That evening at the Shen residence.
After Xu Que finished his bath, Shen Mengchu smiled at him, then pushed the freshly cooked alien meat toward him.
"Where did you go this afternoon? Why do you look like that?" Shen Mengchu asked, laughing.
"I went to the old rental I used to live in, but it's been reduced to rubble," Xu Que answered calmly.
Shen Mengchu nodded slightly and refrained from asking more. To her, she believed whatever Xu Que said.
What Shen Mengchu didn't know was that Xu Que wasn't being entirely truthful. This afternoon, he had gone to the penthouse, sifting through the ruins for hours.
Though he only found three half-burnt skulls, they were ground into dust by Xu Que in the end.
While Xu Que and Shen Mengchu chatted happily, Shen Tianhe returned home.
Upon seeing his daughter laughing and talking with Xu Que, his eyes twitched, and without bothering to hang up his coat, he strode towards Xu Que and sat down in front of him.
"Father, what's going on with you?" Shen Mengchu asked hesitantly.
"Help me hang my coat first," Shen Tianhe smiled, looking at his daughter.
Shen Mengchu glanced at her father, then at Xu Que.
Though she understood what was going on, some matters weren't something she, as a girl, could handle.
"Please, do be careful," Shen Mengchu quietly reminded her father.
Shen Tianhe forced a smile, but inwardly, he cursed Xu Que thoroughly.
"Thank goodness nothing happened in Magic City today, or else my precious daughter would have been taken by this pig-headed brat!"
As Shen Mengchu left, Shen Tianhe clenched his fists and muttered, "What did you tell me? Although the world has changed, does that mean you have no respect for me anymore?"
Xu Que gave an awkward smile and quickly explained, "Uncle Shen, it's not what you think. I just came to stay here for a couple of days."
"Don't give me that. The clothes you're wearing are mine, do you think I don't know?" Shen Tianhe's tone grew sharper.
Xu Que was at a loss for words. He really hadn't done anything wrong, so how had it turned into this misunderstanding?
"Uncle Shen, can you listen to my explanation?" Xu Que asked, looking at Shen Tianhe.
"Alright, since you want to explain, I'll give you the chance," Shen Tianhe crossed his arms and looked at Xu Que seriously.
At this moment, Xu Que finally understood what the term "father-in-law guarding against the son-in-law" truly meant.
But he wasn't going to beat around the bush. He took out the Greed Crystal and said, "Uncle Shen, I came here to find a quiet place to meditate without being disturbed."
Shen Tianhe looked at the red swirling crystal and asked, "What is this?"
"This is the Greed Crystal, and it's for Mengchu," Xu Que explained.
Upon hearing it had something to do with meditation, Shen Tianhe's eyes narrowed. He glanced at Xu Que, then back at the crystal in front of him.
"Meditation is fine, but the two of you cannot stay together for now. You can stay on the first floor, is that okay?" Shen Tianhe asked.
"Of course, that's no problem," Xu Que smiled.
Seeing Xu Que's smile, Shen Tianhe was far from pleased.
"My precious daughter, raised with such care, will not be so easily taken!" Shen Tianhe vowed silently.
What Shen Tianhe didn't know was that Xu Que wasn't thinking about any of that. His so-called "meditation" was just an excuse to find a safer place to incubate a spiritual beast egg!
After coming to an agreement, Xu Que promised to follow Shen Tianhe's advice, with the condition that nothing beyond friendship could happen between him and Shen Mengchu.
Once Shen Tianhe went upstairs to rest, Xu Que traded the Greed Crystal to Shen Mengchu, and after a bit more conversation, they both went to their rooms.
In his bedroom on the first floor, Xu Que placed the spiritual beast egg on the bed and dripped Spirit Spring Liquid onto it.
As a faint blue light flickered, he placed the Spirit Serpent Crystal beside the egg.
Seeing the long incubation time, Xu Que felt speechless, but at least he was safe here, so it was unlikely he'd be disturbed from the outside.
As the spiritual beast egg absorbed the energy from the Spirit Serpent Crystal, Xu Que found a comfortable position and drifted into a light sleep.
That night, the cities across Z Country were far from peaceful. With their strength increasing, many began to venture into the dimensional rifts in search of opportunities.
Through word of mouth, everyone knew that the dimensional rifts led to another world. If they wanted to change their fate and seize a chance, they had to be brave enough to enter. This led to the emergence of large-scale adventuring teams.
At first, the authorities wanted to prevent this, but seeing the situation escalate, they had no choice but to follow the plans provided by Magic City, allowing people to enter.
The plan was simple: the teams entering the rift had to report to the military, which would assess their strength. If they met the criteria, the team would sign a special contract. This contract was the same as the resource distribution contract Xu Que had signed in his previous life, and it was the precursor to the company he would later found!
If a company negotiated with the government, the teams entering the rift wouldn't need to retest or sign new contracts. If a rift exploration failed, the government wouldn't intervene immediately, instead, the company would send capable people to handle the alien creatures.
Though there were still great risks involved, surviving in such circumstances would solidify the company's future power.
This is what later generations would call the "wolf culture cycle."
Initially, humanity was reluctant to embrace this survival-of-the-fittest mindset, but without the will to fight, no one could claim the opportunities, nor survive in the coming catastrophe.
The "wolf culture cycle" allowed people to stand firm in the changing tides, giving ambitious individuals a chance to rise.
As low-level rifts in Z Country were temporarily closed, other countries began to realize the gravity of the situation, and many started to negotiate with Z Country.
Meanwhile, far in Zhe City, Ji Boda led a twenty-person squad, blending into the crowd.
Though he knew he and Tang Xue were being hunted, it didn't affect him.
By now, Ji Boda and Tang Xue had altered their appearances. Not only did the machines fail to recognize them, but even they couldn't remember what they looked like before.
After a series of tests, Ji Boda's team was quickly selected. The squad traveling with them had a D-class, five-star powerhouse as the leader.
"Once both teams enter, you must help each other. If there's a disagreement, I hope one side will compromise. Understood?" a soldier addressed both teams.
Ji Boda nodded and stepped forward to sign. "Don't worry. We are all from Z Country, and we should work together."
The soldier nodded approvingly. After seeing Ji Boda's name, he added, "Chen Dingbang, you're the team leader. I hope you can take on this responsibility."
Ji Boda smiled and extended his hand to the other squad leader. "Team Leader Lu, looking forward to working together."
The middle-aged man, called Lu, nodded and coldly said, "Once we're inside, I expect you to follow my lead, after all, I'm from the Xingyi Martial Arts School."
"Alright, thank you for looking after us," Ji Boda grinned.
As Ji Boda's team approached the dimensional rift, the soldier shook his head in resignation.
Once the rift closed, the broadcast system activated.
"Dimensional rift closed, entry temporarily unavailable. Teams wishing to participate in rift patrols may stay at the temporary camp."
Upon hearing the broadcast, many teams decided to leave, but a significant number stayed behind, waiting for the rift to erupt and release the alien creatures.