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Others Trade 10 Years for Noodles, but He Has the Only Talent to Control Every Spin’s Outcome! — Transcript

by Exquisite Comics · 58,156 words · 8,518 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Just a little more. Just a little more.
0:02A middle-aged man knelt before a huge
0:04suspended roulette wheel. His tin
0:06fingers clamped desperately around the
0:08pointer, knuckles white from strain,
0:10black dirt packed under his nails. He
0:12looked as if he wanted to snap the
0:14seemingly slender pointer off the wheel
0:15with his bare hands d on the wheel. The
0:17pointer was only a breath away from the
0:19next orange sector, where a blue potion
0:22hovered as a phantom image. But that one
0:24breath, no matter how he trembled, veins
0:26bulging, the pointer did not move an
0:29inch. His face flushed blood red. The
0:31next instant, something more glaring
0:33happened. His black hair turned gray
0:35white at a visible speed. Age spots
0:38crawled from his neck onto his cheeks.
0:40His skin visibly collapsed and sagged as
0:42if several years had been ripped out of
0:44his bones in an instant. He opened his
0:46mouth. A sound like a broken bellows
0:48leaked from his throat. He fell straight
0:50backward. Before he hit the ground, a
0:52packet of instant noodles appeared in
0:54his palm out of thin air. Thud. He hit
0:57the hard dry ground and did not get up
0:59again. The crowd around him fell silent
1:01for a moment, then returned to normal.
1:03No one stepped forward to pull him up.
1:05This tier 2 roulette costs a thousand
1:08days per spin. Someone in the crowd
1:10smacked his lips and said, his white
1:12breath scattered by the cold wind. It
1:14was not sympathy. He was doing the math.
1:16Almost 3 years. He just spun it three
1:19times. Nearly 10 years of life for a
1:21packet of instant noodles and two
1:23bottles of water. He lost so badly he
1:25doesn't even have his underwear left.
1:27But that's a sequence potion, another
1:29voice said, wrapped in a different kind
1:31of heat. If you draw it and drink it,
1:33you become a sequence user. You can hunt
1:35anomalies and kill fierce beasts. You
1:38won't have to fill the roulette with
1:39your life like the rest of us. One step
1:41to heaven, a person above others.
1:44Someone immediately poured cold water on
1:46it. You need a life to climb to heaven.
1:48There are over a 100 slots on this wheel
1:50and only that one bottle of sequence
1:52potion is an orange tier 4 item. The
1:54rest are all gray white tier 1 and tier
1:572. By probability, you'd have to draw at
1:59least 100 times to have a chance. An
2:01ordinary person could draw himself to
2:03death and never get it. That thing is
2:05for superhumans with crystal cores. Old
2:07Wong has gone crazy trying to avenge his
2:09daughter. He even dares to spin this
2:11kind of roulette. The discussion
2:13gradually died down. Several gazes,
2:16timid yet unable to hide their envy,
2:18glanced at the four vehicles parked on
2:20the road behind them. Point one bus,
2:22three large off-road vehicles. They were
2:24good vehicles, high chassis, sturdy
2:26bodies. Anyone could tell they had been
2:28specially modified and reinforced for
2:30the apocalypse. Even through the mud,
2:32they could not suppress that air of not
2:34to be messed with. After days of travel,
2:37dust and mud were smeared all over them,
2:39so dirty that their original color was
2:41long gone. But the windows were shut
2:43tight and the glass was clean and
2:45intact, reflecting the grayish sky,
2:48separating inside and outside into two
2:50worlds. When the roulette had first been
2:52discovered, the four superhumans in the
2:54vehicles had all gotten out to look.
2:56Then they returned to their vehicles and
2:57did not show themselves again.
2:59Obviously, this thing had too low a cost
3:01performance ratio. It was not worth
3:03wasting crystal cores on for them. The
3:05crowd waited a while longer. Seeing that
3:07no new fool was forthcoming, they
3:09scattered in groups of three or five and
3:11groped along the river ditch beside the
3:13road. The late autumn water was
3:15piercingly cold, they rolled up their
3:17sleeves. The moment their hands touched
3:19the water, they shivered. But no one
3:21cared. No one knew when the convoy would
3:23set off next. If they could scavenge a
3:25bite to eat, that was one more bite. A
3:28roulette that cost 3 years of life per
3:30spin. They could not afford to spin it.
3:32Only after the crowd had dispersed did I
3:34drag my impossibly heavy body step by
3:37step toward the roulette. Every step
3:39felt as if someone were drawing silk out
3:41of me from the soles of my feet upward
3:43point two nights ago. I had still been
3:45asleep when a basin of cold water was
3:47poured over my head. It tea was
3:48November. The wind was the kind that
3:50could drill into the seams of your
3:52bones. My thin clothes had never dried
3:54completely. The next morning I came down
3:56with a fever. These past few days I had
3:59forced myself to keep up with the
4:00convoy. I had not eaten a bite. The last
4:03bit of food I had was fed into my
4:04stomach two days ago. High fever,
4:06hunger, and walking day and night
4:08without rest. By now, even my cough
4:11carried a sweet bloody taste.
4:13Occasionally, when I coughed hard, a
4:15taste of rust rose in my throat. When I
4:17spat, it was dark red bloody foam. The
4:20wasteland before my eyes spun. My feet
4:22floated as if stepping on cotton. Only
4:25the ring of blue light around the
4:26roulette ahead, pulsing and jumping. Let
4:29me still tell which way was walkable. It
4:31was not that the convoy had no medicine.
4:33But that medicine was not given for
4:35free. It had to be exchanged for
4:37something that I no longer had anything
4:38to exchange for medicine except this
4:41life. Oo. Even though this roulette cost
4:433 years per spin, I had to come dot. If
4:45I dragged on another two days, I was
4:47afraid I would not even have the
4:49strength to raise my hand to touch the
4:50pointer. If I drew medicine, best. If
4:53not, drawing something edible would do.
4:55If I could eat, I could trade it back in
4:57the convoy for medicine. I had just
4:59staggered up to the roulette when a
5:00voice that made my teeth itch suddenly
5:02sounded behind me. Yo, isn't this
5:04manager Shia? A few days without seeing
5:06you, and you've turned into a
5:08consumptive ghost coughing like that,
5:10careful you don't cough, your lung
5:11scraps out. I turned around and saw a
5:14yellow-haired punk kid, one arm around a
5:16yellow-haired punk girl with a nose ring
5:18and a lip stud grinning and winking at
5:20me. The smile was fake. The malice in
5:23his eyes was real, cold and nasty like
5:25water in a sewer, I withdrew my gaze and
5:28turned back around. I knew very well
5:29that the more you paid attention to
5:31someone like Li Jiao, the more he played
5:33up that I had no time and no strength to
5:36waste on this kind of trash. The instant
5:38he was ignored. The smile on Jiao's face
5:40froze, then slowly fell away. He
5:43remembered this man. Remembered how this
5:45man had stuffed him into that small
5:47broken company as an intern. Remembered
5:49how he had lectured people with a cold
5:51face. just a small manager of a small
5:53broken company. If not for his sister's
5:55sake, who would have wanted to go to
5:57that crappy place? And in the end, for
5:59some trivial nonsense, this man had
6:02fired him and dumped his sister if not
6:04for the rule laid down by his future
6:06main wife that no one in the convoy was
6:08allowed to kill casually. He would have
6:10sent this heartless bastard to see the
6:12king of hell the very night he slept to
6:14death. Pouring a basin of cold water on
6:16him was still too cheap for this bastard
6:18who had let his sister down. So, you
6:20want to draw medicine from the roulette
6:21to cure your illness? Li Jiao grinned
6:24again and took two steps closer, his
6:26breath blowing right onto my face. I
6:28advise you not to waste your pitiful
6:30lifespan. There are all sorts of things
6:31on this thing. Even if you draw until
6:33you croak, you won't draw the medicine
6:35you want. He paused, rolled his neck,
6:38and said slowly, "The convoy has
6:40medicine. I did call you master a couple
6:42of times, so don't say I'm not taking
6:44care of you. Now kneel down, crawl
6:47between my legs, and bark like a dog
6:48twice, and I'll give you the medicine.
6:50How about that? The punk girl in his
6:52arms giggled and added, "Just crawling
6:55between your legs is boring. He has to
6:57bark like a dog, too. I miss our old
6:58dog, D." Liia laughed even louder,
7:01shoulders shaking. "Right, right. He has
7:04to bark like a dog. If he barks well
7:06enough, maybe I'll reward him with half
7:08a fever pill. But by then, I could not
7:10hear a single word. The wind was still
7:12blowing. The cold light was still
7:14swaying, but those sounds had all grown
7:17distant. My hands were already on the
7:19relet's pointer my palms touched a patch
7:21of metal cold. The cold climbed up along
7:23my bones and instead made my fever
7:26muddled head clear for a moment. Just as
7:28I was about to draw, a line of pale gold
7:30text suddenly floated before my eyes.
7:33Random event discovered. Doomsday
7:34roulette draw. Remaining designated
7:37random result chances five. Designate.
7:40looking at that line of pale gold text
7:41that had suddenly appeared. My first
7:43reaction was that I had burned my brains
7:45out that I shook my head with
7:46difficulty. The line swayed with me, but
7:49it remained fixed in the center of my
7:50vision as if nailed to my eyeballs, not
7:53off by a fraction. Then a piece of
7:55information was shoved into my mind out
7:57of nowhere, so clear it did not feel
7:59like a hallucination. Every day after
8:01midnight, I would gain five designated
8:03choice chances. If I did not use them
8:05up, they could accumulate. Cold wind
8:08poured into my thin collar. My fever,
8:10sore throat wheezed twice, but my body
8:12still trembled uncontrollably. It was
8:14not from the cold, that it was ecstasy.
8:17People who had never lived through this
8:18apocalypse would never understand my
8:20excitement at that moment. Anomalies and
8:22fierce beasts were everywhere. People
8:24were dying everywhere. Some in the
8:26convoy could no longer hold on and
8:28secretly hang themselves in the
8:30wasteland at night. I had lasted until
8:32now entirely on some inexplicable
8:34tenacity. I did not know why I still
8:36refused to die. I only stubbornly
8:38believed, "Hold on, and there will be
8:41hope." Now, heaven had truly reached out
8:43a hand to me. I did not know whether
8:45this panel was a superhuman ability I
8:47had awakened or the so-called cheat from
8:49novels I had read before. But one thing
8:51was crystal clear. I finally had a
8:53chance to seize my own fate that I
8:55raised my eyes and stared fixedly at the
8:57only orange slot on the roulette. The
8:59suspended potion bottle bore mysterious
9:01patterns no one could recognize, its
9:04front covered by a faint mist. Only by
9:06drawing it out and drinking it would one
9:08know what sequence it would awaken. Dot.
9:10I stared at it and two silent words
9:12rolled in my throat. Draw. The hand
9:14gripping the pointer exerted force and
9:16spun. The pointer whirled with a buzz.
9:18The cold blue light smeared into an
9:20after image. The metal's polished
9:22surface flickered, reflecting my salow
9:24face and also the Leia behind me,
9:27grinning as he watched the show. The
9:29wheel seemed to come alive. Its low
9:30humming struck all three of our eardrums
9:33again and again in the dead wasteland
9:35around us. There was only this sound and
9:37the rustle of wind through dry grass. He
9:40really is willing to spend 3 years of
9:42life to spin. Lie Xiao sneered, slanting
9:45a glance at my back. His brain's been
9:47cooked by the fever. Just wait.
9:49We<unk>ll see him kneeling on the
9:50ground, wailing and beating his chest,
9:53regretting it so much his guts turned
9:54green. The punk girl in his arms giggled
9:57in response. Suddenly, her eyes rolled
9:59and she leaned close to his ear,
10:01lowering her voice, but unable to
10:03suppress the viciousness. Jiao, what if
10:05this sick ghost really draws some
10:07medicine that cures illness? Then go
10:09over and snatch it. Let him see hope and
10:12then fall back into despair. That'll be
10:14fun. Li Jiao was stunned for a moment,
10:17then burst out laughing and patted her
10:19randomly. You've got ideas. Don't say
10:21it. Now I actually hope he draws
10:23something. I did not hear a single word.
10:25All my attention was nailed to the
10:27pointer as it spun slower and slower.
10:29The pointer shed its strength bit by
10:31bit, sliding over one slot after
10:34another, beginning to slow and drag,
10:36almost exactly like the middle-aged man
10:38who had spun three times in a row
10:40earlier. It looked as if it would again
10:42brush the edge of the orange sector and
10:44slowly stop. Lie Xiao saw it clearly and
10:46laughed so hard he rocked back and
10:48forth. See that? Just a tiny bit short.
10:51He won't be willing to accept it. He'll
10:53spin again in his half-dead state.
10:55Another 3 years of life will probably
10:57kill him right in front of the roulette.
10:59And when that happens, the captain can't
11:01blame me. The punk girl laughed along
11:03and added coldly. Dying like that would
11:05be too easy for him. But amid their
11:07laughter, the pointer did not stop. With
11:09its last bit of strength, it forced
11:11itself forward and ground into that
11:13orange slot. Then it stopped firmly. The
11:15laughter cut off abruptly. A deep blue
11:18potion appeared in my palm out of thin
11:20air. Beast tamer sequence potion
11:22consumed to awaken sequence 9. Beast
11:24tamer. Before I even finished reading
11:26the information that appeared in my
11:28mind, I opened the potion and poured it
11:30down my throat. The smile on Liia's face
11:33seemed cut off by a hand and stuck in
11:35his throat. His mouth felt open as he
11:37watched the useless wreck who had been
11:38dying moments ago undergo a complete
11:41change in aura between breaths. My salow
11:43face, worn out by fever and hunger,
11:46faded at a visible speed and regained a
11:48healthy luster. My thin arm swelled,
11:51thickening by a whole circle. The fever
11:53and deadly weakness wrapped around me
11:55seemed to be pulled out of my body by a
11:57hand. Countless invisible energy
11:59particles between heaven and earth were
12:01rushing madly into my body. This was the
12:04hidden benefit of becoming a sequence
12:05user. The body was thoroughly
12:07strengthened, surpassing human limits in
12:10one stroke. Ordinary illnesses vanished
12:12like smoke. Even the bit of lifespan I
12:14had just paid for this spin quietly
12:16returned. I slowly closed my eyes, a
12:19faint trace of the stillness of power
12:21rising between my brows. I was receiving
12:23the information contained in the
12:24sequence I had just awakened. Liia<unk>s
12:27eyes instantly turned red. Why? Why had
12:30he lio waited so long and endured so
12:34long without even touching the threshold
12:36of sequence while this dog thing he
12:38looked down on? This bastard who had let
12:40his sister down drew a sequence potion
12:42on his first try. Clearly, he was the
12:44child of destiny. His sister guide
12:46sequence had already saved up who knew
12:48how many crystal cores for him just
12:50waiting to find an easy roulette so he
12:52could become the first male sequence
12:54user in the convoy by then he would be
12:57qualified to make the captain his woman
12:59and everyone would have to bow their
13:00heads when they saw him. Now all of that
13:03had been ruined by me. The anger of
13:05being cornered robbed him of judgment.
13:07He reached into his coat and pulled out
13:08a gun. There were only three bullets
13:11left in it. His sister had left it for
13:13him to defend himself. N01 was around a
13:15as long as he killed me. No one would
13:17know he had awakened a sequence.
13:19Everything could still return to the way
13:21he had imagined. He raised the muzzle.
13:23At that critical moment, the long shadow
13:25at his feet, stretched by the roulette's
13:27cold light, suddenly stood up eerily at
13:29a flash of cold light. Li Jiao only felt
13:33his wrist go numb. The gun had left his
13:35hand and landed in a hand wearing
13:37fingerless leather gloves. Then a clean,
13:39hard kick to the solar plexus landed
13:41square on his chest. He flew backward
13:44and crashed heavily onto the cold road,
13:46a choked uh coming from his throat. The
13:48owner of that hand looked down at him
13:50from above. It was a short-haired woman,
13:52neat short hair, a few stray strands
13:55hanging before her forehead, a tailored
13:57black leather jacket that made her
13:59already slender figure seem a bit
14:00colder, long legs and short boots. Her
14:03whole person gave off an indescribable
14:05sharpness. Her skin was very white, and
14:08her face was pretty like a young lady
14:10from a wealthy mansion. But between her
14:12brows hung a roguish, cynical air, and a
14:14lollipop stick stuck out of the corner
14:16of her mouth. She was grinning, her tone
14:18light. But what she said made the blood
14:20of Li Jiao on the ground run cold. You
14:23actually dared to attack a sequence
14:24user. Your courage is quite big. Thud.
14:27Beside them, the punk girl's legs had
14:29already gone weak. She pllopped down on
14:31the ground, teeth chattering, because
14:33the girl before them was one of the
14:35convoys four superhumans. Honanin.
14:37Superhumans were the high and mighty sky
14:39in this convoy. Offending a superhuman
14:42meant being killed for nothing. No one
14:44dared say a word for you, especially
14:46since the person Li Jiao had just tried
14:48to kill was a newly promoted sequence
14:50user. The punk girl defected on the
14:52spot. Tears and snot streaming down,
14:55shrieking to clear herself. It has
14:57nothing to do with me. This has nothing
14:58to do with me. It was him. He wanted to
15:01do this himself. Hanin slanted a glance
15:03at her, too lazy to bother. then turned
15:06her gaze to me, who had already opened
15:08my eyes. Your luck's not bad. She looked
15:10me up and down. Out of over a hundred
15:12options, you drew that sequence potion
15:14on the first try. That counts as hitting
15:16the jackpot. I'm Haninan. You should
15:19know me. She paused. My sequence is
15:21shadow assassin. What about you? What
15:23did you awaken? I closed my eyes and
15:25felt the new power in my body for a
15:27moment. When I opened them again, my
15:29eyes were clear. Shiaoyu, beast tamer
15:32sequence. Honed. The lollipop rolled
15:35around in her mouth. Beast tamer. That's
15:37a pretty well-rounded sequence. It can
15:39tank, fight, and heal. It mainly depends
15:42on whether the beast you command are up
15:44to it. My heart stirred slightly. From
15:46her tone, she seemed to know quite a lot
15:48about sequences. After anomalies and
15:50fierce beasts descended, the internet
15:52had long collapsed. Where did she learn
15:55all this? I suppressed these thoughts
15:56and showed nothing on my face. Hanan
15:59raised her foot and jerked her chin
16:01toward Lie Jiao on the ground who was
16:03glaring at me with hatred and fury. She
16:05casually tossed the gun and it landed
16:07steadily in my hand. "Just now, while
16:10you were awakening, this guy tried to
16:12take a cold shot at you," she said
16:13carelessly. "You're an awakened one now,
16:15too. How to deal with him? You decide."
16:18She tilted her head, smiled
16:20meaningfully, and added, "Killing him is
16:22fine, too, you know." That grinning look
16:24in my eyes made everything clear. She
16:27was waiting, waiting for me to
16:29personally take Lie Jia<unk>s life.
16:31Borrowing a knife to kill, but this
16:33bastard did deserve that knife that I
16:35slowly raised the muzzle. The gun was
16:37cold in my hand, yet strangely steadied,
16:39Li Jiao finally became afraid. He
16:42scraped his legs against the ground,
16:43desperately pushing himself backward.
16:45The arrogance on his face could no
16:47longer hold and shattered completely. He
16:50screamed at the top of his lungs, "You
16:52can't kill me. My sister is a sequence
16:54user, too. She's a guide sequence.
16:56Without her guiding the way, if the
16:58convoy runs into an area ruled by
17:00anomalies, everyone in the vehicle will
17:02die. You can't kill me. I did not finish
17:04listening, nor did I bother to finish. I
17:07understood why Han and wanted to borrow
17:08my hand. But so what? Never had I been
17:11clearer than at this moment about what I
17:13should do. This kind of trash. If I let
17:15him go today, he would be a knife in my
17:17back tomorrow that I pulled the trigger
17:18without hesitation. Bang. Because it was
17:21my first time holding a gun. The shot
17:23went wide. The bullet shrieked and
17:25drilled fiercely into Li Jiao's thigh.
17:27Oh. A pig slaughtering scream cut
17:29through the dead silence and startled
17:31several crows from distant branches.
17:33That my expression did not change. The
17:36muzzle did not shift in the slightest. I
17:38pressed it down steadily, about to fire
17:40a second shot. Just then, not far away,
17:42a familiar voice pressed with fury came
17:44tearing through the air. Don't touch my
17:46brother. The gun was still in my hand,
17:49cold and piercing that I recognized
17:51whose voice that was. So I did not even
17:53bother to raise my head to my wrist
17:55steadied. The muzzle locked dead on Li
17:57Jiao's head. The second time I pulled
17:59the trigger, bang. The instant the
18:01gunshot exploded, a blood red energy
18:03shield appeared out of thin air above
18:05Liia's head. The bullet struck it and
18:07burst into a spray of piercing sparks,
18:10blocked dead. Having escaped death,
18:12Liia's crotch went hot and he trembled
18:14like a civ. He scrambled and crawled
18:16into the newcomers arms, snot and tears
18:19smearing his whole face, howling as if
18:21his heart were being torn apart. Sis, he
18:24wants to kill me. He wants to kill me.
18:26Avenge me. Avenge me. Lee Huon hugged
18:28him tightly as if hugging the only life
18:30she had left in this world. Her eyes
18:32were red with one hand patting his back.
18:35She coaxed softly. It's all right. It's
18:37all right. Your sister is here. No one
18:39can hurt you. I watched this scene
18:41coldly. I had seen an identical scene
18:43before. Back when Li Jiao caused a huge
18:46disaster in my company, I had held the
18:48black and white evidence and told
18:49Lihilan word by word how serious it was.
18:52But this woman had only pulled her
18:54brother into her arms and softly coaxed.
18:56It's all right. It's all right. I had
18:58not expected that even in the
19:00apocalypse, this brother coddling nature
19:02of hers had not changed one bit.
19:04Gunshots traveled too far in this
19:06wasteland. The survivors who had
19:08scattered into the river ditch earlier
19:10and were closer by all straightened up
19:12one by one, exchanged glances, then
19:14crept timidly back from far away. They
19:17only dared to crane their necks and
19:19peaked this way. Gunshots meant someone
19:21had died. Someone dying often meant
19:23there might be something to scavenge.
19:24More than a dozen dustcovered figures
19:26soon formed a half circle. No one dared
19:29come too close. They only whispered,
19:31their gazes shuttling back and forth
19:33between me and Liia on the ground. Isn't
19:36that the consumptive ghost who was
19:37coughing blood a few days ago? How is he
19:40standing so straight now? Didn't you
19:41hear the gunshot? He's still holding a
19:43gun. No, look at his face. The sick look
19:46is all gone. His arms are thicker. He He
19:50couldn't have drawn that sequence
19:51potion, could he? His luck is way too
19:53good. There are nearly 200 slots. And
19:56maybe he drew several times in a row. As
19:58long as you can become a sequence user,
20:00even drawing 10 times is worth it. At
20:02worst, you can hunt fierce beasts later
20:04and draw a life extending potion to make
20:06up for it. Our convoy finally has a male
20:09superhuman. Maybe our days will get a
20:11little better from now on. Just don't
20:13know what the other four think. The
20:14survivors discussion cut off abruptly
20:16with the appearance of the last two
20:18superhumans. In my convoy, even a
20:20sequence user cannot kill people at
20:22will. Do you not know this rule? A cold,
20:25clear voice pulled my gaze away from the
20:27brother and sister. The one speaking was
20:29the captain of the safe convoy, Su
20:31Mooching. She was an extremely beautiful
20:33woman. Her features were exquisite. Her
20:35skin so white it was almost transparent
20:38like a porcelain figure carved from
20:40snow. Yet there was not a trace of
20:42expression on that face, cold enough to
20:44put the November wind to shame. She had
20:46originally been the female CEO of a
20:48cosmetics company in a skyscraper in
20:50Magic City. Her company had been in the
20:52same building as my former internet
20:54company. Back then, a rich second
20:56generation pursuing her had made no end
20:58of scenes downstairs. Rumor had it that
21:01on the first day the apocalypse
21:02descended, she awakened a sequence and
21:05using her female employees as a
21:07foundation, pulled together an allfemale
21:09convoy, that most spacious bus was now
21:12carrying almost entirely her former
21:13subordinates, and men like me had
21:15squeezed in later. We were the lowest,
21:17least trusted group in this convoy.
21:20Normally, we could only do the hardest
21:22and most dangerous parts of the work,
21:24such as risking entry into villages to
21:26search for supplies, and half of what we
21:28found had to be handed over to the
21:29convoy, while women only handed over
21:32one/3. Captain, I said long ago that we
21:34shouldn't take in these men." Another
21:36voice cut in sour and cutting like a
21:39blunt knife scraping bone. The speaker
21:41was a short, plump woman with a round
21:43face that naturally bore the words, "You
21:45owe me." The way she looked at men was
21:47as if she had seen something filthy.
21:49Fuan, the one among the convoys for
21:52superhumans who most disliked Mn1, knew
21:55which man had hurt her so badly back
21:57then. All they knew was that now that
21:59she had become a superhum, she wanted to
22:01pay back every bit of it. If you ask me,
22:03her chin lifted high. We should have
22:05kept the convoy all female. These men
22:08spend all day fighting and brawling, not
22:10following rules at all. And when they
22:12really run into anomalies or fierce
22:14beasts, they run faster than anyone. But
22:16at that moment, Haninan pulled the
22:18lollipop out of her mouth, rolled her
22:20eyes, and smiled teasingly. "Oh, when
22:23Sister Fu says that, does it also
22:25include the few men in your vehicle?"
22:27She deliberately dragged out the tone.
22:29"Those gentlemen would be heartbroken to
22:31hear that. The night before last, they
22:33had just been sitting in your tent, and
22:34you're throwing them away this fast. You
22:37You're talking nonsense." Fuan looked as
22:39if her tail had been stepped on. Her
22:41voice suddenly rose and her face flushed
22:43red. I only let them ride in my vehicle
22:45because I pitted them. Right now, we're
22:47talking about Shiau violating the
22:49captain's rules and killing someone.
22:51Don't change the subject. Honan was not
22:53to be outdone and scoffed. Since you
22:55know what we're talking about, why are
22:57you dragging and driving men away? She
22:59bit her lollipop with a crunch, pointed
23:02at Liia on the ground, and said, "Just
23:04now, Sister Lee's dear little brother
23:06here pulled a gun and tried to kill
23:08Shiau while he was awakening. Even if
23:10Xiaou had blown him away on the spot, it
23:12would have been self-defense. At that,
23:14Li Huan, who had just calmed her brother
23:17down, jerked her head up and glared at
23:19Hanin with red eyes. "You stopped
23:21slandering him. Why would my brother do
23:23such a thing?" She turned to look at me,
23:25her voice dripping with poison. It was
23:27obviously Shiaoyu. Because I dumped him
23:29back then, he's been nursing a grudge.
23:31Now that he's an awakened, he wants to
23:33kill my brother to vent his hatred. So,
23:35my brother had no choice but to fight
23:37back. A dangerous element like him
23:39should be expelled from the convoy
23:41immediately, not kept for even a moment.
23:44That face, originally passable pretty,
23:46twisted beyond recognition as she turned
23:48black into white. Eli Jiao helped to his
23:51feet, shrank behind her, and fixed a
23:53gaze so venomous it could drip, staring
23:55dead at me. The onlooking survivors
23:58lowered their heads even more, not
24:00daring to breathe. Gods fighting.
24:02Mortals like them only dared listen, not
24:04metal. But every pair of pricricked up
24:06ears was sharper than any once. Su
24:08Muin<unk>s gaze swept over us and landed
24:10on Lie Xiao<unk>s expression. From her
24:12look, I could tell she had already
24:14guessed most of what had happened, but
24:16she was in a dilemma. Li Huon<unk>s
24:18guide sequence was the convoy's eye for
24:19survival. She could not afford to lose
24:21it. A newly advanced transcendent was
24:24equally priceless. She did not want to
24:26let go of either side. Enough. She spoke
24:28like pouring a ladle of ice water into a
24:31boiling pot, and the surroundings fell
24:32silent at once. What times are these?
24:35Humans have been driven out of the
24:36cities by those eerie monsters and
24:38become wanderers in the wild. We live
24:40from one day to the next, barely
24:42clinging to life. What grudges are worth
24:44gambling your lives over? She looked at
24:46me, her tone unruffled. Lie was wrong
24:49just now, but his leg is broken and he's
24:52badly injured. That counts as
24:53punishment. If you're not satisfied,
24:55I'll make the decision. Quan will hand
24:57over the dire beast egg she was
24:59allocated earlier to you. You awakened
25:01as a beast tamer sequence, so you can
25:03use it. This matter ends here. From now
25:06on, no one is to mention it again, and
25:08no one is to take revenge on each
25:10other." She paused, then let each word
25:12fall in the cold wind. Otherwise, leave
25:15my convoy. Li Huon<unk>s face stiffened,
25:17full of unwillingness. But when Su
25:20Muing<unk>s cold gaze swept over, her
25:22throat moved. In the end, she did not
25:24dare speak, only burned her eyes into
25:26me. She was waiting, waiting for me. The
25:28Xiaoyu who had always had a hot temper
25:31to explode and clash with Sumu Muing.
25:33But what she did not expect was that I
25:35only nodded. Fine. The hidden
25:37expectation on Li Huon<unk>s face fell
25:39flat. The survivors around heard clearly
25:41and each sucked in a breath of cold air.
25:44They watched with their own eyes as I
25:46the man who yesterday was hanging by a
25:48thread and might have died by the
25:49roadside at any moment. Now in front of
25:52the convoy captain and the four great
25:54transcendents, neither humble nor
25:56arrogant, steadily accepted this
25:57judgment. My bearing was cold enough to
26:00rival the captains. As if I had become a
26:02completely different person, Ino1 knew
26:04that I had already guessed Su Muing
26:06would settle it by punishing both sides
26:08equally. Lihuan<unk>s guide sequence was
26:10more precious than ordinary combat
26:12sequences. How could Su Muing watch me
26:15kill Li Jiao and chill the GU's heart?
26:17And I, Shiaoyu, didn't even have a beast
26:20of my own yet. There was even less
26:21chance I would leave the convoy now and
26:23walk alone into that man-eating
26:25wilderness. SO would take this egg. Dot,
26:28I would swallow this insult. But I would
26:30remember this debt. With my cheat
26:32ability to designate draws, as long as I
26:34encountered a few more wheels, I could
26:36rapidly make up for my lack of power.
26:38When that time came, a gentleman's
26:40revenge is never too late. Besides, from
26:42what I knew of Li Jiao, he was not the
26:45type to swallow his anger. He would
26:46definitely find ways to take revenge on
26:48me. Next, as long as Lie Jiao dared
26:51reach out again, I could rightfully send
26:53him to meet the king of hell. That be
26:54why then? Even Su Muing would find no
26:57reason to stop me. Seeing me nod, a
26:59trace of satisfaction flickered in Su
27:01Muing<unk>s eyes. After all, I was
27:04someone who considered the big picture.
27:05Huan handed over. Li Huan gritted her
27:09teeth and finally under that gaze turned
27:11and went back to her own off-road
27:13vehicle. Soon she carried back a huge
27:15egg and shoved it heavily into my arms.
27:18The egg was a full meter long and half a
27:20meter wide. It shell was covered with
27:22spots and veins of cyan, faintly glowing
27:25in the deepening dusk. Among the crowd,
27:27a burst of low but unstoppable
27:29exclamations erupted. Such a big egg. Is
27:32it a dire beast egg? This is a fine
27:34thing. Only transcendence are qualified
27:36to be allocated. And now it's fallen
27:38into his hands. The instant my palm
27:40touched the shell. The newly awakened
27:42sequence ability inside me. Appraise
27:45beast activated automatically that a
27:47stream of information poured into my
27:49mind out of nowhere. A mutant turtle egg
27:51combining the tier one dire beast iron
27:53armored black turtle and the tier three
27:55dire beast mountainbearing giua turtle.
27:58Upon hatching, it will randomly awaken
28:00one of the two bloodlines or an unknown
28:02fused bloodline.3 bloodlines. One
28:05randomly awakened. My gaze shifted
28:07slightly. Before I could think further,
28:09that familiar line of pale gold text
28:11appeared before my eyes again. Random
28:13event discovered. Beast bloodline
28:15awakening. Remaining chances to
28:17designate a random outcome. Four.
28:19Designate. That line of pale gold text
28:21floated before my eyes again. I tried to
28:23suppress it, but the corners of my mouth
28:25still curled up bit by bit, beyond my
28:28control. Earlier, when I was half dead
28:30with fever, I had only glanced hastily
28:32at that panel. I knew I could designate
28:35will draws, but I hadn't seen the whole
28:37thing clearly at all. Only now did I
28:39understand. How could this ability to
28:41designate random outcomes be only for
28:43drawing from the wheel. What it
28:45recognized was the word random. As long
28:47as something had anything to do with
28:49random, I could put a hand in a flash. I
28:52thought of sequence advancement. I was
28:54now sequence 9 beast tamer like a seed
28:57that had just been planted. But to go
28:58further up, every advancement brought a
29:01thousand branching sequences, which was
29:03strong, and which weak depended entirely
29:05on heaven's will. Some people at
29:07sequence 9 suppressed all peers and
29:09enjoyed limitless glory. Yet, when
29:11advancing to sequence 8, they might hit
29:13a pathetically weak sequence and fall
29:15from the clouds into the mud overnight,
29:17trampled underfoot by peers. Worse
29:19still, once one stepped onto a dead-end
29:21sequence. Any further advancement would
29:24be cut off, impossible to move a single
29:26step. The upper limit could be high
29:28enough to pierce the sky, while the
29:30lower limit could be low enough to bury
29:31one in the earth. This was the most
29:33awkward part of the sequence path to
29:35transcendence. But now I had
29:37designation. I no longer had to place
29:39bets or gamble on one in 10,000 luck.
29:42With every advancement, I could and
29:44would only choose the strongest path.
29:46Step by step, I would walk out a supreme
29:49sequence that 10,000 people would look
29:51up to. Seeing the smile at my lips, Su
29:53Muing assumed I was happy with the dire
29:55beast egg and satisfied with the
29:57settlement. She said lightly. Since the
29:59matter is settled, Quon, take your
30:02brother back first. Shall you come with
30:04me? Now that you've become a
30:05transcendent, there are some things you
30:07should know. I nodded and followed
30:08behind her. Behind me, Liia<unk>s
30:11venomous gaze, almost dripping with
30:13poison, stayed nailed to my back until
30:15my figure disappeared completely into
30:17the bus. It's all your fault. Lie Xiao
30:20turned and poured all his pinup fury
30:22onto Li Huon. If you hadn't said the
30:24wheels winning probability was too low
30:26and stopped me from drawing. That
30:28sequence potion would have been mine
30:29long ago. How would it have been that
30:31bastard's turn? Honan, who hadn't left
30:34yet, pulled out her lollipop, her eyes
30:36and brows curved, smiling with
30:38particular mischief. Then go draw now.
30:41She pouted toward the wheel. Isn't the
30:42potion still sitting on the wheel? Maybe
30:44you'll be like Shiau. Lucky all of a
30:47sudden hit it in one draw and become a
30:49transcendent on the spot. You'd better
30:51hurry. The wheel can vanish just like
30:53that. Lihu Alon's brows knitted sharply.
30:56She shot a glance at this little girl
30:57who feared the world wasn't chaotic
30:59enough, grabbed Li Jiao back, and said
31:02coldly, "Go back, get your leg treated
31:04first." She knew her brother's temper
31:06better than anyone. If this girl egged
31:08him on a couple more times, he might
31:10really waste all the crystal cores she
31:12had painstakingly saved over the years
31:13on this tier 2 wheel with an absurdly
31:16low return rate. Her brother wasn't like
31:18Shiau, a desperate wretch with nothing
31:20left but to gamble his life. That Shiau
31:22just got dog [ __ ] lucky, she added
31:24coldly in her heart. What he gained by
31:26luck will sooner or later be vomited
31:28back with interest through luck. His end
31:30won't be good. There was no need to
31:32fight over a moment's gain or loss with
31:34a grasshopper at the end of autumn.
31:36Although Li Jiao shouted fiercely, he
31:38had at least attended high school and
31:40knew what probability was. Plus, his leg
31:42hurt terribly, so naturally, he went
31:44with his sister. Seeing Li Jiao dragged
31:47away, and no more excitement to watch,
31:49Hanin clicked her tongue, turned, found
31:51a patch of empty ground nearby, drew her
31:54knife, and began practicing on her own.
31:56Excitement could be watched anytime. The
31:58knife, however, could not stop for a
32:01single day. In this hellish world, who
32:03knew whether danger would fall from the
32:05sky the next instant? Only the one who
32:07survived first deserved to see the next
32:09show. Inside the bus, it was warm and
32:12cozy, as if separated from the dark,
32:14heavy wasteland outside by two worlds.
32:17At a desk, Sumuin took a sip of coffee
32:19and gently set it back down. The howling
32:22wind outside the windows was blocked by
32:24the thick glass. "Those are roughly the
32:26convoys rules," she said. "If you have
32:28any thoughts or objections, you can
32:29raise them now. This convoy isn't mine
32:32alone, and I'm no dictator." She raised
32:34her eyes. Her tone wasn't heavy, but
32:36every word pressed down on me, but once
32:39you agree, you must obey. Without rules,
32:41nothing can take shape. I smiled
32:43slightly. The captain's rules are
32:45reasonable enough. I have no objections.
32:47I had only just become a transcendent
32:50and didn't even have a beast of my own
32:51yet. Never mind that the rules were
32:53fairly fair. Even if they were somewhat
32:55unfair, I wouldn't jump out to be the
32:57bird that sticks its head out at this
32:59critical moment that a strong man's
33:00whisper could resound like thunder. A
33:02weak man's whale was nothing but noise
33:04by the ear. Besides, apart from being
33:07somewhat partial to women, Su
33:08Muing<unk>s rules could be called fair
33:10enough. Apparently quite satisfied with
33:12my cooperation, Su Muing nodded, took a
33:15black covered notebook from the desk,
33:17and pushed it toward me. Now that you're
33:18a transcendent, there are many things
33:20you should understand. This contains
33:22things I've compiled from what I've seen
33:24and heard over the past few months on
33:25the road and from everyone's firsthand
33:27experience about transcendent types, the
33:30wheels drawing rules, and some common
33:32eerie creatures and monsters. Some of it
33:34is still speculation and hasn't been
33:36truly confirmed. Take a look first. It
33:38should be useful. I took it. The corners
33:40of the notebook were worn fuzzy. The
33:42cover bulged slightly, and the pages
33:44were stuffed full that it was obvious
33:46that someone had opened, annotated, and
33:48supplemented this notebook page by page
33:51again and again. Ever since those
33:53monsters and strange creatures descended
33:55into the world along with the wheels,
33:57most transcendent had gained power. But
33:59as for where their power came from and
34:01what the wheels rules were, they were
34:02still like blind men touching an
34:04elephant. Yet, the woman before me had
34:06already begun unraveling everyone's
34:08experience thread by thread and
34:10gathering it into one volume and was
34:12even willing to share it with a newly
34:14awakened newcomer. She didn't know well
34:15that I knew very well this was likely a
34:17way of winning hearts. But I really did
34:19have to accept this favor. After all,
34:22what was inside could indeed save me
34:24many detours. A team my age. I was no
34:26longer someone who would reject
34:27genuinely useful things out of emotion.
34:30In no wonder she so young could by her
34:32own strength sit in the position of
34:34president of a large company. This kind
34:36of skill and charm for gathering
34:37people's hearts. She was born leader
34:39material. Then thank you captain. I
34:42closed the notebook and tucked it into
34:43my jacket. I'll read it carefully when I
34:45get back and return it to you as soon as
34:47I can. Sumui nodded slightly. I didn't
34:50linger. Rose and got off the bus. The
34:53sky had gone completely dark. Several
34:55campfires had been lit on the wasteland,
34:57stretching the shadows of groups of
34:59survivors long. The shadows danced and
35:01jumped with the wind. The moment my feet
35:03touched the ground, a dozen figures
35:05swarmed up and surrounded me. They were
35:08all men dressed variously and in rags,
35:11but the eagerness and fawning in their
35:12eyes as they looked at me was hotter
35:14than fired. A te their head was a burly
35:16bald man. Tattoos ran up his thick neck
35:19all the way to his jaw, and his face was
35:21openly ferocious. Jang Mang. He had an
35:24old broken down truck, and many male
35:26survivors in the convoy lived off his
35:28goodwill and rode in his truck. Earlier,
35:30he had tried to recruit me, but the
35:32terms were outrageously dark. No matter
35:35what you drew from the wheel or
35:36scavenged from abandoned villages and
35:38towns, you first handed half to the
35:40convoy, and of the remaining half, you
35:42had to give him another third. I refused
35:44such a skinny three layers deal on the
35:46spot. a t the time. The smile on Jang
35:48Mangs<unk>s face had dropped with a
35:50swish, looking down at me from his
35:51height he had thrown out, ungrateful.
35:54But now, this bald man, who had started
35:56out as a lone shark and spent years in
35:58the underworld, was all smiles and
36:00stepped forward, piling on the smile
36:02faster than anyone. Brother Shiao,
36:04congratulations. Congratulations. He
36:07wiped his hands on his trouser legs
36:08before extending one as if to shake
36:10mine. From today on, our ping and convoy
36:13finally has a male transcendent. You've
36:15really won us men a breath of pride.
36:17Earlier, your brother here was blind and
36:19failed to recognize Mount Thai. Be
36:21magnanimous, brother. Don't take it to
36:23heart. He chuckled, showing a mouth full
36:26of yellow teeth. See, when the brothers
36:28heard you'd awakened, we pulled some
36:30savings and put together a table of food
36:32and drink, just waiting to celebrate
36:34properly with you." He lowered his voice
36:36and leaned half a step closer, his tone
36:39carrying an enthusiasm he had never
36:41shown before. In the future, in this
36:43convoy, I'll have to ask you to look
36:45after us, brother. After all, a good
36:47hero needs three helpers. Our convoy is
36:50strong on women and weak on men. As long
36:52as you're willing, brother, from now on,
36:54I and these guys will follow your lead.
36:56You point east and we'll never go west.
36:59Tonight, let's get together properly and
37:01drink till we're drunk and let all the
37:03unpleasantness of the past be wiped
37:04away. What do you say? I didn't stop
37:07walking. I only swept my gaze coldly
37:09across that face that it was a face that
37:12even while desperately piling on smiles
37:14could not suppress the ferocity in its
37:16bones. Highbrow bones, deep set eye
37:19sockets, triangular eyes narrowed into
37:21slits, mouth split in a grin, a mouth of
37:24teeth yellowed by smoke. No matter how
37:26one looked at it, it made one
37:28uncomfortable. No need. I shook my head
37:30calmly. I'm not hungry. Besides, I have
37:33something to deal with. From getting off
37:34the bus to uttering this sentence, my
37:37steps never paused for even half a
37:38moment. B, why the time the sentence
37:40fell, I had already passed through the
37:42ring of people. The two men blocking the
37:44way watched me approach straight on and
37:46actually lacked the courage to step up
37:48and block me. When I was less than half
37:50a meter away, they hurriedly stepped
37:51aside and opened a path. One of them
37:54even involuntarily retreated half a
37:56step. It was as if an invisible layer of
37:58light had risen around me, completely
38:00separating me from these ordinary people
38:02that it was an aura that made one unable
38:05to muster the slightest thought of
38:06resistance. Before such oppressive
38:09pressure had only been seen on Captain
38:11Sue Mooching, or those few
38:12transcendents. Now it had truly fallen
38:14upon me. This was the authority brought
38:16by power, more direct and more
38:19unreasonable than money and power in the
38:21old society. Watching my back grow more
38:23distant, the smile on Jang Mangs face
38:25collapsed inch by inch. His brows and
38:28eyes returned to their usual gloom.
38:30Beside him, a skinny hemptock like
38:32lackey swallowed, hesitated, then leaned
38:35in and asked in a low voice, "Brother
38:37Mang, Shiau, if Shiau isn't coming, are
38:40we still eating tonight? The meat's
38:42already in the pot." The moment the
38:44words fell, everyone turned their eyes
38:46from the direction I had disappeared and
38:48fixed them on Jang Mangs<unk>s uncertain
38:50face. In the air, only the soft crackle
38:53of the campfire remained, along with the
38:55sound of someone swallowing. To climb
38:57onto my line, Jang Mang had gritted his
38:59teeth for tonight's meal and taken out
39:01all the meat and dishes he had kept at
39:03the bottom of his chest, preserved by
39:05risking his life. Those cured meats
39:07blackened with salt, and half a jar of
39:09lard he had been reluctant to touch, had
39:10gone into the pot one by one, and he had
39:12promised everyone present a piece. These
39:15people, who didn't know how long it had
39:17been since they had tasted meat, had
39:18swarmed over precisely for that bit of
39:20grease. At this moment, their craving
39:23for meat even outweighed their fear of
39:25Jeang Mangs increasingly dark face and
39:27increasingly heavy ferocity. Eat. Jeang
39:30Mang slapped his thigh and laughed in a
39:32muffled voice. A laugh uglier than
39:34crying. Why not eat? He just became a
39:36sequence user. He's busy. That's normal.
39:39The meat's already in the pot. We can't
39:41waste it. We will eat our own. In that
39:43laugh was endless nashing of teeth. I
39:46had walked far away, but with hearing
39:48far superior to an ordinary person's, I
39:50still heard that sentence clearly,
39:52including that grinding note, as if
39:54sparks were about to fly from his teeth
39:56that I didn't stop walking, but the
39:57corner of my mouth curved very faintly.
40:00Even at this point, he could force his
40:02anger back into his stomach and then use
40:03a meal to keep gathering these people
40:05under his control. This temperament
40:07really didn't match that ferocious face.
40:09And the more someone could stay rational
40:11in humiliation, the more dangerous he
40:13was. I had heard plenty about what kind
40:15of person Jang Mang was before the
40:17apocalypse. He had started out as a lone
40:19shark, a ruthless figure who moved in
40:21the underworld. Debt collection, debt
40:23coercion, killing with a soft knife. He
40:26could do it all. Beneath the smiling
40:28face, what was always hidden was
40:29something that wanted your life. Today,
40:31I had publicly brushed aside his face.
