The Goddess

Food? You're willing to give me food? Hearing Ye Chuan's words, the older man seemed genuinely tempted. The black rain had been falling for a long time, and his own food reserves were nearly depleted.

Let alone food, he barely had any drinking water left. If he hadn't hoarded some supplies in advance because he anticipated a war, he would have already become one of the mud monsters in this black rain apocalypse.

Of course, in such a world, the man didn't fully trust the two people in front of him.

But the awkward reality was that Ye Chuan's monster-like strength had just crushed his gun barrel into a ball like a piece of tissue paper.

It seemed like he had a choice, but in reality, he had none.

The man sighed deeply and slumped back into his chair. Ask away. I'll tell you everything I know... I don't beg for how much food you can give me, I just hope you won't hurt my poor wife and daughter.

They... are my only motivation to keep living.

He seemed to love his family deeply, even though they had already turned into monsters.

Mhm. Ye Chuan didn't have much interest in killing mud monsters anyway. After all, they didn't grant any attribute points, items, or experience, unless they actually got in his way.

Ye Chuan found an upright wooden stool to sit on and casually leaned his greatsword against the wall.

Tell me about the black rain. Was it like this from the beginning?

To be honest, Ye Chuan didn't completely trust Xiao Tian. Now that he had met a second living person, he wanted to see if Xiaogua was still lying to him.

If she was lying again, Ye Chuan would kick her head like a melon.

The man raised a hand to wipe his face, his voice extremely hoarse.

No... At first, it was just normal rain. After a few days, it turned grayish-black, but people could still barely go outside back then.

Until one day half a year ago, the sky suddenly went as dark as night. The black rain abruptly thickened, just like it is now, making it impossible to see anything.

His gaze fell on the iron cage, pain surging in his eyes.

That day, my wife and daughter were in the yard bringing in the laundry. They didn't have time to hide and were drenched by the black rain.

At first, their skin just got itchy and red. I thought it was a normal skin condition. Who knew that a few days later, their skin would start to fester and melt, and even their bones seemed to soften...

The man's voice began to tremble.

They screamed in pain, and their consciousness grew more and more blurry. Eventually, they became like this—no light in their eyes, only capable of roaring and biting.

That day, the two of them lunged at me. I had no choice but to lock them inside the iron cage... I couldn't bear to let them go, nor could I accept it. I always thought that once the rain stopped, they would change back.

The mud monsters in the iron cage seemed to understand. They squirmed and bumped against the bars, dark purple slime dripping down through the gaps.

Xiao Tian stood behind Ye Chuan, silently watching this scene.

Ye Chuan remained expressionless after hearing this and asked,

Right... what about the Hill Empire? What is the situation over in the royal capital?

The man froze for a moment, then shook his head. The Hill Empire... is our country, but I've been guarding this farm with my father since I was a child. I've never been to the royal capital in my entire life, let alone know what's happening there now.

Ever since the black rain fell, I haven't even seen people from the neighboring village. News from the outside was cut off long ago.

As expected, he couldn't get anything out of him on that front.

Ye Chuan thought to himself, then steered the topic back to the main point.

Then what about the goddess statue in the town, and the goddess people mentioned? Why did people smash the statue later?

Goddess? The man frowned, thinking for a long time before speaking.

When the corruption first appeared, word came from the town that a goddess had descended who could cure that strange disease. I heard that anyone she touched would be healed of their festering wounds. A lot of people ran to the town, begging her to save their lives.

And then?

I don't know what happened after that. The man shook his head.

After the black rain thickened, I never heard any more news about the goddess curing people. Instead, people who escaped said that the corruption in the town was multiplying. Some said the goddess had stopped caring, while others said there was something wrong with the goddess herself.

Later on, I heard that the townspeople went crazy and smashed the goddess statue, calling her a false god who couldn't protect them at all.

Ye Chuan pieced together the current clues, and they seemed to match up.

The goddess protected people because she could cure diseases?

Did the goddess kill us to vent her anger?

Having asked what he needed to, Ye Chuan stood up. He casually took out over a dozen packs of ultra-compressed biscuits and two jugs of purified water from his backpack, placing them on the table.

The food I promised. This should be enough to last you a while.

Looking at the food on the table, the man's eyes lit up fiercely, then turned red. He stood up and repeatedly bowed to Ye Chuan.

Thank you... thank you, young man. You really are a good person...

In this black rain apocalypse, food and water were more precious than life itself. Ye Chuan's generosity was a life-saving grace to him.

Ye Chuan waved his hand, paying no mind to his gratitude.

Don't just blindly stand guard. When you really can't hold on anymore, find a way out for yourself.

With that, he picked up the iron door panel.

Let's go, Xiaogua.

Xiao Tian hurriedly nodded and followed behind Ye Chuan. Before walking out the door, she looked back at the iron cage and the hunched older man, feeling a complex mix of emotions.

The two walked out of the cabin. The black rain was still pouring down densely, making crackling sounds as it smashed against the door panel.

In the muddy fields of the farm, a few small mud monsters were startled by their footsteps. They slowly crawled over, only to be casually slashed into pieces of mud by Ye Chuan's sword.

Brother Cai Kun, it seems like we didn't really find out much, Xiao Tian asked softly after walking beside Ye Chuan for a while.

Ye Chuan turned his head to look at her. That goddess—is she a player?

Xiao Tian froze for a moment. I'm not sure...

It's Tian Xiaotian, isn't it?

Xiao Tian: ...

So you did know about this? You were still keeping it from me, weren't you? Ye Chuan said.

No, no, no, no, I wasn't keeping it from you. It's just that you didn't ask—

Xiao Tian answered truthfully, The goddess is Mother... But ever since the black rain fell, the townspeople have been saying that the strange disease didn't spread much initially. However, after Mother disappeared, the black rain appeared.

Everyone says that what Mother did provoked the wrath of the gods...

The goddess statue, which was originally built out of gratitude to Mother, was also smashed.

Xiao Tian's voice grew quieter and quieter until it was drowned out by the sound of the rain.

Ye Chuan stayed silent for a moment before saying indifferently, Once we find that person, everything should become clear—even if it's just a corpse or a soul.

...

Okay... Just as Xiao Tian was responding, she subconsciously glanced behind them. Suddenly, she shouted, Ban-bandage monsters, brother!

Ye Chuan looked back, only to find that less than a hundred meters away, seven or eight bandage monsters were staggering toward them!

The moment it spotted Ye Chuan and Xiao Tian, a spine-chilling smile crept across the bandaged entity's face.