Proofreader & Editor: Lotas
Tomorrow I must leave home and return to the city where I work.
Lu Yao didn't want to sleep too early.
It's strange to think about it. Before coming back, he had wanted to find an excuse not to go home for the New Year, to avoid the marriage pressure and nagging at home. But after returning, he found himself reluctant to leave so soon.
Compared to his cold, rented apartment, home was much warmer and comfortable, where he lived a carefree life with meals provided.
But Lu Yao was certain that if he stayed at home too long, he would want to escape again.
Humans are such contradictory creatures.
On the last night, Lu Yao decided to spend his time with his energy staff.
He poured himself a cup of instant coffee and looked at the Simulator.
***
Since entering the Transcendent era, the pixelated people had become especially active. This enthusiasm was evident in their thirst for knowledge and their exploration of the Transcendent world.
More and more little people enrolled in the Puzi Theological College, prompting the college to expand further and even establish its first branch in Salt City.
The number of people who passed the exams to become official scholars was still small, but it allowed many to receive more general education, indirectly raising the cultural level of the pixelated people.
On the other hand, more and more people began to venture into areas inhabited by Transcendent beings.
This led to a spike in the death rate of believers, and the population growth rate in the top right corner slowed down.
Lu Yao saw it with his own eyes.
Several little people sneaked into the volcanic region created by Aegir's Fire, whether they intended to cross it or enter the volcano itself. They were attacked by fire elementals with strong territorial instincts, and were annihilated in an instant.
On the northern continent, bold hunters formed teams to hunt down isolated and weak ice giants. The result was a desperate flight from the giants, with heavy casualties.
In the south, there were adventurers trying to capture little sprites with nets and clay jars.
The sprites had a sense of each other and would immediately call for help at the slightest sense of danger, resulting in the adventurers being captured instead. Captives could ask their relatives to pay a sum of money for their freedom; those who couldn't afford it had to work for the sprites in the south, planting fruits and vegetables as atonement…
While Lu Yao was observing the lives of the pixelated people, Isabella suddenly sent an alarm.
"Sir, an abnormal creature has been detected."
Isabella rode her magic staff to the sky above a cave south of Sanilo.
Inside the cave mouth was a mosaic blur.
Lu Yao frowned.
Anomalous interference?
The mosaic inside the cave slowly writhed and began to emerge, revealing itself to be a level 12 sandworm. For some reason, it occasionally became mosaiced, flickering in and out of visibility.
Lu Yao used the True Sight Curse.
In addition to an "Anomalous Interference" entry, the sandworm also had the title of "Outlier."
This made Lu Yao feel a bit regretful.
The last "Outlier," Fabiani, became an archaeologist and contributed to the establishment of the Museum of Wonders.
An Outlier sandworm might also evolve into something promising.
Unfortunately, for safety and stability, it had to be handed over to the cleaners.
Just as Lu Yao was about to open his inventory to summon a hamster, he suddenly noticed a small blue creature next to the sandworm.
It was a little fish person named "Fishgurgle," only 14 years old, carrying a barrel on its back.
Fishgurgle carefully touched the rough body of the sandworm, and a dialogue box appeared above its head.
"You have to work hard, pull that thing out, and once you do, you'll be back to normal. Come on, Shack, you can do it!"
It dragged over another barrel and dumped its contents onto the ground.
The barrel contained a mix of yellow and green paste.
"Eat up, hurry, eat this and you'll be able to get it out!"
"I spent a lot of time collecting the excrement of the corrupters, urine of cows and sheep… After mixing these, squeezing in the juice of sour tree berries and honey, it makes the best laxative and emetic! When fish people get food poisoning, we use this, it's very effective."
Even as an observer, Lu Yao felt the pressure from that pile of pixels.
And how was this formula discovered?
The sandworm, "Shack," had an expression of sweating above its head, its body trembling.
But in the end, it braced itself and started to consume the substance on the ground.
As its body trembled, the sandworm vomited a large amount of stuff, including many stones, shells, and wood chips.
"It seems the quantity wasn't enough."
The little fish person said, "Next time I'll bring more excrement!"
The sandworm vehemently shook its head in opposition.
