So Yuanmu Town is this Yuanmu?

Cheng Shi returned to the bar and finally struck up a conversation with his veteran cellmate.

After exchanging a few words, his doubts deepened.

After being pardoned, the agency reassigned him a tourism assistant, and the two have already held a ceremony.

He left another child in Yuanmu Town.

Yesterday, he was supposed to be imprisoned for maliciously bestowing gifts, so how come he was not only pardoned today, but also granted gifts again?

What exactly does this so-called Special Governance Order mean?

Are you in a rush to have a baby?

Is it because too many blasphemers have died that the town is systematically replenishing its population?

It sounds reasonable, but this plan seems a bit hasty.

Won't such frequent policy changes cause public resentment to boil over?

Just as Cheng Shi was having trouble thinking, the wandering knight returned.

She brought back an extremely important clue.

Guess where I went?

Cheng Shi looked at the travel-worn Li Boli and guessed as he spoke:

"Special Governance Order are easy to find out. Since you know that Yuanmu Town has reset the granting rights of travelers, you must be wondering if they are replenishing the population. So, you went to investigate the town's population?"

Li Boli put down her glass before finishing her drink and asked in surprise:

"You're really not Hunter?"

Cheng Shi cast a regular energizing spell on Li Boli, relieving her fatigue.

"It's getting dark. If you don't share your discovery soon, I'm going to go cheer for Hu Xuan."

"...

You guessed right, I went to the Yuanmu Town administration office to investigate the town's population data, but unfortunately, I couldn't find it.

When I returned to the Travelers' Affairs Bureau, I found the town's population statistics in their archives, along with a traveler count.

Guess what I found.

"The town's population hasn't changed?" Cheng Shi guessed casually.

But to his surprise, Li Boli's face immediately darkened.

"You looked through it? When? Why didn't you say?"

Cheng Shi, you're wasting my time.

"..."

Ah?

Really?

Cheng Shi scratched his head, unsure how to explain.

I was just guessing randomly.

Seeing Cheng Shi's embarrassed expression, Li Boli knew what was going on; he must have guessed correctly.

But it's really unpleasant to work all day only to have a colleague randomly guess the outcome.

She nodded with a dark expression:

Yes and no.

The town's population has remained very stable, but it is not static.

However, the overall deviation was well controlled, and the number of people fluctuating up or down did not exceed 100.

It's important to understand that such terrifyingly sophisticated population control would be virtually impossible for an ordinary small town with tens of thousands of people.

Because you never know when someone will die, or when someone will be born.

Before she could finish speaking, Cheng Shi immediately interrupted with a serious expression:

"But Yuanmu Town is different. Their reproduction can only rely on travelers, so as long as the number of travelers is controlled, the number of births can be completely controlled."

I imagine the traveler data you received shouldn't fluctuate too much, right?

Seeing Li Boli nod solemnly, Cheng Shi continued:

"And their deaths, ah, are probably what is called 'punishment for blasphemers'?"

"All correct!"

Do you remember the bodies in the Eternal Church? They were of all sizes, but there were no elderly people among them.

At first, I didn't notice the problem, but after seeing this population data, I surveyed many families and then I realized that we had overlooked a very important fact:

That is, there are almost no elderly people in Yuanmu Town!

Cheng Shi's pupils contracted, and he finally realized why he had always found this town so strange.

Indeed, none of the elderly residents I encountered in the town these past two days were elderly.

The oldest group consisted of older women who still retained their charm and older men who were still quite feminine.

As for the reason...

Naturally, this was because all the residents who were about to grow old died under the so-called "divine punishment," and had no chance to reach old age.

So the whole "Night Raven sings a mournful song" story is a lie. The murderer wasn't following the night crows to kill people at all; he had already chosen his targets, and the night crows were just his guides!

Can he tame animals?

"He's controlling the town's population, and he's also controlling the quality of life of the town's population. Why?" Cheng Shi wondered.

"Why?

Perhaps we don't need to think about it anymore; Hu Xuan should be able to find the answer for us.

The two looked out the window and saw that the dim setting sun on the horizon had quietly disappeared.

"It's time to go. Where's the Singer?"

No sooner had the wandering swordsman finished speaking than Qin Chaoge appeared at the bar entrance.

Her gaze towards Cheng Shi wasn't friendly, but Cheng Shi, ever the opportunist, gave her a forced smile.

"I just had a sudden urge to touch you; I didn't realize you actually liked girls."

"Roll!"

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving, I'm leaving."

When Cheng Shi stood in front of Hu Xuan again, he found that she had changed again.