40:33Given Jeang Mangs vindictive nature, he
40:36would remember this humiliation for a
40:38lifetime. If in the future Jean Mang
40:40also got lucky and became a
40:41transcendent, then today's debt would be
40:43a blood debt to be settled after autumn.
40:46Rather than wait for that day, it would
40:47be better to find a way now to send him
40:49on his way to Su Muching's rules stated
40:51that transcendence could not kill
40:53survivors indiscriminately without
40:55cause. But if one truly wanted to kill
40:57someone, there were plenty of ways in
40:59this world. Eerie creatures and dire
41:01beasts were everywhere in the
41:03wilderness. If a life disappeared in the
41:05night without cause, who could say
41:07clearly what had happened? With these
41:09thoughts turning in my mind, my face
41:11showed not the slightest ripple. I found
41:13a patch of open ground some distance
41:15from other people's tents, took the
41:16sleeping bag off my back, and spread it
41:19on the ground. The moonlight was very
41:20white, making this small patch of open
41:22ground cold and chilly. Originally, in
41:25this convoy, I could be considered
41:27propertied. I had a bicycle of my own,
41:29plus a tent, sleeping bag, and other
41:32odds and ends. But after someone poured
41:34cold water over my head on that quiet
41:36night, when I climbed up from the
41:37ground, feverish and groggy, my bicycle
41:39had already vanished and my tent had
41:42several huge cuts. When the wind blew,
41:44it leaked like a civ and was completely
41:46unusable that I searched around the camp
41:48for a long time despite my illness.
41:50Finally, behind Jeang Mangs broken
41:52truck, I caught sight of several
41:54familiar-looking parts, dismantled into
41:56pieces that it wasn't stolen. It had
41:58been dismantled. The person who
42:00dismantled my bike was most likely Jeang
42:02Mang or someone under him. The purpose
42:04was nothing more than to curry favor
42:06with Li Xiao, that precious little
42:08brother of a transcendent. But Jang Mang
42:10probably never dreamed that in just two
42:12days, the sickly wretch he had treated
42:14like a dead fish, someone he could crush
42:16underfoot at will, would also turn over
42:18and become a transcendent. That was why,
42:21when our eyes met just now, a trace of
42:23bone deep unease that he could not
42:25suppress had hidden in those muddy eyes.
42:27I didn't spend much thought on this
42:29matter that I reached deep into the
42:30sleeping bag and felt around for a while
42:32before finding a square still unopened
42:34packet of bread. It tea was the last bit
42:36of food I had on me. I had been
42:38reluctant to eat it before. When hunger
42:40got bad, I would take advantage of the
42:42convoys rest stops to run to the
42:44roadside and pick wild vegetables or
42:46look for wild fruit, bitterly enduring
42:48until now. But at this moment, without
42:50hesitation, I tore open the packaging
42:52and bit into it. The soft sweetness of
42:55red bean paste mixed with the wheat
42:57fragrance of the bread melted bit by bit
43:00on my tongue. The satisfaction that
43:02surged up in that moment made me dazed
43:03for an instant as never before. I
43:06couldn't even remember when I had last
43:07tasted something like this. But I
43:09suppose that from now on, I would never
43:11taste this kind of flavor again. Because
43:13starting with this bite, every meal of
43:15mine would be better than this that I
43:16would never go hungry again. After
43:18carefully eating the last crumbs in the
43:20bag and licking clean even the sugar
43:22grains on my fingertips, I slowly
43:24reached out my other hand and bit open
43:26my fingertip point one drop, two drops.
43:29Several bright red beads of blood fell
43:31onto the dire beast egg. The next
43:33instant, the blood seemed to come alive.
43:35The blood flowed over the eggshell's
43:37surface, branched and spread, swiftly,
43:40transforming into countless blood
43:42threads as fine as ox hair. They wound
43:44along the shell, criss-crossing. In just
43:47a few breaths, they had woven a
43:48dazzlingly complex net of runes over the
43:51entire huge egg. Immediately after, the
43:54entire net, together with the original
43:56cyan veins on the shell, lit up with a
43:58faint golden light. The golden light was
44:01very light and soft, like a wisp of thin
44:04mist seeping out from deep within the
44:05shell, pulsing rhythmically beat by
44:08beat, as if something long asleep was
44:10waking bit by bit inside the shell. This
44:12was another core ability of the beast
44:14tamer sequence, spirit pact. With blood
44:17as the guide and soul as the pact, it
44:19built an unbreakable link with a beast
44:21and refined it into a beast loyal to
44:23oneself, eternally loyal, obedient,
44:26driven by every thought of its master.
44:29And the master could at any time sense
44:31every inch of the beast's condition,
44:33share its five senses, and even from a
44:35hundred leway remotely control it, and
44:37send the beast to kill enemies. If what
44:39was contracted was an unhatched beast
44:41egg, the spirit pack could further
44:43stimulate the power of hatching. Except
44:45for a very few with special bloodlines.
44:47Basically, it could break out of the
44:49shell on the spot. At that moment, that
44:51line of pale gold text appeared before
44:53my eyes again. Random event discovered.
44:56Hatched beast bloodline awakening.
44:58Remaining chances to designate a random
45:00outcome. Four. Designate. This time, I
45:02didn't hesitate at all. Designate. The
45:05pale gold text suddenly changed and
45:07neatly spread out three options before
45:09my eyes. One, a iron armored black
45:11turtle bloodline. Upper limit tier one
45:14dire beast possesses iron armor,
45:16relatively strong defense, immense
45:18strength, only slightly slow in speed.
45:21Two, mountain bearing Ginua turtle
45:23bloodline. Upper limit tier three dire
45:25beast. Extremely strong defense.
45:27Gigantic body. Strength enough to carry
45:30mountains. Can control earth and stone.
45:32Master Earth escape and survive by
45:34devouring earth and stone. Three.
45:37Unknown mutant bloodline. Upper limit
45:39tier four. Dire beast. Possesses iron
45:41armor. Extremely strong defense. Immense
45:44strength. Can freely enlarge and shrink
45:46its body. Control earth, stone, and
45:49metal. Survive by devouring earth,
45:51stone, and metal. Move freely through
45:54earth, stone, and mineral veins. And is
45:56extremely fast. My gaze suddenly focused
45:59that I had never expected that this
46:01ability besides letting me designate
46:03also came with an appraisal effect
46:06laying out clearly the strengths and
46:07weaknesses, advantages and disadvantages
46:10of every option. This helped me
46:11enormously. Otherwise, even if I could
46:14designate, if I didn't know which of the
46:16paths before me was good or bad, the
46:18ability would be no different from a
46:20blind man rolling dice. Without this
46:22information, I would naturally have
46:24chosen the tier three mountain bearing
46:25Ginua turtle. But now this unknown
46:28mutant bloodline actually combined the
46:30strengths of both bloodlines at once and
46:32even broke the bloodline limit in one
46:34stroke, forcibly raising it to tier
46:36four, choosing it was the right choice
46:38that I didn't hesitate and silently said
46:40in my heart, "The third option." The
46:42instant the thought settled, the dire
46:44beast egg suddenly burst out with golden
46:47light, far more dazzling than before.
46:49The golden light no longer breathed
46:51softly as before. Instead, it was like a
46:54strong, powerful heart beating violently
46:56inside the shell. Beat after beat,
46:59faster and brighter, coating the entire
47:01open ground in a scalding gold. Even the
47:04cold moonlight was forced back several
47:06meters that eye in the distance.
47:07Survivors who had poked their heads out
47:09of their tents were startled by the
47:10sudden golden light, and all looked this
47:12way. On those ashen faces were both
47:15shock and unconcealable envy. Their
47:17gazes were so hot they could almost burn
47:19through a person. Yet not a single
47:21person dared come half a step closer.
47:23When the beating reached its limit, the
47:25golden light stopped flickering and
47:27condensed into a steady piercing gold. A
47:30thin crack split open on the eggshell
47:32that a round dark gold little head poked
47:34out from the crack, but on that head
47:36grew a short little single horn. The
47:37instant a pair of huge eyes opened. They
47:40locked straight onto me, and in them
47:41rose joy so clear it could not be
47:43clearer, entirely unconcealed. At the
47:46same instant, I felt an invisible thread
47:49appear deep in my mind point. One end of
47:51the thread was me. The other end was
47:53this little creature before me. I could
47:55clearly feel its heart full of joy, full
47:57of dependence, full of closeness. As if
48:00since the beginning of the world, it had
48:02been waiting for this moment, waiting
48:04for me. After the little one poked its
48:06head out, it immediately opened its
48:07mouth wide and began gnawing at its own
48:10eggshell with a crunch crunch. It ate
48:12extremely fast. Within just a few dozen
48:15seconds, that huge eggshell, about a
48:17meter long and half a meter wide, had
48:19been swallowed down completely, shell
48:21and all, without leaving a scrap. Its
48:24complete body then appeared under the
48:25moonlight. It was about a meter long,
48:28covered entirely in a dark gold metallic
48:30luster. In the moonlight, that luster
48:32actually seemed to flow slowly like
48:34living water. Over its scales,
48:36mysterious patterns flickered in and out
48:39of view, brightening and dimming with
48:41its breathing. A pair of pale gold eyes
48:43glowed faintly in the night, giving off
48:45an indescribable otherworldly
48:47strangeness that was utterly out of
48:49place in this desolate, deathly silent
48:51wilderness. After finishing the
48:53eggshell, it shook its head, wagged a
48:55little dark gold tail, leaped high, and
48:58with a plop, threw itself into my arms.
49:00I reached out and stroked the small horn
49:02on its forehead. The horn was still
49:04warm, delicate to the touch, and the
49:07patterns winding around it. Circle after
49:09circle, line after line. felt
49:11surprisingly pleasant, as if I were
49:13stroking an exquisite piece of
49:14craftsmanship. While smoothing its head,
49:17I had already begun, without showing
49:19anything on my face, to examine the
49:21power contained within it. This was also
49:23the effect of the spirit contract. A
49:25contract master could glimpse the power
49:27his contracted beast commanded, and
49:29sometimes even knew better than the
49:31beast itself just how much it was really
49:33worth. sorting through it carefully, it
49:35was largely the same as what the earlier
49:37option had said, but more detailed and
49:39more precise. Sensing all those gazes
49:42around me that seemed to want to pierce
49:44right through me, I lowered my eyes
49:46slightly and forcibly suppressed the
49:48little itch of excitement in my heart,
49:50they contracted beasts abilities were
49:51the beast master's final trump card. A
49:54trump card was never something to show
49:55others casually. I looked back at the
49:57little one in my arms, steadied myself,
49:59and said calmly. With that dark gold
50:02coat of yours, "From now on, I'll call
50:04you little gold." Simple, easy to
50:06remember. At those words, the little one
50:08raised its head, stuck out its warm
50:10tongue, and gently licked the back of my
50:12hand. That endearing, naive look made it
50:15seem quite pleased with the name. After
50:17giving it the name, I got up, went to
50:19the nearby wasteland, picked up some
50:21relatively dry, dead branches, piled
50:23them together, and lit a fire. When the
50:25flames rose, the knight seemed to be
50:27pushed back a little by that small fire.
50:29I sat down cross-legged, took out the
50:32black notebook Sue Mooching had given
50:33me, and slowly opened it by the
50:35flickering fire light. The cover felt
50:37cold in my hand, its corners worn and
50:40fuzzy, and it bulged slightly. I opened
50:42the first page. The first thing that met
50:44my eyes was a line of neat, delicate,
50:46small handwriting. Wheels were divided
50:48into three categories: ordinary wheels,
50:51challenge wheels, prismatic wheels. The
50:53so-called ordinary wheel was the kind I
50:55had just drawn from. According to the
50:57notebook, to judge a wheel's tier, one
50:59looked at the color of the crystal core
51:01embedded in the very center of the
51:02wheel. Currently known tiers from low to
51:05high were only five: gray, white, red,
51:09orange, and yellow. And the price to
51:11spin it came in only two forms. Either
51:14crystal cores taken from the brains of
51:15aberrations or fierce beasts, or the
51:18spinner's own life lifespan. The lowest
51:20gray first tier will needed only one
51:23first tier fierce beasts or aberrations
51:25crystal core or a mere 100 days of
51:27lifespan to spin once. From there, every
51:31increase by one tier required exactly 10
51:33times as much as the previous tier.
51:35Crystal cores or lifespan both rose by a
51:38factor of 10. The value of the items on
51:41the wheel was likewise marked by those
51:42colors, gray, white, red, orange, and
51:46yellow to indicate their grade. There
51:48was only one rule. The highest grade
51:50appearing on the wheel could be at most
51:52two tiers above the wheel itself. On a
51:54first tier wheel, at most third tier
51:56items could appear. On a second tier
51:58wheel, at most fourth tier items. More
52:00specifically, the notebook recorded
52:02clearly at least 80% of the items on a
52:05wheel were of the same tier as the wheel
52:07itself. 1% would be one tier higher. The
52:10rest were all lower tier ordinary goods.
52:12The fire light danced on the page. My
52:14gaze followed those lines and slowly
52:16moved downward. But these rules applied
52:18only to ordinary wheels. Prismatic
52:21wheels and challenge wheels were not
52:22included. For the former, there was no
52:24limit to how many crystal cores or how
52:26much lifespan you could throw in. The
52:28more you threw in at once, the greater
52:30your chances of drawing something truly
52:32good. For the latter, you did not need
52:34to put in any crystal cores at all. As
52:36long as you were willing to complete the
52:38challenge displayed on the wheel, you
52:40could get a free draw that I had seen
52:41neither of these two kinds of wheels. I
52:43closed that page and my fingers
52:45unconsciously rubbed lightly over the
52:47words prismatic will a couple of times.
52:50Ever since the monsters had descended in
52:52overwhelming numbers, I had followed the
52:54convoy in hiding, running here and there
52:56for at least a month or two. Roughly
52:58calculating, along the way, I had
53:00encountered only five wheels in total.
53:02Every one of them an ordinary
53:04commonplace wheel. I had never once seen
53:06the two kinds described in the notebook.
53:08So the question was where exactly had
53:10Sue Muing learned about these challenge
53:12wheels and prismatic wheels that the
53:14notebook described so confidently others
53:17might not notice but I was already
53:18absolutely certain. Our cold captain
53:21must have another unknown source of
53:23information. Still, that was not really
53:25a problem. She was already generous
53:27enough to lay out these life and death
53:29materials for a newly awakened newcomer
53:31like me. I could not possibly demand
53:33that she also spill out all her deepest
53:35secrets at once. If I could not do such
53:37a thing myself, what right did I have to
53:39demand it of someone else? I stopped
53:41thinking about it and turned the page.
53:43What followed were the general
53:44categories of superhumans. Besides the
53:46sequence users, which I already had in
53:49hand, there were actually professionals,
53:51cultivators, mechanical modifiers, gene
53:53modifiers, espers, oddity controllers, a
53:56dizzying, varied assortment. It made me
53:59dazed for a moment, as if all of
54:00humanity's old fantasies about
54:02superpowers had suddenly come true
54:04before my eyes. But in the past, when
54:07people daydreamed about such things,
54:08they imagined how after becoming lofty
54:11superhumans, they would show off their
54:13power before others, sum in wind and
54:15rain, and live forever. Now that all of
54:18this had truly descended, what it meant
54:20for people was living from hand to
54:22mouth, fleeing like wild dogs down
54:24ruined highways. If I had not now gained
54:26this designated random event ability,
54:29and if I really had a choice, I would
54:30rather go back to before the apocalypse
54:32and become that office drone again,
54:34working overtime everyday until my hair
54:37fell out. At least that life, bitter as
54:39it was, was not a day-to-day struggle to
54:41survive. But saying that now, was
54:43meaningless. What had happened had
54:44happened, and there was no going back
54:46that I studied myself and continued
54:48turning pages. Further onward were dense
54:51volume after volume of monster records.
54:53Aberrations, fierce beasts, ghosts,
54:56demons, and monsters, all categorized
54:59with both pictures and text. Among them
55:01were even quite a few third tier and
55:03fourth tier behemoths. The more I read,
55:05the tighter my brows knitted. This
55:07further confirmed my earlier guess. Su
55:09Muing must have another information
55:11channel. Otherwise, with the convoys
55:13meager resources, if they had really run
55:15into monsters of that tier, they would
55:17probably have become a pile of white
55:18bones long ago. How could they have
55:20survived until today? Just like that, by
55:23the flickering, bright and dim fire
55:25light, I read page by page, carefully,
55:28trying to brand every word into my mind.
55:30The night had unknowingly grown deep.
55:32The wind had died down, and the bonfire
55:35had been reduced to a few sparks of
55:37charcoal glowing faintly red in the
55:39darkness. The camp that had been noisy
55:41during the day was now so quiet that I
55:43could hear the rising and falling snores
55:45from distant tents and farther away, one
55:47or two faint, barely audible low howls
55:50of wild beasts. Most of the survivors
55:52had already gone to sleep. The only ones
55:54still awake on the wasteland were a few
55:56bonfires about to go out and a small
55:58squad of night watchers. They were a
56:00group of women. They were half a head
56:02taller than ordinary women with lean,
56:04tough builds, broad shoulders, and
56:06narrow waists. Their footsteps made
56:08almost no sound on the ground. Most
56:10eye-catching were the strange dark red
56:13patterns printed on the exposed part of
56:15their forearms. Patterns that were
56:16neither quite flowers nor beasts faintly
56:19glowing with a bloodlike luster, giving
56:21off an indescribably sinister air under
56:24the moonlight. Blood demon guards that
56:26succin people. It was said that this
56:28squad of women were creations of Sue
56:30Muing sequence ability. Once that
56:32bloodcoled mark was branded on them, an
56:34ordinary woman could break through human
56:36limits in strength, speed, reaction, and
56:39even wound recovery all at once. It was
56:42precisely by holding this method of
56:44transforming ordinary women into quasi
56:46superhumans that Sue Muing gave the
56:48women of Ping and Convoy the confidence
56:50to look down on men and stand above
56:52them. When this squad of blood demon
56:54guards patrolled near me, their
56:56footsteps noticeably slowed. Several
56:58gazes fell vaguely on me by the fire
57:00light and then on the small dark gold
57:02figure at my feet. Obviously, they all
57:05already knew. From now on, there was a
57:07fifth sequence user in the convoy and
57:09the only one who was a genuine man. But
57:11from beginning to end, I just sat there
57:13cross-legged, flipping through the
57:15notebook in my hand without even raising
57:17my eyelids. After turning the last page
57:20and closing the notebook, the night had
57:22already grown so thick it seemed
57:23impossible to dissolve. I slowly let out
57:26a breath of turbid air, rubbed my aching
57:28temples, and only then prepared to rest.
57:31Although a sequence user's physique had
57:33already been strengthened once by that
57:34surge of heaven and earth energy, I was
57:36still a human in the end, and I could
57:38still get tired. Not to mention that
57:40during the previous month or two, I had
57:42never once had a full night's sleep. I
57:44had been on edge all day, living like a
57:47startled bird. At the slightest rustle,
57:49I would reflexively scramble up, gather
57:51my things, and be ready to flee at any
57:53moment. Now, at least I no longer had to
57:56endure that. At last, I had someone
57:59beside me who could keep watch at night.
58:01I crawled into the sleeping bag and lay
58:03down face up. Above my head was the
58:05pitch black sky with a few cold stars
58:07flickering faintly. Little gold had at
58:09some point moved to the side of my head
58:11and curled its body into a warm ball of
58:14dark gold. Its pale gold eyes were half
58:16closed, as if it had also gone to sleep,
58:19and yet as if it might wake at any
58:21moment. I did not know how long had
58:22passed. In my sleep, I suddenly felt a
58:25damp coolness on my face. It was the
58:27sensation of a warm, slightly rough
58:29tongue surface licking repeatedly across
58:31my cheek again and again. The vigilance
58:34I had built up over more than a whole
58:36month, like a string stretched to its
58:38absolute limit, almost instantly dragged
58:41me hard out of deep sleep. I snapped my
58:43eyes open. What met my eyes was Little
58:45Gold's face, very close to mine, and
58:47those pale gold eyes that still shone
58:49brightly in the night. Seeing me awake,
58:51little gold let out too. Arf, arf,
58:54cries, wagged its tail rapidly, and kept
58:56pushing its head toward the distance. A
58:58ripple of excitement came through the
59:00spirit contract, and almost without
59:02thinking, I followed Little Gold's line
59:04of sight and looked toward the other end
59:06of the camp. Over there, at some point,
59:09a dark, dense ring of human figures had
59:11gathered. In the very center of the
59:13crowd stood a huge wall, two or 3 m
59:15tall. It was almost identical to the one
59:17I had drawn from during the day, except
59:19that every slot's color was more vivid
59:22and more chaotic. All sorts of colors
59:24gathered together, giving off an
59:26indescribably eerie feeling. However,
59:28what truly made my pupils contract was
59:30what floated above the wheel. Three
59:32semi-transparent panels. All three
59:34panels gave off a faint bloody glow.
59:37Within the blood light floated lines of
59:39blood red text, the handwriting twisted
59:41as if written stroke by stroke with the
59:43blood of living people. Challenge one,
59:46become the bride of a two-headed ogre
59:47and survive the wedding night. Gender,
59:50any success, gain one wheel draw.
59:53Failure, deduct one year of lifespan.
59:55Challenge two, become a fake unic in the
59:58Imperial Palace and remain undiscovered
1:00:00for 2 hours. Mail only. Success, gain
1:00:03one wheel draw. Failure, become a real
1:00:06unic. Challenge three. Russian roulette
1:00:08with five bullets. Survive one shot.
1:00:10Success. Gain one wheel draw and one
1:00:13oddity. Failure. Deduct 10 years of
1:00:15lifespan. Those three blood text panels
1:00:18floated gently in the night wind, and
1:00:20the light they gave off dyed the excited
1:00:22faces of the surrounding crowd a dark
1:00:24red. This is a challenge wheel. I had
1:00:27not expected that the challenge wheel I
1:00:29had just seen in the notebook would so
1:00:31quickly appear before my eyes in the
1:00:32flesh. During the day, there had clearly
1:00:35been nothing in that area. I had not
1:00:37seen anyone approach, nor any sign of
1:00:39abnormality. It had probably taken
1:00:41advantage of the night when everyone was
1:00:43sleeping like the dead to suddenly pop
1:00:45out of the ground. This was the
1:00:47unpredictability of the wheels. They
1:00:49could appear out of thin air at any time
1:00:51and any place. And in some unnoticed
1:00:54instant, they could also vanish silently
1:00:56as if they had never existed. And the
1:00:58reason our survivor convoy had to
1:01:00migrate day and night like this was not
1:01:02only that staying too long in one place
1:01:04would attract monsters that sniffed out
1:01:06the sin of humans, but also because only
1:01:08by constantly moving forward could we
1:01:10encounter more and newer wheels and draw
1:01:13from them more and stronger power enough
1:01:15to let people survive in this chaotic
1:01:17world. I rolled up the sleeping bag on
1:01:19the ground in a few quick movements,
1:01:21hung it on Little Gold's back, and
1:01:23strode quickly toward the growing crowd.
1:01:25I arrived very fast. In just a few
1:01:27steps, I was in front of that restless
1:01:29crowd. Up ahead, several men were
1:01:31desperately pushing forward, shoving
1:01:33each other and muttering under their
1:01:35breath, each calculating which of the
1:01:37three challenges before them he had a
1:01:39better chance of passing. One of them
1:01:41suddenly shoved aside from behind,
1:01:43stumbled, and immediately flared up. He
1:01:45turned his head and cursed, "Which damn
1:01:47bastard?" The second half of his
1:01:49sentence was forcibly stuck in his
1:01:50throat when he saw my face cold and
1:01:53utterly expressionless. And behind me,
1:01:55Little Gold with its dark gold scales
1:01:57and faintly glowing eyes. The anger on
1:02:00his face changed faster than a page
1:02:02turning instantly piling into an
1:02:04ingratiating smile. I It's Mr. Sha.
1:02:07Please, please stop pushing. All of you
1:02:09stop pushing. Hurry up and make a path
1:02:11for Mr. Shia. What's the use of you all
1:02:13squeezing to the front? A few of them
1:02:15volunteered to clear the way, and the
1:02:17crowd that had been squeezed into a lump
1:02:19instantly split open into a narrow,
1:02:22unobstructed path. I stepped forward
1:02:24expressionlessly under the rising and
1:02:26falling gazes on both sides, some
1:02:28envious, some wary, and walked all the
1:02:31way to the front of the wheel. Little
1:02:32Gold's four paws stepped on the ground,
1:02:34its paw steps almost inaudible. Yet
1:02:37everywhere it passed, people
1:02:38unconsciously retreated half a step. At
1:02:41the very front of the wheel, Su Muing
1:02:43and Hanin had already arrived. Seeing me
1:02:46approach, both nodded slightly as if
1:02:48greeting me. On the opposite side, Fuan
1:02:50glanced sideways, her gaze sweeping over
1:02:53me as if I did not exist at all. And
1:02:55beside Fuan, Lihuan<unk>s eyes were
1:02:57fixed dead on me, almost as if they
1:02:59could drip poison. I gave her only a
1:03:01faint glance and then withdrew my gaze.
1:03:04I knew perfectly well what that hatred
1:03:06in her eyes was about. To save Lie
1:03:08Jiao's leg and keep him from becoming a
1:03:10[ __ ] in the future, Lie Huan had
1:03:12probably wasted a whole bottle of
1:03:14healing potion she had painstakingly
1:03:16drawn from a wheel earlier and kept for
1:03:18life-saving use. All on that useless
1:03:20brother of hers. Naturally, she had put
1:03:22this dead on my head as well. But I did
1:03:24not even have the interest to look at
1:03:25her one more time. With Sumuing present,
1:03:28I could not touch her. And since that
1:03:29was so, what use was there in looking at
1:03:31her? Better to spend my thoughts on the
1:03:33real business before me. I looked again
1:03:35at the three panels floating with blood
1:03:37light and covered in hideous
1:03:39handwriting. N1 ever complained about
1:03:41having too many chances to draw. Apart
1:03:43from the third challenge, I also had to
1:03:45weigh whether the other two had any
1:03:47chance of being completed. I had once
1:03:49seen an ogre from a distance. That thing
1:03:51was a first tier monster, thick-skinned
1:03:53and tough-fed. Ordinary bullets hit it
1:03:55without causing any pain or itch. Its
1:03:58size was close to 3 m, and it was
1:04:00extremely savage. And that two-headed
1:04:02ogre was probably what it looked like
1:04:03after advancing. If little gold could
1:04:05grow to fourth tier in the future, it
1:04:07naturally would not fear it. But right
1:04:09now, it had just hatched and at most
1:04:11counted as first tier. Add to that the
1:04:13single bullet I had left in my hand, and
1:04:15no matter how I calculated it, I was no
1:04:18match for that monster. Besides, what
1:04:20kind of suffering one would endure going
1:04:22to be the bride of an ogre, one could
1:04:24know just by thinking about it with
1:04:25one's toes. I Shiau was not so far gone
1:04:29as to throw away my life and dignity
1:04:31together for the sake of a single draw.
1:04:33This challenge could be left to those
1:04:34gifted talents. Challenge two at first
1:04:37glance seemed the easiest one. The time
1:04:40was short and the requirement was light.
1:04:42But I remembered clearly. Su Muing<unk>s
1:04:44notebook stated plainly, "Whenever
1:04:46challenges appeared together, their
1:04:47difficulties were actually roughly on
1:04:49the same level. Since it dared to set
1:04:51the shortest time and state the lightest
1:04:53condition, that could only mean that
1:04:55beneath the surface, it hit a huge pit
1:04:57that was not written out. And that
1:04:59unclear price, though it did not deduct
1:05:01lifespan, was likewise an unbearable
1:05:04pain for any man. Looking around the
1:05:06whole circle, the only one I was
1:05:08absolutely confident I could handle was
1:05:10the third challenge, Russian roulette.
1:05:12Load bullets into the six chambers of a
1:05:14revolver, spin the cylinder, point the
1:05:16muzzle at your own head, and pull the
1:05:18trigger. What you gambled was your life.
1:05:20Six bullets, five loaded. This was
1:05:22already the most vicious, least
1:05:24survivable way to play. One wrong step
1:05:27and your brains would burst out. The
1:05:28death rate was 80% or more. But to
1:05:31others, this was an 80% gate of death.
1:05:34To me, as long as it was not 100%, it
1:05:37was zero. Others gambled on luck. I
1:05:39gambled on designation. Moreover, the
1:05:42reward for this challenge was also the
1:05:43richest among the three. Besides a free
1:05:45draw, it even came with an extra oddity.
1:05:48So-called oddities were an extremely
1:05:50special category among the things drawn
1:05:52from wheels. Each one had its own
1:05:54exclusive number. Unlike those
1:05:56superhuman items which require the user
1:05:58to supply spiritual power, magical
1:06:00power, or some other special energy to
1:06:02activate them, oddities could be used by
1:06:05anyone who held them. But precisely
1:06:07because of this, oddities usually also
1:06:09carried a certain hidden taboo. Once
1:06:11violated, the price was often shockingly
1:06:13heavy. The upper limit was extremely
1:06:15high and the lower limit was extremely
1:06:17low. Using one was like treading on thin
1:06:19ice. But at this moment, did I have the
1:06:22right to be picky? In this chaotic
1:06:24world, as long as something could give
1:06:25me power, I dared to take it. While my
1:06:28thoughts raced and I weighed the pros
1:06:29and cons, the other survivors were also
1:06:32repeatedly weighing the three challenges
1:06:34before them, whether they were worth
1:06:35risking their lives for, and whether
1:06:37there was any loophole to exploit.
1:06:39Seeing that the time was about right and
1:06:41that everyone had roughly made up their
1:06:43minds, soon Muing finally spoke slowly.
1:06:45Her voice was cold and clear, yet it
1:06:48pressed the whole crowd into silence.
1:06:50You have all seen the three challenges.
1:06:52Now decide whether you want to
1:06:54participate. She paused, her gaze
1:06:56sweeping over the pale faces. Anyone who
1:06:58voluntarily accepts a challenge will
1:07:00receive one caddy of food. If the
1:07:02challenge succeeds, you only need to
1:07:04hand over onethird of what you draw.
1:07:06Each challenge can only be completed
1:07:08once. Once someone completes it first,
1:07:10that gate will vanish. So those who are
1:07:13interested stepped forward together.
1:07:15When her voice fell, the crowd was
1:07:17silent for a moment. Then tempted by the
1:07:19words, "One caddy of food." Among those
1:07:22who had originally been thinking of
1:07:23backing out, three suddenly gritted
1:07:25their teeth and stepped forward point
1:07:27two women and one man. My gaze, along
1:07:30with everyone else's, was drawn to that
1:07:32man. He was a fair-skinned man with a
1:07:34round face. But a messy ring of long,
1:07:37untended stubble covered his chin,
1:07:39making his face look even more sickly.
1:07:41Right now, his face was deafly pale, his
1:07:43lips were trembling, and both legs were
1:07:45visibly going weak. The two women had
1:07:48been willing to stand forward for the
1:07:49first challenge. Perhaps they thought
1:07:51there were only oxen that died of
1:07:52exhaustion, never fields ruined by
1:07:55plowing. But this man was the real
1:07:57warrior. Then again, maybe deep down he
1:08:00was simply into that sort of thing.
1:08:02Sumuing asked three full times,
1:08:04confirming that no fourth person would
1:08:06answer, before handing the promised food
1:08:08to the three of them one by one. They
1:08:10took it and no longer caring about
1:08:12dignity, grabbed the bread, tore open
1:08:14the instant noodle bags, and stuffed
1:08:16them into their mouths. Their eating was
1:08:18frantic and wretched, and their throats
1:08:20made gulping, choking sounds. Clearly,
1:08:23they had already been pushed to some
1:08:24kind of limit. After they swallowed the
1:08:26last bite, each closed their eyes and
1:08:28recited in unison, "I choose challenge
1:08:31one." The next instant, the three
1:08:33figures vanished from where they stood,
1:08:35right before everyone's eyes. There was
1:08:37no sound, no warning. It was as if the
1:08:40knight had swallowed them in one gulp. A
1:08:42suppressed gasp ran through the crowd.
1:08:44"They've entered the challenge space,"
1:08:46someone whispered. "Only after success
1:08:48or failure will they come back." Succin
1:08:50expression was as usual. She turned her
1:08:52gaze to the rest. Challenge two. Does
1:08:55anyone want to go? This time, far more
1:08:57people stepped forward. 13 men in total.
1:09:00After all, compared with the brutality
1:09:02of the first challenge and the near
1:09:03certain death of the third, the second
1:09:05looked like the gentlest one. If they
1:09:07gambled once, they might just fight
1:09:09their way out alive. Sumuining kept her
1:09:11word and handed out the same food, one
1:09:13caddy each. The 13 wolfed it down, then
1:09:16did the same as the others, reciting
1:09:18together. The next second, they all
1:09:20disappeared into the blood red light.
1:09:22Then it was time for challenge three.
1:09:24Essuming spoke, asking if anyone was
1:09:27willing to try. The whole clearing fell
1:09:29into deathly silence. No one moved.
1:09:32Everyone understood. With only one empty
1:09:34chamber among six, how high were the
1:09:36odds of hitting one of the five bullets?
1:09:38Using 10 years of lifespan for a tier
1:09:40one roulette draw would let them spin it
1:09:42slowly dozens of times. This kind of
1:09:45challenge was obviously a death
1:09:46sentence. Only a fool would touch it.
1:09:48Sumuing seemed to have expected this
1:09:50result. She did not even bother asking a
1:09:52second time. Just then, a figure walked
1:09:54out from the crowd, unhurried. Let me
1:09:57try. The voice was not loud, but it was
1:09:59like a stone thrown into a stagnant
1:10:01pool. After a brief dead silence, the
1:10:04whole place exploded. Every face was
1:10:06filled with disbelief. Is he crazy?
1:10:08That's five out of six. Five out of six.
1:10:10It's five bullets. Did he not understand
1:10:12the rules? He just became a sequence
1:10:15user and he already doesn't know his own
1:10:17name. Jang Mang was mixed in the crowd
1:10:19and gave a low cold laugh. His tone
1:10:22sinister and fake smiling. H became a
1:10:24transcendent and now he's floating. Does
1:10:26he really think he's invulnerable and
1:10:28omnipotent? Fuan gave a cold snort and
1:10:31shot a sidelong glance at me. Mockery
1:10:33written all over her face. Earlier he
1:10:35got lucky and drew that bottle of
1:10:37sequence potion. And now he really
1:10:39thinks he's heaven's chosen one. Now he
1:10:41wants to gamble his life on that kind of
1:10:42rotten luck. Only Hanin's eyes were
1:10:45bright. The lollipop in her mouth gave a
1:10:47crisp crack, and she had no intention of
1:10:50trying to stop me at all. Instead, she
1:10:52looked excited, as if she were looking
1:10:54forward to a good show. The corners of
1:10:56Lihu Alon's mouth curled upward
1:10:58uncontrollably. She stared fixedly at
1:11:00me, the resentment in her eyes, almost
1:11:02burning. Her voice was low and vicious.
1:11:05Just became a sequence user, and he's
1:11:07already this arrogant. Go on, go die.
1:11:09It's just a pity that the punishment for
1:11:11this challenge isn't directly taking his
1:11:13life. Otherwise, I could settle my
1:11:15brother's score today, too. Amid all
1:11:17those gazes, some worried, some mocking,
1:11:19some gloating, I acted as if I had heard
1:11:21none of it, Succin<unk>s brows furrowed
1:11:24slightly. She had originally thought no
1:11:26one would answer the third challenge.
1:11:28She had certainly not expected that the
1:11:29one to step forward would be me. This
1:11:31challenge is far more dangerous than the
1:11:33other two, she said, looking at me, her
1:11:36tone unusually serious. You've only just
1:11:38become a transcendent. There's no need
1:11:40for you to take this risk. My expression
1:11:42was calm. I only replied. This challenge
1:11:45only requires that I not die. I think I
1:11:48can give it a try. Sumuing was startled.
1:11:50Her gaze slowly swept over Shiao Jeene
1:11:52beside me, then finally landed on the
1:11:54dark gold scales, faintly marked with
1:11:56metallic patterns. She seemed to have
1:11:58guessed something. Perhaps this newly
1:12:00hatched beast companion had a special
1:12:02talent that could give its master some
1:12:04kind of protective blessing, enough for
1:12:06me to take that shot head on. The idea
1:12:08was truly risky. But on second thought,
1:12:10this was ultimately my own decision. She
1:12:13had already done her duty by warning me,
1:12:15urging further would only annoy me. So
1:12:17she only said three words lightly. Be
1:12:19careful. With that, she personally
1:12:22placed a caddy of food into my hands. I
1:12:24took it and gave her a slight nod. Thank
1:12:26you, Captain. I turned around, putting
1:12:28all those gazes behind me, and walked
1:12:31toward the blood red roulette. Shiao
1:12:33Jene followed close at my feet, its pale
1:12:35gold eyes reflecting the increasingly
1:12:37intense blood red light. step by step.
1:12:40Just like that, under everyone's
1:12:42shocked, sighing or cursing gazes, the
1:12:44man and the beast vanished from where
1:12:46they stood. The scene before my eyes
1:12:48changed without warning. The desolate
1:12:50wilderness highway, the gray sky, the
1:12:53charred horizon in the distance, and the
1:12:55gravel beneath my feet. Gravel that had
1:12:57been crushed by the apocalypse and then
1:12:59repeatedly plowed by wind and sand. All
1:13:01of it seemed to be torn open by an
1:13:03invisible hand and then rapidly
1:13:05reassembled. When I came back to my
1:13:07senses, I was already standing in a
1:13:09saloon. A smell so strong it almost
1:13:11choked me rushed at my face. Cheap,
1:13:13strong liquor, cigars, sweat, sawdust,
1:13:16and some indescribable greasy, leathery
1:13:19smell belonging to gun holsters. It was
1:13:21too real. So real that even my nasal
1:13:23passages tingled faintly. The wooden
1:13:26floor creaked underfoot. Several dim
1:13:28hurricane lamps hung from faded beams
1:13:30overhead, their flames jumping and
1:13:32making the whole room flicker between
1:13:34light and shadow. Behind the bar was a
1:13:36row of dusty bottles, their glass
1:13:38reflecting blurred human figures. On the
1:13:41wall was nailed an old wanted poster,
1:13:43its corners curled up, the writing long
1:13:45blurred. And opposite me stood a man. He
1:13:47was an ordinary looking western cowboy.
1:13:49Years had left deep and shallow marks on
1:13:52his face. Fine lines gathered at the
1:13:54corners of his eyes, and his cheekbones
1:13:55were somewhat rough from wind and sand.
1:13:58Yet, these marks did not make him look
1:13:59old or down and out. Instead, they gave
1:14:02him a heavy weathered charm that only
1:14:04someone who had experienced great rises
1:14:06and falls could possess. He wore an
1:14:08oldfelt hat, its brim neither too high
1:14:11nor too low, just enough to cover half
1:14:13his face and reveal only his eyes. Those
1:14:16eyes were very quiet. Quiet like two old
1:14:18wells that saw no bottom. Between us was
1:14:20a drinking table. The table was empty
1:14:22except for an ordinaryl looking
1:14:24old-style revolver and beside it, five
1:14:27brass cartridges laid out in a row,
1:14:29enough to make anyone's scalp tingle. I
1:14:31looked at everything before me. If I had
1:14:33not known clearly that this was a
1:14:34challenge space created by the challenge
1:14:36roulette, I might really have thought I
1:14:38had somehow stumbled into the set of a
1:14:40western film. Since you've already
1:14:41accepted the challenge, let's begin, the
1:14:44middle-aged cowboy said. His voice was
1:14:46low and like sandpaper slowly rubbing
1:14:49across rough wood. Win and you will
1:14:51receive everything I have. My attention
1:14:53was drawn back to his face by those
1:14:55words. Without a single wasted word, I
1:14:58picked up the revolver on the table. My
1:15:00fingers were steady, so steady there was
1:15:02not a trace of trembling. I pinched one
1:15:04cartridge between my fingers, turned it,
1:15:06and the brass little thing obediently
1:15:08slid into the cylinder. One, then
1:15:10another. All five cartridges were
1:15:12pressed, and without missing a single
1:15:14one, click. I flicked my wrist, snapped
1:15:17the gun shut, then with force and with a
1:15:19certain unquestionable strength spun the
1:15:21cylinder hard. The cylinder gave a
1:15:23humming metallic friction sound,
1:15:25spinning faster and faster until finally
1:15:27with a click, it stopped at some
1:15:29position no one knew. Then I slowly
1:15:31raised the dark muzzle and aimed it at
1:15:33my temple. My finger was already on the
1:15:35trigger. Random event discovered.
1:15:37Russian roulette. Current remaining
1:15:39designated random outcome chances.
1:15:41Eight. designate. The familiar panel,
1:15:44visible only to me, silently appeared in
1:15:47my mind, glowing with a faint, almost
1:15:49transparent light. I quickly glanced at
1:15:52the sky. No, it had nothing to do with
1:15:54the sky. When I had packed earlier, I
1:15:56had clearly checked the time. It was
1:15:58already 3:00 a.m. The extra five chances
1:16:00had been automatically added for the new
1:16:02day. I already had a plan in mind.
1:16:04Designate empty chamber. The instant
1:16:07that thought fell, I pulled the trigger
1:16:08without hesitation. Click. a crisp,
1:16:11extreme dry click. Other than that,
1:16:13nothing. The muzzle did not flash and no
1:16:16blood burst from my temple. Everything
1:16:18was terrifyingly quiet. The cowboy
1:16:20opposite stared at me for two or three
1:16:22full seconds, then suddenly began to
1:16:24clap slowly, one clap after another.
1:16:27Haha. The applause spread through the
1:16:29empty saloon, clearer with each clap.
1:16:32Your courage is worthy of inheriting it.
1:16:34The cowboy took off his felt hat and
1:16:36gave me a slight nod. Those old well
1:16:38eyes finally held a trace of warmth. I
1:16:40hope the next time we meet we can
1:16:42compare our marksmanship as his voice
1:16:44fell. The scene before me began to blur
1:16:47and dissolve. The walls, bottles,
1:16:49hanging lamps, that faded wanted poster
1:16:52and the weathered man before me all
1:16:53blurred and scattered like ink soaked in
1:16:55water. A tea the same time. The cold
1:16:58text of the challenge roulette appeared
1:16:59before me again. Challenge succeeded.
1:17:01Obtained oddity. Six-fold fate roulette.
1:17:04One roulette draw chance. A six-shot
1:17:06revolver of dark silver, densely covered
1:17:08with countless mysterious patterns,
1:17:11appeared in my hand out of thin air. At
1:17:13first glance, it was already very
1:17:15different from the old revolver from
1:17:16before. The lines were smoother, the
1:17:19texture heavier, and those patterns
1:17:21coiled over the gun body seemed like
1:17:23some kind of living thing, faintly
1:17:25flowing with indescribable luster as the
1:17:27angle changed. But the moment it entered
1:17:29my hand, I was absolutely certain this
1:17:32was the same gun from before. Only this
1:17:34state was perhaps its true form. Before
1:17:36I could even study what this oddity
1:17:38actually did, the scene before me
1:17:40blurred again. The next moment, Shiao
1:17:42Gene and I reappeared before everyone.
1:17:44The instant the night wind poured in,
1:17:46the crowd first went silent, and then
1:17:49came a wave of low-voiced whispers that
1:17:51could not hide their disappointment.
1:17:52Seeing me come out so quickly, almost no
1:17:55one thought I had succeeded. After all,
1:17:5716 probability was simply too low. Far
1:18:00too low. I told you, someone said with
1:18:03gloating, spitting on the ground,
1:18:05pretending to be some big shot. Once he
1:18:07went in, he was spat right back out. 10
1:18:09years of lifespan. Aw. Showing courage
1:18:12for a moment. Was it worth it? Look at
1:18:14him. He doesn't seem to have aged much.
1:18:17Who knows? Maybe after becoming a
1:18:19sequence user, losing 10 years is like
1:18:21losing one year. You can't tell. The
1:18:23voices rose and fell around me, all
1:18:26carrying a flavor of detachment and even
1:18:28faint pleasure. In the crowd, Lie Hwan
1:18:31secretly let out a breath. Her eyes
1:18:33shifted and the corners of her mouth
1:18:35twitched almost imperceptibly. I could
1:18:37almost read her thought. Cheap for him.
1:18:40Only 10 years of lifespan, enough to
1:18:42make him hurt for a while. That counted
1:18:44as avenging the shot at her brother.
1:18:45Beside her, Fuan practically rode her
1:18:48gloating on her face. "Let him show
1:18:50off," she was thinking coldly. "He just
1:18:52became a sequence user and dares to
1:18:54challenge something so dangerous. He
1:18:56deserves it." Honan did not speak. Her
1:18:59gaze fell on my extremely calm face, and
1:19:01she slowly rolled the lollipop in her
1:19:03mouth. The candy clicked softly against
1:19:05her teeth. Clack, clack! And her eyes
1:19:08were half-litted, as if she were
1:19:09calculating something. Only Sue
1:19:11Mooching, after her initial shock,
1:19:13seemed faintly worried. She also did not
1:19:16really believe I could rely on a beast
1:19:18companion that had just hatched to
1:19:19withstand this challenge head-on. After
1:19:21all, the reward for the third choice was
1:19:23simply too generous. One roulette, draw
1:19:26chance, and a free oddity. How could
1:19:28such a rich reward be something anyone
1:19:29could succeed at so casually? She opened
1:19:32her mouth about to say a few comforting
1:19:34words and give me a way out. But just at
1:19:36that instant, her steps stopped short.
1:19:38She sensed that my blood aura compared
1:19:41with before I entered showed not the
1:19:43slightest sign of decline. Sumuing<unk>s
1:19:45eyes tightened abruptly. The blood demon
1:19:48sequence she had awakened was most
1:19:49sensitive to blood and vitality, not to
1:19:52mention a world shaking loss like 10
1:19:54years of lifespan. Even the slightest
1:19:57fluctuation in blood aura could never
1:19:59hide from her perception. And her memory
1:20:01had always been astonishingly good. And
1:20:03the fact before her could only point to
1:20:05one explanation. I had truly succeeded
1:20:07in a challenge she herself had thought
1:20:09impossible. Congratulations. You
1:20:11completed this challenge. Su Muing<unk>s
1:20:13words were not loud, but they struck
1:20:15like a stone into a lake already
1:20:17swirling with undercurrents. In an
1:20:19instant, everyone froze and disbelief
1:20:22appeared on every face. They wondered if
1:20:24they had heard wrong. How could I
1:20:26possibly have completed a challenge with
1:20:27such low odds? It was a onet 16th
1:20:29chance. Could it be that my luck was
1:20:31really that good? Almost at the same
1:20:33moment those words fell, Fuan's
1:20:35expression changed. Before Lie Huon
1:20:37could even speak, she rushed to say
1:20:39sharply, "Captain, did you see wrong?"
