Chapter 149

Chapter 149

The name "Land of Loss" was a spontaneous creation by Shen Yi. From Yue Feng's posts, the place he was stranded in was barren and desolate, far from habitable. "Land of Loss" seemed a perfectly fitting name.

As for the special effect of the title "Lost Child," it granted a random chance to resurrect on the spot. This meant that upon death, the player had a probability of reviving for free.

This title was permanent. Unconditional resurrection would severely disrupt the game's balance; thus, the "chance to resurrect" depended entirely on the player's luck, with all interpretations falling under Shen Yi's authority as the designer.

Shen Yi instructed the system to increase Yue Feng's current resurrection probability to nearly 100%.

He was also curious to see if his player could unearth any surprises from this one-in-a-million accident.

Meanwhile, Yue Feng had been stranded in this godforsaken place for three days.

Vast expanses of barren land stretched before him, the terrain flat and unobstructed. The sky was shrouded in thick, dark-red clouds, casting everything in a dim, hazy, bloody light. The air was dry and biting, carrying an indescribably strange odor. The ground was soft and sandy, easy to sink into if one wasn't careful. Yue Feng rarely landed, spending most of his time flying mid-air to scout the area.

By now, he had mapped out a significant portion of the area, which appeared as a narrow, illuminated trail on the map—like a snail's path—though in reality, it was already a fairly large region.

When he first teleported here, he thought he had triggered a hidden storyline and excitedly explored everywhere. But after three days, he still hadn't encountered any living creatures.

In this endless desolation, not a single plant grew, nor were there even any insects.

The surroundings were eerily silent; he could only hear the beating of his own heart. Everything here felt devoid of life, as if time itself had stagnated—a cage abandoned by the world.

After arriving here, most of the game's functions were restricted. Fortunately, he still had the forum to kill time. His help-seeking posts were filled with teasing and mockery from those bastards, with all sorts of comments.

Some said he'd encountered a game bug and told him to search carefully, as he might find a surprise. Others advised him to simply commit suicide and respawn at the revival point.

Yue Feng had a gut feeling that even if he died and respawned, he still wouldn't leave this place. It felt like a prison.

By now, *Bugs World* had been online for over half a year. The outside world had many speculations about this strange and mysterious game. Having played it for so long, Yue Feng was seventy to eighty percent certain that *Bugs World* was not just a simple game, though he reserved a sliver of doubt out of respect for his long-held materialistic worldview.

He was a firm adherent of the "real world" theory, convinced that *Bugs World* was a real and existing world.

In a real world, there were no such things as bugs. So, if he was thrown here, it was either an accident or intentional. If it was the former, there was nothing to say—just bad luck, or perhaps lucky in a way.

If it was the latter, then who had thrown him here? The creator of the game?

And why had they thrown him here?

Yue Feng had spent three days exploring this endless monotony, never once considering suicide to escape. Among so many players, he was the only one who had made it here—a one-in-hundred-thousands chance. How could he not explore thoroughly? He loved challenges.

Yue Feng flew at a moderate height, mapping the area while half his attention was on browsing the forum. A strand of hair drifted across his face and brushed against his nose. Frowning, he tucked it behind his ear, but the next moment his eyes widened, and he activated a skill, instantly teleporting three meters away.

He had just felt wind.

The surrounding mist suddenly grew denser, and the air filled with a strong, foul odor. In the thick, dark fog, a pair of enormous vertical pupils glowed with a bloodthirsty red light.

At first glance, those blood-red eyes resembled those of a snake. The creature was shrouded in thick fog, making its exact form unclear. There was no game prompt indicating its species above its head. Yue Feng quickly glanced at the map—aside from his own green dot, there were no other life signals.

Shrouded in thick fog, the unknown monster lunged at him. Yue Feng dodged, simultaneously throwing a spatial blade. The intangible spatial force sliced through the fog, revealing a strange creature that looked like a "black cloak."

The monster hovered mid-air, about a meter long, with wavy edges like black silk fluttering in the wind. Its entire body was an extreme black, as if it were a light-devouring abyss, making its form indistinct. In the darkness, only its blood-red eyes were visible.

