The Bread is Gone

"Aaaah!"

A terrified scream echoed through the first-floor activity room of the Warm Children's Welfare Home.

A man dressed in a windbreaker pointed at a painting on the wall, his body trembling like a leaf.

On the canvas, a struggling humanoid silhouette had appeared against the background where the blue sky met the earth.

Judging by the build and clothing, it was clearly the companion they had just been talking to!

"What’s going on?" A woman nearby tried to reach out and touch the mural, but she was pulled back just in time.

"Don't touch it! Do you want to end up like him?"

"What the hell is happening? Why did this place suddenly become so dangerous!"

A man with a scar on his face growled, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

"I remember that as long as we played games with those child-like supernatural creatures and won, we could win the Demon Seeds from them."

"We clearly won just now. Why did that brat suddenly turn on us and suck him into the painting?"

"Why isn't he following the rules of the game!"

No one could answer that question.

The group was filled with trepidation, panic and unease written across every face.

Like many others who had swarmed into Orphan's Grudge, they were here in search of Demon Seeds.

Even though everyone knew that consuming a Demon Seed came with extremely severe side effects—essentially a form of slow suicide that would eventually turn the user into a supernatural creature—the rewards were too great to ignore.

On the black market, a single Demon Seed could be traded for wealth or supplies that an ordinary person couldn't earn in ten years.

Such insane profits were enough to tempt people to take risks.

Furthermore, the Orphan's Grudge supernatural domain was famous for being 'gentle.' Most of the supernatural creatures within it took the form of children.

While those children looked terrifying, they usually didn't seem to realize they were ghosts.

As long as you satisfied their requests, you could receive a Demon Seed as a gift.

Alternatively, you could win them by playing games.

The lucky ones would occasionally find Demon Seeds growing on the plants within the welfare home.

Some had even picked them up off the ground.

In the past, the greatest danger in Orphan's Grudge often came from other humans.

Teammates with ulterior motives would kill each other for greater profit. Backstabbing, betrayal, and murder for treasure were common occurrences.

Strictly speaking, the mortality rate for exploring Orphan's Grudge was actually quite high, but it was rarely caused by the supernatural creatures themselves.

But today, for some reason, this supernatural domain had suddenly become incredibly perilous.

It was as if a fierce beast had awakened from its slumber, baring its hideous fangs.

Their previous exploration experience was becoming useless.

"The supernatural domain seems to have undergone some unknown change," the calmest member of the team said in a low voice.

"We can't stay any longer, or we'll lose more people. Retreat immediately."

The others agreed.

No one objected, and no one thought about rescuing the companion trapped in the painting.

In a supernatural domain, self-preservation was the top priority.

Without hesitation, the group turned and sprinted back the way they came.

Similar situations were playing out all across the supernatural domain.

At the main gate of the welfare home, a person suddenly tripped. Turning around, they saw small footprints appearing in the dirt, as if an invisible child had tripped them.

Immediately after, something burrowed out of the ground and into their body to suck them dry. Their companion didn't say a word, simply grabbing the fallen person's backpack and running off alone.

Another team was walking across the playground. They had confirmed it was safe when they arrived.

But now, the hopscotch grid lines on the ground suddenly came to life, surrounding them and swallowing them whole.

In the hallways, the old speakers began playing an eerie nursery rhyme, and a rubber ball came rolling from the end of the corridor.

Sensing that something was wrong, many survivors immediately prepared to evacuate.

However, they discovered to their horror that they couldn't get out!

The sky grew darker and darker. The scenery in the distance was clearly visible, but they simply could not leave this abandoned town.

The distance seemed to become infinite; no matter how hard they ran, it felt like they were running in place.

"We're trapped!" the man in the windbreaker said, his face pale.

Yet, a strange feeling of 'this day has finally come' welled up in his heart.

A supernatural domain was never a benevolent place, and supernatural creatures could never harbor goodwill toward humans.

The previous 'gift-giving' mode of Orphan's Grudge had been extremely abnormal from the start.

In fact, most people knew deep down that there was no such thing as a free lunch.

If Demon Seeds could be easily found and taken out of the domain, it must be because some entity was intentionally spreading them.

It was like a classic scam: give a little sweetness first to make people lower their guard, and then there would surely be a massive trap later to reclaim everything with interest.

And yet, for that bit of sweetness, countless people still threw themselves into the fray.

They held onto the lucky thought that if they stopped in time, they wouldn't be consumed.

Demon Seeds were not good things. Spreading them in large quantities would surely cause disaster in the future.

But in these chaotic times, where tomorrow wasn't guaranteed, no one cared about a vague future.

Surviving today and grabbing the immediate profit was all that mattered.

...

Members of the Ark organization were lying in wait outside Orphan's Grudge, like a tiger waiting for its prey.

