«The last land city in the world?»
In the endless, black forest, a hunched human figure staggered slowly, their steps unsteady.
The human was wrapped in heavy armor with the outer layer already shattered in places, revealing the wooden texture beneath. From within the armor came the muffled, rough, and strained sound of labored breathing.
Eventually, the human removed the filtration mask. It slipped from his fingertips to the ground.
The man’s appearance was plain, his face withered and gaunt. His cracked, dried lips parted, and blood trickled out. His body instinctively made him lick the tiny drop clean.
Three days ago, he had led his mercenary team into the Nightmare Beast Forest, hoping to gather resources. But he never expected his team to lose their lives for it.
All the supplies were beside his fallen comrades. But he couldn’t return—getting near them meant death.
Nightmare Beast seeds were planted in his teammates. As long as their bodies had not been fully drained, the seeds remained active.
The man removed the mask, revealing his skin. With no water, no food, and no filtration mask, his fate was to either die from thirst and hunger or be planted with the Nightmare Beast seed, becoming one of them—roaming and spreading the seeds.
All that awaited him was a deathly end. But before that, he wished to see the sun once more, as a human.
But the vast, black Nightmare Beast Forest swallowed the light. When he looked up, all he could see was an endless darkness.
Until a streak of lush green suddenly caught the corner of his eye.
The man’s pupils contracted as he slowly twisted his rusty neck and looked up.
Through the gaps in the Nightmare Beast Forest, a flash of verdant green appeared.
The man moved toward it. The vibrant, green grass was full of life, forming a stark boundary with the blackness of the Nightmare Beast Forest. The man’s eyes widened in shock.
“Mirage?” His helmet fell to the ground. Step by step, he moved toward the mirage, which seemed like the last pure land in the world.
As the man stepped onto the soft earth, the scent of the green grass filled his nostrils. Suddenly, birds fluttered by in the sky, their wings cutting through the air, appearing before the man’s eyes.
As he moved closer, endless farmlands came into view. At a glance, he could see the layout of the ground, and there, before him, stood a real city.
“How is this possible? This is… a city? Impossible. Is there really a city in this world?” The man’s eyes widened, his steps faltering as he made his way toward the seemingly unreal city.
However, as he drew closer, the city did not vanish. On the contrary, it became clearer, surrounded by layers of fertile farmland, all brimming with vibrant green life.
The man crouched at the edge of the field, his hands trembling as he reached out to touch the vegetables that thrived in the soil.
As far as the eye could see, there were lush, green leaves. Beneath them, white radishes peeked out, showing just a hint of their fruit.
The man, uneasy, extended his hand, carefully and slowly digging through the soil that covered the radish.
Even the radish’s roots, which had pierced the ground, were gently drawn back from the earth. The white, plump radish, still covered in dirt, was carefully cradled in his hands. The man, cherishing it greatly, took a bite.
The juicy, crisp sweetness of the white radish flooded his mouth. The fresh, delicious taste made it impossible for the man to suppress the overwhelming sadness in his heart. It was the most wonderful flavor he had ever experienced, one he hadn’t felt since birth.
Even the radishes from the Mobile City Alliance couldn’t compare to the shockingly delicious taste of this one.
The man felt a wave of tears building up, but his lack of water prevented him from crying. For a moment, he thought he had already died, and that this was just an illusion before his death.
Taking large bites of the white radish, the man felt as if he had returned to when he was five years old. After crying and begging his parents, they had given him a meal—one that, to this day, he didn’t know how much hardship they had endured to provide him with that first taste of fresh food.
Suddenly, a shadow loomed over him. The mercenary instinct urged him to dodge, but he couldn’t bear to let go of the radish in his hand, even if death were to come.
The man looked up and saw a farmer standing before him, completely unprotected, dressed in soft fabric.
The farmer’s tanned, muscular arms and legs were visible as he raised a farming fork high in the air and, without hesitation, plunged the sharp tines toward the man’s neck.
The man couldn’t react in time. This person had appeared too suddenly, too silently. Having lived on the edge of life and death for twenty years, he hadn’t sensed the approach of this person at all.
This person was a true master!
He would die.
At least, before dying, he had tasted the fresh, white radish that could drive people mad with desire in this world.
“Hey, radish thief?” Suddenly, a clear voice rang out around them. It instantly tore through the darkness and murderous intent that had enveloped the man.
The fierce farming fork was not plunged into the man’s neck but instead struck the ground with a thud.
The fierce farmer suddenly froze, all the coldness disappearing from his expression. Instead, his face became filled with simplicity and sincerity as he began to carefully turn the soil, as though he were just a diligent farmer at work.
The man noticed, from a distance, a young boy jogging toward the edge of the field.
The boy had delicate features, extremely fair skin, and slightly messy black hair. His deep black eyes were as precious as the rarest black minerals in the world. He wore lightweight clothing. The bright sunlight bathed him in a soft glow, making him seem fragile, as though a gust of wind might blow him away. Yet, he was equally exquisite and beautiful, a sight that would shock anyone who looked upon him.
The man, who had lived a life full of danger and wandering, had met all kinds of people. But he had never encountered anyone so pure and transparent, someone so dazzling that it made one feel a sense of awe.
The man could only stare blankly as the boy ran toward him, as if witnessing a god descending.
He Fang arrived next to the strange black-clad man, looking at the red exclamation mark above his head. It was a low-level task.
It was unexpected that the first game task of 〈〈Ruins Without Restart〉〉 after going online wasn’t a main quest.
