One-Eyed Monster

Igor’s expectant expression shattered instantly. He couldn’t believe Kadi would toss the problem to the very Little Black Hands they were supposed to be helping.

The Little Black Hands collectively fell silent. They needed time to digest this statement.

What on earth was going on? How did it become their responsibility to solve the problem?

Silence was a potent answer. The Little Black Hands’ quietude instantly stiffened the atmosphere.

Igor felt Kadi’s deflection would likely stir resistance among the Little Black Hands, but he had no way to stop Kadi. He could only marvel at Kadi’s astonishing talent for stirring up trouble.

”We need to come up with a detailed plan; otherwise, everything will be for naught.” The one to finally break the awkward silence appeared: Stan Sol, the ever-thoughtful Stan Sol.

Someone had broken the ice. Kadi breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he could finally catch a break. He quickly chimed in, ”Exactly! We need to formulate a detailed plan. We can’t keep acting so freely and without purpose.”

Kadi hoped to use this momentum to dispel the Little Black Hands’ confusion and stop them from pestering him.

As long as they don’t make me use my brain, anything is fine.

But Kadi had still underestimated the pestering prowess of this group of Little Black Hands.

”So what exactly is the plan?”

”We just want to know how we can cooperate with your plan.”

”Exactly, so hurry up and tell us your plan.”

Kadi was on the verge of a breakdown. What in the world is going on? Why are they still fixated on me? This shouldn’t be happening!

Kadi couldn’t understand why these Little Black Hands weren’t targeting Igor. After all, it was Igor’s idea! Even Stan Sol didn’t miss the chance to twist the knife, asking Kadi what detailed plan he had.

Hey, you’re on our side! How could you help these Little Black Hands speak out against us? Can’t we just be quiet teammates anymore? Our own people are pushing us to a dead end! What kind of mess is this?

Kadi’s mind was in chaos. He didn’t know what to do.

Completely baffled, he couldn’t complain. Facing all those hopeful eyes, he felt he had nowhere to retreat.

But if you asked him to bite the bullet and push through, he simply didn’t have that kind of strength. Kadi now felt like a headless fly, bumping into things everywhere, completely disoriented.

What on earth should I do? This can’t go on! At this rate, we’ll be a wreck before we even defeat the enemy, and it’ll be our own doing... This whole situation is just painfully awkward to even think about.

Kadi wanted to ask for help; his stubbornness had already yielded. But then other emotions surged. Facing so many expectant gazes, he still felt he couldn’t ask for help. If he did, he would lose all face.

Vanity was at play... Stubbornness departed, and vanity arrived. Kadi was truly experiencing a whirlwind of emotions now.

Kadi felt that at this moment, he had no choice but to stand tall and take charge.

So, he began to think. Since he was destined to take the lead now, he might as well go all out. He couldn’t afford to worry about success or failure anymore.

So Kadi tried to think: what was he best at? But try as he might, nothing came to mind.

This time, he truly felt dejected. After racking my brains for so long, I have no special skills at all. This is just too tragic.

A wave of disappointment washed over Kadi, instantly extinguishing the spark of excitement he had managed to muster.

He had no clue how to come up with a perfect plan.

He had always been a carefree, unthinking monster, never one to ponder things too deeply, sometimes even detesting using his brain. Yet now, he was being forced to be the team’s linchpin. This was practically a death sentence for him.

Still, no matter how great the difficulty, he had to face it head-on, even if he still had no idea where to begin.

Igor suddenly found Kadi, in his seriousness, rather endearing. He could clearly see Kadi was at his wit’s end, yet the fellow was still stubbornly holding on, refusing to admit defeat. Thanks to his vanity and obstinacy, this monster showed no sign of backing down.

Igor genuinely admired him. This kind of direct, unyielding strength truly sent waves of warmth through his heart.

Stan Sol looked at Igor. He noticed that Igor was also full of expectations for Kadi, which was exactly what he had anticipated.

He felt it was necessary now to explain the importance of a plan to Igor and the others.

So Stan Sol approached Igor. Compared to Kadi, he felt Igor was somewhat more rational, or at least a little more objective.

”I feel...” Stan Sol began, then paused, pondering. I initially wanted to be direct, he considered, but that doesn’t seem right. It would be impolite to Igor. Pointing out someone’s shortcomings directly... no one likes that.

This was Stan Sol’s communication barrier; he couldn’t interact smoothly with people. Ever since his speech had slowed considerably, he had lost this social ability.

This was a consequence of his excessive pursuit of his hidden power. Capturing Fiery Blaze had granted him an excellent Battle Pet, but it had also cost him something.

His family had endured great ups and downs. The mission he carried was excessively heavy; for a young man his age to bear such burdens was indeed somewhat unreasonable.

But there was no such thing as fairness in this world. Stan Sol had long understood the true meaning of the principle of Equivalent Exchange: no gain without pain. His family had exhausted its confidence during peacetime and paid the price. To revitalize his family, he had to exert even greater effort.

Thus, caution became his closest companion. He would deliberate deeply before undertaking any action; only then could his heart find peace.

Even when interacting with others, it was the same.

Igor watched Stan Sol hesitate, struggling to speak, and felt a bit anxious. Though in normal circumstances he didn’t mind Stan Sol’s ant-like speaking pace, here, he was growing impatient.

”What’s the matter?” Igor asked.

”I... I just feel... we can’t go on like this,” Stan Sol finally managed. He felt Igor was very assertive, and his own tentative suggestions might be useless, so he could only voice his dissent in this veiled manner.

Although he knew he might not be able to convince Igor.

”We can’t go on like this, not without your help,” Igor said.

Stan Sol was quite surprised. How is this different from what I imagined!

To prepare for this conversation with Igor, he had put in a great deal of thought, but now things were turning out completely differently than he’d anticipated!

He hadn’t expected Igor to agree with him directly instead of refuting him. This caught him off guard, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to respond.

He already had a communication barrier, and now he was in such a situation. It was indeed a bit perplexing.