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Ye Jiang: "..."

Ye Jiang had previously been confused about what the "Sesame Ball" in the first column and the dark red dot in the third column of the system's storage compartment represented. She still didn't know what the former meant, but she thought she might know what the latter meant.

It's a monster.

The dark red dots in the third column likely represent monsters, specifically monsters with the Blood Moon symbol, which she saw.

Ye Jiang boldly guessed that of the three glowing dots currently in the third column of her system's storage compartment, one was Dong Zhen, one was Shi Li, and as for the remaining one...

A blurry figure suddenly appeared in Ye Jiang's mind, shrouded in black smoke. The figure had broad shoulders and hips, an extremely thin waist, and long, slender limbs... Ye Jiang couldn't remember any more detailed information, but the figure had clearly existed in her memory.

The remaining specks of light must belong to that figure, Ye Jiang thought. It must also be a monster. They probably met in City S, but when she lost her memory in City S, the monster was also lost. Ye Jiang had this feeling in her mind.

Ye Jiang remained silent. It had to be said, her memory was as leaky as a sieve.

How much has she actually forgotten?

Leaving aside the amnesia for now, let's get back to the main topic: the Blood Moon mark on the monster Shi Li's tentacles. People seem to firmly believe that the Blood Moon mark was bestowed by the Blood Moon on the day of the Blood Moon, and is highly related to and matches that moon. But is that really the case?

Ye Jiang glanced at the glowing dots in the system, then at the Blood Moon symbol on the monster's tentacles—

Her system also seems to have some connection to the Blood Moon symbol.

It's unclear whether the Polluted and monsters that develop the Blood Moon mark will appear in her system, or whether the Polluted and monsters that appear in her system will develop the Blood Moon mark. In any case, the two are more or less related, which goes against the common understanding of the world.

How could this happen?

Could it be that the Blood Moon favored her exceptionally, thus bestowing upon her this special ability?

Ye Jiang was confused.

Meanwhile, the monster Shi Li, unaware of the human's confusion, was observing the novel feature on her tentacles. She instinctively felt a sense of familiarity with this mark, so she never considered removing it, not even for a moment. She was simply curious: wasn't this a mark only human ability users had? Why was it on her, a monster?

Shi Li has received the memories of the girl Mei Ti, and from Mei Ti memories, she has learned about the common sense of this human world. Because of this common sense, she doesn't understand why.

Shi Li tentatively touched the Blood Moon symbol, but was greatly disappointed. Nothing happened. She couldn't trigger her powers like human ability users; the Blood Moon in her hand was just a symbol.

How was this logo created?

What impact did it have on her?

Above the high walls of Shuiling Town, humans and monsters alike have their own questions.

"Jie--"

A sharp cry pierced the sky, interrupting the thoughts of the two on the wall. Suddenly, the Polluted eagle-man appeared from the clouds, swooping down towards the high wall with an arrogant air. Shi Li's eyes darkened, her tentacles twitching, ready to swat this foolish creature away. However, before she could raise her tentacles, the human beside her raised his hand first. In that instant, the arrogant eagle-man's charge faltered, a flicker of hesitation and struggle in its eyes. The arrogance that had risen after days of being free-range vanished instantly. It stopped its charge and flew slowly towards the wall, reluctantly nuzzling its head against the human's palm.

The monster was speechless.

The monster was surprised.

This human is definitely no ordinary person; she actually conspired with the Polluted...

The eagle-man lowered its back, and Ye Jiang stepped onto it. Shi Li watched this scene with a meaningful expression. At this moment, the eagle-man carrying the person spread its wings and soared into the sky, blowing a gust of wind that blew Shi Li's face with pebbles.

Shi Li: "..."

@#￥@￥%

The monsters on the high walls roared in anger, while humanity had already gone far away with the eagle-men.

The monster shut her mouth. She turned back to look at the empty town, at the yard where a willow tree grew, and watched quietly.

A gentle breeze rippled through the high walls, and it seemed a little...

lonely.

The journey from Shuiling Town back to City A by taking the Eagle Man, a highly efficient mode of transportation, took less than a day. Ye Jiang had already taken the route once on her way there and knew the way by heart. On her return trip, when she passed the nearest major city to Shuiling Town, she specifically stopped the Eagle Man, leaving it outside the city and entering herself. She wanted to go into the city to buy some local specialties; it wouldn't be good to return empty-handed after such a long trip.

The nearest major city to Shuiling Town is City Z. While not as bustling as City A, the climate here is excellent, making it ideal for medicinal herb cultivation. As a result, the city is filled with pharmacies and is among the top in the development of medicinal products.

Ye Jiang wandered around the city. Perhaps because it was far from City A, and also because the Pollution-Hunting Competition had ended more than a month ago and new news had emerged, Ye Jiang was no longer surrounded by onlookers like she had in City A. Her strategy of avoiding attention was very effective.