“With a game like this, it’s no wonder nobody plays,” He Fang muttered under his breath. He crouched down to look at the man, who was lying on the ground, clutching the white radish with a look of terror on his face. He paused, inexplicably softening his voice, “Do you need any help?”
The man froze. With trembling lips, he was unable to speak for a long time.
He Fang waited for a while, puzzled, “Did you bug out?”
“Y-yes… I’m sorry…” After a long pause, the man’s voice was hoarse as he said his first words. “I… I stole the radish. I’m sorry.”
He Fang looked up at the endless fields of radishes and the NPC farmers working nearby. Then he glanced at the man who was in a pitiful state and answered, “I’ll tell the farmers it’s okay.”
It was just a radish; it would probably grow back tomorrow. The man clearly needed it.
However, it seemed the man didn’t understand He Fang’s words. Trembling, he reached out, his face still covered in dirt and radish juice, and said, “I’ll pay you. I swear, I’ll…”
He Fang blinked. This seemed like a simple task to earn some money. If he didn’t accept, the malnourished NPC might refuse to eat: “Then give it to me.”
He Fang studied the man, puzzled by the way his body was wrapped in armor made from what seemed like plants, sealing him off entirely. The man, drenched in sweat and looking utterly miserable, was a detailed portrayal, almost like a real person.
The man rummaged through the armor covering his body and pulled out a lot of currency, handing it to He Fang. He Fang counted it. While it wasn’t much, the way the man searched through his armor made it seem as though he was willing to give all the money he had.
“That’s enough, no need for more. It’s just a radish, not worth much,” He Fang refused.
Anyone willing to pay a high price for a radish was likely an NPC involved in a money-related task.
This small amount of money, compared to the taxes collected daily in his city, was insignificant.
However, the man seemed genuinely surprised, his face showing astonishment: “Is this all it takes to buy these radishes?”
“That’s enough,” He Fang calculated the value of the money. The amount he’d been given was enough to buy over twenty kilograms of radishes. He didn’t want to take advantage of the NPC.
“Thank you, thank you so much,” the man said, his expression filled with gratitude.
He Fang watched as the man devoured the radish, dirt and all, leaving none behind. He even licked his fingers clean and then tried to scrape the radish juice off his face to eat the last bit. He Fang couldn’t bear to watch anymore.
He casually pulled up another radish, wiped off the dirt, and handed it to the man with a clean wet wipe: “Here, eat.”
Without hesitation, the man grabbed the radish and began to gnaw on it. What puzzled He Fang was that not only did the man finish the radish, but he also picked up the radish roots He Fang had discarded on the ground and ate those too, not to mention the radish leaves.
He Fang continued to hand the man a few more radishes, this time without wiping them clean.
Wasn’t this supposed to be a simple task? Or did the man just eat endlessly as long as He Fang kept giving him radishes?
Finally, after the tenth radish, the man slowed down, but he was still carefully chewing, as if savoring the flavor, not stopping completely.
He really seemed to love radishes, He Fang thought, blinking in confusion.
“What is this place?” the man asked, his voice sounding much calmer now, as though the radishes had given him a bit of strength.
“It’s my city,” He Fang replied.
“Your… city?” The man froze, struggling to pull his gaze away from the dazzling youth, turning it towards the vibrant, sunlit city that seemed full of life.
“Yes, I’m the city lord,” He Fang said, crouching down to examine the strange armor the man was wearing.
“City lord…” The man muttered, but his expression suddenly turned anxious. “You all need to leave quickly. Take everyone and get far away. Over there, in that direction—the Nightmare Beast Forest is close.”
“The Nightmare Beast Forest?” He Fang followed the man’s pointed finger, looking toward the boundary where the grass met an area of blackness, completely unclear and mysterious.
Wasn’t that the game’s boundary?
〈〈Ruins Without Restart〉〉 was a simulation and management game, where land expansion could only occur once all necessary facilities were in place. Those black areas were regions He Fang couldn’t expand into yet.
In theory, 〈〈Ruins Without Restart〉〉 could expand infinitely as long as the city’s infrastructure could keep up. If the ratings were high enough, players could even build an entire planet.
He Fang clicked his tongue in realization. So the official announcement of the online version included the renaming of these black, undeveloped areas into the “Nightmare Beast Forest”?
“We’ll definitely expand in that direction eventually, but now is not the time,” He Fang told the strange man in front of him.
“Expand? You’re talking about expanding? That’s the Nightmare Beast Forest! If you come into contact with the resurrected Nightmare Plants inside, everyone will die!” The man immediately stood up.
“But that’s how I’ve always expanded,” He Fang said, confused. Had something changed with the expansion conditions? Was it now necessary to clear the Nightmare Beast Forest first?
He thought about checking the official website for any guides.
“You’ve always… expanded like that?” The man was utterly shocked. The person in front of him had always expanded the city’s land into the area symbolizing death, the Nightmare Beast Forest?
How terrifying was that?!
Wait…
The man suddenly noticed something strange.
The Nightmare Beast Seeds would attack anything living nearby, yet the lush green grass where the Nightmare Beast Forest met seemed like it should have been a host for the Nightmare Seeds long ago. But why…
Instead, it was as though the Nightmare Beast Forest was afraid of these harmless plants, clearly marking the boundary and not daring to approach?
A wave of dread suddenly surged in the man’s heart. Could it be… this place was even more terrifying than the Nightmare Beast Forest itself?
