A wolf-shaped exotic beast suddenly sprang out from the half-person-high bushes beside them. Its tail was extremely long and thin, its green oily eyes fixed on the three of them. It howled and spat out ice spikes.
Yuan Ting’s eyes suddenly brightened. He leaped high, clenched his right fist, and swept his left hand out. A long blade crackling with terrifying black lightning condensed and slashed fiercely at the exotic beast. “Die!”
Zhi Ze and Cen Le dodged far to the side.
Zhi Ze shook his head. “He’s enough by himself. That guy’s ability is really domineering…”
Yuan Ting’s ability was lightning attribute, but also very special—it was lightning infused with fire’s temperature and corrosive damage. Among the Five Elements ability users, his attack power ranked first.
With one slash, the exotic beast was directly split in half, dead beyond dead.
Yuan Ting landed handsomely, a few cowlicks standing up on his head. “Why does this exotic beast feel a bit weak…”
He cut open the exotic beast’s heart and made a sound of surprise. “Huh? No beast core. So it was a low-level exotic beast?”
Zhi Ze and Cen Le came to his side. “The leaf is gone. Wasted one use. Let me try again.”
Rustling sounds came from the bushes ahead. Cen Le looked up alertly. “More?”
The three prepared for battle.
The next instant, a head poked out from the bushes—a youth who looked about their age, cradling a kitten that seemed completely out of place.
He had a pair of beautiful, clean deep blue eyes. The small braids on both sides were rather ugly, his hair tips dark red.
He looked slightly disheveled at the moment, with a leaf still hanging on his head. His expression seemed somewhat embarrassed. The youth smiled at them, his tone sincere. “Um… hello.”
“I came to F City to find someone. I got quite injured along the way. When I ran into an exotic beast earlier, I hid. I didn’t expect to encounter you all. Thank you for saving me.”
His eyes curved. “My name is Shi Deng. I’m very happy to meet you.”
Yuan Ting froze for a second, then praised without restraint. “You’re a bit more handsome than me. I’m Yuan Ting.”
The refined youth with gray eyes said, “I’m Zhi Ze.”
The young lady with a high ponytail, cold expression, and soft appearance said, “I’m Cen Le. Le as in music.”
Shi Deng’s vision blurred slightly.
This scene seemed to infinitely overlap with their very first meeting.
[Under the dim yellow sunset light filling the sky.
The youth holding a kitten looked at his old friends, eyes curved in a smile.
As if nothing had changed.]
[Shi baby’s attempt to secretly join them is way too obvious hahaha. This perfunctory acting—in a few months, Idiot Yuan and the others definitely won’t believe it.]
[Xiao Deng actually became a cat?! Pfft, poor child. Come here, Xiao Deng, come to Auntie. Let Auntie sniff the kitty.]
[I can’t help it. This is clearly a good thing, isn’t it? Why do I suddenly want to cry QAQ]
[#image#
Went to “Youth Arc” and took a screenshot of when they first met. It was at Tiangu’s training base. Back then they went to register together, and when introducing themselves, they said these exact same lines. Spanning across time to now, it’s still exactly the same—not a single word changed. I’m sobbing waaah…]
[‘Very happy to meet you, I’m Shi Deng’, ‘You’re a bit more handsome than me, I’m Yuan Ting’, ‘I’m Zhi Ze’, ‘I’m Cen Le, Le as in music’ QAQ. The most ordinary introduction at the start now stabs my heart.]
[This is the only reset that feels just like the first time. Will Baldy finally give us the happy ending we’ve been dreaming of? Please, the characters really, really deserve it qwq.]
[Unknown medicine bottle warning! Knife warning!]
***
Night was about to fall. The group made a fire under a somewhat aged tree and set up tents.
Zhi Ze went to scatter bone powder from high-level exotic beasts around the area. The scent it emitted could drive away most nocturnal exotic beasts.
