Tower of Paradise (Part 1)

"Ah, it was really getting harder and harder to make a living in this day and age..." Standing beneath the eaves of a shop and watching the torrential rain pour down from the sky, a man in a black robe could not help sighing softly.

"Enough sighing." The burly man beside him, dressed in the same style of black robe, patted his shoulder and comforted him with a smile. "As long as that thing is completed, we'll be able to do whatever we want in this world of magic! Ahahahaha! By then, even ruling the world won't be a dream!" As he spoke, an extremely fanatical gleam burst from his eyes, and he could not help laughing loudly, drawing strange looks from nearby pedestrians.

"Yes, as long as..." Hearing that, the first black-robed man also revealed a look of longing, mixed with a trace of desire. "That thing is completed!"

"Alright, the rain has let up quite a bit. Let's hurry and finish the task we were assigned." He looked up at the sky and, seeing that the rain had weakened considerably, smiled as he suggested, "After all, building that thing successfully will require quite a lot of labor."

"That's true." The black-robed man nodded slightly, clearly agreeing with his companion. He then lightly placed a broad, round hat resembling a long conical bamboo hat on his head, glanced at his burly companion, and said softly, "Then let's go..." With that, he stepped into the rain and headed into the depths of the night without looking back.

Seeing this, the burly man smiled faintly. After putting on his own broad hat, he quickly followed after him.

Meanwhile, on the bank of some unknown river.

"Ah? Ah!! Cough, cough, cough—" Chen Wuming felt that he had been terribly unlucky lately. Maybe it was because he had peed in front of his ancestor's grave some time ago, and now the god of misfortune was possessing him to take revenge. Never mind how drinking a little baijiu had nearly choked him to death earlier—this was even more ridiculous! What the hell was going on? Why had he woken up splashing around in some damn water?! Hmm, this seemed to be a river, and he—was right in the middle of it? Wait—

"Which bastard threw me into the river?!!"

Chen Wuming was so depressed he could scream. I only drank a little alcohol! Did they really have to throw me straight into a river? What if I accidentally drown?! Damn that landlord...

Clearly, Chen Wuming had blamed his current predicament on his landlady. That fat old hag was truly vicious! I only took a little peek at her daughter bathing last time! Did she really have to take revenge on me like this...

Chen Wuming gritted his teeth inwardly. Your daughter isn't even that hot, and looking at her wouldn't make a piece of flesh fall off!

Besides, your daughter's appearance... tsk, tsk, I don't even know what to say about you. Even if your genes are bad, don't just force your primitive, possibly mutated genes onto your daughter! A perfectly good set of genes, and you had to go mutating them for no reason? Were you trying to scare people to death?! You didn't just ruin your daughter—you damn near ruined me too! My poor bright eyes, brother, I'm sorry! I swear to you, even if I'm so desperate that I can't hold myself back, I'll never again be so indiscriminate as to peep at a mammoth-class woman bathing! Peeping at an ordinary woman bathing might only get you killed, but peeping at a mammoth-level girl bathing isn't as simple as death! Good grief! That would be total annihilation of the soul! Your soul would scatter and vanish...

Wait, he seemed to have gone a little off-topic. Speaking of which, the current situation—he seemed to have forgotten something?

"Cough, cough, pfft, glug glug—help!!!" After swallowing several more mouthfuls of river water, Chen Wuming finally remembered what he had forgotten. He immediately thrashed desperately at the surface and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Mama mia! Is anyone there?! Hurry, send someone breathing over here! Help, help... glug glug!" Perhaps because he struggled too violently, Chen Wuming swallowed several more mouthfuls of river water.

Damn it, I can't swim... Chen Wuming thought miserably. Yet he did not dare struggle wildly anymore. Having suffered enough just now, he was being very obedient! After all, he knew perfectly well that if you could not swim, it was best not to move around, because that would only make you die faster! Human bodies were less dense than water, so if he did not struggle, the water's buoyancy would eventually float him up. That would actually be safer!

Of course, theory was one thing and reality was another. Plenty of people knew this principle, but very few could actually do it! The reason—was still psychological. Hardly anyone could truly remain calm in a crisis like this!

Chen Wuming was naturally no exception. Feeling his body sink lower and lower, he knew he would definitely float back up, yet he could not help panicking. He had no idea when he would start floating! What if it took one or two hours? Wouldn't he already be drowned dead by then?! Even if he floated up afterward, it could no longer be called floating—it should be called drifting. Drifting up...

It was precisely because he considered all this that Chen Wuming grew increasingly panicked! Although he forcibly made himself calm down again, it could not last forever. He did not know how long he could maintain that forced calm—one minute, ten minutes, or perhaps not even one minute.

So the most important thing now was for someone to rescue him while he could still hold on! Otherwise, no matter how long he endured, it would all be pointless...

Thinking of this, Chen Wuming prayed anxiously inwardly, Mama mia! Someone, hurry up and save me!! I'm still a virgin—I don't want to drown for nothing! Hmm, preferably a woman! Hmm, preferably a gorgeous beauty!! Hmm, best of all, a super beauty who falls in love with me at first sight and is willing to lose our virginities together!!! Hehehehe~

It had to be said, otakus truly had powerful nerves! The guy was practically at death's door, yet he still had the mind to fantasize about this kind of thing?! What the hell...

And so, amid reason and fantasy, Chen Wuming's consciousness grew increasingly hazy until it finally turned into a long, endless darkness...

His final thought before passing out was, Damn it!!! Even an ugly guy rescuing me would be fine...

"Hm?" The rain falling from the sky had finally stopped. The burly man adjusted the broad hat on his head, then suddenly halted, staring at the distant river with a surprised expression.

"What is it?" Seeing this, the black-robed man stopped in confusion and asked, "Did you discover something? Does someone know of our existence?" As he spoke the last sentence, a frightening killing intent—and gravity—flashed through his eyes. He knew very well that if someone had truly learned of what they were doing, especially those people from the Magic Council, then they would be in trouble! Very big trouble!!

"No." The burly man immediately shook his head. Seemingly realizing that his words had made his companion uneasy, he smiled and explained, "It's just that our haul may become even greater."

"Oh?" The black-robed man's confusion deepened upon hearing this. Clearly, he could not understand what his companion meant.

"Hehe, hold these for me." The burly man did not explain. Instead, he smiled and handed the two unconscious children tucked beneath his arm to the black-robed man.

The black-robed man accepted the two children in confusion. He already had two children tucked beneath his left arm, and now he took the other two and tucked them beneath his right arm, making four in total! What were they capturing so many children for? Still, it was obvious that these children had not been obtained through normal means! Combined with what the black-robed man had said earlier, it was not hard to guess that they had kidnapped these children through illegal, underhanded methods!

Could this be the so-called haul they had mentioned?

Watching his companion stroll toward the riverbank, the black-robed man followed the direction he was going and finally saw what had caught his companion's attention—a drowning youth!

So that was it. After understanding the situation, the black-robed man smiled and let out a breath of relief. His companion had not discovered any danger; he had merely found an extra catch! Who would have thought that in such a remote place, they would encounter such a windfall? Hehe, weren't they especially lucky?

The black-robed man smiled inwardly. Perhaps even heaven has acknowledged our cause! That is why it is taking such special care of us! The Tower of Paradise, the R System, and this entire world! You—

Will all belong to us!!!

At that thought, a blazing, fanatical light suddenly erupted from the black-robed man's eyes.