Giant Python

The other nations had been left humiliated. Even with their media working hard to whitewash what had happened, their people remained divided and disillusioned.

Some players even wanted to change their nationality and leave their countries, only to find that their governments had restricted their travel.

They had just helped their countries survive a crisis, yet barely any time had passed before they were barred from leaving. It felt like a betrayal.

The people of the Dragon Kingdom were different. Even with fewer players, they still gave them their wholehearted support.

After this incident, the top player's remark, "You want an aircraft carrier? Aren't you afraid it'll burn your hands?" became a meme.

It even spawned other memes.

For example.

"You want to eat the Dragon Kingdom's food? Aren't you afraid it'll burn your mouth?"

"You want to set foot on the Dragon Kingdom's soil? Aren't you afraid it'll burn your feet?"

There were still other low-level wild monsters in the city. After returning to his rented apartment and changing his clothes, Xiao Hao quietly went back to the hotel tower.

During that time, he had checked the game notifications.

[Spirit Pearls +550]

He hadn't expected that killing monsters in the real world would still earn him Spirit Pearls.

Spirit Pearl count: 6950.

Then all those wild monsters killed by ordinary people had gone to waste.

Sure enough, it was better to leave the wild monsters to the players.

It was only the third day of the break. Even though he already had plenty of Spirit Pearls left, Xiao Hao still planned to farm more, just in case.

The Evolution Tide had appeared by the third day.

He couldn't let his guard down over the remaining four days.

With that in mind, Xiao Hao decided to escort Lin Nanyao home, then go farm more Spirit Pearls.

Evolution waves had appeared in other cities too, but none were as severe as the one in Blue Dragon City.

As a result, most players had gathered in Blue Dragon City, while many wild monsters in other cities were shot dead by ordinary people.

The worst was already over. The remaining wild monsters couldn't cause much trouble, and Blue Dragon City had been largely swept clean. People hiding inside buildings began heading home one after another.

Unfortunately, traffic was backed up to an absurd degree. Not only had the entire subway system shut down, but the roads were riddled with potholes too.

When he spotted the hotel tower in the distance, he saw police cars outside, with several suspects being escorted back to the station.

After a moment's thought, Xiao Hao knew why those people were being taken away.

When the Evolution Tide first began, everyone had thought they wouldn't live much longer. A few people were bound to give in to their animal instincts.

Xiao Hao had barely entered the hotel tower to look for Lin Nanyao when several people gave him contemptuous looks.

"Another one trying to take advantage of the chaos."

"You starving beggar. Since you look so pitiful, there's some food other people left on that table over there. Hurry up and eat."

"Why tell him? I hate people who are always trying to snag freebies..."

"Scrounging is one thing. Let's just hope he's not one of those perverts. Absolutely no decency..."

Xiao Hao looked utterly baffled.

He glanced at the clothes he had bought on Pinduoduo. His entire outfit had cost less than a hundred yuan. Xiao Hao almost knocked their teeth out.

Presumably, when the Evolution Tide first began, plenty of poor people had rushed into the hotel tower and started fighting over food.

There was no fundamental difference between the poor and the rich. Both had to compete for food. The poor had no money and could only grab it, while the rich could afford to buy it.

And so, poor people trying to get food to survive became people with "no decency."

With his shabby clothes, Xiao Hao had been lumped in with the poor and slapped with the "no decency" label along with them.

Great. Caught in the crossfire.

Those people were dressed in expensive clothes, and their voices kept getting louder. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought Xiao Hao had committed some heinous crime.

Naturally, Xiao Hao wasn't about to indulge them.

"You're all so decent. So decent that you bad-mouth people at the drop of a hat and look down on them like a pack of snobs."

If someone gave him an inch of respect, he would return a foot. If someone cost him a grain, he would take three bushels from them.

"What did you say?"

"How dare you talk like that!"

"Have you got no decency?"

"See? We kindly told him where he could find food, and this is how someone like him treats us!"

Xiao Hao had been about to fire back, but their next remark made him swallow his words.

"You really can't compare people. Some can come out with famous lines like, 'You want an aircraft carrier? Aren't you afraid it'll burn your hands?' Others open their mouths and it's no better than farting!"

"Are you kidding? The top player is a big shot. Of course his words are pearls of wisdom. Just standing on the hotel roof, every move he made was mesmerizing. How could this guy compare to him?"

"Forget it. Let's not bother with someone like him. Come on."

"Let's go. Ignore him..."

Listening to them insult him and praise him at the same time, Xiao Hao watched them leave with a bewildered expression.

Seriously.

Whether it was that supposed famous quote or the insults he was throwing out now, his way of speaking was exactly the same.

One was a simple warning, the other a contemptuous retort. There was no real difference between them.

When you were rich or powerful, everything you said was full of wisdom. Every sentence was a gem that could be interpreted as profound philosophy.

When you had neither money nor status, even standing there without saying a word was wrong. Even breathing was wrong.

He couldn't be bothered with those people.

Xiao Hao couldn't keep his identity hidden forever.

He wondered what expressions they would wear when his identity came to light.

Setting those pointless thoughts aside, Xiao Hao soon found Lin Nanyao in the crowd.

Lin Nanyao looked shaken, but she wasn't hurt.

Her classmates were gathered there. Xiao Hao had no intention of speaking to them; he planned to escort Lin Nanyao in secret instead.

"Nanyao, how are we going to get home?"

"We probably won't be able to get a ride. We'll have to walk."

"I'll be scared on my own once we split up..."

"Those boys..."

"Forget it. Don't count on the boys."

They kept chattering without leaving, and Xiao Hao was getting tired of waiting.

Finally, after someone came to pick up Jin Chuanfu, the hotel staff ushered the remaining classmates out.

Xiao Hao didn't care which direction the other classmates went.

Xiao Hao kept a balance in his heart.

Once favors and grudges were settled, everyone could go their separate ways.

The girls would rather take a detour through busy areas than enter quieter alleys.

It was much safer, but it took more time.

At last, the schoolgirls split off in twos and threes until only Du Shijie and Lin Nanyao remained.

They were neighbors.

Their homes weren't in the bustling part of town, and the farther they walked, the fewer people they saw.

The two girls held hands as they rounded a right-angle bend in a narrow alley. But the moment they turned the corner, Du Shijie screamed. By then, it was too late for Lin Nanyao to cover her mouth.

From a distance, Xiao Hao swiftly used Shadow Transformation to appear behind Lin Nanyao and immediately spotted a giant python.

The alley seemed to be the giant python's feeding ground. Blood ran through the entire passage, with severed limbs, organs, and shattered bones scattered everywhere. The pungent stench made even Xiao Hao, hidden in the shadows, frown. The two girls were even more terrified, tears streaming down their faces as they trembled all over.

Drawn by the scream, the giant python turned to look, and a humanlike excitement gleamed in its lantern-sized eyes.

Its tongue flicked out of its mouth from time to time, the slender, forked length coated in scarlet slime.

The two girls were so frightened that their legs went weak. A voice inside each of them told them there was no escape in an alley like this, and no one would come to save them.