Ye Jiang chose a shop that sells calming sachets, wanting to buy two to take back to Yu Qingyi, who is busy with work and the sachets can help her calm down and sleep.

Actually, Ye Jiang chose to return to City A today because she received a letter from Yu Qingyi last night. Yu Qingyi hoped that Ye Jiang could return home before tomorrow because she missed her so much. Ever since receiving that message, Ye Jiang had been feeling uneasy, as if she had forgotten something important. So, as soon as she woke up this morning, she decided to set off back home.

The sachet shop was crowded with customers. It seemed that living a peaceful life in this world was not easy. Ye Jiang took a sachet and joined the checkout line. The customers in front of her were chatting about the strange story of the Moon Tree appearing in the world a month ago.

"The Moon Tree suddenly appeared in that town with great fanfare; several neighboring villages saw it. I wanted to try my luck there, but I didn't dare go. You know that town... Sigh, how did the Moon Tree just appear there?"

"Yes, it just so happens to be there."

"Did you know? I heard that town is almost deserted; all the townspeople have left."

"Hiss, this..."

"Don't worry too much. Someone saw them. The people coming out of town... they didn't have those black markings anymore! The black markings have disappeared! It must be the Moon Tree that helped heal those people!"

"Huh, really?"

"Are you still questioning the Moon Tree? It's Miracle Tree! The facts speak for themselves: the townspeople who left early have been gone for a month, and nothing bad has happened in that time, has it?"

"That's true..."

"The Moon Tree must have healed them, so there's no need to worry anymore, not even in the future."

The fact that the residents of Shuiling Town were leaving their town was no secret; it caused quite a stir when the news first spread, but a month later, nothing bad had happened.

When news of the sexual incident broke, people were initially alarmed, but now they're less concerned. The general consensus is that the Moon Tree cured the defects of those modified humans—after all, it's the Moon Tree; what can't it do?

The world's worship of the two great wonders of the world Blood Moon and the Moon Tree, is natural, even somewhat blind.

No one questions the Moon Tree's capabilities, but they do question other things.

"But did all the townspeople receive the Moon Blessing?" Some, still a little uninformed, remained concerned. "There are over two thousand townspeople in Shuiling Town, right? Were they all cured?"

"Everything's done!" someone chimed in. "I heard that the Ability Control Bureau went into the town after the incident and found that there wasn't a single Black-Striped resident left!"

"This..." The worried one widened his eyes, "Is the Moon Tree being... this generous this time?"

The reason this person showed such a surprised expression is because everyone knows that although the Moon Tree possesses extraordinary powers, it doesn't actually bestow blessings on such a large scale. It's like a Wishing Tree; many people make wishes, but only a few are granted.

The Moon Tree will rain down the moon upon everyone within its base, but only a small portion of the moon, once shattered, will possess the power to bestow blessings.

Moreover, according to records, the number of moons with miraculous powers that fall from the Moon Tree is decreasing.

The same applies to Blood Moon Day; fewer and fewer ability users awaken on Blood Moon Day.

People are unwilling to consider whether the power of the Blood Moon and the Moon Tree itself is waning.

What's going on this time? Three years ago, when the Moon Tree appeared, only a little over a hundred lucky citizens received the Miracle Moon. This time, the Moon Tree has bestowed the Miracle Moon upon every single town resident—is this really happening? Why is this time so different?

No one can answer this question, not even the most well-informed person.

Listening to the conversation, Ye Jiang brushed up on some common sense and realized that the Moon Tree didn't just hand out lucky bags for free.

She was also carrying a silver box containing moons, though it was unclear whether these moons were special moons with special abilities.

Ye Jiang didn't think of opening it; they looked quite pretty in the box.

Ye Jiang drifted off into thought, remembering the person who brought the moon.

After buying the sachets, Ye Jiang left Z City. For some reason, after overhearing Moon Tree's conversation, she felt an increasing urgency to return to City A. Some important memory was about to surface, silently urging her on. She had originally planned to wander around the city and buy some snacks to eat on the way, but now she had no such mood. She summoned the eagle man as soon as she left the city and set off.

When she returned to City A, it was still dark. She had left the eagle-man to roam freely in the wilderness, and she entered the city alone.

She rushed home, only to find the house Qingqing. Yu Qingyi wasn't there. Ye Jiang paused for a moment before realizing it was Yu Qingyi's work hours and Yu Qingyi was still out.

After a moment's thought, Ye Jiang took out her phone and messaged Yu Qingyi Yu Qingyi to let her know she was back. Yu Qingyi replied slowly, only responding much later to express her joy and apologetically tell her she wouldn't be back until the early hours of the morning. Ye Jiang asked where she worked and offered to pick her up, and Yu Qingyi, who never wanted to trouble others, didn't refuse this time.