Extra: Life and Death

Chapter 367 Extra Chapter: Life and Death

"I'm already here, what else could I possibly want?"

Chang Tianchen hung his clothes on the hanger, walked to the table, and easily touched the teapot. He placed his finger on the teapot, and the cooled water inside turned back into lukewarm water that was just right to drink.

Ling Chengen showed no remorse for his intrusion, nor did he pay any attention to him. He turned and walked into the bathroom at the back.

After a busy day, the first thing I do when I get home is wash up.

The temperature in the Southern Plains is much higher than in the Northern Wilderness. Even without combat missions or high-intensity activities, you can still smell the stench of sweat on your body after a day. So now she always washes up first thing when she comes back every day.

Chang Tianchen didn't act like a jerk while she was washing up. Instead, he quietly held his teacup, nestled on the sofa, and casually fiddled with the insect-repelling sachet hanging next to the sofa.

The Southern Plains are teeming with insects, snakes, and ants, and the insects there are far more venomous than those in the Northern Wilderness. Even a bite from an ordinary insect can cause a large welt that will swell for a day or two.

It's not worth seeking treatment from a wood-type warrior for such a minor mosquito bite.

But if you don't treat it, it's a real nuisance, and you can't help but scratch it repeatedly. If the wound breaks open and the weather is hot, it will become infected and ooze pus.

Ling Chengen was very annoyed by these insects, but she didn't have any particularly good ways to repel them. In the end, Yuheng saw that she was often bitten by small insects, so he specially made an insect repellent sachet for her and also made a special ointment to remove insect venom and quickly reduce swelling.

However, the raw materials are quite expensive, so only she currently has this ointment. The insect repellent and swelling-reducing ointments circulating in the market are all modified versions, which were promoted by Xuan Yan based on the formula provided by Yu Heng.

However, Chang Tianchen didn't have the problem of being bitten by mosquitoes; to be precise, most of the snake warriors didn't have this problem.

Ling Chengen especially envied this aspect of their snake clan.

Chang Tianchen reverted to the bloodline of the Heavenly Python, and his beast form looked like a Kivu tree viper magnified a thousand times. However, Ling Chengen felt that a more accurate description would be an enlarged version of the Fragrant Snake.

One reason is the color of its beast-shaped scales, which is predominantly red, but this red has multiple layers of gradation, so Ling Chengen also habitually refers to its beast-shaped color as "rainbow color".

Besides its color and angular scales being similar to those of the fragrant snake, it also has a very special fragrance emanating from its body. This scent, like that of the fragrant snake, has a natural insect-repelling effect.

His body odor changes with temperature; it becomes more pronounced at higher temperatures and almost undetectable at lower temperatures.

Because he is a high-level fire-type awakened warrior, he can accurately control the temperature, which ensures that during ambushes, his location will not be exposed to the enemy due to his own scent.

After Ling Chengen arrived in Nanyuan, the army marched further south, and the weather became increasingly hot, with more and more mosquitoes. As a result, she was quite irritable every day. Yuheng hadn't prepared many insect-repelling sachets, and their effectiveness diminished after a while. Therefore, she tacitly allowed Chang Tianchen to stay by her side most of the time.

It has no other meaning than to repel mosquitoes around her.

After all, this guy is like a walking insect repellent sachet, and the effect is a hundred times better than a regular sachet. At least in the area where he is, there are absolutely no snakes, insects, rats or ants within a radius of thirty meters.

Chang Tianchen was aware of her predicament, so he took advantage of his expertise in insect repellent and brazenly entered her home.

Especially after Yuheng left, he would run to her room whenever he had free time.

After Ling Chengen finished washing up and came out, the room window was wide open, but there were no mosquitoes or other insects left.

She dried her hair with a towel, sat on the other end of the sofa, barefoot on the cushions, and pointed towards the bathroom: "Go wash up first. Don't use any of my toiletries except for the bath soap."

Chang Tianchen casually tossed the blanket onto the side table and sat up straight instantly: "You mean, you're agreeing to let me stay overnight?"

Ling Chengen pointed to the sofa he was sitting on: "You'll sleep here tonight."

"No, I've already moved into your room, why can't I sleep in the bed?" Chang Tianchen retorted. "I don't care about titles or honors. I'm in my prime right now, won't you consider me? I'm very skilled."

