A vicious female is trapped in a beastly hell.

Chapter 621 Points Ranking

After finishing their meal, the group took a short break.

Zhai Chen and the others lay or sat around the campfire, making the most of their time to recover their strength.

Shen Tang found a quiet corner by herself, squatted down under a tree, leaned against the trunk, and looked at the pitch-black sky, where she couldn't see a single star.

She took out the little fox jade carving from her spatial storage, her fingertips gently stroking its smooth surface, and her nose couldn't help but tingle with emotion.

Where are Shen Li and the others now?

If only the system could wake up, even if they were far away, at least it could roughly pinpoint their location, instead of leaving them completely clueless like they are now.

Now they are like drops of water in a vast ocean; how easy would it be for them to meet again?

She didn't even have a single clue...

I wonder how her beast husbands are doing now. What if they encounter danger or get injured?
The campfire crackled and popped, illuminating a small patch of the campsite.

Everyone else in the group quickly fell asleep, but Qin Han, with one hand as a pillow and one leg bent, remained awake.

His gaze kept drifting unconsciously towards the figure not far away.

The female sat there alone, shrouded in an indescribable loneliness, seemingly clutching something in her hand, her eyes revealing a faint longing.

Qin Han finally couldn't resist and got up to go over.

Shen Tang was immersed in the emotion of "thinking of people through objects" when she suddenly felt a heavy atmosphere around her.

She turned her head and met the man's gaze, finding him staring at the little fox jade carving in her hand.

Her heart skipped a beat. Not wanting others to see her thoughts, she quickly put the jade carving back into her spatial storage and asked, trying to appear calm, "Captain Qin, is something the matter?"

Seeing her flustered state, Qin Han became even more curious about the origin of the jade carving.

But he wasn't one to pry, so he didn't dare to ask. His voice was low and deep, like the night wind, "We still have a long journey ahead tomorrow, why don't you rest for a bit?"

Shen Tang shook her head, then quickly nodded, "I'm not too sleepy... Hmm, I think I'm getting sleepy again. I'll take a nap! Goodnight, Captain!"

As she was about to get up and leave, Qin Han didn't stop her. But as Shen Tang turned around, he suddenly asked in a low voice,

"What exactly is your special ability?"

This is something Qin Han has never been able to understand.

If Xun Fu wasn't deliberately abandoned here, then she couldn't possibly be an ordinary person without superpowers; otherwise, she wouldn't have survived to meet them.

He didn't want to doubt this seemingly innocent and beautiful female, but he needed an answer, otherwise he couldn't bring her into the shelter with peace of mind.

When Shen Tang first met Qin Han, she knew that this man was not easy to fool.

Rather than saying he took her in as a "hero saving a damsel in distress," it would be more accurate to say he wanted to keep her close and investigate her background.

She turned back halfway, plopped down next to him, held her face in her hands, sighed, and said in a low voice, "To tell you the truth, Captain Qin, I... lost my superpower because of an accident."

Qin Han was taken aback. "The superpower has disappeared?"

“Hmm,” Shen Tang responded listlessly, her voice filled with confusion. “I think I was seriously injured before. Not only did I lose my superpowers, but I also can’t remember many things… I only vaguely remember my own name, and everything else is blurry.”

Qin Han was even more surprised. He carefully examined her expression, which did not seem like she was lying.

This also explains why she seems so clueless, lacks vigilance, and inexplicably appears in the wasteland.

Perhaps she was originally a member of a hunting team, but they were attacked by mutated beasts along the way. Her teammates were either separated or killed, and she was also seriously injured, lost her memory, and lost her superpowers.

However, the fact that she could produce so much precious food suggests that she is not an ordinary person.

Qin Han narrowed his amber eyes, a thought flashing through his mind.

"Captain Qin, I can't remember a lot of things right now. Can you tell me what's going on? What's this about the contaminated species?" Shen Tang leaned closer to him, supporting herself with one hand, and looked at him expectantly.

As the two drew closer, Qin Han could almost feel her faint breath and even smell the delicate fragrance of orchids emanating from her.

That aura was indescribably attractive, as if it had a natural allure for men, making it hard to resist and causing even reason to vanish.

Qin Han awkwardly got up and stepped back, creating distance between them.

"Huh? Captain Qin?" Shen Tang was taken aback by his sudden action. She blinked her watery cat-like eyes, tilted her head to look at him, and looked innocent and confused.

Qin Han took a deep breath, forcing himself to remain calm, "You... really don't know?"

"I really don't know! Please tell me! What is the shelter we're going to do? Is it where you live?" Shen Tang stood on one foot with her hands behind her back, leaned closer and looked up at him with expectant eyes.

Qin Han felt a slight warmth at the base of his ears, and his Adam's apple bobbed gently.

The female before him was too beautiful, and she put on such a charming and innocent appearance that no male could resist her... Even he, who had fought in the wasteland for many years, was finding it hard to resist.

