Chapter 85: Lighthouse Village (Part 3)

The sea breeze was bleak, the icy rain drifted and swayed, and the gloomy sky pressed down, making one's heart feel heavy.

Su Xi directly cast a barrier over herself and Xiao Yan, blocking all the wind, cold, and rain outside the barrier.

Xiao Yan looked at Su Xi with eyes full of admiration.

Su Xi felt a moment of helplessness: "... Don't look at me like that, it makes me feel all uncomfortable."

"What kind of system does Sister Miao have?" Xiao Yan asked.

"Survival challenge type," Su Xi replied.

Xiao Yan said: "That sounds very impressive; my system is of the development type."

"That's quite good." Su Xi stood on a giant rock, gazing into the distance at the village ahead.

Amidst the wind and rain, one could see a lighthouse, with a lamp hanging at the very top, flickering on and off.

Further away, one could see the vast, pitch-black sea, as if sea monsters might emerge from it at any moment.

【Host, this place is strange.】 Er Miao reminded Su Xi.

Su Xi also had a premonition that this mission was likely not that simple; she looked at Xiao Yan behind her, "Where did you pick up this mission?"

"Just at the official service center, I picked a mission at random."

"Which deity was the publisher?"

"Little Bear Candy."

Su Xi gazed at the village, "Let's go. Once a deity's mission is accepted, it must be completed."

Xiao Yan followed obediently behind Su Xi.

Su Xi looked back at him, feeling he was much like her own younger brother, and smiled: "What did you do before entering the game?"

"Nothing much, sometimes I'd be dragged off by my family to do manual labor. What about you, Sister Miao?"

Su Xi replied: "I cultivated the Immortal Dao to survive, and later, the world turned into sand and gravel, leaving me to wander alone."

"..." Xiao Yan looked at her, "Is Sister Miao participating in this game because you want to take first place and resurrect your world?"

"What?!" Su Xi stopped in her tracks abruptly, staring intently at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan was startled and even took two steps back, "Sister Miao, I... did I say something wrong?"

"Say what you just said one more time!" Su Xi pressed him for two steps.

Xiao Yan thought about what he had just said and repeated: "Is Sister Miao trying to take first place to resurrect your world?"

"Is that possible?" Su Xi asked in a tight voice.

Xiao Yan nodded, "It is. The deity will reward the first-place winner and fulfill one wish for the victor. If Sister wants to resurrect your world, it shouldn't be too difficult for the deity."

Su Xi fell silent.

After a long while, she finally raised her head, her gaze becoming exceptionally determined.

"Thank you, Xiao Yan, I hadn't even thought of that." Su Xi stepped forward and hugged Xiao Yan, "I'm sorry, I scared you just now."

Xiao Yan hugged Su Xi back, looking nervous and flustered, "Um, I didn't help you with anything. But if you need me for anything in the future, Sister Miao, just say the word."

"Alright." Su Xi patted his shoulder and back, "Let's go, let's go do the mission together."

【Host, Er Miao also knows that taking first place comes with very generous rewards.】 Er Miao said to Su Xi.

Su Xi: 【But you aren't sure if we can take first place, nor do you have the data to support that speculation.】

Er Miao said: 【Yes, Host. Now, a level 118 player has appeared on the player leaderboard.】

Su Xi: 【... Me, is there still a possibility for me?】

Er Miao said: 【As long as the Host has the determination, you definitely can!】

【I will do my best.】 Su Xi looked toward the vast, dark village; apart from the lamp on the lighthouse, there was no light at all.

Xiao Yan reminded Su Xi, "Sister Miao, my system isn't working anymore."

Su Xi hurriedly checked her own system, and it also began to flicker.

Er Miao: 【Host...】

The system shut down.

Su Xi instinctively pulled Xiao Yan, "Run! This mission is not something the two of us can handle."

At least two people, but there was no set limit on how many, meaning multiple people could come to do this mission together.

However, above them, a red warning appeared—【Mission locked! Only when all players are dead or the mission is completed can it be unlocked.】

Xiao Yan said to Su Xi with an apologetic look: "I'm sorry, Sister Miao, I didn't know it was this eerie; I thought it was just a mission to find something."

Su Xi comforted him, "It has nothing to do with you; I was the one who volunteered to do the mission together. Besides, I will definitely lead you to complete this mission."

A ball of thunder-fire appeared in her hand, illuminating the path beneath their feet, and she led Xiao Yan to continue toward the lighthouse.

Xiao Yan quietly took hold of Su Xi's hand.

Su Xi let him hold her hand and comfortingly squeezed back, "Don't worry."

Xiao Yan looked at the slender, soft hand in his, a faint smile appearing on his face.

Suddenly, something approached them rapidly.

Su Xi's mind stirred, and the thunder-fire suddenly split into dozens, shooting toward the direction the sound came from.

A group of bizarre, half-rotted monsters appeared under the thunder-fire.

