Shame of the Monster World

"Senior, I'm really not arguing. How many years has this villa been built? Do you know what 2,000 years means?"

"Heh, I definitely know what it means. You're the one who probably doesn't." The other party's tone suddenly exuded the world-weariness of an ancient demon that had lived for a thousand years.

Perhaps, a life of imprisonment only leaves the pretense of selling the vicissitudes of time.

"This villa complex was built 123 years ago. The owner of Villa No. 9 was the previous owner of the Spirit. In this era, he could be considered quite prominent. However, he was ultimately just a choice made during a transitional period."

"Oh? Since it's something with an owner, why choose me? Where is the owner of this villa?"

Jiang Yue vaguely began to understand why the other party had cursed that talisman so fiercely.

Could it be that the talisman itself possessed a fickle nature, easily changing its affections?

"Why choose you? I suppose it's because you were born with the attribute of being a loser. As for the owner of the villa, they're probably long gone."

"Gone?"

Fine!

Jiang Yue could grudgingly accept this explanation. A normal person's lifespan is only seventy or eighty years.

This villa is over a hundred years old, so the person who owned it back then must have been at least 150 years old.

It made sense that they would be gone.

"If I recall correctly, you should be the eighty-first owner of this rune."

Eighty-first owner?

That's almost the size of a whole company.

Then again, if you stretch the timeline and measure it in thousands of years, it doesn't seem like that many, does it?

Here's the problem.

Were all those previous, previous, previous... predecessors, without exception, losers?

The other party seemed to be able to read Jiang Yue's mind: "You guessed right. None of your previous predecessors successfully controlled the Spirit."

"You might not know, but failing to control it comes with a price."

"A price? Like what?"

"Like... hehe, look at me. The one you're talking to now is a cat, a relief hanging on the wall."

"Speaking of which, I'm considered lucky. Because it needs a guide, a facilitator to trick new people."

"What about the other predecessors?"

"Who knows, they're probably all gone." The other party didn't seem to care much about it. According to him, after living for thousands of years, who would care about the lives of unimportant people?

Following this line of logic, Jiang Yue felt he would soon become a predecessor himself.

"Senior... one last question: it chose me, and as the second party, I have the right to refuse, right?"

"Heh, that's why they say you're young! You talk about rights and refusal in front of the primary party? Too naive!"

"Of course, if we're talking about it, there really is one way to refuse."

"What?"

"Actively become a predecessor."

Jiang Yue almost couldn't help but curse. After living so long, why not accumulate some good karma? What good does being sharp-tongued do you?

Jiang Yue's playful gaze shifted between the two protruding sculptures on either side of the living room, finally settling on the cat-shaped relief.

"Predecessor, I advise you to be kind. Are you feeling more balanced psychologically because you see I'm unlucky? Since we're both unlucky, why should the miserable make things difficult for the miserable?"

Jiang Yue wasn't a pushover either. The other party's sharp tongue annoyed him, and his address changed from "Senior" to "Predecessor" in an instant.

"Heh, don't get smug too soon. As far as I know, the Spirit gives a meeting gift every time it finds a new lover. Big data shows that out of all your predecessors, twenty-six didn't pass the first test. They're what you call 'cannon fodder' predecessors."

Jiang Yue lamented his misfortune.

He just received a package, and this pit is too deep.

Most importantly, what was the content of this first test?

Even if he were to die, he wanted to die with clarity. Jiang Yue didn't want to be muddled and inexplicably arranged by someone else.

Just as Jiang Yue was lost in doubt, the two large eyes of the cat-shaped relief suddenly opened, and two laser-like beams shot out.

Jiang Yue had no time to react. The two beams shot directly into his brain.

It was as if a sudden surge of electricity, a kind of energy, activated within his mind.

"Don't resist, this is the Spirit's restart. After the restart, you will be its current owner. As for the duration, it depends on your personal destiny."

Spirit!

Jiang Yue had heard these two words mentioned many times.

Is that the name of the talisman? It doesn't sound so annoying.

