[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-monsters-are-coming":3,"chapter-the-monsters-are-coming-monsters-are-coming-chapter-344":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Monsters Are Coming",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2250193,4069,"Chapter 344: Visitor from Reality, Fate Investigation","monsters-are-coming-chapter-344",344,"\u003Cp>Earth, Trading City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As night fell, lights ignited across this super-city spanning the artificial island chain of the Pacific Ocean.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Viewed from high above, the entire city resembled a vast net woven from light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beams of different colors within the city outlined the contours of its seven major districts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The white light of the Human District, the blue-green luminescence of the Sea-Dweller District, the red glow of the Heavy-Adaptation District... each hue represented one of the races of the Earth Alliance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This city, too, had been jointly established by these seven races.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Descent War of those years had caused Earth to endure a period of continuous climate disasters, energy crises, and waves of automation-induced unemployment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially the emergence of the automation unemployment wave plunged many races into turmoil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The advanced technology of the Moon-Eclipse Clan replaced manual labor, meaning ordinary human effort could no longer create value.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ninety-five percent of traditional laborers could no longer generate income for themselves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Factories no longer needed workers, logistics no longer needed drivers, and even basic medical diagnostics began shifting to Moon-Eclipse intelligence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The creed that \"labor creates value\" collapsed utterly before the efficient machinery of the Moon-Eclipse Clan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A wave of unemployment swept the globe, and society fell into chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To solve this problem, the Human Federation and other races attempted to distribute basic income directly, using wealth created by machines to support the unemployed masses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this seemingly perfect solution soon revealed fatal flaws.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When people lost the meaning of work, society began to disintegrate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aimless crowds wandered the streets, and crime rates skyrocketed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Compounding this was the latent crisis pressing upon the hearts of all living beings of the various races: the emergence of the next Descent faction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During this phase, depression swept the globe, and suicide rates hit historical highs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Humans who had lost their goals began fracturing into extremist groups, and social order teetered on the brink of collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was precisely within this cyber-environment that the virtual economy emerged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After connecting to the Star Net, the network provided by the Moon-Eclipse Clan was initially intended only for more efficient communication between races.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, after the Moon-Eclipse Clan opened up virtual gaming, the world welcomed a wave of economic recovery.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone could connect to the Star Net via virtual devices, then freely access the virtual world through the Star Net, allowing their senses to experience alternative sensations within that realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, many chose to escape the dullness of the real world and immerse themselves in the virtual one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During this phase, the Moon-Eclipse Clan already possessed game pod technology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet what they distributed to support the other races were still holographic neural access helmets.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Viewing the virtual equipment of that era from a modern perspective was like an ancient person using a smartphone to look at a feature phone.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The greatest contribution of the virtual economy to this period was that it gave people a sense of \"being needed.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This feeling sustained social stability far better than money ever could.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Trading City, this artificial miracle built upon the Pacific Ocean, was precisely the intersection point between the virtual economy and the real world at that time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, virtual assets could be exchanged for physical goods, and creativity could be transformed into cold, hard cash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Virtual currencies from different games and virtual social software also experienced a revival during this phase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was also the pilot city for future development jointly established by the seven races at that time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But in today's era, Trading City resembles the United Nations of Earth's ancient times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once harboring brilliant visions, it was later left as nothing but an empty shell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By today, it is merely a single entry in history books.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This super-city spanning the Pacific Ocean also suffered the fate of being eliminated by the times; it has now transformed into an ordinary city where multiple races cohabit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first batch of residents in this city were basically the engineers, architects, environmental control experts, and others who participated in its construction at that time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The current residents of the city are all descendants of those groups who participated in its construction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At 3 AM, lights in certain districts of Trading City gradually extinguished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just then, a spatial distortion suddenly appeared above the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Like heat haze rippling through summer air, it was nearly imperceptible under the night sky.