–Thanks for your help earlier.–
Yang Zicang looked at the two of them, –Some of those who helped me before have already left this world forever. From now on, we must live well on their behalf.–
–We didn’t do much. But you’re right—this was really an unwarranted disaster for those people. By the way, what’s your ability? Throwing stones? That was incredibly powerful!–
–Hey, don’t just casually pry into someone else’s ability, alright? Aren’t you revealing their trump card?– Chang Yang elbowed Liu Ming.
Liu Ming scratched his head and laughed heartily:
–Sorry, I’m getting old and muddled. By the way, we’ve been running all this way without introducing ourselves. What should we call you?–
Having reverted to a young man, he chuckled: –Yang Zicang. The ‘cang’ in ‘storage’—even though it’s a polyphonic character, everyone likes to call me that.–
–Haha, good. I’m Liu Ming, he’s Chang Yang, and this beauty is Mu Xiaoyu. From now on, we’ll be counting on you to protect us.–
–We’ve all been through life and death together. There’s no talk of protection. When the chance comes, you might get a Moxel too.–
These words filled the three with anticipation—who wouldn’t want to possess such an extraordinary ability!
Yang Zicang calculated in his mind.
Not counting his own lifespan, he still had nearly 589 and a half years of extra Chronos, which, when quadrupled, amounted to over two thousand three hundred years.
I don’t know if my current strength ranks at all in this world. But for that so-called alliance, they could probably create a powerful being at will using the Invest method.
The Monster Hunter Alliance, and the Ruined City…
Suddenly, a faint line came bending in.
{Who can help me.}
[I can feel a thirst for lifespan, for Chronos.]
In his perception, the figure was a teenage boy of medium build, about fourteen or fifteen years old, squinting one eye while clutching an iron rod, limping and hopping forward in a place like an underground tunnel—seemingly some abandoned large-scale subterranean pipeline.
How could there be a place like this? Yang Zicang found it somewhat puzzling.
Behind that boy, a mass of dim gray mist surged, with something slowly approaching inside.
That thing seemed to be savoring the child’s fear, neither giving up the chase nor speeding up, occasionally lashing out with something like a black whip that struck his body.
Outside his body were only two constantly shifting lines; that Moxel was merely an Angle Symbol.
–You all saw that, right?– Yang Zicang looked to those beside him.
–Somewhat blurry.–
–Seems like it’s far from us.–
{Who can—give me a hundred years, and I could defeat this monster; it’s just a rat. Please, someone…}
Snap! Another whip-like mark struck the boy’s body, slashing a bloody streak across his spine. From the gray smoke behind him echoed a sound resembling human laughter, though it was sharp and bizarre.
This time, Yang Zicang saw it clearly—that was a rat’s tail, incredibly long, suggesting the monster must be taller than a man!
After waiting a few seconds, only two faint specks of light gathered on the child, indicating that two people had Invested in him, though the amounts were negligible.
{If someone Invests in me, I’ll give you eighty percent of all the Chronos I earn!}
Snap! The child stumbled and fell to the ground. He turned his head in terror, staring at the dim silhouette rising upright in the smoke.
{No one is going to Invest in you, A Liang.}
A telepathic voice came through, and Yang Zicang listened curiously—surprised that someone could speak within this space.
The boy named A Liang’s expression changed drastically, and he asked hopefully, {Is that you, Captain Luo Xin?}
{It’s me.}
The boy gritted his teeth and said,
{Captain Luo Xin, if you can kill it for me, I’ll give you all the Chronos I ever earn.}
{You can’t escape. Kill this rat, and there’ll be another one; kill that one, and hundreds, thousands more monsters will swarm in. Why would you go to that place? You’re just a greedy fool blinded by rumors of treasure. That place is far beyond the reach of someone like you!}
Slap!
Another lash struck the boy’s back. This time, the rat’s tail coiled around his ankle and whipped it abruptly, sending a violent tremor through him.
Bang! Liang Xi was thrown dizzy by the immense force, and the iron rod in his hand was knocked loose.
{The reason I’m wasting Chronos on an open telepathic dialogue here is to tell some newcomers who’ve just survived not to be fooled by people like him. Don’t think ‘Invest’ is the same as trading vouchers from your past life.}
For dozens of miles around, the surviving people who heard this news were jolted—many with hot heads had their fervor cooled drastically.
{Danger is everywhere in this world. Every time you Invest, there’s a chance of losing everything, and it could affect your future. Because sometimes, it’s just that one year short—the edge you might have needed to turn defeat into victory will be stolen by a monster that devours you, turning you into its excrement. In this place, the first thing to learn isn’t Invest—it’s clarity. It’s about suppressing your urges, keeping your sanity.}
Many people secretly took note of this name, thinking to themselves that he might be a good person.
{Ah! Why!}
Liang Xi gnashed his teeth in fury, utterly hating this man who not only refused to Invest him but also spoke out publicly.
When Yang Zicang heard the child say it would only take a hundred years, he had already been tempted to Invest, but after listening to Luo Xin’s words, he realized he had still been thinking too simplistically.
It seemed that the place where this child lived was extremely dangerous; an investment of a hundred years would not be enough to get him out of there—it might only suffice for a single strike.
If that strike was nullified, the Chronos he earned probably wouldn’t even cover the principal consumed, especially since his Moxel was merely an angle symbol, likely capable of only a doubling multiplier.
