I Can Read People's Comments

[Chapter 124 Comments]

[Xinhuan: The 2 latest chapters have become paywalled, hence most (free) readers will have a 2 day delay in reading them. This means their comments…read more]

Now that he had settled all the formalities for the trip, he finally had some time to grow his strength. He finally took out the briefcase that Silva handed him back then.

"Dad?" Mia seemed to have noticed it but never asked, wondering when Theo would bring this forth.

"I'm not sure about this, but a certain person said this is what your mom gives us." Theo pointed at the briefcase.
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"Are you sure? Is that really mom?" Mia didn't completely trust the information right away. Instead, she asked, "Did the readers tell you if he was telling the truth or not? What if the content inside is dangerous?"

"That's why I haven't opened it in the past few days. I have been searching for the container's information. It seems to be made of a special material that can seal essence. But it must be an extremely good material for it to have no leak."

"That's indeed dangerous." Mia nodded in agreement. She knew that she shouldn't open something unknown because the content might be a curse or whatever they might kill them. But it seemed that Theo hadn't heard anything from the readers and decided to open it right before the trip.

Depending on the content of the trip, there was a chance that it would affect the trip.

"I guess we should be prepared for everything." Mia nodded and took a few steps back, allowing Theo to get some space to open the box. She warped her body with essence, ready to react in case something bad happened.

"Before that, I think it's fine to reply to the comments first." Theo opened the comments and showed them to Mia through the illusion.

There were two comments, which came from the two previous chapters.

Mia came closer to take a look. "Love the gacha system? Is he saying that he loves gambling or something?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think he will comment on something that random. And it's not like we've experienced such a thing in the last two chapters. In that case, he might be talking about a story… Maybe the author's other story? I don't know what that is, but I'm assuming it's something related to gacha. Either way, the fact that there is someone loving it means a good thing for the author and me."

"Why are you included, Dad? You're not related to that story, right?"

"Just like this story, there is a true universe in that story. We're basically on the same boat, so if there is a person liking that story, I hope that someone will also like this story."

"Oh!" Mia nodded in understanding.

"And it seems that we can understand the reason why there are not many comments in the last couple of chapters. I see, the chapters are behind the paywall. To be honest, I do want the readers to come here and continue commenting.

"At the same time, I can kind of understand why the author does that. I mean, if he can't afford the roof on his head, there is no reason for him to continue this story aside from passion. And passion can't feed him.

"I don't know how the paywall system works, but I can confidently say this. The author is definitely reading your comments. Instead of not commenting, what about suggesting the idea to the author?

"For example, can you suggest how he picks up the comments on the previous chapters to bypass that paywall from time to time? This will give you a chance to appear in the story, right?

"Another example is suggesting a certain plot. Well, I can't say 'suggesting,' rather how about predicting the plot? From what I know about the web novel, it's updated on a daily basis, right? The author must have a limited amount of time to think about the plot and write the story.

"If you actually give a good suggestion, he might subtly use that idea. I mean, sometimes, you are going to say 'I bet this thing gonna happen,' and when the story progresses and it actually happens, it's like 'I knew it!'

"Or even if it's not picked up or different from what you give, you will say, 'I didn't see that coming. Plot twist.' So, yeah. There are a lot of ways to enter the story, so I hope that the readers don't give up.

"While this might not be in the form of comments, I think you will have the chance to shine. I have limited knowledge about the system, so you can think of them."

Mia looked at her dad with amazement. She didn't think of that idea. That was right; the current story was focused on the comments. But what if they wanted to enter the story but were restrained by things like a paywall? There was always a way to bypass the system.

"Dad. Why don't you suggest something like having 'Top-Liked Comments' every month? The author picks five comments that have the most likes."

"That's also a good idea. It also comes in the form of comments, but we will see whether the author implements it or not. Maybe, if there are a lot of readers suggesting the same thing, the author might do it. In any case, there are a lot of ways, so we should take the initiative to suggest that idea. We'll let the author decide whether it can work or not."

Theo had never bothered to think about this possibility without knowing about the paywall. He just hoped that the readers would be more eager, since he wanted to have a lot of conversation with them.

After replying to the comments, he finally prepared to open the briefcase. Theo was standing in front of Mia and started pouring his essence into the lock on the case.

He carefully unlocked the box before knocking on the lid with his essence.

In that instant, the essence that had been trapped inside the box gushed out.

"I smelled mint flavor?" Mia covered her nose immediately, thinking it was poison.

