A smile that doesn't look good

"That's strange."

The girl said, turning around. The Vermin unconsciously touched his lips, a sinister smile appearing on his face.

"Brother, can you not smile?"

"Why?"

"Because your smile doesn't look good. If the police see you, they'll arrest you."

"More importantly, you'll scare people."

The Vermin flicked the girl's head. "Silly girl, what do you mean my smile doesn't look good? I'm not a good person."

"Let's go, let's go eat."

...

The two arrived at a restaurant and ordered hot pot.

The Vermin didn't touch his chopsticks. He just watched the girl eat, a small, almost imperceptible smile playing on his lips.

Two men at another table noticed the girl. "She's pretty cute."

The other man picked up a peanut with his chopsticks. "What's it to you? Mind your own business. You're always sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."

"I'm just making an observation. I also want a younger sister."

"In your dreams."

"Hurry up and eat. My wife is waiting for me at home. She'll nag me if I'm late."

The two men ate and chatted.

One of the men kept glancing at the girl.

Soon, he suddenly bit into an insect. His face twisted in disgust.

"What the hell is this?!"

The man's expression changed. He felt something moving in his mouth, so he quickly spat out the food.

But the sight of the chewed food made him gag.

Among the chewed food were wriggling maggot-like insects!

"Ugh!"

"Owner, come here and look! There are insects in your food!"

The owner came over. He looked at the insects the man had spat out, completely dumbfounded. He stammered, "I, I… this…" He looked at the pot, then back at the man, his face a mixture of confusion and apology.

"How is that possible?" He stuttered, completely bewildered.

The man pointed at the vomit he'd just spat out and started retching again.

But what was even stranger was that everything he vomited was living, wriggling insects!

"What the…?"

The other man's eyes widened at the sight. How many pounds of live insects did this guy eat?!

The vomiting man felt like his esophagus and stomach were filled with wriggling things.

A second later, insects started crawling out of his nose and ears!

"Aaah, ugh, ugh, blegh!"

The man became like a nest of insects. Insects crawled out of his eyes and skin. Not long after, the man collapsed on the table, no longer breathing.

The other man and the owner were terrified. They hurriedly called the police.

Countless live, wriggling insects crawled out of the man's corpse, densely packed, like a horror scene.

The girl also saw this. "Brother, can you not be so disgusting… I'm still eating."

Then, the girl lowered her head and continued eating, completely ignoring the corpse next to her. She continued to eat as if nothing had happened, her expression unreadable.

The Vermin smiled as he looked at the girl. "Eat quickly. The police will be here soon." His smile, however, didn't quite reach his eyes.

The girl rolled her eyes at The Vermin, quickly ate a few more bites, and left the restaurant.

The Vermin paid with his phone and then also left.

The two walked on the street. The girl's steps were fast.

The Vermin asked, "Are you angry?"

"No."

The girl casually replied.

"Next time, I'll make sure he dies less… messily." The Vermin's voice was soft, almost a murmur, but there was a chilling undertone to it.

"Next time, I'm not eating out with you." The girl wrinkled her nose, a look of disgust flitting across her face.

"I'll give you an extra $10 allowance." The Vermin's offer was casual, but his eyes watched her reaction intently.

"Then… okay." The girl's resolve crumbled quickly.

"$15." He upped the offer, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Can you add a little more?" She pushed her luck, emboldened by his easy concession.

"$20, that's my limit."

"Okay, that's fine."

The girl pointed towards a milk tea shop. "I want to drink that."

The Vermin patted his pockets. "Sure." He didn't even check if he had enough money.

The girl pouted. "Then never mind. Let's go home."

"Wait."

The Vermin suddenly stopped her. A moment later, a female shop assistant ran out of the shop with two cups of milk tea.

"Here you go." She handed the drinks to The Vermin with a nervous smile. The speed of her service was unusually fast.

The Vermin took the milk tea and handed one to the girl.

"Is this okay?"

The girl took the milk tea with both hands. "An 8 out of 10."

"What about the other two points?"

"Not telling you."

The girl walked off happily with her milk tea.

The Vermin was about to catch up when his phone suddenly rang.

A face appeared on the phone screen. "General meeting. Want to listen in?" The face, despite being displayed on a screen, held an air of authority. It was Zero.

"Speak." The Vermin's reply was curt, his gaze still fixed on his sister's retreating form.

"Depart at eight tonight, destination Africa." Zero's voice was crisp and efficient, conveying the urgency of the situation.

The Vermin glanced at his sister's back. "Make sure dinner has extra portions. I eat a lot." He spoke to the phone, his tone casual, as if the impending trip to Africa was nothing more than a minor inconvenience.

The face on the screen flickered. "You actually agreed. I thought you'd refuse." Zero sounded surprised. The Vermin's easy acceptance was unexpected.

The Vermin smiled, a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "The country calls, its people naturally answer. Isn't that obvious?" His words were patriotic, but his tone held a subtle, unsettling undercurrent.

This guy is truly unpredictable…

Computer had analyzed The Vermin after collecting vast amounts of data.

His sister was his weakness, that much was clear. His life revolved around his sister.

If he was asked to go on a mission, he would definitely refuse.

But this time, he agreed.

This contradicted Computer's behavioral logic. Unless…

There was another reason. A hidden motive that even Computer, with its vast access to information, couldn't decipher. The mystery surrounding The Vermin deepened, a puzzle piece that refused to fit into the larger picture.

...

That night.

At 8:00 PM, Reinhard was escorted onto a helicopter. With him were the Right Hand soldiers led by Naira Sorkin.

Reinhard looked around and then approached Naira Sorkin. "What's your usual training like?" He asked casually, trying to glean any information about this mysterious group.

Naira Sorkin didn't answer, his face impassive. He stared straight ahead, lost in his own thoughts. The secrets of the Right Hand were not to be shared with outsiders, even those accompanying them on a mission.

The Right Hand mage squad consisted of four hundred people, with varying levels of mental strength. They were roughly divided into three levels:

Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced.

Currently, only Naira Sorkin had reached the Advanced level.

The others had barely reached Intermediate, and most of them were still at the Beginner level.

And what did Beginner level mean? This was Zero's classification.

Beginner-level mental strength could only control the four basic elements.

Intermediate-level mental strength could combine elements, unleashing combined elements.

For example, wind + fire = lightning, earth + water = wood, fire + water = fog. These were combined elements.

The strength of one's mental power is directly related to the power of the magic.

And Advanced, the biggest difference was the ability to use combined elements simultaneously.

That is, they could use up to two combined elements simultaneously.

For example, wind + fire = lightning, and fire + water = fog. Advanced mages could combine them, creating lightning storms and rain.

Hearing that the Right Hand soldiers would be accompanying him on this mission, Reinhard had an idea.

"Just knowing the mental cultivation method is not enough. You also need the special flowers provided by Zero. Ideally, I should join the Right Hand."

But the precondition was that they would survive this operation.

The journey to Africa to find Atlantis would not be easy. Danger lurked around every corner, and survival was far from guaranteed. A knot of anxiety tightened in Reinhard's stomach. He wasn't sure what awaited them in Africa, but he knew it wouldn't be a walk in the park. He clutched the book in his pocket, a small comfort in the face of the unknown.