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Upon confirming that the ghosts were dead, I checked the time. It was 21 minutes past 11, a time famous in the past for being an hour of the ghosts.

With that earlier fright, the girls were naturally in no mood to sleep. Thus, I knew it fell on me to quickly shower, then join them in bed… absolutely not by choice, mind you… this was just to comfort them…

When I first made that suggestion, Qiaoqiao excitedly clamored to hug me on the bed. I actually rejected her. After all, I couldn’t just allow anyone to hug me just because they asked. I had standards! Standards that weren’t diminished by the happy tune I hummed while in the bath. Multiple tunes, in fact.

“Big brother~~ Qiaoqiao wants to hug you to sleep.”

Having just finished my shower and climbed onto the bed, Qiaoqiao immediately snaked her way into my arms, tightly hugging me as if she was a boa constrictor. Her distinctive little girl scent immediately wafted into my nose…

Ahem. I’m not into little girls at all! She just happens to be a little girl! And I’m not sick enough to lay my hands on her! Especially not when Bitong is giving me a death glare…

While all that was happening, Lixiang took the opportunity to snake her way onto my thighs… Is this the legendary thigh pillow?!

“Worry not, Your Highness, this is the least this one can do. May Your Highness have a pleasant rest.”

Wait… How am I even supposed to sleep with someone wrapping their arms around me while another uses my thighs as a pillow? And there’s still that death glare too…

“KE!”

“SIS! I’m moving… I’m moving…”

Regardless of what she was going to say next, my body was already moving on its own. Based on previous experiences, she was definitely at her most unstable when she had that murderous glare on her face…

This wasn’t me being a coward. This was about being a gentleman! I was giving way to her!

I broke free from the two girls in barely the time it took to enjoy their scents. With a rough flip, I tumbled onto the ground…

“You guys can sleep on the bed, I’ll just lie on the floor… I’m definitely not climbing onto the bed, so don’t worry!”

“Hmph. Big sister Bitong, you’re the worst! Stop bullying big brother!”

“Your Highness, you’re too lenient with that wench.”

“Quiet! Everyone, get to sleep right this instant. Hasn’t the day been tiring enough as is? We still have tomorrow to worry about!”

Bitong then glared at the other two girls, and without even waiting for them to reply, she stood up and went to another room. A while later, she came back with a mattress, which she carefully laid out on the floor. “Ke, you can sleep here.”

“Okay…”

I walked up to the mattress, and was suddenly struck with a thought: Big Sis honestly isn’t that bad. Even if she gets jealous easily, she still treats me well…

Now only if she could just stop turning into black Bitong.

“Let’s all go to sleep. I will have a talk with the system, perhaps the system might have something to guard against those ghosts.”

Having said all that, the girls naturally had no reason to say no. With everyone in agreement, the room quietened down.

Honestly, this was probably my first time sleeping with all three girls in the room. Their scents intermingled together to form an even more intoxicating result. I was even starting to contemplate a little night action… but given my special situation, that just ended up remaining as mere contemplations.

Besides, Bitong would hack me to pieces if I tried anything. For the sake of my little life, sleeping on the mattress would not be a bad idea… It was cooling and all… Yup… cold like the lie I’m telling myself….

What a coward I am… I’m worse than those useless transmigrators who couldn’t protect their fantasy childhood friends… at least they could get it up.

Given how quick all this was going downhill, I gave my head a good shake before contacting the system. Hopefully, she would have something good and cheap to recommend.

“Even though tools might not be better just because they are more expensive, good and cheap is a myth. Only the most appropriate tool is a good choice.”

The system promptly came out to rain on my parade the moment ‘cheap’ ran through my mind.

But I still want that parade!

“Valued host, your system has come to a basic understanding about what has happened. The warping of the laws of this world has led to the appearance of the supernatural like those ghosts. A problem -but your system has just the right tools to recommend.”

Gaia’s environment had previously meant that all ghosts that appeared were promptly killed. Meaning, since time immemorial, ghosts had never existed, and there naturally weren’t any anti-ghost weapons either.

Those ghosts that appeared in films were just that – works of fiction. But all that changed when the otherworld invaders arrived…

Until that otherworldly visitor was taken care of, the warping of this world wouldn’t stop. Should the two worlds fully merge, that would be a catastrophe, or perhaps a great revival.

Regardless, something big would happen.

“Inferno Talisman, 5 points a talisman. These can be thrown like a weapon, or they can be stuck onto your body like a defensive mechanism.

Thanks to the system’s advice, I quickly found the item in question on the Marketplace.

The description for this item was simple. When using it as a throwing weapon, infuse a bit of SP into it, and it will transform into a fireball as it hurtled towards the enemy.

In terms of damage, it was equivalent to five Fireballs. Combine five of these together, and they might just take out one of those Scorpid skeletons in an instant.

So the price of a Scorpid skeleton was 25… I mean, the price of killing a Scorpid skeleton was 25…

If I was to stick one of these on the wall, it would help to keep out any intruding ghosts by automatically immolating when a ghost was near. The immolation would last for a minute. During that minute, none of the ghosts would dare approach the area.

