Chapter 10: A New Beginning, A Fresh Understanding

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Returning to the shell through self-immolation, Lin Zhao didn’t rush to restart the simulation. Instead, he carefully recalled everything that had happened since he crossed over. Excluding the extensive simulation time, the actual “real” time outside the simulation was very short—only two days. Each simulation lasted only a fleeting moment in real time; without a watch, it was hard for Lin Zhao to calculate the ratio between the two… If only his phone had crossed over with him too.

Moreover, that ghost-faced entity seemed to have fixed its gaze on him. What method could he use to evade its eyes?

He looked at the egg-shaped shell. According to the simulator’s data, the ghost face would eventually come here, so he couldn’t stay inside forever. After all, he couldn’t kill that ghost face, nor could he level up here. He still had to find the Witch Grandfather’s so-called Witch Kingdom, a place where living people remained. Constantly battling the ghost face here was just a waste of time.

The simulator said this shell was a so-called safe house. He wasn’t sure if simulations could only start inside the safe house, but obviously, starting the simulation outside wasn’t a good idea. Lin Zhao decided to move to a different place.

He stepped out, circled around the two-meter-tall, two-meter-long shell, feeling its matte texture and developing a strange sense of kinship. “So, Totem, am I a newly hatched chick?” Lin Zhao couldn’t help but smile. “What does my chirp sound like?”

But the simulator’s Totem, besides making some snide remarks during evaluations, was usually as quiet as if dead. Lin Zhao tried to lift the shell but it was too smooth and handle-less to carry.

Then, with a sudden thought, a giant golden crow burst forth from his body and landed on the shell. Curious, he moved his totem, but the bird’s claw slipped and struck the ground with a “pop.” Lin Zhao instinctively glanced around—luckily, no one was here to witness this embarrassing moment—then carefully pulled the slender beak out and cautiously tried to pry the shell up.

Failure!

This task was too demanding for Lin Zhao; he was never very good at controlling bird behaviors.

He could only summon the hybrid beast, enlarge it, and with its huge shark-like jaws, bite down to grip the shell. However, this made the already two-meter-tall beast’s head larger than its body, causing it to run unsteadily through the air, looking grotesquely unbalanced.

At least Lin Zhao thought, if he encountered this creature in the dark, he would definitely start with a big move—exorcising it straight away.

But…

“Ugly as it is, it’s really useful,” he said, flipping onto the hybrid beast’s back and patting its neck with satisfaction. “That golden crow is the beautiful one. You, my friend, are ‘small but exquisite’!”

The hybrid beast, carrying the large egg shell, had no choice but to silently run in the direction Lin Zhao guided. Because the shell blocked his view so much, Lin Zhao sat inside it, peering through the gaps to steer, creating a bizarre mode of travel.

Good—this strange appearance would definitely confuse the ghost face!

Feeling a little lighter in spirit, he hummed a tune amidst the bumps: “The snail carries its heavy shell, step by step climbing up…”

…

Just as Lin Zhao expected, after a while, a gentle young man with eerie purple eyes approached the ruins again.

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This time, he did not bow to the deceased but looked up towards the spot where a white house should have stood—now just an empty lot.

The ghost-face totem on the back of his hand glowed eerily over the ruins.

“I, Yao Guang, under the order of the Witch God, guard the boundless sea. I apologize to the ancestors for any offense!” The youth bowed devoutly three times.

Immediately, a purple light shimmered over the ruins. Countless bright white lights like fireflies rose from the ashes, gradually transforming into small ghost faces glowing white—some twisted with terror, some calm, others smiling with curved eyes and mouths.

A swirling column of wind pulled them into the sky, swallowed by a giant ghost face in the heavens.

After devouring them, the enlarged ghost face silently returned to the youth’s hand, slightly swelling as if trying to break free from the flesh.

The youth gently patted his hand, soothing: “Do not be afraid. Following me, your souls will not scatter. When I die, we will return together to the netherworld to rest.”

I know. Of course I know. Here, you come and go freely, but the living beyond the boundless sea have no such freedom.

He plucked a tender leaf from his crown, and the ghost face swallowed it, becoming still.

His current task was to find that departing bird. He looked once more at the empty lot where the egg shell should have been and smiled.

—

Lin Zhao carried his snail shell for a whole day.

Looking at this vast, desolate world, he felt he couldn’t just rush recklessly.

He was very hungry—two days without food. If this continued, he’d be the first traveler to starve to death here. That would be embarrassing!