The next instant, Su Xi launched a thunder-fire attack on those monsters.

Almost upon touching the thunder-fire, those monsters turned into black ash.

"It's Evil Filth." Su Xi said to Xiao Yan: "My thunder-fire happens to restrain this kind of existence!"

Xiao Yan's eyes returned to their previous look of admiration, "Sister Miao, you are the most impressive player I have ever met."

Su Xi raised her hand and flicked his forehead, "Flattery won't work, focus on the mission. The system has lost its function here, and with these Evil Filth, it's safe to conclude that some substance like a system virus has entered the game."

Xiao Mi snuggled in the arms of a man wearing glasses, her small hands holding a large Crystal Ball.

The scene inside the Crystal Ball was Su Xi currently killing monsters, with Xiao Yan following behind her, admiring Su Xi's dashing and heroic posture as she killed the monsters.

"Big Brother is too bad! He doesn't kill the monsters, letting Big Sister kill them all by herself; he isn't even afraid of tiring her out."

The man ruffled her soft white hair, "Alright now~ you've seen what you wanted to see, so from now on you can't run around everywhere anymore; you must be a good girl and go to school, understand?"

"I understand~ Uncle Yasi, starting from tomorrow, I will go to school properly." Xiao Mi adjusted her posture again in his arms, lying comfortably, "But, why did Big Brother lie to Big Sister?"

Yasi helped her hold the Crystal Ball and looked at the two people inside it, "Xiao Yi Yi previously towards Da Miao..."

"It's Big Sister Su Xi, Da Miao is the calico cat sister."

"……Although Xiao Yi Yi's actions were unintentional, after his Godhood was restored, the vast memories washed away that bit of time he spent in the Lou Hu World. Without careful extraction, he might not even be able to recall what he experienced here. His existence supported that Lou Hu World. It is normal for the world to dissipate when he left. Therefore, strictly speaking, your brother did not do anything to wrong her."

"But Big Sister hates him."

"That is because she knows your brother could have preserved that world, yet he stood by and did nothing. You were only just born and have never experienced what your brother has gone through; you don't know that he once destroyed a galaxy with his own hands, severed a main timeline, and what disappeared was far more than just the Lou Hu World—it was tens of millions of planets, races, and civilizations. He recycled the energy, then rebuilt the galaxy, watching millions of planets be born and civilizations rise and fall from nothing... a cycle of reincarnation. Compared to these, what do you think that Lou Hu World was to him?"

"Uncle Yasi, Xiao Mi knows she was wrong."

"Good girl~ You just didn't know, and those who don't know are not to be blamed. Right now, your brother has already realized how important Su Xi is to him; his disguise is merely a means of pursuit, as long as the result is good, that is enough."

Xiao Mi's eyes sparkled as she peered at the Crystal Ball, "Uncle Yasi, Big Brother will be able to bring Big Sister back, right?"

"He certainly can."

"Are you sure?"

"Didn't your Uncle Yan Ze manage to win your mother over? What your Uncle Yan Ze did to your mother was far more serious than what your brother has done to Su Xi."

Their names were also similar; perhaps that girl was destined to enter their family.

"Uncle Yasi, will you tell me about it, please?"

Yasi took a large baby bottle out from his spatial ring, "Alright."

Xiao Mi drank from the baby bottle, her eyes curved into crescents as she listened to Yasi tell the story.

……

Su Xi stood on the observation deck at the top of the lighthouse, gazing out at the distant sea.

Xiao Yan climbed up with his bare hands, huffing and puffing, "Big Sister Miao, this tower didn't look that tall from afar, but I didn't expect it to be so tiring to climb; it must be several hundred meters, right?"

"It should be over five hundred meters." Su Xi reached out and pulled him up, "Be careful."

"You too." Xiao Yan reached out and subconsciously protected her waist.

Behind her waist was an iron hook, previously used for hanging a lamp; now that the lamp was gone, the hook was bent by the wind.

"Mm." Su Xi nodded and smiled gently.

Xiao Yan looked at her smile, dazed for a moment, and lost his footing, falling to one side.

Su Xi hurriedly grabbed him, and he bumped into her embrace, "That is why, when standing in a high place, don't speak carelessly; you might end up fulfilling your own words."

"Yes, Big Sister Miao." Xiao Yan said shyly, feeling embarrassed.

Su Xi let him hold onto the railing of the observation deck, "This is better."

Xiao Yan suddenly asked: "Big Sister Miao, do you have a boyfriend? Do you mind someone younger than you?"

Su Xi was stunned, then looked at Xiao Yan, "You... haha, don't let your imagination run wild."

"I was just asking." Xiao Yan lowered his head.

Su Xi looked at his appearance, and a sense of unbearable pity suddenly arose in her heart; sure enough, when facing someone younger than her, she would become extra soft-hearted.