As a side note, that single ghost I killed was worth 20 points.

Now that I had confirmed its usage, I promptly bought a bunch, and stuck one on every wall, and on the ceiling as well. That way none of them could surprise us while we were asleep.

Having done that, I took out the Virus Detection Kit and began toying around with it.

In actuality, there was a cheaper version of the kit. It was an amulet that could perform the same functions. However, it required SP to activate, so upon some deliberations, I decided to purchase this sphere for 100 points, even though it was more expensive.

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

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It’s all up to you now, Bitong! Use your big sister powers to tame these two problem girls!

“All right, all right. That’s enough fighting. The bathtub is large enough for all three of us to bathe at the same time.” Seeing as the two girls had no intentions of compromising, coupled with my pleading look, Bitong finally had to step in, grabbing onto each of them with her hands, before leading them into the bathroom. “See. The bathtub is huge!”

“Ermm… Big sis…” Brave, or perhaps bold would be more accurate, I decided to try my luck and ask, “Since the bathtub is so huge, how about adding me in as well?”

“Wooo, let’s do that. Qiaoqiao wants to have a bath with big brother!”

“Serving His Highness is a part of this one’s duty. Your Highness, please wait a moment as this one prepares the water.”

Seems like the two of them are fully on board. In that case, it won’t matter even if big sis doesn’t agree. After all, it’s the majority who decides, right?

At least… that was so for everyone else.

“Absolutely not!”

Bitong shoved the two girls into the bathroom, then slammed the door squarely shut behind the three of them.

Through the door, I could hear Bitong grumpily stating, “Ke, you stand guard outside. You’re not allowed to enter without my permission… otherwise you have to hello to Mr. Pointy!”

Mr. Pointy again… how about switching up your threats every now and then?

Sigh. I just knew it wouldn’t be easy trying to take a bath with the girls.

As I stood by my lonely self outside the door, I could clearly hear them frolicking inside. The sounds of their laughter, their splashing, all that only served to stir my blood even further!

“Uwah! Big sister Bitong’s breasts are even bigger than big sister Lixiang’s!”

“Hmph. This one just hasn’t started developing yet, but this one is definitely bigger than that runway over there!”

“Hey! I’m the one that is actually developing! Don’t try to find excuses for yourself, big sister Lixiang, it’s not like Qiaoqiao will make fun of you for that.”

“Divine Judgement!”

“Ahhh… don’t pull on Qiaoqiao’s face… Big sister Lixiang, you meanie…”

“Settle down over there!”

“Qiaoqiao isn’t going to listen to some big breast monster!”

“Monster breasts!”

“Who are you calling big breasts? And who’s a monster?!”

“The mortal knows and yet she asks.”

“You two… Hey. Stop splashing the water!”

“Big sister Bitong, don’t grab Qiaoqiao down there… Ahahaha… it’s ticklish… Big sister Lixiang, save me…”

Sigh… why is it the three of them can bathe together, but I can’t? I thought we were supposed to be together forever? Whatever happened to one for all and all for one?

I want to take a bath… Maybe if I was a girl, they would let me in? But my ID says I’m a ‘female’, right? So I should be able to enter, right?

Hmm. But why does that sound like a slippery slope to take? It’s just becoming a girl in order to take a bath with the girls… Why does it feel like something is about to fall off me…

I gave my head a quick shake, then threw myself onto the cushy sofa near me.

For the time being, the entertainment exosuits were all parked outside our room; you could see them just by looking out the door. The hotel had already been cleaned out thoroughly, so there was no fear of any stray zombie suddenly causing trouble for us.

If there had to be a trouble to look out for, it would be those Scorpids. Those skeletons were predators, and could track their prey down like vicious hunters. They even had the ability to scale walls and hide.

But all that was for a later time. For now, it was time to rest and relax in the caresses of this soft sofa…

It didn’t take long before my eyelids grew heavy. This entire day was one of either fighting or fleeing. There was basically no time at all to rest till now -my nerves had long past their limits.

Unknowingly… I drifted off to sleep…

Amidst a pall of sleepiness, I heard a girl screaming, followed up by a bang.

What’s going on?

That last part had thoroughly woken me up from my slumber. I willed my sluggish body off the sofa, falling onto the ground with a thud right after. However, now wasn’t the time to care about the dull ache in my sides, nor the fact that I somehow had a blanket on me. I could feel an unusual heat in the air, clear signs of someone firing off fire magic.

From the looks of things, that bang was caused by the girls.

Realising that something was amiss, I immediately waved my hand, summoning forth Icy Inferno. “Is everyone alright?”

I raised my voice and asked. However, none of them replied. Instead, I saw a green apparition slowly descend through the ceiling..

The ghost had the distorted visage of a woman. It clawed at me with its translucent green hands, as if meaning to rake my face off as well.

I swung my sword at her reflexively, slicing off its arm in a flash of anti-magic steel!

