The moment Ye Guan emerged from the deep pit, a sharp, foul stench assaulted his nose. Looking around, he saw an endless wasteland littered with garbage as far as the eye could see.
What a terrible place… Ye Guan thought to himself.
Nearby, nearly ten thousand people were frantically chasing after a flying ship.
The man grabbed him and dragged him along with the rushing crowd.
After several kilometers of pursuit, the ship in the distance began to slow down. Seeing this, the crowd's excitement soared, and they quickened their pace. Moments later, the flying ship came to a complete stop, and its bottom hatch opened.
What followed was a torrent of garbage pouring down from the ship like a waterfall.
The people went wild. Ye Guan observed as they threw themselves into the growing heap of trash, digging through it as if their lives depended on it.
"Start scavenging," said Little Pagoda. "Otherwise, how do you plan to survive this month?"
Ye Guan jumped back to his senses. His cultivation was sealed for the next month, and without it, survival here would be a real struggle.
He joined the frenzy, rummaging through the filthy piles of garbage. Before long, he stumbled upon a bright red fruit the size of a fist. It looked juicy but had clearly been bitten several times.
Disgusted, Ye Guan was about to toss it aside when the man who had dragged him earlier appeared by his side.
Seeing the fruit, the man's eyes widened in shock. He snatched it from Ye Guan and excitedly whispered, "Brother, this might be a spiritual fruit! If you trade it, you can get at least a hundred mine crystals for it!"
"A hundred mine crystals?" Ye Guan was stunned.
During their brief conversation earlier, Ye Guan had learned that this man, named Zhu Tao, and his wife could only mine two or three mine crystals a day.
With that amount, they could survive four or five days.
Zhu Tao grinned. "You're lucky!"
He handed the fruit back to Ye Guan and hurried off to continue scavenging.
Ye Guan resumed digging. Not long after, he spotted another fruit nearby, and it was partially eaten as well. He grabbed it quickly, but he felt someone's gaze on him.
Turning his head, he saw a frail little girl, no older than twelve or thirteen. Her clothes were tattered. She was thin, and she wore a worn red hat. Her face was smeared with dirt, but her large eyes remained bright despite her unkempt appearance.
Her gaze was fixed on the fruit in Ye Guan's hand, and her throat moved as she swallowed hard.
Ye Guan hesitated before breaking the fruit in half. He handed the better half to the girl with a gentle smile.
The girl rushed forward and snatched the fruit. At first, Ye Guan thought that she would thank him. Instead, she pulled out a knife and stabbed Ye Guan in the leg before the latter could react.
In a flash, she grabbed the other half of the fruit from his hand and reached into his clothes to snatch the remaining half of the fruit.
Instead of running, she tightened her grip on the knife and lunged at Ye Guan again, aiming for his chest.
Ye Guan was caught off guard, but he barely managed to roll aside for the second attack. The blade destroyed his shirt and drew a long gash across his chest. Ꞧ𝘼NŏＢΕ𝙨
The girl paused, and her knife was now smeared with his blood. To Ye Guan's shock, she licked the blade, and her eyes flashed with a faint crimson glow.
The Mad Demon Bloodline hadn't affected her for some reason.
Ye Guan froze—what a surprise.
By now, they were attracting attention.
The girl noticed that and hid the fruits before darting into the crowd.
Ye Guan lay on the ground, staring at the blood seeping from his leg and chest. "Master Pagoda, something feels off about all this."
Little Pagoda snorted. "Do you really think that every little girl you'll meet is going to be innocent and sweet? Look around you! This is a brutal world. Everyone has to be ruthless to survive here. Stop being so naive."
Ye Guan forced a bitter smile. He really hadn't expected the girl to turn violent in an instant.
Little Pagoda continued, "It's good to do kind deeds, but never forget to protect yourself. This place isn't forgiving. It's like in the Milky Way, when an old man falls to the ground—oh, wait, better not bring that up. That's too controversial. Even I can't stand against the power of censorship."
Ye Guan sighed.
Just then, Zhu Tao ran over, and his expression changed when he saw Ye Guan's injuries.
"What happened?" Zhu Tao asked.
Ye Guan shook his head with a wry smile. "I got stabbed."
Zhu Tao frowned, but he ripped some fabric from Ye Guan's clothing to bandage the latter's wounds.
"Zhu Tao, you can't save him," a nearby man said coldly. "With wounds like that, he won't survive long here."
