Beautiful Ming Yi

Apparently, there were many, many native residents in that silent Jue Town. And every one of them looked... How could he describe it? To Wu Hen, they didn't seem like normal living people. They seemed more like NPCs!

They had limited actions, wooden expressions, and muddled thoughts.

They had all been living people, walking through the Otherworld, but as they walked, they'd lost their way and become lost souls!

Obviously, their consciousness hadn't returned here, either!

"Consider it a test from us. If you can enter the Otherworld a second time and find the Nuwa Divine Terminal, we'll bring you on as a full member. Then your family will be entitled to the protection of our affiliates. If you reach a high enough rank, they can even live in peace and comfort indefinitely, without having to face the horrors of the Otherworld," the woman in the purple headscarf said.

"Can those three avoid that world altogether?" Wu Hen asked. His whole expression changed when he heard that.

"All of humanity is doing everything we can to save the Nuwa Divine Terminal. As long as it's still here, so is this place. That means some people can keep sleeping peacefully. Besides, we who venture out need a peaceful place for our minds to rest. We can't stay in the Otherworld for too long. We have to return here every so often to cleanse ourselves, or else..." the woman in the purple headscarf replied.

"Or else we become Lost Ones, and our souls vanish completely?" Wu Hen said.

"Right. You catch on quickly."

"Thank you for telling me all this, Bodhisattva," Wu Hen said with a nod.

He was lucky. At least he could adapt to what lay ahead more quickly than those who had no warning.

For all he knew, countless families were still questioning what was happening, shouting in anger, and lost in anguish and confusion about the road ahead!

"What Bodhisattva? Just call me Ming Yi!" Ming Yi beamed. Outside of official business, she was probably a lively, cheerful person.

"All right, beautiful Ming Yi." Wu Hen didn't hesitate to compliment her.

At that moment, Ming Yi's eyes crinkled into peaceful crescent moons. She certainly deserved to be called beautiful.

"I hope we meet again in the Desolate Dust."

"Me too!" Wu Hen nodded.

By the courtyard wall beneath the old building, the man who had come with Ming Yi was waiting patiently.

The man in the leather jacket toyed with a high-end lighter. A cigarette rested between his lips, still unlit.

"Captain Qin," Ming Yi called.

"How'd it go with that kid? Are you sure he's got Auditory Sense?" the man with the cigarette asked.

"Yeah. He's attuned to hearing. While I was talking to him, I kept my voice down to a mosquito's buzz, and he heard every word clearly," Ming Yi said.

"What about anything else?" Captain Qin asked.

"Probably nothing. He said I was pretty, so he couldn't see my Cthulhu-style Concealment Makeup. I'd dusted myself with Zui Fang, but he didn't show any signs of intoxication, either. The other two are harder to check. He's probably only attuned to one sense," Ming Yi said.

"Not bad. Auditory Sense can greatly improve his chances of survival. Hopefully, he finds the Nuwa Divine Terminal."

"He's kind of interesting, and our team needs someone skilled in Auditory Sense. If he finds the Nuwa Divine Terminal, let's recruit him," Ming Yi said.

"Is he handsome?" Captain Qin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Very! He even called me beautiful!" Ming Yi nodded enthusiastically, no longer at all like the serious, dignified woman she'd been earlier.

"Did he have any physical reaction when he learned the truth?" Captain Qin asked.

"No. He seemed perfectly normal, and his thoughts were clear. He was as calm as I was when I first found out!"

"Maybe he's just slow to react," Captain Qin said.

"Hmph. Not everyone has my perfect grasp of the situation, okay? And I still think the me here is the real me: cute, charming, youthful, dashing, and beautiful enough to blow up a planet!"

"Go find yourself a boyfriend. You look like a female cat yowling in the middle of the night."

"Qin the Old Monster, you know how good men are, so you keep pushing them on me, don't you?" Ming Yi shot back without missing a beat.

Captain Qin knew he couldn't beat Ming Yi in a battle of sharp tongues. He could only give her a thumbs-up and shut up.

Inside the house.

His family fell silent for a while.

In the end, Wu Hen was the one to break the silence.

"Dad, you don't need to worry about me. If the authorities came looking for me, that means I have talent and ability in this area," Wu Hen said.

"I've been to that world more than once. I..." Wu Yingting began, but his voice caught in his throat.

He was getting old, after all.

It was like a veteran forced to watch his son, barely of age, head off to a battlefield where he might live or die.

He was glad his son had exceptional survival skills and the ability to handle whatever came his way, but he was also afraid the Otherworld Desolate Dust would leave him battered and broken. After all, the damage it did wasn't just physical.

"Do you remember that morning when they announced you'd gone bankrupt? A lot of people in suits came to our house to inventory everything. I came downstairs and saw you two sitting at the little table, surrounded by lawyers... I was actually terrified," Wu Hen said.

His sister Yu Yu, his mother Yu Yi, and his father Wu Yingting all looked up and turned their eyes to Wu Hen.

But then Wu Hen grinned. "I thought that after getting rich, you'd finally decided to get divorced. I thought my sister and I would have to choose which one of you to live with."

"But it turned out you'd only gone bankrupt. You'd just run out of money."

"To be honest, today's news is nothing compared to how scared I was that day, thinking you were getting divorced."

"So no matter what happens, as long as our family stays together, we'll be fine."