Separated, the arm dropped to the ground a thud, its otherwise ethereal body now a chunk of ice that promptly shattered upon impact. As for the ghost itself, the rest of its body burst into a massive pyre.

Trusty as always, Icy Inferno took care of that intruder in one fell swoop.

“Big brother!”

Having just taken care of that ghost, I was immediately assaulted by a soft warmness barreling into my arms as it ran down the stairs. Based on the scent, I knew it was Qiaoqiao…

“There, there… There’s nothing to be afraid of now. Your big brother is here.” I released Icy Inferno, then hugged the little girl to comfort her.

While she was still in her pink pyjamas, any such contact was mostly platonic. To begin with, her airport runway of a chest did not have much feel to it, so it wouldn’t have mattered.

Naturally, that wasn’t the issue now. The issue was that Bitong was glaring at me with a very pointed stare. Or rather, at the little girl burying her head in my chest…

Maybe she’s really trying to take advantage of the situation…

I pushed Qiaoqiao away firmly, then quickly followed up with the legendary head pat to silence her displeasure. “Okay. Okay. Now can you tell me what’s going on?”

“There were two ghosts who entered through the walls just now…” Lixiang explained as she descended the stairs with Bitong.

It turned out that earlier just now, the girls found me sound asleep on the sofa, so they decided not to wake me up, knowing that I was exhausted by this point. Bitong went to fetch a blanket for me, then went off to sleep with the rest of them. Because of the shock during the day, the girls decided to sleep together on the same bed. They chatted for a while, before the older girls slowly drifted off to sleep. However, Qiaoqiao was a little too traumatised, so she ended up awake throughout.

Sandwiched between the other two girls, she dared not move a muscle, lest she woke them up. Just like that, it became even harder for her to fall asleep.

Without much else to do, she started gazing out at the stars through the windows. Yet just as she was happily counting the stars, two ghosts suddenly entered their room through the hallway’s walls, bumping right into the insomniac little girl…

Qiaoqiao was terrified out of her wits and instinctively fired off a Flame Arrow in self-defense.

Being a speedy spell with decent damage, it was able to hit one of the ghosts, killing it in an instant.

That was the source of the scream and explosion which woke everyone up. As for the other ghost, it was summarily executed by my sword.

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

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The low groaning of the zombies outside echoed ominously in the cavernous interior of the warehouse, grating on our already delicate nerves. Through a nearby window, I quickly noticed that the zombies were shuffling along at a markedly faster rate than before. In all likelihood, our short trip to that hotel might prove a little more troublesome than we had initially planned for. At the very least, ignoring them was no longer an option. But with our entertainment exosuits, even these enhanced zombies should be nothing more than point farms.

Now that Bitong and I had determined our route, it was time to depart.

“Wait! Where are you guys going?”

“Come back!”

“It’s dangerous outside…”

Caught off guard, the dozen survivors who had followed us thus far did not even have time to react at all before we dashed out of the warehouse without warning. Even though these were all people we had travelled with, I just couldn’t bring myself to look at them the same way again since that horrific incident. Even if their survival took precedence, all they needed was to stop for a couple of seconds… Regardless, the die had been cast now. And with those entertainment exosuits, they should be fine on their own, barring more of those Scorpid skeletons appearing. That was the main reason why I decided we should part ways now.

Yet barely a few seconds after stepping out of the warehouse, Qiaoqiao suddenly stopped. I quickly nudged her from behind.

“Don’t just stand there, we need to keep moving.”

“Big brother, are we really leaving them behind like this?” She asked in a low voice, “We could just bring them along…”

“Hmph. Those selfish creatures? They should be grateful that His Highness hasn’t punished them for their foolish display. Why would we ever bring them along with us? Just so that they can burden us again?”

Clearly, Lixiang’s impression of those survivors was just as bad as mine.

Yeah. You tell her, Lixiang.

“But I thought more team members made us stronger?”

“Qiaoqiao.” Bitong gently called out to the girl before patiently explaining, “We can’t trust them not to stab us in the back when the need arises. Given how selfish they’ve been, our chances of survival would actually drop with them around. Leaving is for the best. For everyone.”

That’s right. Can they even be considered a part of the team if they’re that untrustworthy? This isn’t some VR game anymore, there’s no reset button if we make a bad decision.

Now that we were fully out in the wilds of this concrete jungle, I could definitively say that the night had an enhancing effect on the zombies. Even their reaction seemed faster as they sped towards us, having been attracted by the sounds of our mechanical limbs.

However, that didn’t mean I needed to do anything. The moment the zombies came into range, the girls rushed forward without any hesitation. Whether it was a single zombie or a dozen of them, none were able to withstand a round of smacking from them.

Well… it’s not like those zombies can penetrate their exosuits, so why not? Now’s a good time to get them accustomed to the blood and gore of battle as well. After all, what use is all that power when you just faint at the sight of blood?

Perhaps saying power might be a little premature, but with a cheat known as a system, becoming strong was only a matter of time.

