Orion was stunned. What did he desire? Wealth? Status? Those were just tools. Power? Well, he definitely needed that, but he already had a system. He wouldn't be led by the nose by this thing.
"Heh," Orion sneered. "You haven't answered my question… what exactly are you?"
"I did," the paw said helplessly. "I'm just a mon—"
"Ah!" It suddenly let out a scream. Under everyone's astonished gaze, Orion expressionlessly pinched off a toe bone he had just pulled from the paw. He casually tossed it aside.
"I'll ask one more time," he said coldly. "What exactly are you?"
Crack! Another toe bone was forcibly pulled off.
"Hiss—" March 7th subconsciously squeezed her fingers, feeling a phantom pain.
"Still not talking?" Orion's finger was already on the third toe bone. "Who is controlling you?"
Crack! The third one. Only two toe bones now hung there forlornly.
"You have two more chances… speak, or not?"
"…" The monkey's paw suddenly stopped responding, hanging limply in Orion's hand.
"Is it… dead?" March 7th asked.
"No," Orion shook the paw. "It's playing dead, or… whatever was controlling it just escaped."
Suddenly, that eerie laughter resounded again. "Hahahahaha! You scared me to death! But it's okay, my bones will grow back."
"No, it's alive again?" March 7th exclaimed.
"Wish… quickly make a wish!" the paw chattered. "What do you want? Power? Wealth? Or… love?"
Orion looked at it coldly. It seemed he couldn't get any information. The entity controlling it had left; now it was just an ownerless toy.
At this moment, Stelle suddenly spoke. "Um… it wants you to make a wish, are you really not going to?" She swallowed, a strong desire surging in her heart—she wanted to know if she had known this young man before. Discover more novels at N0velFire.ɴet
"Stelle, are you actually thinking of making a wish?" March 7th walked over. "Didn't you hear the story? Wishes can bring misfortune!"
"I know, but…" Stelle glanced at Orion. "Even if this wish of mine comes true, there shouldn't be any misfortune, right?"
March 7th leaned in curiously. "Oh? What wish?"
Stelle's face turned red. "Uh, nothing…"
"Hehe, let me guess," March 7th showed a gossipy smile. "Could it be that you want Orion to like you?"
"No!" Stelle hurriedly denied.
Dan Heng sighed from the side. "Now is not the time for jokes. Orion, how do you plan to deal with this?"
Bronya also cast a trusting gaze at Orion. In her heart, he had always been an omnipotent being.
Orion raised the paw and smiled. "Since it wants me to make a wish so badly… then I'll play with it."
The monkey's paw immediately became excited. "Yes, yes, yes! Hurry and make a wish!"
"Then I'll wish—" Orion was about to speak. Everyone quieted down.
"Wait!" the paw suddenly said. "Before you wish, I must explain a few rules! First, you can only make wishes that can be realized on this planet! Second, only three wishes! Third, wishes related to me are invalid!"
"Tch, what kind of wish-granter is this?" March 7th pouted.
Orion pondered for a moment, then raised the paw and said word by word, "My first wish is—you must describe in absolute truth and detail what catastrophic consequences would result if I made the second and third wishes."
He continued, "And my second and third wishes might be: to immediately make the cold wave in Belobog recede, and to make Belobog as wealthy as possible."
As soon as this wish was made, surprise and emotion flickered in Bronya's eyes. She hadn't expected Orion to prioritize the future of Belobog.
March 7th couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, Orion, you… are so selfless! What a good person!"
Stelle, however, felt she couldn't quite fathom him. What kind of person was he, after all?
Even the usually expressionless Dan Heng's gaze sharpened. But unlike the others, he immediately understood Orion's true intention. This wish… was not an act of kindness. It was a logical trap!
The monkey's paw had to fulfill the wish truthfully. But this created a paradox: if it told the truth, it would admit it was an evil object, and no one would make wishes anymore. No matter what it chose, the paw was in a deadlock.
Sure enough—the paw's eerie laughter abruptly stopped. It froze, then began to tremble violently.
"Cheater!" it said, exasperated. "You… you're cheating, this doesn't follow the rules! Wishes can't be !"
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