Chapter 1366: Long-Awaited Flavor

Chapter 1367: A Long-Lost Taste

Author: Sanjiu Yinyu

Word Count: 1185

Click—

As the radio button was pressed, a crackling sound filled the dim palace.

"This is Chen Yu, frontline reporter for the Xuanyu Realm!"

"Today, the frontline situation remains relatively stable. Although there have been occasional large-scale assaults, the overall situation is still under control. Please, listeners, do not panic; reinforcements from the two major realms should arrive on the battlefield very soon..."

"Next, we will be inviting a frontline commander for an interview..."

"Wait, what's that?"

Amidst a flurry of shouts and running, the reporter seemed to have climbed to a high vantage point. Immediately, her surprised voice rang out again:

"A breach has been torn in the rear flank of the Calamity Tide... Someone is breaking through towards the Xuanyu Realm from the outside. Have reinforcements from other realms arrived?"

"No, that's not right..."

"It's General Jian!! General Jian and two other companions are charging into the battlefield!!"

"After several days, General Jian has returned! He charged in from behind the calamity at the most critical moment, creating a breathing space for our defenses... Wait!! What's behind them?!"

"Reinforcements!! Reinforcements from the other two major realms have arrived!! The Xuanyu Realm's position is about to be secured again; victory is in sight for this defensive battle!!"

Unprecedented cheers and shouts emanated from the radio. It seemed the Xuanyu frontline was incredibly excited; after days of desperate defense, the people of the Esoteric Sect had become numb, even despairing. The arrival of reinforcements was undoubtedly a shot in the arm, giving both the frontline and the civilian population hope for survival.

Chen Ling, seated on the throne, was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected the reinforcements from the other two major realms to arrive precisely at the moment Jian Changsheng and his two companions returned... Jian Changsheng certainly couldn't have coordinated with them. The only explanation was a coincidence. Yet, when these two events converged, the people of the Xuanyu Realm perceived it as "Jian Changsheng going to fetch reinforcements" and "returning to the Xuanyu Realm with saviors." The rumors about Jian Changsheng's disappearance in the preceding days not only dissipated but would also elevate his popularity to an unprecedented level. Regardless of what the Xuanyu government thought, in the hearts of the people, Jian Changsheng was now the savior of Xuanyu.

Chen Ling knew that the status of Jian Changsheng and his two companions in the human realms was now completely solidified... As long as the Xuanyu Realm did not fall, they would forever be humanity's heroes.

Click—

Chen Ling turned off the radio, lay quietly on the throne, and closed his eyes...

In the solitary palace, he fell into a peaceful sleep.

In the following days, Chen Ling returned to the monotonous life of the Ghost Mocking Abyss. Sleeping, eating insects, patrolling the Ghost Mocking Abyss... Chen Ling's daily pastime was turning on the radio to listen to news from the human realms.

Besides the Xuanyu Realm, the Tianzhu, Cangyun, and Nanhai Realms also launched war channels. The content from the Tianzhu Realm was similar to Xuanyu, primarily reporting on the frontline war situation, but Tianzhu's circumstances were somewhat better than Xuanyu's. On one hand, the Tianzhu Realm was the core hub of the human realms, boasting numerous experts. Besides Monarch Hongchen, Su Zhiwei, several owners of the Tongtian Star Position were also present. Furthermore, after centuries of accumulation, the foundation of the Tongtian Tower was immensely vast. As long as Monarch Hongchen could contain Xi Zai, it wouldn't be easy for ordinary calamities to shatter the war constructs of the Qiaoshen Dao.

The situation in the Cangyun Realm was somewhat unique. Ostensibly, there were no large-scale calamity conflicts, but the cities within the realm were already overgrown with vines, and strange flowers and vegetation sprouted everywhere on the streets. Consequently, the content on the Cangyun Realm's channel primarily instructed residents on how to deal with the various plants growing in their homes and how to avoid contact with them as much as possible.

After the Forbidden Sea attacked the Nanhai Realm, it seemed to vanish without a trace; no enemies emerged from beneath the sea surface. However, the Nanhai Realm remained on high war alert, sending out daily patrols to the surrounding areas, their vigilance at its peak.

As for the Lingxu Realm... as the only realm currently untouched by calamity attacks, it had no war channel of its own. At most, it had a dedicated channel broadcasting the situations of other realms to its residents, presenting an image of undisturbed peace.

A month quietly passed, and the tug-of-war between the human realms and the Calamity Domain continued.

Over the past month, Chen Ling's expectation value fluctuated, eventually dropping from around fifty to the critical threshold of twenty. Left with no choice, Chen Ling had to re-activate the Era Save. In the past, Chen Ling would enter the Era Save as soon as its cooldown ended whenever he had free time. But now, for Chen Ling, the save was more a means of maintaining his expectation value, only to be activated for "life extension" when the expectation value was about to hit rock bottom.

As the familiar number flashed, Chen Ling opened his eyes again, finding himself back amidst the city's ruins. After such a long time, Chen Ling, who had lived day in and day out in insect dens and the dark palace, felt a moment of daze upon seeing modern skyscrapers again... For a moment, he even wondered if his former human life had merely been a dream. However, more than half of the city before him had also been reduced to dilapidated ruins.

The last time Chen Ling entered the save, he had left Wushan Town. He had intended to check on other nearby cities, but upon arriving at the city next to Wushan Town, he found that its situation was not much better... Against the backdrop of a global nuclear war, nearly all urban settlements, with the exception of rarely visited havens, would inevitably be impacted. Nevertheless, after experiencing a round of nuclear strikes, many people emerged from their shelters, gazing at the devastated city before them with eyes full of confusion and helplessness... Cries, calls, and the distant wails of police sirens and ambulances filled the air.

Chen Ling looked around, his gaze quickly settling on a large supermarket. In his once dormant eyes, a glimmer of light finally reappeared. He quickly strode inside.

The supermarket's glass doors had been shattered by the aftermath of the nuclear strike. Chen Ling stepped directly over the scattered glass shards and approached the rows of disheveled shelves, searching carefully... Potato chips, instant noodles, bread, spicy sticks, pickled chicken feet, canned yellow peaches... A dazzling array of human snacks piled on the floor made Chen Ling's mouth water. After eating poisonous insects for a month, he had almost forgotten what human food tasted like.

Without hesitation, Chen Ling tore open a bag of potato chips, tilted his head back, poured all of them into his mouth, and chewed vigorously. As the rich flavor exploded on his taste buds, a long-lost look of enjoyment appeared on Chen Ling's dark face.