As the two of them tested each other, Qin Xiaoxia gradually made a discovery.

Not only did the Mischievous Elf look like a child, but its thought processes were also genuinely quite immature.

Qin Xiaoxia wasn’t sure if the psychology of beings from the Otherworld was similar to that on Earth, but it was clear from the current situation that the little guy’s mind was still fairly easy to read.

And due to certain inherited family traits, while Qin Xiaoxia wasn’t professionally trained in psychology, he had some insights in this area.

Although the little guy was called a Mischievous Elf and was surely capable of lying, he clearly hadn’t invested enough skill points into deception. His thoughts were also quite simple, and most importantly, he was a coward, which made it easy for Qin Xiaoxia to trick information out of him.

As their contact deepened, Qin Xiaoxia had the illusion that he was beginning to understand the secrets of the world’s changes.

The Mischievous Elf had indeed come from the Otherworld, for reasons the Little Elf itself didn’t even know.

One day, while in its mine, it suddenly fell into a hole. A suction force pulled it in, and by the time it came to its senses, it was already on Earth.

This was the Mischievous Elf’s first time ever crossing worlds, so it was terrified. According to its description, it hadn’t even directly arrived on the real Earth at first.

Because a layer of worldly repulsion isolated all non-native matter.

To put it simply.

Things that crossed over from the Otherworld were isolated from real terrestrial matter, as if they existed in a different dimension.

Inanimate objects were one thing, but living beings were especially subject to the repulsion of this World Law.

Qin Xiaoxia had been listening intently, but as soon as the little guy mentioned repulsion, he immediately cut in.

"You say the Power of the World’s repulsion is so strong and the isolation is so complete, so how did you get in for real? How are you able to steal my things and eat my food? Don’t tell me this is all a dream."

Convinced the little guy posed no threat, Qin Xiaoxia was growing more and more audacious. As he spoke, he reached out and pinched the Mischievous Elf’s cheek, stretching the pudgy flesh several centimeters.

The little Elf shook its head, trying to resist, but it was tied up and could only let its face be stretched and pulled like a piece of dough.

"Mmph... I... I Wished my way in!"

Qin Xiaoxia only let go when he saw the little guy’s face turning red.

"As one of Magson’s primordial spirits, we evolved over countless ages to gain the Ability to forge Wishing Gold Coins and use the Gold Coin Wishing Technique. The Wish only affected me. And since I’m such a kind and harmless Elf, the power of the Wish was just enough to counteract the Power of the World, which wasn’t very strong against me to begin with."

"You can’t even break free from a rope, but you can fool the Power of the World?"

Curiosity and disbelief were written all over Qin Xiaoxia’s face.

"Hmph! Punching someone isn’t as powerful as hitting them with a rock, but it’s still you doing the hitting, right? In Magson, a visit from a Saroba Elf is a sign of good fortune! You’re not only ungrateful, you tied me up!"

The little guy glared at Qin Xiaoxia, his cheeks puffed out in anger, while rubbing his sore cheek from the inside with his tongue.

Hearing that, Qin Xiaoxia grew thoughtful. He now had a more intuitive understanding of the Little Elf’s Wish. It also seemed he wouldn’t have to worry about the world being overrun by countless monsters for the time being.

"Oh-ho, still talking tough, are we, little guy? You’ve been freeloading at my place for so long, constantly stealing and making a mess. Where’s the ’good fortune’ in that?"

"I gave you Gold Coins!"

"Uh-huh. And then what? Where are the Gold Coins now?"

"I... I used them to make a Wish for you..."

Qin Xiaoxia leaned in close, a grin spreading across his face as he looked at the elf.

"Right, right. You did mention that to use a Gold Coin for a Wish, the owner has to be the one to state it. But you just exploited a loophole in what I said, didn’t you? You actually used the Gold Coins that already belonged to me to grant your own Wish! You shameless little thief!"

Qin Xiaoxia scrutinized the Mischievous Elf, looking it up and down, left and right.

The little guy, expecting his cheek to be tormented again, was surprised when Qin Xiaoxia didn’t make a move. Instead, he saw the bad guy looking at him with a suddenly serious expression.

"You’ve been here the whole time. You probably don’t have a real understanding of the world outside, do you?"

The face of the man before him suddenly darkened.

"Little guy, you don’t actually think this world called Earth is some kind of paradise, do you?"

In that short moment, Qin Xiaoxia had already figured out his plan.

Even though this little guy was a visitor from the Otherworld, an undocumented alien on Earth, he couldn’t actually do anything to it.

He certainly couldn’t keep the little guy tied up like this forever; who knew what kind of problems that might cause.

Ultimately, he would have to let go of this little guy who, in reality, had no intention of harming anyone.

But this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the kind you couldn’t even dream of. He had to find a way to "tether" the little guy to his side.

He had no choice but to use a psychological approach. When it came to duping people, Qin Xiaoxia’s ability could be considered a family inheritance.

Just as the Mischievous Elf was anxiously wondering if this guy was as evil as some of the Ghouls from Magson, Qin Xiaoxia’s tone suddenly became sincere and full of gravity.