Shi Deng sat by the fire holding Xiao Deng. Cen Le was preparing food.
Not far away.
Yuan Ting and Zhi Ze huddled together, speaking quietly.
Yuan Ting: “Are you sure that leaf hanging on his head was the leaf you applied prophecy to?”
Zhi Ze nodded.
Yuan Ting pondered, thinking for a long time. “He’s fated to meet us?”
Zhi Ze: “Or maybe the prophecy went wrong. Let me try again.”
In any case, after today passed, tomorrow they’d have three chances again.
Zhi Ze picked up two more leaves. “I prophesy.”
Leaf number one flew over and stuck to Shi Deng’s back.
“I prophesy.”
Leaf number two flew over and stuck to Shi Deng’s back.
Strange. The prophecy couldn’t have the same result every time. This person absolutely had some connection to them.
“…”
The two silently made eye contact.
Three minutes later.
Yuan Ting and Zhi Ze sat on either side of Shi Deng. Yuan Ting grinned broadly. “Brother Shi Deng, where are you from? Where are you going? We must be fated to meet.”
Zhi Ze thought to himself that this idiot—he’d asked him to extract information, not say it outright.
Shi Deng dipped a cracker in water and fed it to Xiao Deng’s mouth. “I came here to find someone. I want to go to the temporary ability user base here.”
Zhi Ze: “It’s very dangerous here. Are you also an ability user?”
Shi Deng had already prepared his story. “Support-type ability. I can speed people up or slow them down. Nothing else beyond that.”
“Support-type, just like Sister Le!” Yuan Ting chattered away, practically spilling everything.
Cen Le specialized in healing, but could deploy three types of large-scale domains—amplifying allies, weakening enemies, and could teleport within the domain range for precise targeted kills.
Not to mention that as a healing specialist in the support category, she was a hot commodity anywhere.
Zhi Ze: “What person are you looking for? Can you tell us? We can help you.”
Shi Deng: “My little brother. Six or seven years old.”
He pinched Xiao Deng’s paw. If worst came to worst, he could have Xiao Deng play the role.
Cen Le frowned slightly.
F City was a contaminated area, rampant with exotic beasts. Apart from ability users, most people here were mercenaries risking their lives to make a living. Such a small child would probably…
Yuan Ting slapped his chest. “Don’t worry. From now on, we’re all friends. I find you especially likable. After we reach the temporary base, we’ll help you search!”
Cen Le changed the subject. “Eat something and sleep quickly. We’re traveling tomorrow.”
Shi Deng nodded and entered the tent. The three of them whispered together for a while.
After Shi Deng entered the tent, Xiao Deng jumped out of his arms, then used his mouth to pull off the two leaves stuck to his back.
Holding these two leaves, the youth’s expression seemed somewhat troubled.
“Zhi Ze’s prophecy…”
Although it couldn’t do much now, after it leveled up and he prophesied again, it would still affect him somewhat.
When upgraded to the grand prophecy technique that could touch the future and fate, if Zhi Ze had the intention, he could really glimpse things on him that he didn’t want them to know.
[Damn! Zhi Ze-ge’s prophecy technique—I remember in the “Abyss Arc,” didn’t Zhi Ze-ge upgrade to grand prophecy once and nearly strip away Shi baby’s facade?]
[I remember. At the time, I got so excited thinking there was finally a breakthrough, but in the end it still failed ;)]
[Looking at Shi baby this time, it seems he still doesn’t plan to tell them. I’m so frustrated.]
***
Yuan Guang
Deep underground.
The young man with deep blue eyes walked down the steps. Uncle Fu said at the entrance, “Shi-ge, be careful.”
The young man nodded. “I know.”
The steps were narrow, descending far down with no end in sight. On both sides, dim red candles that never went out flickered faintly.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, he finally saw some light.
Below was a huge circular platform suspended in midair.
On the tall stone pillars surrounding it, countless white chains carved with strange patterns extended toward the center, firmly locking down a mass of fog that continuously leaked black vapor.
