"Faster!!!"

With his family in danger, Shen Fei immediately spurred his Celestial Horse to go faster. The Celestial Horse was incredibly fast, but even so, it would still take a few minutes to get home from the airport. And life or death was often decided in a matter of seconds...

When will I finally inherit my Teleportation Gate Tower!

The thought flashed through Shen Fei’s mind as he raced home. If he had a Teleportation Gate Tower right now, he could have placed one at home. Then, as long as he was within the tower’s range, he could instantly teleport back... The Teleportation Gate Tower, like a Teleportation Array, was a special type of Defense Tower capable of long-distance travel.

...

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

As Shen Fei worried, the Celestial Horse landed at Villa 42 in the Nanshan Villa district.

SWISH!

SWISH!

SWISH!

The moment he landed, Shen Fei waved his hand and deployed five more Defense Towers. He then began to manually operate the towers that had been running on autopilot. Although the towers could function automatically, their effectiveness was greatly reduced.

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

Under Shen Fei’s personal control, the various Defense Towers—for surveillance, scanning, Anti-Invisibility, and more—all activated at full capacity.

Then, Shen Fei saw it. His family stood alert under the green Aura of a Healing Tower. Beside them, he also saw Uncle Yi, his wife, and their son. Across from the Healing Tower stood three men with malicious looks in their eyes.

One man was holding a long bamboo pole, rapidly jabbing at the people under the tower’s protection. With each touch, the person he struck was instantly paralyzed. They only regained movement after the Healing Tower’s Aura flashed over them.

The second intruder held a silver playing card. Through a Detection Tower, Shen Fei saw that the card was the "Black Spade A." As the card was turned, Shen Fei watched as his sister’s red frog and the Defense Towers he had left to protect his family seemingly went blind, as if they couldn’t see the three men right in front of them. Without manual control, the automatically operating Defense Towers were unable to launch an effective attack.

The last man had a huge black mouse perched on his shoulder. Right now, the mouse was squeaking furiously at the Healing Tower that was protecting his family.

SWISH!

SWISH!

SWISH!

Knowing these three possessed strange abilities, Shen Fei assessed the situation and immediately waved his hand. Instantly, countless thick vines burst from the ground. The automated Defense Towers had been affected by the "Black Spade A," but with his direct control, their attacks were instantly restored!

Not wanting to destroy his own home, Shen Fei chose to attack with the Vine Towers, which would cause the least amount of damage.

SWISH!

SWISH!

SWISH!

Vines as thick as an arm shot up like giant pythons. In an instant, the man with the bamboo pole was bound, and the pole was snatched from his hands.

SWISH!

The man holding the "Black Spade A," the one affecting the frog and the towers’ line of sight, was about to turn and see what was happening when he too was instantly bound.

SWISH!

The last man and the mouse on his shoulder were also tied up securely amidst cries of alarm.

...

[Paralysis Ring: Imbues attacks with a paralyzing force, causing those touched to stiffen! (Bound)]

[Black Spade A Card: A super rule-based item that contains the Uniqueness of the error sequence. Can cause target confusion and bugs... (Bound)]

[Treasure-Seeking Mouse: Can detect special, high-quality treasures... (Bound)]

「Nanshan Villa District」

Listening to the confessions of the three intruders, who were trussed up like turkeys, Shen Fei understood their situation. They were three petty thugs who had luckily inherited three special game items. Then, led by the so-called "Treasure-Seeking Mouse," the three of them had broken into the Nanshan Villa district. Because Father Shen had gone to meet Uncle Yi, he had disrupted the automatically running mist, allowing the intruders a way in. The Treasure-Seeking Rat detected that the Tenth-Tier Defense Tower was a super treasure and followed them right inside.

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

After interrogating the three, Shen Fei didn’t waste a word. He dragged the three trussed-up men straight into the ground.

Can’t be picked up?

The three men suffocated underground, but what Shen Fei found strange was that they didn’t immediately drop the three items he was expecting. The shadow of a special card appeared over one of the bodies, but for some unknown reason, he couldn’t pick it up.

Is the datafication incomplete?

A guess surfaced in his mind. He was quite interested in that so-called Rule Card. But it seemed the item couldn’t be taken just yet. Memorizing the location of the card’s shadow, Shen Fei shrugged, slightly exasperated. He still hadn’t figured out the reason why killing people made them drop items.

...

"Uncle Sun, you and Yu can stay on the third floor. Just stay with us for a couple of days!"

After easily dealing with the three intruders, Shen Fei saw that Uncle Sun was already chatting with his father, while Yu was respectfully greeting the family. He then glanced at Uncle Yi’s family, who stood nearby, looking like they wanted to say something. Shen Fei first told Uncle Sun and Yu to go get some rest.

