Chapter Twenty-Four: Joy, Anger, Sorrow, and Delight

Biochemical anomalies: brain, eyes, teeth, claws—strange substances dropped from them.

Yan Luo used these mysterious substances on his Destiny Talent, and as a result, a mask was born—

The Eccentric Mask: Joy, Anger, Sorrow, Delight.

He gazed at this “Mask of the Four Emotions.” Its appearance was that of a semi-transparent crystal, reminiscent of a round emoticon bubble—not yellow, but white, with black lines tracing out eyebrows, eyes, and a mouth.

At present, the mask was expressionless, but it could shift among four expressions: joy, anger, sorrow, or delight.

Emotion possesses power!

In the Buddhist scripture, the translated “Fruits of the Contemplative Life,” there is a passage: “When his heart is filled with joy, the body becomes light and at ease; after the body is at ease, he feels happiness; from happiness, his mind becomes focused.”

Just as when Yan Luo unleashed the emotion of anger, the resulting hormonal changes made him stronger than usual! Once this Mask of the Four Emotions was worn, one could immerse themselves in the corresponding feeling, gaining a certain boost to their basic attributes.

The mask could only evoke faint emotions—nothing intense; it would not lead to the startling, bizarre, or manic expressions that occurred when Yan Luo liberated emotions absorbed by the Heartless Doll—no wild laughter, uncontrollable confessions, or slapping others…

These were subtle, nearly imperceptible shifts in his own mind, unnoticed by others.

When joyful, one might feel their body growing lighter, as if moving more nimbly than usual. Just like Mami Tomoe from “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” once said in her moment of joy: “My body feels so light. It’s my first time fighting with such happiness; there’s nothing left to fear.”

Donning the Mask of the Four Emotions and setting it to “Joy” would immerse him in happiness, increasing his agility by 10%; anger would boost his strength by 10%; sorrow would quiet his blood and increase his endurance, raising constitution by 10%; while “Delight” would bring a cheerful mood and mental clarity, increasing intelligence by 10%.

Here, intelligence referred not to IQ, but to reaction speed, judgment, and learning ability. It has been proven that people learn more effectively when in a good mood.

Strength, agility, constitution, and intelligence could be considered the four fundamental attributes.

Simply put, after wearing the Mask of the Four Emotions, Yan Luo could switch among joy, anger, sorrow, and delight, multiplying his basic attributes by 1.1 times. The boost wasn’t great, but it was highly practical.

Because the eccentric mask was different from the Persona Masks! This was not a one-time item, but something that could be worn at all times without disappearing!

The trouble, however, was its size.

It was only a bit larger than a watch face—so tiny that it couldn’t truly cover his face. It was more of an ornament than a mask.

After thinking it over, Yan Luo wore the Mask of the Four Emotions as a hair accessory, slanted on the side of his head—he remembered that the anime character Rin Dabee also wore a similar circular ornament atop her head, though hers was yellow and bore the letter “b,” while his was a white, semi-transparent crystal etched with expressions.

When not set to any emotion, it was expressionless—like the “absent-minded” emoticon.

“Set Mask of the Four Emotions: Anger.”

The black lines representing eyebrows, eyes, and mouth on the mask instantly shifted into an angry expression.

This faint emotion did not cause Yan Luo to lose composure. The mask on his hair turned to “anger,” but his face remained blank. Closing his eyes, he could vaguely sense his blood flowing more vigorously, his cells consuming more oxygen, and his muscles growing stronger.

Strength: 1.1 times!

Next, Yan Luo set the mask to “joy.” The crystal round on his head changed, the lines shifting into a big smile.

He then tried “sorrow” and “delight.”

Joy and delight were not the same.

Joy was opposed to anger, while delight was opposed to sorrow.

Though his face showed no expression, the faint sense of happiness now welling up within brought peace and satisfaction.

For someone who had lost his emotions, to be able to experience—even if only through the mask—these four feelings, even in their faintest forms, was already beyond what he had hoped for at this stage.

“One day, I will truly reclaim my own emotions!”

He ate.

Having undergone two rounds of genetic oscillation to modify his body, Yan Luo was hungry again. This time, he cooked seven packs of instant noodles, set the Mask of the Four Emotions to “delight” on his head, and ate with a cheerful heart while pondering.

His gene points were spent, the boss drops had been used up, and only 6,010 bio-energy remained.

Within the Heartless Doll, there were 2 points of grief and 4 points of sadness.

In a week, he would have to undergo a compulsory mission, pulled into the Inner World by the Dreamspace. Until then, he could freely enter the Level 1 Inner World twice.

The phone’s program had detected three Inner Worlds in the neighborhood and nearby streets: a Level 4 fantasy war world, a Level 1 sports competition world, and a Level 3 supernatural role-playing world.

The “fantasy war world” was located in his bathroom.

As a Level 1 World Modulator, he could only enter Level 1 Inner Worlds.

“First, scout for other Level 1 worlds.”

“Second, accumulate emotions and craft a Persona Mask as insurance.”

“Third, enhance combat strength.”

Though Yan Luo’s body was now powerful, with basic self-healing, he had never trained in combat or learned any fighting techniques. It was like possessing a treasure but not knowing how to use it—it couldn’t be mastered in just a day or two through self-study or training.

Thus, weapons were crucial!

An ordinary person with a knife could threaten a martial artist. With a gun, even a kung fu master or boxing champion could be killed!

Jumping to the Dreamspace, whether entering or exiting, cost only 10 bio-energy.

Moreover, if you ran out of bio-energy while in Dreamspace, after a while the space would automatically kick you back to the real world, saving you the 10 energy points.

Yan Luo had made a modest profit in the novice world, so he didn’t hesitate—he paid the points directly and clicked “Dreamspace Jump” on the program. Instantly, a doorway of entangled light—like angel and demon—opened before him.

He stepped through.

His guide, Mu Bai, was dead, and Yan Luo didn’t know much about Dreamspace. He appeared in a plaza at a transfer station.

This time, it was different from the last teleportation plaza—this was the Newcomers’ Plaza.

Though called “newcomers,” it wasn’t just for the inexperienced; it was where Level 1 to Level 3 World Modulators gathered. Level 4 to Level 6—considered “veterans”—had their own separate area.

Level 7 to Level 9 also had their respective zones.

It was like elementary, middle, and university divisions—kept apart to prevent the old from bullying the new.

Veterans could enter the newcomers’ area, but only at a significant cost.

Above Yan Luo’s head floated a Level 1 badge and the title “Zombie Hunter.”

Within Dreamspace, a World Modulator’s rank and title were displayed. Yan Luo had vanquished a twisted, chaotic aberration, but as he had only destroyed a single part, he hadn’t earned any flashy titles like “World Breaker”—just the humble “Zombie Hunter.”

There were more than ten people in this plaza. Four were Level 1, and two bore the title “Zombie Hunter.” The reason was simple: many newcomers’ initial worlds were carefully selected zombie-themed horror survival scenarios.

If no better options presented themselves, they would be sent to a Level 1 gangster world or a Level 1 martial arts world—like the movies “Young and Dangerous” or “Ip Man” in the real world.

Of course, every Inner World was entirely unfamiliar, and the lack of intelligence increased the difficulty.