"Mage, when will this rain ever stop? The city is already flooded and many people are displaced," an elderly man in the city asked with concern.

Today was the third day of rain. The entirety of Ji City was flooded, and the survivors were all hiding on higher ground.

There were no Abyssal Demons here, as they dared not venture into the water.

As for the people, they were relatively unharmed.

The Game System was utterly ruthless. To prevent the Abyssal Demons from leaving Ji City, torrential rain poured from the sky, and floodwaters covered the ground.

If any Abyssal Demon dared to enter the water, they would suffer continuous damage and a stacking poison effect. Each instance of damage added another stack of poison, and prolonged exposure would cause them to die in the water.

Over the past three days, Wang Linchi received Experience from kills daily, and his daily task was to go out and collect Abyss Crystals.

Just as he was about to head out, someone stopped him.

"Once the Evil Demons are dead, the rain will stop, and the water will recede," Wang Linchi replied.

"How much longer will that be? Why don't you go and eliminate the Evil Demons yourself, Mage? That way, the rain and water might recede faster," a young man hesitantly suggested.

"That could work, but I might not be strong enough alone. How about you come and assist me?"

"However, the Evil Demons are vicious. You'd best settle your affairs beforehand. Otherwise, you might die at their hands before I even get to hear your last words," Wang Linchi said without hesitation.

The problem could have been solved by simply waiting, as only six days remained. Yet, they couldn't even wait that long and were pushing Wang Linchi to risk his life. Fine, Wang Linchi had agreed to go. But since they were the ones who proposed it, they couldn't seriously expect to just stay behind and enjoy the fruits of his labor, could they?

At these words, the young man's expression changed. "Mage, I possess no fighting skills. How could I possibly battle those vicious Evil Demons or be of any help to you?"

"Of course, you can help. If I can't defeat them, you can block their attacks for me, act as a human shield, perhaps even die in my place. That would buy me a chance to survive."

"After all, your death wouldn't be a big deal. But if I died, who would make the rain stop and the waters recede? Sacrificing just one person like you *might* make this disaster end sooner. So, why not?" Wang Linchi said seriously, heavily emphasizing the word "might."

"But you're a Mage, and I'm just a commoner! How can you ask me to do something so dangerous?" The young man's face flushed red.

"Precisely because I am a Mage and must fight the Evil Demons, I cannot afford to die. You're just a commoner; your death is of little consequence. At most, your parents will mourn you, your wife will remarry, and your children will grow up without guidance. But if I die, think of how many fewer families and people would be saved!" Wang Linchi declared with righteous indignation, as if taking the moral high ground.

It was just moral blackmail, wasn't it? He could play that game too. He could even stand on the moral high ground and criticize everyone.

"Enough talk. Let's go. Tonight, I'll throw a banquet to celebrate you surviving another day," Wang Linchi said, preparing to drag the young man away.

"Wait, I..." The young man retreated several steps, then said, "I... I was wrong to blame you earlier, Mage. These Evil Demons are dangerous; there's no need for you to risk your life."

"Truly?" Wang Linchi looked at the now-submissive young man with a teasing gaze.

"Yes, truly," the young man replied. He wasn't stupid. Why would he sacrifice himself to be a stepping stone for others?

"As long as you're sincere, that's good. Actually, I am also thinking of everyone's well-being. Look, if I were to die and the Evil Demons attacked, who would resist them? Surely, hunting down and exterminating demons can't be more important than everyone's lives, can it?" Wang Linchi said in a calm and kind tone.

This brought a sudden realization to the crowd.

It seemed logical. At most, the city outside was flooded, but they didn't lack food or drink; life was still quite comfortable. If Wang Linchi died, no one could contend with the Evil Demons.

Except for the humiliated young man, the others found it rather amusing, as it wasn't their dignity at stake, nor were they the ones being confronted.

If anyone else wanted to continue arguing with Wang Linchi, they were welcome to try. If they ended up being dragged off as cannon fodder to block attacks and die in his stead, they would only have themselves to blame.

Refuse? Even if they won the argument against Wang Linchi, what then? If Wang Linchi decided to force them, no one would dare intervene. Refusal was not an option. With the Saint Master's imposing physique present, no one among them could resist.

After this lecture, whether their apologies were sincere or feigned, no one dared to try and morally blackmail Wang Linchi again.

