A plan-whose plan?

Do you like flowers?

"I recommend you go to Huanxia City, it's known as the City of Flowers. They have edible, medicinal, and ornamental flowers. Huanxia City has taken the flower economy to its extreme, you're sure to find what you're looking for there."

"Don't rush off once you're there. Stay a few more days. If you're going to stay, go to the guesthouse on the very edge of the southern part of the city. It's reasonably priced and the environment is nice. The owner's homemade flower porridge is absolutely amazing."

"Huanxia City?" Xiao Pei suddenly interjected.

The girl smiled, Xiao Pei actually saw a trace of pure joy in the eyes of this Polluted: "Hey, have you heard of it? Yes, Huanxia City, where the spring breeze caresses the face and the flowers bloom like rosy clouds."

Xiao Pei: "..."

She knew Huanxia City because this remote city was quite famous.

It should be said that they were once very famous.

More than a hundred years ago, the Ghost Mother descended upon the world, and overnight, all the city's residents aged 10 and above disappeared, becoming an unsolved mystery and a catastrophe of the century. Countless years passed after that, and only then did the cries that lingered in the city cease, the hatred be buried, and life was somehow injected back into it, slowly transforming it into the City of Flowers we know today.

Xiao Pei observed the girl, trying to uncover her secrets from the child of this Ghost Mother.

But the girl merely raised her eyelids, and the girl who was smiling and recommending the city a second ago suddenly used the poisonous branches that the Pollution had whipped up from the ground to stab Xiao Pei.

Xiao Pei immediately used her chains to counterattack. Before she made her move, she didn't feel much of a sense of crisis, because although her opponent looked extraordinary, she was not a monster after all, just a Polluted, and she had killed countless Polluted.

But as soon as Xiao Pei made a move, she realized something was wrong; this poisonous branch was far more difficult to deal with than she had imagined... far more difficult.

Xiao Pei immediately became serious.

Unlike Xiao Pei's seriousness, the girl was quite composed. She spoke casually to Xiao Pei, who was struggling with the poisonous branches, "Auntie, if you survive, you should go to City of Flowers. It's worth it!"

The next second, he grinned, revealing his shark-like teeth, his expression full of malice. "On the condition that you survive."

After saying that, she pried open the iron cage with her bare hands and stepped out.

Ye Jiang designed a cage for the girl according to the standards of S-Rank Polluted, but the girl was...

Monster Level Polluted.

Xiao Pei's muscles tensed instantly. While dealing with the poisonous branches, she kept an eye on the girl's movements. At this moment, her vigilance towards the girl reached its peak. Although Xiao Pei did not know that Polluted could reach the Monster Level, she had already realized that this Polluted was extremely unusual!

Is this girl about to join the battle to help the Ghost Mother?

Just as Xiao Pei was thinking this, she saw the girl leap up and land lightly on the rather damaged tree next to the cage. She sat down and looked ahead.

She wasn't going to join the fight.

I was just observing.

Ye Jiang stopped after missing her punch on the Ghost Mother.

Ye Jiang was deep in thought.

Since she woke up in Tang Su's body, she has rarely lost in terms of speed, but recently, her undefeated record seems to be being broken one after another, first by the Mud Monster "Cheng Xin", and now by the Ghost Mother.

Countless masks swarmed towards her, and Ye Jiang suddenly found herself wielding an exaggeratedly designed heavy sword. She swung the sword, shattering the approaching masks, her thoughts continuing unabated.

Monsters are all very fast, or rather, high-level monsters are all very fast.

Therefore, if she wants to win, she needs to...

In an instant, the blackness in Ye Jiang's eyes vanished, replaced by a blood-red hue. A streak of blood appeared in her hair, then spread outwards, causing her hair tie to snap. Her hair instantly grew to her heels, turning a dark red like Blood Moon.

Without disturbing the air, Ye Jiang disappeared.

While controlling the mask, the Ghost Mother glanced at the cage. As for her opponent, oh, the little one was indeed quite strong; that speed was beyond human capabilities. If she wasn't mistaken, the opponent was a monster, one of her own kind.

But even among monsters, there are differences in strength.

The Ghost Mother smiled faintly. The child was still a bit immature; his attacks were like child's play, and she didn't take them to heart.

The air in front of me stirred; here it comes again, the bland and monotonous boxing.

The Ghost Mother smiled, and sure enough, a fist appeared in her line of sight. She calmly moved it to the side; the fist...

The fist didn't come straight for her face as she had dodged it before!

The Ghost Mother looked slightly startled and hurriedly retreated, but still couldn't escape!

A fist, flying through the air, knocked off her hat, causing her hair, which was styled in a bun, to fall down.

The masks in mid-air stopped simultaneously, turning in one direction. For the first time, the Ghost Mother's smile vanished, and she stared coldly at the person opposite her.

A few meters away, Ye Jiang stood there, her blood-red hair flying in the wind.

She stared at the top hat that had fallen to the ground, a glint of light flashing in her bloodshot eyes.

