Chapter 88: An Ordinary Person's 'Luck'

On the outskirts of An City, there lies a unique area where a vast surrounding region is marked with “No Entry” signs, and even drones and helicopters patrol it continuously. This place is similar to the Mutation Zone near Little Peak Mountain, which occurred around the same time as that incident, and it is known as the ‘Underworld Silence Area’.

It was here that Zhao Mingcai suffered misfortune initially. Gongsun Wulong, seeking their runaway heir, struck him, causing his internal organs to be shattered. Although Zhao Mingcai appears fine now, in reality, he cannot endure extreme emotions like crying or laughing, nor can he engage in any strenuous physical activity without risking his life.

The surroundings were utterly silent; even the wind seemed to slow down upon reaching this vicinity.

Li Dong, clad in field combat attire, looked more robust than before. During this period, leveraging Tang Tianlu’s connection with Liao Yangsu, they obtained an ancient formula for external martial training, showing initial promising results.

Unfortunately, even after Old Tang assessed him, it was clear that Li Dong lacked innate talent for martial arts. Advanced inner strength techniques were out of reach; they would require at least ten to fifteen years of dedicated practice for minimal progress. However, with his abundant vitality, he was well-suited for external martial training.

Behind Li Dong stood ten specially selected police officers. Not only were they skilled marksmen, but they also excelled in external martial combat. Additionally, two among them had already developed inner strength—an impressive feat given the short timeframe, showcasing their exceptional natural abilities. The deployment of such rare talents highlighted the importance of this mission.

Apart from these individuals, there was a visibly lethargic otaku standing nearby—Mao Qisheng—and beside him, a slightly overweight middle-aged man looking somewhat uneasy.

“Hey Jia, can you get your parrot to say something?” Mao Qisheng turned and whispered discreetly to the middle-aged man next to him.

The middle-aged man, Jia Yingxiong, aged thirty-five, was originally an ordinary salesperson with no remarkable traits. Similar to Mao Qisheng, whether by misfortune or luck, following the resurgence of the spiritual tide, the world began transforming into increasingly peculiar states. During this time, the macaw hatched from an egg in his home underwent a change.

Jia Yingxiong had no other hobbies, but he was indeed a bird enthusiast.

He secretly had someone bring back this macaw egg from abroad… and then personally incubated it using his own setup. As long as one is careful and doesn’t flaunt it, nobody bothers about such things.

However, he still got caught eventually.

Jia Yingxiong vividly remembers when Li Dong led people to his door, grabbed him, and directly asked, “Prison or join the special forces?” Jia Yingxiong, not even knowing what the special forces entailed, immediately chose this path.

All that is now in the past; the key lies in this parrot’s ability.

The parrot can unleash verbal barrages… meaning whenever its feathers are plucked, it starts spouting random phrases. Surprisingly, out of ten statements, two would often turn out true. It’s unclear whether these are its ‘curses’ or prophetic abilities.

If not for the end of the spiritual tide, when maintenance crew members resumed order and accidentally spotted Jia Yingxiong chasing this parrot around the neighborhood, with the parrot randomly firing off its verbal barrages, they might never have discovered this hidden ‘surprise’.

Mao Qisheng gripped his pen, gazing at the nearby area where black mist churned, occasionally emitting a scent of blood, and genuinely felt no desire to enter. He preferred staying indoors; if the sky were to fall, taller individuals should bear the brunt, so why involve himself?

Despite Mao Qisheng’s personal reservations, what he said earlier echoed Li Dong’s thoughts as well. Jia Yingxiong felt his heart jolt under Li Dong’s gaze; encountering public officials always made him uneasy.

“Should I give it a try?” Jia Yingxiong forced a sheepish smile and looked at the bird cage he was holding.

The macaw stood proudly on one foot, occasionally pecking at its food and nodding its head as if savoring the taste, looking particularly infuriating. Sensing Jia Yingxiong’s gaze, the macaw lowered its other foot and slowly turned around.

Feeling awkward, Jia Yingxiong raised the bird cage slightly. “Xiao Gang, say something?”

“Bastard.”

—Pfft

Mao Qisheng couldn’t suppress a burst of laughter. In comparison, his Master Pen still seemed better. At least Master Pen never mocked him, although its cooperation depended entirely on its mood. But to be fair, whenever Mao Qisheng truly faced danger, Master Pen had never abandoned him.

