Just as Shen Fei was reeling from the shock, wondering if he had screwed up and why he hadn’t inherited anything, a different scene was unfolding elsewhere.

「In the distant Divine Capital of Xia Country.」

The merchant Huang Yi, owner of the account "Taiyi Zhenren," was at a business dinner, already woozy after being plied with alcohol.

「The night before.」

He had been forced to drink over a pint of liquor. But for the sake of his business, he had no choice but to keep drinking with the clients again tonight. Huang Yi, of course, knew about the news of game abilities being inherited, and a small spark of anticipation flickered within him. However, as an adult, he knew that even with that hope, work still had to be done, clients had to be found, drinks had to be drunk, and contracts had to be signed. Unless the games truly descended upon reality and the rules of the world changed, life had to go on.

What Huang Yi hadn’t expected was that while last night’s dinner had ended at 11 PM, tonight’s had already lasted past midnight with no sign of ending.

Having been forced to drink another pint, Huang Yi’s eyes were half-closed. He felt he was reaching his limit.

"Come on, Huang, drink up!"

Dizzy and disoriented, another glass of 104-proof baijiu was placed in front of him. His gaze focused on the massive glass before him, filled with nearly five ounces of liquor.

Should I drink it? If I do, there’s still a chance to talk business. If I don’t, the deal is dead.

Though nausea churned in his stomach, he looked at the damn, squinty-eyed fatty smirking at him from across the table. Huang Yi swallowed hard, clenched his jaw, and raised his hand to grip the glass.

"Brother-in-law! You can’t drink any more!" Seeing Huang Yi’s pained expression, a well-dressed woman in a suit sitting next to him tried to intervene.

"Oh, come on, Bai! It’s obvious Huang can still drink!"

"Exactly, Bai, you can’t go ruining Huang’s good time!"

"Relax, Miss Bai."

The moment the well-dressed woman spoke, the squinty-eyed fatty, President Chen, immediately cut her off. Beside him, several others nodded in agreement.

"President Chen, he can’t drink anymore. He’s had over a pint," Huang Yi’s sister-in-law, Bai, spoke in a tone that was half-pleading, half-explanatory.

She had always been under the care of her brother-in-law, Huang Yi. After her sister and parents died in a car accident, her brother-in-law never remarried, raising her from middle school all the way through college graduation. When she couldn’t find a job after graduating, he even hired her at his company.

In her heart, Bai held a secret she’d never told: she had fallen in love with her brother-in-law, Huang Yi. Unfortunately, whenever she tried to confess her feelings, Huang Yi would always evade the topic. Bai didn’t understand why he acted this way, but she just wanted to be close to him and protect him.

"Oh, my! Bai, Huang sure is a lucky man to have such a caring sister-in-law. How wonderful, just wonderful!"

To Bai’s surprise, the damn, squinty-eyed fatty, President Chen, suddenly turned his attention to her. At the same time, as he spoke, one of his lecherous hands started to creep across the table.

"Ah!" Bai let out a startled cry and quickly pulled her hand back.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" the fat pig, President Chen, roared with laughter.

"HAHAHAHA!"

"HAHAHA!"

"HAHAHAHA!"

The other greasy old men at the table also burst into laughter.

"Here, President Chen!" Hearing the men’s laughter, Huang Yi knew exactly what they were laughing about. He took a deep breath and snatched up the glass. The Jiangnan Leather Factory was on the verge of bankruptcy. To save the factory, he had to sign this contract. He still had to drink the alcohol.

"Brother-in-law! You can’t drink any more!" Bai grabbed Huang Yi’s hand. The last time her brother-in-law drank like this, he ended up with a stomach hemorrhage and almost didn’t make it. She didn’t want to go through that again.

"I have to drink!" Huang Yi clutched the glass and brought it to his lips.

"Hey! Huang, if you can’t drink, then don’t! Your health is more important!" the damn fatty, President Chen, suddenly raised a hand.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Hearing President Chen’s words, both Huang Yi and Bai were stunned.

"We can have Lady Bai drink instead!" President Chen’s tone shifted as he looked over at Bai. "Look how much Lady Bai cares about you. She can drink in your place!"

"Oh, right! Bai can drink for him!"

"Good idea, good idea, she can drink for him!"

"Agreed!"

The others at the table all started clamoring in agreement. Harassing Huang Yi like this for two days straight was a custom of their Beijing Circle. It was an obedience test. The goal was to break your legs first, then hand you a crutch, and finally, make you grateful for the crutch.

"I’ll drink!" Before Huang Yi could react, Bai snatched the glass and downed it in one go. She immediately choked, tears streaming down her face.

"Hey! Wait!" The fat-headed, big-eared President Chen suddenly put on a serious expression. "If you’re drinking in someone’s place, you have to drink two glasses! That’s the rule!"

As he spoke, he poured another glass of liquor and placed it in front of Bai.

"What?!" Her throat already burning, her face flushed red, and her head spinning, Bai couldn’t believe there was another glass.

"President Chen, brothers, let’s have Bai head back. It’s already midnight. Let the driver take her back to the hotel," Huang Yi said, forcing himself to focus.