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Subsequently, this ripple tore open rapidly, space unfolding like a curtain pulled apart by an invisible hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Silver light flickered unstably along the rift's edges as a slender figure, wreathed in black malignant wind, slowly descended from the spatial fissure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Instantly, the spatial rift behind it closed, as if it had never existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Overlooking the city's nightscape, the descended figure slowly raised the bone staff in its hand, while a mask formed of silver mist upon its Iron Face rapidly shifted expressions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It finally settled on an expression of contemplation, as if weighing something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A moment later, the expression on the mask changed to a smile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its form blurred, transforming into a streak of black malignant wind that vanished into the night, diving toward Trading City below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It ultimately infiltrated an old, renovated apartment building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the balcony, an orange cat lazily licked its paw; inside the room, a game pod glowed with indicator lights, housing a player currently engaged in the game.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The original target of this malignant wind's gaze was the figure inside the game pod.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But upon seeing the form and Iron Face of that figure, the malignant wind suddenly stagnated, as if hesitating over something.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, it chose the orange cat lying on the balcony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The malignant wind silently drilled into the orange cat's ear; the feline's movements suddenly froze, its pupils contracting sharply into thin slits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Meow! Meow! Meow!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Meow~\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The orange cat first emitted abnormally violent cries, then immediately returned to normal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was as if adapting to the body; the initial chaos resulted from incompatible control.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Borrowing the cat's body, this uninvited guest began its investigation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It lightly leaped down from the balcony, entered the room, and curiously surveyed the environment within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After touring the room once, the orange cat lightly leaped out onto the balcony and began traversing the city by utilizing its intricate network of pipelines.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One day later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ming Hou, borrowing the orange cat's body, lay atop a skyscraper, squinting as he overlooked the cityscape bathed in fierce sunlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This world... was completely different from what he had imagined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before arriving, he had envisioned this as a world where powerhouses stood in great numbers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even beings of the lowest stratum should be able to tear apart the azure sky with bare hands, while great experts could effortlessly move mountains and fill seas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air should have been filled with dense fluctuations of spiritual energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet in this frail world before his eyes, the spiritual energy in the air was so thin it was nearly negligible, like clear water diluted ten million times.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His whiskers twitched slightly; Ming Hou still could not comprehend this issue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This world... it shouldn't be like this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Setting aside environmental issues for now, the materials used in this world were also extremely inferior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Take that towering giant tower in the distance, for instance; it was constructed entirely from a pile of fragile materials.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Placed in the Monster World, any random monster could easily tear it apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ming Hou gently tapped the edge of the rooftop with his cat paw, sinking into deep thought, yet he could not figure out where exactly the problem lay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This arrival stemmed from a failed gamble in the Monster World.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The one who gambled with him at that time should have been a member of the Reverse Black Tide Legion Training Camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regarding this failed gamble, he had initially chosen to give up, after all, the power behind his opponent commanded rule-level forces stronger than the \"Rules of Fate.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Constrained by the fact that the opponent was a member of the Reverse Black Tide Legion, he chose to withdraw and did not act against those Reverse Black Tide new generations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the resulting consequence was continuous backlash from Fate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Logic achieved, rules activated, yet the result was erroneous.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If this continued, his very level of life would decline because of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To curb the backlash of the Fate Soul rules, he could only choose to launch an investigation in the capacity of a debt collector, hoping to recover the losses from the fate gamble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Reverse Black Tide Legion was vast in scale; finding the race behind the personnel who participated in that gamble was not easy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For this, he sought help from his clan leader, obtaining coordinates through a method of fate gambling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the end, he obtained detailed spatial coordinates.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What puzzled Ming Hou, however, was that these spatial coordinates were not located within the Monster World; the coordinates pointed to the void outside the Monster World.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Rules of Fate clearly would not make mistakes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To clarify the situation, he decided to personally launch a cross-space investigation, though mentally he had prepared for failure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Possessing rule-level power stronger than \"Fate,\" the world where the opponent resided must be rich in spiritual energy and rampant with powerhouses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This solo journey carried immense risk; he might even perish here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as one of the twelve Fate Lords of the Fate Clan, fulfilling the trajectory ordained by Fate was his responsibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was also the source from which Fate granted him power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a heart full of apprehension, he set forth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the situation was completely contrary to his expectations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It even made him fear that some problem had occurred during the spatial jump process.