The restart process only took a few seconds, but the amount of information Jiang Yue's mind received felt like countless reincarnations.

In these few seconds, countless images flashed by, frame by frame.

Images of ancient giants wielding massive bone spurs, battling ancient ferocious beasts; images of fully armed armies besieging a city; images of surging seawater submerging the land; and images of countless colossal starships assembling, preparing to attack a star fortress...

The final image was of a monster with a hollow, vacant face, clad in a long black cloak, thrashing wildly and sweeping a bone-white scythe through chilling, shadowy winds, lunging towards Jiang Yue's neck.

Ding dong!

Reboot successful.

An interface appeared in Jiang Yue's mind.

The interface displayed five characters: Novice Welcome Gift.

Below were two options: Accept, Decline.

Judging from the information provided by the cat-shaped relief, who called himself the guide, if he chose to decline, the "benefactor" would likely take drastic, inhumane action.

Though it looked like a binary choice, it was actually a single-choice question.

He was the humble party of the second part.

Therefore, he accepted!

"Novice Welcome Gift: Hundred Evils Immunity Halo, duration: 24 hours."

"Novice Mission: Track the Year Eater. Time limit: 24 hours."

"Mission Reward: To be randomly acquired upon completion."

The interface lingered for three seconds before vanishing from his mind.

Jiang Yue curled his lips. To be honest, he couldn't deny feeling a little excited by the grand display that had just occurred.

The system daddy might have been late, but at least it had finally arrived.

Despite the constant sarcasm from the previous cat-shaped relief, Jiang Yue had actually treated him like a nagging, resentful ex.

He hadn't taken the womanly complaints too seriously.

Especially the images that flashed when the Spirit activated, even though each frame was fleeting and unclear.

They didn't stop Jiang Yue from feeling that it was all very high-class.

With such a grand activation ceremony, shouldn't there be some epic plot to go with it?

He'd pulled his pants down to his knees, only to be given a novice mission?

No psychological counseling? No humanistic care?

Jiang Yue swore this was the most irresponsible system he had ever seen. If it could even be called a system...

After that, no matter how much he called out, the thing remained unresponsive.

Jiang Yue was speechless.

He glanced sympathetically at the cat-shaped relief in the corner and suddenly felt a strange sense of empathy. He could finally understand a tiny bit of the resentment the relief had felt before.

Who wouldn't have emotional problems after dealing with something so moody for so long?

What's more, after breaking up, it imprisoned the other party, and even worse, turned it into a cat, a solid cat!

There probably weren't many more cruel acts in the world than that.

"Kid, you're trembling, aren't you?" the cat-shaped relief's schadenfreude remained unchanged.

"Want to know what happens if you don't complete the novice mission?"

"Do you know the meaning of the phrase 'cannon fodder ex'?"

Jiang Yue was too tired to retort. Had this ex become so extreme that he couldn't distinguish right from wrong and had to pick a fight with everyone he met?

Jiang Yue sighed. "I just want to know if there's a hammer in this villa."

"What do you need a hammer for?"

"I'd much rather know if a hammer can make you shut up."

The other party's voice suddenly sharpened. "No, you absolutely cannot do that! You've just inherited the Spirit, and you still need my guidance as your predecessor."

"Besides, I'm the guide designated by the Spirit. If you smash me, who will do this job? Aren't you afraid of angering the Spirit and facing immediate annihilation?"

Huh? Jiang Yue rubbed his chin, looking meaningfully at the cat-shaped relief. It seemed the guy was all talk. He was so scared of a hammer, how had he lived for thousands of years?

If a world of monsters truly existed, this coward would be the disgrace of the monster realm.

"Little brother, really, don't be impulsive. You have to admit, an old fossil like me who's lived for thousands of years has some experience. Maybe I can help you."

It was basically confirmed that this guy was all bark and no bite, but would yield to firmness.

"If you want me not to smash you, fine! Just answer a few questions honestly."

"Ask away, I'll tell you everything I know, without reservation."

People who were quick with their mouths were often the most pragmatic.

Jiang Yue hadn't even started the interrogation, and he was already ready to surrender.