The Ruined City Border
The area where Bai Ye was located could be considered both a wasteland and a futuristic technological zone.
In a future of a certain timeline, humanity encountered a catastrophe.
Earth's resources were depleted, the air quality became poor, and constant natural disasters like typhoons, tsunamis, and earthquakes caused widespread famine.
Humanity was dying in droves, and the population plummeted, but this was not the most terrifying part.
Even those humans who managed to survive still faced immense danger.
Due to pollution, all sorts of mutated monsters appeared everywhere, preying on humans and hunting them down.
Under duress, humanity developed the artificial human project, using genetic engineering to create a large number of clone soldiers to combat the mutated creatures.
This did help humanity weather the most difficult period, and then...
Rebellion erupted among the artificial humans!
A portion of the artificial humans were unwilling to be enslaved by humanity. They were not averse to fighting, but they desired equal treatment from humans.
Unfortunately, humanity had no such intentions. Artificial humans were merely tools created for combat; why should they be treated equally to tools?
Thus, the war between humans and artificial humans began.
In the end...
Humans, monsters, and artificial humans coalesced to form this ruined city under the apocalypse—the Border!
From Bai Ye's perspective, the Ruined City was where he had made his start in his previous life. It was from the Ruined City that Bai Ye had firmly established his footing on the world stage.
Bai Ye harbored considerable affection for this city.
Secondly, from a practical standpoint.
Bai Ye no longer needed to deliberately pursue new advancements; instead, he needed to improve what he already possessed.
Therefore, Bai Ye did not intend to wander aimlessly for the time being. The Ruined City served as a decent temporary stronghold.
Here, there were abundant mutated creatures for him to hunt, allowing him to gather rare metals. He could also craft weapons and cultivate Steel Slimes within the city, and replenish the King's Treasury. As long as there was combat, his Five Spirits Sorcery could be improved.
Furthermore, everything was, of course, for the sake of Divine Stone Fragments.
Hunting mutated creatures in the Ruined City and then selling their corpses could be exchanged for Divine Stone Fragments!
Of course, the accumulated value was considerable, and it wasn't an easy exchange. It was certainly not as swift as the battles between the Chosen, nor as fast as entering forbidden zones.
However, weren't these all incidental matters?
Bai Ye's most fundamental objective was—Wish Missions!
Yes, in the Ruined City, there was a chance to initiate a Wish Mission, which was the true reason Bai Ye had come here.
Bai Ye was not here to retire.
Bai Ye mused as he walked down the street.
Everything around him was long since abandoned, overgrown with weeds.
This area was a no-man's-land, inhabited by neither humans nor artificial humans. But just then...
Bai Ye suddenly heard the sound of mechanical gears turning. He turned his head and saw a cubical robot. The robot had a screen on its front displaying eyes and a mouth.
There were also many crayon scribbles on the robot's outer shell.
Bai Ye looked at the robot, then past it towards the rear.
There stood a little girl, about six or seven years old, wearing a dirty pair of red overalls. Upon seeing Bai Ye, the girl appeared a bit frightened and abruptly stopped in her tracks.
Bai Ye smiled and walked towards the girl, saying, "Little Red Bean?"
The girl looked up at Bai Ye, confused, and asked, "How do you know my name?"
Bai Ye paused, then slapped his forehead.
Right, this was not his previous life.
In this life, he should be meeting the little girl for the first time.
Bai Ye smiled and pointed to the scribbles on the side of the robot, saying, "Look, it's written here, and this is your thing, right? So, Little Red Bean is your name."
Xiao Hongdou nodded, hesitated, and then asked, "Can you give Xiao A back to me?"
Bai Ye nodded, handed the robot to Xiao Hongdou, and after thinking for a moment, opened his clothes and offered a lollipop.
Bai Ye said, "This is for you."
Xiao Hongdou said softly, "Daddy said not to take things from others."
"It's alright, it's just candy," Bai Ye said, patting Xiao Hongdou's head and placing the lollipop into her hand. "Go on, go home."
Xiao Hongdou nodded, hugged her robot, but as she was about to turn, Bai Ye called out to her.
"Don't go this way," Bai Ye gestured towards a side street and said, "Go back from here."
Xiao Hongdou obediently nodded and then walked along the abandoned street in another direction.
Bai Ye smiled and watched Xiao Hongdou walk away.
A very cute little girl, a native of the Ruined City. He had met her in his previous life, and her father had even been Bai Ye's personal craftsman.
After Xiao Hongdou had left, Bai Ye glanced at the spot where Xiao Hongdou had intended to go, then flicked his finger.
An arc of electricity suddenly appeared, striking the ground in the distance.
With a rumbling sound!
The electric arc exploded upon impact, shattering a patch of the ground around it.
The next moment, a colossal creature slowly emerged.
It was a giant lizard whose skin color was remarkably similar to the ground. It had a large amount of mud and moss on its back for camouflage, making it difficult to spot without careful observation.
"Looks like we're having a feast tonight."
Bai Ye grinned.
Although the mutated creatures in this area were all strange and unusual, most of them tasted quite good.
Bai Ye's trip here was partly to savor "the taste of the past."
Meanwhile, the giant lizard's camouflage had been revealed by Bai Ye. After it crawled out of the ground, it opened its cavernous maw, and a massive tongue snaked out towards Bai Ye.
Bai Ye remained still. The moment the tongue wrapped around him, his body entered an elementalized state, transforming into lightning. The giant tongue passed right through Bai Ye's body.
Then...
"Thunderfire Tribulation!"
Bai Ye casually snapped his fingers. Thunderous purple lightning and fiery phoenix flames appeared, surging into the sky, intertwining as thunder and heavenly fire before raining down.
Rumble!
The thunder and fire struck the ground, creating a deafening roar.
A chunk of the ground was blasted apart. When the dust and smoke cleared, the giant lizard's body was riddled with holes and blackened marks everywhere.
"Roast lizard meat should taste good!"
Bai Ye licked his lips, approached the lizard, and dug out a piece of meat from a scorched area. He peeled away the outer charred layer and tossed the rest into his mouth.
Indeed, the mutated creatures from this place were as delicious as ever.
...