He directed the hybrid beast to dig a large pit, buried the egg shell inside, leaving an entrance covered by stones, then hid inside. He needed to map the area and search for food. “All of this depends on you, simulator!”

Opening the simulation gave Lin Zhao confidence. Mounted on the hybrid beast, he galloped across the wilderness.

The desolation surprised him.

He ran full speed all day without spotting a single living thing.

The monotony was so profound that he began to miss the ghost face—for at least he felt he wasn’t alone in this world.

Another day of running, and finally, he saw the outline of a city in the distance.

Lin Zhao jumped a flip on the beast’s back, excited.

“God bless, I hope there’s someone alive!”

—

But the closer he got, the less smile remained on Lin Zhao’s face.

It was a massive city, astonishingly large, rivaling the provincial capital he’d known before crossing over. Stone circular rings floated like mountains in the sky, moving across kilometers of air according to an ancient formation.

The enormous turtle beast supporting the city was now only skeleton—so vast it seemed able to hold the entire sky. Giant snake skulls coiled around the turtle’s head, both heads raised skyward, mouths open wide in silent roars.

Countless smaller turtle-snake skeletons surrounded it, each carrying a miniature city on their backs like satellites. Most had collapsed, with many buildings still floating in midair. This grand scene silently spoke of a once prosperous city, the glory of a civilization reaching into endless universes.

Yet the city’s outline chilled Lin Zhao’s heart.

He recognized it as the Witch Kingdom the Witch Grandfather had shown him—the domain of the Sixth Witch God.

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It was also the Witch Kingdom where Witch Grandfather had once tried to lead the surviving people to seek refuge.

“What has happened to this world?” Lin Zhao felt his composure cracking. “I like playing soul-based post-apocalyptic games, but I have no interest in being played in a world like this!”

Nevertheless, he had to investigate.

After all, if he didn’t eat soon, he would starve to death. Such a large city must have food, right?

Of course, he didn’t head straight for the largest city. Instead, he traveled tens of kilometers to the nearest smaller turtle.

Though called “small,” its spine was nearly three kilometers high, with tower-like buildings that had no stairs. Each window had a platform outside, leading into a fully equipped three-bedroom residence.

“So even the Witch Kingdom has pigeon lofts!” Lin Zhao thought casually, easily hopping onto a tall tower.

Along the way, he saw many corpses, mostly clustered in family groups, curled up as if they had faced some great horror.

Perhaps because much time had passed, he examined the kitchens carefully—too clean, without even scraps of food waste.

After more searching, his expression grew serious.

In a pot within one kitchen, he found human bones.

“So, this city suffered an extremely severe food shortage in its final days,” Lin Zhao thought solemnly, gazing from the tower’s peak toward the distant main city. “A city of this scale must have had tens of millions of people. Without the sun, no crops could grow, right?”

Without sunlight, how long could stored food possibly last?

Lin Zhao recalled Witch Grandfather’s earlier advice to bring the seed of a sacred tree. Unfortunately, when he found the flowerpot, the seed had long since rotted to dust. Otherwise, maybe he could have roasted it for food.

His hunger grew more intense. Staring at the bones, he even hallucinated that maybe bones could be eaten.

No, no, he couldn’t go there. If it came to the worst, he’d just die and respawn!

As he pondered how to die, he suddenly noticed a flicker of firelight in a distant tower window.

Could there still be living people in the city?

Startled, Lin Zhao leapt from the tower, running lightly and silently between towers—he understood why there were no stairs. For a witch, capable of leaping over ten meters easily, stairs would be laughable.

The closer he came to the firelight, the more uneasy he felt. At last, the moment he reached the window, the occupant seemed to sense him and quickly extinguished the flame.

Could it really be a living person?

Lin Zhao’s heart leapt with joy. He whispered, “Is anyone in there? I’m here seeking help from the Witch Kingdom. I came all this way, but no one seems to be left.”

Silence followed for a while. Lin Zhao remained patient.

After a long time, a small voice asked, “Where are you from?”

Lin Zhao recalled what Witch Grandfather had said and answered, “I’m from Luhe City.”

After another pause, the voice replied, “I… haven’t heard of that place.”

Lin Zhao patiently said, “The world is huge; it’s normal not to have heard of it. Are you the only one here? Can you give me directions? I want to find a place with more people to trade for food.”

After a while, the window crept open a crack. A pair of black eyes stared at him for several moments before the door opened: “Come in quickly. It’s dangerous outside.”

Lin Zhao was overjoyed and stepped inside.