Wang Linchi was quite satisfied with this.

I really can't be too nice to these people. After just a few good days, they're already thinking of scheming against me, Wang Linchi grumbled to himself. Either someone plans to eliminate me to seize power, or they're trying to undermine my prestige to gain the upper hand. But whatever, I don't care who it is. I'm not going to bother with them.

His rescuing and sheltering of survivors everywhere wasn't out of kindness. It was because he had captured a Wicked Person and confined him in a nearby attic.

The survivors' purpose, naturally, was to be corrupted by this Wicked Person, thereby creating new Wicked People.

Otherwise, what else could they be used for? he thought.

He'd made a fortune from this recent wave of events, true, but he wouldn't refuse these small gains either. One must be a bit thrifty, after all.

Although it's immoral, I don't care. Why worry about NPCs in a game? Even if these NPCs might be real people, what does that have to do with me? If I could take them as aides, I wouldn't mind protecting them. Unfortunately, they're just a bunch of useless NPCs who might even hold me back. I'm not their father. Why should I protect their safety and ensure their daily lives if they aren't valuable to me? Otherwise, I fundamentally lack that saint-like quality to be so selfless for unrelated people.

With the Saint Master, he left the shelter area and began his daily task of collecting Abyss Crystals.

"The difficulty of this instance is indeed high. We've been collecting Abyss Crystals for so many days, and we haven't encountered a single common monster. The weakest are Elite Monsters," Wang Linchi grumbled, though he also found it normal. Level 30 was considered the second job advancement, where Players' capabilities would undergo another qualitative change, so it was natural for the instance difficulty to increase accordingly.

But where did the Mainline Boss go? Wang Linchi pondered. The Wish Demon is a side boss. The Mainline Boss should be related to the Wicked People, who have currently infected most of the population. But those Wicked People were trapped; the rain and floods put them in a deadly predicament. Otherwise, how could I have been gaining Experience continuously for three days just from the prominent families in Ji City? I have a feeling it's not that simple. It's just that the investigation has hit a bottleneck, with no significant findings.

Wang Linchi wasn't just out to gather Abyss Crystals; he was also tracking the Mainline Boss. He refused to believe that the Mainline consisted only of Wicked People; there had to be a higher-level Boss.

"This is the City Lord's Mansion?" Wang Linchi looked at the structure, half-submerged in water.

I remember we didn't get to search it last time; we went looking for the Demon Infant instead, Wang Linchi recalled. Later, because I directly used a plug-in, I didn't return. I didn't expect to come back here today.

Wang Linchi spotted some Wicked People squatting on the rafters of the mansion. Judging by their attire, they weren't former servants of the City Lord's Mansion but rather Wicked People who had run in later to shelter from the rain. After all, the Demon Infant had killed everyone in the City Lord's Mansion earlier.

So I'll just bypass the rooms with Wicked People. There's no need to waste effort killing them. Given how hard it's raining, the water will reach the rafters in another two days. These Wicked People will definitely die then. I just need to come back at the right time to collect Abyss Crystals.

This should be the City Lord's bedroom, Wang Linchi mused as he reached the backyard of the City Lord's Mansion. Although mostly submerged, its exterior was still discernible.

Since I'm here, I might as well search it. Maybe I'll find some clues. Wang Linchi felt that the matter concerning the City Lord and the City Lord's Wife might not be so simple. Perhaps there were clues related not only to the Wish Demon side story but also to the Mainline involving the Wicked People. It's just a pity they died too early, which prevented me from digging up many clues. Besides, with my luck, I can't possibly leave empty-handed, right?

"Give me a Shield. We're going under," Wang Linchi said to the Saint Master.

The Saint Master immediately cast Seal Protection on Wang Linchi, creating a sealed area around him to isolate him from the water.

He didn't need to worry about breathing. He wasn't a real person, just a game character; why would he need to breathe? The Saint Master's Seal Protection was a passive ability, but it could also be actively cast. It was just that it was rarely used actively. After all, it wasn't needed within one meter of the Saint Master, and it would automatically activate beyond that distance.

[This chapter has a bonus. If there are four hundred upvotes, there will be an additional ten-chapter update. Please leave a free like. More likes will motivate me to update more frequently next week. (This sentence is complimentary.)]

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