When system cheat becomes rampant!-Chapter 638 - 470 Meeting

The region of Jiuzhou is extremely vast; many people live in big cities, but many also live in the countryside, farming the land, raising poultry, and enjoying a slower pace of life.

In a mountain range shrouded in white mist, at the indistinct foot of the mountains lay a tranquil village. The houses were low, flat-roofed structures, looking dilapidated and outdated.

Most villagers here were low-level Awakeners, making a living by farming: they toiled from sunrise to sunset. In the highly technologically advanced Jiuzhou, such simple and primitive villages indeed remained a rarity.

But in fact, it was all due to the system.

The farmer-type systems that the villagers had awakened to determined that they needed to live in such places.

A man wearing a straw hat hurried along a small rural path, greeting villagers from time to time.

"Uncle Zhang, off to the fields again?"

"Yes, the crops are doing well this year."

Old Zhang, who had aged, led an ox while holding a smoking pipe in his mouth, responding with a smile.

His awakened system was the "N-Level King of Peanuts System." To strengthen his system, he needed to plant peanuts, so he lived in the countryside. But after a lifetime of planting peanuts, he had only reached the mid-phase of Qi-Controlling prowess.

"Then you must be busy."

The straw-hatted man waved his hand and then headed towards a small brick and tile house.

"Knock! Knock! Knock!"

He knocked thrice on the door, waited two seconds, then knocked four more times.

"Where have you been?"

"Clearing the fields of pests!"

"Why did it take you so long to come back?"

"I went seven miles to the north!"

The man in the straw hat replied.

The door creaked open.

The straw-hatted man looked around to make sure no one was paying attention before he hurried in.

The room inside was dim.

Six people were there; he was the seventh.

Upon his entrance, everyone merely glanced at him, nodded slightly, and quickly turned their attention back to the television set in the room.

The TV was broadcasting news about a building in Liangzhou's East Prefecture that had been destroyed down to its waist by the Void Devouring Insect yesterday.

"Regarding the rumors of desolate beasts appearing in Jiuzhou, there is much speculation. An Elder of UR-level from the alliance refuted these rumors, and we have interviewed Elder Qiu, a UR-level leader who was the first to arrive at the scene yesterday, providing aid to disaster victims and preventing further calamity."

The scene switched to show Lady Qiu's crumpled old face, as if it were mashed mud.

"The quarantine department of Jiuzhou has always been dedicated and responsible! They strictly inspect any martial artist entering Jiuzhou, so the idea of desolate beasts invading Jiuzhou is utterly baseless! Everyone, please do not worry; Jiuzhou is very safe! I too am deeply saddened by today's tragedy. However, according to our preliminary investigation, it was caused by a martial artist who can control desolate beasts, sealed the Beast Pill of a Void Devouring Beast, and did it deliberately. We are currently arresting the suspect. Please, do not believe or spread rumors."

Lady Qiu, before the camera, presented herself with utmost solemnity, just like a diligent and responsible leader of the alliance, articulating her message perfectly.

The news on TV glossed over the incident where Xiang Beifei saved people, not mentioning a word about it, and no footage of Xiang Beifei was broadcast either.

This report acted as if Xiang Beifei didn't exist, attributing all merit for saving the entire building to the alliance, as if it was their members who heroically appeared on the scene immediately after the tragedy, saved everyone, and quelled the incident.

——

"Nonsense!"

Seeing the news, the man in the straw hat angrily removed his hat and threw it onto the table!

He was a middle-aged man with a round face, looking quite amiable with a sweaty face, seemingly after a long journey.

"This old hag is spouting nonsense; she didn't speak a single truth. How dare she deceive and confuse the masses like this?" the straw-hatted man said furiously.

"She's a UR-level high-ranking leader of the alliance. Do you expect her to come out and tell everyone that our land has been invaded by desolate beasts?" A woman in the corner coldly responded.

"But not warning the public will lead to significant casualties! Just now, I went to a food processing plant and eliminated a batch of beast eggs. We are the ones dealing with these matters; what exactly has the alliance done?"

"The alliance won't believe our words. They even failed to mention Young Master Xiang saving people." Another man spoke up.

The straw-hatted man wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked urgently, "Speaking of Young Master Xiang, have you seen him?"

"We have," a muffled voice from the corner said.

The straw-hatted man perked up, asking eagerly, "What did he say?"

"He doesn't want to be our leader."

"He doesn't want to?" The straw-hatted man paused, slightly startled, "But—Xu Yang, didn't you explain it to him properly?"

"I explained it all."

A bitter voice came from the shadows in the corner where Xu Yang sat.

The straw-hatted man looked anxious, saying, "Aren't you his teacher? Doesn't he care at all about your feelings?"