It only took five minutes for us to reach the front door of the hotel, thanks to the relative short distance between the warehouse and the hotel. With a mighty swing of her hammer, Qiaoqiao smashed one of the zombies blocking our way, before Lixiang rushed in from her side into the hotel lobby. Using her speed, she easily rammed over three zombies. Leg on the last zombie, and two hammer swings later, those three zombies were dead as well.

“We’re here then.” Bitong announced to no one in particular, then commanded her two unmanned exosuits forward. “Lixiang, step back for now. We aren’t sure what kind of monsters there are lurking about. If there’s more of those Scorpids, we could be in danger. Let the empty exosuits take the heat.”

The two exosuits she had under her command were definitely worse for wear, having gone through that battle with a hole in one of their arms, and legs pretty much in tatters. Even walking was proving a little difficult for them at this point.

In that case, there was no harm in having them be our canary in the mines.

The entire hotel was devoid of any survivors. That was the conclusion we came to after an hour of searching.

When the virus struck, those who could flee, fled. Those that remained behind were all zombies, whether men, women, young or old. Over ten floors were cleaned up in the end, during which we found a decent number of zombies after going through every single room. In order to avoid missing any, we even made a record. The result was that there were no survivors, other than us.

“Well, let’s head to 301 to sleep. That room is bigger, and cleaner too.” Bitong suggested, after cleaning up the six zombies on the balcony.

“Yeah. That room has a really big tub too! Qiaoqiao wants to take a bath!”

Just like that, we ended up in room 301. The room was a duplex room, with the living room on the first floor, along with one bedroom. Another bedroom was located on the second floor. The bathroom was on the first floor, with a washing machine located conveniently beside it. The view outside the window was spectacular as well – basically whatever you wanted, this room had it.

“Qiaoqiao wants to take a bath!”

The moment we stepped into the room, Qiaoqiao immediately clamored to take a bath. Unfortunately, Lixiang already had the bathroom blocked with her outstretched hands.

Face expressionless, she coldly stated, “This one is bathing first.”

“No! Qiaoqiao wants to bathe first! Her body is already starting to smell!”

“Foolish mortal. Countless years have passed, have you not learnt to live with your filth?” Lixiang raised an eyebrow at the girl. Then with a holier-than-thou look on her face, she declared, “This one needs to bathe first, so as to better service His Highness. Mortal, do not try to waste this one’s precious time with His Highness.”

“Meanie! Big sister Lixiang is just a big bully!” Qiaoqiao yelled at Lixiang. “How is Qiaoqiao filthy? Or ugly! Big brother, Qiaoqiao isn’t smelly, right?”

“Yes. Our Qiaoqiao isn’t smelly, at all.” I smiled with a grimace, then threw a pleading look at Bitong.

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

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The moment the word ‘marriage’ popped up, Bitong immediately went red in the ears. With a mix of embarrassment and anger in her eyes, she glared at the little girl. “I think someone is due for another spanking!”

“Blehhh… Big sis is blushing!”

“That’s it…”

Yet just as Bitong started teaching Qiaoqiao a lesson, an unusually quiet Lixiang suddenly threw a curve ball my way.

Just like Bitong, she went a little red as she lowered her head. Thumbs twiddling, she mumbled, “Your Highness… this one wishes to… bath…”

“Bath… But this is a warehouse, I don’t think there are any bathing spots nearby…”

I grimaced a little at her difficult request, however Lixiang’s expression was a lot worse right now. “But… but if this one doesn’t bathe in a day… she will die…”

What the heck? What kind of setting is that? Why would you even die from that?!

In fact, I couldn’t help but blurt that out jokingly… “I’m sure you will be fine… I haven’t heard of anyone dying from not bathing yet…”

“Hmm. But for a girl to skip a day of bathing… I think she might really die.” Unexpectedly, it was Bitong, who had stopped fighting with Qiaoqiao for a second, who said that. “If it was me, I think I might die as well… Especially if…”

She stopped abruptly but continued looking at me.

Maybe it’s just me, but that last part seems to have something to do with me.

“Qiaoqiao wants to bathe as well! Bath. Bath!”

Riding on the bathing train, Qiaoqiao was the next to clamor for the mythical activity that would kill you if you didn’t perform it. She eyed me intently, as if waiting for the moment when I magically pulled out a bathtub from my inventory.

Naturally, that was impossible – my inventory clearly did not have such a ridiculous function as bathtub storage. And that was why when I shrugged my shoulders, Qiaoqiao pouted unhappily, “What?! Big brother actually did not pack a bathtub before leaving?”

Wait, how is that my fault? It’s not like a bathtub is a toy I can just stuff into my backpack. No matter how you cut it, you’re that one that’s being unreasonable here!

Even so, the girls were all waiting for an answer from me. Bathing honestly sounded like a good idea. Bathing together would relieve all the piled up stress too.

That’s right! A bath! Every man’s dream, but I can’t even get it up, so what the heck…

…

“Big brother, what’s wrong? Why is your face changing so quickly?”

“Your Highness, is there some assassin performing a psychic attack on you right now? Those fiends, how dare they!”

