53: Chapter 53 New Life

A hundred-mile journey was but a blink of an eye for a cultivator, but for Little Trumpet, whose physical body was now that of a mortal and whose level had returned to one, it was a true trial of hardship.

She trudged through the scorched earth, which had been plowed by war, her steps uneven.

The stench of burning and the lingering fragrance in the air were no longer abstract descriptions; they were real experiences that invaded her nostrils and pierced her lungs.

Along the way, she occasionally saw the massive remains of demonic creatures, killed by the aftershocks of the Dharma Idol shattered by that single finger. Their gargantuan bodies were embedded in the vitrified ground, silently testifying to the terror of that final battle.

The further she got from the ruins of the ancestral hall, the more signs of human life began to appear.

Refugees, panicked rogue cultivators, hurried merchant caravans... everyone’s face bore the shock of having survived a catastrophe.

Various legends circulated in the market cities. Some said a divine being had descended from the heavens and destroyed the demon with a single finger.

Others said the Demon Venerable had suffered a cultivation deviation and died in a self-explosion.

Still others claimed with absolute certainty that they had seen an indescribable golden deity slowly rise from the direction of Lu Family Village that day.

These rumors cast a mysterious and fearsome veil over that originally unremarkable land.

Little Trumpet wrapped herself in a scavenged cloak and kept her head down, blending into the crowd.

Half of her mind was alert to her surroundings, while the other half was immersed in the two special items in her bag.

The heart-protecting mirror belonging to "Immovable as a Mountain" was cold and heavy, as if the warmth and stubbornness of its owner still lingered upon it.

And the crystal fragment obtained from Demon Venerable Night Radiance was like ten-thousand-year-old ice; even through the fabric, it radiated a bone-deep sorrow.

She didn't dare touch it again.

That fleeting glimpse of the image—the exquisite sleeping face of that woman and the soul-freezing sorrow—had turned into a tiny thorn pricked deep into her heart.

This caused her to feel an indescribable, complex emotion toward the enemy who had nearly destroyed them.

Finally, at dusk on the third day, she reached her destination—Black Stone Market City.

This was the largest trading market at the border between the players' and the Chen family's spheres of influence before the war; now, due to the conflict, it appeared even more chaotic and crowded.

Chen Kang was not hard to find.

This Hall Master of Black Spider Hall had defected before the final battle and provided crucial intelligence. After the Demon Venerable's retreat, he had used ruthless methods to take over the remaining forces of the Demonic Sect in this area. Now, he was the undisputed "local tyrant" of this market city.

Little Trumpet met him in a private room on the second floor of a tavern called "Listening Wind Pavilion."

Chen Kang appeared even more somber than during their last meeting, with deep exhaustion and alertness etched between his brows.

He sat alone at the table with a few side dishes, but his wine cup remained untouched.

Seeing Little Trumpet enter, his pupils constricted sharply, and the veins on the back of his hand gripping his sword hilt bulged.

“It's you?” His voice was raspy and low. “You guys... there are survivors?”

In his words, one couldn't tell if it was surprise or fear.

“We never ‘die’; we only ‘log off’.” Little Trumpet pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down, unceremoniously pouring a cup of water and drinking it in one gulp.

The long journey had left her parched.

“‘Log off’...” Chen Kang chewed on the word he couldn't understand, the alertness in his eyes deepening. “What are you here for? To mock me? Or to silence me?”

It was the players who had destroyed his Chen family, and the Demon Venerable who had recruited him was also defeated by the players.

His current situation was awkward to the extreme, like a lone boat that had survived a storm, not knowing which way to sail.

“I've come to ask you for a favor,” Little Trumpet said, getting straight to the point.

“A favor?” Chen Kang sneered. “Our accounts were settled long ago. I provided intelligence, and you won the war. I don't feel like I owe you anything.”

“It's not about owing; it's a trade.” Little Trumpet removed the hood of her cloak, revealing a face covered in dust but still bright. Her gaze was clear and direct. “Or rather, it's an investment.”

She looked at Chen Kang and said word by word, “Our home is destroyed, and everyone has... ‘logged off.’ The Old Ancestor said we need a living being recognized by this world to light the first stick of incense with the most sincere faith to ‘summon’ them back.”

“And you, Chen Kang, are the first person he has chosen.”

Chen Kang was stunned.

He had imagined countless possibilities, but he never expected such an absurd request.

To have him, a survivor whose family was ruined by this group of “otherworldly demons,” light the incense for their resurrection?

This was simply the funniest joke in the world!

“Haha... Hahahaha!” He couldn't help but laugh as if he had heard something utterly preposterous. His laughter, however, carried endless sorrow and self-deprecation. “Me... help you resurrect? And then what? Have another ‘Demolition Office’ carnival and turn my Black Spider Hall into ruins as well?”

“No.” Little Trumpet shook her head, her expression very serious. “This time, we want to build a real home. One with you, and with us.”

From her bag, she took out the shattered heart-protecting mirror and gently placed it on the table.

