Emperor of Soul Pets

Chapter 25: Chaos Points

After Lu Lin joined Rao Wu's team, they spent the few remaining days scouring the forest with the Sprites to weed out and execute the Bugbear remnants. On his own, this might have been a daunting task, but with the aid of the emboldened Sprites, the party managed to scour the entire forest in three days. Within this period, they slaughtered just under fifty or so Bugbears.

Since his ring was almost full, Rao Wu reluctantly buried the corpses and only stored the soul cores.

And so it was that on the appointed day, Rao Wu and Lu Lin bid farewell to the Sprites amidst a glorious fanfare. The child chose to go alone because he feared the consequences of exposing the Sprites to the strange technology. Somehow, he sensed that the test was supposed to be a secret, and he did not want any harm to befall the innocent Sprites.

After half a day of walking, Rao Wu finally returned to the clearing he initially arrived in. Intriguingly, as if sensing his presence, a large patch of grass slid aside to reveal a metal platform. Having already experienced this once, Rao Wu and Xian Da confidently climbed onto the platform.

Durr...

The platform descended, and the patch of grass once again slid over, blocking the sunlight. A series of lights flashed on moments later, illuminating the momentarily dark elevator shaft. Within a few more seconds, the platform reached its destination, where the familiar disembodied voice greeted Rao Wu.

"Congratulations on clearing the first stage, contestant. Please approach the assessment chamber."

Fortunately, there was only one room outside the elevator, so Rao Wu did not have to guess. He exited the elevator and returned to the familiar cold, steel room with a circular platform. Just like before, an 'appendage' like device protruded at the center, it's 'eye' tracking Rao Wu and Xian Da.

When Rao Wu walked onto the platform, the appendage began its debriefing. "Congratulations on clearing the first stage, contestant. Before rewards are handed out, could you please state the reason you chose to eliminate the Bugbears, despite only needing to survive for thirty days.?"

Rao Wu's ears perked up, and his eyes drew on a crafty look. "Before I answer, does my answer affect the rewards?"

"Not exactly." The system replied. "Your rewards have been calculated based on your actions and cannot be reduced. However, if the Administrator is satisfied with your reply, there might be additional rewards."

"Hmm..." Rao Wu hesitated, but after weighing his options, he decided to tell the truth. Crossing his arms, he said, "I wanted Lu Lin to join my team, so I chose her side."

"Is that so? Then, do you consider your actions as righteous? The Bugbears are a terrible blight that eat and kill without concern for sustainability. Without your intervention, the Sprites would have been rendered extinct in a few months or years."

Rao Wu sheepishly smiled as he scratched the back of his head. "Eh, I don't think so. I mostly helped out of selfish reasons. I killed all the Bugbears because it's the only way to make sure they don't repeat this in a couple of years. Uncle Twilight always says, "If you're gonna do something, make sure you do it right.""

"Intriguing. So you admit to rendering an entire species extinct just to satisfy your selfish purposes?"

"Well, when you put it that way..." Rao Wu weakly chuckled, but he ultimately held his ground. "Still, I guess it's true. But, I'd do it all over again if it got Lu Lin on my side."

"Final Question. Do you not consider it unwise to admit to being a genocidal killer? Your answer would be much better received if you said you did it to save the Sprites. Think carefully, as this could affect your bonus rewards."