When evil gods hold a meeting in my head

The smiling dog's originally distorted smile suddenly became even more ferocious. It let out a sharp howl, each one louder than the last, piercing Richard's eardrums.

It arched its emaciated body, assuming a posture ready to attack at any moment.

Richard suppressed the lingering laughter, gripped his shotgun tightly, and stared at their teeth... those seemingly sharp teeth had unusually smooth and rounded edges at the bottom, with even a slight curve at the tips.

It's less like a sharp, tearing weapon and more like a polished piece of jade...

Their teeth are so dull; they probably aren't good at hand-to-hand combat at all! Richard thought to himself.

The next second, he suddenly turned to the side, dodging a smiling dog that pounced on him.

The dog's paw swept across his shoulder with a chilling force, but failed to tear his clothes, leaving only a faint white mark.

Sure enough, these smiling dogs are not very strong fighters; their ability to make people laugh is probably their only hunting method...

Edmund seemed to have noticed this as well, having already drawn his dagger. He snorted coldly, "Even if you can't bite, getting entangled with you is troublesome."

He flicked his wrist, and the short knife flashed with a cold light. He used the short knife to precisely slash the side of a smiling dog that was charging at him, and blackish-red sticky blood gushed out.

The smiling dog let out a mournful howl, staggered back a few steps, and finally collapsed to the ground!

Edmund was ruthless, but he couldn't attend to Richard... At this moment, the three smiley dogs moved in unison and surrounded him.

Its slender limbs push off the ground with astonishing speed!

Richard didn't have time to think. He quickly raised his shotgun and, relying on the intuition he had honed through numerous life-or-death situations since his transmigration, aimed at the smiling dog in the very center and pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

Gunshots echoed through the empty corridor, bullets whistling through the air. One bullet not only pierced the body of the foremost smiling dog, but its momentum carried it to another dog behind it!

Both dogs let out desperate howls at the same time, their bodies swelling up instantly before quickly shriveling up again.

Then... it turned into two pools of black blood, emitting a pungent odor.

Such a sharp blow left the remaining smiling dogs stunned, their teeth trembling slightly, and the madness in their eyes instantly replaced by fear.

They seemed intimidated by Richard's demonstration!

Richard aimed his shotgun at the remaining few, his finger on the trigger, but before he could pull it, the smiling dogs tucked their tails between their legs and turned to flee...

Their slender figures quickly disappeared into the corridor.

"That was close." Richard breathed a sigh of relief and put down his hunting rifle.

His palms were already soaked with sweat without him even realizing it.

Edmund sheathed his dagger, a rare look of approval on his face: "I didn't expect you to be such a good shot. One shot through two dogs, even a professional hunter might not be able to do that."

Actually, even he himself was somewhat surprised by the accuracy of that shot just now. Perhaps the lingering hallucinogenic effect of the ring had significantly enhanced his concentration...

Richard scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "It was mostly luck; I just happened to guess right."

"Luck is also part of ability, no need to be modest." Edmund walked up to the two puddles of slime and poked at them with the tip of his knife. "If Nolan knew about this, she would definitely like you. She's always been obsessed with guns and frequents shooting clubs... Unfortunately, her accuracy is really nothing to brag about."

"Oh?"

"Last time she practiced at the shooting range, she could miss the target within five meters. In the end, she got so angry that she threw the gun away and said she would never touch it again."

Edmund recalled the scene and couldn't help but smile slightly. He paused for a moment before continuing, "You can teach her to shoot in your spare time. Maybe you can get closer to her and get her to tell you more about potions... After all, there aren't many people in our team who are good at long-range harassment, and your marksmanship can fill that gap."

Knowledge……

This is indeed very rare.

Richard's heart skipped a beat. Nolan was the team's concoctionist, possessing the key technology for potion recipes and the creation of extraordinary items. By building a good relationship with her, he could not only successfully obtain his puppeteer's potion, but also potentially gain more help in the future.

But now is not the time to think about these things… Richard hurriedly said, “Let’s go!”

The two observed each other for half a minute, and after confirming that the smiling dog was no longer blocking their way, they continued to walk quickly forward.

The light at the end of the corridor became increasingly bright, and the temperature gradually returned to normal.

After walking for a long time, a low-lying, independent mirror house suddenly appeared in front of them.

The mirror room has no address or any sign, but the walls flash fragmented images like a slideshow.

Richard took a closer look and discovered that the image actually reflected the origin of the smiley dog...

A thin, frail little boy stood in a magnificent hall, surrounded by several richly dressed elders. The elders had serious expressions and kept muttering:

"You need to be tactful in your dealings with others...you know?"

"You need to learn to please your father; without his love, you wouldn't be alive today!"

"Remember, don't lose your temper easily..."

……

That little boy looks like Luke when he was a child!

The screen continues to flicker...

Under the strict guidance of his elders, the little boy gradually learned how to hide his true emotions.

From then on, no matter what happened, even if he was filled with anger and resentment, he forced himself to put on a smile...

Over time, his smile became increasingly fake, and the painful memories manifested as the smiling dog in the abyss.

"Even the most hateful person has a pitiable side," Richard muttered.

Although this mirror room didn't have a sign like the herb room, my intuition told me that this must be the so-called record room!

Edmund pointed at the screen and said to Richard, "The Abyss reads the deepest memories and emotions from the energy core and materializes them. These might be Luke's childhood, bound by family rules and forced to wear a false mask... These negative emotions are amplified in the Abyss, forming this bizarre creature."

Richard nodded, indicating that he understood.

Edmund stopped explaining and pushed open the door to the Mirror Room.

...The door wasn't locked; it opened with a gentle push.

The room was dimly lit, with a large box in the center emitting a soft blue light that illuminated the surrounding space.

Scattered on the ground were broken herbs and an overturned herb basket. Beside the basket lay a woman wearing glasses.

"Nolan!" Edmund strode over and knelt down to check on her condition.

"She is Nolan..." Richard observed her closely.

Nolan was curled up on the ground, her face completely pale. Her round glasses were cracked and broken, her hair was disheveled, and her clothes were covered in dust and dark red stains. She must have been in considerable danger earlier…

Edmund felt Nolan's pulse: "He's alright, just overexerted with magic and overwhelmed by the emotional energy of the abyss."