Inside the space—
The four "punished" victims were sprawled across the table.
Breathing in more than breathing out.
They looked one bite away from ascending.
"Delicious… amazing… truly unforgettable…"
Their voices were weak, but they were still forcing out compliments.
There was no way they were risking a second round.
Flash.
A beam of light descended.
Zhu Yuan returned from the Demon World.
The first thing she saw—
Four half-dead bodies slumped over a table.
"…What happened to them?"
"Oh," Valerius said casually, "punishment."
"Punishment?!"
She remembered now.
But this looked less like punishment and more like mass poisoning.
"Let them finish praising first," Valerius waved it off.
"What about you? Any growth?"
That immediately brightened Zhu Yuan.
"Yes! Your Demon World is incredible."
She had gained far more than expected.
Inside Character World, her physical attributes had skyrocketed.
And her custom anti-riot firearm—
The 26K22—
Had been enhanced significantly inside Item World.
Originally it was a powerful but standard-issue weapon.
Now?
Each shot blasted away chunks of terrain like artillery.
Every bullet hit like a cannon shell.
Valerius nodded.
"Not bad."
But internally—
He knew this was modest progress.
She likely hadn't climbed many floors.
If someone like Jing Yuan entered?
He'd probably walk out capable of chasing down Phantylia and bullying her.
And if Jing Yuan tossed the Lightning-Lord into Item World?
That thing might become apocalyptic.
"Oh! Right!"
Zhu Yuan suddenly remembered something.
"Your subordinates asked me to pass along a request."
"My… subordinates?"
"You know. The blue penguins. The ones that say 'dood.'"
Ah.
The Prinnies.
"What do they want?"
"They hope… to receive one sardine every ten days."
Zhu Yuan's expression was complicated.
Three tiny penguins were maintaining the entire Demon Hall.
And their salary?
One sardine every six months.
She had been unable to bear it—
So she secretly changed their request from one per month to one per ten days.
"Ten days?"
Valerius's eyes widened.
"Absolutely not."
"From now on, one sardine every ten years."
"WHAT?!"
Zhu Yuan panicked.
"Originally they asked for one per month! I changed it to ten days!"
"That still won't do."
"But—"
She couldn't understand.
Those penguins were so weak she was afraid to shake hands too firmly.
They'd probably explode.
Why be so harsh?
Valerius folded his arms.
"You think they're in Demon World for vacation?"
"They're called Prinnies."
"They are mass-produced beings."
"Each one contains a human soul."
"Only humans who committed grave sins in life are turned into Prinnies."
"They work off their karma."
"Only after repaying their debt can they ascend."
"…I see."
Zhu Yuan went pale.
So those cute penguins—
Were sinners.
And now they were serving a Demon King who fed them sardines twice a year.
That was horrifying.
"…But you only have three Prinnies. Does that mean only three great sinners exist?"
"No."
"I just haven't built the Prinny Factory yet."
That reminded Valerius—
He really should build it.
A Prinny army might be useful.
Sure, individually they were weak—
But throw them?
They explode.
Instant bomb deployment system.
The livestream had turned tense.
[Keqing: Souls of sinners… six months per sardine?]
[Clorinde: That's terrifying.]
[Childe: I have a bad feeling about my afterlife.]
[Feixiao: Does killing enemies in war count?]
[Valerius: As long as it aligns with your world's moral framework, it doesn't count.]
[Seele: Valerius, I swear I've done nothing wrong.]
[Silver Wolf: Is it too late to quit the Stellaron Hunters?]
[Jing Yuan: …Good thing our world has context.]
Jade asked carefully:
[Jade: Who determines "grave sin"? You?]
Valerius answered calmly:
"Not me."
"It's based on universal moral consensus within each world."
"If a world considers killing virtuous, then killing there is not a grave sin."
Feixiao visibly relaxed.
Mirror-Maiden (Jingliu) typed:
[Jingliu: Then I suppose I am destined for Demon World.]
Dan Heng added:
[Dan Heng: I may accompany you.]
Valerius snorted.
"You reincarnated. Your karmic account reset."
"No Demon World for you."
Phantylia suddenly spoke.
[Phantylia: Lord Valerius… is it too late to reform?]
Valerius smiled.
"Start doing good deeds."
"Earn some virtue."
She immediately replied:
"Understood."
The Destruction Emanator was now apparently on a charity arc.
Valerius chuckled.
Truthfully—
Yes, some players probably qualified for Prinny conversion.
But he was here.
And this wasn't a game of fairness.
If someone was on good terms with him?
He could bend rules.
Backdoor privileges existed.
Just—
Not inside the game.
Inside the game?
No mercy.
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