Even Li Dong found it hard to watch without wincing.

“Xiao Gang.” Jia Yingxiong gently stroked the macaw’s feathers. “Sorry about this, buddy.”

Without warning, he swiftly grabbed one of the macaw’s least noticeable feathers and yanked hard. The macaw instantly bristled, turning its head to unleash a torrent of insults, “Bitch, you stupid bitch, I want to be your master, your master! You fools will surely meet misfortune inside; you’ll get lost and encounter man-eating preserved mustard greens!”

Jia Yingxiong, clutching the plucked feather, felt incredibly awkward.

The parrot continued cursing repeatedly, mostly with variations on the same phrases, but the word “bitch” grew louder each time. Its beady eyes filled with indignant rage, as if it desperately wished to turn Jia Yingxiong’s receding hairline into a completely bald scalp.

Ignoring his parrot’s insults, Jia Yingxiong turned to Li Dong, “Is that all we need to know? We might indeed get lost, but what does ‘man-eating preserved mustard greens’ mean?”

“This area was originally leased by farmers for growing preserved mustard greens, with greenhouses all around,” Li Dong explained.

“Huh?” Jia Yingxiong responded, unsure what else to say. The parrot kept cursing, eliciting both anger and frustration from him, yet he couldn’t entirely blame the bird. After all, he had been relentlessly pulling its feathers day after day, which would understandably infuriate anyone.

“Maybe we shouldn’t go inside?” Mao Qisheng voiced his concern.

Ever since the parasitic vines incident at Little Peak Mountain, Mao Qisheng had become fearful of plants, casting a lasting shadow on his perception of greenery. He even discarded all the previous houseplants from where he now lived. With the mention of man-eating preserved mustard greens—yet another type of plant—Mao Qisheng felt like crying.

“No,” Li Dong firmly rejected the idea. “Regardless of the risks, we must give it a try. This time, our primary goal isn’t anything else but to see if we can find Gongsun Wulong before the ‘Wuxia World’ assessment begins.”

Gongsun Wulong had ventured into the wuxia world and never emerged since then.

Apart from the Hermit Union, the most knowledgeable about this realm were members of the Duan family. With Young Master Duan Yuanhui still missing, Gongsun Wulong remained their best hope for information.

“Alright, just understand that if there’s danger, I’ll prioritize my own safety—I’m not one to stand valiantly against odds.”

“Don’t worry, even if there is danger, I assure you that both you and Jia Yingxiong will definitely outlast us others in terms of survival.”

Mao Qisheng retorted, “Who wants that kind of assurance?”

Nevertheless, after some encouragement, their group, fully aware of the dangers, stepped boldly into the desolate and silent area.

In a residential neighborhood of An City.

An Yueyu’s father had just returned from outside, carrying a hard-won grass carp and some vegetables. Although order was gradually being restored, various goods such as food, medicines, or any basic necessities were strictly rationed for purchase.

Many supermarkets had closed down, replaced by government-operated “Safe Stores.” These stores aimed to maintain stable prices and supply the essential needs of An City’s residents amidst the chaos.

“Hurry inside.”

An Yueyu’s mother swiftly ushered him in, then firmly shut the door and pulled over a sofa to block it—a habit they developed during the spiritual tides.

During the recent unstable periods of spiritual tides, there were multiple reports of robberies within their neighborhood, resulting in several deaths. In this chaotic world, being cautious couldn’t hurt.

“I’ll make something delicious; An Yueyu has grown thinner from hunger.” An Yueyu’s mother returned to the kitchen, but as she began gutting the fish, she suddenly let out a cry.

Quickly, a sleek black playing card was placed on the dining table. The card, not too large, exuded a mysterious and eerie aura with its deep black hue.

“What is this?” An Yueyu’s mother asked, somewhat worried. “Should we report it to the maintenance crew outside?”

With the internet restored, the television had been emphasizing day after day that if any strange incidents occurred at home, one should immediately contact the maintenance crew instead of investigating themselves—it could be courting disaster.