"Dad, a family is a whole. You were good at business, and you did a great job. Mom was good at keeping a home, and she took great care of me, my sister, and you. Now, it seems I'm pretty suited to venturing into that so-called real world. So let me take on this task. You just have to believe in me and support me..."

Yu Yi and Yu Yu were already unable to hold back their tears, but they still nodded earnestly.

Wu Yingting was the one who found it hardest to let go and make a decision.

But after hesitating for a moment, he nodded too. "I'll organize all the information I've gathered. I won't let you go in there and get yourself killed without any preparation!"

"Good! And I'll leave our safety here to you." Wu Hen nodded, glancing toward the window almost absentmindedly.

Wu Yingting understood, of course.

Things outside were bound to be chaotic for a while. Even if the authorities tried to keep things under control, they couldn't protect everyone.

He had to keep his family safe and stop people from taking advantage of the apocalypse to exact revenge!

"Don't worry. I've prepared something," Wu Yingting said with a nod, letting his son know he'd hidden some weapons. He could go ahead and explore the Otherworld Desolate Dust without worry!

Seeing his father's expression, Wu Hen suddenly realized something.

Once the apocalypse arrived, the more luxurious a place was, the more likely it was to become a target for people looking to vent their rage.

This shabby house, this rundown building, this broken-down neighborhood—they were safer than the grand estate and mansion where they'd lived before!

"Then I won't waste any more time. I'll get used to the new world," Wu Hen said, and headed straight to his room instead of going down to the basement.

His father, Wu Yingting, had already begun preparing for the worst. Half the house was filled with crates of goods, but they contained plenty of daily necessities. The family could live comfortably for a month without going outside.

Things outside were bound to be a mess right now. Better not to go out.

"By the way, son, I've seen some people with extraordinary abilities," Wu Yingting said.

"In the Desolate Dust?" Wu Hen asked.

"No, people with extraordinary abilities in our world. After gaining special abilities in the Otherworld Desolate Dust, they can bring them back here, especially abilities related to perception. Some people even seem to have evolved and become stronger," Wu Yingting said.

As soon as his father finished speaking, Wu Hen suddenly felt a searing pain in his right arm.

Wu Hen thought of the Black Divine Trace Material that had been thrust into the heavens. He instinctively glanced down at his right hand—and to his horror, a trace of the Black Void was showing beneath the skin!

Within that trace of the Black Void, a radiant lightning-bolt pattern appeared like a Death Sword, streaking from his veins to the surface of his skin and shining with sacred brilliance!

Wu Hen was stunned!

The Black Divine Trace Material had come with him!

Could it have bypassed his vessel, passed through the Nuwa Divine Terminal, and reached his autonomous soul here?

At first, Wu Hen had found his father's words hard to believe. But when he saw the Black Divine Trace Material on his right arm and felt the mysterious, vast power within the Holy Rune, he realized that everything his father had said was true!

"What's wrong?" Seeing the shock on Wu Hen's face, Wu Yingting asked with concern.

"N-nothing." Wu Hen realized that his father apparently couldn't see the Divine Trace Material on his arm, and he didn't want to worry him unnecessarily.

"Leave things here to me," Wu Yingting said.

"Okay!"

Wu Hen nodded and returned to his cramped room.

He checked his right hand again.

The exaggerated black Death Sword pattern had fallen dormant once more, leaving Wu Hen even more confused.

"Forget it. I'd better hurry up and explore the Otherworld. Things outside will only get more chaotic!"

Wu Hen put on the colorful eye lenses and blinked a few times to adjust.

"Hello, Wu Hen. Do you wish to enter the Desolate Dust?" The AI's voice soon sounded in his mind.

He had to find a way for himself and his family to survive!

"Confirm," Wu Hen replied firmly.

A pleasant warmth spread around his head, followed by a soothing drowsiness, as if it were about to carry him into a vivid, deep dream.

Dreams always began without warning, and people within them never questioned how they had begun...

Noise.

The area around him was incredibly noisy.

Wu Hen opened his eyes and found himself lying on his back. The glow of dusk fell across him. Looking askance, he could see the sun slowly sinking toward the sun reflected in the sea.

This clearly wasn't the same rain-soaked Jueyin Town as before.

He was in a seaside city.

The skyline of high-rises and the shimmering, colorful sea made for a particularly romantic view.

"Okay, leave him at this intersection," a man beside him said.

Only then did Wu Hen realize he was lying on a handcart. Two men were pushing him toward a T-junction that led to the waterfront.

The main road was broad, and tall buildings surrounded it. The strange thing was, there was no traffic, and there weren't many pedestrians, either. It was clearly a prosperous, magnificent city, yet there was something indescribably off about it.

Wu Hen tried to sit up, but chains clanked around him.

Looking down, he saw that rusty iron chains had bound him to the broken handcart!

What was going on?

Had he logged in as a woman?!

He was a witch. Was this some kind of sacrifice?!

"What... are you doing?" Wu Hen asked them, trying to make sense of it.

Since those people had spoken, this place probably didn't have the ghost duo Meiqing Muxiu and Fengyun Youcun.

"You'll find out when it gets dark. Let's go," the man in the black shirt said to his companion.

Hey, don't leave!

What, were there zombies after dark?!

Did every trip in here have to start with a thrill like this?!

The good news was, he was probably a man.

The bad news was, he might be about to die!

Recommended: a new book by the great urban novelist Lao Shi.