Her temperament became more refined, and she became more beautiful.

Those deep, dark eyes, if you only look at them once, will ignite an endless urge to pin her down.

Huh—

The power of reproduction is truly terrifying.

Cheng Shi's gaze sharpened, and he guessed what it was.

"By the way, I know your mother and even helped deliver your grandmother's baby. So, should you call me uncle or grandpa?"

Hu Xuan smiled gently and replied softly:

"It depends on what role you want to play in our relationship."

Personally, I don't object to either form of address.

"..."

You simply can't talk nonsense with someone who's talking nonsense in a serious manner.

This will give you the illusion that I'm not crazy enough and don't deserve her at all.

It's... very uncomfortable.

So Cheng Shi decisively changed the subject.

"Why didn't you talk to your mother this time... Did your past give birth to a new life?"

Hu Xuan shook her head:

"I have inherited everything from her, and she no longer has the strength to nurture me."

"Everything you say sounds perfectly normal, but I still feel a chill down my spine. What's wrong with me?"

Hu Xuan smiled, ignoring Cheng Shi's teasing, and addressed everyone:

"The time has come. I promise I will lead you to the answer."

Li Boli an eyebrow and voiced a guess that had been on her mind:

"The Eternal Church?"

Hu Xuan smiled and nodded:

"Come with me."

With that, she leaped into the air, stepping across the rooftops, and flew towards the church.

Cheng Shi looked at Hu Xuan, who flew away on her own, with a dark expression on her face.

What, so what if you can fly?

He quietly turned to look at Qin Chaoge, only to find that the Singer gave him a cold glance, didn't sing a single song, and also jumped up and chased after him.

Left with no other choice, he could only look at Li Boli.

Li Boli couldn't hold back her laughter, and transformed into a gust of wind, carrying Cheng Shi into the sky.

"Yo yo yo yo, damn it! Slow down, lady! Oh no, we're going to fall!! Ah—blow faster, blow faster—"

"..."

Being swept away by the wind is quite fun, but I don't recommend doing it too often.

I will vomit.

When they arrived at the station, Cheng Shi's face turned pale.

Hu Xuan led the group around the main gate to a spot near the back gate, closed her eyes, and began to sense the strangeness around her.

A few minutes later, she opened her eyes with a smile, stretched out her hand, and chanted something towards a certain place in the Void:

"Sensing life, nurturing nature!"

A natural force spread out, enveloping everyone's bodies. After a short while, everyone felt a slight Change in their bodies.

On each person's arm, there was a fleshy lump the size of a palm.

"???"

"Don't panic. I'm just using the 'power of new life' to give you the 'Pregnancy Law' so that you can see the truth behind the fog."

As soon as the words were spoken, a Void Gate with mesmerizing colors slowly appeared on the wall behind the Eternal Church.

Everyone stared in shock at what they saw, speechless for a moment.

Where does this door lead?

"Unknown.

But I know He is there, waiting for me.

Hu Xuan smiled firmly and stepped inside first.

Cheng Shi looked at this scene with an extremely solemn expression.

This is a door leading to the Void!

He felt a Destiny from within, which meant that the answer to the Trials lay hidden behind that door:

A pivotal moment in Destiny!

Who could have imagined that the turning point of Destiny would be in the Void!?

In any of the Trials in the past, His answer was always a specific person, object, or scene in reality.

This time, however, He placed the answer in the Void!

"If... I mean if, without Hu Xuan's 'new life force,' how would we have found this door?"

This question was asked by Cheng Shi, and the intended recipients were naturally Li Boli and Qin Chaoge.

Both of them were clearly aware of the seriousness of the problem.

Not to mention that they haven't found any clues about the door's information or location, the fact that the door has even appeared is somewhat unbelievable.

It should be noted that the power unleashed by this gate was clearly the power that Hu Xuan had stolen and fused with after stealing the Divine Authority the [Eternal Day].

This means that if any player made a mistake that caused Hu Xuan to miss out on this power, they would have to find another way.

The problem is, given the flawed guidance of empiricism, do they even have the time?

This Trials was only given three days.

Li Boli realized this, and she sighed with a complex expression:

"That's Destiny."

It seems that this time, Destiny has turned in our favor.

At least we should be thankful that Hu Xuan wasn't the murderer of our teammate, and that we've successfully come together.

Speaking of the murderer...

By the way, where did Ji Ran go?

Cheng Shi suddenly looked at Li Boli, only to see Li Boli's face darken and her head shake.

"Before I opened the door, the wind told me that he was still in the hotel."

And now, he...

It disappeared.