“You might not know this person. His name is ‘Immovable as a Mountain,’ and he was the tankiest among us. At the Blood Soul Stone Mine, he led his ‘Pot Lid Army’ and used their bodies and door planks to stubbornly withstand three rounds of simultaneous spell fire from the demonic cultivators, buying us three minutes. His legion resurrected over a thousand times in that battle.”

She pointed in a direction, where “Charge to the End” had once charged into battle.

“There's another person called ‘Charge to the End,’ a pure reckless fool. He was always at the very front. His ‘Divine Wind Battalion’ was the legion with the most deaths in the entire server. In the final battle, he was the first to respond to the sacrifice, burning himself along with his favorite equipment until nothing was left.”

Little Trumpet's voice was very soft, as if she were telling someone else's story, but her eyes gradually reddened.

“There's also ‘Infrastructure Maniac,’ whose greatest dream was to build a Forbidden City in the game; there's ‘I Love Exploiting Loopholes,’ who could always find glitches we couldn't; there's ‘Keyboard Warrior Governing the Nation,’ whose PVP skills were trash, yet he managed to disrupt the Demon Venerable's rear with rumors...”

“Every one of us is different. We are selfish, greedy, chaotic, and crazy. We'll do anything for equipment and stop at nothing for a quest. To outsiders, we are a bunch of utter ‘natural disasters’.”

“But, Chen Kang,” Little Trumpet looked up, her eyes burning as she stared at him, “when the Demon Venerable's great array pressed down, and when the Old Ancestor said everything had to be sacrificed for a one-in-ten-thousand chance of victory, not a single person hesitated.”

“Tens of thousands of people, within three seconds, burned everything they had spent months painstakingly accumulating. All for a single common goal—to win.”

Chen Kang's laughter had stopped at some point.

He stared intently at Little Trumpet, as if trying to find a trace of falsehood on her face.

But he saw none.

He only saw something he couldn't understand, yet it shook his soul.

It was that... cohesion, pure to the extreme, which he had never seen in the Chen family or the Demonic Sect.

“Is what you're saying... all true?” he asked hoarsely.

“What benefit would I get from lying to you?” Little Trumpet countered. “Right now, I'm unarmed, a level one newbie account; you could crush me with one finger.”

She paused, her tone softening slightly. “I know you hate us. But you should also know that Demon Venerable Night Radiance isn't completely dead. What he's plotting is far more terrifying than you or I can imagine. When he returns next time, will your tiny Black Stone Market City be able to withstand him?”

“Helping us is helping yourself. We need a stable rear, and you need a group of... the world's most unreasonable yet most reliable allies.”

Chen Kang fell silent.

He picked up the cup of cold wine and drained it in one gulp.

The wine was spicy as it slid down his throat, but it couldn't suppress the stormy waves in his heart.

In his mind, the scene Little Trumpet described replayed over and over.

Tens of thousands of people, in three seconds, sacrificing everything.

How crazy was this, and how... heroic.

He asked himself, whether it was the Chen family he once served or the Demonic Sect he was later forced to work for, could anyone have done it?

No.

Not a single one.

After a long time, he looked up and gave Little Trumpet a deep look.

“Why should I believe that after you're resurrected, you'll treat me as ‘one of your own’ instead of... the next NPC to be conquered?”

Little Trumpet smiled.

She pointed to her nose: “Because the person responsible for coordinating with you is me.”

She pointed to the heart-protecting mirror on the table: “And because we remember everyone's contribution, whether they are friends or... enemies.”

These words finally broke through the last line of defense in Chen Kang's heart.

He slowly stood up.

“Where is the incense?”

In the center of the giant crater at the ancestral hall ruins, before the rainbow-colored divine gold spirit tablet, Chen Kang stood holding the incense.

His expression was still complex.

There was resentment, confusion, and alertness, but more than that, there was an expectation that even he couldn't explain.

He wanted to see with his own eyes the scene of those “madmen” returning.

He closed his eyes and solemnly inserted the three sticks of incense into the makeshift incense burner.

There were no earth-shattering phenomena or world-changing spectacles.

Only a wisp of blue smoke rose and merged into the divine gold spirit tablet.

Like a drop of water falling into a parched lake.

The light on the spirit tablet suddenly brightened for a moment!

Immediately after, centered on the spirit tablet, ripples invisible to the naked eye spread toward the end of the void.

Lu Bei's weak consciousness felt as if it had been injected with a shot of adrenaline, instantly becoming invigorated!

“Fulcrum... construction successful!”

“Link... beginning to reforge!”

“Heavenly Chosen Filial Grandsons... return!”

Hum—

The entire space began to vibrate slightly.

Specks of starlight appeared out of thin air all around the giant crater.

At first, there were only a few, but then, like a prairie fire, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of points of light suddenly burst forth!

The points of light quickly stretched and condensed, turning into one blurry humanoid figure after another.

Chen Kang's eyes widened in horror; he instinctively took a step back and gripped his sword hilt.

What was he seeing?

These figures of light were being born from “nothingness” in a way that defied all logic!

“Holy crap! I'm alive again! Hahahaha!”

A wild and uninhibited laugh broke the silence of the battlefield.