1:20:42"A one sixth chance. It's basically
1:20:44impossible to succeed." Her tone was
1:20:47fast and urgent, carrying an almost
1:20:49uncontrolled anxiety that even she did
1:20:51not notice. Everyone could tell she
1:20:53truly did not want to believe it. But at
1:20:55that moment, I nodded slightly and
1:20:57calmly added, "Captain, you have good
1:20:59eyes." It really was a stroke of luck. I
1:21:02succeeded. At those words, Fuan's face
1:21:05turned extremely ugly. She opened her
1:21:07mouth, her throat blocking as if someone
1:21:09had forcibly stuffed a dead fly down it.
1:21:12She could neither swallow nor spit it
1:21:13out. Her face turned blue and white by
1:21:16turns. For her, the thing she hated most
1:21:18in the world was an unexpected event she
1:21:20could not predict. That kind of thing
1:21:22gave her a strong sense of panic, as if
1:21:24matters were slipping out of her
1:21:26control. And now, my beautiful, almost
1:21:29demonically lucky, success had precisely
1:21:31jabbed at her most painful nerve. Why?
1:21:34Why could I succeed? It must be luck. It
1:21:36must be dog [ __ ] luck. If she had known
1:21:38this roulette was so easy to pass, she
1:21:40should have gone up and tried to. The
1:21:42more she thought, the brighter the fire
1:21:44in her heart burned and the darker her
1:21:46face became. As for the other survivors,
1:21:49after hearing me admit it with my own
1:21:50mouth, they two were stunned by the
1:21:52sudden reversal. A moment later,
1:21:54exclamations and gasps rose one after
1:21:56another. My god, he really gambled it,
1:21:59right? A one sixth chance. What kind of
1:22:01dog [ __ ] luck is that? In one go, he got
1:22:03an oddity and a roulette draw chance.
1:22:06Even if his luck is bad later and he
1:22:08doesn't draw anything good, just with
1:22:10that oddity among the five transcendents
1:22:12in the convoy, he'll probably move up
1:22:14another place. Isn't that second only to
1:22:17the captain and honanin? This kid kept
1:22:19his depths hidden. Everyone's gazes
1:22:22instantly concentrated on me. Those
1:22:24looks held envy, jealousy, weariness,
1:22:26and a complex mixture that was hard to
1:22:28describe. Lieon stood in the crowd and
1:22:31took it all in. She saw clearly that the
1:22:33appreciation in Su Muing<unk>s eyes as
1:22:35she looked at me was no longer concealed
1:22:37at all. Her heart inexplicably
1:22:39tightened. Originally in Su Muing<unk>s
1:22:41heart, her weight and mind should still
1:22:43have been slightly in her favor. She was
1:22:45the guide after all in this perilous
1:22:48apocalypse. A guide who could point the
1:22:50convoy in the right direction had a
1:22:52value that could never be
1:22:53underestimated. But now things were
1:22:55different. I had obtained another
1:22:56oddity. Although no one knew yet what it
1:22:58was, just the word oddity probably made
1:23:00our weights nearly equal. If things
1:23:02continued developing at this rate,
1:23:04Lihuan did not dare think further.
1:23:06Perhaps before long, Su Muing would
1:23:09completely stand on my side. By then,
1:23:11she and her brother would become
1:23:12extremely awkward in this convoy. And
1:23:14what made her even more uneasy was
1:23:16another matter. Only she herself knew.
1:23:18She was not a guide sequence user at
1:23:20all. The reason she possessed that
1:23:22guidelike ability was an oddity. An
1:23:24oddity that once discovered would
1:23:26completely strip her of her value
1:23:28because Sumchiing herself could use it.
1:23:30If anyone could use it, what need was
1:23:33there for her? This guide. Lihuan<unk>s
1:23:35fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of
1:23:37her clothes. Her gaze slowly swept
1:23:39toward Fuan, whose face was already as
1:23:42black as the bottom of a pot, and her
1:23:44mind raced. She felt it was very
1:23:46necessary to add an ally for herself.
1:23:48Wasn't Fuan always saying women should
1:23:50help women. Now it was her turn to help.
1:23:53Just as I was saying, luck with a calm
1:23:55face. In midair, the challenge roulette,
1:23:57which had been silent for a long time,
1:23:59suddenly lit up again. A projection
1:24:01appeared out of thin air. then a second,
1:24:04then a third. They no longer spread out
1:24:06all at once as before. Instead, they
1:24:08flashed before everyone's eyes, one
1:24:10after another, extremely clearly.
1:24:12Whoever had failed, their failure
1:24:14footage would be played out frame by
1:24:15frame, spread before everyone. The
1:24:18moment the first projection lit up, the
1:24:20air sank heavily. In the image was that
1:24:22huge, deep cave that seemed to have no
1:24:24bottom. The glowing moss on the stone
1:24:26walls dying everything a miserable blue.
1:24:29A woman had already been tortured until
1:24:31she was completely unconscious. Her
1:24:33whole body limp among the scattered
1:24:35rocks. There was almost no intact skin
1:24:37left on her. Scratch marks and bite
1:24:40marks criss-crossed her body and purple
1:24:42bruises mixed with dried blood. The few
1:24:44beast hides barely covering her shame
1:24:46had been torn into strips, hanging
1:24:48messily on her. She was no longer
1:24:50moving. Only the faintest rise and fall
1:24:52at her chest proved she still had a
1:24:54breath left. And the two-headed ogre,
1:24:56four or 5 meters tall, its skin a sickly
1:24:59cion, was crouching beside her, looking
1:25:01down at her. Both heads tilted at the
1:25:04same time, and in its yellow brown
1:25:06vertical pupils was undisguised, bored
1:25:08disinterest. It reached out a thick
1:25:10finger like an old tree root,
1:25:12disgustedly poked her arm, then her
1:25:14face. Seeing that the body no longer
1:25:16reacted at all, and only swayed like
1:25:18rotten meat when poked, the ogre seemed
1:25:20to lose all interest and impatiently
1:25:22opened its mouth. The next second, it
1:25:25grabbed one of the woman's legs, lifted
1:25:27her like a dead prey, and slowly stuffed
1:25:29her into that drooling giant mouth.
1:25:31Crunch. One projection went dark. Then
1:25:34came the second, the third. Every image
1:25:36was much the same. A woman tortured into
1:25:38unconsciousness, covered in wounds, no
1:25:41longer able to struggle, was lifted by
1:25:43the two-headed ogre, stuffed into its
1:25:45mouth, chewed, and swallowed. In some
1:25:48images, one could see a few strands of
1:25:50bloodstained long hair scattered among
1:25:52the gravel. and others a severed foot
1:25:54still wearing a broken shoe, tossed to
1:25:56one side. Not one of them had endured,
1:25:59so all of them had been eaten. Failure
1:26:01meant being eaten. Point one projection
1:26:03after another struck like heavy blows
1:26:04against every onlooker's chest. No one
1:26:07spoke. The campfire crackled,
1:26:09illuminating those pale, distorted
1:26:11faces. But just when everyone was
1:26:13suffocating under the repeated horror,
1:26:15someone suddenly noticed something
1:26:17wrong. Wait. A young survivor jerked his
1:26:19head up, his face pale, his voice
1:26:21trembling. I I remember six people
1:26:24entered that challenge. Five women, one
1:26:27man. But just now, why were only five
1:26:29projections shown? That sentence cut
1:26:32through the frozen dead silence like a
1:26:34knife. Everyone's mind turned the same
1:26:36corner at the same instant. The five
1:26:38women's failure projections had all been
1:26:40shown without missing a single one. But
1:26:42that man, the man who from beginning to
1:26:44end had shrunk at the very back of the
1:26:46crowd, almost never speaking. His
1:26:48failure projection had never appeared.
1:26:50The challenge roulette never favored
1:26:52anyone. Whoever failed would have their
1:26:54own failure projection. That was an iron
1:26:56rule. So now there was only one
1:26:58possibility. He had not failed. He had
1:27:00endured it. How is that possible?
1:27:02Someone said horarssely, voice squeezed
1:27:04out from between teeth. Those five women
1:27:07were all tortured unconscious and chewed
1:27:09up like rotten meat by that thing. He's
1:27:11a grown man, and he actually didn't
1:27:13faint. He really withstood that ogre.
1:27:15That was a two-headed ogre. How on earth
1:27:17did he endure it? Exclamations, gasps,
1:27:20and unbelievable discussion rose and
1:27:22fell, exploding through the camp like
1:27:24boiling water. If earlier anyone could
1:27:27still mutter a few sarcastic things
1:27:28about my luck. Now facing that man, they
1:27:32truly could not say a single cold word,
1:27:34because everyone saw it clearly. How
1:27:36dangerous it was to be that Ogre's
1:27:37bride. What torture one had to endure.
1:27:40The five women before had all failed to
1:27:42hold on and fainted and so were eaten
1:27:44mouthful by mouthful like discarded
1:27:46toys. But I in a place like that had
1:27:49somehow held on to that sliver of
1:27:50clarity and endured to the end. How had
1:27:53I done it? What had I experienced in
1:27:54there? No one knew the answer. But
1:27:57everyone's gaze involuntarily fell on
1:27:59the man who had just reappeared before
1:28:00them as the projection faded on me. That
1:28:03was a dark-skinned tacetern man. He was
1:28:06not especially broad or powerful in
1:28:08build. In fact, he was somewhat thin,
1:28:10and his whole body was covered in
1:28:12wounds, large and small. Several claw
1:28:14marks deep enough to expose bone were
1:28:17still seeping blood. His face was
1:28:19equally pale, yet it was far from the
1:28:21deathly ashen look people would have
1:28:23imagined a man who had just escaped
1:28:25death should have. What was most
1:28:26different about him was his eyes. For
1:28:28anyone else, after such a calamity,
1:28:30their eyes would have long since gone
1:28:32blank, unfocused, numb. But his eyes,
1:28:35though exhausted to the extreme, were
1:28:37still wide open, and deep within them
1:28:39something burned. A fire that refused to
1:28:42be extinguished. He just stood there
1:28:44saying nothing, looking at no one,
1:28:46calmly and one movement at a time,
1:28:48pulling his torn, shredded clothes back
1:28:50around himself to cover the shocking
1:28:51wounds beneath. After a brief silence,
1:28:54the way the crowd looked at him changed
1:28:56quietly without anyone quite noticing.
1:28:58There was shock in those looks,
1:29:00weariness, scrutiny, and also a trace of
1:29:03admiration. Faint, reluctant, something
1:29:05they themselves did not want to admit. A
1:29:08man who had been used as a bride by the
1:29:09man-eating ogre, brutalized, and yet had
1:29:12still managed to endure all the way
1:29:14through, stay clear-headed enough not to
1:29:16be eaten, and walk out alive. That was
1:29:18definitely not someone to be trifled
1:29:20with. And behind him, the five women
1:29:22also emerged one after another. They had
1:29:24not truly died. What had been eaten in
1:29:26the challenge space were only
1:29:27projections of failure. The ones who
1:29:30truly returned to reality were dazed,
1:29:32dispirited, their gazes scattered, as if
1:29:35their three souls and seven spirits had
1:29:37been drawn out of them, leaving only
1:29:39empty shells still trapped in the
1:29:40horrifying memory of being chewed up and
1:29:43swallowed. None of them could escape the
1:29:45deduction of one year of lifespan. But
1:29:47compared with that one year of lifespan,
1:29:49the feeling of being torn apart,
1:29:51swallowed, and annihilated piece by
1:29:53piece in the darkness would probably be
1:29:55the nightmare that clung to them for the
1:29:57rest of their lives. Then the image of
1:29:59the second group came up. It was an
1:30:01unfamiliar room. The four walls were
1:30:03painted a stark, miserable white, and a
1:30:05cold, damp air seeped through it. As if
1:30:08this were some place specially used for
1:30:10purification, I in the center of the
1:30:12room, several narrow beds were placed
1:30:14side by side. All the men who had chosen
1:30:16the second challenge earlier were now
1:30:18firmly bound to the beds. Their limbs
1:30:20spread wide, their flesh marked with
1:30:22deep red lines where the ropes had
1:30:24bitten in. Every one of them was
1:30:25terrified beyond measure. Their eyes
1:30:27were wide and round, their mouth gaping,
1:30:30as if they were screaming silently, or
1:30:32as if they had already been frightened
1:30:34into utter voicelessness. And beside the
1:30:36beds, a hunched old unic with a thick
1:30:39layer of white powder plastered over his
1:30:41face was slowly, unhurriedly pinching up
1:30:43a small, coldly gleaming knife from a
1:30:46tray covered with red cloth that a
1:30:48sickly, utterly satisfied smile hung at
1:30:50the corners of the old unic's mouth. The
1:30:52next second, the hand rose and the knife
1:30:55felt that I in the image. The bound men
1:30:57all let out silent, heart-rending
1:30:59whales, they as the image ended. The men
1:31:01of the second group all appeared as
1:31:03well, and they could not even stand
1:31:05steadily. One after another like puppets
1:31:07with their strings cut. Some simply
1:31:09collapsed onto the ground while others
1:31:11bent over, both hands clutching
1:31:13desperately at the area below their
1:31:14lower abdomen. Their legs pressed
1:31:16together and curled in an extremely
1:31:18unnatural posture. Their faces were
1:31:20deafly pale without a trace of blood.
1:31:23Bean-sized cold sweat rolled down their
1:31:25pale cheeks, soaking large patches of
1:31:27their collars. Their eyes stared upward,
1:31:30vacant, the whites showing for the most
1:31:32part, as if they had just suffered a
1:31:34pain that had shattered their minds and
1:31:36still had not recovered. Even more
1:31:38shocking was the dark red on their
1:31:39bodies. Blood had already seeped slowly
1:31:42out through their crotches, dragging
1:31:44terrifying dark streaks along the inner
1:31:46sides of their thighs. Some of the blood
1:31:48had dried into scabs years earlier, or
1:31:50so it seemed, and clung blackly to their
1:31:52trouser legs. Some was still dripping
1:31:54down. One drop, two drops, striking the
1:31:57dust beneath their feet and quickly
1:31:59spreading into small patches that I in
1:32:01the air that stench surged up violently.
1:32:03It was a smell more suffocating than
1:32:05blood, more rotten, more nauseating. For
1:32:08a moment, the entire camp was dead
1:32:10silent. Then, hiss. Someone, no one knew
1:32:13who, was the first to draw in a sharp
1:32:16breath. That sound was like the first
1:32:17domino being pushed over. The male
1:32:19survivors who had not participated in
1:32:21the challenge almost instinctively,
1:32:23subconsciously clamped their legs
1:32:25together in unison. A few of the more
1:32:27timid ones even quickly reached down and
1:32:29felt themselves, confirming that that
1:32:31thing was still there. Only then did
1:32:33they let out a long breath, though their
1:32:35faces remained frighteningly pale.
1:32:38They've really been castrated. Someone
1:32:40asked in a trembling voice the question
1:32:42everyone knew in their hearts, but no
1:32:44one dared to say aloud, and oh no one
1:32:46answered him, because the answer was
1:32:48written plainly on those men's bloody
1:32:50lower halves. There was no need for any
1:32:52explanation at all. It was a fear carved
1:32:54into the bones of every man. The most
1:32:56primal fear of all, a extreme chill shot
1:32:59up along the tailbones of every man
1:33:01present with a swish straight to the
1:33:03back of their skulls. A few who stood
1:33:05closer even instinctively retreated two
1:33:07steps as if the bed in that purification
1:33:10room might appear out of thin air behind
1:33:12them at any moment. The blood demon
1:33:14guards who had been waiting nearby did
1:33:16not need Sue mooching to give another
1:33:18order. As soon as they saw those men
1:33:20just spat out of the challenge space,
1:33:22each face ashen blood seeping through
1:33:24their crotches. They immediately stepped
1:33:26forward quickly and lifted them up one
1:33:28by one with practiced movements. Their
1:33:30technique was steady. Not one of them
1:33:32showed any extra expression that would
1:33:34have stung the wounded men's pride. They
1:33:36simply silently half supported, half
1:33:38dragged the injured away. The stench in
1:33:40the air lingered for a long time, mixed
1:33:42with that indescribable rotten smell
1:33:45brought out from the purification room.
1:33:47Move faster. Succin voice was not loud,
1:33:50but it carried an undeniable weight. The
1:33:53smell of blood will attract things. All
1:33:55the veterans present understood the
1:33:56weight of those words. In the
1:33:58apocalypse, the sense of smell of dire
1:34:00beasts was terrifyingly sharper than
1:34:02that of the most sensitive hunting dog.
1:34:05Many times over, that bit of blood was
1:34:07to them like a bright lamp lit in the
1:34:09dark night. Once the convoy had suffered
1:34:12because someone was injured, and the
1:34:14blood stains had not been cleaned up in
1:34:15time. As a result, a pack of flesh
1:34:18devouring rot wolves had been drawn to
1:34:19them during the night camp, and more
1:34:21than a dozen lives were lost overnight.
1:34:23That time had been a bloody lesson. From
1:34:25then on, whenever blood was spilled in
1:34:27camp, the first thing to do was always
1:34:29to suppress the smell of blood. Those
1:34:31women who were still dazed, still unable
1:34:34to pull themselves out of the horrifying
1:34:35memory of being chewed up and swallowed,
1:34:38were also half supported and half coaxed
1:34:40by several survivors to the side. A
1:34:42piece of ragged cloth was laid on the
1:34:44ground for them to sit and recover. In a
1:34:46one mocked them, because everyone knew
1:34:48perfectly well that if they themselves
1:34:49had entered that cave, they might not
1:34:51have come out looking any more
1:34:53dignified. When all of this had been
1:34:55more or less taken care of, the
1:34:57expectant gazes of the crowd
1:34:58involuntarily fell in two directions.
1:35:00Point one was me. The other was that
1:35:02silent wound covered man still being
1:35:04treated by the blood demon guards.
1:35:06Someone lowered their voice and
1:35:07muttered. I heard that guy's name is
1:35:09Jeang Lelay. Jong Le, the one who came
1:35:12out alive from the mouth of the
1:35:13two-headed maneing ogre. Who else? Those
1:35:16two are the only ones tonight who won
1:35:18their bets on the challenge wheel. Next,
1:35:20the two of them should draw from the
1:35:22wheel, right? At those words, the
1:35:24somewhat scattered crowd instantly
1:35:26quieted down by more than half. One by
1:35:28one, they stretched their necks and
1:35:30pressed closer. For people struggling to
1:35:32survive in this apocalypse, they did not
1:35:34want to miss any draw from the wheel.
1:35:36Even if the one drawing was not
1:35:37themselves, if they could just take one
1:35:39look or hear one thing and learn what
1:35:42kind of good things could come out of
1:35:43that wheel, perhaps when their turn came
1:35:45another day, they would be a little more
1:35:46mindful. You go first, Su Muing suddenly
1:35:49said, turning her head to look at me.
1:35:51Her tone was calm, but there was a
1:35:53certain indulgence in it that only I
1:35:55could understand. His wounds won't be
1:35:57dealt with for a while. He<unk>ll have
1:35:59to wait a bit longer. I gave a slight
1:36:00nod. All right, even if Su Muing had not
1:36:03said so, I had originally intended to go
1:36:06first, although the probability was
1:36:08extremely low. But what if? What if that
1:36:10man named Jean Lelay got his hands on it
1:36:12first and drew the best item inside? At
1:36:14a critical moment like this, where luck
1:36:16was everything, who went first and who
1:36:19went later was never a small matter that
1:36:21I hesitated no longer. Carrying Little
1:36:23Gold in my arms, I slowly walked toward
1:36:25the challenge wheel. Little Gold seemed
1:36:27to have been infected by the suddenly
1:36:29tense atmosphere around us as well. Its
1:36:31tiny head poked out from my collar, its
1:36:33round eyes wearily scanning around,
1:36:36occasionally letting out extremely soft,
1:36:38alert cries. Unlike ordinary wheels, the
1:36:41challenge wheel was silver white all
1:36:43over. It was a cold bone deep silver
1:36:46white, like congealed moonlight, or like
1:36:48metal polished until extremely smooth,
1:36:50giving off a faint, elusive glow between
1:36:53the night and the bonfire. It did not,
1:36:55like ordinary wheels, mark out the
1:36:57corresponding sectors in gray, white,
1:37:00red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue,
1:37:04and purple according to the grade of the
1:37:05item. Nor did it have any illusions
1:37:07floating above the individual sectors
1:37:09that would let you get a rough idea in
1:37:11advance of what was inside. That meant
1:37:13you would only know exactly what grade
1:37:15the item was when you truly drew it into
1:37:17your hand, and its only advantage lay
1:37:19precisely there. There was no upper
1:37:20limit to what was inside. Theoretically
1:37:23speaking, it was possible to draw
1:37:24extremely high-grade good things, except
1:37:27that among those densely packed options,
1:37:29at least three or 400 of them. The
1:37:31probability of drawing those high-grade
1:37:33items was even lower than with an
1:37:35ordinary wheel, lower by who knew how
1:37:37much. behind me. Fuans and Lihuan<unk>s
1:37:40gazes were already glued tightly to my
1:37:42hand resting on the wheel. Fuan's
1:37:44fingernails dug hard into her own palm.
1:37:47Her heart had long since been burned
1:37:48through by a fire of jealousy and venom
1:37:51that was almost overflowing. Him again.
1:37:54This shall you again from the bottom of
1:37:56her heart. She looked down on me.
1:37:58Someone who had once not even counted as
1:38:00a sheep who could only lick rusty water
1:38:02to survive at the very bottom of the
1:38:04convoy. Why should I be able to draw
1:38:06things? Why should I be able to step all
1:38:08over her face and climb upward again and
1:38:10again? She stared fixedly at that hand
1:38:13and cursed me viciously in her heart
1:38:15over and over. Draw a tear one. Draw a
1:38:18piece of garbage. Best if what you draw
1:38:20is some worthless piece of crap that's
1:38:22too hard even to wipe your ass with. Let
1:38:24the thing you worked so hard to get turn
1:38:26into a huge joke the moment it changes
1:38:28hands. She had even already imagined the
1:38:31scene for me when I tremblingly pulled
1:38:33the item out of the wheel only to find
1:38:35it was a pack of moldy compressed
1:38:36biscuits or a piece of stinking meat not
1:38:38even a dog would sniff at how I would
1:38:41under everyone's half smiling half
1:38:43sneering gazes lower my face little by
1:38:45little. Just thinking about it made Fuan
1:38:47feel that the resentment choking her
1:38:49chest had eased a little and Lie Huon,
1:38:52though her expression was calm, both
1:38:54hands hanging at her sides had long
1:38:55since turned white at the knuckles from
1:38:57excessive force. Her hatred was heavier
1:38:59than Fuan's and colder. What Fuan hated
1:39:02was me as a person. What she hated was
1:39:04the value in me that was little by
1:39:06little devouring her place to stand. Su
1:39:08Muing<unk>s appreciation of me was
1:39:10already completely undisguised. If I
1:39:12drew another good item, then my weight
1:39:14in the convoy would truly press down on
1:39:16her head. At that point, would Su Muing
1:39:18directly take the guide position from
1:39:20her hands and give it to me? She did not
1:39:22dare think about it. She could only
1:39:24curse in her heart inch by inch with the
1:39:27most vicious thoughts at that hand
1:39:29pressed against the wheel. Draw draw a
1:39:31tear one piece of trash. Draw a piece of
1:39:33junk that will make you a complete
1:39:35laughingtock that will make all the
1:39:37limelight you barely managed to gather
1:39:39return overnight. She had even begun
1:39:41calculating that no matter what I drew,
1:39:43she would be the first to speak, using
1:39:45the lightest, most piercing tone to
1:39:47belittle the thing I had barely obtained
1:39:49until it was worth nothing. Best of all,
1:39:51she would go along with the flow and get
1:39:53Fuan to add a few words, too. The two of
1:39:56them, one open and one hidden, one
1:39:58impatient and one slow, both wished that
1:40:00the very next moment I would, in front
1:40:03of everyone, draw an utter joke. But
1:40:05what they did not know was at the very
1:40:07moment my fingers touched that silver
1:40:08white wheel. A huge string of option
1:40:11information, dazzling enough to make my
1:40:13eyes blur, flipped madly before my eyes
1:40:15as if someone had pressed a switch. It
1:40:17was too fast. So fast that I could
1:40:19barely see anything clearly. I only felt
1:40:22that my vision was full of dancing words
1:40:24like countless glowing insects bursting
1:40:26apart with a crackle and rapidly rolling
1:40:29upward point. One tier two item Barrett
1:40:31sniper rifle with 20 bullets. Two tier
1:40:34three item. Flying magic carpet
1:40:36automatically absorbs spiritual energy.
1:40:39Can fly for 2 hours per day at a speed
1:40:41of up to 100 kmh. My heartbeat missed a
1:40:44beat almost instinctively. I looked a
1:40:47little longer at that second piece of
1:40:48information. Flying magic carpet tier
1:40:51three automatically absorbs spiritual
1:40:53energy flies twoin each day. In this
1:40:56apocalyptic wilderness full of dire
1:40:58beasts where death could come at any
1:41:00moment. What did a tier three wonder
1:41:02that could lift a person off the ground
1:41:04and carry them away on the wind mean? I
1:41:06knew better than anyone. It meant that
1:41:08the desperate situations others could
1:41:10never escape from in their entire lives.
1:41:12I only needed to raise a hand and I
1:41:14could fly over them. it meant that on
1:41:16this road of escape where the stake was
1:41:18life itself, I would have one more way
1:41:20out than everyone else. But before I
1:41:22could see those three words completely,
1:41:24that piece of information had already
1:41:26been swept upward by the surging torrent
1:41:28and disappeared. Following right after
1:41:30were more, faster, denser pieces of
1:41:33information, pouring in from all
1:41:35directions 438 tier one item, Kangu, one
1:41:39box of instant noodles. My eyelid
1:41:41twitched slightly, but my gaze was
1:41:43already no longer on those lights. It
1:41:45had fallen on a certain direction, one
1:41:47that only I could see, one that had just
1:41:49been swept past. There it seemed,
1:41:52something still remained, a line I had
1:41:54not had time to see clearly. At the
1:41:56movement of my thought, that string of
1:41:58option information, already flipping
1:42:00fast, seemed to be violently pushed by
1:42:02someone, rolling upward even more madly.
1:42:05Countless points of light burst before
1:42:07my eyes and went out swiftly. Those tier
1:42:10one, two, and three things could no
1:42:12longer hold my gaze. They could only
1:42:14turn into blurry after images flashing
1:42:16past the corners of my eyes. The only
1:42:18things that could make my eyelids pause
1:42:20slightly were tier four and above. 56.
1:42:23Tier four item. Egg of the tier five
1:42:25dire beast. Ming Linlao. A dire beast of
1:42:28the near sea abyss. Seven or eight jang
1:42:31in size. Shaped like a giant crocodile.
1:42:33Its body covered in fine gray blue sea
1:42:36scales. its dorsal fin like sharp bone
1:42:38plates. An overlord of the sad m heart
1:42:41stirred slightly, but I did not stop.
1:42:43The egg of a tier five dire beast. If it
1:42:46could be hatched, it would one day be a
1:42:48deep sea overlord that could rampage
1:42:50across the world. The same sort of thing
1:42:52as little gold in my arms.
1:42:54Unfortunately, an egg was still an egg,
1:42:56and a dire beast was still a dire beast.
1:42:58Between the two lay and dangerous growth
1:43:01that I in this apocalypse where no one
1:43:03knew whether they would live to see
1:43:05tomorrow, whether I could wait until it
1:43:07hatched, grew up, and could fight was
1:43:09still unknown. Moreover, judging from
1:43:11the description, it was clearly a sea
1:43:13dire beast that I was currently
1:43:15constantly migrating on land. Once that
1:43:17sea dire beast came ashore, how much of
1:43:19its strength it could still display was
1:43:21hard to say. Even raising it might be
1:43:23quite a bit of trouble. 98 tier four
1:43:26item hunter class card after use gain
1:43:29the hunter class tier four a
1:43:31transcendent class that a slight warmth
1:43:33rose in my heart even though I was
1:43:35already a sequence user in this
1:43:37apocalypse every additional transcendent
1:43:39power meant another complete set of
1:43:41trump cards another path of advancement
1:43:43that others would not even dare imagine
1:43:46in one would think such a thing was too
1:43:48much absolutely impossible to have too
1:43:50much of it so I first noted its number
1:43:52in my heart if I had misread earlier And
1:43:54there was nothing better later than I
1:43:56would choose it. 158 tier 4 item leader
1:44:00aura. After equipping gain transcendent
1:44:02leadership making others believe in you
1:44:05those with firm will can resist it.
1:44:07Leader's aura that I only glanced at it
1:44:08before looking away. What I needed least
1:44:10right now was to make others believe in
1:44:13me that if my strength were not still
1:44:14insufficient, I would not want to stay
1:44:16in this convoy at all. Moreover, this
1:44:18thing had no small limitation. It was
1:44:21completely useless against people with
1:44:22firm wills. At most, it would help me
1:44:25gather a bunch of cannon fodder. I
1:44:26disdain to do such a thing. 239 tier 4
1:44:30item ability awakening potion. After
1:44:32drinking, randomly awaken an ability.
1:44:35According to the records in Sue Muing's
1:44:37notebook, among all transcendent paths,
1:44:39sequence users and ability users were
1:44:41basically the most luck dependent. The
1:44:44difference was that ability users only
1:44:46needed to rely on luck the first time
1:44:47they awakened. If lucky, they would
1:44:49awaken an extremely powerful ability and
1:44:52soar to the heavens. their combat power
1:44:54skyrocketing. If unlucky, they would
1:44:56awaken a useless ability and could only
1:44:58bully ordinary people. Moreover, in
1:45:01terms of advancement, they were even
1:45:02more difficult than sequence users.
1:45:05Their growth seemed to be linked to
1:45:06comprehension, use it enough, and
1:45:08perhaps at some moment of sudden
1:45:10enlightenment, they could advance and
1:45:12make the ability stronger. But if their
1:45:14comprehension was insufficient, no
1:45:16matter how much they used it, they might
1:45:17remain stuck at their original power.
1:45:19This was naturally inferior to a
1:45:21transcendent class. As long as one
1:45:23performed the corresponding class
1:45:25actions, one could gain experience and
1:45:27level up step by step. It might be
1:45:29slower, but it was better than standing
1:45:31still. 275 tier 4 item, witch's outfit.
1:45:35After putting it on, transform into a
1:45:37witch, and gain witch power. This one
1:45:39did not even make me raise my eyelids. D
1:45:41me, a grown man wearing a witch's
1:45:43outfit. If it truly came to a point
1:45:45where there was no choice, it was not
1:45:47impossible. But right now, I still had
1:45:49choices so naturally, I could only toss
1:45:51it to the back of my mind that I did not
1:45:53pause. My gaze continued upward, chasing
1:45:56that increasingly urgent river of light.
1:45:58Just when I was almost beginning to
1:46:00think that I would blur my eyes among
1:46:01these hundreds upon thousands of pieces
1:46:03of information, 123 tier five item,
1:46:07divine weapon beast, Tian, normally a
1:46:10black cat, capable of fighting
1:46:11autonomously with combat power
1:46:13equivalent to a tier three dire beast.
1:46:16In battle, it fuses into its master's
1:46:18body, transforming into the Tian Shin
1:46:21blade and Tian Shin armor, granting
1:46:23control over the power of Tian Shen.
1:46:25That piece of information nailed itself
1:46:27hard before my eyes. My whole body
1:46:29paused for a moment because of that
1:46:31line. Tier five. This was the only tier
1:46:33five item I had seen so far on this
1:46:35challenge wheel. More importantly, this
1:46:37thing suited my tastes far too well.
1:46:40Divine weapon beast ton. Normally a
1:46:42black cat. If it grew accomplished, it
1:46:45would be like having a living guardian
1:46:46with the combat power of a tier three
1:46:48dire beast by my side. Once battle broke
1:46:51out, it could even fuse into its
1:46:53master's flesh, transforming into the
1:46:55tonin blade and tonin armor, integrating
1:46:58offense and defense, and granting
1:47:00control over the so-called power of
1:47:02Tian. The blade was for killing, the
1:47:04armor was for preserving life. Hidden
1:47:06beneath that black cat form was a
1:47:08complete combat system belonging to the
1:47:10strong. With it, it would perfectly
1:47:12patch up my weakness as a beast tamer.
1:47:15The fact that I myself had little combat
1:47:17power. I would truly have the capital to
1:47:19enter battle and fight side by side with
1:47:21my own tamed beast. In the future, if I
1:47:23found a mount suitable for riding, I
1:47:25might even be able to display a combat
1:47:27power where 1 + 1 was greater than 2. In
1:47:30that instant, I was truly tempted. But
1:47:32just as my thoughts were still hanging
1:47:34on that black cat, another piece of
1:47:36information slowly rose up as if
1:47:38unwilling to compete with those spots of
1:47:40light. 356 tier 6 item, strange
1:47:44artifact. The sky monitoring mirror
1:47:46probes information on items tier 6 and
1:47:48below. If any danger appears within a
1:47:51thousand Jang, it can warn. It can also
1:47:53monitor any situation within a thousand
1:47:55Jang. It contains a mirror realm a
1:47:58thousand Jang in radius which can store
1:48:00non-living things. Every 10 days, it can
1:48:03condense one mirror clone. In a crisis,
1:48:05the clone and the true body can swap
1:48:07places, blocking one certain death
1:48:09injury for the mirror's master. My
1:48:11breath stopped completely in that
1:48:13moment. Tier 6.Iit was actually tier
1:48:16six. If that tier five divine weapon
1:48:18beast, Tion had already made it
1:48:20impossible for me to look away. Then
1:48:21this sky monitoring mirror was like a
1:48:23silent thunderclap that blew all my
1:48:25preconceived thoughts clean out of my
1:48:27head. I almost rewed that line word by
1:48:30word in my heart. Probe information on
1:48:32items tier six and below. That meant
1:48:34that from now on, I would be able to see
1:48:36through the true nature of all those
1:48:38things that had previously left me
1:48:40completely in the dark. For example,
1:48:42that gun I had obtained earlier from a
1:48:44challenge. Up to now, aside from a name,
1:48:46I still did not know what it could
1:48:48actually do. Many things drawn from the
1:48:50wheel were like that. Only strange
1:48:52artifacts were special. Once obtained,
1:48:54one immediately knew their use. Most
1:48:57other objects had to be slowly figured
1:48:58out by oneself, and there were even
1:49:00cases of pearls being left in the dust
1:49:03and heavenly treasures being wasted.
1:49:05Now, with this mirror, I could make
1:49:07every item I drew display its greatest
1:49:09value. That alone was worth a
1:49:11transcendent ability, and the warning
1:49:13whenever danger appears within a
1:49:15thousand Jeang, was equally precise. In
1:49:18this wilderness full of deadly traps, an
1:49:20early warning could often buy one extra
1:49:22breath before a dire beast or anomaly
1:49:24arrived. And that one breath was many
1:49:27times the distance between life and
1:49:29death. As for monitoring any situation
1:49:32within a thousand Jang, it seemed to
1:49:34overlap with the warning function, but I
1:49:36guessed it was meant for surveillance,
1:49:38equivalent to installing a 360° no blind
1:49:41spot camera within a thousand jong of
1:49:43me. Whatever I wanted to see or hear
1:49:45would not be hidden from me. After all,
1:49:47in this world, danger had never come
1:49:49only from dire beasts and anomalies.
1:49:52Sometimes human hearts were cruer than
1:49:54dire beasts and more poisonous than
1:49:56anomalies and containing a mirror realm
1:49:59a thousand Jeang in radius which can
1:50:01store non-living things was even more
1:50:04like an almost inexhaustible portable
1:50:06cave dwelling that I in the future
1:50:08whenever I came across something good I
1:50:10would no longer have to reluctantly
1:50:11abandon it because it was too bulky a
1:50:14thousand Jang in radius about 6 km in
1:50:16length and width was large enough to
1:50:18stuff several hundred airplanes into
1:50:20with room to spare if I could fill it.
1:50:22The supplies inside would probably be
1:50:24more than I alone could use in a
1:50:26lifetime. But what truly stirred my
1:50:28heart and made the corner of my mouth
1:50:29curl unconsciously was that last
1:50:31sentence. Every 10 days, it can condense
1:50:33one mirror clone in a crisis. The clone
1:50:36and the true body swap block one certain
1:50:39death injury for the mirror's master.
1:50:41What kind of mirror was this? This was
1:50:43clearly an extra life appearing out of
1:50:45thin air every 10 days. And in this
1:50:48bizarre apocalypse, there were far too
1:50:50many things that could kill a person.
1:50:51Just the people I had personally seen
1:50:53die inexplicably numbered more than one
1:50:55that even transcendence lived in
1:50:57constant fear. Almost in an instant, I
1:50:59made up my mind. The tier five divine
1:51:01weapon beast, Tion Shen, was certainly
1:51:03tempting. A black cat transforming into
1:51:06blade and armor, integrating offense and
1:51:08defense, possessing combat power
1:51:10comparable to a tier three dire beast.
1:51:13It was obvious, visible, tangible
1:51:15killing power. But the sky monitoring
1:51:17mirror could silently and invisibly see
1:51:20through dangers for me. Monitor all
1:51:22directions, store all things, and at the
1:51:24critical moment between life and death,
1:51:26it could use a mirror clone to let me
1:51:28live. Power could be accumulated slowly
1:51:31later. But life, there was only one. No
1:51:33matter how strong the Ton Shin blade or
1:51:35Ton Shin armor was, it could not
1:51:37withstand a cold blade stabbed from
1:51:39behind, a fatal poisoning, or a sudden
1:51:41night raid by dire beasts. But the sky
1:51:44monitoring mirror's death substitution
1:51:46ability renewed every 10 days. Could at
1:51:49such a moment forcibly pull me back from
1:51:51the gates of hell once, once again and
1:51:54again. Every 10 days, one more life.
1:51:56Although I thought there probably would
1:51:58not be anything better. I still
1:52:00patiently scanned all the remaining
1:52:01options until I confirmed there was
1:52:03indeed nothing better. Why gaze locked
1:52:05precisely onto that entry? 356 tier six
1:52:09item. Strange artifact sky monitoring
1:52:11mirror designated draw for silent words
1:52:14thundered down in my heart. A t the same
1:52:16time I clearly saw that the line giving
1:52:19me the chance to choose a designated
1:52:21random result silently decreased by one
1:52:23at the next moment. That silver white
1:52:25challenge will spun violently. There
1:52:27were no gears, no bearings, and no human
1:52:30force pushing it. Yet, it just started
1:52:32spinning on its own like a silver white
1:52:34beast suddenly startled awake from deep
1:52:36sleep, carrying an icy, enormous
1:52:39momentum that made my heart tremble as
1:52:41it slowly accelerated. The four or 500
1:52:44blurry fan-shaped slots on the wheel
1:52:46completely merged into one continuous
1:52:48stretch under the high-speed rotation,
1:52:50turning into a silver white halo that
1:52:52seemed almost capable of sucking a
1:52:54person's soul into it. The very air
1:52:56seemed to begin buzzing and vibrating.
1:52:58Everyone's breathing involuntarily
1:53:00stopped at that moment. N O1 spoke. Only
1:53:03that silver white will spun faster and
1:53:05faster until with a sudden resonant hum
1:53:08like the striking of a great bell. It
1:53:10stopped dead that a speck of dim light
1:53:12silently peeled away from that expanse
1:53:14of silver white. It was not dazzling
1:53:16like other things. Instead, it was very
1:53:18dark, carrying an indescribable sense of
1:53:21age and gravity, and it slowly drifted
1:53:23down toward my outstretched palm. It
1:53:26felt slightly cool in my hand. Then came
1:53:28the weight. It was far heavier than it
1:53:30looked, pressing heavily into my palm,
1:53:33as if pressing down a small mountain so
1:53:35ancient it had long been forgotten by
1:53:37time that I lowered my head and looked
1:53:39at the thing in my palm. That it was a
1:53:41bronze mirror. The surface of the mirror
1:53:43was utterly black. So black that hardly
1:53:45a trace of light could pass through it.
1:53:47It was as if all the light around it was
1:53:49silently swallowed the moment it touched
1:53:51the mirror. There was no mirror surface
1:53:54and it could not reflect a human figure.
1:53:56There was only an abyss of extreme black
1:53:58sunk there like a pool of dead water
1:54:00frozen for a thousand years. The edge of
1:54:02the mirror was covered in dense tiny
1:54:04ancient inscriptions that were neither
1:54:06quite like characters nor quite like
1:54:08patterns. Those lines twisted and
1:54:10tangled with no visible beginning or
1:54:12end. In the dim light, they occasionally
1:54:15gave off an extremely faint dark gold
1:54:17flowing gleam gone in a flash so fast it
1:54:20seemed like an illusion. And what truly
1:54:22made my heart go cold was the eye carved
1:54:25prominently on the back of the mirror.
1:54:26It was a vertical narrow long eye. Its
1:54:29eyelids were half closed, its pupil deep
1:54:32and dark, and it just quietly,
1:54:34motionlessly looked at me. It was
1:54:36clearly a dead thing carved into bronze.
1:54:38Yet the moment my gaze touched it, I had
1:54:40an absurd illusion that I was alive,
1:54:43that it was looking at me, through all
1:54:45the flesh and skin of my body, through
1:54:47every secret in my heart, straight into
1:54:50the deepest part of my soul, that a cold
1:54:52chill slowly crawled up my back, that I
1:54:54knew this was the heaven surveilling
1:54:55mirror, that sixth order oddity that
1:54:58could see through all things in the
1:54:59world at a glance, perceive every danger
1:55:01within a thousand jang, and block a
1:55:03fatal blow for me at the line between
1:55:05life and death. But judging purely by
1:55:08its appearance, it was truly too
1:55:09unremarkable. Black, ancient, without a
1:55:12single dazzling trace on it. If someone
1:55:14who knew nothing glanced at it from
1:55:16afar, eight out of 10 would probably
1:55:18take it for a piece of scrap copper and
1:55:20iron dug out of the ruins of a broken
1:55:22temple. Something even a thief would not
1:55:24bother picking up. Yet I carefully ran
1:55:26my fingers gently over that carved ey.
1:55:29It felt cool and mild to the touch. It
1:55:32was as if something in that moment
1:55:34across that layer of cold bronze had
1:55:36also gently and tentatively looked back
1:55:38at me. Behind me, that circle of
1:55:41survivors already itching with
1:55:42curiosity, all quietly stretched their
1:55:45necks. They stood on tiptoe and strained
1:55:47toward me, wishing their eyes could grow
1:55:49hooks so they could see exactly what was
1:55:51in my hand. But not a single one dared
1:55:53to actually step closer. They had just
1:55:55witnessed me walk out alive from that
1:55:57Russian roulette with a 1 in6 survival
1:55:59rate. And they could see that my weight
1:56:01in the convoy was about to rise rapidly.
1:56:03Who would dare provoke me at a moment
1:56:05like this? Who knew what kind of temper
1:56:07this new favorite who was about to press
1:56:09down on them all would have if they got
1:56:11too close and made me unhappy? Even
1:56:13those few men who usually love to make
1:56:15noise had now shrunk like quailes, only
1:56:17daring to turn sideways and steal a
1:56:20quick glance at my palm out of the
1:56:21corners of their eyes before hurriedly
1:56:23pulling their gazes back, afraid of
1:56:25being seen. See that? Did you see what
1:56:27he drew? Someone asked, lowering his
1:56:29voice to a mosquito-like whisper. "Can't
1:56:31see clearly. Seems like just a black
1:56:33thing." "Black? Why'd he draw something
1:56:35black?" "The challenge will doesn't mark
1:56:37grades by color. How the hell can you
1:56:39tell what order it is? looks to me like
1:56:41a scrap of broken copper. Whispers rose
1:56:44and fell in low waves through the crowd.
1:56:46But not one person dared raise their
1:56:48voice even a little. And at the very
1:56:50front of the crowd, Fuan's expression
1:56:52had already changed the moment she saw
1:56:54that black mirror. She narrowed her eyes
1:56:56and carefully examined the thing in my
1:56:58hand again. After all that trouble, he
1:57:00drew this unremarkable black lump. The
1:57:02foul mood that had previously choked her
1:57:04suddenly dissipated a little. Huh. Looks
1:57:07like all that damn luck here. Eli
1:57:08Hulan's gaze also fell on the bronze
1:57:10mirror. Deep in her eyes, a trace of
1:57:13mockery flashed by almost imperceptibly,
1:57:15then was quickly suppressed. She did not
1:57:17rush to speak. She only closed her mouth
1:57:20tighter, as if sparing with words,
1:57:22afraid that her shot in Freuda might be
1:57:24noticed. After all, now was not yet the
1:57:26time to clash with me. Meanwhile,
1:57:28Haninan, who had been leaning lazily by
1:57:30the vehicle and slowly twirling a
1:57:32lollipop, suddenly stopped. Her gaze
1:57:35passed over the dense crowd and landed
1:57:37on the unremarkable black mirror in my
1:57:39palm. Her pretty almond shaped eyes
1:57:41narrowed slightly. For some reason, she
1:57:43always felt that behind that mirror,
1:57:45something seemed to be quietly looking
1:57:46back at her. Honanin was not wrong. Just
1:57:49as I seemed about to tuck the bronze
1:57:51mirror into my chest, my fingers
1:57:53actually only made a hollow gesture.