“Ke, is there something wrong?”

“Ah… it’s nothing. I’ll go find a spot we can bathe. But before that, I need to do some shopping.”

I opened up the Marketplace, then spent a hundred points on a thumb-sized white sphere known as the Virus Detection Kit. According to the system, this item could detect the zombie virus.

“For detecting the virus?” Bitong suddenly pointed at the sphere in my hand and asked.

“That’s right.” I gave the sphere a light toss upwards. “We should be able to detect the zombie virus with this. I’m just not sure how this rock-like thing can do that.”

“Ooo… Qiaoqiao has seen that before, it was a hundred points to buy… so expensive.” Qiaoqiao walked up to the sphere then began playing around with it with her fingers. “Does it even work?”

“The system’s products usually work.”

The idea behind purchasing this before bathing was just in case we accidentally ingested the virus during our bath… that would truly be a silly ending.

“Sis, how about you find us a bathing spot with your map.” I said while playfully pinching Qiaoqiao’s cheeks. “Everyone’s tired, so let’s get this sorted out early, then we can all turn in for the night. We still have more fighting tomorrow.”

“I’ll have a look…” Bitong opened up her holographic map, and after a moment of searching, pointed at a ten-storey high building in the distance. “That’s a hotel, we should be able to take a bath there. There’s only two hundred meters between us. With our exosuits, we shouldn’t need to worry about much.”

“Alright. Let’s head over there then. I know we all haven’t slept in a tent before, but I’m sure a bed would be much better than a tent.”

Pity about that tent though… kind of a waste of effort.

“No way! Qiaoqiao wants to sleep in a tent! Qiaoqiao wants the tent! Qiaoqiao has never slept in one before and she wants to sleep in one!”

Bitong and I immediately grimaced, while Lixiang gave her a look as if she was looking at an idiot. However, Qiaoqiao was famously stubborn when she got like this, thus I immediately tried to persuade her.

“Actually, Qiaoqiao, even if you want to sleep in a tent, there’s no problem with going to a hotel at all. I can just open the tent there. Wouldn’t that work as well?”

“Really?” Qiaoqiao finally stopped throwing a tantrum and threw me a hopeful look. “Qiaoqiao can really sleep in a tent?”

“Yup, as long as Qiaoqiao is happy.”

“Woohoo, big brother is the best!” Qiaoqiao did a little jump and kissed me on the cheeks. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, she said, “Qiaoqiao wants to sleep with big brother as well!”

“…”

“Absolutely not!” Bitong finally stepped in and pulled her away from me. “If you want to sleep in a tent, you can sleep in it yourself.”

“Hmph. Qiaoqiao doesn’t dare to sleep alone!” Qiaoqiao immediately retorted as if she was actually giving a proper reason.

“Then just sleep with us on the bed.”

“But Qiaoqiao wants to sleep in a tent!”

“Big brother, big sister Bitong is bullying Qiaoqiao again!” Realising that she was about to lose, Qiaoqiao promptly jumped into my arms and began tearing up. As she rubbed her head about, she continued pleading coyly. “She wants Qiaoqiao to sleep alone, but Qiaoqiao is afraid of sleeping alone…”

Then why not sleep on the bed…

Finally, after quite a bit of pleading and Bitong flatly refusing her, Qiaoqiao finally gave up on her dream of sleeping in a tent.

The time now was ten minutes past eight. The zombies were usually more active in the night, and the outside seemed to have confirmed that.

A number of zombies had already started gathering around the warehouse, and from the sound of things, those numbers weren’t decreasing any time soon.

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

Leave a comment

So what is the worst-case scenario?

“The worst case would be the death of all life on Gaia… I’m sure our valued host can already tell by the devastation of Southern Plains… The clashing of two worlds isn’t as simple as a fusing. These are only the vanguard of a greater invasion force, more will come that will make what you see today mere child’s play… There is no choice but to resist!”

Vanguard of an invasion… and even that is enough to wipe out a city… Should their main force invade in earnest, then this planet is doomed.

Tell me. How should I protect Gaia?

“Kill the necromancer hiding out in this city -he’s the sole perpetrator of this tragedy. And this has to be done before the laws of this region are completely warped. His very existence is destroying the dimensional barriers between the two worlds. Every day he is alive, the barrier gets weaker. Once the dimensional barrier is gone, there is nothing that can stop the invasion.”

So you’re saying the destruction of this barrier is what’s causing the fusing of the two worlds? I understand fully now. But Bitong and the others… My wish is to at least send them out first… I don’t want them to risk their lives as well…

“Valued host, you need to wake up. Ever since they’ve signed that pact, they have become a part of your fighting force. In exchange for power, they have a greater burden to bear as well. If our valued host did not wish for them to participate in the fight, then he should not have used a name slot on them. Besides, none of them have the means to break through that blockade. The wiser move would still be to improve their abilities for now.”

The system was right. Regardless of whether or not I agreed with putting them in danger, it was a fact that they were now a part of the harem system, and had been given the opportunity to grow stronger. In exchange, sacrifices had to be made.