"Alright!"

"Alright!"

Uncle Sun had just returned from the airport and was still reeling from inheriting game abilities. Hearing Shen Fei’s words, he went straight to the guest room on the third floor. Although Sun Yu was full of questions, he saw that Uncle Yi’s family was present and it was clear Shen Fei had business to attend to. So, he kept his doubts to himself and obediently went upstairs.

...

"Oh my, Fei!" Uncle Yi exclaimed, his face a mask of flattery as he looked at Shen Fei. With only the Shen and Yi families left in the hall, his tone was fawning. "You really had the foresight! Playing games is a good thing, a very good thing!"

Shen Fei had just been riding a Golden Celestial Horse, accompanied by a majestic, glittering Golden Guardian. Uncle Yi’s family was filled with envy.

"Say, Fei! Actually, my boy here plays games too, and he’s inherited some abilities! We should let him get closer to you and your sister!"

Not long after they had first arrived, they had encountered the three intruders, so he hadn’t had a chance to state his purpose. But having seen Shen Fei’s Golden Celestial Horse and Defense Towers, and having previously seen Shen Yue’s giant frog, Uncle Yi felt extremely fortunate about his plans. Right now, he was determined to latch onto the Shen Family’s coattails.

Although he had been secretly acquiring shares of the Shen Family’s company just days ago, speaking to Father Shen with honeyed words hiding a heart of poison, on the surface, he and Father Shen were still good friends. That was why he had been able to deceive Father Shen into guiding his family through the mist earlier. Uncle Yi believed that as long as he played the sympathy card, the Shen Family would surely give in.

"Get out!!!"

Unfortunately, Shen Fei, who had long seen through Uncle Yi’s true nature, cut him off with a cold shout. Having lived through three years of the apocalypse, his mindset had completely returned now that the game had descended. He wouldn’t let anyone emotionally blackmail him, nor would he easily trust anyone.

"Fei... there’s no need to be like that. I used to hold you in my arms when you were a child!" Uncle Yi said, shamelessly thick-skinned in the face of Shen Fei’s coldness. Though the Yi family’s son looked furious, his mother tugged at him, and he remained silent.

"Fei, let me tell you, the game ability my boy inherited is very special!" Uncle Yi continued, having already realized that Shen Fei was the one calling the shots. "As long as our two families cooperate, in this new era, we can definitely..."

"Get out!"

Before he could finish, Shen Fei stood up. As he rose, the Golden Guardian behind him raised its long spear and aimed it at Uncle Yi’s family.

"Old Yi, why don’t you head back for now? I’ll talk to him. Things are still chaotic! I’m completely lost myself," Mrs. Shen spoke up, breaking the chilly atmosphere. "We still don’t know what’s going on, there hasn’t been any official word. We need to have a family meeting!"

Yesterday, when she went to the supermarket, Uncle Yi had been passive-aggressive toward her, so Mrs. Shen didn’t like the Yi family. But she was much better than Shen Fei at keeping up appearances. While she spoke, Father Shen remained silent, watching everything with an amused expression.

"Alright! Alright! Then we’ll head back first. Let Fei calm down. After all, it really is too chaotic..."

With Mrs. Shen giving him an out and seeing Shen Fei’s cold expression, Uncle Yi had no choice but to relent. He had originally wanted to set his son up with Shen Yue, but he hadn’t expected three intruders to show up just after he arrived. Then, just as they were dealt with—proving the Shen family was a worthy target to cling to—Shen Fei had turned cold and ruthless. Having returned empty-handed, Uncle Yi’s expression was dark and unreadable as he left the Shen residence with his family.

...

"What are you doing?"

Also frustrated by their fruitless visit, Uncle Yi’s wife asked quizzically when she saw him take out his phone after they got home.

"I’m going to stir up some trouble for them. The more trouble they’re in, the better our chances of success!" Uncle Yi explained casually as he made calls and sent messages. "When they’re in enough trouble, they’ll be more willing to unite with us to solve their problems!"

After quickly finishing his communications, he explained to his wife and child, "I told that group who bought shares in the Shen Family’s company about their situation. Now they know the Shens have inherited powerful game abilities and items. I also told that busybody in the community, Madam Jia, that the Shen Family is special and has several carloads of food stored away! And I told my friends at the public security office that the Shen Family is extraordinarily powerful."

"Honey, you’re brilliant! So what do we do?" his wife asked, amazed.

"Only by creating all sorts of trouble for them and leaving them isolated will they be willing to accept us!" the crafty old fox said, revealing his plan.

"Is that so?"

Suddenly, a soft voice drifted in from outside the Yi family’s window.