Such a beautiful female shouldn't be without a mate.

pity.

Her partner is probably no longer alive.

Qin Han couldn't help but think about Xun Fu's future fate. Without her supernatural abilities and without the protection of a team or tribe, her outstanding appearance would only bring disaster. If she fell into the hands of orcs with ulterior motives, she would likely become a tool for their lust and reproduction.

Perhaps we should let her stay with the team.

At least he can protect her.

Feeling a pity for her, Qin Han subconsciously treated her as one of his own, and began to explain, "Let's start with the land beneath our feet. This is the wasteland, full of radiation, pollution, and monsters mutated by the harsh environment."

He sat cross-legged, propped one leg up, and rested his arm on his knee. "This is the worst region on the planet. 90% of the land is wasteland, and it's where most of us live."

Shen Tang's heart was filled with shock. This wasteland was equivalent to the polluted land of the Beast World Continent, but the coverage area was so vast! A full 90% of the land was polluted. What a terrifying proportion!

She sat down and murmured, "This place is so awful, it's not suitable for orcs to live in at all. If you stay here for a long time, your health will suffer."

Qin Han chuckled softly, turning his head to look at the strange "light" that kept flashing in the distance. His hand, wrapped in white bandages, held a stone, which he suddenly crushed. His voice grew even colder, "There's nothing we can do. We were born in the wasteland. This is the fate of most civilians. It's a purgatory we can't escape."

Shen Tang frowned slightly.

Unexpectedly, even the alien orcs could not escape the contaminated land, and the situation was even more serious than that of the Beast World continent.

Is this why they invaded other continents?

Because they can no longer survive on their own planet, they need to find a new home.

"Those mutants can't be eaten, so why are you venturing deep into the wasteland to hunt them for points?" Shen Tang recalled what Yuna had mentioned.

Qin Han nodded. "Hunting mutated species is the only way for ordinary orcs to earn points. Only by accumulating enough points can we exchange them for supplies, daily necessities, and precious food. This is our only way to survive."

In order to obtain resources for survival, civilians had to repeatedly venture into the dangerous wasteland, and countless people died as a result.

To die in order to live.

It is probably the cruelest and saddest thing in the world.

Qin Han's team was quite lucky. The members were strong, good at both offense and defense, and they also had a precious healing orc. Over the years, no one had been lost, and they had accumulated a lot of points.

After he finished speaking, he clapped his hands, stood up, and said to Shen Tang, "You should get some sleep too. I'll keep watch here."

"Okay, goodnight, Captain~"

"Good night."

Three hours later, while it was still dark, the group had to set off again for the nearest shelter. The civilian orcs struggling to survive in the wasteland had built simple settlements, which were called "shelters."

They are mostly located on the edge of the wasteland, with low levels of pollution, few mutated beasts, and low-level creatures, making them easy to clean up and relatively safe.

Many weaker females live in the shelter for a long time, relying on their male companions to earn points outside to survive.

After another day and night of fighting, the team finally arrived at their destination.

This shelter was very small, and the conditions were even worse than the one Shen Tang had stayed in in the polluted area. It probably only had about a hundred orcs, and it was not even as good as a small tribe in a remote area.

However, the orcs here are very strong, with almost none below the eighth rank.

This small group of people alone, if assembled into an army, could almost sweep across the entire Beast World continent.

Here, they are just a small group among the countless lowly civilians in the wasteland, the cheapest "consumables" on this planet.

Shen Tang appeared calm on the surface, but was inwardly deeply shocked.

If ordinary people at the bottom are this strong, how strong must the people at the top be?
She gained a clearer understanding of just what kind of adversary was opposing the Beast World Continent.

It was almost a miracle that the mainland was able to win that war.

Besides their strength, the alien beastmen on the road have another characteristic: most of them are very young, basically in their twenties or thirties, at the peak of their combat power, and very few are over forty years old.

Shen Tang asked instinctively, "What about the elderly people in the shelter?"

Yuna glanced at her as if she were an idiot, crossed her arms and sneered, "Where did this old woman come from? Once she's past her prime, nine out of ten of them die in the wasteland! Even if she's lucky enough to survive, she won't have enough points to exchange for food, and she'll just starve to death at home, or be thrown out by the shelter as trash or bait."

Bai Lei nudged her with her elbow, "Can you stop talking like you're about to explode? The captain already said that Xiao Fu has amnesia, it's normal that she doesn't know."

She turned to Shen Tang, her tone softening, "Yuna is right. It's very difficult for civilians to live to old age. Even if they don't die in battle, staying in the wasteland for too long will slowly mutate their bodies, turning them into those ugly mutated beasts... In fact, many of the mutated beasts we kill were originally beastmen. Most people can't stand that, so they often end their own lives prematurely."

At this point, a trace of sadness appeared in Bai Lei's eyes.

Yuna rubbed her arms and said indignantly, "Hmph, I'd rather die than become that kind of ugly thing!"