After hesitating, Fishgurgle opened the barrel on its back and scooped a spoonful of liquid to feed the sandworm.
Immediately, a dialogue box appeared above the sandworm: "No, no, no!"
"Shack, don't be stubborn."
Fishgurgle complained, "If you don't get that thing out, you'll keep being sick. You're the one who ate all sorts of strange things. Once you're better, we can go on adventures outside."
It seemed the two were good friends.
Lu Yao decided to wait and see.
If the "Anomalous Interference" was just a result of accidental ingestion, then removing the object might restore the rare "Outlier" sandworm to normal.
Suddenly, Lu Yao remembered he had a subordinate who might be able to perform the operation.
He immediately summoned Phileas.
After observing the situation, Phileas said, "Lord God Yao, if it's just about removing an object stuck in the sandworm's belly, then the bone worms should be able to handle it."
Upon Phileas's arrival, both the little fish person and the sandworm's heads lit up with exclamation marks.
"King of Bones, Lord Phileas!"
"God is merciful, I come on behalf of Lord God Yao to help you with your troubles."
Fishgurgle's head popped up with a smiley face: "That's great! Thank you, Lord God, thank you, Lord Phileas!"
The sandworm also bowed its head in gratitude and humility.
Then, Phileas's arm turned into a mass of bone worms, burrowing into the sandworm's gaping maw. The sandworm's body trembled slightly, seemingly in pain.
Soon, a mosaic-covered sarcophagus was lifted out of the sandworm's mouth.
As the sarcophagus was removed, the sandworm immediately became more relaxed and agile, and the "Anomalous Interference" entry on its panel disappeared without a trace.
The last time Lu Yao saw a sarcophagus in the pixel world, it contained Isabella.
This made him very cautious.
Under the True Sight, the sarcophagus revealed a digital panel.
"The King's Immortal Sarcophagus": A treasure forged by the Rose Kingdom, it allows the king within the sarcophagus to sleep undying and incorruptible until the day of awakening.
"Anomalous Interference"
A relic from the era of the Rose Kingdom, with a king inside?
Lu Yao was intrigued.
Isabella and Phileas tried in turn, but they were unable to open the sarcophagus. The item itself was imbued with "Anomalous Interference," turning it into a special substance that was unusable.
So, Lu Yao had no choice but to use "Friendship of the Cleaner" and ring the bell to summon.
Moments later, the figure of a hamster appeared on the ground.
It scampered over to the sarcophagus and began to gnaw. In no time, the entire sarcophagus was devoured, revealing a pink rose inside.
The Simulator displayed.
【The Cleaner has given you a gift."
"The Cleaner hopes you will continue to help it find related items, and it will give you gifts in gratitude.】
The hamster scampered away.
A new item icon appeared on the game interface.
It was a black pellet.
"The Cleaner's Excrement": A high-quality fertilizer nurtured by the Cleaner after devouring countless anomalies, irresistible to any plant.
A special substance formed by the power of rules, it cannot be enhanced.
A premium lump of fertilizer?
Not bad.
This will come in handy for cultivating plant-based Transcendent species in the future.
Lu Yao stored it in his inventory.
Just then, the pink rose on the ground suddenly turned into a cloud of pink mist, taking the form of a man in pink armor with curly hair.
"Why can't I see a single rose here…"
The man looked around, a dialogue box popping up above his head.
The people around just looked at him with question marks.
"Ladies and gentlemen."
The man inquired, "Where is this place? How far is it from the Rose Kingdom?"
"Ah! You are… the legendary Forest Witch, Lady Isabella Seroli!"
"I've seen your likeness in the court paintings, you look exactly the same, I've never met you, but I've heard of you."
The pink man bowed to Isabella.
"I am Pinkman III, the forty-sixth king of the Rose Kingdom."
Isabella had no recollection of this name, but she informed him of the current situation.
Pinkman's head popped up with an exclamation mark: "The Rose Kingdom has been destroyed? My queen, my children, my subjects…"
He murmured, "So the Immortal Sarcophagus only allowed me to survive alone."
"What audacity, to conspire to deceive a king…"
The resurrected king fell silent.