1:57:55What truly fell into my chest was merely
1:57:57the after image of that black lump
1:57:59everyone had seen a moment before. The
1:58:02true body of the heaven surveilling
1:58:03mirror had already silently sunk into my
1:58:06palm the instant I touched it, turning
1:58:08into an extremely faint, almost
1:58:10invisible light that merged into my
1:58:12body. At the same time, all the
1:58:14abilities of the heaven surveilling
1:58:15mirror rushed into my mind all at once
1:58:18like instinct. They were exactly as
1:58:20described in the line I had seen among
1:58:22the options, not the slightest bit
1:58:24different. I almost could not restrain
1:58:26myself from first testing the ability of
1:58:28surveillance. The next second, the world
1:58:31before my eyes suddenly changed. Thy tea
1:58:33was as if an omnipresent, I slowly
1:58:35opened from the void. It did not belong
1:58:37to me. Yet it was completely under my
1:58:39control. Within a thousand Jeang, with a
1:58:42single thought that I could be shifted
1:58:44to any place, above my head, beneath my
1:58:46feet, in the treetops, under the
1:58:48carriage, behind the crowd, even into
1:58:50the inch of air pressed close to
1:58:52someone's ear. It was an utterly
1:58:54wondrous and utterly clear feeling that
1:58:56I saw. How a single grain of sand lifted
1:58:59when the wind swept across the distant
1:59:01wasteland spun and fell. How the corner
1:59:04of a man's eye a few chi away fertively
1:59:06glanced toward me. And how his lips
1:59:08trembled almost imperceptibly. In the
1:59:10corner of the camp, beside those blood
1:59:12stains not yet fully cleaned away, a
1:59:14gray brown crawling insect cautiously
1:59:17extended its antenna. Even the forks on
1:59:19those antenna, finer than a hair, were
1:59:21revealed in perfect clarity that I
1:59:23heard. Someone's swallow hidden in the
1:59:25throat. a swallow that even the person
1:59:27himself did not take seriously. The soft
1:59:30sizzle of a damp piece of firewood being
1:59:32roasted in the bonfire, and even very
1:59:34far away, the dry, almost inaudible
1:59:37crunch of a survivor's shoe soul
1:59:39grinding over sand and gravel. Within a
1:59:42thousand Jeang, anyone's slightest
1:59:44expression, any faint sound was
1:59:46delivered to my perception exactly, and
1:59:48without missing a trace by that eye, the
1:59:50whole world had suddenly become
1:59:52transparent to me. I forced down the
1:59:54surging shock in my heart, kept my
1:59:56expression unchanged, and lightly swept
1:59:58a glance over the crowd in my mind. With
2:00:01that one glance, I saw everything
2:00:03clearly. L Ian's resentment was
2:00:05naturally no surprise. The relationship
2:00:07between the two sides could now be
2:00:09described as one that would not end
2:00:11until one of us was dead. She would
2:00:13certainly not have any positive feelings
2:00:15toward me. But what slightly startled me
2:00:16was Fuan. The jealous hatred in that
2:00:19woman's eyes was not one bit weaker than
2:00:21Lihu Alons. A faint surprise rose in my
2:00:24heart. Previously in the convoy, I had
2:00:26only been an ordinary survivor
2:00:28struggling on the edge of death that I
2:00:30te that time. Fuan and I had been as far
2:00:32apart as heaven and earth. There had
2:00:34been no enmity between us, not even the
2:00:36slightest interaction. Now I had only
2:00:39been a transcendent for a day. How had I
2:00:41drawn such deep-seated hatred from her?
2:00:43I suddenly recalled the gossip the other
2:00:45survivors chewed over in private that Fu
2:00:47one had a prejudice against men that
2:00:49seemed almost bone dashed deep. And no
2:00:52one knew what a man had once done to
2:00:54her. But even at this critical moment of
2:00:56humanity's peril, she was still like
2:00:58this that I in my mind, I could not help
2:01:00but think of those feminist warriors
2:01:02from the old internet. Once they went
2:01:04mad, they recognized no kin and no
2:01:06reason could get through to them. That
2:01:08kind of person was an unstable factor.
2:01:10Perhaps I should think of a way to deal
2:01:12with her. After all, for the time being,
2:01:14I would probably not leave this convoy,
2:01:16and I did not like having beside me a
2:01:18restless existence that might bite at
2:01:20any moment. Moreover, I had just
2:01:22especially noticed the glance Huan shot
2:01:24at Fuan. That look was full of
2:01:26calculation that Eli Huan was the type
2:01:28who best knew how to use others strength
2:01:30against them and best knew how to read
2:01:32people's expressions. Now that she had
2:01:34sensed Fuan's displeasure toward me, she
2:01:36would inevitably try every means to make
2:01:39use of it, using Fuan as a knife to stab
2:01:41at me that I took all of this in one by
2:01:43one without revealing any of it on my
2:01:46face. And Fuan indeed had no idea what
2:01:48thoughts were turning in my mind at that
2:01:50moment. She only very quickly suppressed
2:01:53all the negative expressions on her
2:01:54face, raised her round face, and put on
2:01:57a harmless, caring look. She hurried two
2:01:59steps closer to me. "Show you," she
2:02:02said, her smile warm and her tone
2:02:04carrying an indescribable intimacy.
2:02:06"What good thing did you draw? Hurry and
2:02:08take it out and let Captain Sue have a
2:02:10look. See what it's used for. Don't keep
2:02:12it tucked in your bosom and ruin it." In
2:02:14her heart, she had actually already made
2:02:16a disdainful judgment. What I had drawn
2:02:18was definitely not anything good.
2:02:20Otherwise, why would I be hiding it and
2:02:23not daring to show it? Fuan measured
2:02:25others by herself. If she had obtained
2:02:27some treasure, she would inevitably show
2:02:29it off with great fanfare, letting all
2:02:31envious gazes gather on her, letting
2:02:33those weak people worship her properly.
2:02:35Because in her view, the strong should
2:02:38display themselves and make the weak
2:02:39look up to them. and my kind of hiding
2:02:41my clumsiness had only one explanation
2:02:43in her eyes. I had no strength at all
2:02:46since she had run into this handle that
2:02:48I had no strength. How could she
2:02:50possibly miss such an opportunity to
2:02:51mock me, get revenge on me, and vent her
2:02:54foul mood? Beside her, Liuan also spoke
2:02:57up along with her, her voice soft and
2:02:59gentle, like a kind-hearted person
2:03:01thinking for others. Yes, Captain Sue is
2:03:04knowledgeable and experienced. If you
2:03:06take it out and let her look once,
2:03:07you'll be able to use it more smoothly
2:03:09later. Those words were watertight, but
2:03:11only Li Huan herself knew clearly that
2:03:13what she wanted was far more than that.
2:03:16She simply wanted to use this
2:03:17opportunity to find out exactly what I
2:03:19had drawn and see through my trump card.
2:03:21That way, she could plan how to deal
2:03:23with me in the future. And if I
2:03:24privately, away from everyone, went
2:03:27alone to find Sue Muing, then it would
2:03:29be as hard as climbing to heaven for her
2:03:31to pry this information out of Su
2:03:33Muing<unk>s mouth. I saw through both of
2:03:35their thoughts clearer than a mirror.
2:03:37But I did not point it out. I only shook
2:03:39my head lightly. No need. I said it
2:03:41lightly. The thing I drew is an oddity.
2:03:44The moment I touched it, I already knew
2:03:46how to use it. After a pause, I did not
2:03:48hide it. It's a spatial oddity. It can
2:03:51store things inside. The ability to
2:03:53store and retrieve things could not be
2:03:55hidden or concealed. In the future, I
2:03:57would inevitably have to use it. Rather
2:03:59than keep covering it up and making
2:04:01these people's minds more active and
2:04:02eager to probe, it was better to say it
2:04:04openly now and cut off half their hopes.
2:04:07Halftruth were the best way to hide
2:04:09secrets. When my voice fell, dot
2:04:11Fuan<unk>s face stiffened, she clenched
2:04:13her fingers. The bit of satisfaction in
2:04:15her heart that had not yet dispersed
2:04:17seemed to have a basin of cold water
2:04:18poured over it in public that the
2:04:20spatial oddity. She still did not have a
2:04:22single oddity in her hands even now.
2:04:24That Shiau had just drawn an oddity from
2:04:26the challenge wheel. And right after
2:04:28that, he had drawn another one. And it
2:04:30was an extremely rare spatial type
2:04:32oddity. She knew that was the thing she
2:04:33dreamed of day and night. She had
2:04:35collected more and more things, stuffing
2:04:37her vehicle almost full. And her own
2:04:39body was large. Now when she squeezed
2:04:42into the vehicle, she felt cramped and
2:04:44miserable, unable even to turn around
2:04:46easily if she had a spatial oddity. Just
2:04:48thinking about it made the jealous fire
2:04:50in Fuan's chest blaze up, almost setting
2:04:53her entire person alike. Elihulan<unk>s
2:04:55expression also changed rapidly.
2:04:57Disbelief flashed through her eyes. How
2:04:59could my luck be this good? Among so
2:05:02many dense options, I had actually drawn
2:05:04another oddity. She had clearly drawn so
2:05:06many times before, too. Why could she
2:05:08never draw what she wanted? Why did all
2:05:10the good things fall into my hands
2:05:12alone? With this one added, I already
2:05:14had two oddities, and I myself was still
2:05:16a sequencer. Calculated this way, my
2:05:19value to the convoy was probably already
2:05:21about to surpass honence. After all, in
2:05:23this constantly migrating apocalypse,
2:05:26the value of a spatial oddity that could
2:05:28carry large amounts of supplies, even if
2:05:30lower than a guides, could not be that
2:05:32much lower. For the first time, a real
2:05:34trace of panic rose in Lihuan's heart if
2:05:37she clashed head-on with me again at
2:05:39this time. Even Su Muing would no longer
2:05:41stand on her side. This had completely
2:05:43disrupted her original calculations. And
2:05:45while her mind was in knots, those
2:05:47survivors around her who moments ago had
2:05:50been certain I had drawn a scrap of
2:05:51broken copper also came back to their
2:05:54senses one by one. They were stunned
2:05:56first and then the expressions on their
2:05:58faces quickly became warm and eager. Ah,
2:06:01Bos Shia is good luck, a spatial oddity.
2:06:03I've never even seen one in my life.
2:06:05Isn't that so? From now on, whenever
2:06:08Boss Sha finds something good, he can
2:06:10store it. No more having to throw things
2:06:11away because there's no place to put
2:06:13them. Boss Shia, if you ever need
2:06:15anything in the future, just say the
2:06:17word. Flattery, congratulations,
2:06:20fawning. Wave after wave, they rushed
2:06:22toward me, vying with one another. Those
2:06:24few men who had just been whispering and
2:06:26sneering about the black lump were now
2:06:28smiling more brightly than anyone, as if
2:06:31those sarcastic remarks had never come
2:06:33out of their mouths at all. My
2:06:34expression remained calm. I was neither
2:06:36close nor distant, only nodding lightly
2:06:39in response. But to those with eyes to
2:06:41see, the change in my weight was already
2:06:43cleared. A te that moment. Sum muing
2:06:45stepped forward slowly. Congratulations.
2:06:48Her tone rarely carried a trace of
2:06:50warmth. You've obtained another oddity.
2:06:52Then she changed tone and returned to
2:06:54her crisp, decisive manner. There is
2:06:56something I want to discuss with you.
2:06:58The convoy has a batch of public
2:06:59supplies. I want to put them with you.
2:07:01As the storage fee, I can give you 5% of
2:07:04this batch of supplies. I was startled
2:07:06for a moment, then nodded. No problem.
2:07:08The space was so large, I could not use
2:07:11it all by myself anyway. But inwardly, I
2:07:13could not help sighing. 5% of the public
2:07:16supplies might seem small, but it also
2:07:18meant that in the future, 5% of all
2:07:20supplies the convoy obtained would go to
2:07:22me. That was no small number. Yet, Sue
2:07:24Muing had decided to give it to me
2:07:26without even blinking. And what I even
2:07:28somewhat admired was that Sue Mooching
2:07:30dared to trust me this much to hand so
2:07:32many supplies over to me alone. Was she
2:07:34not afraid that I would just take the
2:07:36things and run? I could only say that
2:07:38some people truly were born with
2:07:39leadership qualities. Trust those you
2:07:41use. Do not use those you doubt. Those
2:07:44eight words were easy to say, but not
2:07:46something ordinary people could do. And
2:07:48seeing the two of us so harmonious, Lihu
2:07:50Alon's expression grew even uglier. A
2:07:52belated regret rose in her heart. If she
2:07:54had known I would have such a chance to
2:07:56turn things around, then when they first
2:07:58met me, she should not have let her
2:07:59brother act recklessly and offend me to
2:08:01death. She wondered whether there was
2:08:03still a chance to salvage something now.
2:08:05She quickly waited in her heart. She
2:08:07remembered that I had once been a
2:08:09somewhat soft-hearted person. Maybe she
2:08:11should let her brother go apologize
2:08:13humbly. Even if it could not truly
2:08:15repair the relationship, at least it
2:08:17could lull me for a while and buy her a
2:08:18bit more breathing room. When she had
2:08:20the chance to complete the ritual and
2:08:22truly master that thing, then I would no
2:08:24longer be worth fearing. Just as this
2:08:26thought repeated over and over in her
2:08:28mind over there, Jean Lelay, who had
2:08:31been healing his wounds, had also
2:08:32finished dealing with his injuries. He
2:08:34stood up, stretched his limbs, and
2:08:36without a word walked toward that silver
2:08:38white challenge wheel. Many people's
2:08:40gazes shifted away from me and landed on
2:08:42him. One by one, they curiously
2:08:44stretched their necks. This man, who had
2:08:46survived coming out of the mouth of a
2:08:48two-headed ogre. What exactly could he
2:08:50draw? Jeang Lay walked to the wheel,
2:08:52said nothing more, reached out, grabbed
2:08:55the pointer, and gave it a sharp flick.
2:08:57The pointer spun rapidly, bringing up a
2:08:59stretch of silver white after images.
2:09:01Point one circle, two circles. Finally,
2:09:04it slowly, more and more slowly, stopped
2:09:06on one slot, got a flash of light. An
2:09:09object appeared in his hand that it was
2:09:11an extremely gorgeous westernstyle black
2:09:13gown. The body of the dress was made of
2:09:15layer upon layer of black silk and
2:09:17gauze. Every inch gave off a soft,
2:09:20moist, cold, dark luster, as if it could
2:09:23absorb all the light around it. The
2:09:25skirt was extremely wide, spreading out
2:09:27like a black rose in the dark night,
2:09:30bloomed to the utmost. Intricate lace
2:09:32clung to the chest and cuffs, outlining
2:09:34ancient and mysterious patterns. Strands
2:09:37of black pearl chains as fine as spider
2:09:40silk hung from the waist, swaying gently
2:09:42with that faint light, giving off an
2:09:44indescribable aura that was both
2:09:46dangerous and alluring. The dress was
2:09:48beautiful, yes, but there was something
2:09:50sinister in its beauty. When my gaze
2:09:52fell on that dress, my expression
2:09:54involuntarily turned a little strange.
2:09:56My gaze moved back and forth between the
2:09:58dress and Jeang Lays thick beard. I
2:10:00remembered the one I had skipped over at
2:10:02a glance among the options earlier, the
2:10:04witch dress. And almost at the same
2:10:06instant, the information appraised by
2:10:08the heaven surveilling mirror quietly
2:10:10surfaced in my mind, confirming my
2:10:12guess. Name: Which dress rank? Fourth
2:10:14order category, magical construct
2:10:16effect. After putting it on, transform
2:10:18into a witch and gain witch power. The
2:10:21moment that black dress, gorgeous to the
2:10:23point of eeriness, appeared, everyone's
2:10:25expressions became strange. They did not
2:10:28know the dress's ability to eye in their
2:10:30eyes. This was nothing but a dress. A
2:10:32dress that, no matter how pretty, was
2:10:35still just women's clothing. Gorgeous
2:10:37skirt, intricate lace in this maneating
2:10:39apocalypse. What use was any of it?
2:10:42Someone could not hold back and laughed
2:10:44first. Someone lowered his voice and
2:10:46gloated. That's it. Tsk tsk. Look at
2:10:49that dress. All flashy and fancy. To put
2:10:52it harshly, it's not even as good as the
2:10:54guy before who drew instant noodles. At
2:10:56least that stuff can be eaten. Exactly.
2:10:59Jean Lelay put in so much effort,
2:11:01survived coming out of the two-headed
2:11:02ogre's mouth, and in the end got a
2:11:04skirt. He lost big, lost big on each
2:11:07face. The dark glee that could not be
2:11:09suppressed was almost overflowing that I
2:11:11in the end. No one wanted others to live
2:11:13better than themselves. Seeing Jeang
2:11:15Lelay pay such a huge price and end up
2:11:18only with such a pretty but useless
2:11:20skirt, the petty, shameful thoughts in
2:11:22their hearts were greatly satisfied.
2:11:24Seeing others so unlucky and so
2:11:26miserable seemed to make themselves less
2:11:28unlucky and less miserable. But just
2:11:31before those snickers died down the next
2:11:33moment, a sudden change occurred. The
2:11:35black dress in Jeang Lays hand without
2:11:37any warning turned into a sky full of
2:11:40light moes. It was a flowing light woven
2:11:42from soft pink and gilded gold mixed
2:11:45with glowing fragments of petals as if
2:11:47someone had unfolded a dazzling
2:11:49fireworks display out of thin air. They
2:11:51circled around Jean Lays powerful body,
2:11:54rapidly spinning, rising, and winding.
2:11:56In the blink of an eye, they wrapped him
2:11:58entirely in a dreamlike cocoon of light.
2:12:01Then, from within the cocoon of light, a
2:12:03beautiful silhouette, slowly emerged at
2:12:06it, was a leg. A leg wearing black high
2:12:08heels, yet astonishingly thick, no
2:12:10matter how one looked at it. Then came
2:12:12the waist, and that enormous body, two
2:12:15people wide, gradually wrapped layer by
2:12:17layer in black gauze and lace. And the
2:12:19most fatal part was the movements that
2:12:21followed. Movements that should only
2:12:23have belonged to a young girl. Jeang
2:12:25Lelay, that burly man with a face full
2:12:27of thick beard, actually rose on tiptoe
2:12:29with utter commitment and spun around in
2:12:32place. One hand was posed daintily on
2:12:34his waist. The other held a black fairy
2:12:36wand topped with a bow that had appeared
2:12:38in his palm at some unknown time, and he
2:12:40pointed it at the sky. Ding! A burst of
2:12:43pink light exploded with a rustle. Then
2:12:45he turned his head, pursed his lips, and
2:12:47threw a shy, bashful, flirtatious glance
2:12:50at the dumbestruck crowd. That glance,
2:12:52paired with that dense, black, glossy
2:12:55beard, had destructive power that could
2:12:57only be called world ending. Uggh in my
2:13:00eyes, you bastard. Stop throwing
2:13:02glances. I beg you, stop. The onlookers
2:13:05shuddered in unison. But no matter how
2:13:07eyesc scorching this transformation was,
2:13:09no matter how much it made people want
2:13:10to gouge out their own eyes, the
2:13:12expressions on those survivors faces who
2:13:14had been gloating moments before could
2:13:16no longer hold. Because no matter how
2:13:19eyesc scorching it was, that sky full of
2:13:21light effects, those black dress and
2:13:23fairy wand generated out of thin air,
2:13:26all solidly proved one thing. Jean Lelay
2:13:28had obtained supernatural power. He had
2:13:30crossed a threshold that ordinary people
2:13:32might never cross and become a
2:13:34transcendent. Standing above them, Dio
2:13:36be able to draw something like this from
2:13:38among so many dense options. How could
2:13:40Jean Lays luck be bad? This was clearly
2:13:42luck so good it had exploded. So
2:13:45although their hearts were sour and mad
2:13:47with jealousy, when Jeang Lay finally
2:13:49completed the transformation and
2:13:51reappeared before everyone in that ice
2:13:53scorching black gown, holding that black
2:13:55fairy wand, they could only force out
2:13:57smiles uglier than crying and rush
2:13:59forward, vying with one another.
2:14:02Congratulations. Congratulations,
2:14:04Brother Jang Lelay. Master Jeang has
2:14:06descended to heaven in one step. In the
2:14:08future, we'll still have to rely on
2:14:10Master Cen's care. The flattery was even
2:14:13more fervent than when they had been
2:14:14praising me moments earlier. Three parts
2:14:17more enthusiastic, if anything. Suing
2:14:19also led me and the others forward and
2:14:21nodded to Jeang Lelay in congratulation.
2:14:24And no matter how thunderous and
2:14:25overwhelming that outfit looked, the
2:14:27power was real enough. And in this
2:14:29apocalypse, every bit of power was
2:14:31another breath of life for the convoy.
2:14:33another day or two of capital to keep
2:14:35them alive in this man-eating world at
2:14:37as soon as Su Muing finished speaking.
2:14:40Hanin came over her eyes traveled up and
2:14:43down Jong Lelay unable to hide her
2:14:45curiosity. How does that dress feel? It
2:14:47looks pretty tight. Stared at so
2:14:49directly. Jang Lelay, rough man that he
2:14:52was, uncharacteristically showed a trace
2:14:54of shyness. He raised a hand to scratch
2:14:57the back of his head and softened his
2:14:59voice. It looks tight, but wearing it,
2:15:01it's actually pretty loose. It's just
2:15:03I'm not used to it. Beside them, Fuan
2:15:06saw him looking almost bashful and felt
2:15:08goosebumps rise from the soles of her
2:15:10feet to the top of her head. [ __ ] She
2:15:13cursed inwardly. Eli Hwan, however, wore
2:15:16an especially warm smile and leaned in
2:15:18as if curious. Jean Lelay, what powerful
2:15:21ability did you get after putting on
2:15:22that dress? The light effects just now
2:15:24were so pretty. I'm sure the power must
2:15:27be very strong, right? My gaze settled
2:15:29quietly on Lion. That expression of hers
2:15:32was far too familiar. S familiar. It
2:15:35almost made my stomach sour. Years ago,
2:15:37when Li Huan had probed indirectly about
2:15:39my salary, about the savings I had
2:15:41accumulated, trying to calculate how
2:15:43much bride price she should demand from
2:15:45me. That was exactly the look on her
2:15:47face. Essumin glanced at Lie Hilon and
2:15:50took over the answer for Jean Lelay
2:15:51saying, "That dress should be a piece of
2:15:54magic equipment. Once worn, it
2:15:56automatically grants some magic." Jean
2:15:58Llay nodded slightly and added, "The
2:16:00captain's right. This dress is called
2:16:02the witch's dress." After putting it on,
2:16:05I gained which power and can control
2:16:07blackfire. Before he finished speaking,
2:16:09several balls of pitch black flame had
2:16:11already appeared beside him out of thin
2:16:13air. The fireballs did not look large,
2:16:15but even from several meters away, a
2:16:17shocking wave of heat rushed at us,
2:16:19roasting our cheeks. What was worse, the
2:16:22black flames were extremely restless.
2:16:24Suspended in midair, they were
2:16:26constantly undergoing tiny silent
2:16:28explosions, crackling, and spitting
2:16:30sparks. Clearly, this thing was far more
2:16:33than mere high temperature at the sight.
2:16:35Another wave of exclamations burst from
2:16:37the crowd. My god, that fire looks way
2:16:40more terrifying than ordinary fire. If
2:16:42that burned someone, wouldn't it leave
2:16:44not even bone dust? The envy on those
2:16:46faces was almost flowing like a river.
2:16:49Almost uncontrollably, they began
2:16:51comparing Jeang Lelay with me in their
2:16:53hearts. My beast taming sequence had
2:16:55only just hatched a little turtle. What
2:16:57use was that? Jang Lelay<unk>s black
2:16:59fire on the other hand was solid,
2:17:02visible, tangible, terrifying, killing
2:17:04power. Compared like that, Jang
2:17:06Lelay<unk>s black fire was obviously
2:17:08more terrifying, more powerful, more
2:17:10shudderinducing. The little bit of
2:17:12limelight I had managed to gather
2:17:13earlier was immediately covered by Jeang
2:17:15Lay's commotion. Eliholan's eyes also
2:17:18shown. She cast an unobtrusive glance in
2:17:21my direction, a trace of something
2:17:23unreadable flowing in her eyes. As so,
2:17:25it seemed I was not the only lucky one
2:17:27in this world. The original idea in her
2:17:30heart, let her brother go beg for
2:17:32forgiveness, almost instantly vanished.
2:17:34Since she could hold another Jeang Lay
2:17:36in her hand, why should she lower
2:17:38herself to curry favor with me? As long
2:17:40as she could win over this newly
2:17:41transformed rough man, use him well and
2:17:44take advantage of the fact that my beast
2:17:46taming creature had just hatched and was
2:17:48far from reaching its full potential,
2:17:50perhaps she could get rid of me
2:17:51completely. Having made up her mind,
2:17:54Lihuan's smile grew three parts warmer,
2:17:56she stepped forward voluntarily and
2:17:58lavished Jean Lelay with praise, pouring
2:18:00out all the emotional value skills she
2:18:02had used back during blind dates. Jang
2:18:04Lelay, you're amazing. I knew that
2:18:07anyone who could survive being in an
2:18:08ogre's mouth was no ordinary person.
2:18:11From now on, our convoy will all have to
2:18:13rely on strong people like you to
2:18:15protect us. Jean Lelay, hearing this,
2:18:18just kept scratching the back of his
2:18:20head, grinning foolishly to Fuan too.
2:18:23After realizing how terrifying Jean
2:18:25Lays<unk>s black fire was, suppressed
2:18:27her disgust, and stepped forward to
2:18:28offer a few insincere compliments. Only
2:18:31Hanin lollipop in her mouth quietly
2:18:34drifted over to my side. She raised her
2:18:36face and gave me a strange smile,
2:18:38lowered her voice, and teased. "Hey,
2:18:41your spotlight got stolen." I did not
2:18:43look at her. I only raised a hand and
2:18:45gently touched the warm head of little
2:18:47gold by my feet, my tone flat and
2:18:49without a ripple. I never needed it
2:18:51anyway. With that, I turned to return to
2:18:53my previous spot and have the Gention
2:18:55mirror appraise this six-fold fate cycle
2:18:58I had obtained. But at that very moment,
2:19:00Lie Huon, who was still fussing over
2:19:03Jeang Lay with concern, suddenly
2:19:05stiffened. Her smile visibly drained
2:19:07from her face, replaced by an almost
2:19:09panicked urgency. Something's wrong, she
2:19:12whipped her head around, face pale,
2:19:14voice sharpening. Northeast, three
2:19:16monsters are approaching fast. Rut, that
2:19:19shout was like a thunderclap splitting
2:19:20into the originally joyful crowd. Every
2:19:23smile froze dead on every face. The dead
2:19:26silence lasted only an instant. Then the
2:19:29whole camp as if gripped by an invisible
2:19:31giant hand and suddenly released run.
2:19:34Everyone went mad. N1 cared about the
2:19:37luggage on the ground anymore. No one
2:19:39bothered with half a polite word. The
2:19:41people who had just been laughing and
2:19:43talking around the campfire were now
2:19:44like ants in a boiling pot, scattering
2:19:47in all directions. Almost at the same
2:19:49instantly Hon spoke, Su Muing turned and
2:19:52rushed toward her vehicle, shouting
2:19:53sternly, "Get in the car. Go now." Jean
2:19:56Lelay and I were both beckoned aboard by
2:19:58Sue mooching into her bus. Neither of us
2:20:00hesitated. We ducked in. The ordinary
2:20:03survivors frantically grabbed their
2:20:04things, threw themselves onto
2:20:06motorcycles, pedled bicycles, even
2:20:08jumped onto battered tricycles, and in a
2:20:11chaotic mass, clung close behind the
2:20:13bus. The camp that had been so
2:20:15harmonious moments ago was now left with
2:20:17only a mess. A few campfires still
2:20:19burning and footsteps drowned in terror.
2:20:22Sitting in the car, my gaze went past
2:20:24the window and landed on Liu Alon's
2:20:26large off-road vehicle. Because just at
2:20:28the instantly Hon shouted, "Monsters are
2:20:30approaching." I seemed to detect through
2:20:32the Gention mirror faintly that at her
2:20:35chest, some extraordinary power was
2:20:37violently stirring that I had been too
2:20:39busy getting on the car to look
2:20:40carefully. Now, sitting in the jolting
2:20:42vehicle, I could not help but stare in
2:20:44that direction that I really wanted to
2:20:46know what other Trump card lie carried.
2:20:48something that let a mirror guide detect
2:20:51danger before anyone else. But just
2:20:53then, within my soul, the Genton mirror
2:20:56suddenly gleamed. The next moment, the
2:20:58scene before my eyes changed abruptly.
2:21:00Point three enormous creatures were
2:21:02forcibly dragged out of the vast night
2:21:04by the Gention mirrors surveillance
2:21:06power and brought before my eyes. The
2:21:09first was in the northeast, hidden
2:21:10underground at it, was a giant blood red
2:21:13centipede. It was at least 30 m long.
2:21:16Each segment of its shell oozed a wet,
2:21:18sickly red, as if it had just crawled
2:21:20out of a pool of blood. What made my
2:21:22scalp go numb most was its head. It was
2:21:24clearly a human face growing at top an
2:21:26insect body. Dot a pale, twisted,
2:21:29half-smiling human face. Its claws were
2:21:31not insect legs at all. They were dense,
2:21:34countless pale human hands. Each human
2:21:36hand spled its five fingers and clawed
2:21:39spasmotically at the ground, dragging
2:21:41its enormous despair inducing body
2:21:43silently and madly through the soil. The
2:21:46gention mirrors appraisal information
2:21:47appeared. Name: Human face thousand hand
2:21:50centipede rank second tier category
2:21:53anomaly abilities. Fear demon eye earth
2:21:55burrowing blood poison mist. My heart
2:21:57sank sharply a second tier anomaly. I
2:22:00quickly sorted through the convoys's
2:22:02current cards. Among the whole convoy,
2:22:04only Su Muing was a sequence 8
2:22:06extraordinary, equivalent to second
2:22:08tiered. If she led us all to fight
2:22:09together, we might barely be able to
2:22:11handle one. Because anomalies were among
2:22:14all monsters, the most troublesome and
2:22:16hardest to deal with. But the problem
2:22:18was the ones coming for us were far more
2:22:20than one dot on the ground. There was
2:22:22another giant even more terrifying than
2:22:24the human-faced thousandhand centipede.
2:22:27Was a crocodile over 50 m long. Every
2:22:29scale glowed with cold metallic luster.
2:22:32From afar, it looked like a moving war
2:22:34fortress cast from refined iron. Despite
2:22:36its terrifying size, its speed was not
2:22:39slow at all. Every time its stone pillar
2:22:41thick claws kicked back, it left a deep
2:22:43pit big enough to be made by an
2:22:45exploding shell, mud, and stone flying.
2:22:48Name giant spirit crocodile rank. Second
2:22:50tier category, fierce beast abilities,
2:22:53ultra fast regeneration, giant strength,
2:22:56mud swamp control, and in the sky.
2:22:58Another even stranger giant bird circled
2:23:01that it was at least 20 meters long yet
2:23:03had three human heads to eye. In the
2:23:05middle was a man's head on the left and
2:23:07right. Each was a woman's head. A s it
2:23:10flapped its wings and flew. The two
2:23:12women's heads let out shrill piercing
2:23:14whales. I hurt so much. I'm so
2:23:16miserable. The sound seemed to pierce
2:23:19all obstacles and drill straight into
2:23:21one's brain. Just hearing it made me
2:23:23feel dizzy. My head so heavy it almost
2:23:25burst. Name three-headed soul wailing
2:23:28bird rank. Third tier category anomaly
2:23:31abilities agonizing demonic sound, wind
2:23:34control, soul confusing mist, flying
2:23:36head soul snatch, soul locking blood
2:23:38feathers. My pupils contracted slightly.
2:23:41Third tier, the one flying in the sky
2:23:43was actually a third tier anomaly. One
2:23:45tier higher than those two second tier
2:23:47ones. The moonlight was pressed dull by
2:23:49a layer of deathly gray clouds. Pale
2:23:52lights spread over the wilderness
2:23:53highway, stretching the whole fleeing
2:23:55convoy into a long, twisted black line.
2:23:58Among the three monsters, the one flying
2:24:00in the sky, the three-headed soul
2:24:02wailing bird was the fastest. Because of
2:24:05that strange cry, my head had grown
2:24:07heavy, and I had to actively cut off the
2:24:09gention mirrors sound transmission. But
2:24:11in the less than a minute before and
2:24:13after I cut the sound, the monster had
2:24:15already closed from a thousand Jang away
2:24:17to within visible range. Under the
2:24:19moonlight, it was a terrifying giant
2:24:21bird over 20 meters long. Every flap of
2:24:24its wings stirred thunderous wind
2:24:26pressure in midair. Dead trees by the
2:24:28road were snapped in half. Gravel was
2:24:30lifted as if by an invisible giant hand
2:24:32and smashed against the car windows and
2:24:34sheets, crackling loudly. More
2:24:37horrifying were the three heads lined up
2:24:38on its neck. Three pairs of eyes glowing
2:24:41faintly in the moonlight like three deep
2:24:43red ghost fires locked dead onto the
2:24:46desperately fleeing crowd below. Its
2:24:48mouths were half open. Between the
2:24:50layered inward- hooked fangs, strands of
2:24:52foul saliva dripped down the edges of
2:24:54its beak, torn apart by the wild wind.
2:24:57Wherever it landed, on someone's face,
2:24:59on a handlebar, it felt like being
2:25:01splashed by boiling oil. No one knew who
2:25:04first broke and screamed in a distorted
2:25:06voice, "Drive, drive now." That scream
2:25:09was like a damn bursting. Fear instantly
2:25:11flooded the entire convoy. People
2:25:13accelerated like mad, desperately
2:25:15flooring the gas, desperately twisting
2:25:17handlebars. Bicycles, tricycles, and
2:25:20motorcycles bounced on the pitted dirt
2:25:22road, nearly falling apart. Some revved
2:25:25their engines to the limit, the motors
2:25:27wailing as if torn apart. Some were so
2:25:29panicked they forgot to watch the road
2:25:31and nearly crashed into the rear of the
2:25:33vehicle ahead. Inside the cabin, through
2:25:35the short-range communicator, Lihu
2:25:37Alon's voice, already sharp and
2:25:39cracking, came continuously. It's
2:25:41accelerating toward us. It's still
2:25:43accelerating. The safe place is still 20
2:25:45km away. We can't outrun it. Someone has
2:25:48to hold the rear. Buy us time. If we let
2:25:50it keep following us, none of us will
2:25:52escape. Hold the rear. That I knew
2:25:54exactly what she meant by those two
2:25:56words. She meant letting the survivors
2:25:58lagging behind. Those on motorcycles,
2:26:01tricycles, bicycles, use their lives to
2:26:03slow the monster down so that these
2:26:05people could open the distance again. I
2:26:07had always thought that the reason Su
2:26:09Muing was willing to take in so many
2:26:11people following the convoy was to use
2:26:12them at times like this. But I never
2:26:14expected that on the other end of the
2:26:16communicator, Su Muing would coldly
2:26:18refuse. That monster is too close and
2:26:20too fast. Even if we send people to hold
2:26:23the rear, it won't by much distance. Her
2:26:25voice was eerily calm, as if what hung
2:26:28over everyone's heads was not a
2:26:29man-eating beast, but an insignificant
2:26:31trifle. The best way is to wound its
2:26:34wings and slow its flight. Better yet,
2:26:36make it unable to fly at all. You keep
2:26:38leading the way ahead. I'll deal with
2:26:40the monster. As soon as she finished,
2:26:42the communicator clicked off. Almost at
2:26:44the same instant, I saw in the rear view
2:26:46mirror that a topped the bus behind us.
2:26:48A piercing blood red light suddenly
2:26:50burst forth. Countless crimson lights
2:26:52poured out of Sue Muing<unk>s body like
2:26:54a living tide, wrapping her whole body
2:26:57in the blink of an eye and condensing
2:26:59into a blood red suit of armor. That
2:27:02armor was no ordinary protective gear
2:27:04that it was almost bewitchingly dark red
2:27:06throughout as if forged from blood
2:27:08condensed into substance. Endless
2:27:10intricate, eerie, mysterious patterns
2:27:12floated across its surface. Those
2:27:14patterns did not look carved. Rather,
2:27:17they seemed to grow from deep within the
2:27:19armor itself, flowing with red light as
2:27:21she breathed, bright and dim by turns.
2:27:24The armor was extremely close-fitting,
2:27:26tightly wrapping her body, outlining
2:27:28inch by inch the waist, shoulders, neck,
2:27:31and long legs that had usually been
2:27:33hidden beneath plain colored robes. The
2:27:35waist seal was tight, cinching a slender
2:27:38curve between the breastplate and
2:27:39shoulder guards. Her collar bones looked
2:27:41delicate and sharp, and her long hair
2:27:43was soaked in blood red. At the same
2:27:45moment, I saw that head of black hair
2:27:47dyed red inch by inch by surging blood
2:27:49light lengthened and in the blink of an
2:27:52eye passed her shoulders, her waist
2:27:54until it dragged on the ground. Within
2:27:56the blood colored glow, that long hair
2:27:58seemed to become a living thing, moving
2:28:00windlessly behind her, slowly and eerily
2:28:03dancing and rising and falling like
2:28:05crimson snakes that had smelled blood
2:28:07and were about to leave their burrows.
2:28:09And when she raised her eyes again, I
2:28:11clearly saw that at the corners of her
2:28:13eyes there was now a blood red
2:28:14eyeshadow, slightly upturned. Her lips,
2:28:17too, had been dyed a rich moist blood
2:28:20red. It was just that touch of red that
2:28:22turned her entire person from the
2:28:24originally dignified, cold,
2:28:26unapproachable ice beauty into another
2:28:28person. A bewitching, sharp, crimson
2:28:31robed Roxshasa who seemed to have walked
2:28:33out of a sea of blood. cold and
2:28:35gorgeous, pure and seductive, collided
2:28:38in the same person, producing a fatal
2:28:40tension that made it impossible to look
2:28:42away. That I only glanced once, then
2:28:44quickly withdrew my gaze. The back of my
2:28:46hand, gripping the gention mirror, had
2:28:49faint blue veins rising. The transformed
2:28:51Sue Mooching did not hesitate at all.
2:28:53She raised a hand and flipped open the
2:28:55ventilation hatch on top of the bus. The
2:28:58next moment, the blood-colored hair
2:28:59behind her, like a living thing,
2:29:01suddenly straightened and turned into
2:29:03blood red chains, fastening her whole
2:29:06body firmly and deadly to the roof of
2:29:08the bus, traveling at over a 100 km per
2:29:10hour. The wild wind rushed at her,
2:29:13blowing the blood red armor until it
2:29:14clattered and flapped, and blowing her
2:29:16floor length blood red hair into a wild
2:29:19dance. Against the bitter wind, a large
2:29:22mass of bloodcoled energy slowly
2:29:24gathered before her, finally condensing
2:29:26into a blood red longbow. The bow's
2:29:29shape was abnormally sinister and
2:29:31doineering. The body was slender,
2:29:33entirely like blood colored glass with
2:29:35what seemed like scalding blood flowing
2:29:37slowly inside, yet also possessing a
2:29:40cold jade-like luster. The tips at both
2:29:42ends curved upward into two sharp
2:29:44upturned arcs like the horns of some
2:29:47beast. Around the bow body coiled rings
2:29:49of profound blood red patterns
2:29:51originating from the same source as
2:29:53those on the armor. As she set an arrow
2:29:55to the string, they burst out with rings
2:29:57of crimson halos. This bow was never
2:30:00meant for people from birth. It looked
2:30:02more like a weapon of murder summoned
2:30:04personally from some Bloodpool demon
2:30:05abyss. Sumuing stood erect on the roof.
2:30:08Her graceful figure still straight
2:30:10point. One hand held the bow, the other
2:30:12set the string, and she slowly drew the
2:30:14bowring back. At the moment she drew the
2:30:16bow, a blood red long arrow appeared out
2:30:18of thin air on the string that as her
2:30:20arm gradually pulled it to full draw.
2:30:22The aura on that arrow soared bit by
2:30:24bit. The blood light on the arrow shaft
2:30:27grew brighter and denser, so dense it
2:30:29almost dripped blood. The wind shrieked
2:30:31and twisted at the arrow head. Even the
2:30:34surrounding space seemed slightly
2:30:35concave under the pressure of this
2:30:37power. Her arm was steady without a
2:30:39trace of trembling. Only when that blood
2:30:41light climbed to a certain limit, as if
2:30:43one step further, and even the longbow
2:30:45could not bear it, did she suddenly
2:30:47release her fingers. H! A bloodcoled
2:30:50streak tore through the sky, shooting
2:30:52out from the string taut to the extreme,
2:30:54dragging a long comet-like blood red
2:30:56trail straight toward the ever closer
2:30:59three-headed soulwing bird. Sensing the
2:31:01lethal danger of that arrow, the
2:31:03three-headed soul wailing bird, which
2:31:05had already extended its talons and was
2:31:07about to pounce on a survivor riding a
2:31:09bicycle at the very rear of the group,
2:31:11suddenly spread its sky covering giant
2:31:13wings. Whoosh! boom! A wild wind rose
2:31:16out of nowhere between its wings,
2:31:18turning into countless faintly visible
2:31:20gray white wind blades that densely
2:31:22crashed toward the incoming blood red
2:31:25long arrow, trying to weaken and cancel
2:31:27its power layer by layer before it hit.
2:31:29However, at the instant those wind
2:31:31blades touched the long arrow boom. The
2:31:34already all-inspiring blood arrow
2:31:36exploded in midair, it did not scatter.
2:31:39Instead, it transformed into countless
2:31:41smaller blood red arrows like a sudden
2:31:43bloodcolored rainstorm. Not only was it
2:31:46not stopped, but at the instant of
2:31:47explosion, it suddenly accelerated,
2:31:50pouring down densely toward the
2:31:51three-headed soul wailing bird and
2:31:53finally smashed into it, especially its
2:31:55pair of huge wings. scree. The middle
2:31:58head of the three-headed soul wailing
2:32:00bird was the first to let out a scream
2:32:02so sharp it nearly pierced eardrums.
2:32:04Then the left and right heads also
2:32:06tilted up, their screams one more
2:32:08miserable and terrifying than the last,
2:32:10shaking several people in the fleeing
2:32:12crowd below so badly that they covered
2:32:14their ears on the spot, faces pale. It
2:32:17abandoned the survivor on the ground so
2:32:19close and already collapsed in terror
2:32:21and flipped over, spread its giant
2:32:23wings, and prepared to pounce towards
2:32:25Sumooching. But at that moment, a sudden
2:32:27change occurred. The blood red small
2:32:29arrows nailed into its wings all
2:32:31revealed large amounts of fine blood red
2:32:33threads at their tails at the same time.
2:32:36Those threads seemed to come alive,
2:32:38hooking together, winding, tightening
2:32:40one after another pulled taut. They were
2:32:42actually using the force from both sides
2:32:44to forcibly draw its wings inward and
2:32:47shut them. With its wings forcibly
2:32:49clamped, the three-headed soul wailing
2:32:51bird's enormous body suddenly lost
2:32:53speed. It staggered in midair and began
2:32:55rapidly falling scree. This time it let
2:32:58out an even more furious scream. Its
2:33:00huge wings desperately beat and
2:33:02struggled, trying to tear those blood
2:33:04red threads apart. But beyond its
2:33:06expectations, these threads looked
2:33:08thinner than hair, yet were tough to an
2:33:10eerie degree. No matter how it tore at
2:33:12them with its terrifying strength. For a
2:33:14moment, not a single one broke. Not only
2:33:17did they not break, they tightened
2:33:18further. Its massive body could only
2:33:21accelerate faster and faster as it
2:33:23plummeted straight toward the ground. My
2:33:25gaze was locked on the rear view mirror,
2:33:27on the figure standing erect on the
2:33:28roof, yet trembling faintly all over.
2:33:31The blood light on Sue mooching had
2:33:33become unstable, bright for a moment and
2:33:35dim the next, as if being violently
2:33:38pulled and torn by some force. I
2:33:40understood those blood red threads could
2:33:42be so tough because she was still
2:33:44continuously and forcibly pouring her
2:33:46own power into them. I'll help you. At
2:33:48this critical moment, inside the cabin,
2:33:51Jang Lelay completed his transformation
2:33:52once again. He rose abruptly, eyes
2:33:55already burning with black flames. Three
2:33:57pitch black fireballs condensed in his
2:33:59palm out of thin air. And then he flung
2:34:01his hand. Three black fireballs, each
2:34:04the size of a millstone, like three
2:34:06pitch black meteors, shot from the car
2:34:08window at extreme speed toward the
2:34:10three-headed soul wailing bird falling
2:34:12freely toward the ground. Don't.
2:34:14Standing on the roof, Sumuin caught the
2:34:16three fireballs from the corner of her
2:34:18eye. Her expression changed drastically,
2:34:20and she could not help but shout, but it
2:34:23was already too late. Boom! Boom! Boom!
2:34:26The three pitch black fireballs almost
2:34:28simultaneously struck the three-headed
2:34:30soulwing bird, exploding into three huge
2:34:33rolling masses of black flame. The
2:34:35violent blast shock lifted its entire
2:34:37body, flipping it in midair. And from
2:34:39within the black flames came even more
2:34:41miserable, more shrill shrieks. Good.
2:34:44Hit it. Brother Jeang Lelay is amazing.
2:34:47These monsters are no match for us at
2:34:49all. The survivors still desperately
2:34:51fleeing could not help but look back.
2:34:53Joy of surviving a disaster on their
2:34:55faces, chattering flattery. But my
2:34:57expression at that moment instead sank
2:35:00completely because through the Gention
2:35:02mirror, I saw it clearly. That explosion
2:35:05not only damaged the three-headed soul
2:35:07wailing bird, it also fatally affected
2:35:09the blood red small arrows Sue Mooching
2:35:11had nailed into its wings and was using
2:35:13to hold its wings shut. Large numbers of
2:35:15blood red arrows melted inch by inch
2:35:18under the black flames explosion. The
2:35:20pair of giant wings originally forced
2:35:22shut and immobile was released at that
2:35:24moment. Scree. The three-headed soul
2:35:27wailing bird let out a howl that pierced
2:35:29the night sky, and its enormous body
2:35:31burst straight out from the black flames
2:35:33raised by the explosion. Its feathers
2:35:35had been burned bald in patches, black
2:35:37here and scorched there. It was filthy
2:35:39and bedraggled all over, utterly
2:35:42wretched, but the ferocious,
2:35:43suffocating, terrifying aura on its body
2:35:46had not weakened in the slightest.