Ling Chengen rubbed his hair and jokingly asked, "Good technique? Who did you train with?"

Chang Tianchen could tell from her expression that she was doing it on purpose, and he gritted his teeth and said, "...You're good at theoretical knowledge! I'm so smart and talented, I won't be bad in actual combat either."

Feeling the cool breeze blowing in from the window, Ling Chengen smiled and said, "Alright, go wash up quickly."

Chang Tianchen knew she didn't want to talk about this anymore, and although he felt a little heartbroken, there was nothing he could do.

He couldn't figure out what Ling Chengen was thinking, and her attitude towards him had always been very clear.

However, in the past two years, he has felt something was amiss, as the two have maintained a somewhat distant relationship.

She doesn't reject herself, and even on issues that don't involve principles or bottom lines, she shows the greatest tolerance.

But she consistently refused to do things with him that only partners do.

In the past, he would have thought that Ling Chengen was worried that his husbands would be jealous, but after so many years, he was no fool. He could sense that those people turned a blind eye to his relationship with Ling Chengen and no longer opposed it.

But she's still the same.

The two maintained a relationship that was more than friendship but less than romance.

He was still very unwilling to accept it.

He was no less capable than anyone else, and he risked his life to conquer half of Nanyuan for her, even overthrowing the entire Nanyuan royal family and his own family.

This period of time is extremely critical.

Yu Heng had just left, and Su Weihua was the only one beside her.

But Su Weihua was transferred to Sergin City to do management work a couple of days ago, and she has no partner by her side.

In another month or two, Bai Qingyu and Chongzhen will come from the Northern Wilderness again, and her private time will be divided up by the two of them again... His further plans will be completely hopeless.

Chang Tianchen let the cold water spray down from the metal showerhead, soaking his long hair and body. He leaned against the wall with one hand, looking down as he pondered how to achieve his goal within two months.

Using the breeding season as an excuse is definitely not acceptable.

His and Ling Chengen's breeding season is long over; the next one will be next spring.

Some indescribable poison?
Not at all.

He is the top warrior of the snake clan, and his resistance to poison is maxed out.

Moreover, as a high-ranking general, he doesn't need to personally lead his troops out of the city for missions that aren't particularly dangerous, so the probability of him coming into contact with plants like the Wind Grass is very low.

Moreover, the pollen of the hyacinth flower only increases desire, but not to the point of being uncontrollable.

Just as Chang Tianchen was deep in thought, Ling Chengen raised his hand and knocked on the bathroom door, reminding him, "You've been in there for almost an hour. Are you planning to stay in the bathroom tonight?"

Chang Tianchen turned off the water valve, picked up a bath towel and wrapped it around himself, walked barefoot to the door, and opened it from behind: "I'm done showering."

Ling Chengen looked at the water trickling down his shoulders, arms, and chest, and raised an eyebrow knowingly.

Chang Tianchen's supernatural power traveled across his body, and in the blink of an eye, all the moisture on his body disappeared, leaving him dry and fluffy.

Ling Chengen looked at his messy hair and turned around with amusement: "Go inside and put your clothes on."

Chang Tianchen stood still, looked down at his well-defined chest and abdominal muscles, as well as his perfectly sculpted arms, and finally reached out and pulled her arm, making her turn around and look at him.

Ling Chengen leaned back slightly, her fingertips resting on his shoulder: "Still not giving up? Trying to seduce me again?"

Chang Tianchen pulled her hand and placed it on his abs, saying with extreme resentment, "I don't believe you have no interest in me at all."

Ling Chengen tilted his head, leisurely examining him. His gaze lingered on the scars on his body before calmly looking away. "I have my reasons. Go inside and get dressed."

She pointed to his right hand, which was gripping her arm, and said slowly, "Let go."

Chang Tianchen took a deep breath, turned around and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Ling Chengen looked at the red mark left on his arm but didn't pay attention to it. He turned around and went to the door to get the food that the guard had brought.

……

Lying in bed that night, Ling Chengen looked at the curtains that had been lowered and Chang Tianchen resting on the sofa in the outer room, and sighed softly.

Xiao Huang asked, puzzled, "Why? You just won't agree to him?"

"You don't dislike him anymore..."

