Thugs in the Building

Amidst a field of ink-green flowers, a man and a woman were slowly moving forward.

The clusters of ink-colored flowers beneath their feet were quite magical; whenever their feet descended, the flowers would actually dodge out of the way. They didn't seem like flowers at all, but rather like a school of small fish resting in a pond.

Such beautiful scenery. If only Little Aunt were here, Wu Hen thought, experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms.

In the end, he was still trekking through this Otherworld Desolate Dust alone, even though he had found the direction of the Nuwa Divine Tree.

Behind him, the disheveled girl was carrying a thick pack containing the supplies and information she had gathered from her former teammates.

Following behind Wu Hen, Yang Qin was becoming more and more like a maid accompanying a young master to the capital for the imperial examinations—hardworking, diligent, and obedient.

It was just that, for most of this journey, she had been treated like air.

He is very strong. If I follow him, even if he makes some excessive demands... Yang Qin had already made up her mind to work like a beast of burden for the man in front of her, as long as she could return to her homeland!

After climbing over a high ridge, a small flower valley appeared ahead. Wu Hen began to listen carefully to the movements within the valley from a great distance. Only after confirming there was no danger did he stride into the flower valley.

"Is that the Soul-Resting Tree in the valley?" Yang Qin asked excitedly.

"It should be," Wu Hen nodded.

"That's wonderful, that's wonderful!" Yang Qin was instantly captivated, her pace quickening significantly.

Throughout this journey, Yang Qin had been very diligent in learning knowledge about the Otherworld Desolate Dust.

The Soul-Resting Tree was not only an important guide for the Nuwa Divine Tree to its human subjects, but it also possessed a very important ability: it could briefly allow people to return to their homeland and cleanse their hearts and souls.

Wu Hen naturally knew this as well. He was also desperate to return, but he remained vigilant at all times. Peace and tranquility did not necessarily mean safety.

Entering the flower valley, more colorful flowers appeared. Most of the time, they swayed gently with the breeze, but if the wind suddenly picked up, they would move in groups to hide behind the rocks.

To be honest, such scenery was truly mesmerizing. If it were to appear in his own world, it would be a small earthly paradise, likely fenced off to charge admission.

The flower valley was not large. In the center stood a very special tree.

It was roughly the size of a thousand-year-old tree, yet it did not have a single leaf.

Its branches were incredibly clean, yet blooming among them were brilliant Soul Flowers, one after another!

Some of the Soul Flowers were in full bloom, some were in bud, some were withered, and others were still growing.

Yang Qin immediately took out her Handbook and carefully compared it to the illustrations. She discovered that both the appearance of the Soul-Resting Tree and the Soul Flowers upon it were exactly the same as those recorded in the Handbook!

"It's the Soul-Resting Tree, there's no mistake. We can go back!" Yang Qin said, overwhelmed with excitement.

"It's only for a brief return," Wu Hen said.

"That's enough. I'm just so, so tired," Yang Qin replied.

There was a stream nearby. To avoid letting her classmates see her looking so filthy when they returned, Yang Qin cupped the water in her hands and washed her cheeks until they were clean.

The stream was as clear as glaze. Yang Qin even took a moment to look at her reflection, smoothing out her hair until she could see her features clearly, only then rising with satisfaction.

"I think I might be losing my mind," Wu Hen said.

"What do you mean?" Yang Qin asked.

"I actually started to think you looked quite pretty. I must be truly starving—or perhaps I've truly gone mad. I never expected the mental corruption of the Otherworld Desolate Dust to be this terrifying," Wu Hen said.

Yang Qin: "???"

What on earth did she do to provoke him!

Yang Qin was utterly speechless. She had no choice but to look up at the brilliant Soul Flowers on the Soul-Resting Tree.

But out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Wu Hen was still staring at her—still staring at her face. This caused Yang Qin a moment of panic, followed immediately by an inexplicable surge of joy!

See! She wasn't that bad after all!!

How could any normal man not even bother to look at her straight?

"What... what are you doing?" Yang Qin asked cautiously.

Wu Hen's expression was very serious now. He stared at Yang Qin's face, hesitating for a moment before saying, "Have you noticed a change in your appearance?"

"Change in appearance?" Yang Qin was very confused. She ran back to the stream to look at herself again. "No? Don't I always look like this? You, on the other hand, look quite familiar. Like one of my classmates."

When Yang Qin had been covered in filth earlier, Wu Hen hadn't noticed. But now that she had washed her face clean, he realized her appearance had undergone a change... it was gradually shifting closer to Yang Qin's original face!

He knew that when they first woke up, this Vessel had its own original appearance.

And Wu Hen remembered clearly that the Vessel Yang Qin had awakened in did not look like this at first.

The Vessel seemed to be slowly reshaping itself, evolving and constantly drawing closer to the soul residing within!

After discovering this, Wu Hen also walked to the stream and scrubbed his own cheeks clean with the water.

Sure enough, the Vessel's appearance was already sixty percent similar to his own original face. The brows, the features, the spirit... everything seemed to be developing toward his own likeness!

How bizarre!

What kind of rules of existence did this Otherworld Desolate Dust follow, exactly?

"It says here that as long as we fall asleep inside the Soul Flower, we can return to our home world." Yang Qin took out the Handbook, looking very serious as she studied it.