{Why do you all have triangles? Even those with dual lines have someone to protect them… only I… only I…}
Hearing the child’s tearful voice filled with grievance, Yang Zicang took a deep breath.
Damn it, I’ve already died once myself.
Feeling his 589 years’ worth of Chronos, he steeled himself and set aside 150 years.
Might as well consider the compensation from Bai Yuan as money down the drain; windfalls have to be spent—that’s the way it is.
[I want to Invest him.]
Yang Zicang wrestled with the decision in his mind.
–Go ahead! But only against this monster’s crisis.–
……
Within the dim underground tunnel, the monster in the smoke seemed to grow bored. It let out a chittering sound akin to laughter, emerging from the haze.
The monster’s claws were as hard as iron, glinting coldly, as it swung one down at the boy.
Hope had drained from the boy; in that instant, his mind raced. Just a month ago, he was on holiday learning spray-painting art—who could have guessed that only thirty days later, he would meet his end under the claws of a rat monster?
[I have received a 150N temporary Invest from Yang Zicang; he wishes this Chronos be used solely to counter the present crisis.]
Bang! The boy was flung back by the sharp claws.
[Chronos decreased by 20N.]
Pain, such searing pain… His entire body felt like it was falling apart, yet the agony quickly began to fade.
A child’s reflexes were sharp. Even under attack, he skillfully seized the iron rod that had shaken loose in his roll, swinging it backward the moment he turned, striking the immense rat charging at him.
The sight made Yang Zicang’s heart ache; he wondered how long this boy had been in this godforsaken place, having already grown accustomed to these fighting moves.
[I have received a 30N Invest transferred from Yang Zicang to Mu Xiaoyu.]
[I have received a 1N Invest transferred from Yang Zicang to Chang Yang.]
[I have received a 3Y Invest transferred from Yang Zicang to Liu Ming.]
Liang Xi’s spirit soared—in that instant, tears nearly welled up in his eyes. This world still had good people!
Bang! The steel claw clashed against the iron rod.
The whip-like tail swept in, its violent whir cutting through the air.
–Ah!–
Liang Xi, almost driven to madness, swung the iron rod with all his might. He chose to brace his small body against the coming blow, diverting most of Chronos into his hands as he raised the rod upward.
But this strike was nimbly evaded by the huge rat with a twist of its body, its tail lashing out like a rope to coil around him.
Slash! The steel claw carved a massive gash across his body as blood sprayed into the air. Entangled by the tail, Liang Xi was swung aloft.
The three men beside Yang Zicang, connected through the strands they had voluntarily shared with him, watched the scene unfold from his perspective.
At first, they had wondered when they might ever obtain something like –that,– but quickly they were jolted by the horror befalling –Ah-Liang.–
Their hearts tightened at the sight, and a flicker of regret passed through Yang Zicang’s mind—but he swiftly suppressed it.
–Brother Zicang, that kid is so pitiful. Looking at him reminds me of my little brother.–
Mu Xiaoyu bit her lower lip as she spoke.
–Your brother will live a good life back on Earth.–
The group of four hurried toward No. 42 Zuo Ming Avenue while monitoring the half-grown boy through their perception.
He was tossed around the ground like a ragdoll by the monster, landing with a dull thud, blood streaming down his face.
The boy had now gone still, but he still gripped the iron rod in his hand tightly.
{Don’t worry… I still have… my principal…}
{I can survive… at least another seventy or eighty years…}
He hadn’t lost consciousness; this inner voice was both a signal to the Investors and a pep talk to himself.
Such a cruel world…
A lump of frustration lodged itself deep in Yang Zicang’s chest, a bitter weight of sorrow in his heart.
Liang Xi was being dragged by the monster’s tail toward the other side of the massive iron pipe, where the silhouette of another slightly smaller monster appeared.
The rat, which stood about one meter thirty or forty tall when upright, let out a series of squeaks, a glint of joy flashing in its eyes.
With a flick of its tail, the monster hurled Liang Xi toward the smaller creature.
Liu Ming let out a sigh.
–So it was catching food for that one. No wonder it didn’t simply swallow the kid right away.–
Mu Xiaoyu’s nerves tightened once more. This Investigation of hers could very well be completely reset to zero, and she would lose the most precious thirty years of her life.
Yang Zican nervously watched this scene—it was a perfect opportunity, but he didn’t know if Liang Xi, who was pretending to be dead, could seize it!
Suddenly, the skin on Liang Xi’s body aged rapidly—his still half-grown frame had already developed age spots, and his hair quickly turned white.
The rat that had thrown him flickered with a trace of doubt in its eyes, then violently charged forward, consumed with rage!
–Ahh!– Liang Xi’s eyes blazed wide with fury as he frantically stared at the small monster about to catch him.
Pfft! The iron rod pierced straight through the small monster’s chest. As he tumbled down with the creature in his grasp, the colossal rat crashed down like a black cloud.
The boy perceived a thought in his mind.
[I harvested 45.2N, because I am a dual-thread model…]
With a dull, heavy thud, his back was slammed against the ground by a tremendous force!
This time, he had activated Chronos’s defense. The aging boy yanked out the grimy iron rod at his side, twisted his body across the ground like swinging a baseball bat, and swung it in a vicious blow.
–All!–
The lifespans of every monster—himself and others alike—all converged into this single strike.
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