Even so, that was a weighty discussion I just had with the system. I had a feeling that I had just learnt a great deal that normally would not have been made known to a small fry like me… Honestly speaking, I did not put a lot of stock into me defeating that necromancer, who was able to control all the undead in an entire city.

But there was no really no choice at this point. The roads out were all sealed, so it was either an exceedingly difficult but technically traversable road, or just death.

Perhaps the Federation might arrive in time to save us, but that was a very big ‘perhaps’… I hate leaving my chances up to fate. It’s decided then, win or lose, at least I would have tried.

Having finished communicating with the system, I turned around to face the girls with a heavy heart.

When I was done relaying what I had just learnt, the girls all had their own opinions to express on this matter.

“So after countless reincarnations, countless disguises… they’ve finally found this one… No matter. As long as His Highness is here, this one has nothing to fear!” Lixiang’s eyes practically sparkled at that point, her brain whirling its cog to spin a new story for herself. “Come angels or devils, they matter not. This one will show them the power of a Primal Angel, born from the fusion of Light and Dark!”

Lixiang… you haven’t reincarnated, not even once…

“Wooo! Qiaoqiao wants to learn that Flame Incarnate skill as well! Qiaoqiao is going to be the bestest magical girl in the world!” Qiaoqiao clapped her hands with joy as she hopped on the spot. “Vanquishing evil, then saving the world -Qiaoqiao is going to be a hero! Battle Angels Squad, deploy!”

Qiaoqiao… can you not jump about while you’re on my back…

“Ke, what are your plans? Will Gaia really be destroyed if we do not participate?” Bitong, on the other hand, was more focused on the serious stuff. “You mentioned the destruction of the dimensional barriers are causing the laws of the world to warp. What happens once they are warped? Will the invaders get stronger?”

“About that, I have more to say.”

The moment I said that, no matter whether it was the delusional Lixiang, the hero-wannabe Qiaoqiao, or the more serious Bitong, they all stopped what they were doing and waited with bated breath for my words… Well, at least those two haven’t lost their brains yet.

“All that talk about world invaders… they are still too far removed from our reality. For us, I think we should first focus on getting stronger…”

Simply put, from tomorrow onwards, we would double down on monster slaying, learning new skills, all in order to strengthen our combat abilities.

And after a long discussion as to how we were to do that, everyone was tired, so it was time for rest.

Before coming to Southern Plains, we had planned on going camping. Thanks to the inventory system, I was able to prepare a lot more than most, including a tent large enough to fit all four of us.

I took out a compressed-looking cube and laid it down on the ground. Upon pressing a button on the cube, the tent began to slowly enlarge itself, as if air was being pumped into it. Finally, we were left with a large, roofed blue tent.

The young girl that she was, Qiaoqiao’s eyes lit up with wonderment. “Ooo~ amazing!”

This was the first time using this tent, and being the most excited out of all of us here, Qiaoqiao immediately dove into the tent… only to stick her head out a mere second later.

“Why are there no pillows? Blankets? Horrible.” Qiaoqiao pouted. “Qiaoqiao can’t sleep without a pillow!”

“Don’t worry, the pillows are with me.” Once the rest of us were in the tent, I took out the supplies I had prepared in my inventory. “One set for everyone.”

“Nice! Big brother is the best!” Seeing that she did not have to sleep on the ground, Qiaoqiao happily jumped into my arms and kissed me on the cheeks.

“Get down here, right this instant! No hugging Ke!” Bitong immediately snapped. There was nothing more she hated than another girl taking advantage of her childhood friend. She stomped up to the little girl and tried to pry her off. “Behave yourself, now.”

“Hmph. Stingy. Big sister is so stingy.” Left with no choice, Qiaoqiao could only sulk to herself as she dismounted. “I don’t see what’s all the fuss about, it’s not like a kiss will get him pregnant!”

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

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Is science nothing but a lie? Is magic the only truth in this world?

“The two are intrinsically the same. They manipulate the world, just in different ways.”

I don’t have time for these philosophical debates, all I want to do now is leave this hell of a city.

“You call this hell? This place still doesn’t qualify.”

What do you mean it doesn’t qualify? There’s a person dying every second in despair. They are either dying in the jaws of those monsters, or in the hands of their own fellow human beings. And then there’s those who are committing suicide because they see no end to this despair… If all that doesn’t qualify this place as hell, what does?

“They die simply because they are weak. Being killed by monsters or their own race only proves they are physically weak. Committing suicide is proof they are mentally weak. Especially those suicidal ones, if it’s not this crisis, there will be another crisis that triggers them… There is no need to feel bad for those who do not treasure what they have.”

Perhaps…

Somehow, it felt like the system was just strong-arming her point, but she wasn’t entirely wrong either. If one couldn’t even love themselves, how could they expect others to do so. If everyone was as powerful as me, they definitely wouldn’t die to those zombies either. Unfortunately, not everyone had the opportunity to undergo enhancements…

“Leaving the city isn’t actually as difficult as our valued host seems to think either. As long as our valued host is willing to force his way through those ghosts, Icy Inferno in hand.”

