I PICKED UP A CHILD IN A DUMPSTER-Chapter 94: RYU ##R#H (III)

He and the girl stared at each other for several seconds.

Si Hon was still sitting on the bed with the rope loosely hanging from his wrists, his brain clearly struggling to process the situation.

His eyes slowly moved from the rope... to her... then back to the rope again and to her again of course... as if trying to confirm whether reality had suddenly changed without telling him.

Meanwhile, the girl simply stood there wrapped in her towel, one hand on her hip, staring at him like she had just discovered a very strange animal in the wild.

"What?" she repeated flatly.

Si Hon blinked.

"Y-you know..." he began carefully, raising his hands a little as the loose rope slid down his wrists. "The whole... crushing my skull thing? Grinding me into paste? Using my bones as... I don’t know... decoration?"

The girl’s expression didn’t change.

In fact, she looked even more confused.

"Why... would I do that?"

Above Si Hon, the glowing chat windows exploded instantly.

「LMAOOOOOOOO」

「BRO MISREAD THE ENTIRE SITUATION」

「THIS MAN ALREADY WROTE HIS WILL AND TESTAMENT」

「RIP SI HON’S DIGNITY」

(Y’all the one who made all those stories, fuckers.)

He clutched his hand as he thought about those, then very slowly, he pointed toward the floor.

"You just crushed a dude’s head like a watermelon."

"Oh." The girl glanced casually toward the bloodstained floor where the Munches had died earlier. "...That guy?"

"YES THAT GUY."

She shrugged.

"He was annoying."

Si Hon stared at her.

"Annoying?"

"Yeah. He kept interrupting me, and most of all. I’m the king here, and he didn’t obey sooo... you know?"

For a moment, Si Hon’s brain went completely blank.

Behind him, the torches crackled softly along the stone walls while faint echoes of the departing Munches could still be heard somewhere deep in the tunnels.

The room felt strangely normal now— almost peaceful, despite the fact that someone’s skull had been crushed here less than five minutes ago.

Well, it’s not like Si Hon cares about that munches who got his head crushed, he’s just scared since... who is in the right mind to... crush someone’s head, just because... he disobey...

Well, anyway Si Hon slowly lowered his hands.

"So... you’re not going to kill me."

"No?"

"Eat me."

"No...?"

"Atleast... Break my spine. I guess?"

"You into that?"

"No..."

"oh... well, why would I do that?"

"oh one last thing... Sacrifice me to some ancient demon ritual?"

The girl stared at him for a long moment.

Then her eyebrows slowly furrowed.

"What kind of life have you been living where all those are normal expectations?"

For a second, Si Hon looked like he had been personally attacked by that question.

His mouth opened... then closed again.

"Well..."

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, clearly trying to decide whether he should say what he was about to say.

"Didn’t you... uh... didn’t you almost sacrifice someone like... hours, hours ago?"

The girl blinked.

Her face instantly went blank.

"ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ... How do you know that?" she asked slowly.

Si Hon froze.

For a moment he just sat there like a computer that had suddenly encountered a critical error.

"Uh... those guys... are my... com—"

He stopped.

His face twisted in visible pain.

"shit... this is cringe..."

He rubbed his face.

"I mean those guys are my friends... ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ..."

The girl’s eyes widened.

Then suddenly— Her eyes started sparkling.

"Wait."

She pointed at him.

"A-are you that guy that immediately hid behind the stone?!"

Si Hon froze.

Before he could answer, she burst into a mischievous grin and leaned forward excitedly.

"WHEHEHEH," she giggled proudly, puffing her chest slightly as if she had just solved a mystery. "That was actually my plan lol."

She casually waved her hand like some kind of genius strategist.

"Remember? I took a glance at you, and at that moment I was like..."

Her voice trailed off as the memory resurfaced.

***

(EARLIER~)

A high-pitched voice came.

"We sacrifice."

The moment the words rang through the abyss, a thunder of movement followed.

Massive chains suspended across the cavern began to rattle as thousands of Munches sitting along them erupted into cheers.

Their gray, white, black bodies crouched shoulder-to-shoulder along the enormous iron chains that stretched through the air like bridges, forming five huge rings that circled the chamber.

Some chains hung high along the cavern walls.

Others dipped lower, curving toward the enormous central platform where the ritual altar stood.

From a distance, the creatures looked almost like rows of grotesque birds perched along black metal branches.

Their clapping echoed endlessly through the burning cavern, the sound mixing with the roar of lava far below.

