Chapter 48: The Descent of the Evil God part 1
Luo Shizhen wanted to be a chef, and not just because it was the career path the teachers at No. 3 High School had mapped out for him.
There was an old saying: “Children from poor families love to eat.”
This trait had always been very prominent in Luo Shizhen.
Since he was a child, he loved to eatâthree meals a day, snacks, wild fruits. As long as it was edible, he loved it. Moreover, he had a massive appetite, as if he could never get enough.
When he and Chu Xiao went out to play as kids, Chu Xiao would catch small fish. Luo Shizhen, who was usually clumsy at everything, would actually handle the small fish with some skill and then grill them to eat.
Chu Xiao thought the fish were too small and feared that grilling them on tree branches was unhygienic and would cause diarrhea. But Luo Shizhen had an iron stomach; he ate every bit cleanly every time and never had a single stomach ache. After finishing, he could act as if he hadn’t eaten at least several large bowls of rice when he got home.
It really hadn’t been easy for Grandma Luo to raise Luo Shizhen. After all, not every family’s child was as voracious as he was.
According to the auntie next door, Luo Shizhen had been even more of a glutton when he was a toddler. Back then, when he was still waddling, he would follow Grandma Luo out, and if he saw a blade of grass on the road, heâd pull it up and stuff it into his mouth.
Supposedly, there was one time when the neighborâs younger son was placed with him to sunbathe. Grandma Luo had prepared a large pile of dried sweet potatoes for him. The neighborâs son picked up one to eat slowly, but before he could even finish the one in his hand, Luo Shizhen had already polished off the entire pile.
After finishing, he was probably still hungry. He turned around and bit the neighborâs sonâs arm, scaring the poor boy into wailing.
The neighborâs aunt didnât think a few-year-old toddlerâs teeth could have much strength and was just laughing, but Grandma Luo quickly pulled him away and scolded him for the first time, making the neighborâs aunt feel quite embarrassed.
However, as Luo Shizhen and the neighborâs son grew up, this incident became a funny childhood anecdote. Sometimes, seeing Luo Shizhen walking while eating something, the neighborâs aunt would bring it up as a joke, saying she could tell from a young age that he was a foodie, and sure enough, he was still just as greedy as an adult.
Luo Shizhen was initially a bit embarrassed.
But Grandma told him that being able to eat was a blessing, and that he enjoyed more blessings than others; it was a form of Fuqi.
Luo Shizhen thought about it and agreed. He was stronger than others, and it was likely because he loved to eat.
Having a good constitution and great strength was also a merit.
Even if his grades were poor and his mind was slow, such a healthy body allowed him to get sick less often, saving money on hospital visits, and enabled him to do physical labor, like carrying bricks.
At school, he basically had no expenses. Half of the pocket money Grandma gave him was saved, and the other half was all spent on buying delicious food.
So now, when the voice in his heart told him that there were deep-fried prawns made by Master Wang ahead, Luo Shizhenâs mouth watered uncontrollably.
“It smells so good, I really want to eat…”
This smelled far better than any meal or snack he had ever eaten. Before, he thought spicy strips were the pinnacle of delicacies, but compared to this scent, spicy strips could only be called the second-best.
Lu Qiujin frowned, took a spray bottle from his equipment bag, and lightly sprayed it toward Luo Shizhen.
“How is it? Do you still want to eat it now?”
Luo Shizhen didnât understand why, but he nodded earnestly: “I do.”
Lu Qiujinâs brow furrowed. He carefully grabbed Luo Shizhen’s arm and said seriously:
“It seems there are Gu insects here that can cause hallucinations.”
He hadn’t smelled anything; he only felt that the sounds of these Gu insects were very piercing.
Although they were just small Gu, there were many of them. Their collective shrill screeching made Lu Qiujin feel quite irritable.
Wen Hu also suddenly leaned in, using his large tiger head to concernedly check if anything else was wrong with Luo Shizhen.
He opened his mouth to ask, but what came out was a roar.
Just as he was about to observe closely, he suddenly felt a gale flashing from behind.
Wen Hu looked like he had no brains.
And in truth, he usually didn’t like to use his brain much.
But the aggressiveness of an Atavism-type Awakener was always dialed to the max, even if he was still in the Initial Awakening stage.
Wen Hu didn’t even look back. The massive golden tiger charged backward instead of evading, his sharp tiger claws instantly shredding the large Gu insect that had lunged forward.
Wagging his tail majestically, he looked down from above at the young man whose figure was revealed after the Gu insect fell.
Without giving the opponent a chance to react, Wen Hu let out a roar and pounced. Cheng Yunshao’s puppet followed suit immediately.
The middle-aged man saw things were going south and tried to flee. A vine flew out from Lu Qiujin’s sleeve, snagging his feet. He turned and pulled out a handgun, but a vine pierced through his palm. With a scream of pain, he threw something at the group.
Qin Yinian had been looking for a chance to strike. Now, seeing something flying toward them, he directly raised his hand, intending for a ball of fire to meet and incinerate it.
However, when the fire was inches away from the object, he sensed something was wrong.
That clump of things was like a swarm of Gu insects covered in Pollution. Pollution could penetrate anything. His fire could burn the Gu, but it would definitely be contaminated by the Pollution, which would then quickly infect Qin Yinian as its owner.