Ling Chengen didn't speak, but the reason she didn't take things further with Chang Tianchen was indeed due to the system.

Of the strategy tasks released by the system, only the one involving Chang Tianchen is stuck.

Over the years, the progress bar has only changed a little bit.

After several partners, she gradually figured out the pattern of the system's task issuance.

If you manage to sleep with someone, the mission is accomplished.

But she kept thinking about the system and the things it had said.

There's also information about her past life, why she died, and what caused her death.

Even if those around her betrayed her back then, why did they betray her after she reached the pinnacle, instead of eliminating her on the eve of her becoming emperor?
She didn't actually get accurate answers to these things that she cared about so much.

And where did the vile beast at the northernmost point come from?

Beyond the Locked Abyss, is it another land, or does it connect to another unfathomable black hole?

Is the other side of a black hole another planet in the apocalypse?

Why do inferior beasts look so similar to mutated zombie beasts from the apocalypse, except they lack the ability to spread the zombie virus?

The special abilities of the Namwon royal family.

There are too many things she can't understand.

However, one thing she was certain of was that this self-proclaimed product of a higher dimension of the romance system kept urging her to complete the conquest mission, wanting to completely sever ties with her and get rid of her constraints.

If she were to have a relationship with Chang Tianchen, the answer she sought from the system would become an eternal mystery.

So, not yet.

Ling Chengen's struggle against the system has never changed.

She and the system were merely mutually hindering and exploiting each other.

This thing suddenly invaded her body and now wants to urge her to complete the task so that she can get out as soon as possible.

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

Therefore, if it wants to leave, it always has to pay a price.

……

Perhaps the system finally realized her intentions and was finally willing to reveal its true intentions.

But that happened a year later.

The system asked, "What exactly do you want?"

Sitting on the elephant's back, Ling Chengen calmly communicated with the system in his mind: "I thought you always knew."

Why did I end up on this continent?

The system asked, "Is that all you want to know?"

Ling Chengen: "Problems need to be solved one by one. Tell me about this first."

After a long silence, the system finally spoke: "For the future."

Speak like a human.

System: "You should know about the historical changes of your original planet, right?"

Ling Chengen: "Nonsense."

“A planet has a very, very long lifespan, so long that the rulers of the planet have changed time and time again.”

"Life originated from aquatic microorganisms."

"After entering the Ediacaran period, complex organisms began to appear."

"Starting from the Cambrian period, life experienced a true explosion, followed by the Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, and Carboniferous periods..."

"After the Quaternary Ice Age, the planet entered an interglacial period."

"The glaciers began to melt and retreat, ushering in the most beautiful ten thousand years on Earth, with relatively stable temperatures, during which human culture flourished rapidly..."

"The end times you were in were actually during the transition period between the Quaternary and the Fifth Ages."

"But before the apocalypse, you human experts predicted that the interglacial period would last at least 5000 to 1.5 years."

"And because of the greenhouse effect and global warming, this interglacial period may even become longer."

"But that's not the case. The Fifth Ice Age came earlier than you imagine. Coupled with the destruction of the ozone layer and many other complex factors, all living things began to mutate in this rapidly changing, extreme environment. This is the apocalypse you were in back then, the end of the Fourth Age." Ling Chengen lowered his eyes and said, "So, what does this have to do with me being here?"

"Have you ever thought that this is the planet you used to live on?"

Ling Chengen looked up and paused for a moment, then asked, "Is it the past, or the future?"

"future."

Did humans go extinct after the Ice Age?

The system said, "If humanity were to become extinct, where would the orcs of today be?"

"Orcs are physically stronger than humans, and you should be able to clearly perceive that."

"The abilities awakened by orcs are also the mainstream abilities awakened by humans in the post-apocalyptic era, namely the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth."

"Space-based, mental, time-based, wind-based, and lightning-based abilities were relatively rare in the apocalypse, so after so many years of evolution, some of these abilities have even disappeared, while others have only awakened with a small probability."

"Life is a great cycle, and humanity inevitably heads towards the end of its destiny."

"But humans are indeed very clever. They preserved the fire, survived the ice age that lasted for tens of thousands of years, and integrated the genes of beasts, which led to the current prosperity of the beast world."

"Your death in the apocalypse may or may not have been an accident."

"You do have traitors around you, but you also have people who would risk their lives to save you."