That’s it?

“That’s it. But this method will only allow our valued host to leave by himself. Because our valued host does not possess the strength required to protect his harem members from the attacks of so many ghosts.”

…

I swept my eyes slowly over the girls…

They seemed to have noticed that I was communicating with the system as well, that was why they remained silent, patiently waiting for an outcome.

There’s no way I can just leave on my own… If it means abandoning the three of them, I would rather stay behind as well!

“Good, at least our valued host has some backbone. As a special service, the system has elected to offer a second option. Please open up the Marketplace. There should be a magic spell called ‘Flame Incarnate’. It’s a skill that creates an aura of fire around a person’s body as a means of defense. It’s a famously useless skill, because fire spells tend to be weaker defensively… But fire is made for attacking in the first place. With how vulnerable those ghosts are to fire, merely touching the flames should prove fatal.”

In other words, even a useless skill can become godlike under the right situations…

I tapped on the skill’s price tag: only a hundred points!

Cheap!

“Because it’s useless.”

Other than flames, what else would counter those ghosts?

“Lightning -essentially any attack that is energy would prove very effective against them.”

I see now. Because they have no physical body, they are afraid of energy attacks, anything you would associate that counters the supernatural.

“Unfortunately, the harem members of our valued host are unable to employ such a skill for now. Trying to do so would result in their deaths.

Hold on… You’re the one who suggested it. And you’re already stealing your own thunder?

“Flame Incarnate requires SP to activate, requires SP to maintain, and requires even more SP when it burns a ghost. How much SP do the members of our valued host’s harem possess?”

Thanks to the system’s reminder, I realised the problem as well. The skill was definitely able to force a path out of the city, but the energy had to be supplied from somewhere.

With how many ghosts there were guarding the exit, allowing the girls to charge in now would be like tossing a match into an ocean… The two weren’t even on the same scale. Even drinking SP potions wouldn’t be able to mend this massive gap.

So you’re suggesting…

“Train. Keep slaying monsters diligently, and by the time you raise your levels somewhat, your harem should be able to leave Southern Plains on their own merits. And if everything goes well, our valued host may even uncover the true mastermind behind this tragedy. If the mastermind is gone, leaving Southern Plains wouldn’t even be an issue.”

Defeat the mastermind? If you ask me, waiting for rescue sounds a lot more reliable… Speaking of rescue, what the heck were those soldiers even doing? Can’t they figure out a way to save those civilians?

“Rather than depend on others, you would be better off relying on yourself.”

All right, all right… the only one you can count on in a pinch is yourself, am I right?

Since my fellow human beings aren’t trustworthy anymore, I can only work harder. Also, if there is a ‘Heaven’ in this world, why hasn’t it acted yet? Look at how many have died already… millions! That’s not a small number.

“Haha. Has our valued host heard of the saying, Heaven is blind?”

I have. What does that have to do with this discussion?

“Then what does our valued host think that saying means?”

That Heaven is impartial and objective?

“Close enough. The laws of this world, or Heaven, is a set of rules laid down by the Creator when he created the world. Such a system has no emotions, so everything in this world is equal in its eyes. Regardless of who stands at the top in the end, it’s just a matter of the natural cause-and-effect.”

Natural? That’s rich, weren’t you saying how the laws of the world were getting warped? Is that still considered natural?

“And how do you know that isn’t a part of the world’s plans?”

…

With my limited knowledge, I had no way to counter that question.

“What is happening now is a clash of two worlds. A fusion of worlds, so to speak!”

Two worlds? Fusion?

“That’s right, the two worlds are already beginning to fuse. As more and more of these invaders intrude upon Gaia, the laws of both worlds would clash even harder… Valued host, I highly suggest that this process be stopped as soon as possible, or the consequences would be dire…”

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE

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Admittedly, what the survivors were discussing amongst themselves was of interest to me, but I had no intention of approaching them at this point.

The entire warehouse itself was surprisingly dry, not at all humid as you would expect from a dockside property.

Seeing as it was dinner time, the girls and I picked a quiet spot where we could gather before dismounting from our exosuits.

Having just stepped out of the cockpit, I began rummaging through my inventory for food, but I was quickly tackled aside by a frightened Qiaoqiao who had just dismounted her own exosuit.

“Big brother… that was so scary…” She wept, and given how much had been piling on her till now, she probably wasn’t going to stop anytime soon. At the end of the day, she was just an eleven year old kid; the fact that she held on so long was commendable in itself.

But being the good girl that she was, she did not cry for long.

With Qiaoqiao placated, I took out a large tablecloth and neatly laid it out on the ground. I gently lowered Qiaoqiao down onto the cloth first, then began laying out the food, at which point the girls took their seats without me asking.

We were all seated close to each other, proximity borne out of a palpable sense of insecurity in each of the girls, the difference being that Lixiang and Bitong were a lot better at hiding their fears. While the exosuits were designed to be easy to control, extended periods piloting them would still wear a person down, especially in stressful situations like battles. And once the tension of battle had well and truly passed, all that stressed and pent-up emotion came flooding back in.

