Valeria had a large section of her clothes scorched, and half of her left eyebrow was gone. Although her injuries weren't severe, she looked utterly disheveled.
"Katerina!"
The words were practically squeezed through her teeth.
Her tone was a mixture of rage and suppressed emotion.
Valeria dared to bully the little boy because he was only three years old and likely wouldn't even be able to report her.
But Katerina was no three-year-old. She was a dual-talent user, with a slightly lower cultivation level than Valeria.
Though they had never directly clashed, Valeria knew very well what dual talents meant.
Moreover, if they were to fight, regardless of who won or lost, their father, Peter, would blindly favor Katerina.
A man beside her quickly rushed forward. While Katerina's attention was drawn to the child inside, he grabbed Valeria and they fled without looking back.
"I will get revenge. I will make sure this child dies!"
Valeria muttered to herself, her eyes filled with killing intent.
"Alright, alright. You've seen it yourself. This child possesses innate divine strength. Peter has high hopes for him, believing he is the key to changing the apocalypse!"
"Furthermore, Katerina's strength is not weak. And she and her son are currently in favor. We won't gain any advantage by confronting them directly!"
The man advised her earnestly.
"It's fine. I can't do anything to them, but someone else can!"
Valeria's lips curved into an evil arc.
Meanwhile, in the suite.
The little boy was clumsily trying to piece together the damaged car with his small hands. No matter how hard he tried, the toy car couldn't be restored to its original state, let alone be driven.
"This toy is broken. The frame is deformed. We don't need it anymore. Mom will get you a bigger, cooler toy car another day, okay?"
Katerina forced a smile and comforted her son.
"No need, Mom. These few cars are fine. I don't like the broken one!"
The little boy chuckled innocently and said.
Katerina knew her son was saying that to spare her feelings because he was lying. The broken one was his favorite. Yet, at this moment, he was still smiling and comforting her.
This moved her deeply.
Katerina hugged her son tightly and affectionately kissed his forehead. His dark hair reminded her of that man.
"Mom, they say my dad is a loser. Is that true?"
The little boy suddenly looked up, his pure eyes blinking as he asked seriously.
"Of course not. They are lying! Your father is the strongest man in the world. He is revered like a god!"
"No matter how powerful a monster is, your father can crush it with just one hand. Any enemy who sees him will be so terrified that they'll beg for mercy!"
Katerina's eyes sparkled as she spoke of this man.
"Really? Does such a person truly exist in the world? Mom, you're not lying to me, are you!"
The little boy's expression was filled with excitement. Anyone would be happy to know their father was a great hero. However, Katerina's description was a bit too exaggerated, making him doubt.
"Mom would never lie to you. When you meet him, you'll know I'm telling the truth!"
"Alright, it's getting late. You should go to bed!"
Katerina lifted the boy and gently placed him on the bedroom bed, tucking him in.
At midnight.
A message popped up on everyone's system:
Ding! The World Level Ranking System has been activated. Everyone can clearly check their level rankings, but the world ranking list will only display the top one hundred!
The next morning, just as dawn broke.
Katerina was asleep when her best friend, Diana, forcefully pulled her out of bed.
"Hey, Katerina, stop sleeping! Everyone is checking the level rankings now. Congratulations, you've made it into the top one hundred!"
"You are currently ranked 89th. You are one of the thirteen people from our camp to enter the top hundred!"
Katerina rubbed her sleepy eyes, first glanced at her sleeping son beside her, then made a shushing gesture and pulled Diana into the living room.
"What's the use of this list? The strong remain strong, and the weak remain weak. At most, it will let us know to avoid the strong when we encounter them!"
Katerina yawned, lacking enthusiasm.
"Thirteen people from our camp have entered the top hundred, which means our camp is very powerful. Among the contemporary轮回者 (reincarnators), it's one of the top camps!"
"Peter's strength is even greater; he's ranked fourth!"
Diana said excitedly.
"What? With Old Man Peter's monstrous strength, he's only fourth? That's a bit unbelievable!"
Katerina rubbed her eyes and opened the system interface, clicking on the strength rankings.
Her own ranking, 89th, appeared directly. She scrolled up a few more ranks and found Valeria: 72nd.
Katerina scrolled up to the very top and indeed saw Peter ranked fourth.
Actually, Peter and Zheng Hao were tied for third place, but because Zheng Hao was a dual-talent user, he was ranked third, leaving the single-talent Peter to be ranked fourth.
The second place was a person named Qing Feng from Longguo.
At the first place position, it clearly read: Zhang Chen!
Seeing this name, Katerina's eyes lit up!
As expected, this man never disappointed. It seemed that the system's previous announcements of the first evolved being, the first intermediate evolved being, must have all been Zhang Chen!
A dual-talent user, who had at least twice the difficulty in leveling up compared to ordinary people, had managed to level up much faster than everyone else. This was simply unbelievable!
It was a shame her son didn't have a ring, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sleep for a whole night from happiness!
"It seems the people from Longguo are more powerful than we imagined. Among the top ten strongest, the first, second, third, and fifth (Guan Xin), seventh (Bai Hanlin) are all from Longguo, occupying half of the seats, and very high-ranking ones at that!"
Diana's gaze quickly scanned the list, wishing she, like Katerina, could find a partner from Longguo.
With a strong protector, she would never have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of her life!
Katerina's eyes remained fixed on the name Zhang Chen, a happy smile gracing her face.
She just wondered where Zhang Chen was and if he was alright.
The last time Zhang Chen sent her a message, she was busy fighting and didn't receive it. By the time she saw it, half a day had already passed.
Even now, Katerina didn't have the courage to contact Zhang Chen. What would she say? That she had a son?
Many men probably couldn't accept the sudden news of having a child. What if he got scared and ran away?
Just as Katerina was contemplating whether to contact Zhang Chen.
Suddenly, the suite door was once again kicked open. The burly man in charge of the interrogation appeared at the doorway, flustered and with a deathly pale face, saying:
"He... he escaped!"