2:35:48Instead, it seemed thoroughly enraged
2:35:50and became even more terrifying. Its
2:35:52speed suddenly rose another notch and in
2:35:55almost the blink of an eye, it closed to
2:35:57within 200 meters of the bus. At that
2:35:59same moment, the two heads on its left
2:36:01and right opened their mouths
2:36:03simultaneously and let out a strange
2:36:05extreme demonic sound. What came from
2:36:07those two heads was no longer ordinary
2:36:09bird song, but wisps and waves of
2:36:12decadent, seductive sound that seemed
2:36:14able to drill into the marrow of one's
2:36:16bones. When that sound fell into the
2:36:18ears of most of the survivors, their
2:36:20heads seemed to be filled with lead and
2:36:22suddenly grew heavy. In a days, it was
2:36:24as if a voice was speaking beside their
2:36:26ears. Very soft, very gentle, very
2:36:29patient. Living is too painful. Why keep
2:36:32struggling like this? Better to die
2:36:34here. Die here and you can enjoy eternal
2:36:36peace and oh more fear, no more terror.
2:36:40That voice was soft to the extreme and
2:36:42tempting to the extreme. The survivors
2:36:44on motorcycles and tricycles gradually
2:36:46let their eyes glaze over and scatter.
2:36:48The handlebars in their hands began to
2:36:50twist left and right uncontrollably,
2:36:53crashing wildly. Bang! Bang! Bang!
2:36:56Within a few breaths, several collisions
2:36:58occurred in succession. Screams, the
2:37:00screech of twisting metal, and panicked
2:37:02shrieks mixed together. Even the drivers
2:37:04of the bus and the off-road vehicle were
2:37:06affected by the demonic sound. The bus
2:37:09began to sway left and right, its front
2:37:11swinging. The off-road driver's eyes
2:37:13also went straight, hands on the
2:37:15steering wheel loosening and tightening
2:37:16by turns, and the three-headed soul
2:37:18wailing bird also rapidly closed. Ian do
2:37:21it raised all three heads high and
2:37:23sniffed deeply. From the people below,
2:37:25it smelled the scent of pain. That scent
2:37:28was rich, delicious, almost overflowing.
2:37:31This was its favorite delicacy. It could
2:37:33hardly wait. Just when it was less than
2:37:35a 100 meters from the bus, one Talon
2:37:37already raised high, about to dive.
2:37:39Bang, bang, bang. Three bullets were
2:37:42fired in succession from the bus window.
2:37:44The three bullets flew extremely fast
2:37:46and accurately, almost simultaneously,
2:37:49landing exactly on its two wings and
2:37:51chest. The next moment, boom, three
2:37:54balls of pure white flame burst into
2:37:56blazing life at those three hit points.
2:37:58That white flame was pure without a
2:38:00trace of impurity and fierce without any
2:38:02warning. Like wildfire spreading across
2:38:05a plane, it instantly spread, wrapping
2:38:07the three-headed soul wailing bird's
2:38:09enormous body entirely in the blink of
2:38:11an eye. Scria. From within the white
2:38:14flames came its incomparably miserable,
2:38:16almost inhuman roar. That roar was
2:38:19miserable to the extreme and furious to
2:38:21the extreme, shaking the entire
2:38:23wilderness night as if it were
2:38:25trembling. And I at the instant of the
2:38:27gunshot could not help but let my gaze
2:38:29fall once again on the appraisal options
2:38:31that had appeared before the trigger of
2:38:33the six-fold fate cycle in my hand was
2:38:35pulled. One healing bullet does not
2:38:38attack enemies when hitting allies/self
2:38:41injects chi blood energy into the body
2:38:43healing wounds and repairing damaged
2:38:45flesh. Two, binding bullet. After
2:38:48hitting a target, condenses chains that
2:38:50bind demons, aberrations, restrict
2:38:52movement, seal part of the body's
2:38:54movements, and can also briefly restrain
2:38:56the form of spectral anomalies. Three,
2:38:59armor-piercing bullet has extremely
2:39:01strong penetration, can pierce thick
2:39:03shells, mutated hardened skin, and metal
2:39:06armor, ignoring physical defenses, and
2:39:08striking the targets true body directly.
2:39:10Four, evil burning bullet. Specifically
2:39:13targets demons, vengeful spirits, and
2:39:15spectral anomalies. Carries purification
2:39:18properties directly scorching the
2:39:20aberarent source. Greatly amplifies
2:39:22damage to spirits. Ordinary flesh only
2:39:25takes base damage. Five. Soul devouring
2:39:28bullet. On hitting a target, if the
2:39:30target can be killed, grants one
2:39:32enhancement opportunity. Randomly
2:39:33increasing one of the first four bullet
2:39:35types by plus 1.6. Hunting bullet. after
2:39:38hitting a target locks onto the targets
2:39:40aura. No matter how far, it will be
2:39:43forever locked. Note, except for soul
2:39:45devouring bullet and hunting bullet, the
2:39:47other four can trigger critical hits
2:39:49through consecutive hits of the same
2:39:51type. Each critical hit doubles the
2:39:53effect. I truly had not expected the
2:39:55effect of a critical hit from that same
2:39:56kind of bullet to be so powerful. I had
2:39:59thought that at most one shot would
2:40:01force the three-headed soulcrying bird
2:40:02to retreat a little and buy us a moment
2:40:04to breathe. But those three balls of
2:40:06pure white flame seemed to burn straight
2:40:08into the monster's bones. They spread
2:40:11fast and fierce so that even that 20 m
2:40:13long beast was thrashing in madair,
2:40:15howling and desperately beating its
2:40:17wings. Only then did a realization begin
2:40:20to surface in my mind. Although this
2:40:22six-fold wheel of fate was ostensibly
2:40:25only a fifth tier strange artifact, its
2:40:27listed tier and the tier of the items
2:40:29drawn from its wheel had never
2:40:31corresponded one to one. The lowest
2:40:33first and second tier items drawn from
2:40:35the wheel were nothing but ordinary
2:40:36objects. If treated as weapons, first
2:40:39tier was roughly ordinary cold weapons,
2:40:41and second tier was hot weapons like
2:40:43pistols and rifles. But those things
2:40:45could not harm the strange at all. They
2:40:47were only useful against monsters like
2:40:49ferocious beasts. Otherwise, in just one
2:40:52short month, humanity would not have
2:40:53been beaten into abandoning armor and
2:40:55weapons, fleeing cities in panic, with
2:40:58deaths exceeding 80%. Only at the third
2:41:01tier did one barely cross the threshold
2:41:03of the transcendent. According to the
2:41:05last information officially disclosed,
2:41:07crossing that threshold, mint attacks
2:41:09carried a substance they had named
2:41:11spirit energy particles. From this tier
2:41:13onward, weapons could truly harm the
2:41:15strange. These supernatural monsters
2:41:17that be why that logic, a fifth tier
2:41:19strange artifact should at most deal
2:41:21some damage to a third tier strange. It
2:41:23absolutely should not have such
2:41:24terrifying power. To have such might, it
2:41:27had to be at least sixth tier. Turning
2:41:29it over in my mind, I gradually arrived
2:41:31at an answer. It was most likely because
2:41:33every time this gun's trigger was
2:41:35pulled, the bullet fired was random.
2:41:37That meant that in anyone else's hands,
2:41:39its combat output would be extremely
2:41:41unstable. Apart from someone like me who
2:41:44could specify the option, anyone else
2:41:46using it in battle would probably find
2:41:48it nearly useless. On top of that, it
2:41:50produced only six bullets a day.
2:41:52Although in used bullets could
2:41:54accumulate, the instability and the
2:41:56capped output ultimately dragged its
2:41:58tier forcibly back down to fifth. These
2:42:00thoughts flash through my mind one by
2:42:02one in a lightning instant. Almost at
2:42:04the same instant, I swayed slightly,
2:42:06letting a layer of confusion and
2:42:08dizziness surface on my face at just the
2:42:10right degree. I frowned and pressed one
2:42:12hand to my temple, exactly like the
2:42:14people in the cabin who had just
2:42:16struggled free from the demonic sound.
2:42:18Others assumed I, too, had been left
2:42:21dizzy by the three-headed soul-crying
2:42:22bird's demonic sound. In truth, from the
2:42:25moment I decided to block out that
2:42:27bird's voice, even when the monster
2:42:28later lunged close, I could no longer
2:42:31hear that ins snaring demonic sound at
2:42:33all. From beginning to end, I had not
2:42:35been affected in the slightest. This was
2:42:37most likely another hidden ability of
2:42:39the heaven watching mirror. But I did
2:42:41not want to expose this trump card, nor
2:42:43did I want anyone to connect me with the
2:42:45real reason the three-headed soul crying
2:42:47bird had suddenly been grievously
2:42:49wounded by those three balls of white
2:42:51flame. At least not before Lie Huan was
2:42:53dealt with. Si chose to keep a low
2:42:55profile and blend into the crowd. The
2:42:58next moment, Sum Mooching, who had
2:43:00originally been preparing to risk
2:43:01everything in a final struggle once the
2:43:04three-headed soul crying bird came
2:43:05close, flickered, and dropped back into
2:43:07the cabin through the ventilation hatch
2:43:09on the roof. Her eyes, made even sharper
2:43:12by the blood red eyes, swept over me,
2:43:15looking no different from anyone else.
2:43:17And she shouted in a low, hard voice,
2:43:19"Don't just stand there. Drive. Go." The
2:43:22driver in the driver's seat, already
2:43:24pale with fright, panicked at these
2:43:26words and stomped the accelerator to the
2:43:28floor. But I, sitting right behind the
2:43:30driver, suddenly went rigid. I lunged
2:43:32forward, seized the steering wheel, and
2:43:35with all my strength yanked it hard to
2:43:36the right scree. Under my yank, the
2:43:39front of the bus was forced violently to
2:43:41the right, tires shrieking against the
2:43:43dirt road. But at that very instant,
2:43:45boom. The ground on the left side of the
2:43:47bus burst apart as if made of paper. A
2:43:50figure shot up through the earth. It was
2:43:51the human-faced thousand-handed
2:43:53centipede from underground. Its body had
2:43:55drilled almost straight up from
2:43:57underground, grazing the bus's left
2:43:59side. The distance was terrifyingly
2:44:01close, just a hair more, and its raised
2:44:04head, like a battering ram, would have
2:44:06struck from directly below, and flipped
2:44:08the entire bus, people and all. I looked
2:44:10through the windshield. One glance was
2:44:12enough to make a thin layer of cold
2:44:14sweat, seep down my back. The
2:44:16human-faced thousand-handed centipede
2:44:17was absurdly thick and massive. With
2:44:20only half its body out of the ground, it
2:44:22already stood taller than the bus. Its
2:44:24whole shell gave off a dark red, as if
2:44:26stained with dried blood, and every
2:44:28joint between its segments was covered
2:44:30in dense black spikes that kept opening
2:44:32and closing. Its ring after ring of
2:44:34ventral legs numbered at least a hundred
2:44:36pairs. Each was as thick as an adult's
2:44:38thigh and tipped with barbs. With only
2:44:41half its body propping against the
2:44:42ground, it was already tearing earth and
2:44:44stone flying in all directions. The most
2:44:47scalp numbing part was its hideous head.
2:44:49On either side of the top of its head
2:44:51grew two curved long feelers burning
2:44:53with dim red light, like two blood red
2:44:56sides swinging in the night. Its mouth
2:44:58parts were half open, revealing for
2:45:00mandibles curling inward layer by layer,
2:45:03interspersed with several wet, still
2:45:05wriggling fleshy growths. The instant it
2:45:07broke through the ground, a nauseating
2:45:09stench of blood and rot poured in
2:45:11headon. Boom! Its enormous body slammed
2:45:14back onto the ground, making the whole
2:45:16road seemed to tremble. Some survivors
2:45:18left behind were so frightened they
2:45:20collapsed on the spot, scrambling
2:45:22backward on hands and knees, screams and
2:45:25whales churning into chaos. Sumuin
2:45:28glanced at me again. Compared with
2:45:29before, there was something in that
2:45:31glance that I could not quite name. She
2:45:33did not waste a single word. She only
2:45:35said in a low voice, "You drive." Before
2:45:38the words faded, the blood red hair that
2:45:40trailed to the ground behind her
2:45:41suddenly exploded outward and stood
2:45:44upright like living blood red tentacles.
2:45:46They steadied themselves against the
2:45:48floor and walls of the cabin and also
2:45:50propped up her body, making her whole
2:45:52person, like a monster with countless
2:45:54mechanical legs, used that mane of hair
2:45:56in place of her feet. Then Su
2:45:58Muing<unk>s body rose into the air,
2:46:00flipped out through an open window, and
2:46:02landed back on the roof of the B USB by
2:46:04Y. Then the human-faced thousand-handed
2:46:07centipede had recovered from its mis
2:46:09strike, twisted its huge body, and
2:46:11lunged at the bus again. It probably
2:46:13could not understand how its silent,
2:46:15unstoppable underground ambush, its
2:46:17long-standing pride, had been dodged
2:46:19this time. Because of that, this lunge
2:46:22held nothing back. It used its full
2:46:24strength. Its thick body suddenly
2:46:26tensed, then shot out so fast it almost
2:46:29became a blood red flash. Midway
2:46:31through, its mouth parts, dripping foul
2:46:33saliva, opened wide, and a thick dark
2:46:36red mist, almost black, poured out at
2:46:39the bus like a broken dam, blood poison
2:46:41mist. The mist churned and spread,
2:46:44instantly, wrapping the entire bus
2:46:46inside and out and rapidly expanding in
2:46:48all directions. Beyond the windshield,
2:46:51all that remained was a sticky, slowly
2:46:53writhing blood red. Visibility was
2:46:55completely blocked. Inside the cabin,
2:46:58the original bus driver, who had been
2:47:00standing behind the driver's seat, was
2:47:02now trembling so hard even his legs
2:47:04shook. He stared fixedly at me in the
2:47:06driver's seat, not daring to blink. He
2:47:08watched me. This young man, clearly
2:47:11surrounded by such heavy blood mist,
2:47:13unable even to see the road ahead. Yet
2:47:15my face was unnaturally calm, both hands
2:47:18steady on the steering wheel without a
2:47:20single unnecessary tremor. At that
2:47:22moment, the driver seemed to suddenly
2:47:24understand something. He finally
2:47:26understood why Sue Muing had handed the
2:47:28steering wheel to me. If it had been him
2:47:30facing such a scene, he would probably
2:47:31have panicked so badly. He could no
2:47:33longer tell the accelerator from the
2:47:35brake. Just then, I whipped my head
2:47:37around and shouted fiercely at the
2:47:39people in the cabin. This mist is
2:47:41poisonous. Everyone, wet your clothes
2:47:43and cover your mouths and noses. Hurry!
2:47:46My shout was full of power, like a
2:47:48thunderclap. Those whose heads were
2:47:49still muddled and dazed by the demonic
2:47:52sound, out of the instinct to survive,
2:47:54began doing, as I said, almost without
2:47:56thinking. The cabin instantly fell into
2:47:58chaos. Some lunged at the only half
2:48:01bucket of drinking water, which had sat
2:48:02there for who knew how many days, and
2:48:04scrambled to dip their clothes and
2:48:06towels into it. Some could not get any
2:48:08water and went pale with anxiety,
2:48:10redeyed as they tried to pry open the
2:48:12hands of those in front. Some, unable to
2:48:15squeeze in and out of options, gritted
2:48:17their teeth, shut their eyes, undid
2:48:19their belts on the spot, soaked their
2:48:21underclo with that warm liquid, and
2:48:22clapped them back over their mouths and
2:48:24noses. Before life and death, shame and
2:48:27dignity meant nothing at all. Even the
2:48:29few women in the cabin who were usually
2:48:31the most proper at this moment flushed
2:48:34red and trembling all over hid in
2:48:36corners, shut their eyes, bit their
2:48:38lips, and made the same choice. It was
2:48:41truly the despair and madness of people
2:48:43who, to stay alive, would without
2:48:45hesitation throw the last shred of
2:48:47dignity to the ground and trample it
2:48:49twice. As for me, I grabbed the
2:48:51stainless steel water cup beside the
2:48:53driver, unscrewed the lid, poured water
2:48:55over a piece of cloth I had torn from my
2:48:57chest, and quickly wrapped it tightly
2:48:59over my mouth and nose. Then I pressed
2:49:01my foot hard on the accelerator and
2:49:03gripped the wheel. The bus, like an
2:49:05enraged steel beast, roared forward. The
2:49:08blood mist could blind ordinary eyes,
2:49:10but it could not blind the heaven
2:49:12watching mirror in my clothes. Through
2:49:14its surface, I could see the road ahead
2:49:16clearly and even spare most of my
2:49:18attention to watch the battle above. At
2:49:20the same time, my right hand had already
2:49:22slipped quietly into my clothes,
2:49:24fingertips resting on the cold grip of
2:49:26the six-fold wheel of fate. I had only
2:49:28fired three bullets earlier,
2:49:30deliberately saving the remaining three.
2:49:32Because although that three-headed
2:49:33soulcrying bird was temporarily
2:49:35entangled by the white flames, I had
2:49:37never forgotten that two other monsters
2:49:39were rapidly approaching. I could not
2:49:41put all my trump cards on the table at
2:49:42once. At that moment, within the heaven
2:49:45watching mirrors view on the roof, Su
2:49:47Muing had become even more eerily
2:49:49bewitching than when she had first
2:49:51transformed. Her blood red armor along
2:49:53with her snake- like hair all spread
2:49:56open freely like thousands of living
2:49:58things greedily gulping down the blood
2:50:00mist, filling the air. The deadly poison
2:50:02carried in the blood mist seemed to have
2:50:04no effect on her at all. Not only was
2:50:06she not uncomfortable, she looked more
2:50:08energized than before. Her face flushed,
2:50:11her whole being giving off an
2:50:13indescribable air of satiation and
2:50:15excitement. The strength she had spent
2:50:17earlier firing the blood arrows had now
2:50:19been completely replenished through the
2:50:21blood mist. Then a giant bow, nearly
2:50:24twice as large as before, and blood red
2:50:26all over, condensed into shape before
2:50:28her. A thicker, longer blood red arrow
2:50:30was knocked on the stringed succin
2:50:32hesitated almost not at all. She shot
2:50:35the blood arrow violently straight at
2:50:37the centipede below. This arrow was
2:50:39different from the previous ones. The
2:50:40tail of the arrow was connected to a
2:50:42blood red thread thinner than a hair.
2:50:44The thread stretched backward and
2:50:46finally disappeared into Sum Muing<unk>s
2:50:48palm, binding her tightly to the blood
2:50:50arrow that had left the string. The
2:50:52human-faced thousand-handed centipede
2:50:54had clearly not expected this either.
2:50:56Its proud blood poison mist had not only
2:50:58failed to poison its prey as before, it
2:51:01seemed to have fed her a powerful tonic,
2:51:03making her even more excited. Sensing
2:51:05the suddenly approaching lethal aura on
2:51:07the blood arrow, it instinctively sensed
2:51:09danger. It jerked its huge head to the
2:51:12right to dodge. But the blood arrow, as
2:51:14if it had eyes and had come alive,
2:51:16forcibly twisted in midair. Instead of
2:51:18missing, the arrow abruptly accelerated
2:51:20the moment it turned. A flash of blood
2:51:23light, and the long arrow pierced
2:51:25straight through, deep into one of the
2:51:28human-faced thousand-handed centipede's
2:51:30eyes. H. A wo. The human-faced
2:51:32thousand-handed centipede threw back its
2:51:34head and let out a scream of utter
2:51:36misery, as if it could shatter a
2:51:38person's internal organs. But this was
2:51:40far from over. The moment the blood
2:51:42arrow sank into its eye socket, it
2:51:44seemed to melt, instantly, dispersing
2:51:47and merging into its body. Then, the
2:51:49centipede clearly felt its blood being
2:51:51continuously and madly drained away by
2:51:53something. An indescribable numbness
2:51:55spread rapidly along its blood vessels
2:51:57and through its whole body. Its
2:51:59movements visibly slowed. Its originally
2:52:02powerful, confident lunge completely
2:52:04lost its aim because of the sudden
2:52:05numbness and loss of strength. Boom! Its
2:52:08enormous body crashed heavily to the
2:52:10ground a few steps behind the bus,
2:52:12kicking up a cloud of dust. In the
2:52:14heaven watching mirror, I clearly saw
2:52:16threads of energy flowing continuously
2:52:18back into Su Muing<unk>s body along that
2:52:21almost invisible bloodline. Those
2:52:23threads of satiated energy brought an
2:52:25unnatural flush to Sue Muing<unk>s
2:52:27already extremely bewitching face. My
2:52:30heart stirred and I suddenly understood
2:52:32something. I understood. No wonder this
2:52:34captain advanced through the sequence so
2:52:36astonishingly fast. Her sequence most
2:52:39likely allowed her to draw blood from
2:52:40enemies to feed back into and strengthen
2:52:43herself. In that case, it seemed she did
2:52:45not need me to intervene for the time
2:52:47being. I pulled back my gaze and pressed
2:52:49the accelerator to the floor again.
2:52:50Behind me, the three-headed soul crying
2:52:53bird, still chased and burned by the
2:52:55pure white flames and thrashing wildly
2:52:58in midair, now had flames visibly
2:53:00shrinking and weakening cluster by
2:53:01cluster. No, I had to put distance
2:53:04between us before it completely put out
2:53:05the flames that I was just thinking that
2:53:07when another shock came from the
2:53:09churning, undispersing blood mist, a
2:53:11large off-road vehicle that had
2:53:13completely lost its bearings suddenly
2:53:15came straight at the bus with reckless
2:53:17suicidal force. My pupils contracted. I
2:53:20yanked the steering wheel hard in an
2:53:22emergency swerve, but I was not familiar
2:53:24with driving a bus, and I did not dare
2:53:26turn too sharply for fear of overturning
2:53:28it. In that moment of hesitation, the
2:53:30off-road vehicle still slammed into us.
2:53:33Bang! With a huge crash, the rear of the
2:53:36bus was smashed inward, a large section
2:53:38caving in. The metal body twisted and
2:53:40cracked like paper. The whole vehicle
2:53:42was shoved violently forward by the
2:53:44tremendous force. Luckily, the bus could
2:53:46still keep moving. The off-road vehicle,
2:53:49because of the collision, veered sharply
2:53:51and rushed straight off the road,
2:53:53slamming head first into a waist high
2:53:55boulder by the roadside. Boom! A louder
2:53:57sound exploded. The off-road vehicle
2:54:00instantly stalled. Its hood flipped up
2:54:02and thick smoke billowed from the front.
2:54:04Then, the deformed driver's side door
2:54:05was wrenched off from inside with a
2:54:07bang. Inside the vehicle, a humanoid
2:54:09figure built of some foul smelling swamp
2:54:11mud, fully 5 m tall and like a moving
2:54:14mound of earth, struggled and squirmed,
2:54:17trying to squeeze out of the cabin. But
2:54:18it was too large and for a moment was
2:54:20stuck fast in the vehicle. The next
2:54:22instant, the giant mud body strangely
2:54:25and rapidly shrank and collapsed, and in
2:54:27the blink of an eye became a panicked,
2:54:29nearly broken person, Fuan. She
2:54:32scrambled out of the vehicle on hands
2:54:33and knees. The moment she landed, she
2:54:36flung her arms wide, and her body surged
2:54:38up again, once more, becoming that 5- m
2:54:41tall mud giant. The mud giant strode
2:54:43forward, carrying its wreaking mud all
2:54:46over, and ran desperately after the bus,
2:54:48screaming in a voice so shrill it
2:54:50cracked. "Wait for me! Wait for me!"
2:54:53Fuan shouted loud enough to shake the
2:54:55heavens. But I did not ease off the
2:54:57accelerator at all. Instead, I pressed
2:54:59it down even harder because through the
2:55:01heaven watching mirror, I clearly saw
2:55:03that her shout rolling out in waves, had
2:55:06already drawn the giant spirit
2:55:07crocodile, the one running at the very
2:55:09back, which had already lost some of its
2:55:11sense of direction in the blood mist,
2:55:13straight toward us. If I hadn't had the
2:55:15steering wheel in my hands, I really
2:55:17would have turned around and shot her.
2:55:19Otherwise, that idiot was going to get
2:55:21everyone killed. Seeing that the bus not
2:55:23only did not stop but actually sped up,
2:55:26her cries of wait for me only earned her
2:55:28a roar of engines disappearing in a
2:55:30cloud of dust. Seeing this, Fuan, now
2:55:33the mud giant, could no longer suppress
2:55:35the resentment and fury of being
2:55:37abandoned. She ran desperately, threw
2:55:39back her head, and roared, "If you won't
2:55:42wait for me, then none of you are
2:55:43getting away." Before the words faded,
2:55:46her huge hand formed from mud swung
2:55:48forward, and from its palm, countless
2:55:50clumps of sticky mud shot out like
2:55:52cannonballs. Smack, smack, smack. Those
2:55:55clumps traced crooked arcs and with
2:55:57great speed splattered onto the ground
2:56:00ahead of the bus. The asphalt road,
2:56:02already pitted and battered beyond
2:56:04recognition, now looked as if it had
2:56:06been splashed with thick ink. The earth
2:56:08and stone beneath softened and collapsed
2:56:10in an instant, turning into a dark,
2:56:12bubbling swamp of mud. Scree. The bus
2:56:15could not dodge in time and plunged
2:56:17headlong into this sudden mud field. The
2:56:19vehicle lurched down violently, its
2:56:22tires spinning madly in the sticky mud,
2:56:24and the whole bus tilted sharply to one
2:56:26side on the verge of rolling over. Ah,
2:56:29help. Don't, don't let it flip. The
2:56:32cabin instantly exploded into chaos. Men
2:56:35and women were thrown about. Some clung
2:56:37desperately to the seats. Some hit their
2:56:39heads and split their foreheads. And
2:56:41sharp screams of terror mixed with the
2:56:42metallic groans of the bus. Even more of
2:56:45it was a torrent of curses directed at
2:56:47Fuan behind the bus. That [ __ ] She
2:56:49wants to kill us. Is she crazy? Stop the
2:56:52bus. Stop the bus now. It was admittedly
2:56:55deeply unfair. Most of the people on
2:56:57this bus were women. The few men were
2:56:59carefully selected technical talents
2:57:01from the convoy. People who could repair
2:57:03vehicles, handle electronic components.
2:57:05truly valuable technicians. Ordinary
2:57:07male survivors had no right to set foot
2:57:09on this bus at all. Because of that, the
2:57:12curses now were especially shrill and
2:57:14fierce from the women, mixed with a few
2:57:16low male voices saying, "Stop pushing.
2:57:19Make room." in utter chaos. On the roof,
2:57:22Sumuing naturally noticed the commotion
2:57:24below, and she could also see Fuan,
2:57:26still a mud giant, chasing relentlessly
2:57:29behind. Her delicate brows knitted
2:57:31tightly, and her eyes, made even colder
2:57:34and sharper by the blood red eyeshadow,
2:57:36looked back heavily. The next moment,
2:57:38she flung out her hand. Whoosh! A blood
2:57:41red thread shot from her palm, fast as
2:57:43lightning. In the blink of an eye, it
2:57:45crossed dozens of meters and wrapped
2:57:47tightly around the running mud giant's
2:57:49body. Then Su Muing<unk>s icy voice cut
2:57:51through the blood mist and reached
2:57:53Fuan's ears clearly. Release your
2:57:55transformation. I'll pull you onto the
2:57:57bus. If you dare attack the bus again,
2:57:59I'll kill you myself. Those icy words
2:58:01poured over her like a basin of freezing
2:58:04water in deep winter. On Fuan's
2:58:06mudcovered face, a thick, undissipating
2:58:09venomous resentment immediately rose in
2:58:11her eyes. What had she done wrong? She
2:58:14had only wanted to save herself. She had
2:58:16served this convoy, running herself
2:58:18ragged and risking her life. Done so
2:58:20much. And yet these people would not
2:58:22even stop to wait for her. They would
2:58:24not even let her onto the bus. These
2:58:25ungrateful beasts, every one of them
2:58:27heartless. And that damned Sue Mooching.
2:58:30Just because she had become sequence 8
2:58:32and was the strongest in the convoy, she
2:58:34dared to bully her like this. Just wait.
2:58:37It would not be long before she could
2:58:38advance, too. And she would make her pay
2:58:40for today. In her heart, she cursed
2:58:42every one of their ancestors for 18
2:58:44generations over and over. But in the
2:58:47end, the fury she was so eager to vent
2:58:49was forcibly suppressed by the blood red
2:58:51mist before her. Visibility less than 2
2:58:54m, so thick it seemed, as if some
2:58:56man-eating monster might rush out at any
2:58:58moment. She did not dare stay in this
2:59:00hellish place a moment longer. She did
2:59:03not want to be left here just like that.
2:59:04The next moment, Fuan gritted her teeth.
2:59:07With a thought, the 5 m mud body rapidly
2:59:09collapsed and receded, revealing her
2:59:12original form again. The instant she
2:59:14returned to normal, the blood red thread
2:59:16wrapped around her snap tot whoosh. A
2:59:19tremendous force yanked Fuan hole as if
2:59:22dragged by an invisible rope rapidly
2:59:24toward the roof of the bus and to Sue
2:59:26Muing<unk>s side. When she stood steady
2:59:28and looked up, seeing clearly the woman
2:59:30before her, armored all in blood, snake-
2:59:33like red hair flying, so bewitchingly
2:59:35strange, she seemed like a blood queen
2:59:37stepping out from the depths of a sea of
2:59:39blood. She instinctively swallowed
2:59:41first, especially those eyes, cold
2:59:44without a trace of warmth. Fuan's lips
2:59:46moved, and almost instinctively she
2:59:48hurried to defend herself. I I was just
2:59:51too anxious just now. I didn't didn't
2:59:53really mean to flip the bus. I just just
2:59:56wanted you to wait for me. Halfway
2:59:58through, her voice grew softer and
3:00:00softer. Under Su Muing<unk>s utterly
3:00:02unmoved gaze as if she were looking at a
3:00:04dead thing, Fuan finally fell silent,
3:00:07slowly lowered her head, and did not
3:00:09dare look at her again. Suuming clearly
3:00:12had no interest in wasting words on her.
3:00:14Her hair, like a living thing, writhed
3:00:16out, wrapped around, and lifted Fuan
3:00:19hole, and then steadily stuffed her back
3:00:21through an open window into the bus. The
3:00:23moment she got back into the cabin and
3:00:25escaped Su Mooching's suffocating gaze,
3:00:27the arrogance of a transcendent on Fu
3:00:29once seemed to be reit instantly crawled
3:00:32back onto her face. She shoved her way
3:00:34over to the driver's seat in two or
3:00:36three strides. When she saw clearly that
3:00:38the person holding the steering wheel
3:00:40and driving the bus steadily was
3:00:42actually me, Shiau, the look on her
3:00:44face, that eagerness to lash out, to
3:00:47find someone to vent on, softened just a
3:00:49little. But in the end, she still could
3:00:51not hold it back and demanded coldly.
3:00:53Didn't you hear me calling you to wait
3:00:55for me just now? Why didn't you stop? I
3:00:57did not even raise my eyelids and was
3:00:59even less willing to look at her
3:01:00properly. I only threw back coldly.
3:01:03Don't disturb me. If I flip this bus
3:01:05today, every one of us will die here.
3:01:08That one sentence was like a basin of
3:01:09ice water, forcefully choking back all
3:01:12the string of questions fu one had not
3:01:14yet managed to say, killing them in her
3:01:16throat. She opened her mouth, then
3:01:18looked at the bloodcoled fog, still
3:01:20thick and unmelted ahead of the bus, and
3:01:22in the end did not dare another word.
3:01:24She did not dare pester me with another
3:01:26word. But the breath pinned up in her
3:01:28chest, still had to go somewhere. Fuan
3:01:30suddenly turned around and poured all
3:01:32her belly full of fury onto the original
3:01:34bus driver, who was huddled in a corner
3:01:37and already trembling with fear. "You!"
3:01:39She pointed at the driver<unk>'s nose
3:01:41and began cursing. "You useless thing.
3:01:43You can't even drive properly. If you
3:01:45hadn't panicked, would this have
3:01:47happened? It's all your fault. All of
3:01:49it. A grown man and you can't even drive
3:01:51steadily. What use are you? Someone like
3:01:54you still deserves to stay on this bus.
3:01:56If it weren't for the fact that you can
3:01:57fix that broken car, you wouldn't even
3:01:59be worthy to carry the shoes of the
3:02:01women in this convoy. That driver, an
3:02:04honest, ordinary middle-aged man, did
3:02:06not dare talk back the way I had. He
3:02:08could only bow and scrape, force a
3:02:10smile, and apologize again and again.
3:02:13Yes. Yes, Miss Fu is right. I'm useless.
3:02:17It's all my fault. Please calm down.
3:02:19Calm down. I I'll apologize to you right
3:02:22now. He kept nodding and begging for
3:02:24mercy, and a layer of cold sweat had
3:02:26already seeped out on his forehead. But
3:02:28the rest of the people in the cabin,
3:02:30especially the women, could not help but
3:02:32cast furious looks at Fuan. After all,
3:02:35what she had done just now had nearly
3:02:37cost everyone on the bus their lives.
3:02:39The first time could still be called
3:02:41unintentional, but the second time was
3:02:43clearly deliberate. She had meant to put
3:02:45everyone to death. Fuan naturally
3:02:47noticed those prickly gazes behind her
3:02:49very quickly. She whipped her head
3:02:51around, eyebrows raised sharply, and
3:02:53swept the crowd with a vicious glare.
3:02:55What are you looking at? What do all of
3:02:57you think I'm wrong? Under such a
3:02:59ferocious expression, not a single
3:03:01person in the whole cabin dared come out
3:03:03and contradict her. Even Jang Lelay,
3:03:05another transcendent, merely shrank into
3:03:07a corner and said nothing. He was
3:03:09naturally even less willing to speak at
3:03:11this moment. After all, just before his
3:03:14good intentions had backfired, and that
3:03:16burst of fireballs had nearly ruined Su
3:03:18Muing<unk>s important plan. Right now,
3:03:21he wished everyone would keep their eyes
3:03:22off him. Seeing that she had once again
3:03:24cowed these people, most of the stifled
3:03:26anger Fu one had received from me
3:03:28finally dissipated. She looked around,
3:03:30picked out the most comfortable and
3:03:32spacious seat in the cabin, walked over
3:03:34in two or three steps, ordered the three
3:03:37people sitting there to all get up and
3:03:38roll away, then plopped herself down and
3:03:41leaned back against the seat. That
3:03:42desperate sprint for her life just now
3:03:44had exhausted her badly. Instinctively,
3:03:47she reached into her pocket and took out
3:03:49several fully sealed, brazed chicken
3:03:51legs. She was just about to tear one
3:03:53open when something seemed to occur to
3:03:55her, and her face stiffened. those
3:03:57supplies on the SUV, all the things she
3:03:59had painstakingly collected and saved
3:04:01up. Her gaze could not help but flip
3:04:03toward me driving the bus. And once
3:04:06again, her eyes filled with resentment.
3:04:08Although I did not turn around, the
3:04:09malice in Fuan's eyes, almost
3:04:12overflowing, was seen clearly without
3:04:14missing a trace by the heavenly
3:04:16surveillance mirror in my arms. Yet, not
3:04:18even a ripple rose in my heart. Because
3:04:21for an extremely self-centered person
3:04:22like her, emotions were meaningless.
3:04:25Only true pain could make her regret.
3:04:27The bus raced onward. After several more
3:04:30minutes, it finally burst out of that
3:04:32thick bloodcoled fog with a whoosh. The
3:04:34world outside the windows suddenly
3:04:36brightened. At last, through the front
3:04:38windshield, I saw the rear of Lehuan's
3:04:40SUV in the distance that I followed
3:04:42close behind, roaring the accelerator,
3:04:45and ran wildly for another full half
3:04:47hour before finally stopping the bus in
3:04:49front of a rather hidden riverbend.
3:04:51Before the bus had even steadied, the
3:04:53door of the SUV over there was pushed
3:04:55open violently. Eli Hwon was the first
3:04:57to rush out. Her face was bright red and
3:05:00patches of dense blood red dots had
3:05:02seeped out over her skin. Her eyes were
3:05:04slightly reddened and her breathing was
3:05:07extremely rapid. She looked as if she
3:05:09were in such pain that she might pass
3:05:10out at any moment. She threw herself
3:05:12onto the ground, hands braced against
3:05:14it, gasping horsely. Right after her,
3:05:17her younger brother Liiao also rolled
3:05:19down from the car with difficulty,
3:05:21dragging his still unhealed broken leg.
3:05:23His appearance was exactly the same as
3:05:25Lihu Alance, face flushed red, blood
3:05:28dots seeping all over his body, eyes
3:05:31crimson, clutching his chest and curled
3:05:33up in pain. This scene fell into my eyes
3:05:35and made me narrow them slightly.
3:05:37Without showing anything, I quickly
3:05:39compared it with the states of the
3:05:40people on the bus. The transcendents on
3:05:42the bus, myself, Su Muing, and the blood
3:05:45demon guards under Su Muing, were all
3:05:48completely fine without the slightest
3:05:50abnormality. Those ordinary people who
3:05:52had covered their mouths and noses with
3:05:54water soaked cloth were only mildly
3:05:56affected. Some blood seeping red dots
3:05:58had appeared on their bodies, but they
3:06:00were far from the agony of Lie Huon and
3:06:02her brother. Even Fuan, who from
3:06:04beginning to end had done no protection
3:06:06at all, showed no abnormality
3:06:08whatsoever. She, who should have inhaled
3:06:10the most poison fog, was perfectly fine,
3:06:13forming the most jarring contrast with
3:06:15the agonized Lee Huon before me. These
3:06:18were enough for me to infer one thing.
3:06:20The blood poison fog of that human-faced
3:06:22thousand-handed centipede most likely
3:06:24worked like this. The stronger the body,
3:06:26the higher the resistance. That was why
3:06:28we, who had been baptized by spiritual
3:06:31energy particles and stepped into the
3:06:33ranks of transcendence, did not react
3:06:35much. But the problem was Lie Huon, as a
3:06:38guide sequence user, had long since
3:06:40stepped into the ranks of transcendence
3:06:42as well. She should not have had such a
3:06:44strong reaction either, unless her guide
3:06:46sequence was fake. The faint breath of
3:06:48spiritual energy particles I had once
3:06:50sensed at that girl's chest now
3:06:52reappeared in my memory. Without showing
3:06:54anything, I slowly unfolded the heavenly
3:06:57surveillance mirror within me that a
3:06:58faint layer of light silently lit up on
3:07:01the mirror's surface that I wanted to
3:07:03see. just what shameful secret this
3:07:05woman was still hiding that if her guide
3:07:07power did not come from a sequence. Then
3:07:09to this convoy, she was no longer so
3:07:11important from the heavenly surveillance
3:07:13mirrors perspective. The view silently
3:07:15passed through Liuon's thin outer
3:07:17clothes and landed directly on her body.
3:07:19The next moment I froze completely.
3:07:22There beneath the fair skin right in the
3:07:24middle of her collarbone was embedded in
3:07:26eyitouan's
3:07:36collarbone. Narrow and long in shape
3:07:38from top to bottom like a bottomless
3:07:40crack someone had cut open with a knife.
3:07:42The base color of the eye was a dark
3:07:44almost rust dripping gold like ancient
3:07:47bronze covered in a thousand years of
3:07:49dust or like the last ray of sunset at
3:07:51the end of dusk about to congeal into
3:07:54blood. And the vertical pupil at the
3:07:56very center was pure black. Black
3:07:58without a trace of impurity, black like
3:08:00a deep well that could swallow light
3:08:02that I had no whites, no blood vessels,
3:08:04and none of the moist luster a normal
3:08:06eyeball should have. Te simply watched
3:08:09calmly. An indescribable, sticky, stale
3:08:12aura faintly seeped through even the
3:08:14mirror's surface. The air around seemed
3:08:16to grow heavier by three parts, and even
3:08:18in my heart, a strange, hairraising
3:08:21feeling rose for no reason. It felt as
3:08:23if you were standing before an ancient
3:08:25temple abandoned for many years, seeing
3:08:27a stick of incense still burning in the
3:08:29alchemical furnace. Yet, the thing
3:08:31enshrined on the altar was a face
3:08:33without features. That was not a g o d
3:08:36to a at least not the kind of god humans
3:08:38should worship. And at the very instant
3:08:40my gaze landed on it that I moved at it
3:08:43actually seemed to have noticed
3:08:45something. The pitch black vertical
3:08:46pupil first contracted very slightly
3:08:49almost imperceptibly then slowly slowly
3:08:51turned in a certain direction. The
3:08:53direction it turned was exactly toward
3:08:55me. I felt a boom in my head, as if
3:08:58someone had violently poured a bucket of
3:09:00ice water into it. An indescribable
3:09:02sense of danger, as if cold air were
3:09:04seeping out from the very cracks of my
3:09:06bones, descended over me head on. In
3:09:09that instant, every hair on my body
3:09:11stood on end, and the skin on the back
3:09:13of my neck tightened into a sheet. That
3:09:15feeling was like a fierce beast that had
3:09:17lain dormant for thousands of years,
3:09:19never disturbed by anyone, suddenly
3:09:21opening its eyes at the same moment, and
3:09:23across layers upon layers of void,
3:09:26fixing precisely on me, nowhere to
3:09:28avoid, nowhere to hide. It was as if I
3:09:31had merely chanced to pass by its den,
3:09:33yet it had already firmly memorized my
3:09:35face, a te the same time, a line of
3:09:37light silently appeared on the surface
3:09:39of the heavenly surveillance mirror.
3:09:41Identification was forcibly activated.
3:09:43name I of a tier seventh category
3:09:47sacrificial artifact ability you in
3:09:49percent # at crevice must not whisper
3:09:54return # at my heart sank sharply I did
3:09:57not hesitate for even half a moment
3:09:59almost at the same instant that line of
3:10:01garbled text appeared my mind stirred
3:10:03abruptly and I forcibly cut off the
3:10:05heavenly surveillance mirrors inspection
3:10:07completely the light on the mirror's
3:10:09surface went out with a flicker
3:10:10returning to a deep dead darkness
3:10:13Almost in the very next breath after I
3:10:15cut off the vision over there, Li Huon,
3:10:18who was still gasping horsely by the
3:10:20river bend, suddenly seemed to have been
3:10:21pricricked by something. She jerked her
3:10:23head up. Although the redness on her
3:10:25face had not yet fully faded from the
3:10:27poison, a trace of extremely subtle,
3:10:30uncertain alarm flashed through her
3:10:31eyes. Her gaze began to roam uneasily
3:10:34around her. First, it swept over her
3:10:36brotherly jiao, curled up beside her,
3:10:38and groaning in pain. Then it swept over
3:10:41the SUV parked by the river bend, over
3:10:43the dents in its body. Then it slowly
3:10:45passed over the exhausted, almost numb
3:10:48faces on the riverbank. She looked
3:10:50slowly and carefully as if searching for
3:10:52a needle in the cracks of the crowd.
3:10:54That gaze passed over Sumooching, over
3:10:56the several blood demon guards wreaking
3:10:58of blood, and finally rested on me for
3:11:00an extremely brief moment. But I acted
3:11:02as if nothing had happened. I half
3:11:04lowered my eyes, looking weary like
3:11:07everyone else who had escaped a whole
3:11:08night of killing and fleeing. I leaned
3:11:11against the bus, unhurriedly unscrewed a
3:11:13bottle of water, and took small sips. My
3:11:16gaze rested on a smooth stone by my feet
3:11:18that had been worn round by the river,
3:11:20calm and ordinary. Without the slightest
3:11:22abnormality, Eli Hulan's gaze paused on
3:11:25me for a beat, then moved away as if
3:11:27nothing had happened. She searched the
3:11:29crowd back and forth twice more, her
3:11:31brows drawing tighter and tighter. That
3:11:33expression clearly said she had sensed
3:11:35something yet could never grasp it.
3:11:37Could not find where that needle was
3:11:39hidden. In the end, she shook her head
3:11:41slightly, the doubt in her eyes slowly
3:11:44dispersing, replaced once again by that
3:11:46tired, weak look. She lowered her head
3:11:48and continued gasping for breath. One
3:11:51breath after another as if that moment
3:11:53just now had merely been her imagination
3:11:55running wild after being poisoned. But I
3:11:57knew she had not imagined it. I kept the
3:12:00posture of drinking with my head
3:12:01lowered, but my gaze had already shifted
3:12:03elsewhere to the withered forest
3:12:05shrouded in morning mist on the opposite
3:12:07side of the riverbend. And in my heart,
3:12:09I was rapidly churning over that
3:12:11fleeting glimpse. I had never expected
3:12:13it. There was actually such a thing
3:12:15embedded in Liu Alon's body, and it was
3:12:17actually a seventh tier object. The
3:12:19heavenly surveillance mirror itself was
3:12:20only sixth tier. Using a sixth tier
3:12:23mirror to peer at a seventh tier object,
3:12:25being able to barely display its name
3:12:27and category already counted as the
3:12:29mirror having rather strong ability as
3:12:32for the ability column. It had directly
3:12:34become that long string of
3:12:35incomprehensible garbled text and the
3:12:37two words sacrificial artifact. I had
3:12:40flipped through the notebook Su Muing
3:12:42gave me from beginning to end and had
3:12:43never seen them that it seemed this must
3:12:45be an extremely rare category. Just the
3:12:48name plus the feeling that I had left on
3:12:50me when it landed on me. I vaguely felt
3:12:52that this thing was probably inseparable
3:12:54from something like evil gods sacrifice
3:12:57and anything that had dealings with such
3:12:59things always represented extreme
3:13:01danger. You saw it too. Just as my mind
3:13:04was sinking, a clear voice sounded
3:13:05beside me that I turned my head. At some
3:13:08point, Sumuin had already walked to my
3:13:10side. She had already changed back to
3:13:12her original appearance. The terrifying
3:13:14bloodcolored battle armor had faded, and
3:13:16she had changed into a clean, plain
3:13:18colored robe. That long hair, which had
3:13:21dragged on the ground like snakes, had
3:13:23also been retied to an ordinary length
3:13:25and hung neatly behind her shoulders.
