They all call me an Outer God.

Chapter 107 Wrong blame

"So far, I haven't seen anyone on the street. No one appears whether I wear a mask or not, but there are definitely living people here."

As Lia turned to leave, a voice from inside the toast shop stopped him.

"Get out of there! How dare you run around outside like that? Are you out of your mind?"

Lia turned around and saw a person completely wrapped in cloth, and immediately felt puzzled.

The man seemed very angry, but he still explained the purpose of the strange ornaments on his body to Ria.

He said it was something to protect against pests, as sometimes huge insects would inexplicably appear and attack the residents, forcing them to hide inside their houses.

"The insects appear at unpredictable times, and everyone is too scared to go out. They used to appear at regular times, but in recent months, who knows what's wrong with them? They seem to be possessed by demons... Sigh, we can only hope that the sun will protect us."

"Business must be tough these days."

Lia stepped forward: "I'll just buy some food and then leave."

"You shouldn't buy it at this time. Nobody comes out at this hour. I'm so scared that I don't even dare to ask someone to repair the house number."

Despite saying that, the shopkeeper still brought out a plate of toast from inside and asked Liya how much she wanted to buy.

Ria bought ten of Svalbard's things, holding the bag of toast in her arms, and watched as the shopkeeper quickly returned to the house after finishing his business.

"Insect repellent—or rather, it's about concealing the signs of aging."

He took a few steps outside, then, as if suddenly realizing something, his expression behind the mask changed abruptly. He turned around and forced his way into the shop to find the owner from before, but by then, the shop was empty except for some furniture.

There wasn't even any food on the table.

“That’s a clever tactic,” Ria said sarcastically.

"He was covered in cloth, afraid to show his face and body, but he was the only person in this town who talked to me after I left. Only a fool would fall for your trick."

He scanned his surroundings, searching the shop for something. A moment later, he heard a sobbing sound. Ria then turned his gaze toward the cabinet, stuck out his cane and poked it. With a "bang," a hole was punched through the cabinet door.

A bloodcurdling scream, like a pig being slaughtered, echoed from inside: "Don't kill me! Don't kill me!!!"

The cabinet door was opened from the inside, and the shop owner, who was completely covered in cloth, couldn't understand why Lia would suddenly return and barge into his shop, looking like she wanted to kill him.

He huddled in the cupboard with a plate of toast, shivering among the cutlery, and his voice cracked with fear.

The cutlery rattled and clattered along with his shaking.

Lia was somewhat surprised to see the man hiding. He pointed the tip of his cane at the man's Adam's apple, and a faked hoarse voice came from behind the mask: "Why did you take the initiative to talk to me just now? What is your purpose?"

"I...I...I just didn't want outsiders to suffer, so I thought I'd help if I could...Besides, I'm just a toast seller, what could my motives be?" The shopkeeper trembled even more violently. At this moment, to him, Ria was no different from the murderer mentioned in the newspaper.

"And judging from your attire, you must be a doctor. I've always had great respect for doctors..."

He never expected that his good intentions would be met with such a reaction, and that he would be treated this way one day. After he finished explaining, Ria leaned closer to him, and his face, reflected in her glasses, showed extreme fear.

"Then what are you trying to hide? Using cloth to control pests? I have a lot of bugs here, we can try to see if we can control them."

He reached out, and a large, gray worm appeared in his hand. Without hesitation, he threw the worm at the person curled up in a ball. The person screamed and jumped as the worm landed on their body, hitting their head in the cupboard. The tableware next to them rolled out with a clatter and fell to the floor.

Ria's voice was even colder: "If you're afraid of insects, what are you afraid of? Why are you wrapped up so tightly for no reason and still so energetic? Are you afraid people will see your true face?!"

He reached out and tore the cloth off the person's face, revealing an old face.

At that moment, the man desperately tried to cover his face.

"Don't look! Don't look at my ugly appearance!"

"I'm just getting old fast, I'm just not able to face people—why are you doing this to me! Is it wrong to sell food? There are reasons why the residents here don't receive outsiders!"

Seeing that his face had been seen, the boss decided to give up and stared at Ria with a look of pain and anger in his eyes. His aged face and voice were so different that Ria began to doubt herself for the first time.

"Aren't you a member of the underground church?"

"...Am I overthinking it?"

"Get out! You wicked man, get out of our neighborhood!"

"Smash!" He smashed a plate on the ground, and Lia left the shop as if startled. He apologized to the other party before leaving, but it seemed that the other party would never forgive him.

Ria was eventually kicked out, but he was thankful that he was wearing a mask, so he didn't lose face.

Moreover, with the mask on, no one could tell what his expression was like at that moment.

Not long after Ria left, the shop owner slowly climbed out of the cupboard and looked back at it. The thing he had been pressing down on was a pure white faceless mask.

He held a gray worm in his palm, and with a slight squeeze, the worm burst into a pulp with a "splat".

"A terrible intuition. I thought I had acted flawlessly, but I was almost discovered."

"But it's okay, life is full of surprises to make it exciting... Hahahaha! His sudden return just now was really unexpected."

The boss wrapped his face tightly with cloth again, and began to tremble again, gazing sadly at his damaged tableware.

"Why are people so hostile these days? I... I will never help any outsiders again. Outsiders can't understand us. They have to experience the pain we went through before they can truly understand each other."

"Equality and freedom can only be achieved through equal experience, and this is clearly stated in our doctrine."

"Praise our leader—wait, who is our leader?"

"I vaguely remember that the cult leader's name was very long. Why would he have such a long name for no reason?"

"Never mind... it doesn't matter. From now on, I am the new leader of the White Mask."

……

Ria returned to Ilint's old house, and in the end, he chose to feed the things he had bought to the rats on the street.

(End of this chapter)