"I don't have a boyfriend, but I already have a husband." Although she did not want to admit it, she wanted even less for this young boy to develop any unnecessary emotions because of it.

Xiao Yan lifted his head abruptly, "Is that so?"

Su Xi nodded, "Our wedding... was very grand!" And the ending was also very miserable!

Xiao Yan asked tentatively: "Big Sister Miao, is that person someone you love?"

Su Xi nodded, "I approached him with a purpose at first, but later, after accepting his love, I gradually became unable to stop myself."

It was precisely because she truly loved him that she could not forgive him, or even herself!

"……" Xiao Yan lowered his eyelashes, his ears turning slightly red, "I wish you both to be together forever, loving and accompanying each other."

"Thank you." Su Xi said thank you with her mouth, but her eyes were filled with complexity and desolation.

Xiao Yan raised his eyes and looked into the depths of hers... in an instant, a chill of profound ice swept through his entire body.

She was lying!

The sea surface suddenly surged, and huge waves rolled toward the direction of the village.

A giant bone-winged evil dragon flew out from the sea and flew toward the lighthouse, carrying a thick, black, evil aura; wherever it passed, everything withered and decayed!

Xiao Yan said to Su Xi with a grave expression: "Big Sister Miao, be careful."

Su Xi nodded, "Watch Big Sister beat the evil dragon for you."

Saying this, she used Teleportation to leave the observation deck and charged toward the evil dragon.

The Thunder-Steel Mace emerged from her Divine Mansion, flashing with extraordinary lightning; without waiting for Su Xi's command, it released booming, thunderous pillars of electric energy toward the evil dragon.

Xiao Yan leaned against the observation deck, an unconcealable sense of loneliness in his expression.

……

Yasi looked at the sleeping Xiao Mi in his arms, placed her on the daybed beside him, covered her with a thin blanket with pink floral patterns, and finally set up a barrier that played soft lullaby music.

The little one looked just like her mother, and everyone doted on her endlessly, "Her temper also follows your mother; if she wants something, she must obtain it."

He looked at the Crystal Ball again, just in time to see Xiao Yan's loneliness and Su Xi bravely killing monsters, "Stupid boy, enjoy it slowly."

Only happiness that is hard to obtain is hard to let go of.

"Calling my son a stupid boy, you were even worse than him back then. With all sorts of crazy maneuvers, you forced Yan Yan to the point of almost going mad, and in the end, she still took you in."

A tall, stunningly handsome man with short silver-gray hair and eyes appeared at the doorway, carrying two small jugs of wine in his hands.

"As long as the result is good." Yasi reached out.

Yan Ze tossed a pot of wine to him, "Give me the Crystal Ball."

"You want to watch too."

"As a father, it's rare for me to care about my son."

"That's true." Yasi gave him the Crystal Ball, "Prepare for the wedding, how do you plan to handle it?"

"Who says we're having a wedding already? This girl is bound to the Reversal System; let's see if she can reach the max level. My Yan family has its standards, too."

"I think your son has no standards." Yasi opened the wine pot and took a sip, "Besides, Yan Yan has already approved."

Yan Ze replied, "……She is just happy as long as the child has a companion."

As he spoke, his gaze turned toward Xiao Mi, "It's rare to see her sleeping."

"Actually, she doesn't sleep at all; I used some sleep-aid incense, with Yan Yan's consent. One has too much energy, the other sleeps all day long; why didn't they balance it out before they were born?"

"It's not bad, being able to keep both of them. Xiao Mei said at the time that only one could survive." Yan Ze tossed another small pot of wine to him, "I'm leaving."

"If you ask me, don't meddle in the children's affairs." Yasi caught the wine.

Yan Ze tossed the Crystal Ball in his hand, "Take good care of the children."

Yasi stored the wine into an alternate space, removed the barrier, picked up Xiao Mi, and went to the nursery specifically prepared for the little ones, singing a lullaby he had sung countless times, "Good baby sleep tight, drink your milk and eat till you're full……"

……

Before Xiao Yan's eyes, a silver-gray light screen suddenly appeared.

Upon seeing it, he immediately cast a mirror barrier around himself. It appeared as though he was still standing inside the observation deck, but in reality, he had already torn through space and moved into the void.

Yan Ze had a cigarette between his lips and wore tea-colored sunglasses as he watched his youngest son.

"Who developed the Reversal System?"

"My brother."

"Which brother?"

"Karl."

"That brat only develops weapons of war. If it doesn't reach the max level within one hundred million hours, the system will automatically self-destruct, and the host will also turn into data and return to the source code library."

"Yes, so I will take her to level up."

"Hmm." Yan Ze took the Crystal Ball out from the System Space, "It contains an anti-surveillance system; do you know when to use it?"

"I understand." Xiao Yan's ears turned red.

Seeing this, Yan Ze let out a soft 'Tsk~'……

How was he raised? Still so innocent!