"W-what are you talking about? Of course I'm human!"
The black-robed man on the ground protested, clearly offended.
Wang Yanfei shook his head.
…He does not even know what he is.
This "skin" actually instinctively thought of itself as human?
Wait.
What would happen if it realized it was not?
The thought had barely formed before he slammed on the mental brakes.
Better not try that yet.
Who knew what a thing like this would turn into after learning the truth?
To be safe, he should finish absorbing the mist first.
With that in mind, he turned to leave.
The black-robed man was having none of it.
"Come on, man, what's wrong with me exactly? Can it be fixed? Is this… really bad? Don't go!"
He dragged himself forward using his elbows, inch by inch, like a caterpillar with an obsessive streak, hauling his body across the ground toward him.
"…"
Great. That was going to live in his nightmares for a while.
He pretended not to hear and quickened his pace.
That only drew the attention of the nearby Restart Society members instead.
Someone pointed over with a puzzled look. "Why is he chasing him like that?"
"His legs are gone and he can still crawl that fast?"
"Something wrong with him or what?"
…
All I wanted was to get stronger in peace, and now I have a disabled skin clinging to me?
He had no choice. He stopped and turned back, forcing a friendly, easygoing smile onto his face.
"Listen, you are actually dead already, you know that? This is just a dream. Think carefully. Right now you are only a skin."
The black-robed man froze, like his brain had hit a glitch. His eyes gradually lost focus as he murmured,
"H-how could that be… I am clearly… human… but it kind of… feels like…"
Striking while the iron was hot, Wang Yanfei bent down and lightly patted his shoulder.
"Got it now?"
The next second—
Pop.
The black-robed man collapsed like he had been drained dry, deflating in an instant until all that was left was a sheet of human skin lying slack on the ground.
The surrounding Restart Society members were stunned.
"…What just happened?"
"He was fine a second ago."
"Holy, did he just… shed his skin on his own?"
The worst was still to come.
When they instinctively looked around again, at all the severed limbs and chunks of "flesh," they suddenly realized—
The blood and gore they thought they were seeing was nothing but shredded skin.
Everything they had assumed was "flesh" from the start was only pieces of skin.
Someone finally sensed that something was very wrong and started breathing hard.
"I… I feel like my stomach is kind of hollow."
"My waist… feels empty too."
"Wait, does that mean we are—"
He never finished.
A scream tore out of his throat. He collapsed on the spot and turned into a skin.
Panic spread like a virus.
"No!"
"I am not! I am not!"
"I… I am human! I am human!"
One, two, a dozen…
In a chorus of hysterical screams, the Restart Society members turned into skins one after another.
Sheets of skin fluttered to the ground. The surrounding mist grew thicker, suddenly replenished.
Arms folded, Wang Yanfei leaned against a wall and watched, thinking only one thing.
Efficient.
Alvina poked its head out over his shoulder, completely stunned.
"Human… how did you even do that?"
Wang Yanfei's tone stayed calm.
"Remember the first time we met Benjamin? When I pointed out he was a skin, he turned into one immediately."
Alvina blinked. "That does sound familiar…"
"Something was wrong about that."
Wang Yanfei continued, "No matter how weak your nerves are, one sentence shouldn't scare you that badly."
He lifted a hand and pushed up the bridge of the glasses that did not exist, then casually pointed ahead.
"There is only one truth."
Alvina hooked his collar with the tip of its tail, suddenly nervous. "…What is it?"
"They have no idea they are skins."
"They instinctively ignore anything abnormal. The moment you force them to face the truth, the worldview they rely on collapses."
He tipped his chin toward the fresh carpet of skins.
"And then they go back to what they really are."
Alvina thought it over, and the more it thought, the more sense it made.
"Hmph, I had already figured that out."
It lifted its head with fake dignity. "I was just testing you."
"…"
He did not even bother to call it out.
"Honestly, the whole tsundere thing is completely out of fashion these days," Wang Yanfei muttered.
"Tsundere? What is that?"
Alvina froze mid-slither, genuinely confused.
Wang Yanfei couldn't help it. He laughed.
When he finished laughing, a thought suddenly struck him.
"By the way, I can absorb this mist. Can you?"
"Mist?"
Alvina hopped down from his shoulder and wandered through the thin layer of gray fog on the ground, examining it before answering.
"In theory, yes. But I don't have anywhere to store it. If I absorb it, I would have to use it right away. I can't keep it."
"So this stuff counts as Energy?"
"Of course."
"But I can try taking a bit. It might help."
It opened its mouth wide.
Whooo—
A sudden gale rose out of nowhere.
The slowly drifting gray mist was sucked up into a vortex and funneled straight into the snake's mouth.
"…"
Fortunately, with the concentration this high, he no longer needed to actively absorb. The Energy flowed into his body on its own.
In no time, he felt like he had overeaten, a solid pressure filling every inch of him.
Alvina let out a tiny burp, then shook itself in satisfaction. "Phew. I'm a bit full."
Ignoring it, Wang Yanfei opened his panel.
[Wang Yanfei]
Race: Human
Status: Parasitized [next to it, a full-body humanoid diagram in bright green, with a glaring yellow patch over the abdomen]
Height / Weight: 183 cm / 80 kg
HP: 100%
Sanity: 48 / 80
Energy: 10 / 10 (Source: Ghost Core)
Attributes (Base → Bonus → Total)
Strength: 6 → (Ghost Core) → 7
Agility: 6 → (Ghost Core) → 7
Constitution: 6 → (Ghost Core) → 7
Spirit: 6 → (—) → 6
Perception: 4 → (—) → 4
Abilities:Universal Communication, Ghost Core
Ghost Core: a piece of flesh that has been satisfied. Because it is deeply bound to the host, it will quickly die if separated.
Effect: Strength, Agility, Constitution +1.
Can grow by "devouring consciousness," increasing the Energy cap (up to a maximum of 10).
Once the Energy cap is full, it can increase the upper limits of Strength, Agility, and Constitution (each up to a maximum of 7).
Note: The Ghost Core has its own consciousness and will do everything it can to protect its host.
Wang Yanfei stared at the new description for the Ghost Core, silent for two seconds.
…So it picked up a new trait.
"A piece of flesh that has been satisfied."
"Dies if it leaves the host."
Something about it felt off, but he could not say exactly what.
Either way, this was not the time to dwell on it.
He took a deep breath and threw a punch.
Boom.
The punch ripped the air open, leaving a sharp crack behind.
"…That is a big improvement."
He glanced at his forearm, then drew his cleaver and dragged the blade lightly across his skin.
The metal scraped past, leaving only a faint white mark.
He pressed a little harder. The edge barely bit in, and it felt like cutting into a slab of extremely tough leather.
He did not go any deeper.
Even if he knew he could take it, there was no need to actually start hacking at himself with a knife.