Chapter 004: Innate Malice

"It's just a short distance, no need to carry. I'm still small; when I grow up, it will be my turn to carry my mother back!"

Xiao Chen You pondered for a moment, then buried the tools on the spot, leaving an inconspicuous mark, and retraced his steps while recalling the path he had taken.

Dugu Ming's background is somewhat more pitiable compared to Chen You. He is only three months younger than Chen You. His parents were living well, but a month ago they contracted a virus, and within a few days, both passed away

Xiao Chen You just shook his head

As he walked this way, he finally realized how far it was to leave the city. His hair and clothes were already soaked with sweat, his small feet and slender legs began to ache, and there was some swelling as well

Chen You felt a deep sense of regret, wondering why he hadn't taken a moment to look at her appearance earlier. As he thought this, his gaze shifted back to the woman's half-naked body in the pit, particularly her slender calves exposed beneath the wings.

The first time Chen You saw a woman naked, he had not yet reached the age of desire, yet he found it very pleasing and beautiful

At just over five years old, Chen You is hardly capable of chopping wood. His arms are not even as long as the handle of a tool, and the tools would weigh him down to the point of breathlessness. He merely possesses an extraordinary talent for cultivating ancient internal energy, which gives him slightly greater strength than an average child

Since beginning her internal cultivation, Lin Hongyan has tacitly allowed him to use the consciousness simulation training device, which contains advanced mechanical combat soldier simulations from the Red Nation, providing authentic training tutorials

Indeed, after a group of children had been busy for more than an hour and could no longer grasp what was happening, some of them began to curse and went outside

Lin Hongyan said nothing more, holding Chen You's small hand as they walked back. Suppressing her emotions, she asked him about his day as usual. Then, as if nothing had happened, she took out a meatball and fed it to him

Insist on the principle: "Why so much unnecessary talk? We are from the same place; is this little matter even worth thanking? Enough said, remember to come and collect it when you return. Now, go ahead and get busy."

Then she spoke, not answering his question, her voice very gentle

Blood unexpectedly splattered out, as if it had sprinkled all over the sky, gradually staining his entire body

His hair somehow grew longer, soaked by the rain, falling in disarray.

When Chen Youjin entered the city, his hair was wet, his lips were chapped, his skin was tight from excessive dehydration, and his clothes emitted a foul odor of sweat

In the end, I remembered to say

Lin Hongyan could not help but laugh and nodded, saying: "That is indeed the greatest work you are doing right now"

Regarding this matter, he often told Chen You that it was fortunate they practiced the formidable ancient internal skills together; otherwise, he would not have survived. Chen You felt that this was irrelevant, as he had only been practicing for less than three months, and it was impossible to achieve such results.

After some thought, he said to Chen You: "When you come back later, please bring a kilogram of rice with you. I apologize for leaving you behind yesterday and not picking you up on time."

Wang Laoda felt increasingly guilty in his heart, realizing that the matter concerning his deceased father was not solely the fault of Chen You's mother. It was inherently unjust to place the blame on him.

Then I heard a child angrily shouting: "You hit someone! Bastard, you stole my things and hit me? Clearly, I was the one who touched it first..."

He approached the light cluster and, in the sunken pit, saw a figure bearing six pairs of * pictorial * wings and a body unencumbered by clothing

Mother, your health is not good, why are you still out? Today, Wang Laoda might have been delayed by some matters and couldn't come to pick you up. The road is a bit far, so it takes longer to walk back. I am fine.

They are skilled and can identify the appearance of various types of discarded energy crystals with just a touch, with almost no errors or omissions

Chen You employs a technique that is not particularly sophisticated, allowing him to completely dislodge the kidney without making the opponent feel anything

Lin Hongyan listened and gently responded. She quietly wiped her tears and said, "You must be exhausted, Chen You? Let me carry you home."

As soon as they came out, the taller child shouted, "Was it you who just stole his things?"

How did you manage to walk back such a long distance

Before long, sounds began to emanate from the garbage storage shed, occurring several times in succession. The children eagerly opened the lid of the box and all squeezed inside. The lid was then closed from the outside.

Chen You believes that his mother is particular about her lifestyle habits. Furthermore, she has always prohibited others from knowing about certain high-tech items. She mentioned that she plans to move out in a few days, which is why she has not come.

Not long after it became dark, children began to curse one after another. After a while, the sound of Du Gu Ming cursing could be heard.

