Chapter 29: Becoming Human

Chapter 29: Becoming Human

At the stage of ascension, it was no longer something the Cleaners could participate in. The thick white mist completely obscured their vision, and after a single blink, Xie Yunzhu found himself back in the game lobby.

Though it was called a game lobby, the scene before his eyes made Furball widen his eyes and let out a heartfelt "Wow—"

It wasn’t just Furball; any Cleaner visiting this place for the first time would be stunned by the spectacle before them: an endless expanse of cosmic stars, with themselves seemingly adrift like a speck of dust amid the stellar sea.

A colossal tree, composed of countless intertwining strands of white light, rose from the starry sea, its roots stretching for tens of thousands of miles into the dark depths, drawing sustenance from below.

This was the "World Tree" that supported the entire game.

The game lobby was situated on one of the tree’s branches, shaped like a massive bird’s nest. Hence, the Player Lobby was often referred to as the "Nest."

And every Cleaner, upon first loading in, was encased within an "egg." All these eggs were clustered tightly together inside the Nest.

The interior of an "egg" was a circular space of less than five cubic meters, offering an unobstructed view outward, while others looking in would only see the white eggshell.

Xie Yunzhu was now inside one such egg, facing a simple system menu and a large three-hour countdown timer.

Furball poked his head out from the collar, curiously looking around. "What are those fruits on the branches?"

From the Nest, one could see the lush canopy of the World Tree, with countless branches stretching toward the distant galaxy. Each branch bore clusters of fruits, varying in number.

These fruits came in all sorts of bizarre shapes, glowing with strange, radiant colors, as if each one contained a fantastical world.

"Those are the instance worlds. As soon as you step out of the eggshell, you’ll be randomly pulled into one," Xie Yunzhu said, lifting Furball in one direction. "Look over there."

Furball widened his eyes and saw a golden "fruit" detach from a branch, slowly drifting toward the very top of the World Tree!

"That’s the 'Eternal Night Ruins' we just cleared. It’s been purified, so it’s now ascending to Paradise."

"Paradise..."

"That’s where the white light above us is—the Paradise Gate," Xie Yunzhu said, tilting his head upward with Furball. At the very top of the canopy was a sacred, radiant white glow. "All cleared instances become part of Paradise. Some chosen Cleaners can also enter there."

"Wow, it must be a good place, free of pollution..." Furball blinked his large golden eyes. "A Zhu, why don’t you go?"

If this question were asked of 99% of Cleaners, it would elicit a scoff: "Are you kidding? Paradise isn’t a place you can just go to whenever you want!" Only the most seasoned top-tier players, who had completed hell-level difficulty tasks assigned by the system, could be selected to enter Paradise. For a long time, powerful Godsworn had monopolized the privilege of entering Paradise.

Yet Xie Yunzhu merely chuckled. "No Cleaner who goes there ever returns. No one can say for sure what it’s like up there—if someone told you there’s a 'heaven' after death, would you actually go die? I certainly wouldn’t."

The implication was that he had the ability to complete such extreme tasks but simply had no desire to go.

"Alright, enough talk," Xie Yunzhu rubbed his hands together, his gaze turning unusually sinister. "It’s time to fatten you up."

"Huh?" Furball shivered involuntarily, but in the cramped eggshell, there was nowhere to escape. Xie Yunzhu swiftly withdrew 10,000 bounty from his account, converting it into a pure energy orb.

Then, prying open Furball’s mouth, he forcefully stuffed the dense energy orb inside.

"Mmph... gulp..." Caught off guard, Furball swallowed it whole. The powerful energy surged through his body, causing the soft, gelatinous body to swell several times in size!

"Can’t eat anymore?" Xie Yunzhu exchanged another 10,000 bounty without hesitation and mercilessly shoved it in. "This is my love for you."

Bounty could be exchanged for real-world currency at a 1:100 rate, used to fulfill miraculous wishes, or transformed into pure energy. However, humans couldn’t absorb this energy, so it was often fed to bonded gods.

Many Godsworn risked their lives completing tasks to earn bounty, all to exchange it for energy and strengthen their bonded gods.

After being force-fed several 10,000-bounty energy orbs, Furball had already broken free from his fluffy suit. Clutching his stomach from indigestion, he gradually began to take on a human form!

He was being forcibly fed energy orbs, transforming from a shapeless, low-level Nature Deity into a basic human form.

Xie Yunzhu crouched before him, chin in hand, observing the changes. Though other parts were still unclear, the child evidently had beautiful white hair and golden eyes.

"No more... burp, A Zhu..." Furball, now vaguely resembling a child, spoke in a soft, childlike voice. "Your bounty... it’s running out, burp... Don’t give it all to me, use it for yourself..."

My god, Xie Yunzhu marveled inwardly. His stomach is about to burst, and he’s still worrying about me!

"It’s fine," he said, ruffling the child’s soft, silvery-white hair and dragging the system panel over for him to see. "Don’t worry about your master lacking money."

His bounty account balance displayed a number beyond any Cleaner’s imagination: 999,999.

After leaving the game, bounty could be exchanged for cash at a 1:100 ratio. The average bounty per clearance was around 4,000, equivalent to 400,000 in real-world currency.