3:13:27Under the morning light, her expression
3:13:29was faint, and she had once again become
3:13:31that cold, clear, forceful Captain Sue.
3:13:34She followed the direction my gaze had
3:13:36just taken, and also looked over at Lie
3:13:38Huon and her brother, who seemed to have
3:13:40somewhat recovered. You've seen how
3:13:41important Hu Alon sequence is to us. If
3:13:44she hadn't discovered those several
3:13:45anomalies approaching ahead of time, I'm
3:13:48afraid none of us would have escaped.
3:13:50She paused, her tone calm, but carrying
3:13:52an unquestionable meaning. No matter
3:13:54what grudges you had before, I hope none
3:13:57of you will dwell on them anymore. Lie
3:13:59Xiao did wrong, and he has already
3:14:01received sufficient punishment. In this
3:14:03world, clinging to these hatreds is
3:14:05meaningless. Surviving is what matters
3:14:07most. I listened without changing
3:14:09expression. After a moment, I nodded and
3:14:12said lightly, "Don't worry, Captain. I'm
3:14:15not so lacking in the big picture. As
3:14:17long as those two siblings don't come
3:14:18looking for trouble with me, I won't go
3:14:20looking for trouble with them." Suuming
3:14:22glanced at me, seemingly quite satisfied
3:14:24with this magnanmity of mine. But in the
3:14:27end, I did not speak of what I had just
3:14:29seen. Although Sumu Muing had always
3:14:31behaved quite upright, fair, calm, never
3:14:34doing anything like seizing by force, I
3:14:37still did not want to expose too much of
3:14:39the heavenly surveillance mirrors
3:14:40abilities right now. After all, what
3:14:42withstands testing least in this world
3:14:44is the human heart. Some people seem to
3:14:46have principles, but that does not
3:14:48necessarily mean they are truly
3:14:49honorable. Most likely, it was only that
3:14:52the price of what they had encountered
3:14:53was not yet enough to make them toss
3:14:55those principles onto the ground without
3:14:56hesitation. When something truly worth
3:14:59it appeared before them, they might not
3:15:01be any more merciful than any red-eyed
3:15:03person in this world. So it was better
3:15:05to be cautious as for Lihuan in my
3:15:07heart. I silently placed her in the
3:15:09observe for now category that I in my
3:15:11view. That woman most likely had not yet
3:15:14fully mastered the power of that eye.
3:15:16Otherwise earlier she would not have
3:15:18been forced to offer a dire beast egg as
3:15:20apology. An object so vicious could
3:15:23never possibly lack offensive power
3:15:25since she had not yet completely
3:15:26controlled it. That also meant that I,
3:15:29Shiau, might not be without a chance to
3:15:31take that seventh tier object from her
3:15:33hands. The eye looked sinister, but its
3:15:35ability to sense danger was very useful.
3:15:38Moreover, I always felt it could not
3:15:40possibly have only that one skill. After
3:15:42all, it was a seventh tier object and
3:15:44should be more powerful than the sixth
3:15:45tier heavenly surveillance mirror with
3:15:47more abilities. These thoughts churned
3:15:49through my mind in a mere instant.
3:15:51Sumuing naturally did not know I had
3:15:53already thought so much. She seemed
3:15:55pleased by my attitude and her tone
3:15:57softened a little. You worked hard just
3:15:59now. Dawn is about to break. Those
3:16:02anomalies should not appear again after
3:16:04daybreak. This place is temporarily
3:16:06safe. Follow Shia Xiao and first put all
3:16:09the supplies loaded on the bus into your
3:16:11spatial artifact. That way, the bus can
3:16:13carry a few more people. I gave a slight
3:16:15nod. Turning, I followed a woman who had
3:16:18been standing quietly behind Su Mooching
3:16:20toward the cargo hold at the rear of the
3:16:22bus. That woman's name was Sia Xiao. She
3:16:25was rather cold in appearance, her face
3:16:27devoid of any extra expression, her hair
3:16:29tied in a neat, efficient single
3:16:31ponytail that hung sharply behind her
3:16:33head. Her sleeves were rolled up and on
3:16:35her exposed wrists, faint patterns like
3:16:38vines, the marks of the blood demon
3:16:40guards could be seen. It was said that
3:16:42before the apocalypse descended, she had
3:16:44always stayed by Sue Muing's side as an
3:16:46assistant. After the apocalypse, she
3:16:49naturally became the convoys chief
3:16:50steward. How supplies were distributed,
3:16:53how personnel were allocated, every
3:16:55single matter basically passed through
3:16:57her hands. She walked to the rear of the
3:16:59bus and reached out to open the cargo
3:17:00hold door, which had been somewhat
3:17:02deformed by the SUV's collision creek.
3:17:05The door opened. The cargo hold was
3:17:07packed full. By the morning light, I
3:17:09could see clearly. Most of the things
3:17:10inside were packaged foods that could be
3:17:12eaten straight after opening. Compressed
3:17:14biscuits, canned goods, vacuum-sealed
3:17:17braced food, chocolate, energy bars. As
3:17:19for rice, flour, oil, grain, fresh
3:17:22vegetables, and fruit, there were none
3:17:24at all. That was no surprise that
3:17:26Sumuing was naturally a practical
3:17:28person. Earlier when scavenging in those
3:17:30towns, it was not that they had never
3:17:32found such fresh food. it was just that
3:17:35every time she was willing to take only
3:17:37a very small amount. After all, in the
3:17:39current circumstances, being able to
3:17:41light a fire and cook was a luxury
3:17:43bordering on absurdity. So, when
3:17:45collecting supplies, she prioritized
3:17:47this kind of packaged food and took only
3:17:49a very small amount of rice, flour, oil,
3:17:52and grain to improve the flavor.
3:17:54"Besides, what's in this cargo hold?"
3:17:56Xiao said without turning her head as
3:17:58she took inventory. Her voice is cold
3:18:00and neat as her person. There's still
3:18:02some piled inside the cabin. The captain
3:18:05has ordered that 5% of it can be counted
3:18:07as Mr. Xiao's storage fee, so I need to
3:18:10first calculate exactly how much of this
3:18:12stuff there is. I hope Mr. Shiao won't
3:18:14mind. Of course, I did not hesitate at
3:18:17all and nodded. That's my duty. I had
3:18:19never expected to take advantage of that
3:18:21chair. Xiao then called over several
3:18:23blood demon guards and had them carry
3:18:25out the supplies piled inside the cabin
3:18:27as well, stacking them together with
3:18:29those from the cargo hold and arranging
3:18:31them neatly by category, one kind after
3:18:33another. She supervised in person,
3:18:35counting item by item. After finishing
3:18:37one kind, she signaled me to put that
3:18:40kind into the heavenly surveillance
3:18:41mirror point one bag, two bags, one box,
3:18:45two boxes. As the things disappeared
3:18:47into the mirror one by one, the true
3:18:49foundation of this convoy also became
3:18:51clearer and clearer before my eyes. All
3:18:53kinds of food added up to roughly over
3:18:55at N.I. in addition. There were tents,
3:18:58bedding, and cold weather clothing. If
3:19:00these were only supplied to the few
3:19:02dozen people on the bus and used
3:19:04sparingly, they could probably last
3:19:05about a month. But if they were taken
3:19:07out to share with other survivors, I was
3:19:09afraid they would not last even a few
3:19:11days. Just as that thought passed
3:19:13through my mind, behind the convoy,
3:19:15scattered figures of survivors who had
3:19:17been separated in the bloodcoled fog
3:19:18began to appear one after another. They
3:19:20had probably followed the two deep tire
3:19:22tracks of the bus all the way here.
3:19:25Every one of them still bore traces of
3:19:26the blood poisoned fog's erosion. Red
3:19:29faces, red arms, stinging red dots
3:19:31seeping blood printed on their skin. But
3:19:34when they saw that familiar bus from
3:19:35afar, the nerves each of them had kept
3:19:37taut all night seemed finally able to
3:19:39relax. Someone had just gotten off a
3:19:42motorcycle when his legs went weak. And
3:19:44with a clang, he collapsed on the ground
3:19:46together with the bike. Someone rolled
3:19:47down from a tricycle and lay face up on
3:19:50the cold riverbank without moving, chest
3:19:52heaving violently, unable to recover for
3:19:55a long time. This scene continued. It
3:19:57lasted front to back for almost an hour.
3:20:00Only when the sky was completely bright
3:20:02did it end. After putting the last batch
3:20:04of supplies into the heavenly
3:20:06surveillance mirror as well, I raised my
3:20:08eyes and slowly swept my gaze over the
3:20:10survivors sprawled on the riverbank. As
3:20:12I looked, my heart sank. The group that
3:20:14had set out earlier had numbered over
3:20:16200. But now, at most, only a little
3:20:19over a hundred had gathered here. I in
3:20:21just one night, they had lost nearly
3:20:23half. This was the cruelty of this
3:20:25apocalypse. A single surprise attack by
3:20:27monsters could make this group lose half
3:20:29its people just like that. and everyone
3:20:31did not even have the time to grieve, to
3:20:33cry bitterly, because those who had
3:20:35failed to return, those acquaintances
3:20:37they had once lived alongside day and
3:20:39night, had simply never come back. After
3:20:41dawn, the living still had to keep
3:20:43moving. I withdrew my gaze, thinking
3:20:46that most of those who had not caught up
3:20:47probably never would. Just then, from
3:20:50the corner of my eye, I suddenly caught
3:20:52the shadow of a vehicle. It was Jeang
3:20:54Mangs broken truck. It appeared in
3:20:56everyone's field of vision, crooked and
3:20:58tottering as if it might fall apart at
3:21:01any moment. Scree. The truck stopped in
3:21:03front of the riverbank and the driver's
3:21:05cabin door was pushed open violently.
3:21:07Jeang Mang jumped down from inside. His
3:21:09legs went weak and he fell flat onto the
3:21:12ground, chest rising and falling,
3:21:14gasping desperately. That look of having
3:21:16survived a disaster was no different
3:21:18from the other survivors just now. But
3:21:20my gaze cooled slightly because behind
3:21:22Jang Mang in the truck's cargo bed not a
3:21:25second person came out that I remembered
3:21:26very clearly ti the very beginning Jang
3:21:29Mang had said that he too had escaped
3:21:31from another convoy. According to his
3:21:33own account they had likewise
3:21:34encountered a monster attack and in the
3:21:36end out of the whole convoy only he had
3:21:39desperately driven this truck and
3:21:40escaped at it that time. I only thought
3:21:43he was lucky but now a similar scene had
3:21:45once again appeared before my eyes
3:21:47without the slightest difference. Once
3:21:50perhaps it was luck, but twice. Then it
3:21:53probably could no longer be explained by
3:21:54the word luck. Without showing anything,
3:21:57I unfolded the heavenly surveillance
3:21:59mirror again. On the mirror's surface,
3:22:01Jeang Mang lying on the ground and
3:22:03desperately gasping for breath was
3:22:05reflected clearly. I in the pocket of
3:22:07Jeang Mangs outer jacket were some
3:22:09emergency food and a phone that might or
3:22:11might not still turn on. Obviously,
3:22:14neither was what I was looking for. With
3:22:15a slight movement of my mind, I sank my
3:22:18vision lower. Through that layer of
3:22:20filthy cloth, a thin jade ring came into
3:22:22my sight. The jade ring was the size of
3:22:25a thumb, covered entirely in a dark blue
3:22:27black patina, like an antique that had
3:22:29soaked for years in damp tomb soil and
3:22:32been nourished by human blood for
3:22:33hundreds or thousands of years, giving
3:22:36off an indescribable stale, decaying
3:22:38air. The ring was covered with countless
3:22:40dark vein-like patterns as fine as ant
3:22:43legs, ceaselessly flowing. The lines
3:22:45alternated deep and shallow, winding
3:22:47back on themselves. At first glance, it
3:22:50looked like an ordinary ancient jade
3:22:52ornament, but after staring at it for a
3:22:54while, it gave rise to an illusion.
3:22:56Those patterns seemed as if they might
3:22:58squirm and rearrange themselves at any
3:23:00moment, as if something had been tightly
3:23:02sealed inside this tiny jade ring and
3:23:05was gently tapping, tap by tap, against
3:23:07the inner wall. It was tied around his
3:23:09neck with a coarse blackened rope and
3:23:11rested against Jeang Mangs chest. It
3:23:13looked like some kind of ancient jade
3:23:15pendant my gaze was fixed firmly on it.
3:23:17The next instant that familiar appraisal
3:23:20light silently surfaced name gloom veil
3:23:22ring tier tier three category artifact
3:23:25abilities shadow veil nether barrier
3:23:28soul shattering thread when I saw the
3:23:30word artifact. I couldn't help but
3:23:32freeze for a moment that I had
3:23:33originally thought this thing should be
3:23:35a curio. I hadn't expected it to be an
3:23:37artifact. The biggest difference between
3:23:40artifacts and curios was this. artifacts
3:23:42required mana to activate. Without mana,
3:23:45no matter how good an artifact was, it
3:23:47was still a dead object, a useless piece
3:23:50of scrap iron, a useless piece of jade.
3:23:52And Jang Mang was clearly not some kind
3:23:54of professional, much less someone with
3:23:56mana. Then, since he could activate this
3:23:59artifact, it could only mean that this
3:24:01gloom veil ring was a demonic path
3:24:03artifact. According to the notes in Su
3:24:05Muing's notebook, demonic path
3:24:07artifacts, apart from being powered by
3:24:09one's own mana, had another way to be
3:24:11activated. Sacrifice. Sacrifice living
3:24:14souls, sacrifice corpses. Only this kind
3:24:17of sacrifice powered artifact never
3:24:19retain the power of sacrifice for long.
3:24:21It was practically plug-andplay. Under
3:24:23normal circumstances, it had to be used
3:24:26within an extremely short time or else
3:24:28the little power accumulated through
3:24:30sacrifice would dissipate on its ow and
3:24:32it t that thought. A chill rose in my
3:24:34heart. And no wonder, no wonder Jeang
3:24:37Mang had been so kind as to let those
3:24:39survivors with nowhere else to go climb
3:24:41into his broken truck one by one. Dot.
3:24:43On the surface, he took their supplies.
3:24:45But in reality, when a truly life or
3:24:47death moment came, these people became
3:24:49the sacrifices he used to activate his
3:24:51artifact and fight for a way out for
3:24:53himself. But even though I had already
3:24:55seen through this, for the moment, I
3:24:57could do nothing. Su muing did not
3:24:59permit superhumans to kill at will and I
3:25:01absolutely could not expose the
3:25:03existence of the mirror of heavenly
3:25:05surveillance. This feeling of being
3:25:06bound hand and foot of clearly seeing
3:25:09through something but being unable to
3:25:11act. I hated it. Just then a squad of
3:25:13blood fiend guards came over shouting
3:25:15loudly and ordering the survivors
3:25:17slumped on the riverbank to get up. They
3:25:19were going to cross the river and search
3:25:21the town on the other side for supplies.
3:25:23One of the Blood Fiend guards came
3:25:24straight to me and said respectfully
3:25:26that Captain Sue was asking me to come
3:25:28over. She had something to discuss that
3:25:30I gave a slight nod, rose and walked
3:25:32toward an open space in front of the
3:25:34bus. The map was spread out on the
3:25:36ground. Apart from me, the other
3:25:38superhumans had already gathered there.
3:25:40When I came over, Liuan directly turned
3:25:42her head away as if unwilling to meet my
3:25:45eyes. Jang Lelay and Haninan, however,
3:25:48nodded at me in greeting, seeing that I
3:25:50had arrived and everyone was present. Su
3:25:52Muing did not beat around the bush and
3:25:54said directly. While has already sensed
3:25:56the town across the river, there should
3:25:58be no danger. At most, there are a few
3:26:01tier 1 and tier 2 dire beasts hiding
3:26:03inside. I'm preparing to go take a look.
3:26:05We were in too much of a hurry this
3:26:07time, and the convoy lost quite a few
3:26:09supplies. We need to replenish some.
3:26:11Besides, it will most likely rain
3:26:13tonight. We can go into the town to
3:26:15shelter from the rain and set out again
3:26:16tomorrow so everyone can get a good
3:26:18night's rest. I looked up at the town
3:26:20across the river, which seemed
3:26:22especially silent in the morning light.
3:26:24The morning mist had not yet dispersed,
3:26:26hanging gray over rows of broken eaves.
3:26:29The whole town was so quiet it was as if
3:26:31every breath of life had been wiped from
3:26:33it. I gave a slight nod. I have no
3:26:35objections. Su Muing said. Then we set
3:26:38out. The rules are the same as always.
3:26:41What superhumans find belongs to them.
3:26:43What ordinary survivors find, half must
3:26:45be handed over. After monsters are dealt
3:26:48with, the loot from the monsters is
3:26:49distributed according to each person's
3:26:51contribution. When she said this, she
3:26:54deliberately slowed her speech,
3:26:55enunciating each word clearly. This was
3:26:58obviously meant for Jeang Le, who had
3:27:00just become a superhuman and had not yet
3:27:02fully understood the convoys rules.
3:27:04After hearing it, Jang Lelay had no
3:27:06objection and nodded in agreement. Once
3:27:08he confirmed, the convoy started moving
3:27:10again. We followed the road a few
3:27:12hundred meters farther, and a large
3:27:14bridge stretched before us. that on the
3:27:15bridge. Many car wrecks were scattered
3:27:17along with deep and shallow collision
3:27:19marks. No doubt left by the people who
3:27:22had fled the town in panic. The bus
3:27:23barely threaded its way among the
3:27:25wreckage. When it truly couldn't pass,
3:27:27Fuan had to transform into the mud giant
3:27:30and forcibly push the abandoned cars
3:27:32blocking the middle of the road aside.
3:27:34After struggling for about 10 minutes,
3:27:35the bus finally crossed the 2 km long
3:27:38bridge and drove into the town. Although
3:27:40the town was now ruined beyond
3:27:42recognition, I could still faintly make
3:27:44out its former prosperity that it was a
3:27:46town built around a port, built by the
3:27:48water, with broad streets and densely
3:27:50packed shops on both sides, restaurants,
3:27:53supermarkets, general stores, seafood
3:27:55stalls, and several ins with faded
3:27:57signboards. I could tell this was a
3:27:59small town in the south. It must once
3:28:01have been bustling, full of people
3:28:03coming and going, thick with the smoke
3:28:05and fire of daily life. But now, only
3:28:07mess remained. The apocalypse had
3:28:10already been here for three whole
3:28:11months. On the streets, cars were
3:28:13everywhere, knocked ascue or even
3:28:16flipped over. Some had crashed into
3:28:17storefronts. Some lay across the middle
3:28:19of the road. Some were half sunk in
3:28:21roadside ditches. On the ground were all
3:28:23kinds of things. Overturned suitcases,
3:28:26torn clothes, shattered bottles and
3:28:28jars, and several pieces of children's
3:28:30clothing trampled beyond recognition.
3:28:32When the wind blew, scraps of paper and
3:28:34plastic bags swirled and drifted along
3:28:37the ground. Even more jarring were the
3:28:39corpses by the roadside point one here,
3:28:41one there, lying at street corners
3:28:43beside overturned cars before a
3:28:45half-open rolling shutter door. Each one
3:28:48was horrifyingly incomplete. Some were
3:28:50missing arms. Some had only half a body
3:28:52left at top stark white bones, and
3:28:54others bored deep, even bite marks as if
3:28:57something had crouched over them and
3:28:59unhurriedly eaten them bit by bit. Flies
3:29:01buzzed around some corpses still covered
3:29:03with gray cloth. The pungent stench
3:29:06mixed with rot and a bloody sweetness
3:29:08drifted into the bus in waves with the
3:29:10wind, stinging our eyes so much we could
3:29:12barely open them. Da. That was the most
3:29:14real, most desolate, and crulest face of
3:29:17this apocalypse. The convoy advanced
3:29:19slowly through the dead town. But not
3:29:21long after we entered the town, the
3:29:23ground suddenly began to tremble. Thump,
3:29:25thump, thump. At first, it was only an
3:29:28extremely faint, barely perceptible
3:29:30tremor. Then the tremor grew clearer and
3:29:32denser, as if a whole herd of enormous
3:29:35things were stepping on the street from
3:29:36all directions, pressing toward us.
3:29:39Roar! A low, beast-like roar exploded
3:29:42from a street corner. The next instant,
3:29:44dozens of wild dogs rushed out at the
3:29:46same time from every street mouth, every
3:29:48alley, and every collapsed shop. Those
3:29:51wild dogs were terrifyingly large. Each
3:29:53was as big as an adult elephant with
3:29:55thick limbs, filthy matted fur, mouths
3:29:58bared to reveal savage fangs, and pairs
3:30:00of beast eyes glowing with an unnatural
3:30:03cold green light. And at the very front,
3:30:05a huge dog covered in fiery or edit was
3:30:09a full-size larger than the rest. Its
3:30:11whole body was red as fire, as if it had
3:30:14rolled out of a furnace. Its fur in the
3:30:16morning light gave off a startling
3:30:18burning sheen. Strangest of all, a
3:30:21single horn grew from the top of its
3:30:23head, slanting straight upward, its tip
3:30:25faintly showing a thread of ghostly
3:30:27light. It led the charge, roaring
3:30:30straight at the bus, and the survivors
3:30:31frozen in shock. Ah, dogs. Such huge
3:30:35dogs. Rot at the sight of the pack of
3:30:37monsters charging at them. The survivors
3:30:39turned pale with fright. Some went weak
3:30:41in the legs and collapsed to the ground,
3:30:44scrambling backward. Sumuining had
3:30:46clearly not expected so many dire beasts
3:30:48to be hiding in this town. Her gaze
3:30:50narrowed slightly. She quickly sensed
3:30:52the aura of those dire beasts, then said
3:30:54in a heavy voice, "Don't panic. These
3:30:57dire beasts only look numerous. The one
3:30:59at the front is tier 2. The rest are all
3:31:02tier one." She raised her hand and
3:31:04pointed at the huge fiery red one-horned
3:31:06dog. "Leave the tier 2 one to me. The
3:31:09rest of you, join forces and deal with
3:31:11the others. There's no need to clash
3:31:13head-on with them. Just keep moving and
3:31:15stall them for a while. Once I finish
3:31:17that one, I'll come help you. At this
3:31:19point, it was obviously too late to
3:31:21reverse the bus. The superhumans could
3:31:23only prepare to meet the fight that Fuan
3:31:25gritted her teeth. Her body swelled, and
3:31:27she once again became the 5 m tall mud
3:31:30giant. Han and drew her blade
3:31:32backhanded. A thick black shadow
3:31:34silently covered the edge. Jean Lelay
3:31:36let out a low shout and completed his
3:31:38transformation. His witch outfit, paired
3:31:40with his tense expression, was rather
3:31:42eerie, and I likewise sent out my Little
3:31:45Gold. After all, Little Gold was also a
3:31:48tier one dire beast. Though it had
3:31:50hatched not long ago, it was naturally
3:31:52good at defense. It should be no problem
3:31:54using it against these tier one dire
3:31:56beasts. Besides, the simplest and most
3:31:59direct way for a dire beast to
3:32:00accelerate its growth was battle and
3:32:02devouring enemy flesh and blood. Little
3:32:05Gold was indeed quite cute, but I had
3:32:07never intended to let it be just a pet
3:32:09that wagged its tail and acted cute.
3:32:11What I wanted was a beast companion that
3:32:13could stand by my side, take blades for
3:32:15me, and protect me to so of course I
3:32:17would not let it miss such a suitable
3:32:19training opportunity. The battle began
3:32:21in an instant. The first to charge up
3:32:23was that huge fiery red onehorn D Oit
3:32:26led the way, charging straight at the
3:32:28bus. Sumuining went to meet it. Her
3:32:30figure suddenly accelerated in madair.
3:32:33Each step landed on blood red threads as
3:32:36if she were walking an invisible steel
3:32:38wire. In a few moves, she reached the
3:32:40onehorned dog and a blood red long sword
3:32:42condensed in her hand out of nothing.
3:32:44She brought it down in a slash. The
3:32:46one-horned dog was clearly no pushover
3:32:48either. A burst of blinding red light
3:32:50exploded from its horn as it charged to
3:32:52meet the sword. Human and beast
3:32:54immediately tangled together, blood
3:32:56light and red light interweaving,
3:32:58smashing gravel flying from the street.
3:33:00Meanwhile, the remaining dozens of huge
3:33:03wild dogs, eyes already red, scattered
3:33:05with a rush and lunged toward the
3:33:07unarmed survivors. Don't let them get
3:33:09near the crowd. Honan shouted coldly.
3:33:12Her figure flickered and she actually
3:33:14vanished along the shadows on the wall.
3:33:16When she reappeared, she silently
3:33:18emerged from the shadow behind one of
3:33:20the wild dogs. The blade covered in dark
3:33:22shadow soundlessly sliced across the
3:33:24wild dog's neck. PF. A deep bloody wound
3:33:28split open. The wild dog let out a
3:33:30miserable cry and staggered to the
3:33:32ground. But more wild dogs surged up
3:33:34right after Defuan's 5- tall mud giant
3:33:37stepped forward and planted itself
3:33:39heavily in front of the survivors. Her
3:33:41feet sank and the ground beneath quickly
3:33:43softened into a sticky swamp of mud. The
3:33:46fastest wild dogs plunged into the mud,
3:33:48their limbs slipping, their speed
3:33:50dropping sharply. She swung her two
3:33:52giant mud arms and slapped one flying
3:33:55with a smack, smashing half a wall down.
3:33:58Jeang Lelay kept flinging both hands.
3:34:00Pitch black fireballs whistled into the
3:34:02pack of dogs. Boom! Boom! Boom! The
3:34:05black fire exploded and burned. The wild
3:34:07dogs howled and fled, but could not
3:34:09shake off the layer of black flame,
3:34:11burning ever fiercer on their bodies.
3:34:13They could only drag the fire around,
3:34:15crashing wildly through the streets. But
3:34:17after a few rounds, Jeang Lays face
3:34:20gradually pald, and sweat seeped from
3:34:22his forehead. After all, he had only
3:34:24recently mastered the witch's power. His
3:34:26mana was insufficient, and soon he did
3:34:28not dare release more, and Little Gold
3:34:30became the biggest headache for the
3:34:32pack. Relying on its hard turtle shell,
3:34:34it stubbornly pushed right into the
3:34:36middle of the pack. When a wild dog
3:34:38lunged to bite, it pulled its head and
3:34:40limbs in with a clang and retracted into
3:34:42its shell. No matter how the dog teeth
3:34:44chewed and scraped at the shell, they
3:34:46could not leave a single white mark.
3:34:48When the wild dog had bitten itself out
3:34:50of strength and relaxed slightly, it
3:34:52suddenly thrust out its head and bit the
3:34:54others hind leg. crack. Its teeth were
3:34:56sharp and keen, and its bite force
3:34:59astonishing. One bite could bite a dog's
3:35:01leg clean off. For a time, little gold
3:35:03threw the pack into chaos. The Bloodfi
3:35:06guards also charged in. They were all
3:35:08immensely strong, mostly wielding
3:35:10long-handled broadswords and spears that
3:35:12flashed coldly when swung. A few had
3:35:14guns at their waists, but ammunition was
3:35:16limited and precious. No one dared pull
3:35:19the trigger lightly unless absolutely
3:35:21necessary. Nearly 20 bloodfeed guards
3:35:23formed a formation and together with
3:35:25Hanin, Fuan, Jang Lelay, and Little
3:35:28Gold, forcibly withstood the charge of
3:35:30the dozens of wild dogs, holding them
3:35:32firmly in front of the survivors. The
3:35:34scene looked lively, but was in truth
3:35:36dangerous. For the first moments,
3:35:38everyone could only barely hold back the
3:35:40madly lunging pack. Many dogs were
3:35:42bitten to death or cut down, but
3:35:44everyone was wounded, too. The stalemate
3:35:47continued until not far away, a scream
3:35:49of extreme shrillness suddenly came, cut
3:35:52off abruptly. Everyone's heart jolted.
3:35:54They looked toward the sound. The huge
3:35:56fiery red one-horned dog had collapsed
3:35:58in a pool of blood. Deep wounds to the
3:36:00bone were still gushing blood, but the
3:36:02blood did not fall at all. It gathered
3:36:04upward, drop by drop, and stream by
3:36:07stream, flowing into Su Muin<unk>s palm.
3:36:09She held the blood red long sword,
3:36:11looking down from above, her expression
3:36:14indifferent. The next instant, the last
3:36:16trace of blood in the onehorned dog was
3:36:18drained completely, leaving only a
3:36:20shriveled husk. But the glow of the
3:36:22blood armor on Sue mooching visibly
3:36:24intensified. The blood red at the
3:36:25corners of her eyes grew more vivid, and
3:36:28her whole face gave off an indescribable
3:36:30air of satiation and danger. After
3:36:32draining the one-horned dog's blood, her
3:36:35speed suddenly soared of blood red
3:36:37shadows swept across the battlefield.
3:36:39Wherever she passed, blood red sword chi
3:36:41wo like cloth, and the huge wild dogs
3:36:44that had just been howling and leaping
3:36:46fell in swaths. Everyone who had barely
3:36:48been holding the pack back felt the
3:36:49pressure lift from their shoulders. With
3:36:51Suum Muing, that goddess of slaughter,
3:36:53joining in, the remaining wild dogs were
3:36:56quickly cut down. In but a moment, the
3:36:58whole street was left with only dozens
3:37:00of enormous dog corpses lying every
3:37:02which way in pools of blood. The battle
3:37:04ended just like that. as soon as the
3:37:06fighting stopped, Sumuing ordered that I
3:37:08collect all the dire beast corpses first
3:37:11at for how to divide them. We would
3:37:13discuss it after settling down. I was
3:37:15happy to do so with a thought. The dog
3:37:17corpses along with the still warm
3:37:19crystal cores inside them were all drawn
3:37:22into the mirror of heavenly
3:37:23surveillance. Once everything was packed
3:37:25up, the convoy continued on. Sumuing had
3:37:28everyone scout around first. Only after
3:37:30confirming there was no immediate danger
3:37:32left in the town did she let the
3:37:34survivors scatter to search for
3:37:35supplies. The survivors, as if granted a
3:37:38great pardon, scattered at once and
3:37:40ducked into the shops and houses still
3:37:42intact. And I followed the group, moving
3:37:44slowly forward while quietly studying
3:37:46this dead town. Just then, a survivor
3:37:49who had run not far off suddenly came
3:37:51scrambling back. His face was full of
3:37:53unconcealable panic and wild joy.
3:37:55Panting, he shouted to Sumuing, "See,
3:37:58Captain, over there. Over there are
3:38:00those dogs nests and inside there are
3:38:02several [ __ ] and a dozen or so pups.
3:38:05We we found a wheel in those dogs nests.
3:38:08He swallowed and his voice was
3:38:10trembling. It's a tier three wheel. When
3:38:13I followed Sue mooching to that dog
3:38:15nest, several dire beast [ __ ] as big
3:38:17as elephants had already fled the nest
3:38:19in panic with a dozen or so cal-sized
3:38:21pups. Clearly, the appearance of those
3:38:23survivors had startled them. But how
3:38:25could these mothers with their young
3:38:26withstand the combined slaughter of
3:38:28several superhumans? Just now dozens of
3:38:30adult dire beasts hadn't been enough to
3:38:33matter. Now these few mothers with a
3:38:35pack of pups that hadn't even grown
3:38:36fangs had no room to struggle at all.
3:38:39The fight ended quickly. The few mother
3:38:41beasts soon all lay in pools of blood
3:38:43that a few especially fierce pups that
3:38:45lunged and bit desperately were also cut
3:38:48down in the chaos. I in the end only
3:38:50seven were left alive. These seven pups
3:38:53were all wounded, covered in blood, and
3:38:55tightly bound to the ground by strand
3:38:57after strand of Su Muing<unk>s blood red
3:38:59threads. But they were not the least bit
3:39:01subdued. Even bound, they struggled and
3:39:04rolled with all their might. Low, fierce
3:39:06growls rising in their throats, bearing
3:39:08their teeth again and again, and
3:39:10snarling desperately at anyone who came
3:39:12near. In those pairs of beast eyes, not
3:39:14yet fully open, was thick, unmelting
3:39:17wildness and ferocity. How did they look
3:39:19like captured prisoners? They were
3:39:20clearly a pack of starving wolves ready
3:39:22to pounce at any moment and devour a
3:39:25person alive. Even if you came half a
3:39:27step closer, it would open its
3:39:29incomplete teeth and bite viciously at
3:39:31you to mooching stood to one side,
3:39:33looked at the dire beast pups, and
3:39:35suddenly turned to ask me, "Do you want
3:39:37to pick a few as your beast companions?"
3:39:39I did not decline. I stepped forward and
3:39:41reached out, gently stroking the tail of
3:39:44the first pup, the one that looked
3:39:45strongest and fiercest. My appraisal
3:39:48sequence ability for beasts triggered
3:39:50automatically. Tier 2 dire beast flame
3:39:52hound pup as an adult. 5 m long 2 m tall
3:39:56bronze skin and iron bones can breathe
3:39:59fire dot. I then touched the others one
3:40:01by one. The prompt information was much
3:40:03the same. All tier 2, but I had already
3:40:05lost most of my interest. My beast tamer
3:40:08sequence could only support a limited
3:40:10number of beasts. The slots were
3:40:12precious and naturally had to be saved
3:40:14for things more worthy. These dire
3:40:16beasts whose aptitude and potential
3:40:18capped at tier 2 really did not appeal
3:40:20to me at that moment. But on second
3:40:22thought, what I lacked most now was
3:40:24combat power, and I needed to build it
3:40:26as quickly as possible. Tier 2 dire
3:40:28beasts were a bit low, but they still
3:40:30counted as solid combat powered, so I
3:40:32decided to make do and contract the one
3:40:34that looked strongest first. However,
3:40:36just as I was about to speak over there,
3:40:38several Blood Fiend guards who had just
3:40:40finished dealing with the mother beast's
3:40:42corpses walked back point. One of them
3:40:44was carefully cradling a small black
3:40:46dog. The little dog was only as big as
3:40:48an adult golden retriever, but its eyes
3:40:50had not even opened yet. Its fur was
3:40:52pure black, black enough to shine. But
3:40:55if you looked closely, you could see
3:40:56that at the root of each hair, faint
3:40:58threads of dark red fire patterns
3:41:01showed, like red hot embers hidden
3:41:02beneath the fur, flickering bright and
3:41:05dim with its breathing. With every
3:41:06breath it exhaled, a wisp of pale
3:41:09grayish hot smoke drifted from its nose
3:41:11and mouth. The smoke curled and
3:41:13dispersed, and where it landed on bare
3:41:15skin, it stung faintly with heat.
3:41:17Strangest of all was its tail. Other
3:41:19dire beasts had single tails, but this
3:41:22one had been born with a forktail point.
3:41:24Two small tail tips hung to the left and
3:41:26right, trembling slightly and gently
3:41:28with its breathing. However you looked
3:41:30at it, it gave off an extraordinary air.
3:41:32"Captain," the bloodfei guard said
3:41:34respectfully, "we found this in the arms
3:41:37of one of the mother beasts. My eyes
3:41:39moved slightly that I walked straight
3:41:41over and gently placed my hand on the
3:41:43little black dog's head. The appraisal
3:41:45information slowly surfaced on the
3:41:46mirror. This time indeed, it was
3:41:49completely different from its brothers.
3:41:51Tier three ferocious beast, juvenile
3:41:53hido beast. As an adult, it is 8 m long
3:41:56and 3 m tall with bronze skin and iron
3:42:00bones. It can spew hido blackfire. Its
3:42:03attacks carry fire damage. Its breath
3:42:05produces flame poison and continuously
3:42:07damages living creatures that come near.
3:42:09I opened my mouth almost without the
3:42:11slightest hesitation. This juvenile
3:42:13beast is very suitable to be my spirit
3:42:16beast. I won't take any of the other
3:42:18spoils. Sumuin nodded slightly, not
3:42:21surprised. Since it's useful to you,
3:42:23keep it. However, she paused, her tone
3:42:26still business-like. This juvenile beast
3:42:28will have its corresponding value
3:42:30deducted from the spoils you're entitled
3:42:31to. What should be divided still has to
3:42:33be divided. Lewon watched all this from
3:42:36the side. Although she did not know what
3:42:38that little black dog actually was.
3:42:40Seeing Shia Yu<unk>s eyes and tone and
3:42:42the expressions of the blood demon
3:42:44guards around, how could she not guess?
3:42:46This juvenile beast was probably not
3:42:48simple. But in the end, she could not
3:42:50find the slightest reason to stop
3:42:52Shiaoyu. She could only give a cold
3:42:54snort from her nose. D. Fuan by then
3:42:56could already hold back no longer and
3:42:59urged impatiently. All right, all right,
3:43:02hurry up and bring out those ferocious
3:43:04beast crystal cores from before and
3:43:06divide them. Once we're done, we can go
3:43:08try our luck at the roulette. Sumuini
3:43:10nodded slightly and had Shiau take out
3:43:12all the ferocious beast corpses he had
3:43:14put away earlier. Everyone worked
3:43:16together to extract the crystal cores
3:43:18from the beast's heads. Even the few
3:43:20juvenile beasts still alive could not
3:43:22escape. They had no value for taming. So
3:43:25naturally, they could only become raw
3:43:27material for crystal cores that I in
3:43:28this scene no dog lover would jump out
3:43:31wailing and crying. To stop it that a
3:43:34few minutes later, all the crystal cores
3:43:36were extracted and gathered into Sue
3:43:37Muing<unk>s hands. An orange tier, two
3:43:40crystal core, one taken from that dog
3:43:43king. Red tier, one crystal cores, 30
3:43:46each a little smaller than normal
3:43:48crystal cores from those puppies. 19
3:43:50much smaller, still.1 tier. Two crystal
3:43:53core roughly equal 10 tier. One crystal
3:43:55cores and a puppy's core was about half
3:43:57a normal tier. One core converted like
3:44:00that. The pile before them added up to
3:44:02roughly 60 ordinary tier. One crystal
3:44:04cores succin distributed them roughly
3:44:07according to performance in the battle.
3:44:08She herself took that tier. Two core
3:44:11plus 10 normal tier. One cores in O1 had
3:44:14any objection to this. After all,
3:44:16judging by her crushing performance in
3:44:18the fight, maybe she had even taken
3:44:20less. Next was Lee Huon.A. as the guide.
3:44:23She did not directly participate in
3:44:25battle and took a fixed proportion
3:44:271/10enth, sixth tier, one crystal
3:44:29course, then honan. Thanks to her shadow
3:44:31assault, she had killed the most
3:44:33ferocious beasts and was allotted 10
3:44:35tier, one course. The blood demon guards
3:44:38had also contributed a lot in battle.
3:44:40The puppy cores were given to them, one
3:44:41each. Finally, the remaining 14 tier,
3:44:44one course. Shiaoyu, because he had
3:44:46earlier gotten that juvenile beast, had
3:44:48to take one less and got four. Da Jang
3:44:50Lay and Fu Wan each got five that Xiao
3:44:52Yu and Jong Lelay had no objections, but
3:44:54Fuan was unhappy. I don't agree. She
3:44:57crossed her arms, lifted her chin, and
3:44:59said coldly. In the battle just now, I
3:45:02charged straight into the pack of
3:45:03ferocious beasts. It was much more
3:45:05dangerous than what Shiau did. That
3:45:07spirit beast of his only drew a little
3:45:09of their attention in there. It didn't
3:45:11cause any real damage at all. Why should
3:45:13he get this much, too? Her gaze turned
3:45:15to Jeang Lelay. Jang Lelay, on the other
3:45:17hand, did far more damage with his
3:45:19flames than I did. The way I see it, two
3:45:22cores should be moved from him and split
3:45:23between us. He should be content with
3:45:25two. Otherwise, who will be willing to
3:45:28put in effort in future battles? My gaze
3:45:30swept calmly over Fuan's face. I had
3:45:33long expected this woman would jump out.
3:45:35She was clearly fighting for her own
3:45:37profit, yet she insisted on dragging
3:45:39Jeang Lelay in as a cushion, obviously
3:45:41afraid her own weight alone was not
3:45:43enough to move Su Muing<unk>ing
3:45:44decision. Su Muing<unk>s brows furrowed.
3:45:47I saw the whole battle just now. Xiao
3:45:50Yuyu<unk>s spirit beast may not have
3:45:51done much damage, but with its hard
3:45:53shell, it held back quite a few
3:45:55ferocious beasts. Those four cores are
3:45:57what he deserves. Her expression
3:45:59gradually darkened. Seeing that things
3:46:01were going wrong, Jean Lelay almost
3:46:03immediately picked up the thread. The
3:46:05captain's division is fine. I think it's
3:46:07very reasonable. Besides, earlier
3:46:10brother Shiao drove the bus and brought
3:46:11us out of that fog. That was a great
3:46:13merit too if you ask me for is even a
3:46:16bit too few. Fuan had not expected Jang
3:46:18Lelay to surrender so quickly. In her
3:46:21heart she cursed him thoroughly,
3:46:23spineless, not like a man. But since he
3:46:25had said that, if she kept harping on
3:46:27it, wouldn't she become someone openly
3:46:29haggling for her own private gain. She
3:46:31was most accustomed to hiding her own
3:46:32selfishness behind other people. That
3:46:35way, she could gain benefits without
3:46:37directly clashing with others. Now she
3:46:39could only shut her mouth resentfully,
3:46:41seeing that no one spoke again, Su Muing
3:46:44began distributing. When those four
3:46:45crystal cores were placed in my palm,
3:46:47they still carried a faint warmth. They
3:46:49were crystal clear, as if a wisp of
3:46:52flowing fire were sealed inside. At a
3:46:54glance, they looked like exquisite works
3:46:56of art that one would be reluctant to
3:46:57move once holding them. This was the
3:46:59first time I had ever touched a crystal
3:47:01core. Little gold at my feet also came
3:47:04over, staring fixably at the cores in my
3:47:06hand, tail wagging rapidly. The meaning
3:47:09was obvious. It wanted to eat them. Dot.
3:47:11I looked, then picked one out and held
3:47:13it to its mouth. After all, it had
3:47:15earned it with its own effort. Moreover,
3:47:17the roulette discovered earlier was a
3:47:18tier, three roulette, patio draw with
3:47:21tier, one crystal cores. One needed to
3:47:23save up a 100 cores for a single draw.
3:47:25The few in my hand were not nearly
3:47:27enough. Rather than keeping them as
3:47:29decorations, I might as well feed them
3:47:31to little gold and speed up its growth.
3:47:33When Fuan nearby saw me actually feed a
3:47:35crystal cord directly to that turtle,
3:47:37she could not help muttering low waste.
3:47:40I pretended not to hear. They were my
3:47:42cores. I could use them however I
3:47:44wanted. Right then, holding the juvenile
3:47:46beast in my arms, I began to form a
3:47:49spirit contract with it. The scene was
3:47:51no different from when I had first
3:47:52contracted Little Gold. Countless
3:47:54mysterious, profound runes emerged from
3:47:56the void, wrapping the juvenile beast
3:47:58layer by layer. The runes flowed and
3:48:01flickered, and finally all sank into
3:48:03that small black body. This time, the
3:48:05contract went quite smoothly. The
3:48:07juvenile beast, which had kept its eyes
3:48:09tightly shut, now slowly opened them.
3:48:12They were a pair of fire red eyes, pure
3:48:14red, bright red, reflecting the morning
3:48:17light coming from outside. They looked
3:48:19like two small quiet dancing flames that
3:48:21I teas stared at me for a moment, then
3:48:23stretched out its tongue and gently
3:48:25licked my palm. The motion was soft with
3:48:27a babbishness that had not yet been
3:48:29weaned. After licking, it whimpered
3:48:31twice and kept pushing its little head
3:48:33into my palm. Clearly, it was hungry. I
3:48:36remembered that among the supplies the
3:48:38convoy had handed me earlier, there were
3:48:40several boxes of milk that I took out a
3:48:42large box, tore it open, and carefully
3:48:44fed the little thing in my arms. The
3:48:46little black dog seemed to like the
3:48:48taste of the milk very much. It raised
3:48:50its head and gulped down the whole box
3:48:51in one breath. When it finished, still
3:48:54wanting more, it whimpered and nuzzled
3:48:56the empty box with its nose, looking
3:48:58eagerly for more. Seeing its greedy
3:49:00look, I could not help laughing.
3:49:02Although there was more milk left, it
3:49:04belonged to the convoy. I could not
3:49:06touch it. So oi reached out and rubbed
3:49:08the little thing's head, saying low.
3:49:10Bear with it for now. Once we get into
3:49:12town, I'll look for more and see if
3:49:14there's any. After a pause, I looked at
3:49:17the black little thing in my arms and
3:49:19casually said, "From now on, I'll call
3:49:21you little black." Honan, who had come
3:49:23over, immediately pursed her lips. You
3:49:26really are casual with names. Such a
3:49:28fierce, ferocious beast, and you make it
3:49:30sound like a little mongrel. I smiled. A
3:49:33name is just a code. Simple and easy to
3:49:35remember is enough. Little Black in my
3:49:37arms seemed to understand its name, too.
3:49:39It actually let out a crisp AO in
3:49:42response. Honanin was amused and could
3:49:44not resist reaching out to poke its
3:49:46little head. You do know a good thing
3:49:48when you see it. Truly ungrateful. The
3:49:51two of them went back and forth, so
3:49:52intimate, and it fell into Lihuan's eyes
3:49:55behind us. Somehow, for no reason, it
3:49:58made a strange anger rise in her. The
3:50:00man she hated most and a woman were now
3:50:02gathered together. What a pair of dogs.
3:50:05While they were talking, everyone had
3:50:06already returned to that dog nest. It
3:50:09was a large supermarket. The doors had
3:50:11long been smashed to pieces. Glass
3:50:13shards scattered all over the ground.
3:50:15Inside, the supermarket had been turned
3:50:17into a mess by the pack of ferocious
3:50:19beasts. Shelves leaned every which way.