The instant the young man stepped onto the circular platform, the black fog flashed eerily and emitted a mature male voice. “Where’s Shi Deng?”
Shi-ge said, “None of your business.”
The black fog: “Doesn’t matter. You’re Shi Deng too anyway.”
It laughed softly. “Just those few people—if they die, they die. Those humans, humans without abilities, are nothing but ants. What’s worth protecting?”
“Look at your Uncle Xiao Fu. Originally in his twenties, he became an old man. Reset one more time and he’ll die, right? Why pay such a huge price to achieve something that’s impossible to begin with?”
“Return to the correct future together—that’s what you want, isn’t it?”
The black fog’s voice grew increasingly seductive.
Shi-ge: “Too much talk.”
He reached out and grabbed. The white chains suddenly tightened, and the black fog sharply contracted.
Shi-ge said flatly, “Just came to check if you’re behaving. So much drama.”
He turned and left.
The black fog: “Time cannot be reversed. The future won’t change.”
The young man’s figure disappeared up the long staircase.
The black fog murmured, “What you’ve been chasing all along will vanish into thin air. Shi Deng, will you break down…”
A trace of extremely faint black light separated from it. The black fog immediately became much more withered.
At the same time, that strand of separated black light rapidly left the area and disappeared without a trace.
***
The next day, Zhi Ze used prophecy again.
This time the leaf didn’t fly to Shi Deng but flew east.
The three of them had thought Shi Deng couldn’t keep up with their speed, but when they looked back, Shi Deng was following at a not-too-distant position. At that distance, he definitely wouldn’t get lost, so they felt relieved and continued forward.
Ability user levels totaled twelve: levels 1-3 were beginner, 4-6 intermediate, 7-9 advanced, and 10-12 special-grade ability users.
Exotic beast levels were the same as ability users. The energy crystal at their heart was called a beast core, which could be used by ability users to level up. Of course, in contaminated areas, beast cores were a more important currency among ability users than paper money.
The special-grade exotic beasts in F City had already been eliminated. Most of what remained were intermediate exotic beasts, with some beginner exotic beasts and a small number of advanced exotic beasts.
Currently, Yuan Ting and Zhi Ze were level 4, while Cen Le was level 5. All were intermediate ability users. Working together, they could handle advanced ability users around level 7. That was enough to survive at the temporary base.
The temporary base was a mixed bag of people. The Tiangu members only played a management role. After all, everyone came to slay exotic beasts. Though their purposes varied, many things could be overlooked with one eye open and one eye closed.
The temporary base’s hall was located on the east side of F City, with dedicated personnel handling registration.
All kinds of people were there—mercenaries, ordinary people, free ability users, and many cloaked figures. Some were trading beast cores, while others rushed off after receiving missions.
Perhaps because they looked too young, when the four of them arrived, they attracted quite a few covert, appraising glances.
Zhi Ze walked to the counter. “Hello, we’d like to rent a house for four people.”
The residential buildings around the base had long been vacated by ordinary people and were now available for rent to those hunting exotic beasts.
The receptionist checked and quickly replied, “Two properties remain. One on the edge—more dangerous—and one in the inner ring—relatively safer. The former is cheaper: fifteen intermediate beast cores every half month. The latter costs forty intermediate beast cores per week.”
Yuan Ting was dumbfounded. “Can’t we use paper money…?”
From a corner of the hall, a man carrying a blade scoffed and muttered, “Where did these wet-behind-the-ears brats come from…”
Shi Deng glanced faintly in that direction.
The blade-carrying man inexplicably shivered.
Shi Deng withdrew his gaze and stood behind Zhi Ze and the others with his head lowered, pale fingertips gently stroking the cat.
The receptionist, reading their expressions, understood and continued, “We implement humane rental terms here. If you can hunt enough beast cores within three days, the room can be temporarily provided. You just need to pay the rent within those three days.”