"I know. Go ahead and log off first; I'll keep watch on the surroundings." Wu Hen waved his hand.

Yang Qin thought about it. If this man wanted to harm her, there was no need for so many roundabout methods.

She was truly desperate to go home, even if it was just to take a comfortable hot bath or say a few words to her family.

Yang Qin climbed onto the Soul-Resting Tree and stepped barefoot into the blooming Soul Flower garden.

She lay down slowly, curling her body slightly. Soon, the Soul Flower seemed to sense something, and its blooming petals began to slowly close.

The closing petals completely enveloped Yang Qin's body. The soft floral skin also changed, transforming into a very peculiar flower sac, tightly protecting Yang Qin, who lay sleeping inside like a stamen.

At the same time, the entire trunk of the Soul-Resting Tree produced a beautiful, aurora-like luster, which traveled from the Soul Flower where Yang Qin resided down to the roots of the tree like starlight.

Wu Hen tried calling out a few times.

Yang Qin did not respond at all.

Wu Hen climbed onto the closed Soul Flower and tapped it with his hand, discovering that the sac of the Soul Flower was incredibly hard, comparable to a small life pod.

Even if one's consciousness left this Vessel, this Soul Flower pod would surely be able to perfectly protect the person sleeping inside.

"Very reasonable, very reasonable."

Wu Hen now had a basic understanding of how the Soul-Resting Tree worked.

Su Li had also told Wu Hen that the Soul-Resting Tree would wither; it could only allow those walking in the Otherworld Desolate Dust to briefly return to the Nuwa Divine Terminal.

But for those on the verge of being lost, being able to return to the embrace of the Nuwa Divine Terminal was, in itself, a form of spiritual cleansing.

"I wonder how Mom, Dad, and Yu Yu are doing. I should go back and report that I'm safe so they don't worry." Wu Hen climbed onto a branch and walked toward an open Soul Flower.

Lying in the soft heart of the flower, that familiar and intimate feeling gave Wu Hen a sense of tranquility and peace, like resting in his aunt's soft embrace.

Soon, a strong, steady wave of sleepiness washed over him, and Wu Hen closed his eyes.

Licheng.

Inside a dilapidated old building, in a dim room, Wu Yingting was leaning against the door frame, holding an old-fashioned pistol.

In the hallway outside the room, there were messy footsteps. A group of people was gathering nearby; each of them held a weapon, and most of them were wearing black clothes.

"Honey, who are those people outside? What exactly do they want?" Yu Yi asked in a nervous, low voice.

"The Black Shirt Organization. They were originally formed by a group of unarmed people in the Otherworld Desolate Dust. They share information and help each other to increase the survival rate of everyone walking in the Desolate Dust..." Wu Yingting said in a low voice.

"Isn't that a good thing? People from our building have already fallen into that other dimension. They must be helpless there. If we are ever forced to step into that place one day, following this Black Shirt Organization would be better than fumbling around on our own," Yu Yi said.

Wu Yingting shook his head solemnly and said, "You can't judge things by their surface. As far as I know, they often submit to powerful species within the Desolate Dust, reaching some kind of pact to ensure the safety of the majority by sacrificing a few. It's just like the ritual sacrifices of boys and girls in ancient feudal society."

"I see..." Yu Yi didn't know what to say for a moment.

"In any case, don't trust them easily. How is Wu Hen doing?" Wu Yingting asked.

His sister, Yu Yi, walked out of the room, pointed at Wu Hen, and then made a weeping gesture under her eyes. "Brother seems very sad."

"If he can feel sadness, it means he is in good condition." Wu Yingting nodded.

Wu Hen was currently in a state akin to deep sleep. If he remained expressionless, he might be drifting further and further toward being lost.

The fact that there were emotional fluctuations on his face proved that everything was still normal.

Wu Yingting also believed that his son would definitely be able to return safely!

"Bang, bang, bang!!!" Suddenly, the door was pounded heavily.

Wu Yingting immediately signaled for his wife and daughter to retreat to the corner and quickly went on alert.

"Open the door!" A boorish voice came from outside.

"What is it?" Wu Yingting naturally wouldn't open the door.

"Old Wu, it's me, He Zhichou. Remember that business deal we did together? You owe me one hundred thousand. Can you give it to me now? I want to join the Black Shirt Organization, and they require a one-hundred-thousand entry fee," the man outside said.

Upon hearing this, Wu Yingting's expression darkened.

He hadn't expected the other party to come asking for money at a time like this.

Besides, that money was an investment they had made together. Since the investment failed, legally speaking, there was no need to repay it.

"I don't have any money right now," Wu Yingting said.

"Stop playing dumb. I don't believe you didn't keep anything," He Zhichou said with a hostile tone.

"Fifth Brother, I really can't help you. Look at my situation. If I had money, I would have taken the kids to live in the Silver Plate building long ago," Wu Yingting said patiently.

At this moment, a flurry of messy footsteps sounded. It seemed like several more people had arrived outside the door.

"Why waste words with them? Toss a fire inside, and even the cockroaches will have to crawl out!" a man with a raspy voice said disdainfully outside.

"Old Wu, I'm trying to talk to you nicely, but you won't even open the door for me. Don't blame me then. In this world, it's all about who is more ruthless!" He Zhichou's tone also turned cold.