Many years later, the people of the desolate corner still spoke of him.
For those players who have gone from newbies to veterans, only when they talk about that legend do their numb souls regain their vibrant life.
"I've watched all his videos. I saw him appear here and watched him take flight. It may sound like hindsight, but when I first saw that video, I knew that this desolate place couldn't hold him."
When a newcomer enters the Wasteland, the old man will tell him that person's story: "Do you know? The Wasteland originally didn't have the tradition of the Ten Reincarnations becoming Soul Reapers. It was a hopeless world, like stagnant water, where living was just a struggle."
The newcomer couldn't imagine what a more desperate and desolate corner would look like, nor could he imagine the person's charisma.
"You can go check out his videos."
pilgrimage.
Those who had actually met him, or even had brief contact with him, would talk about him during their leisure time, enjoying the perks of the Soul Reaper while sipping beer.
Although many new people have joined the top ten in the past two years, the five of them still habitually group themselves together and do not dine with others.
"He said he would have a surprise for me, but I never expected it to be this." Wenli poured soda and ice into the lemon juice.
Watching the ice cubes swirl and bubble in the drink, with a 'hiss' sound as tiny bubbles rise from the juice, her mood became as gentle and joyful as the bubbles.
In that once desolate corner, they had no such joy. No matter how glamorous the top ten are, they are still tiny insects that can be crushed by the wheels of fate at any moment.
Not only Wenli, but everyone else never imagined that they, these poor wretches in prison, would one day be bathed in real sunlight like free citizens, enjoying such a pleasant afternoon tea in a bustling street.
Yes, this is not a desolate corner, nor a dungeon fraught with danger, but an ordinary yet precious source world.
This isn't a particularly famous place; it's just an ordinary commercial street and an ordinary little bar. But the sunlight outside the window is free, and so is the world outside.
This is their off-duty time. Wenli and the others like to find a source world they like to stay in. Not just for rest, but also for exploration. They want to choose their favorite world as their retirement home in a few years.
"I wonder which world the little rabbit is in. If I find him, I want to live in his world." Wen thought about this, so she always paid close attention to the entertainment industry in each world.
"Really? If you find it, don't forget to let me know." Chen Shen sipped her excellent cocktail, which she liked for its coffee aroma. "I'm planning to open a shooting range. I've gotten used to living in this desolate corner, and I feel uncomfortable if I don't touch a gun for a day."
"Really? I'd like to open a library, or a flower shop," Wenli said with a smile.
The Wasteland promised that they could choose to take certain skills, items, or money with them when they left. Given their personalities and abilities, even if they went to the ordinary world, they wouldn't be able to live a peaceful life forever.
"Cough, cough, cough." Ke Bei, looking unwell, coughed softly in the corner. His illness had been cured, but he still had a habitual cough. He wondered if the environment where Ren Yifei lived was good; he wanted to go somewhere with better air quality.
Shan Chuan, who was drinking tea, glanced at him and suddenly said, "Ke Bei seems to know."
It's not a question, it's a statement.
Ke Bei raised his eyelids and looked at Shan Chuan, whose face was calm. Shan Chuan simply nodded at him: "Just check the world coordinates you've recently traveled to, and you'll know."
The others glanced around, but said nothing, continuing to drink.
Ke Bei smirked: These guys are all as cunning as ghosts.
They all knew that the Black Rabbit was an evil god. At that time, everyone wondered why the Wasteland Corner had introduced the Soul Reaper class, so they were shown a video.
It was the video of Ren Yifei, the Deep Blue clone, transforming into his original form. Even through the screen, the extraordinary life force's ability to evoke emotions and desires still affected them, leaving them no choice but to believe it.
"This is my agreement with him," said the desolate corner. "I'll let you work for me, and then I'll let you leave."
And that was it. They readily accepted the premise and all applied to become Soul Reapers—a name that was far too cliché, but the Wasteland Corner insisted on it, a questionable display of aesthetics.
Regardless, they are now full-time employees of the Wasteland Corner, though they receive no salary, only a promise that they can leave.
No player can resist the temptation to leave the Wasteland, not even the top ten.
After afternoon tea, it was time to work again. Each person was assigned ten people to review, and they had to review all the selected people within 24 hours. If there was any extra time, it would be time to go home.
They each work in a different way, but what they have in common is that they are all very efficient.
Wenli prefers to work in the nighttime world of the people she is reviewing. She has the ability to enter dreams and can figure out a person's background in just ten minutes.
In the dream, the person being investigated will repeat the process of killing.
Sometimes she can make a judgment in less than a second. The last person she reviewed was like that; Wenli saw her transform into a seven or eight-year-old, push her younger sister into a dry well, and even had a smile on her face.
"Approved." She stamped the seal immediately. "Next."
Not long after she left, Shanchuan appeared in the same place. He looked down at the sleeping, sweet-looking girl, who was about seventeen or eighteen years old, just past the 'adulthood line' stipulated by the Desolate Corner.
He reached out, his five fingers transforming into metal mechanisms, the tips of which were blades. He easily sliced through the skin and ripped his heart out of the chest.
This was the heart of the soul, not the body, but the girl's face on the bed still turned ashen instantly.
He took out a prop, a balance scale, with a golden feather on one side and the other side empty. He had obtained it from a replica of an Egyptian civilization, and it could be used to weigh a person's good and evil.
