Chapter 78: Fortunate Blessings Multiply in Misfortune

After everyone else had either fled or perished, Ren Zhong found himself alone, but rather than being deterred, he was liberated. He no longer concealed his strength, unleashing the fruits of his tireless training and the ever-improving capabilities of his equipment, as if he were building with Lego blocks, revealing his full potential.

Since abandoning his pen and taking up arms, enduring countless cycles of rebirth, he had never ceased striving to become stronger. None of his efforts had been in vain.

Though his current stats had only just reached the second-level threshold, he was already a seasoned, Sid Meier-style warrior, adept at fighting above his weight class.

Single-handedly, he carved a bloody path through the swarm of lesser demon infant spawn that beset him.

…

“How’s everyone doing?”

Outside the Bone Valley, Ren Zhong, battered and bloodied, finally regrouped with his waiting squad. The others leapt from their vehicle, not much better off themselves. Except for Chen Hanyu, every combatant was wounded, out of ammunition and supplies.

Yet Zheng Tian and the rest disregarded their own injuries, focusing their concern on Ren Zhong, who, at that moment, looked more wretched than any of them.

His industrial-grade engine was out of fuel, its nozzle crushed from impact. All his auxiliary gear was spent; he had fired every last round. From helmet to boots, there were nearly eighty different signs of damage, some more severe than others.

Given the current state of his equipment, no amount of Wen Lei’s self-taught, scavenger skills could repair them—he’d have to visit the arms market and find a professional. Repairs and resupply would cost at least two hundred credits.

The double-bladed weapon he carried had become a single sword. The arc-blade had overheated from prolonged use, forcing Ren Zhong to repeatedly switch to his alloy blade during the onslaught. The alloy blade endured more than it was designed for, and after several instances of overexertion, it finally shattered into fragments. Fortunately, it had fulfilled its mission with honor.

Escape had come at a high price for Ren Zhong. Yet, he was alive. And he considered that a win.

He had gained firsthand experience fighting—and surviving—a level five Ruin Beast. Though it was only a spawn, it was still level five, and its attacks were no less than those of a true level five combatant.

Such experience was invaluable.

Moreover, he had managed to salvage two chip storage boxes. His ragged state was partly due to his propensity to pilfer valuables even in the midst of peril.

The two teams he had encountered had been utterly wiped out. Ren Zhong mourned them deeply, paying solemn tribute by ensuring their hard-earned resources would not go to waste.

Their legacy was solidly in his hands.

The contents of those two boxes alone were worth at least five or six hundred credits.

Others noticed the boxes strapped to his back, but no one asked. This was entirely his own spoils. In such circumstances, his willingness to stay behind and cover their retreat was already heroic; no one, however greedy, had the face to claim a share.

After exchanging greetings and confirming that no one was missing any limbs, the group relaxed.

Zheng Tian sighed, “Thank goodness the main body of the Demon Infant only summoned these spawn and didn’t intervene itself, or we’d really be dead.”

Wen Lei agreed, “Yeah, it’s odd. That’s a level five Ruin Beast. It was furious, so how could it let the pro teams and us escape?”

Ou Youning grumbled nearby, “Damn it, we’re beaten to a pulp, but those jet bike riders took off like lightning. We’re their lackeys, after all—couldn’t they at least cover us a little?”

Wen Lei shot him a glare, “You’re dreaming.”

Ren Zhong interrupted their bickering, “As long as everyone’s safe, let’s get going. Time to head back.”

He, too, was pondering the anomaly they’d discussed.

Having studied the Ruin Beast database, Ren Zhong had his own theories.

The Demon Infant’s potential was indeed terrifying. Level five wasn’t its limit. It was likely in the process of breaking through to level six.

For decades, it hadn’t left Bone Valley, instead lying dormant, absorbing energy.

Now, it had finally accumulated enough to surpass the level five Ruin Beast energy cap of 50,000 units.

The professional team’s reckless intrusion had disturbed its ascension, prompting its wrath.

But it couldn’t unleash its full power indiscriminately, so it spared the pro team and sent its spawn to exact vengeance on the others.

Otherwise, considering its legendary status as a level five Ruin Beast, not just the pro team but the entire Spark Town would have been annihilated.

They survived this time, but who knew what would happen when it truly advanced to level six?

What would Fat Ma feel when he discovered such a monster lurking beside his bed?

Hopefully, Comrade Ma could come up with a plan and do what a mayor ought to do.

Beyond that, Ren Zhong found himself, for the first time, questioning the origin mechanisms of Ruin Beasts.

According to the database, these monsters were spawned from chips.

But where did the chips come from?

This contradicted the scientific worldview held by 21st-century scholars.

Ren Zhong had never understood this, nor had anyone provided an explanation. It seemed as if things had always been this way, much like how primitive humans never questioned why animals, plants, or people existed.

The objective reality sufficed; knowing that was enough.

Ren Zhong had previously accepted this, but the Demon Infant challenged his beliefs.

It was clearly linked to humanity.

Not only that, when Ren Zhong killed the Demon Infant spawn, he saw complex, human-like expressions on their metallic faces.

Some emitted cries eerily reminiscent of human infants as they died.

Spawn of the same level five Ruin Beast should have been identical, yet there were differences.

Though their faces were the same, their dying wails varied—some sounded like boys, others like girls.

Even their personalities differed: some defiant and unyielding to the end, others timid and cowardly.

