[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-monsters-are-coming":3,"chapter-the-monsters-are-coming-monsters-are-coming-chapter-361":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},2250210,4069,"Chapter 361: Testing Operations, Pooling Ideas","monsters-are-coming-chapter-361",361,"\u003Cp>The negotiation over territorial division atop the Bell Tower ended amid heavy rain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Shan effortlessly became the absolute ruler of this city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To deal with these scum who feared power but not virtue, he believed military deterrence was far more effective than material temptation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though the leaders of the Seven Gangs resented it deeply, not one dared to show even a hint of defiance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fate of the Gear Gang’s leader lay before their eyes—a still-dripping lump of iron, the punishment for saying “no.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They might have had the nerve to clash with other gangs, but before Wei Shan, they had no strength to resist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His combat power, far beyond this world, rendered all conspiracies and tricks futile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Next, he only needed to use these seven leaders to spread a net for harvesting fear values.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But before that, he had to first assess the city’s true resources.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, how much daily resource output did each district produce, and how many residents could those outputs sustain?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only by clearly accounting for these figures could he precisely calibrate the rewards for the “Courage Challenge.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two days later.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A brand-new building rose in the center of New Cassini City, replacing the original Bell Tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Its shape resembled a cluster of fog gathered on the ground, its surface flowing with deep purple light patterns.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From afar, it looked like a crouching purple beast; up close, it resembled a holographic projection.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Viewed from above, it resembled an open purple eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The building was protected by invisible forces, keeping rain and dust outside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The gang members who once wandered this area had vanished, replaced by guards dressed in uniform.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nearby residents peeked cautiously from behind crumbling walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their eyes reflected the strange structure, murmuring among themselves with uncertainty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What the hell is that? Where did the Bell Tower go?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the crowd, an old woman missing a tooth clutched a tattered scarf, her wrinkled Iron Face flickering with confusion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>She had never seen such an eerie building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The deep purple light patterns on its surface moved like living things—something that shouldn’t exist in this era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside her, several ragged children crouched behind a discarded personal flyer, their dirty faces filled with curiosity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The eldest boy suddenly pointed at the building and cried out:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Look! The light on it is moving!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the direction he pointed, the mist on the building’s surface expanded and contracted like breathing, revealing indistinct silhouettes within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As if countless trapped souls were trying to break through the barrier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The timid girl opened her mouth to cry, but the old woman clamped a hand over it, glanced warily at the guards outside, and dragged the girl into the shadows:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stay away. This isn’t anything good.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as nearby residents wondered about the sudden appearance of the new building, loudspeakers across all districts of New Cassini suddenly blared.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice of the Wild Wolf Gang’s leader echoed clearly throughout the city:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Residents of New Cassini, we announce a great piece of news: the central tower has been demolished. We have built a ‘Nightmare Trial Ground’ here, now open to all residents. Whoever has the courage to enter the trial scenario and complete a Courage Challenge will receive clean water and sufficient food.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Completing Level One grants one 500-milliliter bottle of purified water and two bags of rations. Level Two yields three days’ worth of compressed biscuits. Level Three and above… Additionally, upon completion, you will receive basic household supplies…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The broadcast repeated endlessly. The city, once lifeless from resource scarcity, suddenly came alive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Simultaneously, posters plastered every broken wall and abandoned streetlamp throughout the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The posters were written in bold red paint.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They contained the same content as the broadcast, with challenge levels and corresponding rewards marked beside them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the bottom, a small line of text was printed:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No matter what you’ve done, stepping into the trial ground grants you equal opportunity.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many residents emerged from hiding to examine the nearby posters, their eyes filled with hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason was simple: the tyrants ruling this city were not to be trusted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sudden “Courage Challenge”? Who knew what evil scheme lay behind it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps they wanted to lure people in for some horrific experiment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Distrust spread everywhere in the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hah, Courage Challenge? They probably want to turn us into animal feed. These bastards hoard all the city’s resources—we’re already this far gone, and now they want to drain us dry!