Name: The Third Monster

Ye Jiang finally understood why the townspeople hadn't left Shuiling Town.

Because there was nowhere for them to stay outside.

That's the real reason.

After telling her story, Hua Ling walked away from Ye Jiang and joined the villagers in rebuilding the town. Thus, the team gained another busy, silent, and numb person.

Ye Jiang watched all this quietly, and Ming Xia, who had been healed, also watched. Her young face couldn't hide her thoughts, and worry was written all over her face.

The townspeople longed for Savior, but it seemed no one could save them. Even the genius of the Ability Control Bureau, who had some power of execution, lacked the ability to eliminate the world's prejudice against cyborgs on her own.

The townspeople probably understood this too, which is why they couldn't abandon this only place to live, no matter how filthy or wretched it was.

In a place unnoticed, a trace of sadness flashed in the eyes of the Polluted high in the sky. It closed its eyes, not wanting to see anymore.

A townsman approached Ye Jiang and Ming Xia, asking them to make way so he could repair the wall. Ye Jiang stepped aside, her gaze lingering on the dark lines on the townsman's face.

"Black patterns..." Ye Jiang suddenly asked Ming Xia beside her, "If the black patterns disappear, can the townspeople leave the town?"

Ming Xia was burdened with heavy thoughts, a weight pressing down on her very being, making her completely distracted. She didn't hear clearly and asked, "Hmm?"

Ye Jiang didn't ask any more questions, but instead fell into deep thought.

Ye Jiang wasn't a cyborg, so she couldn't truly empathize, but the mission giver had said they hoped those who accepted the missions would notice their predicament. Ye Jiang was the one who accepted the mission, and she took that to heart. Since the mission giver wasn't asking her to continue searching for mission targets, shouldn't she at least fulfill their expectations?

So she started thinking about what to do.

If the townspeople didn't have those markings on their bodies, would they stop being looked at with prejudice?

Ye Jiang doesn't think in complicated ways; she thinks very directly.

She thought it was feasible.

However, there's one thing: Hua Ling said the black markings are something rooted in their modified human genes, and they won't disappear even if they become Polluted.

It's difficult.

Should we find a town resident to try using her Sewing Box?

Ye Jiang frowned slightly, looking troubled.

The moment she frowned, a tremendous force surged forth from beneath her feet, and a dark red light instantly spread out, bursting through the deep earth and spreading into the distance. The earth rumbled, and the townspeople were working amidst the ruins when a giant tree suddenly burst forth from the ground, growing rapidly upwards from the rubble. In the blink of an eye, its branches were so thick that they covered the Sky above the town. The Sky suddenly darkened, and in the darkness, a blood-red crescent moon shone among the branches, followed by another, and countless crescent moons hung from the giant tree, an effect that was neither dreamlike nor eerie.

Everyone looked up, stunned by what they saw.

"This... this is..."

There is a wondrous tree in the world that appears in the darkness, with a blood-red crescent moon hanging high above its branches; it is called the Moon Tree. When the moon falls, it can fulfill a dream in the hearts of all people.

The Moon Tree, another wonder besides the Blood Moon.

"It's Moon Tree..."

Some townspeople murmured.

The Moon Tree appears randomly, at unpredictable times and locations. It only appeared once three years ago, and it has reappeared so soon, in a remote town that is despised by the world.

There seemed to be a breeze; the giant trees in the ruins swayed, and the crescent moons on their branches fell one by one, landing on the townspeople and turning into blood-red specks of light. As the specks of light dissipated, the black markings on the townspeople's bodies disappeared. The so-called proof of their sins was erased silently, and the thing the townspeople cared about most simply vanished.

The townspeople discovered it, and were utterly bewildered. They gently touched their skin, trembling and shaking. This was...

Finally realizing what was happening, the townspeople burst into astonishing joy.

"It's Moon Tree!"

It's Moon Tree!

"The markings on my body are gone!"

"Me too!"

"I also!"

The townspeople were excitedly sharing their stories, showing no signs of fatigue despite having just experienced a major battle.

Finally... the black lines are finally...

For some unknown reason, the townspeople burst into tears.

The Moon Tree stood silently, its branches swaying, the crescent moon trembling. No one saw that, beneath the earth, a root of the Moon Tree was connected to a human's foot. In the darkness, the human's eyes were blood red, like two Blood Moon fallen into their sockets.

The Moon Tree swayed, and a crescent moon gently fell, only to be caught by a hand with distinct knuckles. A powerful force prevented the crescent moon from shattering. The young man had appeared out of nowhere, and he reached out and held the crescent moon in his hand.

He looked down at the moon in his hand, and after a long while, he turned his head and, across the crowd and the darkness, his gaze fell on a human being.