3:50:22Goods scattered everywhere. On top of
3:50:24that, there were huge piles of feces
3:50:26everywhere, mixed with a pungent stench
3:50:28of urine that made one's eyes sting. The
3:50:30smell of blood, rot, and the foul, musky
3:50:33stench of beasts churned together in the
3:50:35unventilated supermarket on the walls
3:50:37and floors. In some corners, there were
3:50:39still deep claw marks one after another,
3:50:42as if something had sharpened its claws
3:50:43here day after day. How could this still
3:50:45look like a supermarket? It was clearly
3:50:47a wild dog layer that had been
3:50:49completely occupied and entrenched for a
3:50:51long time. And right in the center of
3:50:53this mess, a silver roulette floated
3:50:55quietly. Strangely, the ring of ground
3:50:58it was clean, utterly out of place with
3:51:00the filth around it. It was as if
3:51:02something invisible kept the filth away
3:51:03from the roulette, not letting it get
3:51:05near at all. The roulette's pointer was
3:51:07red blood red. This was obviously the
3:51:09one the survivor had mentioned. The tier
3:51:12three roulette. Succin Fuan and the
3:51:15others immediately crowded forward to
3:51:17see what could be drawn from the
3:51:18roulette. The other survivors also
3:51:20swarmed around craning their necks,
3:51:22afraid to miss anything. Only I did not
3:51:25go join the excitement. I had only three
3:51:27tier one crystal cores left. Not even a
3:51:30fraction of the 100 needed. And to draw
3:51:32from that tier three roulette with
3:51:34lifespan, it cost 10 times that of a
3:51:36tier 2 roulette. A full 30 years of
3:51:38lifespan that I did not want at such a
3:51:41young age to fill half my life into that
3:51:43roulette. While everyone was gathered
3:51:45around the roulette, lost in thought, I
3:51:47went alone up the collapsed escalator to
3:51:49the supermarket second floor that I was
3:51:51thinking of finding some clothes for
3:51:52myself. After all, the weather was
3:51:54getting colder by the day, and the space
3:51:56in the heaven surveillance mirror was
3:51:58spacious enough. Storing more clothes
3:52:00might later be exchanged for other
3:52:01resources. On the second floor, the same
3:52:04mess met my eyes. Those clothes could
3:52:06not be eaten. So, in the claws of those
3:52:08flame dogs, they had become toys. Piece
3:52:10by piece, pile by pile, they had been
3:52:13torn to shreds and scattered all over
3:52:14the floor. Not even one complete piece
3:52:17to be seen that I could only patiently
3:52:18search through that pile of rags, piece
3:52:20by piece. Whatever looked wearable and
3:52:23relatively clean, I casually put into
3:52:25the mirror just as I was searching. Out
3:52:27of the corner of my eye, I suddenly
3:52:29caught sight of something that it was a
3:52:31women's clothing store. The shelves in
3:52:32the store had also long been pushed over
3:52:34and torn apart. Dresses and clothes
3:52:37scattered all over the floor. But there,
3:52:39amid the mess, one thing floated
3:52:41quietly. A roulette. Its pointer was
3:52:43gray. A tear, one roulette that I had
3:52:46not expected that the second floor of
3:52:47this building would hide a second
3:52:49roulette. It looked like the survivors
3:52:50who had searched earlier had only
3:52:52glimpsed the roulette on the first floor
3:52:54hall from afar and hurried back to
3:52:56report it. At that time, there were
3:52:57still ferocious beasts guarding
3:52:59downstairs, and they had no chance to
3:53:01come up to the second floor to look. But
3:53:03in fact, the reason I had dared to go
3:53:05straight upstairs earlier was that I had
3:53:07already used the heaven surveillance
3:53:08mirror to quickly scan the situation on
3:53:10the second and third floors, confirming
3:53:12there was no danger before I went up. At
3:53:14that time, the heaven surveillance
3:53:16mirror had not detected any roulette on
3:53:18the second floor. That could only mean
3:53:20this roulette had suddenly appeared just
3:53:22in the time I came up, appearing out of
3:53:24thin air. It gave me a considerable
3:53:26surprise at that moment. Everyone below
3:53:28had their attention fixed on the first
3:53:30floor roulette. So, this second roulette
3:53:32was for the time being, mine alone, that
3:53:35I did not stop. In two or three steps, I
3:53:37reached the roulette. The wheel with its
3:53:39eerie futuristic feel hung slowly in
3:53:42midair, densely divided into over a
3:53:44hundred sectors. On every sector floated
3:53:47a thin semi-transparent phantom, vaguely
3:53:50reflecting what was inside. My gaze
3:53:52quickly swept across those gray and
3:53:54white sectors. Skip. There was no way I
3:53:56would waste precious crystal cores on
3:53:58those. My eyes moved, paused, and
3:54:01finally fixed on three crimson sectors
3:54:03scattered among the gray white ones. The
3:54:05one on the left showed the phantom of a
3:54:07book. Three characters appeared on the
3:54:09cover, but the phantom was too small and
3:54:11the strokes too faint. I could not make
3:54:13them out no matter how hard I tried. The
3:54:15middle one showed a pair of boots on the
3:54:17boots surface coiled wisps of cloud
3:54:19patterns. Their style resembled the
3:54:21black boots worn by officials in old
3:54:23times. And the one on the far right
3:54:25showed a card that on the card was a
3:54:26hand hidden in clouds and mist, an
3:54:28interplay of solid and void, dreamlike
3:54:31and elucory, looking quite
3:54:33extraordinary. 3 tier three items and I
3:54:36happened to have three crystal cores
3:54:38that at the thought with a flip of my
3:54:40hand three crystal cores appeared in my
3:54:42palm. I picked one up and barely touched
3:54:44it to the edge of the roulette. With a
3:54:46buzz the crystal core turned into fine
3:54:48dust of light in my palm and vanished
3:54:51and the pointer which had been
3:54:52motionless seemed to be awakened with a
3:54:55swoosh. It began spinning rapidly on its
3:54:57own. Almost at the same moment a
3:54:59familiar line of text appeared in my
3:55:01mind. Random event discovered. Doomsday
3:55:04roulette draw. Current remaining
3:55:06designated random result chances four.
3:55:08Designate. I lowered my eyes and
3:55:10silently said, "Designate." The pointer,
3:55:13spinning madly, seemed to be caught by
3:55:15an invisible hand. It stopped abruptly,
3:55:17then steadily landed on the crimson
3:55:19sector where the book was. The phantom
3:55:21of the book in the sector suddenly
3:55:23brightened. Boom! Enlarged, then broke
3:55:25free from the roulette, spun, and fell
3:55:28into my open palm. The three characters
3:55:30on the cover, which had been blurred,
3:55:32now clearly struck my eyes. Crimson
3:55:34Sunblade. When I had glimpsed the
3:55:36Phantom earlier, I had already guessed
3:55:38it was most likely a manual for
3:55:39cultivation that I just had not been
3:55:41sure what path it belonged to. Now,
3:55:43seeing the name 10 to one, it was a
3:55:46martial arts blade technique that I'd
3:55:47bend a finger and open the first page of
3:55:50the manual. The moment my fingertip
3:55:51touched the page, the whole book
3:55:53swooshed into a warm stream of light and
3:55:56shot straight into my body. The next
3:55:58instant, all the cultivation content in
3:56:00the book, verses, diagrams, methods of
3:56:03channeling strength, the key points
3:56:05layer by layer, poured into my mind like
3:56:07a waterfall, and it was not merely
3:56:09remembered. It was mastered, thoroughly
3:56:11understood as if I had been holding this
3:56:13book since birth, studying it day and
3:56:15night for more than 10 years. Where to
3:56:17draw in, where to release, which
3:56:19meridian should carry, which breath, all
3:56:21was clear and distinct. Even without
3:56:24anyone guiding me, I could practice step
3:56:26by step on my own. This actually
3:56:28resolved a long-standing doubt in my
3:56:30mind. If someone drew this kind of
3:56:32manual, how exactly did they cultivate
3:56:34it? Just think, even if such a manual
3:56:36were spread open before the world
3:56:38exactly as it was, the mysterious jargon
3:56:40inside, meridians, acupoints to a group
3:56:43of people who had never even heard of
3:56:45them would be pages from a heavenly
3:56:47book. So it turned out the manual itself
3:56:49would pour all the foundations directly
3:56:51into your head, paving the way for you
3:56:53so that you could go forward on your
3:56:54own. Moreover, this manual was by no
3:56:57means just content. It was also a
3:56:59qualification. A person who obtained a
3:57:02manual, even if they recited every word
3:57:04to others without missing a single one,
3:57:06those others still would not be able to
3:57:08cultivate the slightest thing. It was
3:57:10said that earlier the authorities had
3:57:12luckily obtained a few such manuals and
3:57:14tried to promote them in the army hoping
3:57:16to train a large number of people with
3:57:18extraordinary power to deal with those
3:57:20demons and strange things. But in the
3:57:22end, not a single person in the entire
3:57:24army could cultivate them. Dot. If not
3:57:26for that, humanity might have been able
3:57:28to hold out a little longer under the
3:57:30pouncing slaughter of those monsters. I
3:57:32pressed that surging memory back into my
3:57:34heart and went over the contents of
3:57:35Crimson Sun blade once more in my mind.
3:57:38This blade art truly lived up to its
3:57:40name. It followed a path of broad
3:57:42opening and closing, fierce and blazing.
3:57:45At the deepest level, one could condense
3:57:47a trace of crimson sunblade intent. It
3:57:50was said that once that blade intent
3:57:52appeared, it had an extra lethality
3:57:54against all kinds of e and evil
3:57:56creatures. The whole manual was roughly
3:57:58divided into three layers. The first
3:58:00layer was to temper the body with blade
3:58:02techniques. Tempered to the extreme, a
3:58:04swing of both arms could carry 3,000
3:58:07gene of tremendous force. The second
3:58:09layer went from the outside inward,
3:58:11strengthening chi and blood and
3:58:13producing a mouthful of inner chi. Inner
3:58:16chi could be attached to the blade,
3:58:17making the blade art sharper and more
3:58:19powerful with considerable lethality
3:58:21against a and evil. At a certain level,
3:58:24one could take a life within three jang
3:58:26through the air. The third layer was to
3:58:28condense that crimson sunblade intent.
3:58:31Once the blade intent was formed, the
3:58:33blade art would rise another level.
3:58:35Every strike would carry a will like the
3:58:37newly risen sun, continuous and
3:58:39unending, able to break all evild. Of
3:58:42course, I did not believe that last
3:58:44sentence. After all, this was only a
3:58:46tier three item. In my view, even at the
3:58:49highest level, this blade art could at
3:58:52most deal with a few weaker strange
3:58:53things. But then again, no matter what,
3:58:56this was a manual that could give a
3:58:58person extraordinary power with it. When
3:59:00it came to close quarters killing, I
3:59:02would at least have some ability to
3:59:03fight. For my current situation, its
3:59:05value was not small. The only thing was
3:59:07that practicing this blade art required
3:59:09a good blade. Best would be a heavy,
3:59:12weighty broadsword. When I went into
3:59:13town later, I would have to search for
3:59:15one. If I really could not find one, I
3:59:17would first find something to make do. I
3:59:19could not let it delay my cultivation.
3:59:21With that thought, I picked up another
3:59:23crystal core and casually touched it.
3:59:25The pointer spun madly, then stopped
3:59:27again. This time my target was naturally
3:59:30that pair of cloud patterned boots. As I
3:59:32fixed my desire in my heart, the pointer
3:59:34indeed steadily stopped on the middle
3:59:36crimson sector. The boot phantom in the
3:59:38sector first wavered slightly, then
3:59:40solidified, broke free from the
3:59:42roulette, and gently fell into my palm.
3:59:44As soon as my fingertips touched it, I
3:59:47could feel the material was
3:59:48extraordinary, soft, and light.
3:59:50Impossible to say what kind of fabric it
3:59:52was held in my hand, it was like holding
3:59:54a ball of cloud. Unlike the manual, it
3:59:57did not turn into flowing light and
3:59:59merge into my body the moment I touched
4:00:01it. Naturally, I still had to ask the
4:00:03heaven surveillance mirror to appraise.
4:00:04It my mind stirred again. Name wine
4:00:07spirit boots great tier three category
4:00:10magic artifact abilities. Wind spirit
4:00:13technique cloud treading step seeing the
4:00:15words magic artifact. My brows sank
4:00:17slightly. It was another thing that
4:00:19required mana to activate. I had no
4:00:21cultivator class so I had no mana eye in
4:00:24my hands. This thing would probably just
4:00:26be worn as an ordinary pair of boots
4:00:28that I was somewhat disappointed, but
4:00:29still bent down, took off my old
4:00:31sneakers, and put on the wind spirit
4:00:33boots. The moment my feet went in, I
4:00:35could not help but freezed. Worthy of a
4:00:38magic artifact. It looked so thin and
4:00:40light as to be almost transparent. But
4:00:43once I put it on, walking felt like
4:00:45stepping on a cloud. Soft, even, steady,
4:00:48indescribably comfortable. More strange
4:00:50was that the boots seemed alive. They
4:00:52actively gathered and fitted themselves
4:00:54to my feet. In the blink of an eye, they
4:00:56were perfectly snug as if they had grown
4:00:58from my feet in the first place. So
4:01:00light that I almost forgot I was wearing
4:01:02anything dun heart moved and I simply
4:01:04treated them as socks wearing them like
4:01:07that. I put my old sneakers back on.
4:01:09Sure enough, the wind spirit boots
4:01:11adjusted again slightly and I did not
4:01:13feel the slightest pinched at least I
4:01:15could use them directly without wasting
4:01:17that crystal core. Comforting myself,
4:01:19thus I picked up the last crystal core.
4:01:21The roulette spun rapidly once more and
4:01:23steadily stopped on the last card. The
4:01:25next moment, the card turned from
4:01:27illusion to reality and fell into my
4:01:29hand. It was a faint red all over with
4:01:32exquisite edges, looking quite refined.
4:01:35Before I could examine it closely, the
4:01:37card moved on its own, turned into dots
4:01:39of light, and merged into my body. In an
4:01:42instant, I understood the card's use,
4:01:44but my expression also became strange.
4:01:46It's actually a skill card. only. This
4:01:49skill is a bit too improper. It could
4:01:51only steal women's intimate personal
4:01:53items. Although I was not exactly a
4:01:55gentleman, this sort of thing still
4:01:57stuck in my heart as a barrier. The
4:01:59skills ability was to steal any item
4:02:01within 30 m around me at will. And after
4:02:04succeeding for a full hour, I would not
4:02:06be discovered if not for that
4:02:08restriction of only women's intimate
4:02:10personal items. This card would simply
4:02:12be a divine skill for screwing people
4:02:14over and turning the tables. What a
4:02:16godly skill. Probably because of that
4:02:18fatal restriction, it had been pressed
4:02:19down to tier three. Dot. Otherwise, I
4:02:21was afraid it would at the very least
4:02:23have to be a fifth tier one. I silently
4:02:25cursed my luck a few times before my
4:02:27gaze returned to the wheel and carefully
4:02:29swept over it again, especially the
4:02:31second tier items. Although second tier
4:02:33things did not contain transcendent
4:02:35power, sometimes a few of them were
4:02:37extremely useful. For example, ordinary
4:02:39firearms, motorcycles, cars. According
4:02:42to this wheel's rules, all of them fell
4:02:44under second tier. But after this sweep,
4:02:46I did not find what I wanted. Naturally,
4:02:48I did not waste any more crystal cores
4:02:50on it that I turned back. Quickly
4:02:52searched and scraped together all the
4:02:54relatively intact clothing on that
4:02:56floor, then headed for the area selling
4:02:58kitchen wear and hardware. There were
4:02:59still quite a few things hanging on the
4:03:01shelves. I circled twice and finally
4:03:03stopped in front of a row of bone
4:03:05chopping cleavers. That kind of knife
4:03:06was meant specifically for chopping
4:03:08bones. The blade was thick and heavy,
4:03:10and with one slant of the edge, it gave
4:03:13off a cold, grim gleam. Unfortunately,
4:03:16it was too short. The blade was not even
4:03:1820 cm long. Including the handle, it was
4:03:21only a little over 30 cm. But for now,
4:03:24it was better than nothing that I
4:03:25collected all of them one after another.
4:03:27If I truly could not find a good knife
4:03:29that suited me, then in the future, I
4:03:31could use these as material and try to
4:03:33forge one myself. As for the third
4:03:35floor, it sold things like appliances,
4:03:37furniture, and phones that I did not
4:03:39pick carefully. I casually selected a
4:03:41portion and put it into the gantion
4:03:43mirror. They might be useless now, but
4:03:45who was to say they would not be useful
4:03:46later. Even if dismantled, taking out
4:03:49the parts inside would have its own
4:03:50value. Anyway, there was still a large
4:03:53empty space inside the gention mirror.
4:03:55If the day truly came when they were
4:03:57useless, I could just throw them away
4:03:59then. I carefully went all around the
4:04:00third floor once and confirmed there was
4:04:02no third wall I could draw from. Only
4:04:04then did I turn around unhurriedly, hold
4:04:07the handrail, and start walking
4:04:09downstairs. The stairs were old. The
4:04:11escalator had long stopped, and a thin
4:04:13layer of dust had gathered on the iron
4:04:15handrail. I walked down floor by floor,
4:04:18my footsteps echoing especially clearly
4:04:20through the empty building that I had
4:04:21just reached the bottom of the first
4:04:23floor escalator, and my foot had not yet
4:04:25stepped down from the last stair. When
4:04:27downstairs, a voice suddenly exploded.
4:04:30It was a voice I knew all too well. A
4:04:32hysterical shriek that nearly tore her
4:04:34throat apart. Lie Jiao, are you crazy?
4:04:37My steps suddenly halted that on the
4:04:39surface of the Gention mirror. The scene
4:04:41on the supermarket's first floor
4:04:43instantly appeared. Lie Jiao was holding
4:04:45a handbag printed with a huge LV logo.
4:04:48The bag was sealed tight, packed full of
4:04:50first tier crystal cores, each giving
4:04:52off a cold red light that I roughly
4:04:54swept my gaze over them. There were
4:04:56probably a little over a hundred.
4:04:58Dragging his lame leg, which had not yet
4:05:00healed properly, he limped quickly
4:05:02toward the wheel, and behind him was Lie
4:05:04Huon, who had hurried after him. Dai in
4:05:06the past, Li Jiao had come from a sports
4:05:08school, so no matter what, his leg
4:05:10strength would have been much better
4:05:12than his older sisters. But now, his leg
4:05:14was still injured. Before he had gone
4:05:16many steps, Lie Huan caught up with him
4:05:18from behind. The siblings began tugging
4:05:20and snatching at the handbag, "Sis." Li
4:05:23Jiao lowered his voice and said
4:05:25urgently, "You saved up so many crystal
4:05:27cores just to draw from the wheel,
4:05:29didn't you? This third tier will has a
4:05:31fifth tier class card on it. As long as
4:05:33I can draw it, I can become a
4:05:35transcendent, too. And stronger than all
4:05:37of them, then we<unk>ll never be bullied
4:05:38in this convoy again." He shouted this
4:05:40nun too quietly. Especially the words
4:05:43stronger than all of them, which fell
4:05:45clearly, word by word, into the ears of
4:05:47the people not far away. Su Muing,
4:05:50Hanin, and the others all turned their
4:05:52gazes toward him at once, landing on Lie
4:05:55Jiao<unk>s hand, clutching the handbag.
4:05:57Seeing those gazes, Lihuan<unk>s
4:05:59expression changed instantly. She raised
4:06:01her hand. "Smack!" A loud slap landed
4:06:03solidly across Liia<unk>s face. Then,
4:06:06harshly, she scolded, "What nonsense are
4:06:09you spouting here?" The captain has
4:06:11always handled things fairly and justly.
4:06:13Before, you really did do something
4:06:15wrong. That's why you received that
4:06:17punishment. It would be one thing if you
4:06:19did not repent, but you even harbor
4:06:21resentment. It seems I really have been
4:06:23too lenient with you, which is why you
4:06:25have become like this. Come back with me
4:06:27right now. Stop making a spectacle of
4:06:29yourself here. Today, I have to teach
4:06:31you a lesson for mom and dad. Li Jiao
4:06:33seemed stunned by the slap. I in his
4:06:35memory. His sister had always spoiled
4:06:38him even more than their parents had
4:06:40since he was little. Which trouble of
4:06:41his had his sister not covered for him?
4:06:43Which thing he wanted had his sister not
4:06:45found a way to get him? But now she had
4:06:47actually slapped his face in front of so
4:06:49many people his gaze swept slowly
4:06:51around. Among the watching survivors
4:06:53were many whom he usually did not think
4:06:55worth a glance and could not be bothered
4:06:57to look at squarely. Now he could
4:06:59clearly see undisguised gloating mockery
4:07:01on their faces with a boom. His entire
4:07:04face flushed bright or edded as if
4:07:06someone had set him on fire. He jerked
4:07:08his head up, eyes red and roared at
4:07:10Lion. You actually dared to hit me
4:07:13before mom died. She clearly told you to
4:07:16take good care of me. And now for a few
4:07:18lousy crystal cores, you hit me. They're
4:07:20just a few crystal cores. What's so
4:07:23great about them? I'll go find them
4:07:24myself. With that, he covered his face,
4:07:27flung off Lihuan<unk>s hand, turned, and
4:07:29charged madly out of the supermarket.
4:07:32Jiao. Lihuan<unk>s expression changed.
4:07:34Forgetting everything else, she hurried
4:07:36after him. At the supermarket entrance,
4:07:39Haninan was leaning against the wall,
4:07:41slowly twirling a lollipop in her mouth.
4:07:43She watched me come down from there and
4:07:45as if suddenly remembering something
4:07:47interesting, her eyes curved slightly.
4:07:49She raised a hand, nudged my shoulder
4:07:51with her elbow, and leaned in with a
4:07:53gossipy look. Hey, I heard you went on a
4:07:55matchmaking date with her before in the
4:07:57end. Was it because you found out her
4:08:00brother was like this that you broke it
4:08:01off with her? I paused slightly. I
4:08:03instantly thought of that little
4:08:04delinquent girl who used to hang around
4:08:06Xiao. Honan had probably heard it from
4:08:08her, but almost the same instant her
4:08:10words fell. The gention mirror let me
4:08:12clearly catch the reactions of the
4:08:14people around me. Succining<unk>s gaze
4:08:16shifted slightly. Several blood demon
4:08:18guards behind Han and in quietly
4:08:20pricricked up their ears. Even Fuan who
4:08:22had always harbored resentment toward me
4:08:24slowed her steps half a beat. A trace of
4:08:27so that's how it was understanding
4:08:29flashed through their eyes followed by
4:08:31an unconcealable curiosity. Clearly even
4:08:34in a world where lives hung by a thread
4:08:36that bit of gossipy curiosity could not
4:08:39be completely extinguished. Perhaps
4:08:41because life in the apocalypse was so
4:08:43oppressive and dull with not even the
4:08:45slightest entertainment. This curiosity
4:08:47had actually grown stronger than before.
4:08:49Stared at by that circle of people, I
4:08:51had no choice but to pick the most
4:08:53concise explanation before I did go on a
4:08:55matchmaking date with her. We had even
4:08:57reached the point of discussing
4:08:59marriage. It was just that. I paused. I
4:09:02discovered that Liia was a hopeless good
4:09:04for nothing and she cared too much about
4:09:06this younger brother of hers. So, it had
4:09:08to end. I said it plainly and finished
4:09:10in a few words. Haninan was clearly
4:09:12quite dissatisfied. How could a story
4:09:15that sounded like it had some gossip
4:09:16value become so bland in my mouth? She
4:09:19opened her mouth about to press for
4:09:21details. I suddenly spoke unhurried. By
4:09:24the way, I just found a first tier wheel
4:09:26on the second floor. As soon as I said
4:09:28that, the air around us still for a
4:09:30moment. So, it turned out that
4:09:31everyone's attention had been drawn to
4:09:33that third tier wheel. And for a moment,
4:09:35no one had noticed there was another
4:09:36wheel on the second floor of the
4:09:38supermarket. But I knew clearly that
4:09:40this place could not be hidden. The
4:09:41first tier wheel was sitting there.
4:09:43Sooner or later, they would go up to the
4:09:44second floor to scavenge supplies and
4:09:46would see it. Since that was so,
4:09:48speaking up now would actually earn me a
4:09:50favor. Sure enough, hearing this, no one
4:09:53had time for gossip anymore. Fuan was
4:09:55the first to rush forward and ask
4:09:57urgently. We're on the second floor.
4:09:59After I gave the location, she turned
4:10:01without another word and ran toward the
4:10:03second floor. Honanin and Jeang lay
4:10:05hurried after her. After all, that third
4:10:07tier wheel required too many crystal
4:10:09cores for one draw. Even if they poured
4:10:11in all the savings they had accumulated
4:10:13over those days, they could not afford
4:10:15two draws that a first tier wheel was
4:10:17more practical than as for the ordinary
4:10:19survivors. Upon hearing the news, they
4:10:21all moved and surged toward the second
4:10:23floor. A first tier will only cost 3
4:10:26months of lifespan. That if they gritted
4:10:28their teeth, they could still manage two
4:10:30draws. for a moment. Only Su Muing and I
4:10:33were left on the first floor of the
4:10:34supermarket. Su Muing did not hurry
4:10:36upstairs. Her gaze rested quietly on me
4:10:39for a moment before she slowly spoke. I
4:10:41noticed your luck at drawing from the
4:10:42wheel seems to have been quite good. Do
4:10:44you want to draw once for me? If you can
4:10:46draw something fourth tier or above, I
4:10:48can give you more crystal cores as
4:10:49payment. My heart stirred slightly
4:10:52without showing anything. I locked the
4:10:54gention mirror firmly on Sumucc. But
4:10:56that face was as always expressionless,
4:10:59calm as autumn water. Her tone when
4:11:01asking was very casual, as if she really
4:11:04had just been seized by a whim with no
4:11:06deeper meaning and even less like she
4:11:08was testing anything. But I smiled and
4:11:10answered half- jokingly. I'm just lucky
4:11:13that's all. Maybe the first two times
4:11:15already used up all my luck. This is 100
4:11:18crystal cores for one draw. Captain, are
4:11:20you really going to let me do it? If I
4:11:22draw a first or second tier item, these
4:11:25100 crystal cores will have been thrown
4:11:26away for nothing. It's<unk> all right,
4:11:28Suing said lightly without the slightest
4:11:31hesitation in her tone. Drawing from the
4:11:33wheel depends on luck in the first
4:11:35place. Whatever you draw, I will not
4:11:37blame you. She had said it to that point
4:11:39that if I declined again, it would make
4:11:41me look as if I had something guilty
4:11:42hidden in my heart that I could only nod
4:11:44slightly. Since the captain trusts me,
4:11:47then I'll give it a try. I reached out,
4:11:49took the bag of crystal cores Sum
4:11:50Mooching handed me, turned and walked to
4:11:53the wheel. Without the slightest
4:11:55hesitation, I tore open the bag and
4:11:57poured handfuls of crystal cores into
4:11:59the wheels grooves.1 two. At the instant
4:12:01the hundth crystal core fell in on the
4:12:04wheel, the red pointer suddenly lit up
4:12:06and slowly began to turn a hit. The same
4:12:08time, a familiar line of text appeared
4:12:11before my eyes. Random event discovered.
4:12:13Doomsday wheel draw. Current remaining
4:12:16chances to specify a random result. One
4:12:18specify. My mind stirred. No. Under Sue
4:12:22Muing's gaze and mine. The red pointer
4:12:24spun faster and faster. Then little by
4:12:26little slowed. Finally, it slowly
4:12:29stopped on an orange area. The illusion
4:12:31above that area instantly solidified.
4:12:33Dot. A great sword appeared in my hand.
4:12:34The sword was as tall as a person, its
4:12:37blade more than half a meter wide. The
4:12:39whole thing glowing with an eerie blood
4:12:41color. Its hilt was even stranger, as if
4:12:44countless blood red vines had wrapped
4:12:46layer upon layer and twisted together,
4:12:48tangled and knotted. Faintly, one could
4:12:51see small black spikes growing from the
4:12:53tips of the vines. Beneath the blade, a
4:12:55blood red pattern wound along like a
4:12:57living thing, extending all the way to
4:12:59the tip. Eerie and gorgeous dot name
4:13:02blood rose tier. Fourth type, spirit
4:13:04weapon abilities, bloodthirst, blood
4:13:07demon poison, blood shadow shield, blood
4:13:09god slash, blood thorns, a froze that I
4:13:12had never expected. Without using that
4:13:14specified draw at all, purely by luck, I
4:13:17would actually draw a fourth tier item.
4:13:19Could my luck really be this good? But
4:13:21just as this thought rose in my heart.
4:13:23The next instant, it was completely
4:13:25drowned by an overwhelming, sweetly
4:13:27bloody urge. It was an extremely eerie
4:13:30desire, bloodthirsty to the point of
4:13:32madness. I felt as if a voice from the
4:13:34deepest part of my heart was whispering
4:13:36over and over in the gentlest, most
4:13:38tempting tone, "Blood. Blood is so
4:13:41delicious. Go, go find more blood right
4:13:44now. Go." The voice coiled around me,
4:13:46lured me as if it wanted to gnaw my
4:13:48reason away bit by bit. However, just at
4:13:51the instant my mind was about to be
4:13:52completely devoured by that bloodthirsty
4:13:55intent, that urge suddenly vanished like
4:13:57smoke because Su Muing reached out and
4:13:59took the great sword from my hand. The
4:14:01way she held it was as if she had picked
4:14:03up the most ordinary object. There was
4:14:05not the slightest oddity on her face, as
4:14:07if that soulstealing bloodthirst had
4:14:09never existed for her at all. That I in
4:14:11that moment, I pulled back from that
4:14:13brief loss of control and only felt that
4:14:15my palms had broken out in a thin layer
4:14:17of sweat. Sumuing held blood rose and
4:14:20casually waited in her hand. The next
4:14:22moment, she suddenly raised her hand and
4:14:24swept out with a sword strike. Wong.
4:14:27That great sword, as tall as a person,
4:14:29half a meter wide, heavy and ferocious,
4:14:32was in her hand as light and easy as an
4:14:35ordinary slender sword, wielded
4:14:36effortlessly without the slightest
4:14:38sluggishness. Her sword momentum was
4:14:40fast but not chaotic. Opening stance,
4:14:43spinning turn, diagonal upward cut,
4:14:45downward slash. Every move flowed like
4:14:48clouds and water, sword light like white
4:14:50silk. The bloodcoled blade carved smooth
4:14:53arcs through the air, bringing forth
4:14:55sharp whistling sounds as it cut through
4:14:57space. Beneath that indifferent
4:14:59expression was hidden extremely skilled
4:15:01and beautiful swordsmanship. As the
4:15:03sword dance rose and fell, blood lights
4:15:05swirled around her, adding an
4:15:07indescribable cold, gorgeous, dazzling
4:15:10radiance to her whole person. Watching
4:15:12from the side, I felt a deep calm in my
4:15:15heart. The same sword, when it had been
4:15:17in my hand just now, it had nearly
4:15:19devoured my sanity, now in Su
4:15:21Muing<unk>ing hand, it did not raise
4:15:23even a ripple. The gap in strength, the
4:15:26difference in mastery, was already
4:15:28crystal clear. The sword dance in it.
4:15:30Sumuing put the sword away, casually
4:15:32reached into her clothes, took out a
4:15:34small cloth bag, and with a swoosh
4:15:36tossed it in front of me. I like this
4:15:38sword very much. Consider these your
4:15:40payment. I reached out and caught it. As
4:15:43soon as I waited in my hand, I knew
4:15:45there were no fewer than 10 crystal
4:15:47cores inside that I quickly said this.
4:15:50It was all the captain's own luck. I
4:15:51didn't help at all. I can't take so
4:15:53much. But Sue Muing waved her hand, her
4:15:56tone leaving no room for discussion. I
4:15:58have my own judgment. If I tell you to
4:16:00take it, take it. Otherwise, how could I
4:16:03have the nerve to ask you to draw for me
4:16:04in the future? She said this with
4:16:06perfect righteousness. For a moment, I
4:16:08did not know whether to laugh or cry. If
4:16:11I had known I would draw a fourth tier
4:16:12item, I should have casually specified a
4:16:14third tier one and made it look normal.
4:16:16That way, Sumuin most likely would not
4:16:19have had the idea of having me draw on
4:16:21her behalf again. But now that things
4:16:22had come to this, saying all that was
4:16:24too late that I secretly calculated.
4:16:26Next time, if she asked me to draw
4:16:28again, I would specify the worst item
4:16:31and draw something gray or white. By
4:16:33then, Suuming probably would not have
4:16:35the interest anymore. Having decided
4:16:37this, I nevertheless put on a trace of
4:16:39joy and said, "Then thank you, Captain.
4:16:42I didn't draw anything on the second
4:16:43floor just now, but it seems drawing
4:16:45once for you has turned my luck around.
4:16:47In a bit, after they finished drawing,
4:16:49I'll go up and try again. I could not
4:16:51expose my specified draw ability, but in
4:16:54the future, if I practiced the blade and
4:16:56fought, Red Sun blade could not be
4:16:58hidden no matter what. Since that was
4:17:00the case, I might as well use those
4:17:01dozen or so crystal cores Su Muing had
4:17:04given me to smooth things over." drawing
4:17:06a martial arts manual only after a dozen
4:17:08or so crystal cores. That probability
4:17:11sounded normal enough not to arouse
4:17:13suspicion. With that thought, I used the
4:17:15excuse of going out to scavenge supplies
4:17:17and slowly made a round around the
4:17:19outside of the supermarket. Only after I
4:17:21saw through the gention mirror that
4:17:23those on the second floor who wanted to
4:17:24draw had mostly finished I turned back
4:17:27into the supermarket that it was also at
4:17:29this time. Li Huan had finally coaxed
4:17:31the sulking Li Jiao back into a good
4:17:33mood and let him in one after the other.
4:17:35Although Li Jiao still looked unwilling,
4:17:37the slap mark on his face had mostly
4:17:39faded, but my gaze did not fall on Li
4:17:42Jiao. Without showing anything, I swept
4:17:44my gaze over Li Huon and finally slowly
4:17:47fixed it on the handbag hanging at her
4:17:49chest. That handbag was pressed against
4:17:51her body, hanging before her chest.
4:17:53Logically speaking, this should also
4:17:55count as an item close to the body.
4:17:57Right at this moment, the two also
4:17:59noticed me standing not far away. In Li
4:18:01Xiao<unk>s eyes, anger flared with a
4:18:04whoosh. But deep within, that anger hit
4:18:06a thin thread of fear that even he might
4:18:08not have noticed. Branded into his heart
4:18:10when he had seen little gold bite off a
4:18:12fierce beast's leg in one bite and then
4:18:14be stared at by those cold beast eyes, L
4:18:17Ion acted first. She reached out and
4:18:20grabbed her brother, who was about to
4:18:21explode. She raised her eyes, swept a
4:18:24very quick glance over me, then withdrew
4:18:26her gaze, and pulled him away quickly to
4:18:28at that moment. She did not want the
4:18:30slightest conflict with this person. The
4:18:32two hurried along and had not gone far
4:18:34when they ran straight into a group of
4:18:36survivors coming down from the second
4:18:38floor that I in the crowd. One person
4:18:40was holding a pair of boots. A faint
4:18:42flowing blue green light swirled around
4:18:44them, making them especially
4:18:45eye-catching. This is drawn from where?
4:18:48Lie Hilon paused and asked in a low
4:18:50voice. Miss Lee, you didn't know?
4:18:52There's another first tier wheel on the
4:18:54second floor. A nearby survivor nodded
4:18:56hurriedly. This was just drawn from the
4:18:58wheel, but unfortunately it seems
4:19:00unusable. We were going to ask the
4:19:02captain to take a look. Hearing this,
4:19:04the siblings eyes lit up almost at the
4:19:06same time. Without another word, the two
4:19:08headed straight for the second floor
4:19:10that I followed at an unhurried pace. It
4:19:12be why the time I climbed to the second
4:19:14floor, most of the people around the
4:19:16wheel had dispersed. Haninan and the
4:19:18other transcendants had long since
4:19:20rushed ahead and finished drawing. The
4:19:22one still guarding the wheel now were
4:19:23all ordinary survivors without a
4:19:25sequence who could only gamble with
4:19:27their own lifespan. Standing before the
4:19:29wheel at that moment was a thin, small
4:19:31man. He had just drawn a pack of Swiss
4:19:33rolls and was grinning so widely he
4:19:36could not close his mouth. When he
4:19:37looked up and saw where the pointer had
4:19:39stopped, he saw it was only two spaces
4:19:41away from the next red sector. He
4:19:43gritted his teeth, made up his mind, and
4:19:45planned to draw once more. But before
4:19:47his hand reached out, someone grabbed
4:19:49his shoulder from behind and yanked him
4:19:51forcibly to the side. His anger flared
4:19:54up at once, and he opened his mouth to
4:19:56curse. But in the instant he turned his
4:19:57head, he saw Li Jiao's gloomy, half-dead
4:20:00face, and then Lee Huan behind him, calm
4:20:03and expressionless. The swear words at
4:20:05the tip of his tongue were forcefully
4:20:07swallowed back. "Oh, it's mistly." A
4:20:10smile immediately piled onto his face.
4:20:12You first. You first. As he spoke, he
4:20:15nimly stepped back and cleared the spot
4:20:17before the wheel. Li Jiao snorted
4:20:19through his nose. Deep down, he had
4:20:21actually hoped this guy would fail to
4:20:23read the room, giving him an excuse to
4:20:25beat him up and vent the pent up anger
4:20:27that had been stuck in his chest for
4:20:28days. Lieon walked straight to the
4:20:30wheel, raised her eyes, and carefully
4:20:33examined the three red sectors on it,
4:20:35looking over the outlines of the
4:20:36thumbnails one by one. She had a rough
4:20:39idea in her mind. These few items were
4:20:41all fairly good. So, she reached into
4:20:43the handbag she always kept with her.
4:20:45Took out about 20 crystal cores and
4:20:47handed them to Liia. Take these and
4:20:50draw. Lie Xiao clutched the crystal
4:20:52cores and immediately began drawing like
4:20:54mad. But his luck was truly not good. He
4:20:57used up all 20 crystal cores without a
4:20:59single one left. Yet, all that appeared
4:21:01at his feet was a pile of random junk.
4:21:03pots, bowls, pans, a few bottles of
4:21:06mineral water, two pieces of bread, and
4:21:08a crudely made luxury bag drawn from
4:21:11some unknown stall. Lie Xiao<unk>s face
4:21:13was as black as the bottom of a pot.
4:21:15Behind him, Lihuan<unk>s expression was
4:21:17also not good. Those crystal cores had
4:21:19all been saved up by her one by one.
4:21:22Now, they had been exchanged for this
4:21:23pile of junk. She felt a little urge to
4:21:25draw herself. But on second thought, she
4:21:28was afraid Li Jiao would make a scene on
4:21:30the spot. So she held back and only
4:21:32handed over five more. Try again. If it
4:21:35doesn't work, let me do it. Lie Xiao
4:21:37took the crystal cores, suddenly turned
4:21:39his head, glared fiercely around at the
4:21:41survivors who had gathered to watch, and
4:21:43roared at the top of his voice, "All of
4:21:45you get lost. You staring here have
4:21:48ruined my luck." The watching survivors
4:21:50had not expected to be blamed for this,
4:21:52too. Each of them was full of anger, but
4:21:54looking at Lihu Alon's cold face behind
4:21:56Li Jiao, no one dared make a sound in
4:21:58the end. They all lowered their heads
4:22:00and filed downstairs. In the huge second
4:22:03floor, in the blink of an eye, only the
4:22:05two siblings remained, and me, standing
4:22:08quietly in the distance without
4:22:09revealing anything, Eli Jiao pinched out
4:22:12another crystal core and tossed it in.
4:22:14His eyes were nailed to the wheel. Even
4:22:17his eyeballs were faintly crawling with
4:22:19bloodshot veins. This time, the wheels
4:22:21pointer spun longer than before and more
4:22:23torturously. Finally, when the pointer
4:22:26was just approaching the fan-shaped area
4:22:28where red sunblade was located, it
4:22:30slowly began to slow point two people
4:22:32for eyes all glued to it. Li Jiao could
4:22:35not help but growl low. Quick, quick,
4:22:38quick. Under the expectant gaze of the
4:22:41two who had almost stopped breathing,
4:22:43the pointer moved little by little, and
4:22:45finally, it really did stop on that
4:22:47fan-shaped area. The next instant, an
4:22:49ancientl looking Manuel silently fell
4:22:51into Lie Xiao<unk>s open palm. He was so
4:22:54happy he nearly jumped up on the spot.
4:22:56He whipped his head around, looked at
4:22:58me, and shouted at the top of his lungs,
4:23:00"Shia you! I'm a transcendent now, too.
4:23:03Sooner or later, I'll break your legs,
4:23:05too. I'll make you, you bastard,
4:23:07experience exactly the pain I suffered."
4:23:10Just as these threatening, wildly elated
4:23:12words fell. Little Gold, who had been
4:23:14crouching at my feet all along, slowly
4:23:17stood up. Its little turtle head turned
4:23:19toward Liiao, bared its mouth, and let
4:23:22out a low warning growl from its throat
4:23:24as if it would pounce the next second.
4:23:26Even little black, who had just opened
4:23:28its eyes and learned to walk not long
4:23:30ago, also raised its neck and barked
4:23:32twice at Liia, except its cries were
4:23:34milky and babbish. The threatening
4:23:37intent was full, but it made people want
4:23:39to laugh. Seeing this, Liuan immediately
4:23:42reached out and pressed down hard on her
4:23:44brother's arm, lowering her voice. Shut
4:23:46up, not another word. Almost at the same
4:23:48moment, the scene from earlier flashed
4:23:50through Lie Jia<unk>s mind. Shiao Jeene
4:23:52in the pack of dogs, biting a dog's leg
4:23:54clean off in one bite. That savagery had
4:23:57been real. He had seen it with his own
4:23:59eyes. His throat moved. In the end, he
4:24:02did not dare utter another harsh word.
4:24:04And from beginning to end, I did not say
4:24:06a single word. Threats like the barking
4:24:08of a wild dog. I truly had no interest
4:24:10in responding to them. Besides, if the
4:24:12other side was not a wild dog, there was
4:24:14nothing I could do about him. If he was
4:24:16a wild dog, I could not kill him either.
4:24:18Saying one more word would only waste
4:24:20breath. Having obtained the manual, Liia
4:24:23could not wait. He opened it on the spot
4:24:25and read it carefully from beginning to
4:24:27end. After memorizing the cultivation
4:24:29method inside, his whole aura changed,
4:24:32and the excitement on his face nearly
4:24:34overflowed. He raised his chin slightly
4:24:36at me, his eyes full of undisguised
4:24:38provocation. Then he threw the remaining
4:24:40four crystal cores in his arms into the
4:24:42wheel all at once. The result? Another
4:24:44pile of junked. Eli Jia was unwilling to
4:24:47accept it and reached out to Lie Huon
4:24:49for more crystal cores. This time Liuan
4:24:52shook her head. We've drawn enough
4:24:54times. That remaining artifact is
4:24:56useless. That card looks ordinary, too.
4:24:58It's not worth drawing anymore. She said
4:25:01this, but she had other calculations in
4:25:03mind. After the 25 crystal cores in her
4:25:05bag were used, exactly 100 would remain
4:25:08100 was exactly enough to exchange for a
4:25:11third tier crystal core. A third tier
4:25:13crystal core was very important to her.
4:25:15It concerned the ritual to come.
4:25:17Naturally, she could not let Liia waste
4:25:19them like this. This was also why she
4:25:21had only been willing to give him five
4:25:23earlier. Eli Jiao, however, would not
4:25:25accept this reasoning. He pouted and
4:25:27began clamoring endlessly again. Sis,
4:25:30you don't understand. The wheel must
4:25:32have a pity system. Just just like those
4:25:34claw machines from before. The more
4:25:36times you draw, the more likely it is to
4:25:38give something good. It's much easier
4:25:40now than before. If you don't keep
4:25:42drawing, then everything we put in
4:25:44earlier will have been wasted. Lieon
4:25:46naturally did not believe a single word
4:25:48of this nonsense. If that were true, how
4:25:50could the things the wheels had produced
4:25:52before be so pitifully few? But Lie Huan
4:25:55had made up her mind. No matter how
4:25:57unhappily Jiao was, he could not
4:25:59override her. He could only mutter and
4:26:01follow her downstairs. As he passed me,
4:26:03he did not forget to glare daggers at
4:26:05me, secretly vowing. Once he got a good
4:26:08knife, he would make me understand the
4:26:09price of bullying him and his sister as
4:26:12for me. I could not even be bothered to
4:26:13give him a proper look. Only after the
4:26:15siblings had gone far did I lift my foot
4:26:17and walk unhurriedly toward the wheel. I
4:26:20stood before the wheel, pretending to
4:26:22study it for a while, then turned and
4:26:24went downstairs. Not long after, I
4:26:26stopped beside the bone chopping knife I
4:26:28had earlier found in the supermarket. I
4:26:30rolled up my sleeves, picked up the bone
4:26:32chopping knife, and began practicing the
4:26:34scarlet sunb blade move by move in the
4:26:36open space downstairs. The blade
4:26:38whistled through the air with a sound.
4:26:40Just then, Lie Xiao, who had just found
4:26:43a watermelon knife somewhere outside and
4:26:45was planning to show off in front of
4:26:46everyone, froze on the spot, that
4:26:48watermelon knife in his hand. He did not
4:26:51know whether to advance or retreat. The
4:26:53expression on his face in that instant
4:26:55was indescribably wonderful. This damn
4:26:57Shiau. How how had Shiau also drawn the
4:27:00scarlet sunblade. I noticed his gaze,
4:27:02turned around and gave him a very
4:27:04shallow, very mild smile. Maybe what you
4:27:07said was right. That will really does
4:27:09have a pity system. After you two left,
4:27:11I went up and drew casually and got it.
4:27:14So, I have you two to thank for paving
4:27:16the way for me. That sentence killed the
4:27:18man and stabbed his heart as well. The
4:27:20Li Jiao<unk>s face went from red to
4:27:22purple with a whoosh that he jerked his
4:27:23head around and in a low voice angrily
4:27:26hissed at Lewon beside him. I told you.
4:27:29I told you it had a pity system. You
4:27:31wouldn't keep drawing and now all the
4:27:33benefit is gone to that guy. Lie Huan
4:27:35only felt irritated. Of course, she
4:27:37could tell that my words were
4:27:38deliberately meant to provoke her
4:27:39foolish brother who knew how many times
4:27:41I had actually drawn up there. Yet, her
4:27:43stupid brother actually believed it and
4:27:45was so easily set ablaze by a few words.
