Strange Era: An exclusive talent every month.

Chen Ye was slightly startled, then nodded and said:

“I am indeed no longer the Ito you know…”

How did you come to that conclusion?

Tomie looked around at the paintings and smiled, "I've known Ito for so long, I know his style best."

"Art style is a collection of habits, and it's not something that can be changed so easily."

"However, it's actually a good thing that Ito has become like you now... It's really good..."

"My previous appearance... was actually quite terrifying..."

"It must have scared Ito too!"

At this moment, Ito's heart softened, and she said, "It's okay, those things are all in the past."

Chen Ye did not stop Ito from appearing at this moment.

Ito took a deep breath and continued, "I don't know if I can continue to control this body, but I'm sure I'm not dead yet. My consciousness is still there, and I can speak and move when allowed... Although the current situation is very special, I think it's good this way, at least it's safer than before!"

"Uh-huh."

Tomie simply nodded, as if she would agree with whatever Ito said.

"It seems there are no problems!" Chen Ye smiled slightly.

Tomie acted so horribly before simply because she lost control.

He couldn't control the excess heat in his body and turned into a monster...

Moreover, women are inherently more yin in nature, especially a stunningly beautiful woman like Tomie... Beautiful things are inherently more inclined towards yin attributes...

Before Tomie came into contact with the breathing technique, her body was filled with an excessive amount of yin energy. Moreover, the food she ate was not properly digested, which instead fueled the growth of yin energy, making her body extremely strange.

Now Chen Ye understands why food in this world is so precious:

"These foods are not just ordinary foods; they are very likely the blood of heaven and earth, a characteristic of this world, only that they have been completely dispersed!"

"Because the food in this world is completely out of control, that's why such hungry monsters have been born!"

"The hunger I saw that night was actually a synthesis of the collective consciousness, a destructive force born from the combined hunger of all beings in this world, and a twisted taboo!"

"It cannot be destroyed; it can only be protected by yang-related items such as peach wood swords and celestial master talismans, as well as the protective effect of land deeds, to ensure that it is not consumed by hunger..."

"As for the human head balloons wandering outside, many of them are probably affected by that monster!"

Chen Ye rubbed his chin, gradually realizing that this world was not just filled with human-headed balloons, but also with other kinds of monsters.

For example, Tomie before...

but.

If the correct breathing techniques can be taught, and with proper guidance, it is possible to help these humans, who were originally monsters, return to normal.

Furthermore, Chen Ye now sensed that Tomie's strength was actually quite great, even greater than his own!
This is thanks to the fact that Tomie had eaten so much food before!

It's purely a power on a material level!

As for Chen Ye's true strength now, it is not on the material level, but on the spiritual and enlightenment level.

For example, breathing techniques...

Chen Ye's mastery of breathing techniques is now quite high!
It just requires gradually improving Ito's body, continuously improving it, so that it can accommodate the Qi of Destiny, and then unlock the Martial Arts of Destiny!

"Have some bread first."

There was also a large amount of bread on Chen Ye's table.

These breads are drier and not as high in calories.

Chen Ye now felt that Tomie shouldn't eat so much high-calorie food. After all, her breathing technique wasn't very advanced yet, and she needed to practice for a long time to stabilize it before she could gradually increase her food intake.

Moreover, increasing food intake is not actually a good thing in this world. Apart from becoming a little stronger and making it easier to rob, it consumes more energy in all aspects.

Unless you're like Chen Ye, who needs to work a lot and store up a lot of calories, it's much better to control your diet.

"Uh-huh."

Tomie obediently accepted the bread from the table, looking as careful as she could possibly be.

This scene made Chen Ye feel a little sorry for her.

After all, Tomie hadn't done anything wrong; she just wanted food.

All the human-shaped balloons in this world just want to eat...

However, simply wanting food has become a luxury in this world.

Chen Ye began to question whether his extradition methods were reasonable.

Even if the number of human head balloons decreases, the demand for food will never change.

"Only by figuring out where the food in this world comes from can we know how to save this place."

Just then, Tomie finished her bread and let out a burp.

“Um… Ito, if you need any help, feel free to ask me,” Tomie said.

Chen Ye thought for a moment and said, "Tomie, do you know where I can buy musical instruments?"

"Or any media player, that's fine."

After Chen Ye said that, Tomie was stunned for a moment, and then said:
"There's a Yonghui Supermarket next door. They probably have a lot of things to sell there. We can go and take a look."

Chen Ye glanced at the long line of human head balloons outside the window.

He shook his head, closed the window and door, and called out:

"That's all for today's clientele. Everyone, please disperse."

These human-shaped balloons nodded their "heads" and then scattered.

After all, Chen Ye has already completed the task of painting hundreds of human head balloons today, which is already considered to have exceeded the target!

Whether or not Chen Ye wants to continue the remaining work is entirely up to his personal will.

Do it if you want to, and don't do it if you don't.

After Chen Ye carefully put away all the writing brushes and ink on the table, he followed Tomie out the door.

For some reason... when leaving the apartment, Chen Ye sensed something dark following him.

Chen Ye didn't forget to bring the peach wood sword with him.

He glanced coldly toward the stairwell.

In that place, he saw a hooded figure appear not far from the neighboring house.

Under the observation of the [Eye of Fortune]... this figure carried a dark aura, giving off a somewhat sinister feeling.

Just like Tomie before.

only……

Perhaps seeing the peach wood sword on Chen Ye's back, the figure hesitated for a moment, then instantly dodged away, not appearing in front of Chen Ye on its own initiative.