I saw a boy about the same size as him leaning against the window, poking his head out, saying, "I've been waiting for you. Why didn't you come this morning?"

Dugu Ming is the best friend of Chen You in the slums. After his parents passed away, he originally intended to follow Lin Hongyan.

Of course not. Scavenging is a profession with a long history, requiring significant skills and rich cultural connotations. Those who mock you simply do not understand this work. Chen You, you must remember that everyone has reasons to be proud of themselves, but no one has a reason to be arrogant towards others. The more excellent and close to perfection a person is, the less likely they are to adopt an arrogant demeanor

What’s the matter? Are you scared now? If you want to avoid a beating, just return the crystal you took earlier, kneel down and call me ‘bro’ to apologize, and this matter will be settled. In the future, I won’t stop you from coming here. Otherwise, if I see you again, I will retaliate

Individuals like her, in the past, apart from interacting with ordinary people, have always relied on these energy pills to sustain their bodily needs. The digestion and absorption are extremely rapid, and they are even more effective in balancing the various elements required for different physical constitutions

Running desperately forward, after a short while, I could no longer run and had to endure my fear, taking one step at a time.

The woman looked into his eyes and began to feel sorrowful

Dugu Ming was unaware of his intentions, yet still withdrew and stepped back.

Certainly, by the time night fell, Wang Laoda was still nowhere to be seen

If a fight breaks out like this, several kids will inevitably get involved. The other side has more people; how can the girls manage to take care of everything?

The two children walked out of the streets of the slum, and called over two girls and three boys of similar ages.

He ran swiftly, like the wind. The light fell even faster; by the time he arrived, that beam of light and the *illustrated* book had already landed in the woods

Then all that could be heard was the child cursing, with no one else echoing his words, and Dugu Ming also fell silent. Chen You knew that he had no time to pay attention to this; he was certainly preoccupied with snatching something and was focused on searching for something else.

Gradually, more and more people gathered. When Chen You and Du Gu Ming called a group of individuals in the darkness, the remaining few children, simply due to their unfortunate luck, were unwilling to give up and wanted to search again because their harvest was truly unsatisfactory.

Lin Hongyan was not in the mood to engage in conversation at all; she just wanted to return quickly, wash his body, and see what condition his feet and legs were in

Where will Chen You be hit by him

The leading child threw a few punches at Chen You, all of which were dodged. He kept saying to stop first, and as his emotions calmed down somewhat, he finally ceased. With an air of arrogance, he spoke up:

Easy to carry and does not take up much space even in large quantities. At this moment, feeling pity for Chen You, I could not care about my fear of his many questions and took it out.

The tool is borrowed from Wang Laoda with good intentions; it cannot be discarded, but bringing it back to the city all this way is rather foolish

Soaked to the skin, he still clearly felt his entire body cold and shivering. For some reason, he did not think to seek shelter from the rain, but instead tilted his face upward, gazing at the sky

That night, when Chen You fell asleep, he had a strange dream

Although there has been no actual combat to date, his self-energy assessment has already reached level 5, his combat training comprehensive skills have reached level 11, and his overall standing strength assessment is at level 8. Dealing with such a child should not be a difficult task

Xiao Chen You indeed did not suffer any harm; he was just taken far out of the city by Wang Laoda, who told him to chop wood in the forest while he had something to attend to, promising to return later to take him back to the city

The garbage dump is dark and dim, with a group of children rummaging through the waist-high pile of discarded items.

Furthermore, such a commotion may lead the opposing party to summon some older individuals, thereby broadening the scope of the matter. It is uncertain how long this will drag on and how many people will be harmed or affected.

In the final moments, I felt something was amiss, and still seriously told him:

He remained in the dark bedroom, the bed still fresh and comfortable, as the cold sweat continuously flowed, quickly absorbed by the device

Chen You is not so foolish as to agree to say it; anyway, the people from the group have all come out. If Du Gu Ming does not speak, they cannot hear his voice. As for those few who did not come out, whether they will take the blame later is truly of no concern.

As the punch came towards him, he sidestepped while shouting for him to stop, simultaneously channeling his internal energy to lightly tap the boy at the waist, immediately retracting his hand.

First, he dreamed of the silent forest that had frightened him that night, and then, in the dream, he looked up at the moon.

To my surprise, by the time it was about to get bright, Chen You had already disappeared. At that moment, he was quite frightened, as he certainly did not harbor any malicious intent to harm anyone. After returning, he felt somewhat relieved upon hearing that Chen You had arrived home.