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My cousin went to collect trash near the energy station two days ago. They broke his legs. Now they suddenly offer us water and food? They’re definitely planning to drain our blood for research.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe some gang wants to swap organs—they’re screening for matches.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several children clung to the edges of the poster board, staring longingly at the bread and water bottle illustrations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But adults behind them yanked them back roughly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One mother scolded her son, her voice trembling:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t believe them. When have those gang beasts ever shown kindness?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clean water and food were now their most luxurious commodities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But they simply didn’t believe such good fortune existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, in this city, kindness had always been the most expensive lie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Iron Hand Gang once set up a “free porridge” stall—those who drank it the next day were dragged to the energy mine outside the city, their ankles shackled with iron, forced into slavery until death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such tricks had been repeated too often; the Eight Gangs had long lost all credibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet as the broadcast repeated endlessly, some who had long sunk into despair began to waver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Near the Nightmare Trial Ground, an old man, hunched and frail, quietly pushed through the crowd and took a stumbling step toward the building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Grandpa!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him, the little girl screamed, trying to chase after him, but a neighbor held her tightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man turned back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His Iron Face, emaciated from starvation, had high cheekbones and sunken eyes. For an instant, tenderness flashed in his gaze toward his granddaughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His cracked lips moved, but no sound came out. He simply raised his hand and waved at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hands were covered in frostbites and fissures, his fingernails caked with black mud from digging through ruins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he turned back, the tenderness vanished, replaced by resolve.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stared at the building with its flowing purple light patterns—as if it were his last straw.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His Adam’s apple moved painfully; the cramping in his stomach reminded him his body was at its limit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The last half of the compressed biscuit had been given to his granddaughter yesterday. Now he could barely even drink dirty water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this city ruled by tyrants, only two fates awaited them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Either die from stray bullets in gang wars, or rot slowly from hunger and disease.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His cloudy eyes swept over the fearful, hesitant faces along the way—he knew these people, like him, were weighing a calculation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Was dying of hunger more painful, or was the potential despair of entering that strange building worse?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for this old man, whose body was already half-buried in the earth, there was no choice—his feet held the answer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took a deep breath, his sunken chest rising slightly, then stepped forward, resolute, toward the Nightmare Trial Ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His shoes splashed through puddles, sending up tiny mud droplets, making the onlookers tense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he reached the building’s entrance, he glanced at the armed guards, then looked past them to the tables piled high with water and food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without further hesitation, he gritted his teeth and stepped inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the old man’s figure slowly vanished into the entrance shrouded in purple mist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The onlookers held their breath, staring fixedly at the eerie building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Time passed. No one left. They waited for the old man’s return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One minute, two minutes… an hour.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man did not return.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd began to stir; whispers spread like waves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A man with a crippled leg spat fiercely onto the ground:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I knew it. That old man’s been torn apart into parts. What good could those beasts possibly do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other side, the little girl stared blankly, her small hand gripping the tattered sleeve of her neighbor, whispering:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Will Grandpa come back?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air grew heavy with dread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some began to retreat silently; the purple building now looked like a monster that devoured life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several young men, eyes red, picked up broken stones, wanting to hurl them at the building—but they held back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such an act could make them wish they were dead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go on, everyone, leave. There’s no such thing as free good fortune in this world,” said a middle-aged woman, shaking her head in sorrow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just as the crowd was about to disperse, the building’s surface suddenly rippled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The purple mist churned violently, forming a vortex-like passage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The onlookers recoiled in terror—then a hunched figure emerged from within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was the old man who had entered the building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood trembling at the door, his Iron Face frozen in an expression of utter terror, as if he had endured unspeakable horrors within the building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His cracked lips quivered continuously, yet no sound emerged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he tried to take a