Although… This close proximity afforded me a first-row seat to the slightly sweet, slightly warm smelling fragrance wafting off the girls… Ahhh… there wasn’t a sweaty quality to this smell either…but it had to be stressed that this wasn’t me being creepy… Absolutely, no.

By now, Qiaoqiao had mostly recovered while seated in my embrace. In fact, she was starting to lean in, eyes half-closed, and little face rubbing slowly against my shoulder like a kitten.

“Big brother smells so good…”

Hearing that, Lixiang leapt on me and began sniffing like a bloodhound.

Finally, after a long, drawn-out sniff, she calmly stated in the most matter-of-fact tone ever, “His Highness is an exalted Fallen Angel, it’s only to be expected that his body exudes only the most sublime of fragrances!”

What do you mean sublime? Can you not describe my body in such a creepy fashion! And I’m a guy -what do you mean ‘fragrance’?!

“Ke has always had a strange fragrance to him, ever since I’ve known him as a child. Without vigorous exercise, you can’t even smell it.” Bitong proceeded to nonchalantly pull Qiaoqiao off me. “All right. Stop troubling your big brother, it’s time for dinner.”

“But Qiaoqiao wants a hug…” Qiaoqiao vehemently resisted Bitong’s hands, clamping down on me even harder. “Qiaoqiao wants to eat with big brother!”

At that point, an invisible vein seemed to pop in Bitong’s head. Her lips cracked into a sinister grin, “Qiaoqiao… Do you want your big sister to hang you by your feet and beat you up?”

I immediately recoiled backwards reflexively when I saw that black grin on her face, pushing away Qiaoqiao without a second thought. “That’s right. Qiaoqiao, be good, don’t make your big sister angry.”

“Hmph. Qiaoqiao isn’t afraid.” Qiaoqiao muttered under her breath, but sulked away in the end.

Maybe you aren’t scared of her, but I am… you haven’t seen Black Bitong yet -you don’t want to go anywhere near that…

Now that Qiaoqiao was out of the way, our meal began in earnest.

Originally, this tablecloth was meant to be used for a picnic, but ever since our hotspring visit, we never had a chance to go on a picnic, what with all the zombie nonsense going on…

Dinner itself consisted of simple fare -bread and whatever snacks and condiments we picked up from the inn. While munching, we started discussing what our future plans were. More importantly, how to tackle those ghosts.

Lixiang took the lead in declaring confidently, “Those ghosts are employing a psychic attack that targets the soul directly.”

“Targets the soul?” I asked in disbelief, but the moment I did so, I realised how logical that conclusion was.

An accomplished writer of her own fictional life, Lixiang firmly stated in an ironically shaking voice, “Your Highness, that has to be a soul attack!”

Just the fact that those ghosts were able to pass through solid matter alone was proof that conventional logic did not work on them. The idea of a soul attack wasn’t that far-fetched. At the same time, that meant those deactivated exosuits were a result of the ghosts directly assaulting the pilots within.

However, all that talk about ghosts employing an intangible form of attack had yet to be proven. After all, they could have easily used some sort of physical attack after passing through the exosuit. Without inspecting one of their victims, there was no way to prove these theories.

The soul was still an unexplored realm on Gaia. To begin with, the entire atmosphere of this world was filled with spiritual energy. These invisible energy particles were the antithesis of anything soul-like. That was how Gaia remained ghost-free till now….

Because of that, no one knew how to deal with ghosts, not even the military who suffered immensely as a result.

All that begged the question: what are ghosts doing in Southern Plains? Was it because of that strange green fog, or perhaps something else?

“That’s because the laws of the world have been warped around the vicinity of Southern Plains.” As if on cue, the system suddenly chimed in with an explanation. “Rather, the laws of the world have begun warping with Southern Plains as its centerpoint.”

The laws of the world have begun warping?

“Valued host, your ever-helpful system has something to clarify at this point. The laws of the world do not just refer to the laws on Gaia, but rather the laws of the entire galaxy. Gaia is merely one of the many life-bearing planets in this galaxy. This planet forms just a tiny portion of the galaxy, but even such a tiny portion can effect change. In a lot of ways, the laws of the world can be likened to the ‘laws of Heaven’ -don’t the humans of this planet always use that term? That’s basically it”

So the laws of the galaxy, then? But what do you mean ‘warped’? And ‘laws of Heaven’… I thought this was a scientific world we lived in. Have I been living in a different world all this while? Am I the one that’s delusional?!

Shameless Self-promotion

Announcement: I’ve re-opened my Patreon in case anyone wants to sponsor more chapters. Every end of the month, those chapters in early access will be released for free for all to read. If you sponsored a chapter, you will gain permanent early access to these chapters. Essentially, everyone gets more chapters to read, but those who donated get to read earlier. More chapters will then be translated at the start of the month. Explanation on the Patreon itself.

LINK HERE