Beyond that, the game could also grant supernatural rewards: 2,000 bounty could buy an extra centimeter of height, 5,000 bounty could restore eyesight, 8,000 bounty could refresh one’s appearance, and 10,000 bounty could buy a "Heaven-Sent Opportunity."

For amounts above 10,000, one could purchase talent in any field, reverse aging, cure incurable diseases, extend lifespan, and more.

Thus, even exceptionally skilled Cleaners often couldn’t amass large amounts of bounty. After all, why would they risk their lives in instances if not to flaunt their wealth and live extravagantly in the real world?

Once, the leader of a major guild boasted about having 200,000 bounty in his account, causing quite a stir and earning him the title of Chaos' Top Miser.

Little did anyone know, Xie Yunzhu’s account quietly held 999,999 bounty. Even after feeding so much to Furball, it still showed 999,999—because the system’s display had a cap, he had no idea how much he actually had.

If he used it all to feed his bonded god, he could probably turn them into a Chief God.

However, as more energy was forced into him, Furball reached a bottleneck and could no longer digest it. Even if forced, the energy would simply dissipate from his body unchanged.

Moreover, Furball now had the form of a child, making Xie Yunzhu, who was holding his chin to force-feed him, feel a rare pang of guilt.

Strangely enough, while other gods became more ethereal and abstract upon leveling up, his Furball had taken on human form. Was this even a god? More like the evolution path of a spirit. Speaking of spirits...

Xie Yunzhu pinched the child’s tender, pink lips and examined him closely.

He had never been one to appreciate beauty, but he had to admit the child was exceptionally good-looking. He appeared to be around seven or eight years old, with slightly curly silver-white hair falling to his neck, soft and delicate cheeks, large round eyes, and long, curled silver-white eyelashes framing strikingly beautiful golden pupils, now clear and bright with tears.

This appearance was practically a younger version of that golden-haired Celestial God!

He’d heard that young animals are naturally cute to charm their owners and reduce the chance of abandonment. Staring into those blinking big eyes, Xie Yunzhu felt himself being swayed and quickly averted his gaze.

"A Zhu..." Furball—or rather, it was better to call him Mi Yan now—uttered a confused sound.

"Wait here, I’ll find you some clothes." Xie Yunzhu opened the System Store, only to find that even this limited store didn’t carry children’s clothing! Left with no choice, he spent 100 bounty on the smallest size of women’s clothing—after all, the clothes in the store were so ugly that you couldn’t tell the gender.

After the system deducted the bounty, the clothes materialized in Xie Yunzhu’s hands. "Raise your arms."

Mi Yan obediently raised his hands, and Xie Yunzhu slipped the shirt over him, the hem immediately covering his bare bottom.

"Lift your feet."

Xie Yunzhu pulled the pants up, tightened the belt, and rolled the cuffs three times.

Once the shoes were on, Mi Yan shuffled a few steps, looking like a child drowning in adult clothes. The loose shoes made a "flap-flap" sound with every step. He marveled, lifting his arms and legs. "I’ve become human... I’ve really become human!"

He jumped excitedly, then raised two tentacles. "Can I have a hug?"

His human arms hung limply at his sides; what stretched toward Xie Yunzhu were clearly two transparent tentacles... Xie Yunzhu facepalmed. "First, put your fur suit back on."

"Oh..." Mi Yan tried again. The human body was truly complicated, much harder to control than being Furball. He awkwardly waved his arms, unable to make proper expressions—his eyes, nose, and mouth seemed to have minds of their own. Already not the brightest, he now looked even more foolish.

Xie Yunzhu motioned to measure his height: "Stay still, stand straight."

His eyes were as precise as a ruler, roughly estimating Mi Yan's current height at just under 1.4 meters, which put his mind at ease—children taller than 1.4 meters would be identified by the system as cleaners upon entering the game. Conversely, children under 1.4 meters could only enter the game as dependents linked to their guardians, though of course, few parents would be that reckless.

Other bonded gods usually existed in non-physical forms. If, like Mi Yan, they took on a human form and exceeded the height limit, who knows if the system would label them as cleaners?

After changing clothes, Xie Yunzhu used his bounty to exchange for necessities like food, water, and medicine, enough for seven days. If an instance lasted longer than seven days, the system would inevitably provide essential survival items to prevent them from being hindered by lack of supplies.

Next, he exchanged for a small backpack, packed it with supplies suitable for a child, and let Mi Yan carry it himself.

"My own bag!" Mi Yan excitedly took it and slung it over his shoulder, only to be immediately thrown off balance by the weight. He struggled to stand up and took a few steps but tripped over his own shoelaces, falling forward with a thud.

Xie Yunzhu crossed his arms and watched the entire clumsy scene, repeatedly reminding himself to be kind to the little one—he was just a child, albeit a child capable of unleashing god-slaying power...

If only he could figure out how to harness that power, perhaps one day, he might truly be able to... Xie Yunzhu's eyes darkened. "Hope" was a dangerous thing for him—it had made him fall hard time and again in the past. Yet, the Celestial God's overwhelming strength was like a dazzling sun, truly illuminating his long-dormant heart.

That dreamlike glimmer of dawn might just conceal a true sunrise.