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Passing through the spatial rift, he discovered he had actually arrived in a world nearly devoid of spiritual energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It could not even be compared to the Monster World.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A world like this, by all rights, should be incapable of nurturing powerhouses or giving birth to rules.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No faction wielding rules would ever choose to survive in such a world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, he suspected he had arrived at the wrong place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the judgment of the Fate Rule had never erred.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The previous failure had nothing to do with the judgment; it was purely because the opponent's controlled rules were too powerful, preventing the Fate Rule from extracting any gains from the contest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But since he was already here, he decided to investigate further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, he had intended to possess an intelligent being of this world to acquire its memories, thereby quickly understanding the situation here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, upon seeing the being lying within the coffin lid, he abandoned that notion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Judging solely by appearance and form, the weak being lying inside differed little from the being that had once contested with him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This discovery made him realize that this was indeed the world of that powerful clan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Although he still could not comprehend why this world's environment was so harsh, nor why its beings were so weak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now that his target was confirmed, he planned to lie low in this world and conduct an in-depth investigation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was also the reason he chose not to act against the weak beings.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If, behind the beings of this world, there truly existed a deity controlling powerful rules, he hoped to resolve matters through negotiation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indiscriminate slaughter upon arrival would only be interpreted by the other party as a provocation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, a single day of investigation left him increasingly perplexed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His tail swept gently as he continuously analyzed the absurdities of this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>First was the combat system: technology.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his eyes, these things called \"technology\" were nothing more than toys.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Iron boxes floating via magnetic force moved so slowly that not even a crawling beast cub from the Monster World could fail to catch them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The so-called \"energy weapons,\" if fired at an ordinary beast in the Monster World, would likely fail to damage even its fur or skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the materials used, they were even more unsightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The buildings throughout the entire city were constructed entirely from fragile, non-spiritual ore alloys and concrete; any random monster could smash through them with a single charge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The vehicles on the streets had shells as thin as paper, and the bodies of the beings were pitifully frail.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without the tempering of spiritual energy, their muscles were flaccid and their bones brittle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such beings, if placed in the Monster World, would likely be killed instantly by a mere bump from a \"Firefly Insect\"—a creature from the bottom of the food chain that lives by gathering nectar—as it passed by.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for the growth system, based on the information he had gathered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This world had not yet given birth to any cultivation system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In such an environment, even if a cultivation growth system existed, the thin spiritual energy in the air would be unusable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>While traversing the city, he did hear a four-character phrase appearing with extremely high frequency: \"Virtual World.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It seemed to be a kind of mentally constructed scene similar to an illusionary realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Ming Hou's view, this was merely a group of ants, incapable of cultivation, using clumsy electronic signals to simulate a spiritual world—an act of self-deception, nothing more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His ears twitched slightly as he continued to capture conversations from the streets below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two beings passing underneath were once again discussing content within the Virtual World.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A trace of mockery flashed in Ming Hou's cat-like pupils.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These beings, though living in the real world, were addicted to false illusions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the Monster World, even weak races would at least struggle to survive and strive to become stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the beings of this world were willing to live in a cage woven from illusions, lacking even the desire to struggle; how utterly tragic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But upon careful reflection, he felt he could not entirely blame the beings of these minor worlds.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, with the general environment being this way, no matter how hard an individual struggled, they could not break free from the world's shackles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking thus, the question returned to its origin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could such a world possibly nurture a powerhouse capable of opposing the Fate Rule?\u003C\u002Fp>",2360,"2026-06-19T09:20:37.851Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","92e3920b02e9d2e2d863a7b5050e0f6108dd42f4d77a2f6eef947503fa49d9e4","monsters-are-coming-chapter-345","monsters-are-coming-chapter-343",393,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmonsters-are-coming-cover.jpg"]