4:27:48She frowned and pressed her temples, too
4:27:50annoyed to bother saying anything to
4:27:52him. Just then, in front of the bus
4:27:54parked in the town square, Su Muing and
4:27:57Haninan were unhurriedly exchanging
4:27:59moves. Lie Xiaoa's eyes lit up. He
4:28:01immediately left his sister behind,
4:28:03stroed over in two or three steps and
4:28:05crowded up to Sue Muing with a smile all
4:28:08over his face. Captain, I'm a
4:28:10transcendent now, too. I just drew the
4:28:12Scarlet Sun Blade Marshall Manuel. From
4:28:14now on, I can fight alongside you. His
4:28:17sudden approach made Su Muing
4:28:18instinctively take half a step back.
4:28:20There was no extra emotion on her face.
4:28:23She only nodded lightly. Not bad. The
4:28:25strength of our convoy has grown again.
4:28:27Haninan, however, had already noticed
4:28:30the bone chopping knife in my hand. The
4:28:32corner of her mouth curved, and she
4:28:34deliberately raised her voice. Shiaoyu,
4:28:36that knife of yours, don't tell me you
4:28:38also drew the scarlet sunblade. I smiled
4:28:41faintly, borrowing the captain's luck.
4:28:43Just a fluke. At these words, Su
4:28:46Muing<unk>s gaze shifted from Lie Jiao
4:28:48to me without a trace. A very faint
4:28:50smile appeared on her face. It wasn't my
4:28:52luck. It was your own good luck. She
4:28:55paused, her gaze sweeping over both of
4:28:57us. Then said, "Since you both got the
4:28:59scarlet sunblade, a suitable weapon will
4:29:01naturally let you use your strength
4:29:03better. That bone chopping knife of
4:29:05yours is too short. Just now outside, I
4:29:08saw several iron pillars used for
4:29:10construction. If you have any
4:29:11preferences for the blade, tell me. I
4:29:13can forge one for each of you tailored
4:29:15to you. Anyone with eyes could see that
4:29:17Su Muing<unk>s words were clearly meant
4:29:19to make a blade for me and only
4:29:21incidentally included Liia. But Lie Jiao
4:29:24noticed nothing. Hearing this, he
4:29:26immediately spoke up brighteyed.
4:29:28Captain, you're really too good. The
4:29:31blade technique of the Scarlet Sun blade
4:29:33emphasizes one word. Wait. The heavier
4:29:35the better. With a suitable blade, my
4:29:38strength will advance by leaps and
4:29:39bounds. When the time comes, leave these
4:29:42fierce beasts to me. You won't need to
4:29:44personally act anymore, Captain. As he
4:29:46spoke, he thumped his chest with a bang
4:29:48bang sound. Those survivors who knew the
4:29:50inside story could not help lowering
4:29:52their heads, secretly holding back
4:29:54bellyfuls of laughter. For Lihuan's
4:29:56sake, Su Muing still casually replied,
4:29:59"All right, I also thanked Su Muing.
4:30:02After all, that bone chopping knife
4:30:03really was not very handy." Sumuin
4:30:06called over two blood fiend guards and
4:30:08told them to go nearby and carry back
4:30:10one of the steel pillars. She herself
4:30:12slowly walked to the steel pillar and
4:30:14stood still. The next instant, she
4:30:16flipped one hand and the blood rose. A
4:30:18great sword all rose red with petal-like
4:30:21patterns coiled around it, appeared in
4:30:23her palm. She sank her wrist and raised
4:30:25the great sword high. With a chi, she
4:30:28brought it down on the thick steel
4:30:29pillar. Jeang. A clear ringing sound,
4:30:32almost enough to shatter eardrums,
4:30:34exploded across the square. Blood rose
4:30:36was truly cutting iron like mud, coupled
4:30:39with Su Muing<unk>s monstrous strength.
4:30:41That one strike made the thick steel
4:30:43pillar split into two like tofu cut by a
4:30:45knife, falling with a thud, clean and
4:30:48neat. The cut surface was smooth as a
4:30:50mirror. Then, holding that blood colored
4:30:53great sword taller than half her body
4:30:55amid flying steel chips, she began to
4:30:57swing and cut unhurriedly. Sword light
4:31:00flew everywhere. Sparks shot in all
4:31:02directions. One streak, another and
4:31:05another. The crimson sword light was
4:31:07like a blood red rose blooming to its
4:31:09fullest between her fingers.
4:31:10Bewitchingly beautiful yet terrifyingly
4:31:13sharp. Hard steel under such sword force
4:31:16was as fragile as thin paper. Pieces
4:31:18curled, peeled away, and fell with a
4:31:20rustle. Still carrying scorching heat.
4:31:23Such a slender, stunningly beautiful
4:31:25person holding such a ferocious giant
4:31:28sword moving calmly amid the wild dance
4:31:30of steel fragments and sparks. That
4:31:32image was absurd and shocking, carrying
4:31:35an almost bloody, violent beauty that I
4:31:37in just a moment. The rough shapes of
4:31:40two great sabers had already begun to
4:31:42appear in her hands. Liia's was made
4:31:44first. Its shape was rather
4:31:46conventional, a standard heavy long
4:31:48saber. But the blade still bore the
4:31:50rough, jagged cuts left by the sword
4:31:52strikes, unpolished, looking somewhat
4:31:54crude. Yet Lie Jiao was delighted with
4:31:57it. He took the heavy saber from a blood
4:31:59fiend guard, weighed it, and felt it was
4:32:01a little too heavy, but he did not care.
4:32:03He forced himself to twirl two
4:32:05flourishes with it. "Thank you,
4:32:07Captain." He toyed with it joyfully,
4:32:09unable to put it down, his voice rising
4:32:11in octave. I will definitely not let
4:32:13this blade down. I'm going to name it
4:32:16Sky Cleaver. Sooner or later, I'll make
4:32:18every monster under heaven die beneath
4:32:20this sky cleaver of mine. As soon as
4:32:23these high-spirited words fell among the
4:32:25crowd, those watching survivors really
4:32:28could not hold it in any longer. Their
4:32:30shoulders shook as they desperately
4:32:31suppressed their laughter. Han and did
4:32:33not hide it at all. With a puff, she
4:32:36burst out laughing. That laugh was
4:32:37crisp, loud, and utterly unapologetic.
4:32:40The smug heroic spirit on Liia<unk>s
4:32:43face froze right there. Su Muching only
4:32:45replied casually. I hope that day comes.
4:32:47Then she turned around and began
4:32:49carefully polishing my blade. This time
4:32:52she did it with exceptional care. The
4:32:54blade was repeatedly trimmed, flattened,
4:32:56and thinned until the lines were smooth
4:32:58and the thickness even. During the
4:33:00adjustment process, she had me come
4:33:02forward again and again to test the
4:33:04blade, asking how the weight felt,
4:33:06whether the center of gravity was off,
4:33:08whether it was comfortable in my hand.
4:33:10When I said it was too heavy, she shaved
4:33:12off another layer. When I said the
4:33:14center of gravity was too far forward,
4:33:16she extended the handle slightly
4:33:17backward to in the end. She even ran her
4:33:20hand over the blade once more and
4:33:22smoothed away the last tiny protrusion.
4:33:24When that blade came out of her hands,
4:33:26it was worlds apart from the one Liia
4:33:28had just received. The blade light
4:33:30flowed, cold gleam restrained, heavy in
4:33:32weight. Yet in the hand, it felt just
4:33:34right, with the center of gravity
4:33:36exactly placed. and Lie Xiao<unk>s face
4:33:39sank inch by inch under Su Muing<unk>s
4:33:42repeated meticulous refinements. He
4:33:44looked down at the rough, heavy sky
4:33:46cleaver in his own hand, then raised his
4:33:48eyes to the blade still being adjusted
4:33:50and polished over there, and under the
4:33:52contrast, he felt his own was so rough
4:33:54it might as well be scrap iron. An
4:33:56indescribable stuffiness blocked his
4:33:58chest. He even faintly felt an impulse
4:34:01to throw the sky cleaver in his hand far
4:34:03away. This emotion reached its peak when
4:34:05Su Muing took a roll of anti-slip cloth,
4:34:08carefully wrapped it around the handle
4:34:10of my blade and then held it with both
4:34:12hands and solemnly handed it to me. I
4:34:14looked up and saw that Lie Xiao<unk>s
4:34:16face was red almost to the point of
4:34:18dripping blood, his chest heaving
4:34:20violently, and steam seemed to be
4:34:21gushing from the top of his head. M gaze
4:34:24rested on his face for a moment, then
4:34:26returned to Su Muing that I did not know
4:34:28whether I was overthinking. But Su
4:34:30Muing<unk>s care and meticulousness
4:34:32under such a stark contrast seemed to be
4:34:34deliberately yet not deliberately
4:34:36striking at Liia telling those little
4:34:39thoughts he could not hide to give up
4:34:40sooner. I Shiau had been used as a
4:34:43shield in the most literal sense. But I
4:34:45weighed the new blade in my hand and
4:34:47casually practiced two moves in the
4:34:49wind. The blades momentum was smooth and
4:34:51came naturally to hand, far beyond that
4:34:54bone chopping knife from before. That
4:34:56feeling was not bad. Thank you, Captain.
4:34:58It's very handy. Sumuing looked at me
4:35:01and only said lightly, "As long as
4:35:03you're satisfied." Just then, Lie Xiao
4:35:05seemed finally unable to bear it any
4:35:07longer. Suddenly, without warning, he
4:35:10let out a loud cry, gripped his sky
4:35:12cleaver, and charged out headlong.
4:35:14"Jiao!" Lihu Alon's expression changed,
4:35:17and she immediately chased after him.
4:35:19The two disappeared, one after the other
4:35:21around the street corner. Only after
4:35:23those two figures had completely turned
4:35:25the corner did those survivors who had
4:35:27been holding it in for so long finally
4:35:29let go with a hong. Some laughed until
4:35:32they bent over. Some laughed until they
4:35:34wiped tears in the whole ruined deathly
4:35:36silent town. For the first time, a burst
4:35:39of such open hearty laughter rang out.
4:35:41The sky gradually darkened. Only a trace
4:35:44of the sun remained, dying the broken
4:35:46port town in a layer of orange red warm
4:35:49light. Though the warmth could not enter
4:35:50the heart of anyone on this dead street,
4:35:53survivors who had gone out to search for
4:35:54supplies returned one after another.
4:35:56They piled what they had found item by
4:35:58item in the supermarket that was still
4:36:00intact. The most abundant was food,
4:36:02canned goods, biscuits, vacuum-acked
4:36:05brazed food, and several boxes of
4:36:07instant noodles covered in dust, but
4:36:08miraculously not taken by anyone. Next
4:36:11was clothing. Cotton padded clothes,
4:36:13down jackets, windbreakers. Anything
4:36:16thick and durable was turned out and
4:36:17piled on the ground. There were even
4:36:19some daily necessities. Toothbrushes,
4:36:21toothpaste, towels, soap, things that
4:36:24survivors would not even glance at
4:36:26before were now carefully dug out from
4:36:28deep in the shelves and solemnly placed
4:36:30in their own bags. The reason for this
4:36:32was that some survivors, after hearing
4:36:34that I was keeping supplies for the
4:36:35convoy, also came to me on their own and
4:36:38proposed they wanted to store their bit
4:36:39of supplies in my spatial artifact as
4:36:42well. That I thought for a moment and
4:36:43agreed. The rules were simple. I took
4:36:4510% as a storage fee. When needed, they
4:36:48could retrieve the goods from Xiao at
4:36:50any time. Xiao also kept the accounts,
4:36:53acting as a third party to supervise on
4:36:55their behalf, and for that she took
4:36:57another 5%. Calculated this way,
4:36:59although storing once meant handing over
4:37:01a full 15%. For these survivors, the
4:37:04account actually worked out favorably
4:37:06because carrying weight had always been
4:37:08their greatest pain down a motorcycle
4:37:10back seat, the bed of a tricycle. What
4:37:12could be loaded was truly limited. In
4:37:14the past, how much food that could still
4:37:16be eaten, how many clothes still intact
4:37:19had been left behind with clenched teeth
4:37:20simply because they could not carry or
4:37:22fit them. Now that it could be stored,
4:37:24that portion of discarded things could
4:37:26be picked back up. Overall, the supplies
4:37:29each person could actually keep became
4:37:31much more than before at trust. Even the
4:37:33captain was not afraid to put an entire
4:37:35truckload of things with me. What did
4:37:37they have to fear from their tiny bit?
4:37:39But among these people, there were
4:37:41always those who did not trust me. They
4:37:43would rather work harder, carrying big
4:37:45bags and small bundles, walking and
4:37:47stopping, than keep their things firmly
4:37:49in their own hands. Among them was the
4:37:51one who had a truck available, Jang
4:37:52Mang. At that moment, he was shrinking
4:37:55in a corner of the supermarket, his back
4:37:57against the shelf, his eyes fixed dead
4:37:59on the opposite side. In the opposite
4:38:01corner, the blade I had just received
4:38:03was being danced by me until cold light
4:38:05shot in all directions. The sound of it
4:38:07cutting the air going swish, swish.
4:38:09Beside me, the little turtle was chewing
4:38:12large mouthfuls of the flamehound meat
4:38:14just distributed, its mouth greasy.
4:38:16Jeang Mang watched and watched, and the
4:38:18discomfort in his heart rose bit by bit.
4:38:20Why? Why was it that Shiau had drawn
4:38:23transcendent items on the first two
4:38:24wheels earlier, and now entering this
4:38:27new wheel could still draw good things?
4:38:29Then look at himself. Earlier in this
4:38:32town, he had taken the two first tier
4:38:34crystal cores he had desperately saved
4:38:35and hidden and thrown them all into that
4:38:37third tier wheel. And on top of that,
4:38:40traded in more than a year of his
4:38:41lifespan. Altogether, he had drawn six
4:38:44times. And the result, only a pile of
4:38:46junk, not even worth burning as firewood
4:38:48for the space it took. He watched as
4:38:50Shiau<unk>s status in the convoy rose
4:38:52day by day, and his relationship with
4:38:54Captain Su Muing grew closer day by day.
4:38:56The unease in Jang Mangs grew heavier
4:38:59and heaviered by his own measure. If
4:39:01someone had bullied him the way he had
4:39:03once bullied others, he Jang Mang would
4:39:06certainly remember it firmly. As long as
4:39:08he found an opportunity, he would
4:39:10definitely retaliate, especially when
4:39:12the retaliation seemed particularly
4:39:14easy, even requiring no effort at all.
4:39:17Originally, he had still counted on the
4:39:19Lee siblings to deal with Shiau. After
4:39:21all, deep down, Suing was still vaguely
4:39:24partial to them. But now, Su Muing
4:39:26seemed, on the contrary, to be getting
4:39:28closer and closer to Xiaoyu. That meant
4:39:30the Lee siblings had lost their greatest
4:39:32support. He could no longer sit and wait
4:39:34for death with them since he could not
4:39:36beat him then join him. When Jang Mang
4:39:39entered this line of work, it was
4:39:40originally because he borrowed money and
4:39:42could not repay it, ending up in this
4:39:44state. Now making him lower his head
4:39:47once more, lose face once more. What did
4:39:49it matter? Compared with his own little
4:39:51life, face was worth [ __ ] Having made
4:39:54up his mind, Jang Mang took advantage of
4:39:56the moment when I was sitting there
4:39:57drinking water and taking a short rest
4:39:59to quickly edge toward me. Actually, I
4:40:01had noticed long ago. While I was still
4:40:04practicing the blade, out of the corner
4:40:05of my eye, I had seen that fellow
4:40:07sneaking over toward me little by
4:40:08little. I just had not understood why at
4:40:11this point, this man was looking for me
4:40:13again. Could it be that what I had said
4:40:15before had not been clear enough? I,
4:40:17Shiau, did not want any involvement with
4:40:19Jean Mang. Jeang Mang had just gotten
4:40:21within a certain range. When Shiao Jene,
4:40:24who had been lying by the meat eating
4:40:25happily, suddenly put down the piece of
4:40:27beast meat in its mouth, turned its head
4:40:30and let out a low, fierce growl at Jang
4:40:32Mang. The meaning was only too clear,
4:40:34"Stop! Do not come closer." Jang Mang
4:40:37also had a keen sense of what was
4:40:38appropriate. He immediately stopped
4:40:40firmly outside the safe range and said
4:40:43with an apologetic smile, "Brother, you
4:40:45don't don't let your beast companion
4:40:47attack me. I mean no harm. This time I
4:40:49came because I have very important news
4:40:51to tell you." He lowered his voice and
4:40:53said word by word. It's<unk> about the
4:40:55guy's sequence on Li Huon. That sentence
4:40:58indeed made my hand pause. I raised my
4:41:00eyes, looked at Jang Mang, then felt
4:41:02around by my feet, picked up a bottle of
4:41:04mineral water, and casually tossed it
4:41:06over. Drink some water first. Jang Mang
4:41:09hurriedly caught it with both hands,
4:41:11unscrewed the cap, tipped his head back,
4:41:13and took a big gulp. Only then did he
4:41:15carefully move closer to my side. He did
4:41:17not keep me in suspense. Leaning close,
4:41:20he lowered his voice and began to tell
4:41:21me everything. Brother, you you don't
4:41:24know. I used to be in the same convoy as
4:41:26Lie Huon, only she doesn't remember me
4:41:28anymore. At that time, that convoy had a
4:41:31lot of people. It was a pure breeding
4:41:33team. Our captain was not human at all.
4:41:35He demanded that all survivors, whenever
4:41:37they found a wheel, go up and draw once,
4:41:40and whatever they drew, they had to hand
4:41:42over to him. He was raising us like
4:41:44livestock, using our lives to draw from
4:41:46the wheel for him. I listened without
4:41:48changing expression, only slowly
4:41:50drinking water. At that time, Lie Huon
4:41:53and her brother were originally in
4:41:54another convoy. Jang Mang paused, but
4:41:57after meeting our convoy, they were
4:41:58directly swallowed up by us. Not long
4:42:01after they were merged in, we came
4:42:03across a new wheel. His voice began
4:42:06faintly to tremble. That was a in the
4:42:08center was a fivecolored prismatic
4:42:10roulette. Unlike an ordinary roulette,
4:42:12with the prismatic roulette, every time
4:42:14an item is drawn away, one item is gone.
4:42:17That means you can absolutely pile up
4:42:19human lives and forcibly draw out one by
4:42:22one. Exactly what the people up top
4:42:24want. At that time, the highest grade
4:42:26thing on that roulette should have been
4:42:27a seventh tier item. He swallowed as if
4:42:30recalling some unbearable scene. That
4:42:32damned captain made everyone go up and
4:42:34draw one by one. One draw and a young
4:42:37man could turn into an old man in an
4:42:39instant. And if someone was a little
4:42:41older, they just died right there in
4:42:43front of the roulette. When Jang Mang
4:42:45said this, the muscles all over his body
4:42:47trembled uncontrollably. Clearly, even
4:42:50after so long, he still could not forget
4:42:52that terrible sight. Those people
4:42:54falling dead one after another that I
4:42:56could not help but sigh inwardly that I
4:42:58in this apocalypse. There really were
4:43:00too many bastards. The five-colored
4:43:02roulette, one spin cost a full 50 years
4:43:04of lifespan that a young person would
4:43:06immediately become a 70 or 80year-old.
4:43:09Someone already older would simply be
4:43:11drawn to death on the spot. Jang Mang
4:43:13took quite a while to barely steady
4:43:15himself, then continued. At the time,
4:43:17Lie Huang was lined up in front of her
4:43:19younger brother. That younger brother of
4:43:21hers was useless. He fainted dead away
4:43:23from fear, so she was pushed in front of
4:43:25the roulette. If she didn't want to die
4:43:27right then, she had no choice but to
4:43:29spin it. She gritted her teeth and spun
4:43:31the roulette. But before the result even
4:43:34came out, several anomalies and fierce
4:43:36beasts seemed to have been drawn over by
4:43:38the corpses of those dead people. Those
4:43:40people, one after another, had fallen
4:43:42beside the roulette, their blood not
4:43:44even cold yet. The hand with which I
4:43:47held the water tightened imperceptibly.
4:43:49The convoy superhumans had no choice but
4:43:51to go up and fight those monsters.
4:43:54Because at that time, there were only
4:43:55five options left on the prismatic
4:43:57roulette, and the worst of those five
4:43:59was still a fifth tier item. only those
4:44:01anomalies and fierce beasts were all too
4:44:04strong. Those superhumans who normally
4:44:06treated people like animals. When they
4:44:08really encountered those monsters, they
4:44:10didn't last much longer than the
4:44:11survivors. Very quickly, several of them
4:44:14died, and the rest all scattered and
4:44:16fled. Jang Mangs breathing became rapid.
4:44:19I took advantage of the chaos and ran
4:44:21too. But before I ran, I looked back.
4:44:24With just that one glance, I saw Lee
4:44:26Hilon. Her whole body instantly became
4:44:29old. wrinkles, white hair, all of it
4:44:31surged up. But in the very next instant,
4:44:34something appeared in her hand. It
4:44:36looked like a black bead with some
4:44:37patterns on it. And then in that
4:44:40instant, Lie Huon, who had already
4:44:42become old and haggarded, regained her
4:44:44youth. After saying that, he panted
4:44:47heavily, raised his eyes, and carefully
4:44:49watched my expression. On the surface, I
4:44:51looked normal, but in my heart, a storm
4:44:54had already been stirred up. Dot. That
4:44:56black bead. Instantly, it matched
4:44:58perfectly with that strange eye I had
4:45:00seen through the heaven watching mirror
4:45:01that day at Lehuan's chest. The dark
4:45:04gold vertical pupil pitch black like a
4:45:06welder. I had never expected that such a
4:45:08thing had actually come from the
4:45:09prismatic roulette. On second thought, I
4:45:12felt that this was probably also the
4:45:13only chance an ordinary person had to
4:45:15touch a seventh tier item. With an
4:45:17ordinary roulette, if one wanted to draw
4:45:19a seventh tier item, it would at minimum
4:45:21have to be a fifth tier roulette. That
4:45:23meant one spin would cost over 300 years
4:45:26of lifespan. Ordinary survivors simply
4:45:28did not have that much lifespan. They
4:45:30could not even move the pointer.
4:45:32Challenge roulets could also yield
4:45:33seventh tier items. But those challenges
4:45:35were surely extremely difficult with
4:45:37pitfully low survival rates. Calculated
4:45:40this way, it really did seem that only
4:45:42the prismatic roulette gave people a
4:45:44chance to risk one life and gamble for
4:45:46such a seven-tier thing. Seeing that I
4:45:48seem to have digested this information,
4:45:50Jang Mang continued. The two of them
4:45:52later joined other convoys too. By then,
4:45:55Lie Huan had changed her story and said
4:45:57she was of the guide sequence, but she
4:45:59is definitely not of the guide sequence.
4:46:02She has some similar ability to sense
4:46:03danger. It should be thanks to that bead
4:46:05she drew from the roulette back then.
4:46:07Lee Hilon relied on this fake guide
4:46:09identity to occupy such a lofty position
4:46:12in the convoy. And her younger brother
4:46:14also relied on her identity to dare
4:46:16commit all sorts of evil outside. At
4:46:19this point, Jang Mang leaned closer,
4:46:21lowered his voice another three parts
4:46:23and said with a kind of eager
4:46:25sycophancy, "As long as you, brother,
4:46:27you make this matter clear to the
4:46:29captain, she definitely won't keep
4:46:30standing on their side. Then we can just
4:46:32take that bead back from that woman's
4:46:34hands, and she'll be no different from
4:46:36an ordinary survivor. However you want
4:46:38to deal with her, brother, you you can
4:46:40do it." He paused, then said earnestly,
4:46:42"I did wrong things before. I hope,
4:46:44brother, you can give me another chance.
4:46:46Whether it's serving at your side or
4:46:48charging in a battle, old Jeang will
4:46:50never be vague about it. Jang Mang
4:46:52looked extremely sincere, but in my
4:46:54heart, I was as clear as a mirror. I
4:46:56knew very well. Jang Mang was certainly
4:46:59hiding something, that Dharma artifact
4:47:01hanging around his neck. From beginning
4:47:03to end, he had not mentioned a single
4:47:05word about it. This was merely because
4:47:07he was worried that I might trouble him
4:47:08later. So, he wanted to show goodwill
4:47:10and put my mind at ease. But Jang Mang
4:47:13could never have guessed. I had actually
4:47:15known this secret long ag. In fact, I
4:47:18knew far more than what Jang Mang had
4:47:20told me. What Jang Mang had just said
4:47:21only filled in for me the origin of the
4:47:23very first part. At present, I still had
4:47:26not figured out what that I was useful
4:47:28for. So, naturally, I could not act
4:47:29rashly. Therefore, I first had to soothe
4:47:32Jeang Mang and not let this fellow mess
4:47:34up my own plans. That is, oh, I put on a
4:47:36look of serious consideration and slowly
4:47:38nodded. Your information is very
4:47:40valuable. As for what happened before,
4:47:42I've already stopped taking it to heart.
4:47:44Next, we still need to find a way to
4:47:46figure out what that bead is actually
4:47:48for. We cannot easily alert the enemy.
4:47:51Hearing this, Jang Mang nodded
4:47:52repeatedly, his face piling up with
4:47:55smiles. Yes, yes, yes, brother. You
4:47:57considered it thoroughly. I was thinking
4:47:59too shallowly. Then I'll just wait for
4:48:01your news. With that, he apologized
4:48:04repeatedly, bowed, and retreated. Not
4:48:06long after Jeang Mang left, a blood
4:48:08demon guard came over and respectfully
4:48:11said that Captain Su invited me over to
4:48:13eat fierce beast meat together. I tidied
4:48:15myself a little, stood up, and followed
4:48:17him to an open area outside the
4:48:19supermarket. There, a bonfire was
4:48:21burning fiercely. The two hind legs of
4:48:23that second tier dog king had been set
4:48:25over the fire, roasting and sizzling as
4:48:28oil dripped out. The oil beads fell into
4:48:30the fire with a hiss hiss and a rich
4:48:32meaty aroma mixed with the smell of char
4:48:35drifted far away on the night wind. The
4:48:37one carving and turning the meat beside
4:48:39the fire was one of the men from the
4:48:41bus. He had once been a chef. It was
4:48:43precisely because of this skill that he
4:48:45had been exceptionally allowed to stay
4:48:46on that bus. Apart from him, Fuan Jang
4:48:50Lelay and the other superhumans had all
4:48:52already arrived. Captain Su probably
4:48:54still retained the habits from her
4:48:55former work. She was used to using such
4:48:57an evening meal to let her superhumans
4:48:59sit together and bond so that in future
4:49:02battles they might have a little more
4:49:03tacic cooperation. Only Liia seemed very
4:49:06unappreciative of such an arrangement.
4:49:08From the moment I appeared, his eyes had
4:49:11been fixed dead on me, full of
4:49:12undisguised anger. But I acted as if I
4:49:15had not seen such a person at all. I
4:49:17walked straight over and calmly sat down
4:49:19at the position to Sumuing<unk>s right.
4:49:21Suing did not mind the others. With her
4:49:23own hands, she cut a large piece of
4:49:25golden oil dripping meat from the dog
4:49:27leg and handed it to me. Try it. Her
4:49:30tone was faint. Fierce Beast meat is
4:49:32good for strengthening the constitution,
4:49:34and it tastes quite good, too. You can
4:49:36eat more. I nodded, took the meat, cut a
4:49:39few thin slices with a small knife, and
4:49:41put them in my mouth. The fat melted on
4:49:43my tongue, rich and savory, far better
4:49:46than anything I had eaten in the past
4:49:47half month that I swallowed the meat and
4:49:49said, "Seriously, it really is very
4:49:51good." Over on the other side, Li Jiao
4:49:54waited and waited, but in the end, he
4:49:56never got even a tiny piece of meat cut
4:49:58for him by Sum Muing<unk>s own hand. He
4:50:01could only suddenly stuff the piece Lee
4:50:03Hilon handed him into his mouth and chew
4:50:05hard again and again. In the flickering
4:50:08fire light, the way he curled up in the
4:50:10corner really did look like a stray dog,
4:50:12just amid all that warmth and meaty
4:50:14aroma. My expression suddenly shifted
4:50:16slightly. Dot. I in my bosom. The
4:50:18surface of the heaven watching mirror
4:50:20quietly lit up. A convoy made entirely
4:50:22of cattle appeared on the mirror's
4:50:24surface and appraisal information
4:50:26surfaced in the next instant. Name
4:50:28cattle skin of beast creation tier.
4:50:30First category spell created object
4:50:33effect. After a person puts it on, they
4:50:35become an ordinary water buffalo. They
4:50:37can live by eating grass. Muddled and
4:50:40obedient, my gaze instantly became
4:50:42grave. From the very first glance at
4:50:44that convoy, I had felt an indescribable
4:50:46strangeness. In the apocalypse, driving
4:50:49a herd of cattle and migrating slowly.
4:50:52That was far too unreasonable. Cattle
4:50:54were not fast to begin with. Walking and
4:50:56stopping all the way, they were the
4:50:58easiest way to drag down a journey. More
4:51:00importantly, such a large group of
4:51:02living creatures gathered together,
4:51:03their blood auras surging was the most
4:51:06likely thing to attract fierce beasts
4:51:08and anomalies. Ordinary people could not
4:51:10hide fast enough, who would actively
4:51:12drive a herd of cattle through town
4:51:14ostentatiously. Only when the appraisal
4:51:16result appeared did I realize that those
4:51:18cattle were actually all transformed
4:51:20people. Back in my hometown, I had
4:51:22vaguely heard some old ghost stories.
4:51:24Among them was a beastmaking art used
4:51:26specifically by human traffickers to
4:51:28abduct children. Talisman secretly
4:51:31controlled the child's soul. Then a
4:51:33layer of sheep skin was pasted onto
4:51:34them, and a living person could be
4:51:36fooled into becoming a sheep that only
4:51:38bleeded Baba. Anyone who saw it would
4:51:40only take it for an ordinary livestock
4:51:42animal. At that time, I treated it all
4:51:45as ghost talk after meals used to coax
4:51:47children to sleep. But now, after the
4:51:49apocalypse descended, those absurd
4:51:51things from stories had actually become
4:51:53real one after another. Thinking
4:51:55carefully, it seemed that fantasies
4:51:57becoming real were not limited to this
4:51:59one kind. Those items drawn from
4:52:01roulettes, those superhuman pathways.
4:52:04How many of them were not things humans
4:52:06had once written in fantasy works? Sword
4:52:08immortals, chi refiners, magic
4:52:10treasures, divine powers, now even a
4:52:13method like beastmaking had emerged. I
4:52:16did not know whether more strange things
4:52:17would emerge in the future. And judging
4:52:19by the other side's methods, turning a
4:52:21perfectly healthy person into a beast by
4:52:23spell and driving them along the road.
4:52:26This was probably a standard breeding
4:52:27convoy, exactly like the breeding convoy
4:52:30Jang Mang had mentioned. They would
4:52:32treat ordinary people entirely as
4:52:34expendables for drawing from the
4:52:35roulette. And precisely because of this,
4:52:37they had chosen to transform these
4:52:39people into water buffalo. Water buffalo
4:52:41could live on grass alone, saving food.
4:52:44And after being muddled by the spell,
4:52:46they were easier to control and would
4:52:48not cause trouble. I even vaguely felt
4:52:50that there might be a deeper calculation
4:52:52in this. After becoming water buffalo,
4:52:54perhaps they could deceive the senses of
4:52:56certain anomalies. After all, anomalies
4:52:59were different from fierce beasts.
4:53:01Anomalies were only interested in
4:53:03people. They had little appetite for
4:53:04wild beasts or livestock. My gays slowly
4:53:07swept over the 13 people riding on
4:53:09buffalo backs at the very front.
4:53:11Ordinary survivors had all been turned
4:53:13into water buffalo. Then those who could
4:53:15steadily ride on buffalo backs and did
4:53:17not need to walk themselves were
4:53:19naturally known no nobodies. Either
4:53:20superhumans or people extremely close to
4:53:23superhumans like Lee Huon and Li Jiao.
4:53:26Without changing my expression, I
4:53:28focused slightly and from the corner of
4:53:29my eye quietly studied those 13 people
4:53:32for a while. The five at the back were
4:53:34extremely beautiful. In such an
4:53:35apocalypse, they still wore exquisite
4:53:38full makeup and fashionable clothes.
4:53:40Their waist were slender, their eyes and
4:53:42brows seductive. Each was dressed as if
4:53:45going to some banquet. Such abnormal
4:53:46behavior needed no thought. 10 to one,
4:53:49they were kept by those male superhumans
4:53:51for amusement. and the remaining eight,
4:53:53unless something unexpected happened,
4:53:55should all be superhumans. A te the
4:53:57front was an old man wearing sunglasses.
4:53:59He was not young, but his figure was
4:54:01still ramrod straight. Sitting on the
4:54:03buffalo's back, his spine was like a
4:54:05spear. Just from that calm,
4:54:07self-possessed bearing, one could tell
4:54:09he was the leader. The lenses of the
4:54:11sunglasses on his nose were pitch black,
4:54:13covering his eyes tightly. But through
4:54:15the heaven watching mirror, I saw
4:54:17clearly. Behind those sunglasses, the
4:54:19old man's right eye was actually grayish
4:54:21white and cloudy, as if it had been
4:54:23blind for many years. Behind the old man
4:54:26followed two burly men, broad-shouldered
4:54:28and thickbacked, their muscles nodded.
4:54:30At a glance, they were clearly the brute
4:54:32strength type. Beside them was another
4:54:34man with a long saber at his waist. The
4:54:36scabbard was plain and ancient, his hand
4:54:39always resting on the hilt, his eyes
4:54:41like a hawks. Further back were two
4:54:43women point one had blue intricate eerie
4:54:46markings floating on her cheeks winding
4:54:48all the way down to her neck giving off
4:54:50a sinister air. The other was riding a
4:54:53huge wolf dark red all over its fur like
4:54:56blood over 2 m long. In the heaven
4:54:58watching mirror's appraisal it was named
4:55:00wasteland blood wolf a second tier
4:55:02fierce beast. As for the last two men
4:55:05one had eyes faintly blue so clear it
4:55:07was almost unnatural. Clearly, his
4:55:10superhuman power should lie in those
4:55:11eyes. The other had brassy yellow dyed
4:55:14hair, an arrogant and flippant
4:55:16expression, and all sorts of messy
4:55:17tattoos on his neck and arms. He looked
4:55:20as careless as if the sky could fall,
4:55:21and he would not care. These eight
4:55:23people were the backbone of that convoy.
4:55:25And at this moment, in Su Muing's
4:55:27convoy, even counting Li Jiao, who had
4:55:30just mixed in, there were only six
4:55:32superhumans who could truly be brought
4:55:34out to fight. I in terms of numbers, we
4:55:36were at a disadvantage. Moreover, we
4:55:38knew nothing about the depth of those
4:55:40superhumans abilities. I in a situation
4:55:42where we could not clearly grasp their
4:55:44background. Starting a fight would
4:55:46obviously be extremely dangerous. But I
4:55:48did not need to say these judgments
4:55:50aloud. Nor did I need to tell Sumuing
4:55:52because in the next moment, the
4:55:53communicator beside her crackled and
4:55:55ranged at it was the blood demon guard
4:55:57stationed outside. Using binoculars,
4:56:00they had obviously also seen that herd
4:56:02of cattle slowly approaching the town.
4:56:04Their voices were very low as they asked
4:56:06her how to handle it. The several people
4:56:08who had been eating with their heads
4:56:09down gradually stopped when they heard
4:56:11the voice from the communicator. Their
4:56:13gazes all fell on Su Muing, waiting for
4:56:16her to make a decision. Suing put down
4:56:18the small knife in her hand. Unhurriedly
4:56:20wiped her fingertips with a handkerchief
4:56:22and said faintly, "Since guests have
4:56:24come, we should welcome them. We can't
4:56:26let them think we don't understand."
4:56:28Courtesy, "All of you come out with me
4:56:30and meet them." This handling coincided
4:56:32exactly with what I had in mind. After
4:56:34all, they had already reached the door.
4:56:36If you did not even have the courage to
4:56:37go out and meet them, it would make them
4:56:39think you were an easy target. The more
4:56:41you shrank back, the more it would
4:56:42invite those with ill intentions to
4:56:44probe and act. The group quickly arrived
4:56:46at the entrance to the bridge. At this
4:56:49time, the cattle herd had just stepped
4:56:50into the town. The several blood demon
4:56:52guards at the bridge head as soon as
4:56:54they saw Sue Muing's figure, relaxed
4:56:56their tense shoulders half an inch, and
4:56:58immediately came forward in low voices.
4:57:01They said that these people called
4:57:02themselves the peace convoy and said
4:57:05they wanted to stay in the town for one
4:57:06night. The principles on the other side
4:57:08had also seen the people coming from
4:57:10this side. The old man in sunglasses
4:57:12slowly dismounted from the buffalo's
4:57:14back and unhurriedly stepped forward. He
4:57:16raised his hands and cupped them
4:57:18slightly in salute, his voice gentle as
4:57:20a spring breeze. I am Tang Yuan, captain
4:57:23of the peace convoy. It is already late.
4:57:26We merely wish to rest in this town for
4:57:28one night. We will leave at dawn and
4:57:30will not add the slightest trouble to
4:57:31any of you. Su Muing<unk>s gaze swept
4:57:33without expression over the several
4:57:35people behind him. When her gaze drifted
4:57:37to the cattle herd, it paused for only
4:57:39an extremely brief instant on her face.
4:57:42However, she still wore a polite and
4:57:44proper smile. You are too kind. I am
4:57:47Sumuing. We have also only just arrived
4:57:50in this town. It cannot really be called
4:57:52ours. Meeting is fate. Everyone may rest
4:57:54as they please. This town is quite
4:57:56large. Even several more convoys could
4:57:59fit. The gaze behind Tangg Yu Shan<unk>s
4:58:01sunglasses focused slightly. Then he
4:58:03cuppuffed his hands again. Then, "Thank
4:58:05you, Captain Sue." With that, he climbed
4:58:07back onto the buffalo's back, cupped his
4:58:10hands once more, turned, and left. The
4:58:12several superhumans behind him casually
4:58:14swept their gazes over our group, then
4:58:16finally all turned, and slowly
4:58:18disappeared into the heavy night. Once
4:58:20the figures of that group had completely
4:58:22vanished, the polite smile on Su
4:58:24Muing<unk>s face abruptly faded,
4:58:26replaced by cold clarity, she said in a
4:58:29low voice. Tonight, all blood demon
4:58:31guards will be divided into three teams.
4:58:34The superhumans will also be divided
4:58:35into three teams and take turns keeping
4:58:38watch with the blood demon guards. This
4:58:40convoy does not look easy to deal with.
4:58:42She paused, then said word by word,
4:58:44"Those cattle of theirs, there's
4:58:46something wrong with them. They look
4:58:48human." When they heard the words,
4:58:49"Look, human," Honanin and the others
4:58:52could not help but feel their hearts
4:58:53skip. Thinking back to that herd of
4:58:55cattle, they had also felt at first that
4:58:57something was indescribably off, but
4:58:59they could not pin it down for the
4:59:01moment. Now that Su Muing had pointed it
4:59:03out, the vague discomfort in their
4:59:05hearts instantly became clear. It was
4:59:07those cattle's eyes. Those pairs of
4:59:09buffalo eyes were not at all like what
4:59:11livestock should have. They were more
4:59:12like human eyes, only magnified several
4:59:15times over. and a convoy that turned
4:59:17people into cattle and drove them along
4:59:19the road. Obviously, it was not made up
4:59:22of good people. Naturally, no one had
4:59:24any objection to this arrangement. Even
4:59:26Fuan, who had always hated staying up
4:59:29late, always complained that staying up
4:59:31late damaged her skin and kept the word
4:59:33maintenance on her lips all day. Now,
4:59:36for the first time in her life, did not
4:59:38say a single word. Because among those
4:59:40people just now, several gazes directed
4:59:42at her had truly made her skin crawl.
4:59:44Those looks were exactly like two
4:59:46starving wolves suddenly catching sight
4:59:48of a piece of fat meat delivered to
4:59:50their door that I took in everyone's
4:59:51expressions one by one. But I myself
4:59:54said nothing. I merely stood quietly, my
4:59:56face unchanging. While in my heart I had
4:59:59already gone over the details of that
5:00:00fleeting glance again and again on the
5:00:03other side. After crossing the bridge,
5:00:05the peace convoy turned a corner and
5:00:07found a hotel that was still intact.
5:00:09They stopped there. Tangg Yusan
5:00:11dismounted from the buffalo's back and
5:00:12walked slowly to the front of those
5:00:14cattle, the very ones that the
5:00:16superhumans had been riding. He extended
5:00:18two fingers, held them together in a
5:00:20sword incantation gesture, and drew an
5:00:23eerie talisman in the air above each of
5:00:25the water buffaloos browsed eye. In the
5:00:27next instant, the thick dense hair on
5:00:30those water buffalo receded and vanished
5:00:32at a speed visible to the naked eye.
5:00:34Their stout hopes pulled out inch by
5:00:36inch and deformed. The beastly heads
5:00:38also slowly twisted and collapsed. In
5:00:41only a few breaths, those buffalo turned
5:00:43back into several men. Those men all had
5:00:46wooden expressions, muddy eyes, and not
5:00:48the slightest spirit. Clearly, their
5:00:50souls had long been firmly gripped by
5:00:52someone. Without anyone giving orders,
5:00:54they scattered directly. One went to
5:00:56find firewood, one went to find water.
5:00:59Working together deafly and quickly,
5:01:01they found an open area, squatted down,
5:01:04started a fire, set up a pot, and began
5:01:06cooking. Judging by how practiced their
5:01:08movements were, it was obvious they had
5:01:10done this sort of thing thousands of
5:01:12times before. Over here, the most
5:01:14impatient one, the yellow-haired man,
5:01:16saw that there were no outsiders around
5:01:18and immediately could not hold back that
5:01:20he leaned close to Tangyushuan and
5:01:22lowering his voice, said impatiently,
5:01:24"Boss, I think these people, apart from
5:01:27that captain and that short-haired girl
5:01:28who looks like she has some ability, the
5:01:30rest are all trash. When do we act?" The
5:01:33mild smile on Tangg Yusan<unk>s face had
5:01:36not yet had time to bloom. Smack! A loud
5:01:38slap, without the slightest warning,
5:01:40struck the yellow-haired man hard across
5:01:42the head. The movement was frighteningly
5:01:45fast, as if one moment he had still worn
5:01:47a spring breeze on his face, and the
5:01:49next he had already revealed his killing
5:01:51intent. Tangg Yusan<unk>s face suddenly
5:01:53turned cold, gloomy as a frozen pond.
5:01:56Word by word, he said. How many times
5:01:58have I said it? Estimate the enemy
5:02:00generously. Even a lion uses its full
5:02:03strength to catch a rabbit. Why can you
5:02:05just not learn? The yellow-haired man
5:02:07took the slap, yet did not take it
5:02:09seriously at all. His ability was
5:02:11originally of the body strengthening
5:02:12path. That slap on his face was a little
5:02:14different from a tickled tea grinned,
5:02:16raised a hand to scratch his head, and
5:02:18said shamelessly, "Boss, isn't it all
5:02:21because you, old man, never miscalculate
5:02:24anything? For this kind of thing, why
5:02:26would I need to waste my brain? Whatever
5:02:28you say, I'll do. I'll listen entirely
5:02:30to you." Tangg Yusan stared at him for
5:02:32two breaths, but in the end did not say
5:02:34anything more that he raised a hand and
5:02:37slowly took off the sunglasses on his
5:02:38nose, then slowly wiped them with a
5:02:40glasses cloth. I in the next instant his
5:02:43eyes were completely exposed to
5:02:44everyone. One was an extremely pale gray
5:02:47white almost blending into the whites of
5:02:49his eyes, cloudy, covered with a layer
5:02:51of dead air, hollow as two dried up
5:02:54wells that had been dry for years. The
5:02:56other was pure, bottomless black, so
5:02:58black that not a trace of light
5:03:00remained, as if it were not an eyeball
5:03:02at all, but a crack leading to some dark
5:03:04abyss that it was with these eyes, one
5:03:07gray, one black, sharply distinct, that
5:03:09he coldly swept his gaze over everyone
5:03:11present. Wherever that gaze fell, even
5:03:14though the people beside him were all
5:03:15desperate criminals and ruthless
5:03:17characters whose hands had been stained
5:03:19with who knew how much human blood,
5:03:21their spines still involuntarily
5:03:22tightened bit by bit. I in that gaze
5:03:25there was not the slightest warmth of a
5:03:27living person. There was only endless
5:03:29crystallin indifference and a kind of
5:03:31bone deep, seemingly innate coldness
5:03:34that it was as if what he looked at were
5:03:36not people, but corpses already flayed
5:03:38of skin and flesh simply waiting to be
5:03:40collected into his bag. Tangg Yuan
5:03:42slowly raised his head and glanced at
5:03:44the crescent moon gradually climbing
5:03:46into the night sky. His tone was flat
5:03:49without the slightest ripple. That
5:03:50captain has most likely sensed
5:03:52something. Tonight, she will definitely
5:03:54be on guard. At midnight, I will set up
5:03:57a soul confusing formation. Then we act.
5:04:00He withdrew his gaze and looked at the
5:04:02man with blue pupils. Tonight, you will
5:04:04be upstairs responsible for watching
5:04:06them. Not a single one may be allowed to
5:04:08escape. The man he was staring at nodded
5:04:10slightly. Then his gaze fell on the
5:04:12other superhumans. Last time in that
5:04:15dungeon secret realm, we were just one
5:04:17final step away from passing that trial.
5:04:19As long as we can refine all these
5:04:21living people into evil corpses, the
5:04:23faint dark light in his eyes flickered
5:04:25slightly. This time we will definitely
5:04:28pass. I do not wish for a second
5:04:30failure. Understand.

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This page contains the full transcript of Others Trade 10 Years for Noodles, but He Has the Only Talent to Control Every Spin’s Outcome! by Exquisite Comics, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 58,156 words across 8,518 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

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