Compensation

As the waiter sluggishly shuffled over and began to disperse the onlookers, the two Anomalies brawling on the ground finally stopped.

Ren Yi watched as one of them took advantage of the other's momentary distraction, rolling away to escape his opponent's grasp. He scrambled to his feet and retreated quickly.

Seeing this, the waiter hurried forward, spreading his arms to stand between the two like a human barricade, clearly terrified they would start fighting again.

"Don't you dare run!"

The one who had stood up last glared furiously at the other across the waiter's arms.

Alright, he could finally tell them apart.

The one who stood up last and was still fuming was definitely Dr. Lin.

The one next to him, leisurely brushing the dust off his clothes with an air of indifference, was Dr. Zhao without a doubt.

Dr. Zhao seemed to sense Ren Yi's gaze. He suddenly turned, raised an eyebrow in Ren Yi's direction, and even flashed a smile.

He then casually removed the black-rimmed glasses—identical to Dr. Lin's—from his face, fished a pair of gold-rimmed glasses out of his pocket, and put them on.

With that change, the two finally had a distinguishing feature that could be identified at a glance.

So, this guy's outfit really was an intentional imitation of Dr. Lin, wasn't it?

By now, Dr. Lin's anger had gradually subsided. He didn't try to charge forward again, but his eyes remained cold as he stared at Dr. Zhao.

"Zhao, you've really gone too far this time!"

Uncharacteristically, Dr. Zhao didn't continue his mockery. Instead, he changed the subject.

"Classmate Lin, have you made a new friend?" His gaze swept over Ren Yi with interest before landing on the cold-faced Ren Man behind him, his tone carrying a hint of playfulness.

"This new friend looks a bit dim-witted. Classmate Lin, you didn't trick the poor guy, did you?"

Ren Yi looked at Dr. Lin in surprise, while Dr. Lin clutched his head in agony.

So, just like the entertainment city, Dr. Zhao didn't recognize Ren Man either.

"So, your memories aren't shared?" Ren Yi asked, finding the concept quite interesting.

The puppets of the entertainment city shared a collective consciousness; the male and female waiters from before could seamlessly continue a conversation with Ren Yi.

From the looks of it, split individuals like the Heart Fiend possessed more independence.

Opposite him, Dr. Lin and Dr. Zhao spoke almost simultaneously.

"Kid, stop overthinking. Don't have such disgusting thoughts!"

"A fine line of thinking, young man. Unfortunately, Classmate Lin isn't very cooperative~"

"So, you're basically like twin brothers?"

Ren Yi nodded thoughtfully, then turned to Dr. Lin and asked with total sincerity.

"In that case, would it actually have no effect on you if I beat him to death?"

The surroundings fell silent instantly.

Dr. Lin, Dr. Zhao, Ren Man, and the waiter—four Great Anomalies—all fell into a collective silence.

The atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

Ren Yi blinked and added hesitantly, "Uh, is that not okay?"

"Young man, you are far too ruthless!"

Dr. Zhao immediately put on a heartbroken expression, clutching his chest dramatically, though no one paid him any mind.

Surprisingly, it was the usually taciturn Ren Man who was the first to offer a hesitant explanation.

"They... can merge together."

The waiter beside them added gloomily, his tone tinged with helplessness.

"When they aren't merged, if you want to kill one, you have to kill the other at the same time."

He paused, then quickly corrected himself. "Oh, sorry, let me rephrase. You would have to kill every single Heart Fiend."

Actually, Dr. Lin's face had already begun to contort the moment Ren Yi mentioned "beating him to death."

Hearing the waiter's words, he grew even more anxious and hurriedly spoke up. "Don't, absolutely don't! Xiao Yi, let me explain..."

He spoke at a rapid-fire pace. "To put it simply, this guy is incredibly disgusting. His respawn point is attached to me!"

He paused, then added through gritted teeth, "So, I support capturing him alive and torturing him severely. Let's forget about killing him!"

A respawn point?

Ren Yi wondered to himself. This respawn point was likely different from the way other Anomalies revived after death; it was probably much simpler.

However, "respawning" surely didn't mean Dr. Lin would turn into Dr. Zhao. It likely meant that if the individual known as Dr. Zhao died, he could be "recreated" through Dr. Lin.

What kind of restoration method was that?

At this thought, Ren Yi's expression gradually turned blank as his mind involuntarily drifted toward some strange and rather unpleasant associations.

"No, enough! What is that look on your face!"

Dr. Lin saw through his thoughts instantly and made an emergency intervention. "It would just consume a portion of my energy, that's all! It's nothing like the mess you're imagining!"

"That's not the point right now! You little brat, isn't your focus a bit skewed?"

"Ahem." Ren Yi quickly reined in his thoughts, cleared his throat, and turned to the waiter.

"Staff member, I feel that my legitimate rights have not yet been protected. Please handle this immediately."

The waiters wearing rabbit masks simultaneously displayed identical looks of helplessness before turning in unison to look at Dr. Zhao.

Their gaze clearly said: It's your turn to be the unlucky one.

Dr. Zhao also sensed that something was wrong. He stared at the waiters warily. "Wait, why have you all defected? Aren't we on the same side?"

Inside the entertainment city, there was the protection of the rules; they couldn't fight or harm anyone, so being targeted didn't matter much.

But if he were kicked out of the entertainment city and forced to battle Classmate Lin in the streets, that would be a problem.

"You have caused a loss to Mr. Ren Yi's property."

The surrounding waiters spoke simultaneously, their expressionless voices converging into a low, buzzing hum.

Dr. Zhao's expression finally turned serious. He frowned and retorted, "This is absolutely preposterous! If anything, it's this young man who caused a loss to my property, isn't it?"

"Sir," Ren Yi interrupted him decisively, his tone certain. "You can't assume that just because you were the only one picking up unclaimed items before, they belong to you by default."

Dr. Zhao sighed. Knowing he couldn't out-argue Ren Yi on this matter, he simply waved a hand. "Fine, fine, I give up."

"It's just a matter of a single chip. I am willing to pay compensation."

"Who are you trying to brush off!" Dr. Lin immediately countered. "The property loss is one chip, but what about the emotional distress? And the fact that you tried to defraud a child? What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Classmate Lin, now you're just slandering me." Dr. Zhao leaned back against a nearby gambling table with ease and spoke slowly.

"I simply encountered an interesting young man and had a casual chat. What evidence do you have to claim I committed fraud?"

The two were about to start arguing again when a somewhat familiar voice suddenly came from nearby.

"No, sir. Your statement is incorrect."

Ren Yi turned back in astonishment, only to find that the Battle-Damaged Guy had somehow quietly approached.

He was the one who had just spoken.

Wait, man, what's your deal now?