An Yueyu, though young, appeared somewhat dispirited. Originally, she wasn’t like this, but recently, while climbing Little Peak Mountain, she encountered terrifying moving vines that grabbed and killed people, leaving her half-traumatized. She also unexpectedly fell ill, although no one told her exactly what illness it was. At one point, she nearly thought she was going to die, only to surprisingly survive in the end.

Ever since then, An Yueyu had remained lethargic, feeling somewhat fearful about venturing out or meeting people.

“It seems like…” An Yueyu’s father picked up the playing card, “the ‘quota’ mentioned in the TV advertisement!”

Suddenly, he recalled the most recent hot topic. The Hermit Union was selecting nine individuals from the Southeast Alliance region to become license holders, with one hundred quotas randomly scattered across the entire country.

This matter had been advertised on television.

It couldn’t be concealed either, especially considering the chaos caused by the large-scale abandonment of citizens during the spiritual tide. Consequently, the authorities seized the opportunity to divert public attention by creating such events.

Indeed, now a massive amount of focus has shifted towards those random hundred quotas.

Initially, online forums saw people pleading for a ‘quota’, hoping they were blessed with extraordinary luck or offering high prices. However, currently, anyone not foolish would refrain from revealing that they obtained a ‘quota’.

Little did this family expect, a ‘quota’ would unexpectedly land right on their laps.

Such luck… it truly defied belief.

An Yueyu’s mother immediately panicked, “What should we do? Sell it?”

The slots were highly valuable, and coincidentally, they had recently lost their jobs while prices for goods kept rising, causing their savings to dwindle.

“No.” Before An Yueyu’s father could speak, she suddenly snatched away the card. “I… Mom, Dad, I want to participate. I want to give it a try.”

“It’s very dangerous,” the elderly couple disagreed.

However, An Yueyu displayed great determination. “Please let me try. I can’t continue like this; every day, I’m filled with fear, and at night, I hardly sleep well. With the world having turned into what it is now, if we don’t take risks, we’ll eventually be doomed.”

Inside their home, with curtains drawn shut, they argued heatedly for quite some time. Eventually, the elderly couple relented.

As parents of their only daughter, witnessing her nightmares stemming from the events at Little Peak Mountain left them feeling helpless and pained. If becoming stronger herself would help her overcome the trauma, they decided to let her give it a chance.

In reality, it wasn’t just An Yueyu. Across the globe, although overall An City had the most slots… many ordinary people, either through sheer luck or by improper means, gradually claimed all hundred available spots.

In Fen City’s Qi County, a truly bizarre yet authentic mirage phenomenon had occurred initially. Later, the local government attempted to control it, but now, Qi County has been entirely overrun.

Presently, the entire Qi County has become very peculiar, resembling a fusion of various distinctive landscapes. For instance, in one area, towering skyscrapers blocked out the sky, with punk-inspired aerial tracks and dilapidated machinery running along them.

Adjacent to that, there was instantly a candy-themed amusement park filled with brightly painted clowns emitting eerie giggles. Behind it, surprisingly stood massive temples interconnected by numerous illogical tracks. On these tracks, wheeled carts occasionally sped past, facing attacks from various mechanisms.

These were not things typically found in reality, yet they genuinely existed here.

There are hardly any people left; approximately fewer than ten thousand individuals remain in all of Qi County, struggling for survival. These individuals are referred to as ‘gate challengers.’

At the moment, atop a colossal temple, a young man clad in a black trench coat lay on his back, humming a tune while raising his hand. A conspicuous imprint shaped like a ‘gate’ was visibly branded on the back of his hand.

“The quota for license holders?” In his grasp, he held a card, clearly visible. “Should I go? Turning the Hermit Union into a game arena and then mirroring it back to reality should yield significant rewards, right?”

In the desolate Underworld Silence,

Jing Rui lay prostrate on the ground, his expression contorted. He was completely unable to move, having lain there for what felt like an eternity. After Page of Book tricked him into entering this place, Jing Rui had been feigning death ever since.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching.

Jing Rui’s entire body surged with excitement, “Help me… waaahh, help me…” He began sobbing uncontrollably, though not intentionally. As a man in his twenties, he wouldn’t normally break down so easily. However, if anyone were left lying immobile for one or two months, starving yet somehow still alive, enduring multiple instances of relieving themselves and waiting for nature to dry it all, they too would feel fragile enough to weep.