The mist floating around it seemed to be part of its body, moving without wind.

Yue Feng's attack hit the target, and a health bar appeared above the monster's head. It was an attackable wild monster. A gleam of excitement flashed in Yue Feng's eyes—finally, something new.

With game functions restricted, Yue Feng couldn't start a live stream, so he immediately began recording and attacked the wild monster.

Spatial blades sliced into the monster, quickly tearing its edges like ragged cloth. The dangling "cloth strips" resembled tiny tentacles, sweeping unconsciously in the air.

The surrounding mist grew thicker, and the monster, shrouded in it, began to slowly heal its wounds.

Yue Feng glanced at the ever-present mist in the wilderness and frowned. This mist was indeed strange: for the monster, it was an endless source of energy.

Yue Feng tried using spatial confinement to isolate the mist around the monster. Without the mist to replenish it, he quickly killed the creature.

After the wild monster died, it vanished suddenly, leaving no materials or even a corpse. Had it not been for the game notification, Yue Feng would have thought it teleported away.

"Wild monster killed, EXP +36,241."

"So much?" The game provided no further information about this wild monster. Yue Feng was surprised. He felt the monster's level shouldn't be high, otherwise it wouldn't have been so easy to kill, but the EXP reward was equivalent to that of a level 50 or 60 monster.

There had to be more than just this one wild monster here. If creatures could survive here, there must be a food chain supporting them.

Yue Feng edited the recorded video and posted it on the forum. Then, closing the game interface, he flew in the direction where the wild monster had appeared.

Shen Yi came across this post late at night while nestled in Xi Ye's arms in a blissful, relaxed state. In the video, the black silk-like creature was half-hidden in the thick fog, its delicate edges contracting and expanding as if blown by the wind. In the pitch-black darkness, its blood-red vertical pupils burned with a murderous ferocity, seeming to stare directly through the screen, coldly measuring the life of its prey.

Shen Yi pinched the screen to zoom out and muttered, "It looks somewhat similar to A Fu, but not as handsome as our A Fu…"

Behind him, Xi Ye's gaze fixed on the screen, meeting the fierce, cold eyes of the creature. For a moment, a red mist flickered in his emerald-green eyes before vanishing instantly.

Shen Yi, still unaware, continued to complain, "Black fog, red eyes—this is practically the standard template for a villain…"

He chuckled at his own imagination, his antennae quivering with laughter. "According to typical fantasy novel settings, where there's spiritual energy, there must also be demonic energy. Do you think this black fog could be demonic energy? Then this place would be the demon realm?"

Xi Ye played with his hair, tilting his head. "Are you talking about turbid energy?"

"Eh?" Shen Yi sat up. "Now that you mention it, turbid energy could totally be called demonic energy. Why don't we change the term from now on? 'Demonic energy' has much more flair than 'turbid energy'…"

Shen Yi enthusiastically discussed the idea with the system, deciding to officially designate the Land of Loss as the demon realm, with the wild monsters there being monsters…

The *Bugs World* game's worldview was thus further refined.

Yue Feng's post sparked heated discussions on the forum. However, based on the information he provided, this strange-looking wild monster only offered EXP rewards upon defeat, with no other special features. The players' excitement soon died down, leaving only artists and fan creators inspired by the new monster to produce a wave of works.

"Players are truly full of hidden talents…"

Shen Yi marveled as he scrolled through the fan art on the forum, occasionally sharing it with Xi Ye. Soon, he came across another image that caught his eye. Excited, he patted Xi Ye's hand. "This one is so cool! Look, it's your face."

In the center of the image stood a demonic figure with a face resembling Xi Ye's, eerie patterns creeping across it. Black hair, red eyes, it coldly stared forward amidst dark red ruins. Two spiral horns curled from its head, and its skin was covered in fine black scales with a metallic sheen. A long tail extended from its tailbone, longer than its body, curving in an S-shape up to its head. The tail tip was a diamond-shaped bone spur, poised to strike.