Cen Le: “What if we can’t hunt enough?”
The receptionist pointed to a small sign beside her that read:
[Penalties for Late Payment:
1. Leave the defaulter’s eyes.
2. Find someone to redeem them—ten times the penalty fee.]
“Those are your only two choices. It’s all voluntary trading. Have you decided?”
Yuan Ting silently hid behind Zhi Ze and Cen Le. “…Can we choose not to rent?”
Actually, whether it was the large houses or the cheap tent area outside, they couldn’t afford either, because Coach Chi hadn’t mentioned at all that only beast cores mattered here.
The receptionist: “Sorry, then please leave the temporary base.”
The three: “…”
So much for humane terms!
Zhi Ze gritted his teeth. “We’ll rent—”
“Hey, hey, move aside, move aside!” A pair of large hands shoved them away.
Shi Deng’s eyes darkened. He suddenly remembered his current ‘frail weakling’ persona and forcibly held back, his slender frame staggering from being shoved. Xiao Deng’s fur bristled as he yowled.
Yuan Ting quickly caught him, glaring furiously at the newcomers. “What are you doing?!”
Six people arrived, each one tall and imposing. In the middle was a garishly dressed fat man in his twenties or thirties who sneered upon hearing this. “Who hasn’t heard of Lord Li’s name? My brothers are here to rent. What’s the point of you lot blocking the way? We’ll take both those rooms.”
Zhi Ze and Cen Le also stepped forward, standing in front of Shi Deng. Zhi Ze said politely, “We didn’t say we weren’t renting. There should be a first-come, first-served policy.”
Shi Deng, completely blocked by them, froze for a moment, then his eyes curved gently into a smile.
Smack!
Lord Li slapped a small black pouch on the counter and shook it, revealing dozens of intermediate beast cores. “Pay now, get now.”
Yuan Ting pointed at the sign beside them. “We already said we’re renting. Which rule says whoever pays first gets it?”
The receptionist looked uncomfortable. “This…”
After hesitating for a long while, she still looked toward Lord Li. “Are you taking both properties?”
Lord Li picked his teeth and spat, the chive leaf from between his teeth landing near Yuan Ting’s feet.
“You moth…” Yuan Ting nearly fainted from anger and was about to roll up his sleeves when someone gently pressed his shoulder.
Thinking it was Zhi Ze, he quickly turned his head. “Don’t stop… Huh? Shi Deng?”
“Wait a moment. I have beast cores.”
Under everyone’s gaze, Shi Deng slowly walked to the counter.
The receptionist: “When two parties compete for rental property, the higher bidder wins.”
Lord Li was extremely impatient, frowning fiercely. “Get lost. Stop making trouble.”
He wasn’t being unreasonable—at first glance, Shi Deng’s appearance wasn’t very intimidating. His loose, light beige long coat reached his thighs, and his deep blue eyes were calm and clear.
A small handmade rabbit pouch was tied at his waist, and he held a kitten in his arms.
This combination looked utterly harmless no matter how you viewed it.
Yuan Ting tugged at him lightly. “Hey…”
Shi Deng handed Xiao Deng to Yuan Ting, signaling him to hold the kitten. The moment the soft, fluffy feeling touched his hands, Yuan Ting froze, afraid of hurting the little cat.
Xiao Deng silently rolled his eyes at this dummy.
The receptionist said, “Bidding rules: if your final offer is lower than Mr. Li’s, not only will you not get the house, but half of your bid will go to the base and the other half to Mr. Li.”
The various regulations of the temporary base—who knew who had established them—had a very much ‘enjoying-the-show’ attitude.
Shi Deng: “What if mine is higher?”
The receptionist: “Then naturally, the same principle applies.”
**
wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 50.1
Thought I’d be too attached to the previous setting to like this new world, but actually its very attention grabbing?!
I wish we got to see the reactions to the old world. Its awesome to get reader reaction now but..