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.
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
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)
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
