The Divine Land.
Yushui Village, Local Earth Temple.
Lin Yuyu’s face flushed red with excitement as she exclaimed, "A warm welcome to our esteemed Group Leader and all the senior members for your inspection and research visit to Yushui Village!"
She was beyond thrilled.
In this world, if you didn’t have strength, you had to rely on connections—and frankly, she had neither!
Though she had stumbled into high-level scenarios twice by accident, her lack of skill meant she barely gained any real experience. She had only familiarized herself with basic spellcasting and barely advanced from the lowest 14th-tier to the peak of the 13th-tier.
In a world teeming with demons and monsters, she was still nothing more than a small fry!
But today, the Group Leader himself had arrived, leading a delegation of top-tier experts for an inspection!
What did this mean?
It meant her greatest backer had arrived!
With the Group Leader backing her, what demon or monster would dare bully her now?
"Lin Yuyu, don’t mind us. Just act as you normally would—show us your daily routine in its truest form," Chen Yi said with an official tone.
The purpose of his visit was to study the strengths of the grassroots management system in the Divine Land, identify its flaws, and ultimately transplant this incense-based divine system—capable of greatly enhancing fortune—back to the Purple Star Continent.
He wanted to see the real workings of the system, not just copy it blindly from the lofty Divine Land’s Heavenly Dao.
To put it bluntly, the Heavenly Dao here was lazy, even negligent. As long as the world functioned smoothly and its fortune grew steadily, it barely lifted a finger—it probably didn’t even know what its subordinates were up to!
But under Chen Yi’s discerning gaze, the Divine Land’s seemingly prosperous facade was riddled with hidden problems, all glossed over.
And Lin Yuyu?
She was the sharp scalpel that would cut through this false veneer!
"Ah... I’m a bit nervous. If I don’t perform well, please guide me, Group Leader and seniors!"
Lin Yuyu stood at attention and even gave a salute, mimicking formal etiquette.
"Hahaha..."
Chen Yi couldn’t help but laugh, and the other members of the inspection team—Ye Wuchen, Fang Zheng, Gu Yuan, and Xiao Chunan—also chuckled warmly.
They had all been novices once. Now, seeing such an earnest rookie putting on a show before them stirred an indescribable feeling.
"Hehe..." Lin Yuyu scratched her head awkwardly but politely, then straightened up and reported seriously, "I oversee an area of over three hundred li around Yushui Village, including nine settlements, 1,024 households, and nearly ten thousand people."
"Before your arrival, I had already completed most of today’s routine tasks. The rest won’t take more than an hour to finish. After that, we’ll move on to the unresolved, thornier issues—which might require some assistance from the seniors... Group Leader, does this arrangement suit you?"
Chen Yi replied calmly, "It’s your call."
With permission granted, Lin Yuyu immediately shifted into work mode. Her spirit form drifted out of the shrine and floated toward one of the villages, with Chen Yi’s group following closely behind, observing and commenting along the way.
It was dusk. A few burly men, hoes slung over their shoulders, walked back from the fields, chatting and laughing along the narrow village paths.
"Blessed by Lady Yusu, this year’s crops are growing exceptionally well!"
"True. Maybe it’s just me, but doesn’t Lady Yusu’s statue in the temple look different now?"
"Yeah, I feel the same. I remember her eyes used to look half-closed, like she didn’t dare look at us. Now they’re wide open—almost like she’s glaring at me, just like my eldest daughter when she’s angry..."
"Ugh, don’t say that—I’ve got goosebumps now! That glare’s back! Did Lady Yusu hear us? Lady Yusu, forgive me! I shouldn’t have gossiped about you behind your back..."
Indeed!
Lin Yuyu was both embarrassed and annoyed. Normally, she could tolerate the villagers’ chatter, but now, with the Group Leader and seniors right behind her, they were still blabbering? Did she have no dignity left?
Fine—may you choke on your food and water!
"Hahaha! Old Wang, you’re done for! Better offer Lady Yusu extra incense tomorrow to apologize, or she might stop blessing you!"
"Tch, my big mouth... I’ll head home now and prepare the incense first thing tomorrow!"
"This is serious, you know. My wife came back from her family’s place yesterday and told me something big happened in Dashixiang. A man skipped his incense offering to Lord Wugou, and that very night, a ghost got him!"
"What? That serious?"
"Just because he missed an offering, a ghost attacked him? Really?"
"Shh! Keep it down! I’m only telling you lot—this is taboo talk. Don’t spread it around!"
"Relax, you know I can keep a secret!"
"My lips are sealed too!"
"Go on, tell us!"
"Well, according to my wife, an old mulberry tree on Dashishan turned into a demon. It’s raising a whole bunch of vengeful spirits—nasty ones. Even Lord Wugou can’t handle it. Only with enough incense can Lord Wugou muster the strength to protect everyone. No incense? Then he’s powerless..."
"Yikes! No more talk—I’m going home right now to make incense with my wife. A hundred sticks! We’ve got to keep Lady Yusu well-fed, or she won’t have the strength to fight off ghosts, and then I’m done for!"
"Exactly! The Qing River’s crawling with drowned ghosts. We can go hungry, but we must never let Lady Yusu starve..."
"Let’s go, let’s go—time to make incense!"
"..."
Smoke curled from chimneys as dusk settled. The setting sun painted the sky in fiery hues, and a gentle breeze carried the distant barks of dogs—a picture of peace and tranquility.
But as the guardian deity of this land, Lin Yuyu’s expression darkened.
She knew exactly what was happening in Dashixiang. That demonic mulberry tree was raised by Lord Wugou himself—a scare tactic to pressure the villagers into obedience. By keeping them fearful and desperate, he ensured they’d focus solely on begging for his protection, making it easier to squeeze more incense offerings from them.
Worse, he had even extended his reach into her territory. He offered to "lend" her the mulberry tree—if she handed over 30% of her incense revenue.
Lin Yuyu refused, of course.
Sure, the villagers could be annoying, but their devotion was genuine. Her power came from them—how could she exploit them instead of protecting their well-being?
That wasn’t how an educated transmigrator should behave!
But unfortunately, refusal wasn’t always an option.
Lord Wugou had a hundred ways to force her into submission.
At least, that was the case before she joined the chat group.
Now?
Sob... Group Leader, they’ve all been bullying me!
] [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!"
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
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?"
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
