Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

The Boy Who Survived Great Adversities?

——He looks so majestic!

The Undead grew more and more hesitant——

Could it be...they really got it wrong?

"Wait a moment, I'll have someone check immediately. Don't let me find out you're lying to me, otherwise I'll make you wish you were dead!" the Leader of the Dead growled.

"I'm afraid you won't check, so go ahead and check." Shen Ye said with his hands on his hips.

The Leader of the Dead gave a few of his capable subordinates some orders.

Several subordinates quickly left the area.

Next.

All they had to do was wait for the result.

Unconvinced, the Leader of the Dead continued to ask, "Boy, why would you betray humanity as a member of the Human Race?"

This was the crux of the matter!

A human, instead of living a proper life, opted to side with the Undead.

What kind of mental state was this?

What was his motive?

"Hmph, I am tired of being exploited by capitalists," Shen Ye said.

"What is a capitalist?" the Leader of the Dead asked.

"Let me put it this way, I'm a poor man, with no means of production or way to acquire wealth. I must surrender my labor to the owners of the means of production, the capitalists, and in the actual labor process produce the value of that labor. The capitalists exploit it all, and only then can I barely survive," Shen Ye explained slowly.

A deadly silence followed.

The Undead stood still, motionless.

The Leader of the Dead looked around and said with a tone of disappointed frustration, "I told you to read more books. Now you can't even understand what others are saying. Isn't that embarrassing?"

"Leader, can you understand?" one subordinate asked respectfully.

"Nonsense, why else would I be the leader and you are not?" said the Leader of the Dead.

The Undead looked on with increased respect.

The Leader of the Dead cleared his throat and turned to face Shen Ye:

"So, how exactly did this master known as a capitalist torment you to make you hate them so much?"

——That's enough, you haven't read much either.

"They made me work 996," Shen Ye said.

"What is 996?" the Leader of the Dead asked curiously.

"Start work at 9 a.m., finish at 9 p.m., with less than one-hour breaks for lunch and dinner, totaling over 10 hours of work, and six days a week," Shen Ye enlightened him.

"That sounds pretty harsh..." the Leader of the Dead pondered for a moment.

"Later, I even experienced 007," Shen Ye said in a lower voice.

"What is that?" the Leader of the Dead inquired.

"Working from midnight to midnight, seven days a week without rest, commonly known as 007," Shen Ye explained.

The Undead gasped in shock, their gaze toward him gaining a hint of sympathy.

Even the sharp points of their lances withdrew a bit further from him.

"I think I'm beginning to understand you — but how did you survive until now?" the voice of the Leader of the Dead took on a warmer tone.

It released its grip on Shen Ye's neck.

"I remember that day... snow was drifting through the sky, I was cold and hungry...with only a box of matches on me..."

Shen Ye's voice choked up a few times, and just as he was about to continue, a line of small characters emerged from the void:

"The Undead have decided to spread the word of the humans' '996' and '007' atrocities, and you will become the central figure in this campaign of public opinion."

"Attention, please!"

"Your new term, 'The Little Match Boy', could very well originate from here!"

You've achieved victory!

"The Boy Who Survived Great Adversities" was as persistent as a stuck-on candy, and now you're giving me "The Little Match Boy"?

Absolutely not!

If one day I'm able to return to Blue Star, wouldn't I be driven insane by a bunch of Earthlings?

Shen Ye shifted his approach:

"At that moment, Fei Lun saved me — so I will absolutely not allow you to frame him, nor to dispose of him at will!"

Several vague figures swiftly returned to the woods.

——It was those very Undead Scouts who had gone to gather information.

"What he said is true, everyone saw Court Archmage Yudelia contacting the Elf Village girl through space, and the Elf girl spoke the truth."

"The Elf High Priest really was at the village, ready to capture all our assassins in one fell swoop."

The Scout reported.

"And you? Is the news you gathered also the same?" the Leader of the Dead asked the other Scouts.

"Yes."

"It's the same."

"There's no falsifying this matter, sir. Prince Norton of the Human Race has verified it, and the situation is as described."

The various Scouts chimed in one after another.

One of the Scouts even presented a portrait.

It depicted the likeness of Shen Ye.

—— It was indeed The Boy Who Survived Great Adversities!

The Undead nodded silently, turning their gaze to the skull on the ground.

It seems Fei Lun is innocent!

Fei Lun had not only escaped the trap of the Elf Race but even managed to turn a young human with the Medal of Valor, on the verge of being recommened to the Imperial Military Academy, to his side!

He was not only innocent, but also remarkably meritorious!

An impatient subordinate spoke up:

"Sir, according to the jailer's orders, we must deal with Fei Lun——"

"Quiet! Since Fei Lun is innocent and has merit, do you think I would kill him? If so, wouldn't that dishearten all the Undead Soldiers?" the Leader of the Dead scolded.

