He placed the item in the storage room and then ran towards a place without wind, as the forest he had set fire to was now ablaze, resembling a fiery mountain.
He ran outwards, not knowing how long he had been running. When he finally stopped, he found that the flames had disappeared, which puzzled Ye Tiancheng. Why had the flames suddenly extinguished?
Ye Tiancheng desired too many things, to the point where his mind had become like a fool's in a hundred years. This was not the outcome he wanted.
"This is the choice of a salted fish," the system mocked Ye Tiancheng.
Ye Tiancheng felt completely terrible.
The feeling of being tricked by the system arose in his heart.
"Did you just trick me?"
"How could that be? It doesn't exist."
The system argued, and although it spoke lightly, Ye Tiancheng suspected the system was playing tricks on him. So, Ye Tiancheng said, "I want to die, and I'll take you with me."
"No, I won't trick you anymore. However, I suggest you escape quickly, or you will truly encounter danger."
"Why?"
"Because you burned the forest, and the forest's planar lords are very angry."
"There are still beings who manage forests?"
Ye Tiancheng was very surprised.
The system said, "Yes, so..."
"Hide, do you have any methods? I'm already broken, I don't want to run anymore." Ye Tiancheng was very tired. He didn't want to run anymore; continuing like this would only make him more disheveled. He was determined to hide, and the deeper the better.
This presented the system with a difficult problem.
It must be said that the system also had its own considerations.
It would not compromise so easily, nor would it let it go so easily.
Under these circumstances, Ye Tiancheng could only proceed according to their agreement—each responsible for half.
Would that be acceptable?
Ye Tiancheng no longer needed to converse; he could communicate directly with his mind.
The system felt as if Ye Tiancheng had betrayed it.
It was very angry but also helpless.
If Ye Tiancheng died, it would also not fare well.
This was called being linked; neither could escape.
Like grasshoppers on a rope, if one dies, the other dies too.
This very forced and helpless choice left it with only one way to proceed.
That was to choose the same pace as Ye Tiancheng.
"If you hide, the detection rate is thirty percent. Camouflage is required."
"Camouflage?"
"Alright, are you willing?"
"Of course."
Ye Tiancheng answered without thinking. After all, with such a high concealment rate, not choosing it would be foolish.
Therefore, he immediately agreed.
After agreeing, the system transmitted the method and composition of camouflage into Ye Tiancheng's brain.
Camouflage!
It required seventy percent leaves and thirty percent vines. Tie the leaves to the vines and cover the entire body.
Apply mud to any exposed areas.
Following this method, Ye Tiancheng, who had a strong "salted fish" mentality, naturally chose this peculiar and irresponsible method, and the result was obvious.
He successfully completed the camouflage.
Afterward, he lay prone on the ground, pretending to be a corpse.
The result was that the forest planar lord walked around the area where Ye Tiancheng's aura had disappeared for a long time but found nothing.
That planar lord looked like Lei Gong.
He could be called a bird-man.
"Ziga ga!"
The bird-man lingered for a long time where Ye Tiancheng's aura had vanished but ultimately found nothing. The creature had to return empty-handed.
This made the system very smug.
After the bird-man left, Ye Tiancheng got up from the ground, cleaned the dirt off his body, and looked at the sky.
"It's already noon!"
"So, you need to find food."
"I have instant noodles in my storage ring, so I'll make do for now."
"As expected, you've become lazy."
"That's right. Laziness is essential."
Laziness becomes a model of laziness.
This is the essence of laziness. It is always due to the existence of benefits that people lack basic trust in each other. Under these circumstances, Ye Tiancheng could only follow his original intention to greatly improve his strength.
Only then would he be qualified to be a lazy person.
Otherwise, even becoming a salted fish would come at the cost of his life.
Although he repeatedly felt that such thoughts were purely superfluous, these thoughts kept forming in his mind.
This feeling was like a cruel torment.
Therefore, in Ye Tiancheng's view, he was experiencing a passive situation.
To turn passivity into initiative, he naturally needed a skill—to become stronger, so the system would not interfere with his thoughts again.
As a salted fish, Ye Tiancheng naturally had to be lazy.
He hadn't remembered that he had a storage ring before. It was only when the system mentioned it that he thought about not using his hands and getting something for nothing. Humans inherently possessed this function.
Ye Tiancheng felt it was good and took out everything from his storage ring.
Then he boiled a pot of water, used a bowl to prepare it, and threw the instant noodle packet directly into the fire.
A strange smell wafted through the mountains and wilderness.
A young girl in a red dress smelled this scent and immediately headed in its direction.
Upon reaching Ye Tiancheng, the red-clothed girl saw him eating alone.
She said, "Hey kid, why are you so strange? What is this?"
"Instant noodles."
"What?" The girl didn't understand at all, with a face full of question marks.
At this moment, Ye Tiancheng really didn't want to say anything, because he seemed to have no interest in girls anymore.
Seeing Ye Tiancheng like this, the girl's face showed a hint of anxiety.
The girl squatted down and looked at the smell emanating from the fire.
