I have to get lucky right away.

Chapter 653 A Child's Heart
As soon as he entered the room, Chen Xuan immediately closed the door behind him and said in a low voice, "Brother, there's definitely something wrong with this city! Those people... and the children, they're all acting so strangely! It's like... their souls have been ripped out!"

"Hmm, good observation." Feng Xue walked to the window, lifted a corner of the heavy curtain, and looked at the still "prosperous" but lifeless street outside. "But it's not the kind of supernatural power you're thinking of, it's just that there's no hope."

"Hope?" Chen Xuan was taken aback.

“Well, it’s complicated to explain in detail, but for some reason, these people have fallen into a feeling of ‘my life is over’ or ‘there’s no hope at all.’” Feng Xue turned around, leaned against the windowsill, and said in a subtle tone.

He genuinely didn't know what was going on, but under the gaze of the Qi Observation Technique, these people produced almost no willpower.

Yes, almost none of them, they have even lost the will to despair.

This means that these people did not experience a sudden and drastic change, but rather that it had been going on for quite some time.

This is quite an absurd situation. You have to understand that the Hellenistic Concession has been under the oppressive rule of aliens for decades, and its environment is nothing more than a chaotic quagmire. Even Egypt, where all life was under the control of the gods, has never seen such a desperate environment.

"What happened?"

Feng Xue was also pondering this question at this moment.

While Feng Xue was pondering, in the magnificent, palace-like mansion of the city lord in the city center, a young man with the destiny of a [King] was enjoying dinner served by a stunningly beautiful woman.

He is the city lord, born with immense wealth and a distinguished family background. However, he is not in his early thirties as he appears, but is actually seventy years old.

The reason I was able to preserve my youth dates back to a serendipitous encounter three years ago.

To be honest, it's not that far-fetched. Like many other kings on this land, they have almost everything when they are young and strong, but as they get older, they cannot enjoy the longevity of youth like those nobles in other countries.

Therefore, most kings who are unwilling to grow old will start collecting all kinds of rare items, trying to trigger certain special destinies and become the beneficiaries of a certain legend.

And this land has never lacked merchants who profit from this. They search for all kinds of rare and precious items from all over the world and deliver them to each person destined to be a king. Success brings them a huge fortune, and even failure brings them a profit comparable to that of ordinary merchants. The failed goods are not lost; they take the goods to the next city and obtain even more wealth from the next king.

Fortunately, three years ago, this city lord triggered a destiny-altering encounter in what appeared to be an ordinary crystal ball. From that moment on, he became a figure in a legend. Following the guidance of fate, he found a treasure bottle with his decaying body. The moment he opened it, an unlucky soul with the destiny of a "Zhenni" (a kind of spirit in Arabian mythology, which can be understood as a slightly evil nature spirit with magical powers) appeared.

The nun, who claimed to have been sealed away for hundreds of years, thanked him for his rescue and offered to grant him three wishes, while the king's wishes were very simple and unpretentious—

Unparalleled beauty, immense power, and eternal youth.

It sounds greedy, but there's a counterintuitive problem: in the legends of this land, the king must have been greedy.

The town nun did not refuse his request. The peerless beauty lay in his palace, proficient in various techniques, and could change her figure, appearance, and personality at will. Having her was equivalent to having all the beauties in the world.

He now possessed immense power, and his magical abilities could bring rain to the desert, ensure a bountiful harvest, and erase a city from the map in an instant.

However, in his third wish, Zhenni gave a helpless answer—eternal life is too far away, even he might not live to be eternal, so he naturally couldn't guarantee it. If he wanted to maintain eternity, he would have to keep acquiring it.

However, Zhenni still managed to bring him back to the peak of his physical condition, but as this power began to decline, an endless fear began to overwhelm him.

So, he demanded after-sales service from Zhenni on the grounds that "Zhenni failed to fulfill the third wish promised." Zhenni was not surprised by this, or rather, on this land, the king's destiny should be so capricious.

And he got the answer—

Using children's "hearts" as energy.

The heart is not the physical heart, but the emotions generated by consciousness.

The magic of this land is all driven by emotions, including his unparalleled power, which is also driven by his own greed and desire.

To maintain his youth, all he needed was the pure emotions of a child.

Having rediscovered the joys of youth, the king naturally couldn't bear to give up this wonderful experience. Moreover, since he was only absorbing emotions and wouldn't harm anyone, he naturally had fewer concerns.

But now, a problem has arisen—

There aren't enough children.

Yes, prolonged emotional deprivation can lead to a child's mental state becoming numb, and the amount of emotion they can provide will naturally decrease.

As the children in the city gradually lost their vitality, the desires of the city's residents also declined. At first, he could still attract some children through money and force, but as time went on, all the children he could fight or entice had been swallowed up by him. Now, the hearts he had collected seemed unable to satisfy his needs.

Zhenni was also helpless in the face of this problem. After all, he was just a holder of the Zhenni destiny and had been sealed for hundreds of years. This was the limit of what he could do.

But he was unwilling to accept this fate. Without this extraordinary encounter, he might have died day after day in anticipation, like other holders of the destiny of kings. But now, he only wanted to live! The longer the better!
Just as he was worrying about his future, there was a sudden knock on the door.

There was only one person who could enter his harem but needed to knock on the door, so the city lord did not hesitate and immediately said:

"come in!"

"Your Majesty." As the door opened, a figure shrouded in black robes, seemingly a composite of shadow and flame, floated in. His voice was neither unpleasant nor pleasant. The city lord merely waved his hand in response.
"Forget all that formalities! Just get to the point, what is it?"

“Good thing.” Zhenni uttered two words decisively, then revealed a slightly eerie smile—

"I discovered two hearts, two incredibly powerful hearts!"

(End of this chapter)