A strange voice abruptly appeared in his mind.
Tang San looked at the little Tang Sui lying on the bed, who resembled a malnourished kitten more than anything. An ominous and dangerous dark red mist was slowly emanating from her sea-blue pupils.
"From childhood to adulthood, when she needed you the most, whether it was you, or Tang Hao, or A Yin, you were always absent from her side."
The voice spoke again.
With a hint of inexplicable meaning, it was like a murmur from the abyss, luring one into its depths.
Tang San's spiritual power began to stir.
Reason told him that this was just an illusion.
An illusion interwoven with his deepest memories, where many replicated contents were half true and half false, not to be fully trusted.
But when he saw his sister so lifeless, helplessness and anger couldn't help but surge in his heart.
His sister from before and his sister from now were complete opposites. It was hard to imagine the scrawny, stick-like sister blossoming into such a delicate and beautiful appearance.
Strangely, he thought of the little Tang Sui he had seen upon entering the Slaughter City, so lovely and delicate, clearly well-cared for.
They were the same person, the same age, yet split into two.
...If Sui Sui had been taken away by the two seniors of the Slaughter City from the beginning, would she have had to live as cautiously as he did? Sudan Novel Network
This thought took root in Tang San's heart like a seed, growing into dark sprouts.
Unlike the cramped and dilapidated house, Tang Sui, located under the blue sky and white clouds, her long, slender eyelashes fluttered as if sensing something. Her beautiful brows furrowed slightly, and her dark blue pupils slowly opened. She frowned and looked down at the deep, dark domain below, a bad premonition crossing her mind. She tapped the mental bodies of the masks, her heart warning:
"This is just training, don't go too far with your antics."
The masks remained silent.
The system's mechanical voice, however, responded to Tang Sui: "Don't worry, I'm watching."
Tang Sui pursed her lips, "You are one of the examiners, keep an eye out."
The system and her, plus five masks, made up exactly seven examiners, precisely arranging illusions and conducting pressure-based mental training one-on-one.
"Mhmm, I know my limits."
The system replied indifferently, and then fell silent.
Tang Sui guessed that it was probably continuing to monitor the assessee.
Meanwhile, after planting this dark seed in Tang San's heart, the voice suddenly laughed.
"You are right."
Tang San's pupils trembled slightly, a hint of purple-gold quietly spreading at the bottom of his eyes, but he restrained it with great caution, not suppressing the ominous dark red that was spreading.
"Neither you nor Tang Hao knew, did you? She actually had countless opportunities to leave this place that was not like a home. But she never left."
The purple-gold in Tang San's eyes faltered, and the black-red mist slowly expanded its territory even more aggressively.
"There's no need to doubt it, it was your existence that held her back."
"That's why she fell to the brink of death again and again."
Tang San's emotions became chaotic once more.
He knew that the owner of this voice meant no good, presenting things from a different angle to create more pressure and blackmail him.
But the most terrifying part was that while the other party twisted the meaning, the content used was real...
No!
The purple-gold light in Tang San's eyes suddenly burst forth, and the Golden Mark of the Sea God on his brow also released the sacred light of the Sea God.
The invisible restraint that had been pressing down on him shattered in an instant.
"Although Father was very cold to us siblings back then, and we children even had to take care of him, no matter what, the bond of blood cannot be severed!"
His hand, hanging by his side, twitched stiffly.
"I don't deny Father's failure as a father, but that doesn't negate that he didn't love us!"
"Even though Sui Sui suffered countless hardships at home with me. But the bonds built later with teachers, elders, and companions are irreplaceable even by a refined living environment!"
Tang San's aura suddenly became sharp, like a drawn sword, its cold glint tearing through the darkness, exposing the person hidden in the shadows, who had deliberately blurred their existence, to the pale golden light of the Sea God.
Where light shone, darkness seemed to have nowhere to hide.
A tall figure standing in the corner of the wooden house wore a dark robe as black as the darkness itself. The Sea God's light, which illuminated the entire room, reflected on the familiar jade-white fox mask on his face.
He looked like a gentle and amiable teacher.
But Tang San sensed a hint of dissonance in his refined and elegant demeanor.
And he had seen this person before.
"It's you!"
It was the guy he saw that night when clearing out the wolf bandits!
That man who harbored malice towards him!
No, it was questionable whether this guy was even human.
As soon as this thought crossed his mind, the next second, Tang San saw the mask as if it had come alive. The red-rimmed fox eyes at the corner of its eyes slightly curved, and a pair of decidedly non-human beast-like green eyes clearly appeared from the deep eye sockets.
Like a fox seeing meat, no matter how deceptive its appearance, it was inherently a predator.
Not to mention the depths within those green eyes seemed to hold a chilling undercurrent, causing the alarm bells in Tang San's mind to ring wildly, screaming danger, making his whole body tremble.
"This should be our third meeting, Tang San."
The man's voice was as gentle as his feigned demeanor, carrying a suffocating tenderness.
But to Tang San, it sounded like a venomous snake poised to strike, hissing and flicking its tongue in his ear. The immense malice directed at him permeated through the superficial gentleness.
It couldn't be hidden!
This venomous snake would not only strike at any moment but might also inject deadly venom to kill its prey completely.
Tang San, now able to move, cautiously took a step back, his gaze chillingly fixed on this person of unknown origin, but who was closely related to his sister, and said in a deep voice, "Sui Sui's inability to fully control the domain is related to you. What exactly do you want to do?"
The first sentence, "you all," indicated that Tang San had included the other talking masks in his consideration.
Although he didn't know that the man before him was the embodiment of one of those masks, it was still the same as saying that it was inseparable from those peculiar masks with self-awareness.
Hearing Tang San's words, the Fox Mask looked at him leisurely. Even though the mask seemed to have human-like expressions, it was fundamentally a cold, inanimate object.
Yet, Tang San sensed a hint of mockery from it.
"Don't be so quick to put a halo on people, Tang San."
The Fox Mask's gentle voice carried a hint of meaning, "We don't have that much ability."
"However..."
Changing the subject, the Fox Mask suddenly smiled.
"There's one thing you're right about. I won't deny the malice directed at you."
Tang San's heart sank, and his apprehension towards the Fox Mask increased significantly.
He could read minds!
-- A note from the author --
The correct answer is: Fox Mask!
Key point: The central theme of "group pet" in this novel is - 'I' pamper myself.
The update is late but here. Happy New Year's Eve to all my dears, muah!