"The director is amazing! He immediately discovered the key to the problem."
"It's quite simple, really. Most animals have their own hunting radius, so it's normal that these water monsters would have one too."
"Simple as it may be, those experts and professors didn't think of it that way."
"Progress unlocked: 45%. All that's left is to find those water monsters."
"I can't wait to see what these water monsters look like and where they came from."
...
While viewers in the livestream were discussing among themselves, the production team quickly boarded boats and headed toward the location where clues had been discovered.
This location where clues were found was specifically arranged by Yang Lin, intended to draw everyone there.
Ten minutes later, the group arrived by boat at the backwater bay where traces of the water monsters had been discovered.
Due to the nature of the backwater bay, the river erosion here was severe, and large amounts of garbage had accumulated in the area.
As soon as they approached, everyone detected an unpleasant odor.
Perhaps this was precisely why Ming Corporation had chosen to bury their sewage pipes here.
"Wow, it stinks here. Why would water monsters choose this place as their lair?"
"Yeah, is there something special about this place?"
Hearing the staff's questions, Director Chen from the Aquatic Products Research Institute immediately explained:
"This is a backwater bay where plankton is concentrated, which attracts small fish and shrimp, which in turn attract other aquatic creatures."
"The water monsters chose this place as their lair naturally because of this advantage."
"I see."
After hearing Director Chen's explanation, everyone had a moment of enlightenment.
"No wonder fishing enthusiasts like to fish in this kind of terrain. So that's the principle behind it."
"Wait, that's not right. I'm a local fishing enthusiast from Ningnan City, and I know this place. It's notorious in our circle for being terrible. You can't catch any fish here no matter how good your bait is."
"I waited here for a whole day last time and couldn't even catch a single minnow. Complete failure."
"I'm also a fishing enthusiast from Ningnan, and I can testify that this place is very strange. You can catch anything except fish here. Last time someone even caught a cremation urn."
"Isn't this contradicting what was just said? So why would water monsters choose such a place?"
While viewers in the livestream were expressing doubts about Director Chen's words, Professor Xu had already walked over to the traces left by the water monsters.
On a smooth beach, seven or eight large fish weighing about ten pounds each had been abandoned.
These fish all had one thing in common - most of the flesh from their torsos had been bitten away.
Looking at the dense bite marks, everyone felt their scalps tingle.
As everyone knew, most native fish in Dragon Country don't have teeth, with only a few species possessing them.
And these species are generally small, so they could basically rule out the possibility of the water monster being a large fish.
"These footprints..." Professor Xu suddenly froze while observing the tracks left on the ground.
Before he could speak, Yang Lin jumped in:
"They look like giant salamander tracks."
As soon as he finished speaking, Professor Xu nodded.
"I think so too, but these footprints are as big as my palm. If it's a giant salamander, it must be five or six meters long and weigh several tons."
"How could there be such a huge giant salamander in the world?"
"And looking at these footprints, it seems to have six legs on each side. How could there be a reptile with six legs in this world?"
As soon as Professor Xu finished speaking, everyone's expression became serious.
So far, almost all evidence was proving to everyone that the water monster wasn't any known species.
If this were the ocean, it might make sense, but this was inland.
Throughout the inland areas, whether in primitive forests or major rivers, it was no exaggeration to say that there weren't any undiscovered creatures by humans.
Even if there were, they would be relatively small organisms.
How such giant water monsters had escaped human detection was the key question that puzzled everyone.
Unless it was a completely new species that had recently emerged, but that seemed even more far-fetched.
This question nearly burned out the CPUs of both expert professors.
While the two professors were puzzling over this, Yang Lin, who had been pretending to observe the ground, suddenly spoke up.
"What if these so-called water monsters are just ordinary creatures that have mutated into monsters due to some external factors?"
As soon as Yang Lin said this, everyone's attention turned to him.
Both expert professors shook their heads repeatedly.
"Impossible. Evolution and mutation don't happen that easily. Unless there's severe environmental pollution or nuclear radiation, it's very difficult for mutations to occur in such a short time."
"Yes, young Yang, we're very clear about this aspect."
Clearly, the two experts didn't agree with Yang Lin's viewpoint.
But the online viewers had different opinions.
"I think Director Yang makes sense. If they're not aliens, they must be mutated native creatures."
"I recently found a three-legged frog in my hometown's pond. It was probably caused by villagers washing their pesticide sprayers in there."
"There's a farm in our area where a chicken was born with three legs. They say it was also due to radiation."
"These things have become more common in recent years. Two-headed cows, one-eyed pigs, they're all more or less affected by the environment."
"Not just animals, there are many cases of human deformities too. With the current environment, genetic mutations are perfectly normal."
"Aren't there lots of people with three eyes on TikTok? Those are all variants."
"Yeah, I stayed up too late browsing the internet, and my son's DNA mutated and doesn't match mine anymore. Fortunately, my wife doesn't mind."
"Are you serious? I was wondering why my son looks less and less like me. So it turns out it's genetic mutation."
"Damn, why are all your comments turning green."
.......
While netizens were actively discussing the possibility raised by Yang Lin, he suddenly pointed at the river water in front of him and said:
"I think the river water might have been severely polluted, leading to serious mutations in aquatic creatures."
"Why don't we test the water quality?"
As soon as he said this, everyone turned their attention to the river water.
They had never considered this angle before.
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