At the very center of it all stood the ritual platform— an enormous circular structure suspended by even thicker chains, with jagged black pillars rising from its surface.

And in the middle of that platform...

A pillar of pale blue green light shot upward toward the cavern ceiling.

Standing near the altar, she watched the spectacle with mild boredom.

To the Munches, the ritual was clearly an exciting event.

To her—

It was just another noisy day, a mission.

Then something caught her eye.

Far away, near one of the small holes carved into the cave wall... A human stood there.

Completely out of place.

For a moment, the guy was just the one staring at her, then the instant her gaze landed directly on him—

The human vanished.

He immediately ducked behind the rock beside him like a startled animal.

She blinked.

"Oh."

For a brief second she just stared at the empty spot where he had been.

Then the corner of her lips slowly curled upward, amusement flickering in her eyes.

(Wow... okay.)

(That was fast.)

Tilting her head slightly, she studied the rock where the human had hidden himself as if it had suddenly become the most suspicious rock in existence.

(Wait... how did that guy even get here?)

Her gaze drifted across the ritual platform and the surrounding chains where thousands of Munches still sat cheering and clapping.

Then she looked toward one of the holes carved in cavern walls, where prisoners are.

(Maybe he’s trying to save someone.)

Her eyes moved slowly across the Munches until she settled on a single Munches sitting near the edge of the chain.

Compared to the others, this one looked... weaker.

Her expression brightened slightly.

(Yeah. That one will do.)

Without much ceremony, she lifted her hand and pointed.

"You. Take."

The selected Munches immediately nodded and stood up and walked away, disappearing into one of the dark holes carved into the cavern wall.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the rock shift ever so slightly.

The hidden human was still there.

Still watching.

She didn’t turn her head, but she could practically feel his nervous gaze peeking from behind the stone.

A few minutes passed.

Then, just like she expected—

The rock shifted again.

The human suddenly slid down the steep rocky slope, scrambling awkwardly as he hurried after the Munch she had sent away.

She watched him rush into the tunnel and disappear into the darkness.

For a moment she simply stood there.

Then she quietly muttered to herself—

(Good luck, dude.)

***

(In the present.)

"That’s.... What happened." She said.

The chat lost its mind.

「LMAOOOOOOO」

「Kwjshshshahahaha」

「SI HON IS dumb!!! Actually... I’m pretty sorry, it seems like Ryu ##### in this timeline is just a teen right now... sooo You’re lucky Si Hon」

He took a glanced at the messages then, Si Hon rubbed his face with both hands.

"Okay," he muttered. "...Okay. That’s good. That’s good. That’s very good actually."

He took a deep breath.

Then another.

Then suddenly he froze.

Slowly... very slowly... his head lifted again.

"Wait."

The girl tilted her head.

"What?"

Si Hon pointed toward the mascot suit hanging on the rack.

"Soooooo.... you’re telling me... the terrifying Munches King... the monster that just crushed a skull with one hand... and... rules all those sick fucks..."

Then he pointed at her.

"Is just a girl in a fluffy costume?"

She followed his finger and looked at the mascot.

Then she nodded.

"Yes? You... literally saw me. Just a minute ago."

Si Hon stared at her.

Then at the mascot.

And yes... Back to her again.

His eye twitched.

Above him, the chat messages were now sending messages to fast that some looks like it... Spams.

「LMAO」

「just want y’all to know... he’s lucky this is Ryu sa### when she was just a kid!!! Nah actually... I didn’t expect this.」

「THIS STREAM IS PEAK」

Si Hon slowly leaned backward and collapsed onto the bed.

"Fuck... I hate this."

He covered his face with both hands.

"And I hate this world."

The girl watched him quietly for a moment.

Then she stepped closer to the bed and looked down at him, her towel rustling softly as she leaned forward.

"You’re weird."

Si Hon didn’t move.

"I’ve been kidnapped by gorilla monsters, forced into some kind of death tower, chased by a giant hybrid dogragon, and watched someone’s skull explode like a tomato."

He slowly peeked at her through his fingers.

"And I’m the weird one?"

She thought about it.

"Yes."

The chat erupted again.

And somewhere far above them—

On the unseen Fate Channel, countless higher beings continued watching the broadcast with growing amusement.

Because somehow...

Despite everything that had happened— Si Hon had just survived another scenario.

Mostly by panicking and of course, by thinking a bit... A little bit... He’s a calculative strategies for some reason.