They waited and waited.

"It's already been two days. Why hasn't Yue Shi come out yet?" the bespectacled man asked, his tone agitated.

"Could he have died inside?" another person speculated, a hint of hope flashing across his face.

He had no desire to deal with Yue Shi at all; it would be best if the man really were dead.

The Ark Leader frowned. "Orphan's Grudge is a supernatural domain with a very low danger index. With Yue Shi's strength, how could he fail in such a place?"

"Boss, you never know. What if?" the bespectacled man said.

He didn't want a head-on conflict with a dangerous individual, so his words were all geared toward persuading a retreat.

"In the last two days, not only has Yue Shi not come out, but no one who entered the domain has come out either!"

"This is very abnormal. Perhaps the domain itself has undergone a mutation we don't know about and become more dangerous."

"Or maybe Yue Shi did something inside. He is quite the troublemaker."

Listening to the bespectacled man's rambling analysis, the leader's frown deepened.

"Let's wait a bit longer."

His voice carried a trace of reluctance; he really didn't want to give up such a good prize.

"Boss, a group of people is heading this way," a member on lookout duty warned in a low voice.

"By the looks of it, it's people from headquarters."

The Ark Leader's eyes sharpened, and then a glint of excitement appeared on his face.

If two fierce beasts clashed and both were injured, he might be able to take advantage of the situation!

...

"Is there anything to eat? I..."

Before Huang Fengjing could finish his sentence, Yue Shi had already pulled out a bar of chocolate and handed it to him.

Huang Fengjing's hand, which had been rubbing his stomach, froze for a moment.

Then he took the chocolate, skillfully tore open the packaging, and stuffed it into his mouth.

Mmm, it was made of vegetable fat; it didn't taste good.

"Have you two noticed anything unusual?" Yue Shi stopped and asked, a hint of solemnity in his brow.

Huang Fengjing shook his head and carelessly tossed the chocolate wrapper onto the ground.

A breeze blew, and the wrapper was swept toward a distant clump of grass.

The Ghost froze in place, thought for a few seconds, and asked in return, "Did you discover some kind of anomaly?"

Yue Shi nodded. "For some reason, I have a very strong sense of déjà vu regarding the current scene."

"Also, the bread is gone."

"Huh? What bread is gone?" The Ghost didn't react immediately.

"The supplies I stored in the extra-dimensional space. All the jam-filled bread is gone," Yue Shi said with a frown.

"If it's gone, it's gone. Just restock later..." the Ghost answered subconsciously.

At that point, he suddenly realized something and looked shocked.

Yue Shi analyzed calmly, "I remember checking before we came; there was a lot of bread left."

"But when I took out the chocolate for Old Huang just now, I suddenly found the bread was gone. Not a single piece left."

Their gazes both shifted to Huang Fengjing.

Huang Fengjing pointed toward the distant grass, about to say 'there seem to be footprints over there,' when he saw the two of them staring at him in unison. He jumped in surprise.

He swallowed his words and said sheepishly, "What's wrong with you guys?"

The Ghost ignored him and asked solemnly, "Could someone have invaded your extra-dimensional space?"

Yue Shi shook his head, dismissing that worst-case scenario. "There's no need to consider that."

"If someone could silently invade my extra-dimensional space, their strength would absolutely crush ours."

"We might as well lie down and wait for death right now."

"Besides, even if someone could invade it, why would they only take the jam-filled bread?"

At this point, Yue Shi's tone turned absurd.

The Ghost thought about it and had to admit Yue Shi had a point.

"True. Since only you can control the extra-dimensional space, if things inside disappeared, they must have been taken out and used by you."

"The problem now is that the bread is gone, but you don't remember taking it out, and we haven't seen you take out a large amount of bread either."

The Ghost proposed a hypothesis. "Could our memories have been interfered with or modified?"

But he quickly dismissed the idea himself. "No, no, that's basically impossible."

"Bypassing your defenses to silently modify your memory while also interfering with the memory of an information lifeform like me would be too difficult."

"Furthermore, if our memories were really modified, you shouldn't be aware that 'the bread is gone.' It doesn't fit the logic."

Yue Shi touched his abdomen. "The purpose of the bread is to satisfy hunger. But I don't feel like I've eaten a large amount of food."

"I couldn't eat all that bread alone, and you don't usually need to eat at all."

Their eyes fell on Huang Fengjing again.

Huang Fengjing felt his skin crawl under their stares. He didn't really understand their conversation and waved his hands frantically.

"I only ate that one piece of chocolate you just gave me! I'm still very hungry; I haven't eaten anything else!"

"If that's the case, then what exactly is going on?" The Ghost felt a wave of confusion.

He re-evaluated the clues.

→ All the bread stored in the extra-dimensional space has vanished.

