Chapter 16: A Gamble

Here, the mother and daughter were discussing their plan to seek out Yun Duo’er’s close friend.

Meanwhile, at Wei Wenhao’s home, the woman eyed the carved beast meat on the table with disdain. It was bloody, exuded a foul stench, and she hurriedly grabbed a few napkins to pad her hands, gingerly pinching the meat with two fingers.

“Mom, what are you doing?”

Wei Wenhao blocked her way to the trash can. “The meat Yun Duo’er’s mother gave us must be something good. I won’t let you throw it away.”

“Silly boy, this meat smells so terrible I want to throw up just from the scent. How could it possibly be edible?” The woman held her breath, almost dizzy from the odor.

Impatiently, she shoved her son aside. Wei Wenhao struggled desperately behind her. “Don’t throw it away, I forbid you! Duo’er’s mother is so capable—she waved her hand and that huge bed disappeared. And Yun Duo’er, the golden vine wrapped around her hand is so powerful.”

“What she gave us must be good. I don’t care, Mom, you cannot throw it away.”

“What are you two doing?”

Wei Jingxiong returned home, weary, to find his wife and son locked in a standoff by the trash can. One seemed determined to toss something away, while the other refused to allow it.

“Dad, please help me stop Mom!”

Wei Wenhao’s eyes lit up. His father was worldly; surely he could recognize what Yun Duo’er’s mother had given them.

“Alright, alright, I’ll help you stop Mom.”

Wei Jingxiong stepped forward, amused, and pried his son—clinging like a koala—from his wife. “Honey, what are you trying to throw away? Let me have a look.” His words were merely to placate his son; he had no real intention of opposing his wife.

After all, his wife was a tigress—one with the fiercest temperament. If he dared side with his son, the coming days would be anything but pleasant.

“Here, see for yourself!”

Gao Huiru tossed the item in her hand to Wei Jingxiong, her tone full of annoyance. “Your darling son actually wants to keep this disgusting thing for you to eat. I think his brain’s muddled—he can’t tell fragrant from foul.”

Wei Jingxiong instinctively held his breath—his wife was right, the smell was overwhelming!

He’d caught a whiff earlier, uncertain of its source; now the culprit was clear. Reflexively, he was about to throw it out, but then he froze.

This sensation… hmm?

“Honey, where did you get this meat?”

---

Wei Jingxiong’s voice could not conceal his excitement.

If his hunch was correct, this was the meat of a spiritual beast! And of a much higher grade than the one they hunted just a few days ago—the spiritual energy contained within was far richer. Unlike the earth rat they caught before, whose spiritual energy was so meager it was barely perceptible.

Without careful scrutiny, one might not even notice it.

“Could it be… is this really something good?” Gao Huiru was incredulous.

But she knew her husband well. Seeing the joy on his face, she guessed that the meat given by his son’s classmate’s mother was, in all likelihood, something valuable. Luckily, she hadn’t thrown it away… Or rather, even if she had tossed it in the trash, she could still fish it out.

Though, that would be even more disgusting.

“Dad, Duo’er’s mother said that eating this meat will be very beneficial for you,” Wei Wenhao said reluctantly.

Honestly, were it not for the unbearable smell, he’d have wanted to eat it himself. But for now, he’d let his father have the opportunity; after all, Duo’er’s mother intended it for him.

“Honey, you’re not actually planning to eat it, are you?” Gao Huiru saw her husband’s eager expression and felt as if the world had gone mad.

Wei Jingxiong said nothing. The last time, they’d shared the meat of the earth rat among several people, each only getting a small piece. After eating it, Wei Jingxiong had clearly felt an increase in his strength—he was indeed tempted.

But he was also anxious; the smell was truly off-putting.

An upset stomach was one thing, but if he lost his life over it, it wouldn’t be worth it.

After much deliberation, Wei Jingxiong decided to take the gamble.

This damned copy world—he’d nearly lost his life on a trip to an E-level copy.

And right near their home, there were several D-level and higher copies. If he didn’t hurry to strengthen himself, and more copies appeared in a few days, swallowing their home in the process, then the three of them would only be waiting for death.

It had to be said, Wei Jingxiong was quite clever.

Though his guess was far from the truth; the number of copies was large, but always fixed. Yet the copy world was steadily expanding outward; humans could not hide in the real world, clinging to safety.

If one didn’t prepare for adversity and actively meet challenges, the only outcome would be destruction.

Wei Jingxiong clearly understood this. He cleaned the napkins off the carved beast meat, shut his eyes and, steeling himself, shoved it directly into his mouth.

Soon, the spiritual energy in the meat was absorbed and refined. Wei Jingxiong’s stomach twisted in agony; the pain was so intense he could only roll on the ground.

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“Honey (Dad), what’s wrong?” Gao Huiru cried out in alarm, and Wei Wenhao was frightened as well.

Whether or not Gao Huiru and her son suffered a false alarm, Yu Yan took Yun Duo’er to her classmate’s house.

“Mom, this is the place.”

Yun Duo’er’s face shone brightly, anticipation filling her heart at the prospect of seeing her best friend. Yu Yan, too, breathed a sigh of relief—Yun Duo’er’s mood had been noticeably poor along the way. Though the copy world wasn’t like other apocalyptic types, with severed fingers and broken limbs everywhere,

Copies appeared everywhere, especially during the newbie welfare period, with not even a hint of warning.

Many people were inexplicably pulled into copies; those with weaker abilities could only rely on luck to escape alive.

Once the welfare period passed, the adaptation period came with some hints.

As long as you touched a certain entrance to a copy, a ripple-like interface would open, displaying a few lines of information—marking the copy’s level, the main types of monsters within, and so on.

There was also another line, thoughtfully enclosed in quotation marks, specifically to introduce the copy’s conditions.

“Copy levels range from F to 3S—F is the weakest, 3S the strongest!”

And that was all.

As for how weak the F-level truly was, or how strong the 3S-level might be, everything was left to your own exploration.

The cautious would tentatively enter an F-level copy, only to find beasts running rampant.

Tigers, lions, leopards, eagles, vultures… Creatures at the apex of the real world’s food chain appeared in droves, ready to hunt you as their prey.

The bold or reckless would step right into a B-level or higher copy.

The outcome was obvious—anyone could guess it.

And those supremely confident, the “Dragon Overlords” who believed only the 3S-level difficulty was worthy of their noble selves…

Well… those fools soon vanished without a trace.

Even Yu Yan dared not provoke a 3S-level copy at only ten percent power. Back near “Lake Light Waters,” just thinking about the demon copy entering the adaptation period made Yu Yan’s knees tremble!