"He knows more than I do. I can't be his teacher. When I give him classes, I feel the pressure," Xu Yang said.

Everyone in the room was a true Unrestrained individual.

This was their meeting place because the big cities were full of various surveillance and advanced technology. Meeting in the city could easily get them noticed by alliance members, so they usually congregated in this rural village, where the villagers had weaker system levels, making it relatively safe.

"Did you really explain everything to him clearly? Could you have forgotten to mention his father's matter to him? His father had taken us in before, he was aware of our existence, by all accounts..."

"Tang, face the reality, he rejected us!" Dai Ping said in a heavy tone.

"How could he reject us? His father was our leader, he's so talented, inheriting all of his father's fine qualities. He's clearly a responsible kid—he could stand up to the president of the elite college for Professor Guo, he could save those people when the One-Armed Crab attacked the city, he could go alone and kill all the Ghost Mustache of Remnant Visage; why can't he accept us?" Tang asked, his emotions running high.

"Tang, calm down."

"How can I be calm! We've been waiting all these years for him to grow up, to lead us. We've waited so many years, from his father to him. I thought he was our faith, but why has it come to this..."

Tang clenched his fists, and even the light in his eyes seemed to dissipate as he asked in a daze.

"We will still go searching for hope."

"Tell me, where do we look? Without a clear leader, we have no direction at all! We are bound to face extinction sooner or later. Everything we have done will be in vain. What's the point of persisting? Might as well just embrace the final Unrestrained." Tang said, his heart like ashes as he sat down on a chair.

No one in the room said a word, a deadly stillness spreading among them.

Everyone understood what "embrace the final Unrestrained" meant.

Up to now, the only way to escape the system was when one's life reached its end.

Unless absolutely necessary, they would not choose this path, for it was impractical.

But with the current Unrestrained situation, every one of them might be forced into it.

Everyone in the room felt deeply powerless. In a world where the system hierarchy was deeply ingrained, without a clear direction, it was too hard for them to bring about change with their abilities.

Just then—

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The door outside the room suddenly made a sound.

Dai Ping lifted his head and asked cautiously:

"Where did you go?"

"Weeding out the pests!"

"Why did it take so long for you to come back?"

"I walked eight miles north!"

Everyone looked at each other in confusion.

"Why would Ma Le come here? Isn't he at the power plant in Qingzhou looking for the eggs of the Electricity Swallowing Beast?" Dai Ping asked in a low voice.

They all had a special code for their meetings; "weeding out the pests" referred to seeking the beast eggs in Jiuzhou, and each person would be assigned a temporary number, the number indicating the miles traveled. As for "north," it was because the person they were waiting for was named Xiang Beifei.

"I don't know, he said he wouldn't be attending today's gathering," Xu Yang said.

Dai Ping cautiously walked towards the door, intending to observe the person outside through the surveillance camera. However, just then, a terrifying wave swept through the entire house!

"Not good, back off!" Dai Ping shouted in a low voice!

Boom!

The whole house trembled slightly, as if hit by a fearsome attack, the walls cracking. The glowing array on the wall started to show signs of collapse!

"This is someone from the orifice transforming stage!"

Dai Ping's face turned pale!

Their house could withstand extremely powerful attacks; even those in the later stages of God Refining might not be able to shatter it. Only a master of the orifice transforming stage could smash the house with a single blow!

The others also stood up, filled with shock and uncertainty.

"How could someone from the orifice transforming stage come here?"

"I don't know!"

"Quick! Use the Teleportation Array to leave! I'll stay behind to hold them off," Dai Ping shouted urgently.

"I will stay with you," said Dai Lan in a rush.

"Your presence will only hinder me! Protect the others!"

Dai Ping's awakened ability was that of the Lone Ranger System; his combat prowess would be stronger when he was alone.

Dai Lan bit her lip, knowing that if she stayed, as long as there was an even number of them, their combat power would also be enhanced. However, she was also aware that her fighting ability was no match for Dai Ping's. Just as she was about to lead the others out through the Teleportation Array, she discovered that the array had unexpectedly failed!

"They've sealed the space!" Xu Yang shouted!

Boom!

The entire tile-roofed house was leveled!

"So the chief culprit who used the Void Devouring Insects to destroy the building has been hiding here all along! Now, I can catch you all in one swoop!"

A loud laugh quickly followed, and a middle-aged man stood suspended in mid-air. He radiated a powerful aura, pressuring the entire village. The terrifying fluctuations, like mighty tidal waves, made Dai Ping and the others tremble with fear!

"It's someone from the Alliance!"

"How did he find this place?"

Xu Yang and the others were equally astonished!