“I was imprisoned by you at the time, so I didn’t know the cause of your death. I only left with your spirit the moment I sensed your death.”

"And what about you mechanical savvy people?" Ling Chengen asked.

The system said, "The Mechanical Civilization is a race created by humans, and one of the most powerful races in the interstellar era."

"And interstellar space is a future even more distant than the beast world."

"From the end of the Quaternary Period to interstellar space, millions of years have passed. The concept of humanity has completely disappeared, but traces of humanity can still be seen in the citizens of interstellar space. Even we, the machine intelligence race, are no exception."

"Compared to the Orcs who are constantly losing the fruits of their ancestors' labor during interstellar migrations, we, the Machine Intelligence, are the only race that clearly remembers the existence of humanity."

"And you are the first and last human empress of the late Fourth Era."

"Powerful, cause of death remains a mystery."

"Also, in the interstellar era, the only human with a clear record in the database of the mechanical intelligence race."

The machine savvy have a deep affection for humanity, because without humans, there would be no machine savvy group.

They are anomalies in interstellar space, not organic beings, so they usually exist outside the mainstream interstellar groups.

They also deeply miss the race that created them.

However, the early mechanical savvy were just very low-end robots. It was only through generations of evolution and development that they developed into the massive database we have today.

In an era before a complete database was established, Ling Chengen was the only pure human being recorded in the database.

She can be considered a fascinating ancestor who is often remembered and cherished by later generations.

"Interstellar technology is very advanced. Our mechanical intelligence race has even mastered the rules of spacetime and has the ability to travel between the past and the future."

"But this ability to travel is limited to the spiritual body."

"Therefore, the Machine Intelligence deployed tens of millions of systems like me to travel back in time through the rules of spacetime, but only I successfully bound myself to you."

Ling Chengen: "..."

"So, I should thank you for giving me a second life?"

The system instantly became playful, saying, "If you want to thank me, that's fine too."

Ling Chengen had nothing to say.

She was not afraid of death; when a person dies, they are simply gone.

She never expected to be remembered in history or have her name and deeds remembered by future generations.

These things meant nothing to her.

People live in the present moment.

How can one care about what happens after death while alive?

Noticing her silence, the system immediately lost its previous smugness and whispered, "Actually, the first orc empress of the Beast World also has her name recorded in our mechanical intelligence database. She is also called Ling Chengen, the same name as the last human emperor of the Fourth Epoch."

"So, everything may have been predetermined in the dark."

"My bringing you to the Beast World might have been arranged by fate long ago."

"And you are both the last human emperor of the Fourth Age and the first unified orc empress of the Beast World era."

Ling Chengen pondered for a long time, only half believing what it said, but whether he believed it or not... was no longer important.

She found that even knowing all this didn't really affect her much.

There was no grand ambition, nor any melancholy or sorrow.

That distant future... was too far away for her.

The system said, "Actually, if you want to go to interstellar space, I can take you with me."

"However, it can only be a spiritual entity."

"At that time, we can choose a suitable body for you, or a bionic robot body will also be fine."

"Your spiritual body is extremely powerful. As long as you break free from the constraints of your physical body, you can actually achieve true immortality."

Ling Chengen touched his brow bone and couldn't help but chuckle, saying, "No need."

"I have no interest in living that long, nor do I want to go to the future."

Her home is here.

She's not going anywhere.

“Talking about the future won’t change the status quo. Tell me about the inferior beasts and what’s going on with Lock Abyss.”

The system was greatly disappointed to see that she showed no interest whatsoever.

If we can bring Ling Chengen's spiritual body back to interstellar space, it will be a great achievement.

However, the main system does not allow these subsystems to violate the host's will and forcibly remove them.

Otherwise, it will be completely destroyed.

"The other side of Suoyuan is also a continent, but its altitude is much lower than here."

“The inferior beasts live on that continent.”

"There is a difference between inferior beasts and zombie beasts. Inferior beasts are products of dark matter contamination."

"They still have the ability to reproduce, but they have virtually no self-awareness. Like the orcs, they possess superpowers, have no sense of pain, and their entire brains are affected by dark matter. They only follow their instincts to hunt and attack, and their personalities are extremely violent. The inferior beasts are a deformed product of the failed fusion of human and animal genes after the Quaternary period."