Monsters are all very fast, or rather, high-level monsters are all very fast.

Therefore, if she wants to win, she needs to...

Faster speed.

She just loves using her fists, especially fast fists.

The Ghost Mother chuckled.

"Little friend, hasn't anyone told you that lifting someone's hat is a very rude thing to do?" The Ghost Mother's eyes were icy. "It can anger someone."

"Ah!!!"

A scream rang out as a figure from the illusion entered the garden. She was the garden's owner, and upon seeing her beautiful garden in this state, she cried out in despair, "Who are you people?! Look what you've done to my garden! I'm calling the police!"

Unnoticed by anyone, a complex emotion flashed in the girl's eyes as she stood in the tree.

She moved her hand, which was propped on the branch, and after a moment, she lifted it up. A leaf fell silently from the tree, turning black, inconspicuous in the dilapidated garden, like an ordinary fallen leaf blown by the wind.

It drifted and gently landed on the garden owner's neck.

The garden owner, who had been shouting angrily, suddenly stopped, then collapsed, his skin turning black and rotting, his whole body convulsing.

It's poison!

Having finally dealt with the poisonous branch, Xiao Pei witnessed this scene and glared angrily at the girl. Chains shot out, but the girl dodged them by tilting her head. She looked into the void, swaying her legs and humming a song.

Ye Jiang avoided eye contact with the Ghost Mother and looked at the fallen garden owner. She frowned slightly, then flashed to the garden owner's side. At that moment, the space around her suddenly became unstable.

There seemed to be a mountain breeze, and energy particles drifted in from who-knows-where, distorting space and making the flow of time seem to have a sound, ticking, ticking, like the ticking of a clock.

This is...

A sign of time reversal.

In the garden, the Polluted, monsters, and humans all turned their heads to look at the convulsing garden owner.

Ye Jiang paused in her attempt to help, then knelt down to channel her healing powers into the garden's owner.

The garden owner is safe, and the space has returned to stability.

Xiao Pei: "!!"

This is a dream world based on real memories. The dream world has a protagonist, and the protagonist cannot die when they should be alive. Otherwise, the dream world will have to start all over again.

In this illusion, the protagonist should be Ye Yanran. Her protagonist qualities are very obvious. Her near death caused turmoil in the illusion, so she must be the protagonist.

But now...

Is there something wrong with the speculation about the illusion?

No.

There is more than one protagonist in this illusion.

This seemingly ordinary garden owner, who appears to lack any protagonist qualities, is also the protagonist of this illusion.

"... In this spacetime, human death can cause time to flow backward?" The Ghost Mother's lips curled into a smile. "Interesting, very interesting."

In the Sky, countless masks simultaneously curved their eyes and mouths, exuding an eerie evil.

whoosh--

The masks moved, scattered, flew out of the garden, and flew in all directions, their mouths wide open.

The target is: the humans in the illusion.

all.

The Ghost Mother smiled, needing something amusing to distract her from her anger.

Chapter 163: Whose Plan?

The masks flew high in the sky, like a flock of white birds flying over the city, and for the time being, no one in the illusion noticed anything unusual.

They dispersed, gazing down at the humans from high above, but instead of swooping down, they stopped and awaited orders.

In the garden, the Ghost Mother looked at Ye Jiang.

"Little friend, I'll ask you one last time—would you like to be my child?" the Ghost Mother asked with a smile, generously adding, "If it's my own child, I can forgive some impolite behavior."

The Ghost Mother felt she could choose another way to dissipate her anger.

Her words reached the other side of the garden. Xiao Pei's face remained expressionless, but she was tense inside, watching the masks in the Sky warily. On the tree beside her, the girl stopped humming, her legs stopped swinging, and the corners of her mouth slowly relaxed.

Ye Jiang Ye Jiang, who was being questioned, didn't even glance at the Ghost Mother. She was busy healing the garden owner. When she saw the owner recover, her eyes changed from dazed to terrified. She then cast a Sweet Dream Spell on him.

The smile on the Ghost Mother's lips faded, "It seems she's unwilling."

The girl in the tree lowered her eyes, her fingers picking at the bark. A fleeting look of disappointment crossed her face, quickly carried away by the wind, unnoticed by anyone.

The Ghost Mother stared at Ye Jiang: "Child, do you know? You've made me very unhappy."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Pei's heart leaped into her throat, thinking, "Here it comes!"

A swarm of white "birds" rose up and swooped down menacingly towards the city's citizens in a hunting manner. Only then did the citizens realize that what was flying over the city was not birds, but countless terrifying masks!

Screams echoed throughout the city.

Xiao Pei's face was grim, and she had already prepared herself for time to reverse. There was no other way. Ye Jiang had done her best; she had fought the Ghost Mother for so long without being at a disadvantage, which far exceeded Xiao Pei's expectations. Ye Jiang might be able to protect herself in the battle against the Ghost Mother, but it seemed impossible to protect every citizen from under the Ghost Mother's mask. It was all because the Ghost Mother's area-of-effect attack was too overpowered!