Chase Game

The sky was bright.

In the ruins of Dongshan Village, Ling Yi carefully searched every inch of scorched earth.

He was completely focused and showed no signs of fatigue.

If an ordinary person were to engage in such high-intensity activity for a day and a night, they would probably be so exhausted that they would collapse into bed long ago.

Even Zhang Qiang, after sending Meng Dong to the family meeting, went into hibernation.

It is Ling Yi who is able to achieve uninterrupted cycling thanks to the special effect of "Dead Trees Come Back to Life".

However, he stood up, straightened his back, and complained:

"This is a game for geniuses. Even robots need to be charged, but I'm charging while I work..."

Ling Yi has now realized that the skill 【Rejuvenation of Dead Trees】 is like a portable power bank.

However, this is not a perpetual motion machine; it can certainly keep him going for a day and a night without sleep or rest.

However, over time, the fatigue he experienced outweighed the recovery effect of the skill, and he still felt tired.

In short, "a withered tree blossoming again" is like a stimulant; it may work for a short time, but if used too often, it can lead to drug tolerance.

Of course, this side effect is nothing compared to its positive effects.

If low-cost mass production can be achieved, capitalists will buy it up like crazy and immediately put it on their production lines.

Having relieved his aching back, Ling Yi continued to plunge into the ruins.

After a round of searching, although no major discoveries were made, it wasn't a complete waste of time either.

He stood on a charred patch of land slightly towards the mountainside amidst the ruins, pondering:

"This area was burned the most severely; could the fire have originated here?"

"But judging from this layout, it doesn't look like there are any houses. Why is that...?"

Ling Yi circled the area again, but found nothing.

And without realizing it, he even yawned.

Realizing that the passive effect of "Withered Trees Rejuvenate" was no longer sufficient, he quickly used a skill proactively.

Unlike the passive effect "slowly charging", actively releasing this skill is like opening a floodgate, with water constantly flowing over the body.

Now, he remains conscious and feels full of energy.

As he himself changed, the external world also changed.

A ball of orange-yellow flame suddenly rose from the sky in the area in front of Ling Yi.

Something seemed to be encased within the flames.

At the same time, a system notification appeared.

The special storyline "Fire Making" is about to begin. You may obtain clues, items, and other rewards during this event. Do you wish to participate?

"Goodness, we came to the right place."

Ling Yi's lips curled up. How could he not go in?

We must go in hard!

Suddenly, a strong wind arose, the mountains and forests tilted, and the originally bright sunny day was covered by several layers of thick dark clouds.

Thunder rumbled from within the layers of dark clouds.

With a thunderous roar that seemed to tear the heavens and earth apart, rain began to fall.

Ling Yi also lost his sight at this moment, and everything went black. He only heard the system's last words:

[Player Ling Yi, you will witness the past.]

After a long period of darkness and chaos, Ling Yi's first sense of touch returned; he felt a large amount of rain hitting his face.

Then, my hearing returned, and I could hear the constant whooshing of wind and rain.

Finally, there was the visual aspect. He saw that in the chaotic, disordered dark world, a house still shone with a faint light, like a lighthouse.

"Oh no, my clothes are wet again."

Ling Yi shook his head, sighed helplessly, and then strode towards the only house with light.

He raised his hand to knock on the door, but his hand went straight through the door panel.

"You can feel the wind and rain, but you can't touch this wooden house?"

A big question mark popped into Ling Yi's mind.

He tentatively reached his hand in, and sure enough, it went straight through the door panel. Then, he stuffed his whole body inside.

After passing through the barrier, a mother and daughter came into view, embracing each other with worried expressions on their faces.

The girl looked to be about ten years old, with long hair draped over her shoulders, and she was clinging tightly to her mother.

Ling Yi felt a sense of familiarity upon first glance, as if he had seen her somewhere before.

Before she could think it through, the little girl asked anxiously:

"Mother, why haven't Father and my brothers come back yet?"

The woman, referred to as the mother, also wore a worried expression, but perhaps to comfort the little girl, she forced a smile.

"Don't worry, Fang. They'll be back when the rain lets up a bit."

The little girl pouted and whispered, "Afang hates the rain... Won't Daddy and the others be scared when they hear thunder on the mountain?"

The woman stroked the girl's long hair and said gently, "No, your father and brothers are all upright men."

"When they come back, we'll go to the county town to exchange the game for money, and we also need to buy candy for Afang."

"Ah Fang doesn't want candy, Ah Fang just wants her father and the others to come back safely!"

The woman hugged the girl tighter and said nothing more, only casting her worried gaze at the fierce wind and rain outside the window.

Ling Yi had some guesses in his mind: "This plot probably corresponds to the rumored secrets of the Meng family."

After all, they had just heard this rumor from Old Man Ge, so it was easy to associate this storm with the Meng family.

As if to confirm his conjecture, after a dizzying spin, Ling Yi was teleported to another place.

Seeing the cave with flames rising not far ahead, Ling Yi's gaze narrowed slightly.

"It seems that 'witnessing history' means letting me see the secrets of the Meng family with my own eyes."

"Alright, let me see what this so-called 'divine bird trade' is all about."

Ling Yi took a step forward and walked towards the cave that emitted a faint light.

As soon as he stepped into the cave, he saw a boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old running out of the darkness.

"Father, elder brother, I think I saw 'will-o'-the-wisps' when I peed!"

"What kind of will-o'-the-wisp?"

"Could it be the legendary ghostly fire that guides the ghostly soldiers?"

The three brothers talked in amazement, their eyes filled with curiosity about the will-o'-the-wisp, showing no fear whatsoever.

Ling Yi stood to the side, and the four members of the Meng family could not see him either.

So he borrowed their fire to warm himself while listening to their conversation.

After the three brothers discussed for a while, the middle-aged man, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up: "There are no ghosts or monsters... Even if there were, they wouldn't be here!"

"That's true... This place is said to be protected by the spirit of a divine bird..."

"I've never seen the divine bird appear..."

"Haha, maybe you'll answer if you call out twice?"

"Big brother, second brother is teasing me again!"

"..."

Ling Yi, who was standing to the side, could tell from their conversation that the group didn't actually have much respect for the so-called divine bird.

clap clap!

Two claps rang out, and the three brothers fell silent, turning their attention to the middle-aged man.

This is their father, the head of the Meng family.

He pulled a burning log from the fire, held it in his hand, stood up, and looked into the dark cave.

"Let's go take a look. I've never seen this cave before. We have nothing else to do, so it's good to explore it."

The head of the family had absolute authority, and none of the three brothers uttered a word of dissent; they all obediently followed behind their father.

Ling Yi also stood up and followed them inside.