→ Yue Shi has sole control over the extra-dimensional space.

→ Yue Shi does not remember taking out the bread.

→ No one present has consumed a large amount of bread.

→ The memory modification hypothesis has flaws.

The Ghost fell into deep thought, trying to find a rational explanation.

The golden vertical eye on Yue Shi's forehead had already opened, scanning the surroundings.

Within his Insight vision, he found no anomalous information.

Should he try Anticipation?

!!!

"I think I know where the problem is!"

Yue Shi's voice rose, filled with unprecedented gravity.

The future one second from now actually had many different images overlapping!

It was as if multiple different possibilities and future branches were occurring simultaneously.

Perhaps it wasn't a problem of space, nor a problem of memory.

But a time anomaly?

The Ghost looked at Yue Shi in confusion, waiting for a further explanation.

However, Yue Shi suddenly raised his hand, and the ravens circling in the sky all returned to his shadow.

He left only one, which landed on Huang Fengjing's shoulder.

"The two of you continue forward. Follow the original plan and investigate the Warm Children's Welfare Home."

As soon as the words left his mouth, before the Ghost or Huang Fengjing could respond, Yue Shi's figure vanished, retreating into his extra-dimensional space.

...

"Ugh, aaah!"

In the high-security sickroom of the Bureau Affiliated Hospital, The Resonant Daoist was groaning in a low voice.

The three wounds on his body had begun to throb with intense pain again.

It felt as if someone was smashing them with all their might; the pain made him want to bash his head against a wall and die!

Hate grew wildly in his heart; it was only hatred that kept him from collapsing.

He had been brought so low and lost all his dignity. If he didn't get his revenge, he wouldn't be able to close his eyes even in death!

As for regret?

Even if he had any, in the midst of such insane torture, it had all turned into hate!

"Where are they? Have you still not contacted him?" The Resonant Daoist roared in anger.

He really couldn't take the pain anymore and only wanted to contact Yue Shi as soon as possible to negotiate.

Revenge was for later; he had to stop the pain first.

The sickroom door was pushed open, and an assistant investigator walked in. He kept his head down, not daring to look directly at The Resonant Daoist, and said:

"Captain, we are temporarily unable to establish contact with Yue Shi."

"What? Why can't you contact him!"

The Resonant Daoist's face was full of anxiety.

"Yue Shi has entered a supernatural domain. It's been two days, and there's been no word from him."

"Ha?"

The Resonant Daoist froze. "You mean he's trapped in a supernatural domain?"

The assistant investigator nodded. "Based on the current situation, yes."

"And here I thought he was so damn impressive." The Resonant Daoist laughed in anger, and then a chill ran through his body.

If Yue Shi died in the supernatural domain, wouldn't the curse be permanent!

"Which domain did he enter?"

"Near the Fluorite Valley ruins, a place called Orphan's Grudge. The Action Department has already sent people..."

"Give me all the relevant data immediately."

"Yes, sir."

A moment later, the assistant investigator pulled up the intelligence report on Orphan's Grudge.

Enduring the agonizing pain, The Resonant Daoist scanned it quickly.

The more he read, the deeper his frown became.

The original Orphan's Grudge was dangerous enough, but later, a plant-type supernatural creature had moved in.

Most plant-type supernatural creatures were related to the Mysterious Garden.

Nothing that came out of the Mysterious Garden was simple.

Knock, knock, knock.

The door was tapped, and before The Resonant Daoist could respond, the person outside walked in brazenly.

It was a short man with dark skin and a rugged face, his features displaced in a provocative way.

In short, he was ugly.

Uniquely ugly.

"You go out. I want to have a private chat with him," the man said to the assistant investigator.

The assistant investigator immediately bowed and left.

"What are you doing here!" The Resonant Daoist's tone was vicious.

"I heard you've been having a miserable time lately, so I came specifically to see."

The man smiled and, without warning, reached out and flipped back the thin blanket covering The Resonant Daoist.

"Fuck! You piece of—"

"Hahaha! So it really did rot off down there~"

The Resonant Daoist's face turned beet red, and he trembled with rage.

But the man pushed even further.

"Tsk, tsk, what a pity. I wonder how heartbroken those little girls who had crushes on you would be~"

"If they don't mind, I suppose they could still make it work."

"Oh, I almost forgot. Eunuch companionship is off the table."

"Sword, to me!" The Resonant Daoist shrieked, his shame turning into fury.

Shink!

A long sword pierced through the wall, its tip pointing directly at the man's throat.

"I have a way to help you get rid of the curse," the man said unhurriedly.

The long sword stopped abruptly mid-air. The Resonant Daoist's eyes lit up, and he instantly tossed all his indignation aside.

"The method is just a bit... wicked."

"I don't care! As long as it works!"