He knew exactly what this group of old men had on their minds. Unfortunately, his sister-in-law had come looking for him that afternoon and had been seen by the men who came to pick him up. Helplessly, Bai had been dragged along to the dinner. Now that they had been drinking until midnight and these men had suddenly turned their sights on her, Huang Yi was instantly worried.

"Oho! Look at Huang, having a soft spot for a pretty lady! Fine by me! No problem! Let Miss Bai go back!" President Chen seemed very agreeable, consenting to let Bai leave. But in the next breath, his words changed, "However, you’ll have to drink Bai’s share. She drank two for you, so if you drink for her, it becomes four glasses!"

President Chen was smiling as he spoke, but the content of his words made Bai even more worried.

"That’s right!"

"That’s right!"

"Now that’s following the rules!"

"Yeah, we’re all people who follow the rules!"

The others at the table all started snickering. The smug looks on the faces of the many greasy old men made Bai’s stomach turn.

"Hmm?"

Huang Yi took a deep breath, just about to speak. Suddenly, his expression froze. In his ear, he heard a sudden CLICK, followed by a neutral, calm voice. He glanced down and saw that the time was just past midnight.

A jolt went through Huang Yi, and he instantly sobered up by half.

The game ability inheritance is really here?

As Huang Yi stared in shock, a semi-transparent panel materialized before his eyes:

.

[Name: Huang Yi]

[Inherited Game: Tower Defense of Ten Thousand Realms]

[Account Name: Taiyi Zhenren]

[Amount Recharged: 6.73 million]

[Inheritance Progress: Accessories Inheritance 5% (First Stage)]

[Inherited Items: 21 Defense Towers (1 Tenth Tier, 12 Ninth Tier, 7 Eighth Tier).]

.

Only the top half of the simple panel had any text. Clearly, because the inheritance had just begun, many of the Attributes columns had not yet been activated. Huang Yi, now half-sober, saw that the panel still displayed the text that had scrolled by earlier:

[Recharge amount detected to be greater than 1 million!]

[Full inheritance of game abilities!]

[Calibrating ability balance based on game background...]

[Randomly selected game inheritance item—Accessory Defense Towers]

[After calibration calculation, first inheritance is 21 Defense Towers!]

.

WHOOSH.

At 00:00:10, Huang Yi saw an inventory option appear on his panel.

POP!

He tried to open the inventory, and a new secondary panel popped up. Huang Yi saw that all 21 Defense Towers on the panel were the Immortal Technique Defense Towers he was familiar with.

"Ah!"

While Huang Yi was still reeling from his game ability inheritance, his sister-in-law suddenly cried out in surprise.

SWISH!

Before Huang Yi’s eyes, five small, multicolored blocks appeared in his sister-in-law’s hands.

A match-3 game?

Looking at the items in her hands, Huang Yi instantly understood. The "match-3" game his sister-in-law played... she had inherited something from it, too.

ROAR—!!!

The game abilities were really being inherited. Struck by one pleasant surprise after another, Huang Yi knew the world was about to change dramatically. He was just about to grab his sister-in-law and leave this troubled place when a tremendous roar erupted from beside him.

As everyone watched in horror, President Chen’s clothes burst apart. He had transformed into a giant, ferocious Demon Fiend, over ten feet tall, with two horns sprouting from its head. At the same time that Huang Yi and Bai inherited their game abilities, President Chen, sitting at the same table, had inherited something as well. Only, his inheritance was more of an anomaly than the norm.

"Ah!"

"AHH!!"

"Help me!"

"No! Don’t come over here!"

"President Chen, what’s wrong with you?!"

The other men at the table, seeing the terrifying creature that had suddenly appeared, scrambled to their feet, trying to flee in terror.

CRACK!

But before he could get away, an old man closest to President Chen had his head bitten clean off.

ROAR!

The Demon Fiend swung its massive hand, and another fleeing man was torn in half.

A Demon Fiend game? His game character was a Demon Fiend? It’s obvious. He played a non-human character, and after the ability inheritance, the game’s genes or bloodline were carried over into reality.

The fat pig, President Chen, who had been so smug just moments ago, had instantly transformed from a normal person into a Great Demon Fiend. The Demon Fiend’s bloodline also seemed to have affected his mind, causing him to start killing the moment he inherited it.

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

While Huang Yi was still stunned, the Great Demon Fiend, its eyes bloodshot and its body wreathed in demonic energy, smashed five or six of the terrified old men into bloody paste. The Demon Fiend held half a dripping, severed leg in its mouth—a truly gory sight. The other old men had been fawning over the fat pig President Chen just moments before, never imagining that a life-or-death crisis would befall them in the blink of an eye. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"AHHH!!!"

"Brother-in-law!!!!"

After downing the nearly five-ounce glass of liquor, the dazed sister-in-law finally snapped to her senses. Seeing the scene of gore and flying limbs, she screamed, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted from fright.

ROAR—!

The Great Demon Fiend that President Chen had become was drawn by Bai’s scream.

SMACK!

The Great Demon Fiend sent the massive solid wood dining table in front of it flying with a single slap.

BOOM—!

The wooden table crashed into the wall, smashing straight through the concrete and flying far into the distance.

And then, the Demon Fiend’s blood-red eyes met Huang Yi’s.

.

...

(PS: You can skip Chapters 42 and 43. They were edited into an unrecognizable mess.)