Zhai Chen, on the other hand, had an optimistic look on his face. He leaned over and said with a grin, "Not everyone is so miserable! We hunt hard to accumulate points, and one day we'll be able to change our fate!"

When he said this, everyone's eyes lit up, and even Qin Han showed a look of longing.

This seemed to be their only goal in their fight, their only hope of escaping the fate of ordinary people, and their most steadfast belief.

"Change my destiny?" Shen Tang was stunned, a strange feeling creeping over her. She was about to ask another question when Zhai Chen excitedly shouted, "Look! The leaderboard has been updated!"

Everyone looked up at the center of the shelter.

There was a huge projection screen displaying the [E-13 District Points Leaderboard], below which were the names of the orcs and a long string of numbers, which were their points.

The light screen ranks people from highest to lowest score, and everyone can see it clearly.

This is not just a ranking of this shelter, but a list for the entire region.

Qin Han's name was prominently listed, ranking 8th.

Bai Lei and the others also made the list, though their rankings were much lower. They were all very excited because their rankings had all improved.

All the orcs in the shelter stared at the constantly fluctuating rankings on the light screen, their expressions varied—tense, excited, annoyed, disappointed… but without exception, they all longed for a higher ranking.

If they can break into the top ten, their fate will be completely changed; this is the goal they strive for their entire lives.

Cole glanced at Shen Tang, then suddenly raised his voice, "By the way, I wonder what Miss Xun's ranking is? I don't see your name here."

Several pairs of eyes fell on Shen Tang at once.

She felt a pang of guilt and before she could think of anything to say, Yuna frowned and said, "Yeah, where's the bracelet on your wrist? What are you wearing? It looks like something from centuries ago."

She reached out and touched Shen Tang's personal terminal, looking puzzled.

Shen Tang quickly withdrew her hand, only then noticing that each of them was wearing a bracelet on their wrist.

She had no choice but to continue playing dumb, "What's the bracelet for? What happens if I don't wear it?"

Yuna's lips twitched. What an idiot!
She had initially suspected that the female's origins were unknown and that her amnesia might be feigned, but now that she saw that the female didn't even know about the points bracelet, she couldn't possibly be faking it to this extent.

She rolled her eyes and said, enunciating each word clearly, "These are 'points bracelets' issued to all commoner orcs by the higher-ups! They're used to tally points!"

“Someone assigns tasks through the bracelet. We can receive assignments and tasks through the bracelet. We can earn points by completing tasks, hunting mutated beasts, handing in resources, joining the army, etc.”

"Points can be exchanged for food, clean water, medicine... and even the right to reside in the 'purified zone'!"

As she spoke the last sentence, her tone changed: "If we could live in the purified zone, we would truly change our fate and rise to great heights!"

Shen Tang understood.

Clean zone.

So this is what they meant by "changing one's destiny".

Qin Han walked over and said, "If you lost your bracelet in the battle, I'll take you to re-verify your identity and get a replacement."

"No need," Shen Tang smiled apologetically. Verify her identity? That would expose her being an unregistered person. "The process must be quite complicated, and it will probably cost points! I don't have any special abilities right now, so I can't accept any missions. I won't trouble you."

Yuna's expression softened slightly. "Hmph, at least you have some self-awareness."

Bai Lei sighed helplessly, "Say less."

She turned to Shen Tang, "Xiao Fu, we're all friends, it's only right to help each other out. Think it over again, and if you want to get it done again, I'll go with you."

"Okay." Shen Tang nodded with a smile.

Seeing that she insisted, Qin Han did not force her any further.

The group continued walking towards the center of the shelter.

As they walked, Shen Tang asked Bai Lei, "Where do you end up handing over the points you earn?"

Bai Lei's tone suddenly became respectful, her eyes filled with longing, "All the points are handed over to the temple. It is the temple that generously provides us with supplies and food. They are the saviors of the common people, the most mysterious and greatest beings on this planet!"

As Shen Tang listened, the strange feeling in her heart grew stronger.

Bai Lei's condition is as if she has been brainwashed by some cult or pyramid scheme.

They keep saying the temple is generous, but in the end, the supplies are earned by the orcs through their own hard work. Isn't that just making the lower classes work for them?
But Bai Lei and the others seemed completely unaware of this.

Even Qin Han and the others showed great respect when they mentioned the temple.

It's easy to imagine how the other civilian orcs on this planet viewed the "temple."

Finally, they arrived at their destination, the round tower at the very center of the shelter, which was also the tallest building there.

The pure white marble palace is sacred and perfect, standing in stark contrast to the surrounding dilapidated and gloomy ruins.

When Shen Tang saw the pattern on the church door, she froze, her breath almost stopping.

A surge of anger and hatred swept through her body, her blood rushed backward, and she clenched her hands tightly, her nails almost digging into her palms.

The pattern on the door—

It is indeed the "hand of creation"!
Two parts combined, 4,000 words~

good night!