The end of the world is approaching, I'm handing myself over to the country.

the other side.

Deep in the dark forest, in stark contrast to the sparseness of the outside world, every inch of land here is brimming with a rich life force.

The only source of light here is the enormous, eerily glowing fungi.

The air was filled with the smell of damp earth and a sweet, wine-like aroma.

On a colossal throne woven from countless twisted roots, a figure leaned against the wall.

Her figure was almost transparent, as if it were made of moonlight and forest mist. Only her long, dark green hair was like a living thing, moving without wind, with the ends of her hair connected to the surrounding vines and branches, indistinguishable from them.

At that moment, she lazily raised her hand to catch a green speck of light, like a firefly, that drifted down from the forest.

The light struggled in her palm, and a human face distorted by extreme fear could be vaguely seen.

The forest's rosy lips parted slightly, and it gently blew on the spot of light.

call.

The light spot vanished instantly, transforming into pure energy that she absorbed into her body.

A sense of satisfaction and comfort made her squint her eyes.

"Giggle..."

A pleasant, soft laugh echoed through the woods, carrying an indescribable allure.

"I haven't had this much fun in a long time."

Beside the throne, a dense, impenetrable black shadow writhed and coalesced into a blurry human figure.

A cold and ruthless aura emanated from him, making the surrounding glowing plants appear somewhat dim.

"The blood and flesh energy of these 'players' is indeed purer than that of any creature in this wasteland." The shadowy figure's voice was hoarse, like two pieces of rusty metal rubbing together: "I can feel that your power has increased considerably."

Forest nodded noncommittally, then caught a drifting speck of light and played with it between his fingertips: "But I do sense a familiar feeling about these guys."

It is the aura of the Weaver Queen.

Those players all possessed the aura of the Weaver of Fate, making it hard for her not to associate them with that person.

Two red lights flickered in the shadows, a hint of confusion in their gaze: "But you let many go. Can you tell me why?"

"After all, with your abilities, keeping them all here would be a piece of cake."

Upon hearing this, the forest laughed, a clear and melodious laugh that sent a chill down the spine of the shadowy figure.

"I can tell the difference between being full at one meal and being full at every other meal."

Forest stretched out a slender finger and gently touched a vine beside her. The vine immediately began to sway excitedly, like a hunting dog that had received a command.

"If we leave them all here today, fear will spread among them like a plague, and this forest will become a forbidden zone they dare not set foot in."

"It won't be fun if nobody dares to come."

Forest tilted its head, its posture innocent, but the content of its words silenced even the shadowy figure.

"But look..." She opened her hand, revealing a severed arm in her palm: "Let him escape part of it, let him see a glimmer of hope for victory..."

"They would then share this good news with all their companions, and then bring back even more people, one after another."

"They will desperately become stronger in order to defeat me, making their flesh and blood energy even more... delicious."

"A bunch of stupid guys, working so hard, and in the end I got the benefit."

"They gave themselves to me as nourishment."

A look of near ecstasy appeared on Forest's face, as if he were describing the most wonderful thing in the world.

"Don't you think turning a barren piece of land into fertile farmland is far more meaningful than simply engaging in slaughter?"

The shadowy figure fell silent.

He had to admit that the forest's methods were far superior to his own.

This method of "raising" prey by manipulating them, watching them struggle in false hope, and ultimately becoming more delicious food, is indeed more elegant and more vicious than his simple and crude logic.

"Your patience is always so good." There was a hint of barely perceptible apprehension in the shadowy figure's tone: "However, I'm afraid that person's plan doesn't allow us much time to raise them."

When that person was mentioned, the smile on Forest's face faded slightly.

"What's the rush? There's still time, isn't there?"

Forest stood up, her bare feet stepping on the tangled tree roots, and the entire Shadow Forest seemed to pulsate with her breath.

"The seeds have been sown; we just need to patiently wait for them to sprout, grow, and then... harvest them."

As soon as she finished speaking, a blood-red leaf suddenly drifted down from the top of the forest canopy and landed squarely in her outstretched palm.

On the leaves, light and shadow flow, clearly revealing a scene.

In the scene, a group of people come from all directions, gather together, and after a conversation, seem to have reached some kind of agreement.

As Forest looked at the group of people in the picture, a breathtaking smile once again appeared on his lips.

The dark figure also approached, its two red lights fixed intently on the leaf.

"look."

Forest's fingers gently traced the face of Yijian Shuanghan in the image.

"The new seeds are already so eager to come to us."

......

Inside the general store, in the forging room.

"Jingle bells—!"

The rhythmic clanging of metal echoed, sparks flying, casting flickering light into the dim room.

Lin Mo was shirtless, sweat dripping down his well-defined muscles as a half-finished armor prototype gradually took shape under the forging hammer.

He was completely focused, and every hammer strike was incredibly precise.

A sparrow fluttered its wings and flew in through the doorway, landing steadily on a corner of the forging table, tilting its head to watch the busy Lin Mo.

The sparrow didn't care what Lin Mo was doing. With a flap of its wings, a semi-transparent information panel unfolded in front of Lin Mo, and the dark blue light almost blinded him.

[Due to your wrong decision, a large number of players died; on average, tens of thousands of players died every second. However, the general store's revenue did increase, with a significant rise in the proportion of income from healing potions and various resistance potions.]

The sound of sparrows echoed in Lin Mo's mind, carrying a hint of tension and a barely perceptible worry.

Lin Mo didn't even look up, focusing intently on what he was fiddling with, as if the constantly scrolling, shocking casualty figures had nothing to do with him.

"That's settled then, isn't increased income a good thing? Why worry about so much?"

Lin Mo's response was nonchalant, as if the player's life or death was really less important than the iron block in his hand.

The sparrow was so angry that it hopped around twice on the spot.

[The increase in revenue is due to players still having some savings, but those savings will eventually run out.]