Shen Yi clicked his tongue. "That tail looks incredibly flexible—a perfect blend of power and dark, seductive aesthetics…"

As he spoke, he saved the image. Some hands create art, while his could only click "save."

"You like it?"

Xi Ye stared at the screen at this never-before-seen type of creature, lowering his gaze thoughtfully.

His emerald-green hair stirred without wind, and thousand-thread vines spread out from behind him, swiftly weaving into a tail that curved in an S-shape like in the painting. It swayed a few times, then wrapped itself around Shen Yi's waist.

Xi Ye manipulated this tail, slipping it under Shen Yi's clothes. "My tail is very flexible too."

Shen Yi, tickled, squirmed and laughed, dodging playfully. In response, a red phantom extended behind him, forming a demon tail with a heart-shaped tip. He pounced on Xi Ye like a hungry tiger, putting on a weird face and grinning mischievously. "I have a tail now too, hehehe."

The two tumbled together, debating whose tail was more flexible.

>>

After that, Shen Yi's days could be described as quite leisurely. Old Two and the others had established their own territories across various maps, each leading a portion of the bee people to develop mature management systems.

He no longer had to worry about the development of the colony, nor was he in a hurry to gain experience and level up. During the day, he was carried around by A Fu for sightseeing in the [Spirit Mist Forest], gathering materials here and there. At night, he would slip into the flower bud space to swing with Xi Ye, and during their dual cultivation, he would help Xi Ye sort out his spiritual awareness.

With a life like this, what more could one ask for?

After collecting some materials, Xi Ye decided to go into seclusion to forge his own life-bound weapon.

Suddenly without Xi Ye’s company, Shen Yi, who had been enjoying his leisurely life, began to feel that something was off. At such a young age, he was prematurely experiencing the loneliness of an empty nest elder.

In the Queen Bee’s nest, the tangyuan (sweet dumplings) were bouncing and hopping around like little jumping beans. Bored, Shen Yi lay on the vine bed counting the tangyuan balls when he suddenly heard a long-awaited system announcement.

"Congratulations, player, for completing the Main Quest: Expand the Bee Colony—Bee population has reached 1,000,255/1,000,000."

"Quest rewards ** have been distributed."

"Completed?" Shen Yi finally perked up, springing up with a carp-leaping motion. Finally, something to be happy about. "Where are the rewards? Why is it still **?"

He checked for a long time but couldn’t find the distributed rewards. "A'Tong, where did you put the rewards?"

System: "Host, the rewards have been distributed."

"Are you sure?" Shen Yi raised an eyebrow and asked.

System: "Rewards have been distributed."

Since the system said so, it probably wasn’t lying to him. The rewards for this quest had always been mysterious, displayed as "**" all along, and no one knew what they actually were.

Shen Yi couldn’t help but ask the system: "A'Tong, what exactly is this "**"?"

"Can’t say," the system replied rigidly as always. "Please comprehend it on your own. This is not a game."

"Alright, all mysterious-like..."

Shen Yi used his spiritual power to examine himself inside and out, especially his Mental Sea, but found nothing unusual.

He couldn’t help but mutter to himself: Could the reward just be a puff of air?

And it told him to comprehend it on his own—how was he supposed to comprehend thin air?

After completing the Main Quest of expanding the bee colony, no new quests appeared. Now, Shen Yi had even fewer goals.

"Sigh, so boring. What’s the difference between a life without pursuits and being a salted fish?"

The system suddenly replied: "You can flip over."

Shen Yi: "..."

The system actually told a cold joke.

"Host, as you know, Legendary Spirits are not the end."

"It’s just that I have no leads right now, isn’t it?"

Shen Yi lay down for a while longer, then suddenly got up: "Let’s go out for a walk."

He first went to the [Frozen Sea] to visit Little Stone, then made a trip to the [Mystic Mushroom Forest].

During this time, Grandpa Tree had nurtured many [Mushroom Spirits] and [Starlight Dandelion Spirits]. Low-level Spirits took the form of mushrooms and Starlight Dandelions, while evolved high-level Spirits turned into delicate little figures with mushrooms or Starlight Dandelions on their heads.