But everything happened in a flash. Qin Yinian didnât have much combat experience, and it was too late to withdraw the flames now.
Just when he thought he was in for a stroke of bad luck, a ball of white light beat the fire to it, enveloping the Pollution-ridden Gu.
In an instant, by the time the fire arrived, the Pollution around the Gu was gone, and they were successfully burned to ashes by Qin Yinianâs flames.
Qin Yinian was stunned and instinctively looked at Luo Shizhen in front of him.
Luo Shizhen had slight beads of sweat on his forehead. Previously, he had only been able to remove Pollution after physical contact with people.
Just now, seeing that Qin Yinian was about to be polluted, he had instinctively wanted to help Qin Yinian remove that mass of black Qi.
Unexpectedly, he actually succeeded.
Removing Pollution from a distance for the first time made Luo Shizhen’s heart throb. With sweat on his forehead and his eyes slightly moist from nervousness, he looked toward Qin Yinian.
Seeing Qin Yinian staring at him blankly, he instinctively smiled at him.
“Are you okay?”
Meeting Luo Shizhenâs smile, Qin Yinianâs mind wasn’t as panicked when he discovered the Pollution as it was now.
He naturally knew that Luo Shizhen hadn’t been able to use this move before.
How did he suddenly learn it?
Was it to save him?
He had thought that Luo Shizhen didn’t like him very much.
“IâI’m fine.”
Qin Yinian wasn’t the type to keep his thoughts hidden. While using his flames to deal with the Gu insects crawling up quickly, he asked Luo Shizhen:
“I thought you didn’t like me!”
Luo Shizhen was a bit dazed by the sudden question: “I don’t.”
He had completely forgotten about the time Qin Yinian wanted to be friends with him, only for him to flatly refuse.
Mainly, when Luo Shizhen refused, he didn’t have any negative thoughts about Qin Yinian; it was just a simple rejection, so he didn’t immediately make the connection.
He raised his brick and smashed it down hard on the small Gu insects, then heard Qin Yinian say:
“If you don’t dislike me, then you must like me?”
Luo Shizhen thought Qin Yinianâs logic was truly peculiar.
“The way you talk is so strange. Why do I have to either like you or dislike you? Is it not okay to just treat you as an ordinary classmate?”
“And stop talking. We are currently in combat. You should be serious right now. Youâve already violated the regulations.”
Qin Yinian: “…”
Fortunately, he was already used to Luo Shizhenâs blunt way of thinking. He wasn’t hurt and honestly continued to fight the small Gu insects coming from all directions.
Cheng Yunshao let his puppet do the fighting while he freed himself up to survey this small underground space.
Though it was called a small space, it wasn’t small at allâafter all, that giant python had come from here.
Lamps were lit all around, there were traces of small Gu insects molting on the ground, and the air held a scent of decay and mold. In the center, a high platform had been built. Around the platform, candles flickered gently in the dark cavern.
Something wasn’t right.
Cheng Yunshao operated another puppet to quickly step onto the high platform. This puppet was a Clear-Sight puppet; its eyes were equivalent to his own, and it was generally used for scouting.
Seeing the puppet trying to ascend the platform, the other Gu insects ignored the others and swarmed forward in a desperate attack.
Luo Shizhen hurriedly rushed over, one brick strike after another.
Cheng Yunshao shouted again: “Help out!”
Lu Qiujin and the others also followed immediately. The center of the battle instantly shifted to this high platform.
Amidst the chaotic fight, the puppet reached the platform. Cheng Yunshao kept his eyes closed while operating it.
Ordinarily, he wouldn’t do thisâgiving up his own vision for the puppet’s perspective. If something attacked his surroundings right now, he likely wouldn’t be able to react at all.
One must know that Puppeteers were famously “glass cannons,” especially in the early stages of awakening. Otherwise, Cheng Yunshao wouldn’t have been stabbed before.
But now, perhaps it was because everyone had developed some camaraderie along the way, or maybe it was because Luo Shizhen was right beside him.
If there was danger, someone with Luo Shizhen’s personality would surely warn him.
Cheng Yunshao hadn’t even realized that he had unknowingly developed some trust in Luo Shizhen. He just seriously focused on operating the Clear-Sight puppet with his eyes closed.
The Clear-Sight puppet was a small five-foot-tall thing. Though its combat power wasn’t as good as the previous giant puppet, it was much faster. With the help of his teammates, it lightly shook off the swarming Gu, made a sudden dash upward, and buried its head directly into the wooden box placed on the platform.
âCrack.
The next second, the Clear-Sight puppetâs head was snapped off.
Cheng Yunshao snapped his eyes open. Enduring the stinging pain in his eyes, he shouted loudly: “Retreat, quickly!”
“That’s an altar! They are summoning an Xieshen!”
An XieshenâEvil Godâwas also a type of Anomaly.
Similar to the Pen Spirit, they guided humans to exchange sacrifices for benefits, but Xieshen were very unreasonable.
Some followers said they wished for power and wealth. The Xieshen would let the person be wealthy for about a week, then come to kill them and absorb their soul.
Some followers learned from the mistakes of those before them and specifically specified how many years they wanted to be wealthy. So, the Xieshen turned them into a vegetable; their soul was eaten, but the body remained in a hospital bed enjoying VIP patient services.
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