The sound of noisy voices echoed once again. I quietly looked over and stood up. I had been sitting for who knows how long. This feeling of powerlessness didn’t stem from simple contempt—it was simply that my own strength was so lacking that others naturally wouldn’t bother to notice me.
I walked over, and the only solution that came to mind was to take away the Joyfruit distributed every day. The people here were filled with a sense of joy, and it was closely linked to this Joyfruit.
The only explanation I could think of was that the Emperor God and his followers had devised some method to extract the emotion of happiness from the people they controlled in the other world, turning it into these fruits for the residents of this experimental site to consume.
I waited anxiously. In this place, so fake it made me nauseous, I felt completely ill at ease. Their laughter looked increasingly like it had been stamped from the same mold. I saw Lily Wu and Nathan Li, and focused my attention on them.
After an entire day, I finally waited for the people who distributed the Joyfruit. Seizing the opportunity, I snatched the fruit from Lily Wu and Nathan Li the moment they got theirs. The two looked around blankly, confusion written all over their faces.
After grabbing several more fruits, I noticed something curious: although the people here still wore smiles, for some reason their expressions had become stiff.
Those whose Joyfruit I had taken began to show other expressions. As time passed, their brows furrowed. Lily Wu and Nathan Li didn’t go home for a long time, and both seemed agitated and uneasy.
"Hey, Nathan Li, did you steal my fruit today?"
Lily Wu’s gentle voice was gone. Nathan Li glared at her angrily and shoved her.
"Who stole yours? It was clearly you who took mine. Give it back."
It wasn’t just Lily Wu’s condition—those who had eaten the Joyfruit had already gone home to rest, while those who hadn’t were still wandering outside, suspicious of each other. The fake smiles from before had completely disappeared.
As time passed, the people before me became increasingly dejected, squatting on the ground as if still waiting for the Joyfruit that never came. I walked over and saw Lily Wu crying, while Nathan Li, extremely agitated, was tugging at his hair.
"Get lost."
As soon as I approached, Nathan Li shouted at me, his attitude completely changed from before. These people who hadn’t eaten Joyfruit seemed to be suffering, as if addicted to a drug—perhaps even worse.
The whimpering began, and gradually these people started to cry. It was the first time I’d seen a scene like this. The experimental bases Xu Fu took me to—those people probably consumed fruit similar to Joyfruit every day. Now I was certain: it was these fruits that controlled their emotions.
"Give it to me, give it to me..."
One person, seemingly unhinged, grabbed another and roared, his entire face twisted in rage. He raised his hands menacingly and began to choke the other.
Gradually, the chaos escalated. Those who hadn’t eaten Joyfruit today lost control, screaming and fighting each other. Nathan Li and Lily Wu joined in too.
"You want to eat?"
I said this as I took out a Joyfruit. In an instant, my eyes widened—every one of them rushed toward me at once. I quickly moved backward with a whoosh.