step, his legs suddenly spasmed unnaturally, nearly causing him to collapse to his knees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, the guard standing outside the building stepped forward and glanced at the glowing numbers slowly fading on the old man’s arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he picked up from behind him a sealed bottle of purified water and two bags of food wrapped in aluminum foil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Challenge first stage completed. Rewards issued in full.” The guard, his expression brutal, thrust the rewards toward the old man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man’s pupils contracted sharply as he stared at the crystal-clear water, capable of reflecting a person’s image, and a guttural “huh-huh” escaped his throat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He reached out trembling hands, then clutched the water and food tightly to his chest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rustling sound of aluminum foil rubbing against his chest was startlingly clear in the deathly silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man’s hunched back seemed to straighten slightly under the weight in his arms, the lingering terror on his Iron Face gradually replaced by disbelief and wild joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“C-Can I go again?” The old man croaked out a hoarse voice, trembling as he pointed toward the interior of the building.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The guard nodded:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you wish to continue the challenge, you may do so at any time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, the old man’s Iron Face lit up with joy, then he shook his head violently, clutching the water and biscuits and turning to leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His steps remained unsteady, yet urgent, as if afraid the guard behind him might change his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he passed through the crowd, the water bottle in his arms reflected the faces of nearby onlookers—filled with shock or greed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone instinctively reached out to snatch it, but the old man stumbled aside to evade them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He clutched his treasures tightly and rushed toward his little granddaughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the girl flung herself into his arms, he immediately shoved the water bottle and biscuits into her hands, then turned his back to the crowd, his hunched frame like a crude wall, alert for anyone who might come to steal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Eat quickly, little one, eat.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He trembled as he tore open the aluminum foil, and an aroma of grain and grease instantly spread through the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To hungry noses, the scent was magnified infinitely, as if the air itself had turned sweet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl, already starving, bit into a large piece with tears in her eyes; crumbs fell onto her dress, and the old man quickly plucked them up with his bony fingers and popped them into his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The 500-milliliter purified water—he let his granddaughter drink deeply, while he took only two sips before tightening the cap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the water slid down his cracked throat, cool and faintly sweet, he couldn’t help but close his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the first time in three months, he tasted water untainted by dirt, sand, or rust.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A woman from next door, holding her child, hid nearby; the child, starving, gnawed on his fingers, eyes fixed greedily on the old man’s biscuits.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man hesitated, then broke the remaining half-biscuit in two and offered one piece:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“For the child, to fill his stomach.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The woman froze, her hands shaking as she took the biscuit, stammering thanks before shoving it into her child’s mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soft chewing sounds echoed continuously, like pebbles dropped into a Firefly Lake, sending ripples through the watching crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Someone involuntarily swallowed saliva; the sound of their Adam’s apple rolling was startlingly clear in the silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others stared fixedly at the small half-bottle of purified water, their longing nearly spilling from their eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old man shoved the last bite of biscuit into his mouth, wiped the crumbs from his granddaughter’s lips, then turned to show everyone that every last crumb had been eaten from the aluminum foil—only then did he dare to lead the child deeper into the ruins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His back remained hunched, yet the strength from that meager food made his steps noticeably steadier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crowd left behind, like dry tinder ignited, erupted instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He actually got it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That water looked so clean—I want to drink it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just one stage challenge fills your stomach—shouldn’t we try?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Murmurs grew louder; the earlier fear and doubt, before the tangible presence of food, melted like snow under sunlight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet still, no one dared to attempt it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They feared the old man was merely bait—that these monsters intended to lure more people into the eerie building with temporary rewards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could these bastards who run the city possibly distribute resources to everyone?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could not conceive of any reasonable explanation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many curious onlookers began walking toward the old man’s residence, eager to learn exactly what he had experienced inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, Wei Shan, hidden behind the scenes, was also observing the city’s residents’ reactions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bunch of monsters already subjugated had previously done nothing but evil, causing his plan to advance slowly in its early stages.\u003C\u002Fp>",2349,"2026-06-19T09:20:37.851Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","a1bdc39a6e47b6d899c2600c8a636fd488c4b97eb42a9e7b6df5ea49a9b2c4f1","monsters-are-coming-chapter-362","monsters-are-coming-chapter-360",393,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmonsters-are-coming-cover.jpg"]