The light solidified, and a burly figure appeared, empty-handed and wearing only newbie shorts—it was “Charge to the End.”

He looked around, saw the ruins, and instead of being dejected, he roared excitedly: “Nice job! Brothers, we took down the BOSS!”

“Take down my ass! Look at your level! It's all fucking reset to zero!”

Another figure solidified. “Infrastructure Maniac” let out a wail as he looked at his bare attribute panel.

But he wailed for less than three seconds before his eyes fell upon the massive crater, and his gaze instantly changed.

“This... this sinkhole! A perfect circular structure! Building along the crater, this is a fucking natural Roman Colosseum! No! It's a super fortress! My inspiration... my inspiration is burning!”

“The world channel is lit! The friends list is lit too!”

“I Love Exploiting Loopholes” immediately checked the system interface, speaking rapidly, “The resurrection mechanism hasn't changed, but there's a new ‘Merit Value’ starting at zero. Chen Kang... holy shit, Chen Kang's favorability went from ‘Hate’ to ‘Neutral’! Little Trumpet, what did you do? Did you give him some kind of love potion?”

“Where's Shield Mountain? Where's that iron turtle Immovable as a Mountain?” Charge to the End searched through the crowd.

Player after player was reborn in the light.

They were bare-chested and wore the simplest shorts, like a flock of hatchlings just out of their eggs.

But they didn't have the slightest confusion or fear.

The world channel was instantly flooded with countless messages.

【Demolition Office Director: Brothers! What did the BOSS drop? Where's my Italian cannon?】

【Skillful Hands Mending: Waaaah, my costumes! All the materials I saved for half a year!】

【Liver Emperor V87: Everyone shut up! Who saw the reconstruction quest from the Old Ancestor? How much contribution is the reward? Don't call me if it's less than a million!】

【Keyboard Warrior Governing the Nation: @DemonVenerableNightRadiance, you little brat, come out and face your death! Your grandpa is a hero once again!】

Clamor, noise, ecstasy, annoyance...

All sorts of emotions mixed together, causing the silent ruins to be filled with life again within a single minute.

A chaotic and savage vitality.

Chen Kang stood frozen in place, as if struck by lightning.

He looked at this group of “otherworldly demons” whom he had viewed as a scourge just a moment ago; now they were like a bunch of drunks who had just finished a carnival party, arms around each other's shoulders, mocking one another and laughing loudly.

They didn't care about their levels resetting to zero, their equipment being cleared, or even their home being turned into ruins.

All they seemed to care about was the victory itself and... the next carnival after the victory.

Little Trumpet walked to his side and handed the shattered heart-protecting mirror to Charge to the End, who was nearby searching for something anxiously.

Charge to the End took the heart-protecting mirror and was stunned.

A complex emotion rarely seen on his rugged face flashed by, and then he grumbled as he stuffed the heart-protecting mirror into his empty backpack: “Crap, why keep this broken thing... it just takes up space.”

But his careful movements couldn't fool anyone.

Just then, a gentle and majestic thought echoed in the minds of all players and Chen Kang.

“My children, you have worked hard.”

It was the voice of the Old Ancestor, Lu Bei.

“Though the Demon Venerable has retreated, our home is destroyed. However, a single spark can start a prairie fire.”

“I now issue the ultimate epic family quest—【Waste Rebirth】.”

A giant golden quest panel unfolded before everyone.

【Quest Name: Waste Rebirth】

【Quest Objective: Rebuild the home, restore production, and raise the family territory level to pre-war levels.】

【Quest Reward: Based on individual contribution, massive experience, cultivation methods, blueprints, and... Limited Edition ‘Golden Coffin Fragments’ (can be synthesized)!】

The world channel went silent for three seconds.

Three seconds later.

“Holy shit!!!! A golden coffin!!!!!”

“Limited edition! And it's synthesized from fragments! This is a fucking divine artifact prototype!”

“Liver Emperor V87, engineering team assemble! I want to see a reconstruction blueprint within three minutes!”

“Where is the Miner Boss? Organize people to seize all the surrounding mines first! Resources! We need resources!”

“Recruiting for the Pot Lid Army reserves! Requirements aren't high; you just need to be hard-headed! Come and get a sesame cake!”

The newly reborn players instantly shifted from the “post-victory clarity” to “adrenaline-fueled struggle mode.”

Countless bare-chested figures fanatically rushed to every corner of the ruins, beginning to clear, plan, and dig...

The scene was even more heated than when they were fighting the Demon Venerable.

Chen Kang stood outside the crowd, watching this unbelievable scene. He felt as if his worldview was being pinned to the ground and repeatedly crushed.

He suddenly understood.

These people weren't a “natural disaster.”

They were locusts.

They were a virus.

They were... another kind of life that no force could completely eliminate, as long as there was a single spark, they could reignite the entire world.

His hand gripping the sword slowly relaxed, and a sense of unprecedented powerlessness along with... a strange sense of security flooded his heart simultaneously.

“Madmen...”

He muttered to himself as he watched the bustling scene before him.

“A bunch of utter... madmen.”