Due to Grandpa Tree’s influence, the little ones were naturally very close to Shen Yi. Shen Yi gave out handfuls of [Starlight Points] and received many gifts from the little Spirits in return: glowing beautiful stones, strange plants, and Starlight Dandelions that could dispel negative buffs. Shen Yi treasured them all and stored them in his warehouse.

This time, Shen Yi caught Grandpa Tree while he wasn’t asleep. Lying on the mushroom formed by Grandpa Tree, he crossed his legs and chatted: "Grandpa Tree, do you ever regret being trapped here?"

The Starlight Dandelion Spirit formed by Grandpa Tree emerged from the mushroom cap and hopped over to Shen Yi’s side: "Why regret? Isn’t the [Mystic Mushroom Forest] big enough?"

"But you’re not free. You can’t go wherever you want."

"Freedom? Living as long as heaven and earth is the freedom I sought, and I’ve already attained it."

The most fundamental pursuit of the beings here was strength and survival. Shen Yi turned over and sighed: "Is there no way to become a god without being confined to one domain?"

"Become a god? What’s that?"

This world had no concept of "god." Shen Yi thought for a moment and explained: "God is a title for beings who have reached the pinnacle of power. Well... perhaps those who possess the ability to create, dominate, or interfere with the world can be called gods."

Grandpa Tree was somewhat puzzled: "Then am I a god now?"

Shen Yi replied without hesitation: "Living as long as heaven, mastering rules—why wouldn’t you be a god?"

Grandpa Tree half-understood and accepted the term "god," then leisurely answered Shen Yi’s earlier question: "If you think the [Mystic Mushroom Forest] isn’t big enough, you can expand your territory. Would that make you feel freer?"

Shen Yi was stunned for a moment, suddenly confused about what freedom really was.

To the consciousness of heaven and earth, wasn’t this world also a domain that confined it?

>>

Yue Feng discovered more and more wild monsters in the [Lost Land]. Their levels varied greatly, ranging from small monsters under level 20 to big bosses over level 80.

After being killed, the wild monsters would disappear immediately. Kill one, and a group would soon appear, as if endless. It was here that Yue Feng truly felt like he was playing a game.

During this time, he died a few times when he couldn’t react in time. As he expected, dying in the [Lost Land] meant he couldn’t resurrect at a respawn point—he could only resurrect on the spot.

Yue Feng was trapped in the [Lost Land], occasionally posting updates on the forum. Over time, since the wild monsters all looked the same, players lost interest. That was until someone noticed that Yue Feng’s level had quietly risen to level 82, skyrocketing to the top of the level rankings.

Yue Feng wasn’t among the first batch of players to enter the game; he started relatively late. Relying on rich gaming experience and planning, he quickly leveled up, established the [Maple Leaf Alliance], and switched to the rare spatial Talent, becoming a famous top player in the game.

Since he started late, his level had barely caught up to the first tier, but only at the tail end.

Now, in less than a month, his level had quietly climbed into the top thirty.

Players flocked to the World Channel, calling out to Yue Feng and asking for his levelling secrets.

Baba: "Damn, Bro Feng, what kind of miracle pills are you taking? Your level is shooting up so fast!"

[Chen Meng]: "You just noticed? Ever since Bro Feng got stuck in that bug, his level has been like a rocket, overtaking one or two players every day."

Wild Master: "Did he trigger a hidden quest?"

Yue Feng saw the shouts in the World Channel and couldn’t help but explain.

Yue Feng: "There really isn’t a hidden quest. It’s just that the wild monsters in the [Lost Land] are fat and give a lot of experience. I’m stuck here with nothing else to do, so all I can do is fight monsters with my eyes open or closed."

Wandering Bee: "Damn, a chosen grinding paradise. I want to go too."

Broke Merchant: "But it’s so far away."

Chen Zhuqi: "Well, since we’re idle anyway, we might as well treat it as a trip."

Players heatedly discussed plans for map exploration in the [Lost Land]. More and more players became interested, eager to form teams and venture into the [Lost Land] to pioneer new grounds.