"You haven’t met many humans before, have you? Let alone humans from Earth?"

"I’ll let you go. After all, I’m not into abusing kids. As long as you compensate me for my losses, we’re good."

The Mischievous Elf’s eyes immediately lit up at the prospect of being set free.

"But!!"

The smile that had just begun to form on the little guy’s face instantly vanished, which Qin Xiaoxia found quite amusing.

"But, there are some important things about this world that I must make you understand, lest my first friend from the Otherworld... dies a mysterious and pointless death!"

He delivered the last part with a heavy, chilling emphasis, and after a brief pause, he suddenly shoved his face right in front of the little guy’s.

Though the Mischievous Elf was bound and couldn’t move, the hat on its head shot straight up.

It was an effect you’d normally only see in an old slapstick comedy.

"Ahem. Words alone might not give you a clear picture. Let me show you some proof. You’ll soon understand that the injection torture from before was just the tip of the iceberg."

The tablet in Qin Xiaoxia’s hands played a crucial role.

Using the lightning-fast typing speed he normally reserved for writing, he searched for all sorts of videos depicting humans cruelly harming animals.

The bloody operations of whaling ships and shark finning boats at sea; all kinds of dog butchers and dognappers on land; and also the terrifying Huaguo People, who eat practically anything.

One video in particular, about a fully automated assembly line for pork and chicken production in Germany, showcased the art of efficient slaughter taken to its extreme. It even gave Qin Xiaoxia a fright.

’Even killing chickens is this efficient nowadays?’

The subsequent videos and pictures showed all kinds of traps that exist all over the world.

All sorts of poisoned traps for snakes, bugs, and rats were everywhere. There were all kinds of ferocious and deadly wild animals—beasts that could tear you apart and creatures with lethal venom. Even the stray dogs in a residential complex could swarm and maul you to death at any moment!

If all that represented the dangers of nature and the dangers humans posed to the outside world, then what came next was even more brutal.

The most ruthless thing about humanity is how we treat our own kind.

There were tragic car accidents happening constantly, objects falling from high-rises for no reason, terrorist suicide bombings, horrific mass shootings, sinister revenge poisonings, and psychotic criminals who were impossible to guard against and could pop up beside you at any moment.

All of this could result in maimed limbs, or more likely, outright death.

There was also a type of person called an abductor, who specialized in targeting small members of their own race—ones about the same size as the Little Elf. Once those young humans were taken away, they never came back!

And even if you managed to avoid all that, you still weren’t safe.

Sudan Red dye, gutter oil, the toxic milk powder that caused the Big Head Child illness... even seemingly delicious food could be fatal if you ate the wrong thing.

The Mischievous Elf’s face was already deathly pale with fright, but Qin Xiaoxia wasn’t letting him off the hook.

"You think those are the biggest threats? No, that was just an appetizer!"

"Our species is a complex one, and destruction and slaughter make up a huge part of our history. You absolutely do not want to get even the slightest bit involved."

Qin Xiaoxia searched for humanity’s terrifying weapons of war one by one, showing clips of actual combat or simply playing segments he’d clipped from war movies.

The world-engulfing torrent of death was undoubtedly horrifying. Even more terrifying were the increasingly destructive weapons that humans were constantly developing.

"In the past few thousand years of history, humans have waged over 14,000 wars amongst themselves, causing the direct or indirect deaths of over three billion of our own people..."

The number "over three billion" terrified the Mischievous Elf so much that its entire body went limp.

This was a number it had no concept of before its mind linked with Qin Xiaoxia’s. Now, however, it understood just how astronomical the figure was—likely more than all the pebbles and specks of dust it had ever seen.

Every time a war engulfed the world, almost nowhere was safe.

"Heh, a world war might seem distant, but the ones you should really watch out for are human scientists!"

Qin Xiaoxia went "PAT. PAT." as he tapped the little guy’s cheek twice. The elf flinched, snapping out of its terrifying reverie.

"See that?"

Qin Xiaoxia pointed to the camera in the corner of the living room ceiling.

"That’s called a real-time surveillance camera. Your supposedly foolproof hiding places? I saw them all. It can monitor anything, anytime! And these things... they’re all over the world!"

"You don’t have any ID. Wandering around aimlessly can only lead to one outcome!"

"Once your existence is discovered, especially by scientists, the best you could hope for would be a quick death. Your body, your organs, even your tissues would be sliced up and fought over by the entire world... And maybe they wouldn’t even let you die. Maybe they’d just cut off a little piece of your flesh every day, drain a little of your blood..."

The tablet came in for the assist at the perfect moment.

Videos showing the cruel processes of scientific research, as well as scenes from sci-fi movies depicting alien dissections, were played in fast-forward one after another. Qin Xiaoxia would even pause on the particularly bloody and horrifying moments.

On the table, the small creature had curled into a ball and was trembling uncontrollably. It squeezed its eyes shut, not daring to watch the screen, but the sounds kept pouring into its ears.

"SOB SOB SOB... WAAAH! What kind of world is this!!!"