's energy and ability are limited. She couldn't save everyone.
Li Mo clenched his small, chubby fists. The feeling of powerlessness was truly disgusting.
"Just lie down and rest for a while. Your wounds are still healing. Don't sit up all the time," the nurse kindly reminded him. "If all goes well, in a week's time, you children who have survived will have a meal together, and Captain Cocolia will also attend."
"For now, just rest well. Don't worry about food. You won't be in the war zone for a while. Captain Cocolia will protect us."
Seeing Li Mo restlessly looking around, the nurse guessed he might have war-related PTSD, having just escaped from the shelling, and was a little stressed in an unfamiliar environment. So she quickly threw out some news to comfort him.
For a while... Li Mo noticed this phrase. It meant that moving was only a matter of time. In this war, the military represented by Cocolia could only barely hold on, but couldn't win. This was not good news.
And the banquet a week later. A week of recuperation. Most of his wounds would be mostly healed. Except for the internal injuries that still needed rest, the external ones would be basically fine.
From the attending physician's words, Li Mo knew that his orphanage was attacked during the transfer. But the injuries on most of the children were not from shrapnel and explosions, but from lying in the snow for a long time, their internal environment severely damaged.
A week was enough to adjust, but for an unlucky person like him, it was completely different. He had indeed been hit by a shell. When he woke up, he even saw a pile of iron fragments with flesh sticking to them on a tray on the operating table.
The banquet a week later, which seemed to be a celebration for the children's survival, was actually Cocolia's screening process to decide who to take with her.
Supplies were limited, priority given to the soldiers fighting on the front lines, and then to the wounded like them. If Li Mo wasn't mistaken, Cocolia would probably divide her team into several batches to transport the helpless wounded and children in sequence.
That being said, the last few batches to leave would have almost no hope of escaping, only being a burden to the entire team.
At the banquet, Cocolia would inevitably observe their every move to decide the order of departure. He had to seize this opportunity.
But... Through the window, Li Mo glanced at his disappointing self.
"Will I die? If so, when?" Li Mo raised his head and asked in an innocent tone.
The nurse was slightly taken aback, pursed her lips, and slowly said, "No, you won't. We'll protect you."
Obviously, this was not the answer Li Mo was hoping for. But a nurse probably didn't know much about the war situation. Asking was pointless.
Li Mo decided not to ask any more questions and continued to pretend to be ignorant. Soon, he was taken to a small room.
The night was deep and quiet. Li Mo climbed out of bed alone. He needed to exercise. Of course, having just escaped from the gates of hell, Li Mo wasn't stupid enough to train himself to death.
After a simple stretch, Li Mo took a few deep breaths and began to do radio calisthenics...
One, two, three, four, two, two, three, four, three, two, three, four, four, two, three, four...
Gradually, large beads of sweat rolled down Li Mo's forehead. He had only lasted for less than three minutes, but he was already drenched in sweat, gasping for breath.
"Are you... kidding me..."
"Why... am I getting tired so quickly..."
With this level of physical fitness, he probably couldn't even run away. Let alone a kilometer, Li Mo even doubted if he could run ten meters. He almost couldn't catch his breath from the simplest aerobic exercise, let alone any other strenuous activity.
At this rate, he would never be placed in the first evacuation group.
"I don't believe it."
Unconvinced, Li Mo rested for half an hour. After his body had completely calmed down, he tried again. But this time, he couldn't last even longer, not even two minutes...
At this moment, Li Mo finally realized that there was a problem with his hardware, and a very big one.
Li Mo collapsed on the bed, staring at the ceiling with a look of despair. In the past, he had relied too much on the power of the Bizarre.
He had never thought that one day he would lose it and become an ordinary person. No... not even as good as an ordinary person.
"I give up. I can't keep banging my head against a wall on a path with no future. I can't afford any more sunk costs."
Li Mo immediately changed direction. Originally, he had planned to train his body a little, and with his adult fighting skills, he would shine at the banquet and catch Cocolia's eye.
But now, the feasibility of that was zero. If anyone dared to mess with him now, hehe, they'd be kicking cotton.
"Since the combat aspect is out, I can only work on my leadership skills. I have to let Cocolia know I have value."
"But I can't reveal too much, because I can't afford to lose."
Having the cognition of an adult was Li Mo's biggest trump card right now. As a golden finger, it was very insignificant. What could he do? He wasn't the protagonist of a power fantasy story.
A weak body, plus a war-torn background at the start. Li Mo had to think carefully about every step to help himself survive. Of course, it was just survival. But only by surviving could there be more possibilities.
"If only MEI were here, she would definitely be able to find a way to help me out of this predicament..."
"..."
"Now is not the time to count on MEI. I have to find a way myself."
"In the current situation, I definitely can't cross the front lines alone. I don't have much time."
"The nurse said Cocolia invited the children to a banquet a week later, but the battlefield situation is changing rapidly. The time will only be moved up. I can't possibly recover my body in a week. The doctor said my aftereffects are very serious. It might take me ten years to recover."
"This is tough. Is there no choice but to wait for death?"
Li Mo thought quickly. He had, after all, lost his purely rational side. His thinking was not comprehensive enough, not specific enough.
"Forget the man-made war. Once the Second Honkai Eruption breaks out, I won't be able to leave alive."
"I can only cling to a powerful person. At this banquet, I have to make Cocolia take me with her, no matter what."
"For now, I'll sleep, rest up, and take note of my surroundings and the people I can use."
All his plans, limited by his own condition, had fallen through. Because now, he was just an ordinary person.