Fang Yuan across from him glanced expressionlessly at the little Pegasus. The little Pegasus trembled, looked fearfully at Fang Yuan, and then obediently spread its wings to fly into Zhang Qian'er's arms.
Zhang Qian'er let out a sigh of relief, thinking the little thing was about to run away. However, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
Fang Yuan smiled faintly, and despite the little Pegasus' small size, it was actually a miniature version of the Pegasus breed, which had been altered from a magical beast. Although it had lost its magic, its physical constitution was remarkable, and its flying speed was probably faster than an eagle.
Fang Yuan felt confident selling this little Pegasus because of its gentle nature; it almost never attacked people, and he wasn't worried about anyone causing trouble.
Moreover, the Pegasus had exceptional flying speed and constitution, ensuring its health. With such a robust body, it was unlikely to fall ill, which was why Fang Yuan dared to price it so highly.
Whenever other customers came to buy, Fang Yuan always instructed Xu Xiaomeng to remind them to tie the Pegasus with a rope until it was familiar with them, or else it would fly away, and they couldn't blame anyone.
At that moment, Xu Xiaomeng was somewhat surprised to see how obedient the two little Pegasi were, and she couldn't help but wonder if she was dreaming.
Then, Xu Xiaomeng looked on enviously; she wanted a cute little pony like that too.
However, Fang Yuan seemed to have not noticed Xu Xiaomeng's gaze.
Wang Yuanyuan and Zhang Qian'er stayed for more than half an hour before leaving. As they left, Fang Yuan gave them both bags of fruit from the Steel Ball World. Zhang Qian'er also got one bag, thanks to Wang Yuanyuan's good luck. After all, Fang Yuan could provide as many of these fruits as he wanted.
As they were about to leave, Wang Yuanyuan seemed a bit reluctant. If she weren't worried about being late for evening self-study, she probably wouldn't want to leave.
"Boss, they've already walked far away."
Xu Xiaomeng noticed Fang Yuan staring blankly at the direction the two women had left and couldn't help but wave her hand in front of him.
Fang Yuan snapped back to reality, brushed her hand away, and turned to enter the house. Just before entering the living room, he paused and flipped the price tag around.
Xu Xiaomeng instantly squinted her eyes in delight, wondering if the boss had really reduced the price by ten thousand times, which would ruin her commission.
But she couldn't help but wonder about Wang Yuanyuan's relationship with the boss. How could the boss be so generous toward her? When they left, Fang Yuan even stood there staring at the street corner, almost lost in thought. It was strange.
Xu Xiaomeng was very curious. Women had strong gossip instincts, and girls were no exception.
What Xu Xiaomeng didn't know was that Fang Yuan's daze while looking at the street corner stemmed from the fact that he had already spent several decades in the Steel Ball World. His memories were becoming fuzzy, and his mindset had shifted. He couldn't help but feel nostalgic about the past.
The past…
Just two decades ago in the real world, Wang Yuanyuan was still a young girl who didn't understand much about relationships. She would often visit Fang Yuan's home, shyly giving him a photo album as a gift.
In the blink of an eye, two decades had passed in the real world, while in the Steel Ball World, decades had passed. Although Fang Yuan could clearly recall the emotions from that time, he couldn't help but feel nostalgic for the days gone by.
Perhaps it was the loneliness of being so high up in the Steel Ball World that made Fang Yuan increasingly want to cherish the things of the real world.
Wang Yuanyuan, who once didn't seem special, now seemed so familiar and dear to him, at least because they were both beings from the same world, unlike the creatures in the Steel Ball World that he could create endlessly.
In his room, Fang Yuan took out the photo album Wang Yuanyuan had given him two decades ago and began flipping through it. Inside were pictures of a 16-year-old Wang Yuanyuan, innocent and cute. Though still a little immature, she was already blossoming.
Suddenly, Fang Yuan stretched out his left hand, and a blank notebook appeared in it. The notebook was empty.
He put the photo album down and opened the notebook he had created. As he flipped through the pages, the blank pages quickly began to show color, forming a picture.
The woman in the picture was tall and shapely, with long hair cascading down her shoulders, a heart-shaped face, and a gentle smile. She wasn't extremely beautiful but was very easy to look at. This was Fang Yuan's ex-girlfriend from college, although she had long become a part of the past. He hadn't thought of her in a long time, but now he couldn't help but feel nostalgic, so he took out the album to reminisce.
As Fang Yuan continued flipping through the pages, the pages filled with pictures of his ex-girlfriend, all in color. Some were set in campus environments, others in hotels, and still others in tourist spots. These were all memories from deep within Fang Yuan's heart, which he had captured using his supernatural powers.
As the last page of the notebook appeared, it showed only the back of his ex-girlfriend, along with a moment of her turning around, an unmistakable aura of indifference emanating from the picture.
With a soft sigh, Fang Yuan closed the notebook and put it away. Just as he was about to put away the photo album as well, he sensed something happening in the Steel Ball World. His brows furrowed, and he hurriedly entered the Steel Ball World.
In the mortal realm of the Steel Ball World, at that moment, it was a scene of devastation—bodies were piled up, and rivers flowed with blood.
Mountains stretched as far as the eye could see, all stained red with blood, and the entire world was filled with a chilling, resentful atmosphere.
In the human settlement areas, countless mages, warriors, and sword fighters were engaged in brutal battles. Even many ordinary people were fighting desperately, attacking any creature around them in a suicidal frenzy, their eyes bloodshot, completely losing their sanity.
Only beings that had reached the divine level remained unaffected by this massacre, but even they were in great danger, seemingly on the brink of life and death.
"What the hell happened now? When will this end?"
Fang Yuan's eyelids twitched as he saw the scene. However, this situation was different from the previous battle of the gods. With his sharp eyes, he could immediately tell that nearly all humans had lost their sanity and become crazed.
It wasn't just humans—the gods, elves, and even the beasts and magical creatures of the world had all gone mad, completely losing their reason and only knowing how to kill.
Since the creation of the divine realm, although only half a year had passed in the outside world, several thousand years had passed in the Steel Ball World. Despite such a long time, there hadn't been any major events, except for thousands of gods and warriors ascending to the divine realm, with only occasional minor wars in the human realm.
But nothing like this had ever occurred before. Fang Yuan, having become slightly nostalgic, responded a little slower, and in just a blink of an eye, the Steel Ball World had fallen into this state.
This was simply a hellish battlefield. Fang Yuan felt as though he were a caretaker—if he turned his attention away for just a moment, the world would nearly destroy itself.
Thousands of years had passed, and once millions of intelligent beings had existed, but now, with no resource crises or population control, the number of intelligent life forms in the world had exceeded 10 billion.
However, in just a short time, nearly 99% of the life in the world had been wiped out. The entire world had been drenched in blood, and the air was thick with resentment.
Had it not been for the fact that Fang Yuan knew this was his world, he might have suspected he had accidentally entered a hellish realm.
"I'm going to find out what the hell is going on!"
Fang Yuan's frustration reached a peak. With a thought, the will of the world descended, and time itself came to a standstill.
All the beings engaged in slaughter, even the rivers, lakes, and falling leaves in the sky, froze in place.
"Reverse time!"
Fang Yuan softly muttered, and the entire world seemed to shimmer with a double image before beginning to reverse in time.