Pollution and the unhygienic conditions meant that wounds easily get infected.
Once infected, there would be no hope for the injured.
Zhu Tao shook his head. "The wounds are recent. He might be fine."
The man snorted. "Your kindness will get you killed someday."
"Thank you, Brother Tao." Ye Guan said.
Zhu Tao patted Ye Guan's shoulder. "Rest here. I'll see if I can find some more food."
With that, Zhu Tao ran back to the garbage heap.
Ye Guan lay back, staring at the scorching midday sun. The blood loss and intense heat were overwhelming, and soon, he passed out.
***
High above, aboard the flying ship, a lady in silver armor stood beside a young boy. The lady wore sleek leather pants that hugged her long legs. Her features were exquisite, and her silver hair cascaded effortlessly down her back.
A young boy, no more than ten years old, was clad in gleaming silver armor as he stood next to the lady in silver armor. He looked curiously at the people rummaging through heaps of garbage down below.
"Sister, what are they doing?" he asked.
The lady calmly replied, "Looking for food."
The boy frowned in confusion. "Why would they look for food in the trash? Don't they have meat at home?"
"They don't," she answered flatly.
The boy pondered over something. Then, he took out a box of biscuits and threw it down.
The lady glanced at him but said nothing.
When the box hit the ground, there was an uproar. The people below, desperate for food, fought ferociously for the unopened box of biscuits. Within moments, some of them were already bloody from the struggle.
The boy watched in fascination from the flying ship. "Sister, they're fighting over just one box of biscuits. How stupid."
Still expressionless, the lady's gaze stayed on the chaotic scene below.
The boy, entertained by the spectacle, pulled out another item—a box of roasted meat. He tossed it down, and the reaction was even fiercer. Hundreds of people swarmed the box of roasted meat as if they were frenzied beasts.
Cries of pain and desperation soon filled the air.
The boy clapped his hands again, grinning ear to ear. "So fun! This is so fun!"
The lady remained silent, and her face betrayed no emotion.
Suddenly, the boy asked, "Sister, the books say we're from this planet, right?"
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The lady nodded.
The boy tilted his head, puzzled. "Then why didn't we take these people with us?"
The lady reached out and held his hand gently. "Yuan Tian, remember this—no matter what, you must have a value. That's the only way to live well. The people down there are the lowest of the low on this continent.
"In other words, they're poor, and the poor have no value. That's why they were left behind. Do you understand?"
The boy blinked, and then he broke out into a wide smile. "I get it now. People who can't even afford meat are useless to us."
The lady said nothing more, pulling Yuan Tian along as they turned and left.
The flying ship's doors closed behind them.
Below, the chaos continued. Countless hands clawed and fought over the box of biscuits and the box of roasted meat.
**
When Ye Guan opened his eyes, he found himself in a crude mud hut.
"You're awake, little brother?"
The voice startled him. Turning his head, he saw Zhu Tao approaching him. Ye Guan tried to sit up, but Zhu Tao quickly stopped him. "Don't move yet. Your wounds haven't healed."
Glancing down, Ye Guan noticed that both his leg and chest were carefully bandaged.
Looking up at Zhu Tao, he said sincerely, "Brother Tao, thank you."
Zhu Tao grinned, his rough features softening as he said, "No need to thank me. You're lucky that your wounds aren't infected yet. Otherwise, I'd have no choice but to drag you to the mass graveyard and bury you myself."
Ye Guan was about to speak when his stomach growled loudly.
I'm hungry… He froze in embarrassment.
Zhu Tao hesitated for a moment before saying, "Wait here."
He stepped outside, and soon, Ye Guan heard a lady's yelling.
"You useless fool! We don't even have enough for ourselves, and you're giving it to him? What's wrong with you? If it hadn't been for Little Xing, I would've left you ages ago, you good-for-nothing!"
After a while, Zhu Tao returned with a roasted potato in hand. He placed it in Ye Guan's hands with a sheepish smile. "Here, little brother, eat this to fill your stomach."
Ye Guan looked at the potato, then at Zhu Tao. "Brother Tao, why are you helping me?"
Zhu Tao scratched his head and chuckled awkwardly. "I almost starved to death once, too. They had already dumped me in the mass graveyard when someone pulled me out and saved me. So, you know, paying it forward. Life goes on here despite the difficulties, anyway."