Chapter 174: Favorability Means Fanatic Loyalty
Damian followed the four women with a relaxed smile on his face.
At least, that was how he looked from the outside.
Inside, his mind was already working quickly.
The longer they walked, the more Damian wondered why they were going deeper and deeper into the residence instead of stopping in a normal room.
Linsey walked ahead with light steps, humming softly as if she was leading him to an ordinary guest room.
Helena stayed near Damian’s left side, calm and steady. Cynthia walked on his right with her gentle expression, while Evelyn quietly followed behind him.
"Good formation. One in front, two beside me, one behind me. Damn, this doesn’t look like welcoming a guest. This looks like escorting a prisoner."
Soon, they reached a stone staircase hidden beneath the inner residence.
Damian raised an eyebrow. "Ladies, I thought we were going to a room."
Linsey looked back with a cheerful expression. "This is also a room."
Helena nodded calmly. "Just underground."
Cynthia’s voice remained soft. "Don’t worry, Senior Brother. You wanted privacy, right?"
Evelyn added quietly, "No one will disturb us here."
Damian kept smiling. "I see. Good, then."
A few breaths later, they arrived at the basement.
The moment the stone door opened, Damian’s smile froze slightly.
The room was not some kind of girlish private chamber.
In fact, it was a pure torture room.
Dim spirit lamps hung on the walls. Blood stains marked the stone floor. Several cruel tools were placed neatly on a table, and in the center of the basement sat a stone chair.
On that chair was a corpse.
A corpse that had clearly been brutally tortured before death.
Even Damian, who had just watched their true villainess story through the system, still frowned when he saw the real thing. "Damn..."
His gaze moved from the corpse to the four women.
In that instant, Damian realized their real personalities had surfaced.
Linsey’s cheerful expression slowly disappeared.
Helena’s calm face became heavier.
Cynthia’s gentle warmth faded into something cold and unreadable.
Evelyn’s eyes turned sharp as frost.
Damian slowly turned around to face them properly. "So this is what you wanted me to see?"
Linsey took one step forward, and her voice was no longer playful. "Senior Brother Damian..."
Helena lowered her head slightly. "Can you please hear us for a moment?"
Cynthia’s fingers tightened around her sleeve. "We know this looks terrible."
Evelyn’s voice stayed cold, but there was a faint tremble beneath it. "We need you to understand."
Damian frowned deeper. At the same time, he cursed the system in his heart.
"What the hell do you mean by peak trust toward me? They look like they’re deciding whether to confess everything or kill me first."
Damian looked at the corpse again, then slowly turned back toward the four women.
In the end, he could only sigh.
He nodded as if he had finally accepted the situation. "Okay, then tell me."
His gaze moved across Linsey, Helena, Cynthia, and Evelyn. "Why did you bring me here?"
The four women exchanged a glance.
For once, Linsey did not answer immediately. Her usual playful energy was gone, replaced by something colder and more serious.
Helena stepped forward first. "Because you deserve to know the truth."
Cynthia lowered her eyes slightly. "Since we decided to follow you, hiding this forever would be meaningless."
Evelyn’s voice was calm, but her fingers tightened faintly around her sleeve. "Yes. That’s why we brought you here. We wanted to tell you the whole truth."
Damian’s eyebrow twitched, but he did not answer.
He simply waited for them to finish.
Linsey took a breath and finally spoke. "Senior Brother Damian, we are not normal women."
Damian glanced at the corpse. "I noticed."
Linsey’s lips twitched faintly, but she continued, "We are a group of women who like to torture and kill men like him."
She pointed at the ruined corpse tied to the stone chair. "He was a righteous cultivator on the surface. A kind and genius young master from a high-tier cultivation family."
Helena’s eyes turned heavy. "In truth, he liked kidnapping women and torturing them for fun, then hiding everything behind his background."
Cynthia’s gentle voice became cold. "We were some of those girls."
Evelyn looked straight at Damian. "Fortunately, we escaped thanks to the sacrifice of our sisters. We survived, grew stronger, and finally came back to take revenge on him."
The basement fell silent again.
Damian stared at them for several breaths before his expression became a little complicated. "So now what?"
The four women looked at him.
Damian pointed toward the corpse, then toward himself. "What are you going to do after telling me all this?"
Linsey tilted her head. "What do you mean?"
Damian pointed at himself. "Are you going to torture me too because I’m also a pervert?"
For a moment, the four women froze.
A second later, Linsey burst out laughing.
Helena covered her face with one hand. "Senior Brother Damian..."
Cynthia’s cold expression cracked, and she sighed helplessly. "That is not the same thing."
Evelyn looked away, her ears faintly red. "You really ask disgusting questions at strange times."
Linsey wiped the corner of her eye, still laughing. "Of course not, Senior Brother Damian."
Her eyes softened slightly, but the fanatical brightness inside them did not disappear. "In fact, we love you very much."
Damian’s body stiffened. "Love?"
Helena nodded seriously. "You gave us power."
Cynthia said softly, "You gave us the chance to end our nightmare."
Evelyn’s gaze returned to him. "You never pretended to be righteous while hiding filth underneath."
Linsey stepped closer. "That is why we fully trust you."
Her voice became softer, but the basement somehow felt even heavier. "Very much."
Damian stared at her for a moment.
His mouth moved slightly, but no words came out immediately.
"System... when you said Favorability, did you secretly mean fanatic loyalty?"
Linsey did not notice his inner complaint, or maybe she noticed and simply did not care.
Her expression changed again.
The warmth in her eyes remained, but something dangerous slowly surfaced beneath it.
"Since you already know our secret, Senior Brother Damian, we will give you two choices."
Damian slowly leaned back a little. "Why does that sound dangerous?"
Helena stepped to the side and folded her arms. "Because it is."
Cynthia’s fingers brushed gently across the rim of her sleeve, her voice still soft enough to sound polite. "Please don’t misunderstand. We are not threatening you."
Evelyn added coldly, "Not exactly."
Damian looked at the corpse, then at the four women.
His mouth twitched. "That correction did not help at all."
