Lian Na's family was once happy, with her father and mother living in harmony and showering her with love. But after her father became addicted to drugs, everything changed drastically.
He stopped working, began extorting and beating her mother... Disillusioned, her mother eventually left him for another man. When she departed, she didn’t take Lian Na with her, and Lian Na didn’t complain much about it. At home, she did her best to make herself invisible, watching as her father, in the throes of addiction, destroyed everything around him... Only when he collapsed from exhaustion would she carefully try to piece their shattered family back together.
When sober, her father could still hold a normal conversation. He would apologize for his mistakes and swear it would never happen again... But his promises meant nothing, always dissolving into even more agonized screams.
Lian Na wanted to escape too. She knew her father had become a monster with no bottom line, corrupted by the drugs... But she had nowhere to go. This was her home.
Yet even then, she never imagined her father would sell her off.
As she watched him fawn and haggle with a bare-chested man from the Human Race—who eyed her like merchandise—an endless terror rose in her heart.
"No... no! Father, don’t sell me! Wake up... Help!" Lian Na screamed, struggling to break free.
But her father’s grip on her wrist was unrelenting. She was just an underage girl—how could she escape a grown man’s hold?
"Stay still!" Her father kicked her in the stomach impatiently, making her double over in pain before he dragged her along the ground by her arm.
The bare-chested man from the Human Race frowned at the elf. "She’s merchandise. Damage her, and she loses value."
"Sorry, sorry... I understand. She’s yours now. She’s no longer my concern."
The man from the Human Race tossed the elf a small bag, which he clutched like treasure before bolting outside.
"Drugs... hah! So much! Enough to last days! Who knew Lian Na was worth this much? Should’ve sold her sooner!" The elf tore open the bag as he ran, eagerly dipping a finger inside.
"His mind is completely gone," Xia Lun sighed, watching the scene.
"Once he finishes that bag, he’ll just hurt more people," Aina warned. "What will you do, Hero?"
As the elf sprinted out of the alley, his foot suddenly slipped—and he plummeted into a void beyond space.
The chaotic spatial currents shredded him like a meat grinder, erasing his existence in an instant.
Xia Lun stared thoughtfully at the heavy bag of white powder in his hand before stepping into the alley with Aina.
"Is this the contraband Liyana mentioned?" he murmured.
Aina dipped a slender finger into the powder, rubbing it thoughtfully.
"Hmm... not made from materials native to our world," she mused.
"What?"
"Likely from the Spirit Realm or certain dungeon ingredients. Hallucinogenic, addictive... and especially potent for elves..."
Xia Lun: "Aina, do you know something?"
She shook her head lightly. "I’m not certain, but this might be linked to the Hymn of Nature."
"The Hymn of Nature?"
"A malevolent god from beyond our world... In its realm, all life is plant-based, and the Hymn of Nature is the strongest among them."
"Plants?"
Xia Lun pondered—how did plants define strength? By competing for nutrients? Was the Hymn of Nature simply the largest?
Aina seemed to read his thoughts. "The plants of that world are mobile. They walk on roots, impale foes with branches, even use vines like hands... They’re nothing like what you imagine."
Well, that was far from what Xia Lun had pictured.
He glanced at the bag. "And this connects to the Hymn of Nature how?"
"Because that’s how it controls all life in its world—its pollen induces submission. This drug’s effects are nearly identical," Aina said softly. "This might be made from its pollen... but I can’t be sure. I’ve never encountered that god. Its world is too distant."
Huh... So a god’s true form could be a flower.
And elves, being closer to nature, suffered stronger effects from the drug.
A rough voice echoed from deeper in the alley.
"Tch, stop fighting. Your father sold you. You’re a slave now."
"Elf slaves fetch a high price among the Human Race."
"But even nobles wouldn’t dare flaunt you openly—it’d anger the elves. So you’ll spend your life locked underground as a plaything."
"Annoying... but once you’ve had a taste of this, you’ll obey."
The man poured powder into his palm, moving to force it into Lian Na’s mouth.
But a hand seized his wrist.
"Who the hell are you? When did you get here?" The drug dealer glared at Xia Lun, trying to yank free—but his wrist might as well have been clamped in iron. "Stay out of this!"
The man was no weakling—a mid-tier warrior—but against Xia Lun, he was just another mortal.
Crack.
With a crisp snap, the dealer’s wrist twisted unnaturally, dangling limp. The bone hadn’t pierced flesh, but the sight was gruesome.
"Ahh!" The man screamed. Xia Lun watched coldly.
"W-what do you want?" The man shrank back until his back hit the wall. "Who sent you?"
Xia Lun had no interest in answering. He held up the white powder. "Where did this come from?"
The man’s face twisted. "I... I got it from the witches’ guild—"
Blue light flickered in Xia Lun’s eyes. A lie. And an attempt to shift blame.
Crack.
Xia Lun stepped forward and kicked, snapping the man's thigh with a sickening crack. Another agonized scream tore from the man's throat as he slid down the wall, collapsing onto the ground.
"You have one last chance," Xia Lun said coldly.
"It's the Blood Pact! They supply this kind of potion!" the man howled in pain.
"Good. Thanks for the information."
"So... you'll let me go, right?"
Xia Lun didn’t answer. With a casual flick of his hand—
The man could only stare, dumbstruck, at the spatial rift now gaping before him.
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