"It's better to avoid trouble."

Chen Ye didn't pursue the figure, after all, there was a mysterious yellow light covering the figure's head, suggesting that the figure might be a powerful and influential person in this community.

Although Chen Ye wasn't afraid to make an enemy like this, considering Ito's current complex physical condition, and the fact that this world was different from the previous one, and that they had also provoked an existence like the Obscure Angel... it was always better to be cautious in everything!
Moreover, now that Tomie has returned to normal and is by his side, that guy won't dare to do anything reckless!
Don't let Tomie's gentle and weak appearance fool you; the power she possesses is immense!
If it's just a matter of strength...

Ito is probably still far inferior to Tomie at this point.

After all, most of the food, whether expired or not, ended up in Tomie's stomach, while Ito himself didn't eat much.

"The supermarket downstairs is in that direction."

Led by Tomie, Chen Ye arrived at a small supermarket.

The supermarket isn't very big, only about two floors, but it has a full range of department store goods.

basically,
They all had to be exchanged for food or coins.

Several tumbling human-shaped balloons stood guard at the entrance, acting as security guards.

According to Chen Ye's consultation, these human balloons can earn one bronze coin a day just by standing guard here.

Faced with Chen Ye's questions, these people were very respectful. After all, Chen Ye's reputation had already been thoroughly established, which had helped many of them to get rid of their bad luck.

These human balloons are still fulfilling their obligations for now, but who knows when they might want to be released, either by going to a Taoist temple or by going to Ito.

Making an appointment at a Taoist temple is very troublesome. All the monks there are in seclusion and need to cultivate themselves. Only Ito has such a large workload to help with the "human head balloon" ritual.

However, due to the recent surge in customer traffic, it's not guaranteed that you'll get a table.

all in all.

Whenever Chen Ye appears, he has a certain degree of fame, and most of the neighbors in the area know him.

But Chen Ye noticed that some of the waiters were looking at him with strange eyes.

It seems to be a kind of... fear...

There's something off about the way these waiters are acting...

Chen Ye made a judgment immediately.

He walked around the supermarket a few times.

I found that although the goods here are all daily necessities, their quality is really too low.

Most of them are defective products.

Finding suitable products is not an easy task.

Slightly better quality...

Chen Ye did find toothpaste, toothbrushes, and various bed sheets and duvet covers.

Chen Ye discovered that Ito was also exceptionally lazy in the past.

The bed sheets, duvet covers, and even the clothes I wear are rarely changed or washed.

When Chen Ye asked about this, Ito smiled wryly:
"That seems to be the case..."

"It's not because I'm lazy, but because the outside world is just too chaotic."

"After finishing my work, I automatically get some food, so I mostly stay at home and rarely go out."

"Most of the things outside are for human balloons. The humans here mainly rely on doing work to obtain water and food..."

"Therefore, I rarely go out to buy bed sheets and duvet covers."

Chen Ye nodded: "I understand."

after all,

When Chen Ye stepped out of the room, the street outside was filled with balloons depicting human heads.

Seeing a living person actually walk out, many of the human-shaped balloons cast curious glances at Chen Ye.

If it weren't for that peach wood sword, which I carried on my person and had an excellent effect in warding off evil...

I wonder how this bunch of human balloons will end up swarming around us!

Although Chen Ye is indeed very famous, many of his followers are not very clear-headed, and some lack complete thinking.

however,
Even the most delirious human balloons would sense the immense yang energy emanating from the peach wood sword; if they dared to act recklessly, they would be utterly annihilated!
Before leaving home, Chen Ye ate a few sandwiches to keep his body warm, just to be on the safe side.

Then he carried the Celestial Master Talisman, the peach wood sword, and several painted scrolls in his schoolbag.

As it turns out, this choice was indeed the right one.

The streets outside were a mess, littered with trash.

Only a few supermarkets still show signs of maintenance outside their stores.

However... since the cleaning was done by human head balloons, there was some green slime left on the ground, which looked extremely eerie.

Upon entering the supermarket, Chen Ye's eyes immediately swept over the products on display.

Toothpaste, toothbrush, shower gel, shampoo... most of these cleaning products are very cheap, costing only a copper coin, and you can even buy a whole set.

The human head balloons are quite large, so a lot of them are needed. Also, because they lack hands and feet, they have to be squeezed out with their mouths, which is very troublesome…

Therefore, most people don't actually need to take a bath.

An occasional torrential downpour to wash the mud off their faces is usually enough.

Frozen foods, on the other hand, are quite expensive, costing two or three bronze coins to buy.

These frozen foods need to be heated, and they've been stored in cold storage for who knows how long. If you eat them directly, they're very low in calories and have little nutritional value...

The value of food in this world is determined by the amount of nutrients it contains, a fact that many people understand.

Because heating is required, many people don't have the necessary conditions to heat frozen food... Supermarkets do offer similar services, but they charge a fee, and each transaction costs at least one or two coins. This results in a low transaction volume for frozen food, making it a cost-effective but somewhat inconvenient product.

Instant noodles are considered a higher-end item, requiring three or four copper coins to obtain.

Chen Ye couldn't help but think, "It's too hard for these people to work as human balloons. After all, they have to stand guard all day to exchange for a single bronze coin... If they want to eat a hot bowl of instant noodles, it would take them three or four days to earn enough for one bowl!"

This also made Chen Ye realize how difficult it is for the "human balloons" of this world to be brought back to life. (End of Chapter)