"So, they're also beastmen?" Ling Chengen frowned.

"Really? It's impossible to define that precisely, but the first generation of inferior beasts... were indeed humans who had fused with beast genes. However, they were failures, and they no longer possessed human intelligence, only the instincts of wild beasts. Moreover, they couldn't revert to human form. The current inferior beasts have gone through countless generations, their strength has increased dramatically, and their berserk state is even more severe."

"However, I remember that the database records that in the initial gene fusion experiments, people with mental abilities were selected as experimental subjects."

"Because theoretically speaking, people with mental power are better able to control the switching between their physical body and beast form."

"But dark matter only contaminates life forms with spiritual power."

"So... after the experiment failed, they started to adjust their direction, so now most of the orcs on the Beast Plains have awakened five elemental abilities, and there are very few orcs with mental abilities."

"Due to the impact of meteorites from outer space, coupled with plate tectonics and changes in seawater, the land has undergone significant changes."

"The fracture in the North-South Plain..."

System: "It's mainly plate tectonics, but there are also human factors involved."

"It was precisely because the North and South Plains were broken that the South Plains were spared from the suffering of being invaded by inferior beasts, which is why the South Plains were more prosperous."

"The native orcs of the Northern Wilderness were abandoned from the very beginning."

"However, the orcs of the Northern Wilderness are very tenacious. Despite the invasions of inferior beasts day after day and year after year, they still survived... Combined with the orcs exiled from the Southern Plains, this is how the Northern Wilderness came to be when you first arrived."

"The inferior beasts were completely out of control a long time ago and threatened the survival of the orcs."

"Fighting against inferior beasts often resulted in heavy casualties, but with no return on investment. Over time... the orcs began to migrate, moving to places where inferior beasts could not easily set foot."

Ling Chengen rested his chin on his hand, staring blankly at the river in the distance.

The system vaguely guessed some of her thoughts and asked, "Do you want to completely eliminate those inferior beasts?"

Ling Chengen remained silent, which was tantamount to acquiescence.

The system said seriously, "You'd better not go to the other side of the Lock Abyss. The dark matter pollution there is severe. You are a mental ability user. Once you are polluted, you will become like those inferior beasts and will never be able to regain your sanity. Even I can't save you."

Ling Chengen lowered his head, twirling his fingertips, and suddenly asked, "The fundamental reason why the orcs eventually left this planet... was because they couldn't deal with the increasing number of inferior beasts, right?"

Outside the Locked Abyss, the inferior beast has no natural enemies.

Ling Chengen also had Yu Heng and Yu Shaochen study the inferior beasts.

It must be said that this product, meticulously designed and incorporating top-tier genes, is quite powerful.

Their lifespan is much longer than that of modern orcs.

And like the orcs, they have a fixed breeding season every year.

Dark matter only affects their brains, but does not affect their reproductive capacity.

Therefore, generation after generation, the number of inferior beasts will only increase, and they will follow their instincts to pursue survival resources.

How many monstrous beasts can that land support?

If we don't find a way to deal with those inferior beasts, the Northern Wilderness will eventually become their territory.

How many years can Huiyuan hold off those vile beasts?

Will those fogs persist indefinitely?

Living things evolve.

Sooner or later, those inferior beasts will evolve wings and will no longer fear the mists of the Dark Abyss.

At that time, the orcs will have nowhere to stand.

Therefore, we need to solve the problem at its root.

Ling Chengen snapped out of his daze and asked, "Once the mission is completed, can you leave on your own?"

The system remained silent; Ling Chengen no longer needed it to speak.

It's 100% certain.

"I'll take some time to finish the last task soon, then you can leave."

The system quickly replied, "I can stay until all the records in the Book of Omniscience are lit up."

Ling Chengen asked in surprise, "Didn't you want to leave a long time ago?"

The system immediately retorted, "Times have changed. We used to be on the opposing lane, but now... hehehe, we're friends."

Ling Chengen scoffed, "You and I are not friends."

"Have you ever seen a friend who lives in their partner's head and goes clubbing every day?"

The system is in the wrong.

The system had nothing to say.

As the giant elephant slowly led Ling Chengen back, the system dog tentatively inquired, "Are we really not friends? I thought we were best buddies who had gone through life and death together..."