Theo carefully approached the box and took a look inside, realizing that it truly came from Agata.

"Mia. It's fine now. It's truly from your mother." Theo pointed at the box.

Mia couldn't help but take a look at the content.

There were two fruits inside and two items inside the box. Theo immediately recognized the fruits through the memory of the original Theo. "Devil Greed Fruit. It's said to be nurtured by the Greed, one of the seven sins. Demons are fed by those sins and produce this fruit. It can amplify the connection with the demons as well as smooth the flow of essence."

"To use our power, we have to use the essence produced by our heart to be influenced by the demon's power first before releasing it. With good control, you can instantly use that power, but if you get stronger and stronger, even a split second would be fatal. So, having this fruit will be beneficial even for a strong demon possessor." Mia continued Theo's words from his explanation.

"Yeah. What is your current assimilation rate?"

"It's about 15%. How about you Dad?"

"19%. If I eat this fruit, it might rise to like 26 or 27%. This is such a good fruit." Theo nodded. It was no wonder why his wife sent these two fruits."

"But if we eat this fruit, won't the problem that will appear during our trip become even more dangerous? Ah, wait. Did I jinx it?"

"No. The moment we opened this box, our fate was already sealed." Theo shook his head helplessly.

"So, we'll eat the fruits?"

"Yeah. But let's check these two items first." Theo grabbed one of them. It turned out to be a bracelet. "According to my memory, this bracelet is one of the armaments that can boost the assimilation rate."

"This one is beautiful!" Mia, on the other hand, picked up a necklace.

"That's a necklace that can measure the essence in the air. If you pour your own essence into it, it will interact with the energy in the air and measure it by glowing. These two armaments should come from the family. It seems that she has gained enough authority to even send these fruits and items to us. You can say that your mother's status is equal to that of the head of the family."

"As expected of Mom!" Mia smiled proudly. "Dad, you should take the bracelet. Even if we are at the same level, my strength won't be as good as yours. So, you should use it to become far stronger than me and protect me. I will take this necklace and find a suitable place to progress my assimilation."

"Sure." Theo didn't reject it. Although he wanted his daughter to become stronger, he couldn't deny that his mastery over his abilities was much higher than hers. It would be best if he became strong enough to protect both his daughter and his wife.

Mia made a cheeky grin as if she liked her decision. But she soon noticed a letter underneath all those items.

"What is this?" Mia picked up the letter and opened it, instantly recognizing the writing style. "Ah, Mom!"

Theo turned his gaze to the letter while Mia read it out loud for both of them.

"My beloved husband and my cute princess, how are you? Even though I ask this question, I know that I won't get the answer. But I know that you two are fine, so I don't mind.

"There are a lot of things I want to say, but I guess this piece of paper is not enough. So, I will wait for another few months. I know that the best time to visit the Demon Realm is after the first year ends, so I will wait for your return and tell you about it.

"Right now, I might not get full control over the family, but the head, my father, has given enough authority for all this. I have made an agreement with the university to take down our enemies together.

"From what I've gathered, there are three big influences and four strong people that are aiming at us. With the help of the university, we could withstand their attack just fine. So, I'm still building up a few things.

"When you return, those people will line up and be ready to be cleaned up. I'm going to prepare the stage for you.

"So, that's all you need to know. I will be fine here, so don't worry. I'm sure that you are having a blast over there, but don't forget to get stronger. You might want to reach 30% if not more if you want to defeat them.

"Also, Mia takes care of your father. Without me, there will definitely be women trying to attack him. I know his charm after all."

When Mia read that sentence, she couldn't help but glance at Theo. "Dad. Did something happen with Aurora? She actually asked me about the average lifespan in our world."

Theo chuckled while patting Mia's head. "What are you thinking? Just like how your mom knows about my charm, I also know that there won't be any other woman beside her. That's just how attractive your mother is, both in appearance and character."

"That's true." Mia nodded like she didn't doubt it for even a second. She read the last piece of the message from her mother. "I just hope that you two are fine over there. It's truly hard to be separated from both of you, but I know that when we reunite, there will be a lot of fun times we'll spend together. So, I'll work hard over here and look forward to it."

Theo was sad, but he didn't show it so that Mia wasn't affected. Instead, he raised his fist as if asking for a fist bump. "We are going to surprise her when we return to the Demon Realm!"

"A big surprise." Mia grinned and cheekily gave a fist bump.