Then she asked, "What is that smell? It's very strange?"
"It's the smell of plastic."
"Can it be eaten?"
"Eat your head! It contains many carcinogens."
"What is cancer?"
"It's a disease that kills you and cannot be cured," Ye Tiancheng said.
Ye Tiancheng found it very difficult to explain to the people of this world.
In his world, only an idiot would ask such questions.
"By the way, do you want to eat?" Ye Tiancheng asked, seeing the girl's mouth watering.
"Of course, this smell is very fragrant," the girl said happily.
For any world, delicious food is a fatal temptation for women.
It could be seen that this girl was also a foodie.
Ye Tiancheng had to give her this bowl and then prepared another one.
Fortunately, he had many bowls and instant noodles in his storage ring.
Otherwise, it would have been a disaster.
If there had only been one bowl of instant noodles left, he would not have given it to her.
If one does not look out for oneself, heaven and earth will destroy them.
Seeing that Ye Tiancheng had a storage ring, the girl said enviously, "It looks like you come from a place of great technology."
"Yes, a place with very advanced technology."
"This place is desolate, and we still live by slash-and-burn agriculture."
"I can see that this era is very primitive, at least five thousand years behind our era," Ye Tiancheng said, looking at the girl. Seeing that she wore similar clothing to him, he asked, "Are you also a transmigrator?"
"Yes."
"Where are you from?"
"Huaxia..."
"Ha!" Ye Tiancheng was surprised because he was also from Huaxia.
"Which part of Huaxia?"
"Hou Village. My previous name was Su Mingxian."
"Wow! I'm Ye Tiancheng!"
"Ah! Ye Tiancheng!" The girl's eyes widened, showing a look of great pain.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You heartless man, you left without taking me. You once told me you would take me wherever you went, but you found someone new and abandoned me!"
The girl started crying.
"Forget it, I don't want to get married. Marriage is too troublesome. I can't be a salted fish."
"What about your great aspirations?"
"They've been eaten by dogs!" he said cunningly.
"Actually, I like you. No matter what you become, I like you!"
"That's your business, I want to be myself." Ye Tiancheng hadn't expected to meet someone he didn't want to meet even in this nonsensical world.
Perhaps Hou Mingzhu would also meet someone in this world.
What Ye Tiancheng didn't know was that he had already met Hou Mingzhu.
It was in Luoye Village that the predecessor of the witch was Hou Mingzhu.
Some people transmigrated to this world and forgot everything about their previous world. Whatever the outcome in this world, it was irrelevant.
"So, it's really great to meet you!"
"Why do I feel like it's not great?" Ye Tiancheng pouted.
"That's because you think this world is a world for salted fish, but you're terribly mistaken!"
"I know, but I just don't want to change," Ye Tiancheng said with a wry smile.
"So, there's a hollow space in your heart, and only I can fill it," Su Mingxian said.
Ye Tiancheng looked at Su Mingxian, not knowing what to say.
He longed for love, yet he feared love.
He believed in love, yet he didn't believe in love.
Having experienced too much, he had long since learned to forget everything. No matter how unpleasant the world felt, as a person, even if his strength could overturn the Jade Emperor's throne, he couldn't make his power cover the entire world.
Above the Jade Emperor, there was a power that controlled everything in this world.
That was Heaven.
Heaven's power was greater than the Jade Emperor's.
The Jade Emperor also had a lifespan, while Heaven's lifespan began when the universe formed.
The Jade Emperor was born hundreds of millions of years after Heaven formed.
Therefore, Heaven was the only powerful being in this universe.
There is a saying: "Heaven begets and Heaven kills."
It means that Heaven gives you life and then ultimately takes it away.
In the end, everything leads to entropy.
All we can do is to prevent entropy from arriving too quickly.
But no matter how hard we try, entropy will eventually arrive.
Therefore, the ultimate end of life is extinction. If that is the case, then living seems truly meaningless.
The only thing that can make one feel that life has meaning and the joy of living is to die in entertainment.
"What are you thinking about? Your dazed state is really strange."
Su Mingxian asked Ye Tiancheng.
Therefore, he smiled, "I'm thinking about a lot of random things."
"I don't think you should think about these things. Things will work themselves out," Su Mingxian was Su Mingxian; her thoughts were simple.
But Ye Tiancheng was naturally a person who overthought things.
Su Mingxian's appearance caused Ye Tiancheng's life and destiny to change.
A person's life is simple. Suddenly, with another person, it means you will think a lot about that other person.
For example, if she encounters danger, is bullied, or is sad...
All these things will become a part of you.
Ye Tiancheng looked at Su Mingxian and said, "How did you become a young girl?"
"And you've become a young man."
"Really?" Ye Tiancheng hadn't looked in a mirror in this world to see his appearance.
Therefore, he thought he still looked like he was in his twenties. In reality, he was no longer the same. Su Mingxian's change made him realize that he might have also changed, but this change was undoubtedly a disaster for Ye Tiancheng.
He absolutely did not want to change his form, so that if he met old acquaintances in this world, they wouldn't recognize him.