My job list is full of alien girls.

Chapter 10 Yes, I have Middle School Syndrome 2

With a casual wave of his crystal longbow, Rhode began skillfully searching the three corpses.

Within her consciousness, Alina couldn't help but feel annoyed:

"These guys call you 'brother' all the time, but they actually want to kill you... Humans are truly treacherous..."

As she said this, she suddenly remembered that Rhodes was also human, and she shut up again.

Rod remained unmoved, his fingertips touching the money pouch at John's waist, and with a gentle tug, he took it off.

Seeing his reaction, Alina couldn't help but feel puzzled. Thinking of Rhodes's initial words, "Don't think too badly of people, and don't think too highly of them either," she couldn't help but wonder if there was any deeper meaning behind them.

After pondering for a long time, she finally couldn't help but ask, "You knew all along that they had ill intentions? You saw from the beginning that they wanted to harm you?"

"no."

Rod shook his head, poured the silver coins from the purse into his palm, and found that they were all badly worn and of impure quality, which made him feel a little disappointed.

Alina was even more puzzled: "Then why aren't you panicked at all? When they surrounded us just now, I thought we were going to be doomed..."

"Because," Rhodes stood up, dusted himself off, and said in a mysterious tone:

"When a person is killed, they die."

"?"

Alina choked instantly, inwardly cursing:

Isn't that obvious?

Everyone knows that being killed means death!

Can this guy be a little clearer? Do you like to pretend to be profound?

As if reading her mind, Rhodes added, "This kind of thing is common among adventurers. Either I die, or they die. There's no need to speculate too much."

"Instead of wasting energy guessing whether they're friendly or not, we should be prepared to act at any time," Rhodes said, clenching his fist. "With enough power, all schemes and tricks will be exposed."

Alina fell silent, pondering his words. Looking at Rhodes's aloof expression, she sensed something was amiss.

This guy's thought process is really too abnormal...

It's as if dark things like murder and robbery, and intrigue, are as commonplace as eating and drinking, completely unlike the thinking of ordinary humans.

After a long pause, Alina asked a question with difficulty:

"Are you... out of your mind?"

Could this guy be suffering from hysteria? I've heard that those mages and warlocks who go mad also have similar symptoms.

"Yes, I have chuunibyou (middle school syndrome)," Rod answered frankly.

Upon hearing this answer, Alina's mind went blank.

"What?"

"Hmm... it describes people who are deeply immersed in their own fantasy world, unmoved by external things, and may even do many incomprehensible things, yet still adhere to their ideals and beliefs."

Rod stroked his chin, saying somewhat uncertainly, "That's what people used to say about me, and I don't think they were wrong."

"..." Upon hearing this explanation, Alina suddenly understood and was instantly relieved.

My mother once said that we must be careful of people who have a clear understanding of themselves but still go against the common sense of the world.

They may not be villains, but they can be more terrifying than those extreme villains.

"Have...has your condition improved at all?" Even though she was in the consciousness space, Alina felt her voice had become dry. "Is there any possibility of a cure?"

"Why seek healing?" Rhodes asked, puzzled. "Don't you think it's cool to be single-mindedly devoted to the pursuit of the Dao?"

Very well, it's completely hopeless.

Alina stopped talking and quietly went to contemplate her life in the space of consciousness.

Rhodes searched through the three corpses and found only a few copper coins and impurities in their pockets, apart from the decent weapons.

Perhaps they foresaw their fate, spending all their money before each trip to ensure no one else benefited.

However, what really caught Rhodes's attention was a slightly crumpled map.

It was the same card John had used to guide the way.

He unfolded the map, laid it on the ground, and examined it carefully in the sunlight. He lightly tapped the map with his fingertips to confirm his current location, and then took out his own map to compare it.

Great, we've collected a new map. We can expand on the unexplored areas later.

A glimmer of joy flashed in his eyes, and he carefully folded the map and stuffed it into his inner pocket.

The sense of accomplishment from collecting corpses always invigorated Rhodes, no matter how many times it happened.

In particular, the immense satisfaction derived from analyzing the causes of death of corpses and collecting leftover equipment and maps is what drives his continued exploration.

This is also why Rhodes was able to create such a detailed map in just two months.

Having learned his lesson from his encounter with Alina, and considering the stench of blood in the surroundings, Rhode decided to quickly clean up the area and leave the scene.

He glanced at the three corpses on the ground, took out the shovel he always carried, and dug a shallow pit in the open space next to him.

As Rod dragged the bodies of John's gang one by one into the pit, just as he was about to cover them with soil as usual, a terrified female voice suddenly came from not far away:

"ah--!"

A loud rustling sound came from the bushes.

Rod paused slightly in his grip on the shovel, looked up and followed the sound, and saw three somewhat familiar figures.

It is a warrior-mage-priest team

The young priestess in the white robes seemed to have seen something extraordinary; her once rosy face turned completely pale.

"Corpse, corpse..."

She covered her mouth tightly with one hand, while her other hand, trembling slightly, pointed at the three corpses in the pit. Her shoulders rose and fell gently, clearly overwhelmed by the bloody scene and the pungent smell of blood, almost vomiting on the spot.

Having accidentally gotten lost in the forest, they originally wanted to seek help from nearby adventurers.

As the member of the team with the strongest reconnaissance skills, the priestess thought she had found an adventurer who could guide them, but unexpectedly stumbled upon the crime scene.

Compared to the psychologically fragile young priestess, the short warrior in silver armor next to her seemed rather delighted to see Rhodes.

"Ah! It's you, the wandering swordsman I met in Misty City!"

Don Quixote still had some recollection of this man whose attire was exactly like that of a knight-errant in an adventure story.

"What happened here? I smell blood. There must have been a fierce battle here!" The child said, and started to walk towards Rhodes.

"No, don't go there!" The young priestess weakly tugged at Don Quixote. "There are corpses there...it's horrible..."

"A corpse?"

Upon hearing this, Don Quixote was not surprised but delighted, his eyes gleaming with barely suppressed excitement:

"According to the adventure stories, this must be a murder case full of conspiracy."

"And the murderer is among us!"

"He...he's the one who killed him..." The young pastor was almost in tears. "Didn't you see? He was destroying evidence of his crime!"

"Huh?!"