He placed the girl's heart on it, and with a 'thud,' the golden tray sank to the bottom with a crisp sound.
"Passed." Shanchuan stamped the document and threw the heart back.
The two passed, and no third person was needed; the girl was directly chosen and taken away. She lay on the bed, her breathing stopped, and her rosy face turned a lifeless gray.
Shan Chuan turned and left; he had to go on to his next mission.
"Ding-dong." The butterfly in another world received a notification of 'change of review subject'. Without even thinking, it knew that one of the review subjects had been 'rejected'.
"Tch." He curled his lip and tossed aside the half-dead person being reviewed.
He's always the slowest, which is really annoying.
He tapped the man's face with the hot barrel of his gun, his expression blank and his eyes cold: "If you can't handle a gun, then don't, okay?"
The examiner, whose forehead had been pierced by ten bullets, trembled. If he weren't in a spirit state, he would have already wet his pants.
"pass."
Before leaving this world, Butterfly discovered Ke Bei, who was shrouded in a pitiful holy light. The person being investigated knelt before him, weeping bitterly, and poured out all the evil deeds he had committed.
From peeping at the widow next door taking a bath to committing financial fraud that ruined families, he told them everything he could remember.
However, this aura only works for people with a sense of right and wrong. If someone is inherently antisocial and believes that killing is a pleasurable and righteous thing to do, the clergy's aura will not work.
At that time, this morbidly sacred representative will have to physically exorcise the demon.
"He can't be any more insane than those four (Wenli, Chen Shen, Shanchuan, and Hudie)," thought Ke Bei, a late-stage control freak.
At this moment, Ke Bei also saw the passing butterfly, and the two people who were always ranked last or second to last exchanged a glance.
"How many have you done?" Butterfly asked, knowing that Ke Bei was also slow and might be the first target.
"Two, and you?"
"...Goodbye." The butterfly turned and left without looking back.
The butterfly went to the world of its next mission target, but it saw Chen Shen sitting on the roof, desperately calling the desolate corner.
"What are you doing?" Butterfly asked, not understanding why she had such a bitter and resentful expression.
Chen Shen looked up: "I just discovered that the target of the mission is a corrupt official. His embezzlement and bribery caused a building that had only been built for ten years to collapse, resulting in more than a hundred deaths and serious injuries."
"So?" Butterfly tilted her head, a question mark appearing on her face.
"Hmph," Chen Shen snorted coldly, "I requested that all the officials involved in these cases be thoroughly investigated, and that every single one of them be executed, to ensure there are no wrongful convictions. But the Desolate Corner is actually playing dead with me!"
After saying that, he frantically tapped the communication buttons again, his fingers almost appearing as phantoms.
Butterfly: "...Excuse me, but where did you work back then?"
"Disciplinary Inspection Commission".
Butterfly, who has always been an assassin: "My apologies, farewell."
Butterfly worked hard all day, trying his best to control himself from "playing games" with the person being reviewed, but he still ended up late.
"I'll be the last one." He said expressionlessly, head bowed, his spirits low.
However, when they arrived at the tavern, there was no one there.
"Um?"
"Hello, are you Mr. Hu?" The shop assistant walked over with a blush. Although she had seen this group of handsome men and beautiful women with their own unique characteristics for several days, she still couldn't resist. "Your friend left you a note."
When the butterfly picked it up, it was a coordinate system with a black rabbit drawn next to it.
"Thank you." He grabbed the note, turned, and left the tavern.
In Ren Yifei's world, it's seven o'clock, and the sun has already set.
The huge platform on the second floor of his house was already heated, the frying pan was ready, and the charcoal was burning.
In the morning, Ren Yifei suddenly said that he wanted to have barbecue today, and then bought a lot of ingredients.
"You bought so much, we can't possibly eat it all." Samantha said with a hint of helplessness, but he was still the first to put on an apron and roll up his sleeves to skewer the meat.
Ren Yifei shook his head: "Friends will be coming."
Samantha assumed it was one of his acquaintances in the industry: "I'll go buy some more beer to chill. Summer barbecues and ice-cold beer go perfectly together."
The skewers of barbecue ingredients, brushed with oil and sprinkled with seasonings, were already laid out. Four or five bottles of beer were chilled in an ice bucket on the table, and the air was filled with the heat of charcoal fire.
Samantha had already grilled Ren Yifei's favorite luncheon meat on the hot plate. He carefully blew on it to cool it down before feeding it to his boyfriend: "Want to try some?"
They were both wearing matching T-shirts of the same color and style; they looked like an ordinary young couple.
Just as Ren Yifei opened his mouth, a crack suddenly appeared in the sky, and several people in black uniforms fell down with a series of thuds.
With a dark expression, Ke Bei silently placed a box of pastries, which had been smashed to pieces, behind his back: "Long time no see."
"Hi." Wenli got up and shook the wine she had brought. "Looks like you're about to have dinner. May we join you?"
The others also stood up, each carrying something. Chen Shen brought fruit, Shan Chuan brought tea, and Hu Die even brought a huge bluefin tuna that wriggled its tail, estimated to weigh over a hundred pounds.
"Well, time is a bit tight, so we'll just have to make do," he said.
A smile spread across Ren Yifei's lips: "Help yourself to eat whatever you want. We've been waiting for you for a long time."