In fact, when Yue Feng first teleported to the new map, some players had already begun heading to the Lost Land. Various alliances also organized players to go, but everyone proceeded quietly and in small numbers, so it didn’t cause much of a stir.

Shen Yi, seeing the players’ discussions, also grew somewhat interested. If Xi Ye weren’t in seclusion at the moment, he would definitely have dragged him along. With A Fu around, it would be much more convenient than the players flying there.

After careful consideration, Shen Yi decided to scout the path first with A Fu. After all, idle time was idle time. But when he was about to set off, he discovered that Old Four had already quietly taken Number Eight and lured A Fu away.

Endless wild monsters to fight and practice with anytime, anywhere—it was practically Old Four’s ideal place.

Shen Yi had just gotten up but lay back down again, frustrated. "Forget it, forget it. It must be fate. I’ll just wait until Xi Ye finishes his seclusion."

Once Old Four and the others map out the area, A Fu will be able to create Teleport Scrolls. By then, Shen Yi and Xi Ye can simply teleport over and catch up with the progress.

Shen Yi spent a few days lazing around. With nothing else to do, he began studying the new skill he had recently awakened—Soothe Spirit.

Remembering his earlier idea, he finally felt motivated and attempted to help Old Two and the others organize their Mental Seas and activate their mental energy.

The first to try was Xiao Qi. She was the most unique among the sisters, as her Mental Sea had already condensed some scattered threads of mental energy.

Old Two and the others held unconditional and unreserved loyalty to Shen Yi. Shen Yi’s entry into Xiao Qi’s Mental Sea was even smoother than entering Xi Ye’s Spirit Sea.

After the practice in Xi Ye's Spirit Sea, Shen Yi had become quite adept at channeling his mental energy. He successfully organized a large patch of threads in Xiao Qi’s Mental Sea, condensing them into solid mental energy.

Since he started organizing the Mental Seas of Old Two and the others, the previously idle Shen Yi had instead become the busiest one. His mastery of mental energy grew increasingly proficient, to the point where he could organize the Mental Seas of Old Two and the others simultaneously.

After Old Two and the others activated their mental energy, their control over the bee swarms improved dramatically. This was especially true for Xiao Qi—after activating her mental energy, her Metal Bees underwent a secondary Evolution. By absorbing different metals, they gave birth to bee species with various functions.

By the time Shen Yi had mostly organized the Mental Seas of Old Two and the others, over a month had passed, and Xi Ye finally ended his seclusion.

"How did it go... Mmm."

Xi Ye skillfully captured Shen Yi’s lips, and Shen Yi almost instinctively wrapped his arms around Xi Ye’s neck, parting his lips in response. Their tongues traced each other’s lips, sweet and scorching.

Mental energy effortlessly slipped into Xi Ye’s Spirit Sea, intertwining with Xi Ye’s spiritual sense while helping him organize his Mental Sea. Guided by instinct, Shen Yi didn’t need to consciously control it—the mental energy tendrils seemed to have a mind of their own.

Afterward, Shen Yi slowly came back to his senses, looking satisfied with the results. "I’m much more skilled at organizing mental energy now than before you went into seclusion."

"Mm." Xi Ye extended his increasingly solid spiritual sense, gently brushing it against Shen Yi’s face. His eyes carried a lazy, contented look as he pulled Shen Yi closer into his embrace and opened his hand.

In an instant, an exquisitely crafted, small bow appeared in Xi Ye’s palm.

Shen Yi grabbed Xi Ye’s hand, delighted. "You succeeded?"

The so-called Lifebound Weapon was just an idea Shen Yi had proposed based on fantasy novels from his previous life. Before Xi Ye attempted it, neither of them was sure if it would work.

Shen Yi had prepared himself for repeated attempts and exploration, never expecting Xi Ye to succeed on the first try.

"It’s all thanks to you organizing my Spirit Sea."

Xi Ye placed the bow in Shen Yi’s hand. The small, delicate bow continuously enlarged in Shen Yi’s grasp until it reached the perfect size for him. Xi Ye held Shen Yi’s hand from behind and asked, "Want to give it a try?"