This unnerved Ren Zhong.

It was deeply irrational.

He could only speculate: perhaps the spawn, once matured, were influenced by the memories of the deceased to whom their chips had been attached.

This was hard to comprehend.

Legends said that when the Demon Infant first appeared, everyone in Bone Valley had been dead for years.

People said death was like a candle extinguished, the soul scattered and gone—how could memories manifest in Ruin Beast spawn?

Ren Zhong could only force a personal explanation.

Some fragment of the deceased’s memory lingered within the Demon Infant. The instinctive memories of the dead hadn’t vanished entirely but fused with the underlying information flow that could generate chips, and were reborn through the Demon Infant’s transformation of spawn.

Ren Zhong, who never believed in ghosts, now questioned the fundamental physical laws of Origin Star.

He realized that perhaps the planet’s physics really did differ from Earth’s.

…

Upon returning to town, they received news that was neither wholly good nor bad.

Lin Wang’s six semi-professional teams had suffered heavy losses.

Only Ren Zhong’s group of six had survived unscathed; two other teams were wiped out, and the remaining three were reduced to remnants, barely able to be reorganized into two functioning squads.

Lin Wang’s six seasoned wage-earners had suddenly become three.

Lin Wang himself paid a visit to Zheng Tian to offer condolences and left a hundred credits for recuperation.

The dragon had lost too many claws, and so valued its few remaining henchmen a bit more.

After all, even professional teams needed to eat.

Clearly, Lin Wang wouldn’t cut off his own limbs for now; instead, he’d have to use Zheng Tian’s team to market himself and attract new, quality workers.

Thus, Ren Zhong’s team’s safety was actually improved.

At 8:05 p.m., Ren Zhong, having just cashed out his stocks, lounged lazily in a beach chair.

His gear was being repaired by Ju Qingmeng tonight and wouldn’t be returned until later.

He could finally enjoy a rare day of rest.

He glanced surreptitiously at the balance on his wristwatch, and a rare, satisfied smile appeared on his face.

He couldn’t believe that after just one day, he had 2,266.59 credits again.

This reckless run had been well worth it.

He’d sold the two boxes he scavenged on a freelancer account, netting 620 credits.

The box from Zheng Tian’s squad contained chips worth 800 credits—twice as much as the other two teams.

This was mainly because Ren Zhong had personally intervened that afternoon, boosting the team’s competitiveness.

He’d split two level three Ruin Beasts with others, then had one to himself.

Including the morning’s haul, these four level three chips were worth 320 credits.

There were also dozens of level one chips and over twenty level twos.

Adding the hundred credits Lin Wang had given them, the team’s total income for the day reached 900 credits, despite losing the corpses.

Ren Zhong took 300; the remaining 600 were divided among the others.

“Remember my instructions for tomorrow: don’t take the professional title exam yet—keep accumulating. But your gear and training can be upgraded a bit. We can afford to improve our hunting efficiency.”

Ren Zhong gave these orders to his teammates.

They had no objections.

Just then, someone knocked on the courtyard door.

Everyone straightened, surprised. It was late; who would visit at this hour?

Zheng Tian said, “Ou Youning, go open the door.”

Ou Youning lazily got up, grabbing a handful of sunflower seeds as he strolled over, munching and grumbling, “Who’s there at this time of night…”

Creak.

He opened the door, and the rest of his sentence died in his throat.

“Ma… Ma… My goodness! Captain Ma! What wind blew you here? Please come in—have some sunflower seeds, fresh from the supply cooperative, they’re delicious!”

The visitor was the town guard captain, Ma Xiaoling.

Her ponytail still tight, she wore full armor, helmet tucked under her arm.

She ignored Ou Youning’s antics, glancing into the courtyard and spotting Ren Zhong at once. “Mr. Ren, come with me.”

Ou Youning scattered his sunflower seeds all over the ground.

They no longer tasted good.

He’d always known Mr. Ren was a networking king, acquainted even with the mayor.

But for Ma Xiaoling—the town’s famed level four prodigy, the warrior goddess admired by scavengers everywhere—to pay a late-night visit, was almost too much to process!

Ren Zhong rose, calm as an old well.

He knew exactly why Ma Xiaoling had come.

It was about the Demon Infant.

Now that Ma Dafuo had just been stabbed in the back by Spark Resources, Ren Zhong had become half his own man, and had led his subordinates to safety.

If anyone had answers about the Demon Infant, it would be him.

Ren Zhong had his own theories and needed to confirm them with Fat Ma.

“Alright, shall we go? Are we taking your car?”

Ma Xiaoling nodded, “Yes. Unless you plan to crawl there yourself?”

She looked at Ren Zhong with a hint of coldness and resentment in her tone, as if she had a grievance.

Not just as if—she did.

This wasn’t surprising. She’d always harbored suspicions about Ren Zhong and Ma Dafuo’s previous secret meeting. She’d even confronted Ren Zhong privately afterward.

He’d been tight-lipped, telling her that if she wanted answers, she should ask her father, not him.

No wonder she was unhappy; tonight, she seized the chance to tease him and vent her dissatisfaction.

But to everyone else, her words sounded… suggestive.

After the two left, the group immediately connected Ren Zhong’s rumored involvement with Ju Qingmeng, imagining a thrilling love triangle.

Now Ou Youning didn’t even want his drink.

He gazed up at the twin moons, sighing, “Tell me, what’s the point of living, anyway?”