The Place Where They Buried Him

Two years ago, I led my students, my lover, and our investors into the legendary ruins of the Ancient Gods. Unfortunately, everyone died there except me.

Worse still, for the past two years I have barely slept. A splitting headache has tormented my nerves like a thorn embedded in my flesh.

Two years later, I was kidnapped and brought back here.

But everything I once knew has vanished, and one bizarre thing after another has begun to happen:

The roads are unmistakably the same ones I remember, yet they warp when I least expect it. Inscriptions that should not exist seep out of the dark walls. Skeletons loudly chant my name, and monsters are always lurking in the darkness, watching and following me...

In this uncanny underground world, my headache has grown worse. The nightmares that used to come only at night have begun appearing frequently as waking hallucinations:

A devout priest leads his companions to investigate a village sealed off by gray mist, but they unwittingly fall prey to corruption. Their senses mutate, their minds descend into madness, and their nerves are constantly eroded. I keep experiencing that same pain and terror.

In the end, I can no longer tell who I am, where dreams end and reality begins, or what is real and what is unreal.

But the one who pushed me to the brink of collapse was Caesar, the mercenary who kidnapped me. Even though his looks, build, and manner are completely different, I keep catching glimpses of my former lover, Redmond, in him.

Sometimes, I even feel that this is my Redmond.

But I also know perfectly well that it cannot be him.

"Bang."

After the gunshot rang out, Redmond fell. He said nothing more, only looking at me with sorrowful eyes.

I reached out and gently brushed his eyes. His long eyelashes grazed my palm, but his eyelids refused to close.

When you read the first chapter, you might wonder why there are so many people, and think that Western names are hard to remember. But you don't need to remember them. They'll all die in the end anyway, and none of them are important. This is still a story about a little couple, just the two of them.

You only need to remember the main characters' names:

Present: Stephen (me, under an assumed name) x Caesar (a very strange mercenary leader)

Two years ago: Hugh (a university professor) x Redmond (my student and lover)

Dream: Elan (a priest) x Cyrus (the esteemed commander of the knights)

Coming next: Please add it to your favorites!

Before going to bed, Ruan Dongjing watched a short apocalyptic AI video and declared, "These low-fat videos make you want to lose weight just by looking at them. If the end of the world comes to Earth, none of these choices would be any good. Even a dog wouldn't want them!"

The next morning, he opened his eyes. The apocalypse hadn't come to Earth, but Ruan Dongjing had transmigrated to the Sky Sphere, where the apocalypse had already lasted eight hundred years.

The ocean regions are flooded, the continents are scorched by extreme heat, the forests are plagued by torrential rain, and the frigid regions suffer from year-round snowstorms. The only thing here that isn't suited to human survival is... nothing. Everything from devilish man-eating vines and ancient giant snakes to apocalyptic sandworms is thriving.

The native human population has dwindled to less than one in ten, and those who survive have developed all sorts of mutations. Some can run as fast as cheetahs; some can lift a building with both hands; some can transform into giant beasts over ten meters tall; and some can even wield the power of the elements.

Only Ruan Dongjing remains a frail, ordinary human from twenty-first-century Earth. Years of overtime, frequent takeout meals, and staying up late to make up for lost time have even turned his body into that of a weak, overworked wage slave.

The only bit of luck is that his AI-brain-dead short-video ability came with him when he transmigrated.

Unfortunately, his ability seems even more low-fat than AI video generation. Not only does he have to scavenge the raw materials himself, but the things it makes are worse than what the AI creates in the videos.

Worse still, many of these things only last for a limited time, and he can make a wish for one thing only once a day.

To survive, Ruan Dongjing has no choice but to speak in an authentic AI Chinese accent every day, spread his arms, and shout at the sky, "On the cold, snowy plains, which house would you choose to live in?"

A shriveled potato house, with only a thin layer of potato skin. A gust of wind could blow it away;

A house made of slightly mutated organs, with a blanket as sticky as blood hanging over a black metal bed. An unhelpful fire burns beside it, and you might get poisoned;

A soft dog-fur house, lined with warm dog skin and even furnished with a soft little blanket. The only catch is that it can fit just one puppy who hasn't grown up yet...

Furious, Ruan Dongjing throws the last flatbread in his hand. "The apocalypse is here! Choose the tool you want to die with!"

Haha, just kidding. Actually, I'm so hungry I want to die, but I don't have the strength to hang myself.

Fortunately, collecting enough things lets him build up energy and upgrade his golden finger.

One stone can become three castles, complete with temperature-controlled food storage and an armory;

He can create a train out of thin air that runs without tracks and comes with a dining car stocked with unlimited food;

He can even get weapons from a magical world with supernatural powers...

For the sake of a better life, Ruan Dongjing sneaks around every day with his cats and dogs, scavenging everywhere and hoarding resources. He overcomes his embarrassment and practices his AI announcer voice, shouting at the heavens and earth each day. He racks his brains designing his dream home...

Though life is tough, he finds joy in it, and discovers the beautiful side of this cruel world: stunning scenery, sincere affection, and a handsome, beautiful supplier?

Wait, excuse me, handsome, beautiful Mr. Supplier, please behave yourself. This is a cold, hard cash transaction. I'll perform, but I won't sell my body!

Yan Cixuan smiles. "Why so heartless, Dongdong? You can't buy food, seeds, or even medicine in that cold, hard market."

Ruan Dongjing raises his gun. "That's true, sir. But you can't buy a hidden shelter, an armory, or even magical creatures anywhere else, either. So, if we're going to keep working together, stay away from me. And get your hand back where it belongs!"

Yan Cixuan raises his hands helplessly. "How about this? You take a step back, and I'll take a step back, and then..."

The Earth is round, and so is the Sky Sphere. If everyone keeps stepping back, they'll end up in the same bed.

Marriage is here. Choose your love nest:

A hard peanut house, with lots of strangely tiny outfits hanging beneath red curtains; an elegant water-ball house, with a soft, comfortable bed that perfectly follows the body's curves; a shriveled longan house. The bed is hard, but it seems that whoever lies on it will have endless stamina...

Yan Cixuan gives Ruan Dongjing a thoughtful look. "So this is the kind of style you like, Dongdong. Then let's choose all of them!"

Ruan Dongjing, whose ability has suddenly gone out of control again, angrily kicks the house aside. "Let me explain! No, wait, just hear me out..."

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Theme: Fear comes from the unknown, and love can bridge the real.