His gaze fell downwards, landing on the human's feet, where he saw the roots of the Moon Tree.

In an instant, his dark, silent eyes surged with turbulent emotions, as if hundreds of years of suppressed feelings had suddenly burst forth, thick and sticky, and his body couldn't help but twist and deform slightly in the darkness.

He looked at the human, at the other's bloodshot eyes, as if trying to confirm something over and over again. He didn't know how much time had passed, but finally, the surging emotions that had burst forth slowly receded, eventually gathering into his dark eyes and forming an ice-sculpted shell around him.

The tiny black hole swallowed the crescent moon, preserving it like a precious jewel.

On the other side, Ye Jiang was looking up at the unknown giant tree that had broken through the ground when she suddenly heard the townspeople's cheers, tinged with tears. Looking over, she noticed the changes in the townspeople. What was this...?

She was just thinking about how to solve the problem of the markings on the townspeople's bodies, and now the problem is solved.

Was it this thing that resembled a tree but wasn't really a tree that solved the problem?

What kind of tree is this? Why does it look so strange?

Ye Jiang was unaware of the strange sensation beneath her feet, nor of the bloodshot eyes. A ripple of emotion flickered within those bloodshot eyes, and suddenly a sense of emptiness welled up in her chest. She felt as if she had forgotten something—what had she forgotten?

A moon slowly descended towards her, interrupting her thoughts. She instinctively reached out to catch it, but grasped only air. The moon passed right through her palm and continued to fall, disappearing upon hitting the ground.

Ye Jiang: "..."

The moon falling on the townspeople is not like that.

Why do all the townspeople have it, but she doesn't?

Differential treatment?

Ye Jiang pursed her lips and glanced to her side, wanting to see if Ming Xia had caught the moon. But when she looked, she saw that the latter was looking down, looking dazed and not in a good mood.

Ye Jiang: "?"

What's wrong with her?

Moon allergy?

What happened to Ming Xia? Nothing much, she just witnessed something that shocked her!

At first, she saw her teacher catch the moon but miss, and was about to laugh at her when her gaze followed the moon to the ground. But that casual glance revealed a scene that shocked her to her core!

She saw a strange, blood-red light flickering beneath her teacher's feet. The light was obscured by the soil, and she didn't know its exact nature, but it resembled the moonlight on the Moon Tree...

Exactly the same.

Yes, exactly the same.

She was disoriented and looked up in a daze, only to see that even in the darkness, the teacher's eyes were bloodshot and strangely red.

Ming Xia: "..."

No one knew what the genius of the Ability Control Bureau was thinking at this moment. High in the sky, the forgotten Polluted opened its eyes, its several eyes fixed on a human below, in disbelief.

Unlike the cubs of the Ability Control Bureau, it, having mastered the rules of space, clearly saw that the roots of the Moon Tree were connected to that human.

Chapter 101 The Third Monster's Name

As darkness descended upon the town, only a faint light shone through the treetops—the shimmering moonlight. Beneath the giant trees, some laughed, some wept, and some sank into deep self-doubt.

Suddenly, the giant tree trembled, and one of the crescent moons hanging high above the treetop vanished!

Then came the second and the third moon, each one quickly dimming like lights going out. The Tree of Miracles was about to depart, just as suddenly as it had arrived.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up to silently bid farewell to the miraculous tree.

As if in the blink of an eye, only the last shimmering crescent moon remained on the treetop of the giant tree. Everyone felt a pang of sadness; the Moon Tree hadn't even completely disappeared, yet they were already beginning to miss it.

Finally, even the last moon went dark. At the same time, the giant tree shattered with a crash, the darkness instantly dissipated, and the Sky brightened again. The people below remained silent for a long time.

Ye Jiang was looking at the Sky like everyone else when a young man came to her side. He looked at her with the same focused gaze a townsman would have on Moon Tree. His cold, lonely eyes seemed to have changed; the contradictory feelings of heat and cold could be reflected in the same pair of eyes. Ye Jiang felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze and subtly turned away.

Ye Jiang sensed that the young man had something to say to her, but for some reason he didn't speak, and remained silent.

Since the Moon Tree miraculously appeared, the townspeople have stopped repairing their damaged town. The high walls stand dilapidated, and the townspeople seem to have suddenly forgotten about it. Joy lingers in the town, and the townspeople are full of energy, with no trace of numbness left.

The Moon Tree changed them, and the Dream Tree made their dreams come true.

Ming Xia left the next day. She needed to take the remaining Guard back to the Ability Control Bureau to report the true situation in Shuiling Town without delay.

While Ye Jiang was counting Hua Ling's earnings in her room, Ming Xia came in to say goodbye. The teenage girl had become more composed after this incident and was not saddened by the small separation. She calmly shared her upcoming itinerary with Ye Jiang.