It turned its head to look at Fei Lun.

Killing was not an option.

If they were to deal with Fei Lun now, sooner or later, they would be thrown out to appease the public anger, and executed in front of everyone.

The higher-ranked Undead would gain prestige from this, while it would be nothing more than a stepping stone.

This transaction cannot be done.

But saving Fei Lun would cost a lot of money, and I certainly won't pay it myself.

The method that neither offends the warden nor accrues a reputation for indiscriminate killing is...

"Very well, Fei Lun, it seems you are a brave Undead Warrior and have not forgotten your mission."

The Leader of the Dead squatted down and placed a white bone medal on Fei Lun's head.

"We must report what happened here immediately, the rest is up to you."

It then patted Shen Ye's shoulder affectionately:

"From now on, we shall call you 'The Little Match Boy', this title will cover your identity as 'The Boy Who Survived Great Adversities'."

Snap!

A row of faintly glowing small characters suddenly appeared in the void:

"Your brand-new entry: 'The Little Match Boy' has begun to sprout."

Shen Ye twitched the corners of his mouth.

In the end, he couldn't avoid it.

The Leader of the Dead then looked at the skull on the ground and said with an admiring tone:

"You too, Fei Lun, I am proud of you."

"Let's go!"

"Wait!" Shen Ye shouted, unable to restrain himself from asking, "You've disassembled him, and you're just going to leave him here?"

"We only took it apart; its strength remains," the Leader of the Dead explained.

"Is that so... Then can you put him back together?" Shen Ye asked again.

"Kid, not to deceive you, but assembling bones requires eyes, and we have none, so it's up to you now! Farewell!"

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—

The Deceased vanished in an instant.

The forest returned to tranquility in a flash.

"As I said, we of the Undead usually leave them outside; if they die, they die, if they live, they live," Skull Head sighed.

"Really unusable?" Shen Ye asked.

"Unusable; they can only regrow," Skull Head said.

"Then your strength—" Shen Ye hesitated to ask.

"Actually, I didn't use my real strength just now; I can't let them suspect me," Skull Head spoke in a deep tone.

"You just let them disassemble you?" Shen Ye said.

"Shen Ye, you are young and do not know that some things are more frightening than death," Skull Head said.

"Can you move now?"

"... Fortunately, the strength hasn't been lost, sealed within my skull. As long as the bones grow back, I can use it," Skull Head sighed.

"Ah, that's also fortunate," Shen Ye agreed.

"..." Skull Head.

"..." Shen Ye.

A cold wind blew by.

The boy and the Skull Head were at a loss for words.

—Fortunate my ass.

Having no body at all, this was even worse than when the two had first met.

"You didn't throw away the fish tank, did you?" Skull Head took the initiative to ask.

Yo.

Seems like someone's emotional intelligence has improved.

"I bought it with money; I wouldn't throw it away— as soon as we get back, I'll order takeout and get you some calcium supplement liquid," Shen Ye squatted in front of it and said.

"Thank you," Skull Head said.

"Should we add some aquatic plants? I've always wanted to plant some," Shen Ye suggested.

"Sure, a green environment can make my mood more relaxed," Skull Head said in agreement.

"Since it's calcium supplement liquid, we can only plant fake aquatic plants," Shen Ye said.

"That's good, easier to take care of," Skull Head agreed.

"This time your head isn't broken, and your teeth are good too, the turtle I bought is still alive, want to eat it?" Shen Ye asked.

"Yes," Skull Head replied.

Shen Ye silently nodded.

—This Skeleton is capable.

In the future, I could bring it here to chat; back home, it'll be taken care of even better.

"By the way," Skull Head curiously asked, "do you humans really have those terrifying beings called capitalists?"

"Yeah, but not in your world," Shen Ye said.

"That's good," Skull Head sighed in relief.

"Why worry about human affairs?" Shen Ye said with a smile.

"You're not quite aware of our world's issues—each Race actually enjoys learning from humans. If you have capitalists—soon the Undead Race will have such characters too, just the thought is terrifying," Skull Head said.

Shen Ye was about to respond when three lines of faint, glowing characters emerged:

"You've triggered the Key Reminder again."

"You've been discovered again!"

"Please note this is a critical moment for completing your third 'One of Our Own' entry; you mustn't run away."

Shen Ye was taken aback.

Had those Undead returned?

The dense forest rustled.

Scores of shadows burst forth, surrounding Shen Ye and Skull Head on the ground.

"Don't move!"

"Traitor of the Human Race!"

"Consorting with the Undead in secret, you've been caught red-handed!"

Fully armed Human Race soldiers shouted angrily.

Shen Ye naturally did not move and even had the leisure to shoot a glance at Skull Head.

"?" Skull Head.

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