Poverty makes me capable of anything.

hum-

Those "vessels" flashed once, and the heart contracted and expanded accordingly.

"There's actually a heart in a place like this!"

An Ran's eyes widened.

"We're just 1% away from reviving."

Maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after, maybe a month from now. In any case, if that prophecy is true, an incredibly powerful BOSS is about to be born!

"If we destroy this heart now..."

A crazy idea began to form in An Ran's mind.

This would completely throw the game's plot off course.

but……

An Ran had an even bolder idea in her mind.

Take control of the story!

Chapter 16 My lord, there must be something fishy about this.

After successfully navigating version 2.0, Anran is now not much different from the countless NPCs used to fill in maps and storylines.

If she doesn't take the initiative, it's highly unlikely she'll receive any quests from the game.

This is quite normal; a player who spends all day lying around looking at the scenery is completely disconnected from quests.

Gazing at the enormous heart that was constantly expanding and contracting before her, An Ran's thoughts raced wildly, and a still-developing plan began to emerge in her mind.

Before this, she had always played the role of a disruptor, even in her home version, she did the heavy lifting.

Although it hasn't reached the point where it's all for nothing, we're still living in constant fear.

just now.

A new storm has emerged.

This heart is definitely closely related to the main storyline of version 3.0.

Although it is unclear what connection it has with the Crimson King, it is currently under Anran's control.

Anran felt a powerful force in this heart, but this force was still under her control.

"If we just destroy it like this, even though it might force the main quest to be cut off, it would still be such a waste."

Instead of being a destroyer, take control of the plot yourself!

However, all of this is still just speculation and needs to be verified gradually.

She steered the probe toward the location of the heart.

Just as the probe was about to reach the vicinity of the heart, the thick, intertwined "blood vessels" next to it suddenly began to twist.

Countless tiny blood vessels shot out from the wall of the tube.

The detector did not move.

Because it knows those blood vessels aren't coming towards it.

Taking drastic actions at this point could potentially lead to a complete breakdown in relations.

hum-

With that heart as the core, a crimson light shone through all the blood vessels.

The mechanical detectors did not detect anything unusual, but those standing in the Red Demon Clan's forbidden area noticed that something was wrong.

In that magma pool, which was two meters in diameter, the lava began to churn and roar.

The flaming sword standing in the very center suddenly shone brightly.

The crimson light was so intense that it made people instinctively close their eyes.

Fortunately, An Ran was wearing supplementary glasses, and the light did not affect her in any way.

All I could hear were screams.

"What happened?"

"Oh no, is this place going to collapse?"

"The spirits of our ancestors have been disturbed!"

"The noise is coming from underground."

An Ran saw the sword slowly float into the air, with a bright pillar of fire trailing below it.

At this moment, red light also appeared in the coffins surrounding the forbidden area.

An invisible energy flowed from the coffin and eventually extended to the sword.

After being purified by some unknown entity, this power followed the pillar of fire into the lava.

Then, through the detector's perspective, Anran saw those "blood vessels" flash once more.

"It's absorbing the power contained within these corpses!"

An Ran understood immediately.

All the powerful ancestors of the Crimson Demon Clan were buried here after their deaths.

This heart has been secretly absorbing for who knows how many years.

It seems that the Crimson Demon Clan is completely unaware of this matter, and the prophecy circulating within their race is also quite problematic.

An Ran didn't believe it was a coincidence.

If it's a coincidence, how do you explain this sword?

Without this sword, the heart would not be able to absorb the energy that would dissipate over time.

When the tremors stopped, the scholars who found nothing unusual in the forbidden area breathed a sigh of relief.

If An Ran's arrival causes the forbidden area to collapse, even if he is highly respected within the clan, he will be punished, and he will not be able to get over his own conscience.

"This sword."

An Ran suddenly pointed.

"What's wrong with this sword?" the scholar asked, puzzled.

"Who put it here, and what is its purpose?"

The scholar replied, "This sword was placed here when the forbidden area was first built. I remember it was a model made by a famous blacksmith ancestor."

"Model?"

"Didn't you notice that this sword is exactly the same as the sword held by the Pillar God outside? This sword is a model of the Pillar God's sword, just for decoration," the scholar explained. "Lava has a very high status among our Crimson Demons, and the Sword in Fire is also the most common weapon among our Crimson Demons."

An Ran nodded secretly.

She discovered that the older members of the Crimson Demon Clan were very dissatisfied with her.

It seems they believe the tremor was caused by her, which is indeed true, but An Ran will not admit it.

"Let's leave here first," An Ran said.

The scholar asked, "Didn't you find the King of the Crimson Lotus?"

An Ran shook her head: "No, there are actually some clues, but there's no rush."

The heart had just become anxious, wanting to absorb more energy for its own use.

But not enough.

That 1% doesn't seem like something that can be easily filled.

Anran plans to come over alone later.

If she were to jump directly into the lava now, the Crimson Demon Clan would definitely stop her.

An Ran didn't intend to cause any further trouble until she figured out what the heart's attitude was.

The group returned the way they came.

After finding that An Ran was unharmed, Zhou Jieyu breathed a sigh of relief.

Anran is her guarantee of happiness.

If it weren't for An Ran, she wouldn't know when she would be able to leave this sweltering, godforsaken place.

"I'm so miserable!"

On the way back to Red Maple Fortress, Zhou Jieyu followed behind An Ran, constantly muttering complaints in her voice.

After what just happened, most of the Crimson Demon Clan now suspect that Zhou Jieyu is not the true ancestor.

"Hey, Lady Anran, let me tell you, I got flattened twice by these barbarians as soon as I arrived. It was awful."

"..."

Lin Yumo silently followed Zhou Jieyu.

She can't learn this technique.

Zhou Jieyu also had her reasons.

She discovered that even after all this time, her 62 points of affection with An Ran hadn't dropped.

With this level of goodwill, she could barely be considered Anran's friend.

She's so smart; she built up her popularity early on.

Given An Ran's current status and strength, it's practically impossible for her to raise her favorability rating to over 60.

“Oh, right,” Zhou Jieyu suddenly said, “the combat suit I bought in the Time-Space Pipeline last time was also destroyed and turned into pieces, and these people have no intention of compensating me at all.”

As she spoke, she took a bag out of the subspace box, which contained the "corpse" of the combat suit.

"..."