They are in pursuit of a different kind of life that is not experienced in their daily routine. Food made by machines always tastes the same, and after eating too much, it becomes monotonous

As soon as I stepped out of the garbage dump, I saw a group of children lingering outside, not having left yet

But in that moment, Chen You thought of something else

Chen You did not understand, he only remembered this statement

Chen Youxin thought, how strange, has this fellow become clever today? The last incident was just brushed aside like this

A doting mother often spoils her child

Go to hell! Let go, I touched this first!

Upon seeing him, I asked: "Chen You, how did you return yesterday? I came to look for you at night but couldn't find you."

Chen You also took note of it, but he could not deeply comprehend its meaning; at this moment, his thoughts were quite simple

Others cannot associate this matter with him; without the influence of these two children, others would not have targeted them either

By the time night fell, he estimated that Wang Laoda must have been delayed by some matters and would not return. In the forest, where no one passed by, there was a sense of quiet desolation and oppression.

Yet still, I anxiously gazed down the alley, waiting continuously

Chen You, think about it, if you no longer have to worry about the problem of hunger every day, what should you consider instead

Chen You has begun to understand a bit. In the end, he started to worry for himself again

Wang Laoda fell silent, as he originally intended to leave Chen You there to scare him for a few hours before picking him up later

In the eerie forest, he was also worried about whether wild beasts would suddenly appear. The dark and indistinct path, when the wind blew, caused the leaves to rustle, occasionally mixed with the unpleasant hoots of an owl, which inexplicably filled him with fear

He responded with a sound and turned around to speak to everyone. He then discreetly signaled to the traveler behind him.

The child had not finished speaking when the pain from internal bleeding combined with the dislocation of the kidney became unbearable. Unable to endure it any longer, he clutched his waist and collapsed to the ground, rolling and curling up, crying out in agony like a slaughtered pig.

Xiao Chen You carried a large bag, making his way through the alleys of the slums, greeting acquaintances along the way. Gradually, he stopped thinking about that strange dream and the fleeting glimpse of the beautiful naked form.

I walked back. My legs are all swollen. I put the tools you lent me in the storage room. I will bring them back to you tomorrow when my legs feel better. You don't need them urgently, do you

That won't do. The tools have not yet been returned to La Na, and besides, I haven't even had the chance to express my gratitude to Brother Wang for taking the time to teach me how to make money yesterday

After arriving at a towering commercial building for electronic components, I found that the area behind it served as a storage site for discarded items. Every day, some scrapped energy crystals are thrown out, making it a highly profitable venture for scavengers.

But often, it is not just their group of children.

It looks really good

... ...

You may not understand this now, which is why even being full can become tiresome. The pursuit of a life that one cannot experience in daily routine is what some people contemplate

Mother, when Xiaoya and the others went scavenging in the urban area together, sometimes others would laugh and call us a group of beggars picking up scraps. They would lower their heads and pull me away, asking them if scavenging is something to be ashamed of. Is that true

However, she understands better that the way to forge the human body is through evolution in the face of injury, much like how those who endure more beatings develop a stronger resistance to impact than the average person.

"Who are you? Why did you fall from the sky? Why do you have wings?" Chen You asked a series of questions

Chen You pondered for a moment, truly unsure of what to consider if not the matter of filling his stomach

The latter understood that when he spoke, he deliberately altered his voice slightly. Unexpectedly, the child who had a dispute with him was particularly sensitive to sounds, and thus confidently concluded that it was indeed Du Gu Ming.

This made Lin Hongyan feel somewhat reassured, speculating that Chen You would not be in any danger, and that the older child merely intended to play a trick on him.

Chen You agreed and turned a corner, entering a dilapidated alley with a metal wall covered in scratches, a place that had not been maintained for many years

The leading child was immediately enraged, feeling as if he had been mocked, and disregarding the puppet master, Dugu Ming, he swung his fist directly at Chen You's face

Upon this thought, Xiao Chenyou began to harbor malicious intentions

Thick black clouds gathered increasingly, soon obscuring the moonlight from the sky. A strong wind began to blow, rustling the trees with a howling sound. Before long, torrential rain fell in large drops, pattering down relentlessly.

No, our group hasn't spoken just now. Everyone was too busy with their tasks earlier

Chen You felt very happy after listening, believing he had grasped the principles his mother had conveyed

In the urban area, scavenging is undertaken, with each person responsible for their own specific domain. In such places, those who are too old often face eviction, but it is different for these children. The people there, perhaps out of pity and sympathy, do not say anything.

