Why did you provoke me?

Zhou Jinyan was furious. He had never imagined that his people had degenerated to this extent.

They'd prey on children, even if Xiao Hao wasn't their son; he was still the family's hope. They were destroying the family's future. Well, he'd grant their wish!

On this drizzly night, the young head of the Zhou family raised his butcher's knife.

Commands were issued from the study to all parts of the house. This ancient family was slowly awakening.

Secretary Wu sat in his office, recording the various messages sent by the intercom.

Gradually, he realized something was wrong. The situation was getting worse and worse as it radiated outwards from the first battlefield, and some small villages were completely destroyed.

Secretary Wu frowned. Could it be that something was happening outside that they didn't know about?

News also reached Yu Meng's small town: only a small number of people had perished for various reasons, and life had returned to normal. The Yu family was doing well; they had reopened their business. The only problem was that the oddly shaped beads they sold were extremely cheap, sometimes even sold as a freebie.

The communication bell had already been delivered to the eldest sister of the Yu family. Upon hearing that it was made by Yu Meng herself, she was very happy. The person who delivered the bell was even forced to stay for a meal, where they were asked many questions about Yu Meng and Niannian. He repeated the answers given to him by Secretary Wu to the family one by one. It was just strange that although they asked a lot of questions at first, they all urged him to eat more in the end.

Secretary Wu shook his head helplessly; this was a case of being too clever for his own good. His family, with their limited understanding of dreams, would probably discover after a few questions that much of what he said was false.

But it's alright, they can contact each other with the communication bell, so he doesn't need to worry about this.

At this moment, Niannian was sitting in Yu Meng's office, clutching her communication bell. "Alright, you can talk now. I'm in Fourth Sister's office."

"Niannian, how are you all doing? Have you encountered any unusual situations?" Sister Xiu asked anxiously from the other end of the line.

"What could possibly happen? My fourth sister and I are pretty capable."

"Judging from your tone, something's happened to our family. Who was it? How is it now?"

"It's all in the past now. At first, my older sister and I were terrified. My older sister even hit herself. That day, we all thought we were doomed."

"And then what happened?" Niannian listened with great interest and even asked another question.

"Sister Xiu, are you talking to your little sister?" A very soft voice came from afar.

"Yes, they're both very nice. They asked me about my family, and I'm talking to them about it now."

"You must never tell me about my shameful secrets." Dali's voice drew closer, and Yu Meng and Niannian both recognized it as their eldest sister's voice.

"I was wondering why you went upstairs before you finished your meal. Turns out you were on the phone with them." Dali's voice was tinged with laughter.

Niannian wanted to know what had happened. "Tell me about the brothers. Did they embarrass themselves?"

"Let me tell you, it wasn't just embarrassing, it was practically their darkest history. It's a pity that the communication bell they had back then couldn't work, otherwise I would definitely have written down their embarrassing moments and shown them to their children when they grew up," Dali said with a smile.

"Where's your little sister? Is she with you? Why hasn't she said a word?" Dali asked.

"Yes, she's listening to us."

"Big sister, I'm here. I'm glad you're all alright," Yu Meng said from the side to confirm that she was indeed there.

The group talked for a long time before finally turning off the intercom.

"Fourth Sister, it seems that the lucky bead really worked. So, tell me, is this still related to the alien? Did it advance or regress?"

"I guess it's preparation for an upgrade," Yu Meng replied softly, her eyes fixed on the window.

"Ah, it's an upgrade? But didn't Aunt Qing's experimental garden all become ordinary?"

"When there aren't enough of the bottom layer, the lowest layer will be eliminated, and the aliens above it will become the current bottom layer. But the overall quality has improved. Those newly promoted bone painters are probably going to suffer."

Niannian rested her chin on her hand and said, "We're so smart. We're always learning and improving."

"How can you praise yourself like that? Aren't you afraid people will laugh at you?" Yu Meng couldn't help but laugh when she heard Niannian say that.

"Hey, Fourth Sister, wait a minute. You haven't even left the house, how did you know all this? Did Brother Xiao and the others send a message back?"

"Everything is interconnected, and the aliens are eroding this world in their own way."

Niannian didn't understand. "Fourth Sister, I don't understand. Please explain!"

Yu Meng pointed to the big tree outside the window, "Didn't you notice that the little black cat always stays up in the tree and doesn't come down?"

"I noticed. It was following me around a while ago, but these past few days it hasn't responded when I call it. I thought you were controlling it."

"There are things it likes in that tree, so of course it doesn't want to follow you."

"Ah, something good. Why isn't my Little Grey reacting?" Nian Nian looked at the line in her hand and casually tossed it onto a tree.

"Huh, this looks like there's something good." Little Gray, who had been thrown onto the tree, wrapped itself around a branch and stopped moving.

"Fourth Sister, can you help me see if there's anything else good? I'll put all my lines on it." Niannian was a little excited.

"The lines are too low-level, it's useless to put them there, they can't absorb this kind of energy."

Niannian lined up her lines. "Fourth Sister, look, which one is acceptable?"

Helpless, Yu Meng pointed to several places.

"Why are your lines so different?"

Niannian was a little embarrassed, "I just kept using it because I got used to it, and that's how it ended up like this."

"That won't do. If something dangerous happens, and you ruin the one you're comfortable with, will you have a second replacement?"

"It's not that I discovered these drawbacks later, so I practiced other things, but I haven't mastered them yet," Niannian said somewhat embarrassedly.

"Hurry up, I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of you later, what will you do then?" Yu Meng whispered a reminder.

"That won't do! You can't leave me behind!" Niannian cried out anxiously.

"It's not that I'm abandoning you, it's that you can't catch up with me, and I can't wait for you forever." It sounds heartless, but if there's a real danger to her life, she really can't wait for Niannian. After all, she's not the kind of person who would sacrifice herself for anyone.

"I'll go practice now. Slow down a bit, don't walk so fast!" Niannian only ran out after Yu Meng nodded.

Back in her room, Niannian sat on the bed, tears streaming down her face. After a while, she hastily wiped away her tears, "Hmph, you just wanted to scare me! I'm so smart, how could I let you dump me? You wish!"

Niannian picked out a few black lines mixed in with the main lines. If Yu Meng were here, she would definitely recognize them as irregular lines.

Niannian placed the lines in her palm, and in just a moment, the crust of the lines peeled off. The other lines, like cats seeing fish, devoured the alien lines in an instant, leaving not even a crumb.

Niannian has actually already found her own path, but Yu Meng is unaware of it yet.