Amidst the dark clouds in the sky, a bright light suddenly fell, descending rapidly towards the ground. He could not discern what was within the light, but he desperately ran towards the approximate location where the light was likely to land

The always fastidious Lin Hongyan tightly wrapped him in her coat, holding him close, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably. Yet, she said nothing; it was truly nothing extraordinary, only because she was a mother that she felt such heartache.

Then he began to approach the winged woman in the pit, raising the sword in his hand towards her. Suddenly, his mind went blank, as if mechanical. Looking at the beautiful yet sorrowful eyes before him, he swiftly thrust the sword in his hand, piercing through the white wings and into her body

Chen You felt that the result was very rational, but when he saw their pained expressions and the fearful, bewildered looks in their eyes, his heart tightened, leaving him with an unbearable discomfort that he could not shake off

Mother, but most of those people are from the Red Country. The food made by machines there can be eaten casually; isn't there a variety of flavors? How can one get tired of filling their stomachs?

Today, just like usual, several groups came. They belong to the impoverished neighborhoods elsewhere in the city and generally do not have much to say to each other

Once you start, do not stop

I almost wanted to dismissively say that those people are just idly indulging.

Chen You opened his eyes wide, still carrying the lingering shock of his dream, until he fell back into a deep sleep, utterly exhausted

When Chen You wanted to say, "Where do I have a sword in my hand?" he discovered that, without knowing when, two dark silver laser swords had truly appeared in his hands

and - picture - book, then awaken from the dream

Mother, starting tomorrow I will spend less time idling and put more effort into scavenging for money. Is that right

Mother, if in the future I no longer have to worry about filling my stomach, what should I consider instead

The boy's name is Dugu Ming, a very rare surname. Chen You heard from his mother that this surname once flourished in the Orange Country several years ago, but later experienced significant political upheaval, nearly leading to its extinction.

Chen You obediently ate it, but did not ask what it was. He merely mentioned that today, Boss Wang taught him how to chop wood, and talked about how the nearby scenic area has been promoting handmade barbecues, the good price of charcoal, and how easy it is to sell.

They all wish they could have a machine that automatically prepares food, yet those who possess such a machine prefer the joy of engaging in the hassle of barbecuing themselves

He shouted to the second floor: "Ming, have you finished your meal?"

When the boy came down, the two of them walked out together while talking

Quickly stepping aside, he pretended to block the troublemaker rushing towards Dugu Ming. While restraining the child, he shouted for everyone to stop, and swiftly clapped his hands at the child's waist.

When the color in the woman's eyes slowly faded, he suddenly let out a terrified and pained scream

I guess you were delayed by something, worried that my mother would be anxious, so you didn't wait. I also don't know how long it will take to get there

A woman stands barefoot in a pit, her large wings slowly enveloping her body, covering most of her face, revealing only her clear, beautiful eyes and her flawless white forehead, along with her waterfall-like long hair

Neither he nor Dugu Ming possesses sufficient strength to easily defeat the other

I bear the expectations of the world and a mission. With the wings of judgment and destruction of the apocalypse, I have fallen into this hell. I will lead you to a dead end devoid of future and hope; I will kill you, I must! Why are you still standing there? Why not come over and use the sword in your hand to kill me first!

He has been watching for a long time, not knowing what he wants to see. He has been watching for a very long time.

Before long, he ran into Wang Laoda, who had taken him out yesterday, chatting idly with a group of children who were much older than him.

Although she could feel that after Xiao Chen You stopped, her legs were trembling uncontrollably

At around noon, Chen You still went out. Lin Hongyan, with a hardened heart, did not stop him, even though she knew how painful it was for the child to walk on his legs.

In the end, there is still no explanation; what is the matter with those people

Do what you can and what you believe should be done at the moment. I believe that the value of life lies not in the pursuit of experiences, but in how much effort and diligence one has put into doing things. Regardless of what can be done, if it is within your capability, that is the greatest.

Mom, what does it mean to be arrogant? How is it different from being proud?

During this meeting with Xiao Chenyou, upon hearing his words, the objective was indeed achieved. However, considering the long journey ahead, it seemed excessive to expect such a young child to return alone.

The child, upon hearing this, asked Chen You and a few boys to speak so that they could listen and recognize them

A group of children marched vigorously towards the crowded areas of the city