At this moment, in a certain forest, an old man with silver hair and a scruffy beard, dressed in tattered clothing, suddenly fell from the void.
"Ouch! Damn it, what's happening?"
The old man rubbed his head a few times, then suddenly realized something unusual. He felt... hair!
"What the heck? Why does my body feel like this? I modified myself centuries ago. Wait a minute, wasn't I already dead? And the universe itself is paradise—if I died in paradise, where else could I possibly go? Hold on, this must be God's doing. Damn it, really? God actually noticed me?"
Ender went from shock to an even greater shock before finally piecing together the truth—and then, he was shocked yet again.
"Why does this body feel so familiar? And these beggar-like clothes too… Aren't these the body and clothes I had hundreds of years ago? Damn it, thank you, God! But why bring me back in the form of an old man? How many more years can I even live like this? And there's not a single one of my research facilities here either!"
The reason he looked like a beggar was simple: he had poured every penny he had into his research. In short, he had been dirt poor.
It was true—hundreds of years ago, he wasn't yet a leader and hadn't met those other eight people.
He had only met them after modifying parts of his body, and together, they supported each other to accelerate their transformations.
Though he cursed God for throwing him back into a penniless state without any support or research facilities, he quickly got up to take action.
While he didn't care about dying, simply lying there and waiting to die was what he considered stupid. And he didn't like doing things he thought were stupid.
"So, where the hell is this place? Earth? Probably not, because God wouldn't break universal laws like that. Unless this is some kind of virtual world, like a VR game created by God just for me. Wait, hold on—isn't this a direct challenge from God? Damn it, I'm definitely going to destroy this world!"
This unexpected turn of events filled Ender with excitement. He was even more thrilled now than he ever was on Earth.
On Earth, he had only been the one challenging God. But now, with God issuing a challenge back to him, it was the greatest achievement of his life.
But if that were the case, didn't it mean he was truly dead now? Of course, he understood that—but he didn't care.
From the moment he decided to challenge God, he knew he was doomed. Not because God would deal with him, but because he would destroy himself.
"If that's the case, then Nova, Axel, Vex, Zion, Coda, Ryker, Lyra, and Kael won't be here. Without those guys messing things up, my chances of winning just went way up."
After wandering around for a while, he felt that there was something strange about this place.
The size of the sun seemed off compared to Earth, though the temperature wasn't much different.
"Just looking at the sun, it's clear this isn't Earth. Wait a minute—what if there are no humans here? That would be amazing! No pesky fools to get in my way. Hahaha!"
As he laughed gleefully, he suddenly heard footsteps approaching. Instinctively, he turned his head, alert, to see what it was.
Even though he knew how to fight, this body was utterly useless. At this moment, he was nothing more than an ordinary old man.
While he wasn't plagued by illness, his strength was mediocre.
If he encountered a wild beast, the odds were high that he wouldn't make it out alive.
From behind some trees, a figure emerged. It was a young woman, dressed in an outfit resembling traditional Chinese attire, though with some modern touches.
Her long black hair fell to her waist, and her figure could only be described as near-perfect by human standards.
Not that she was unattractive—it was just that Ender's idea of the "perfect model" was the super VIP pro robots he and his comrades had developed.
From the perspective of mere mortals, though, this young woman was indeed a supermodel—someone who would draw attention wherever she went.
The two locked eyes. After analyzing her attire, Ender confidently greeted her:
"Ni hao."
"Ni... hao? What are you even saying? Old man, are you ok?"
Hearing this, Ender was taken aback. He thought to himself:
"Damn it, why isn't this going as I imagined? I just arrived in this world, and I'm already being trolled. How embarrassing. No, I can't lose composure—whoever panics first loses face."
Ender looked at her, putting on an expression of simple kindness and sincerity, and said earnestly:
"Ah, sorry, young lady. I was just sleeping, and somehow, I ended up in this forest. I'm lost. Could you help me find a way out?"
Seeing the pitiful old man in his tattered clothes, the girl couldn't help but feel sympathetic. She replied:
"Alright, just follow me. Where is your home?"
Without missing a beat, Ender's face remained calm, his heart steady, as he lied with a pitiful tone:
"Home? What is a home? Do I even have one?"
If those eight comrades of his were here, they would have undoubtedly cursed him:
"You shameless old fool! Tricking a young girl like that—have you no conscience? Actually, forget it. You already lost your conscience long ago—probably when you want to destroy Earth, damn it!"
Seeing the old man's kind, simple demeanor, his forgetfulness, and how he spoke nonsensically (after all, he greeted her with "Ni hao"), Ye Qingyun felt sorry for him and said:
"I'm Ye Qingyun, the eldest daughter of the Ye family from the capital of the Tian Qi Empire. At the moment, I can't return to the capital because I'm traveling for training. You can stay at my estate and help me with small tasks. You seem to still have some strength left."
She mentioned the work to make Ender feel less guilty about freeloading. What a kind-hearted person she was!
Unfortunately, she had taken in an old man whose conscience had been utterly devoured by dogs.
If she were lucky, he might let her die peacefully. If she were unlucky, only God would know what this conscience-deprived man planned to do.
When Ender heard her name and the name of the empire, he cursed silently in his heart:
"What the hell is this? I say 'Ni hao,' and you don't understand, but then you throw out names like that? What kind of name is Ye Qingyun? And this Tian Qi Empire? Damn it, I've been trolled by God twice since arriving in this world. But, I have to admit, it's quite a coincidence—this girl's green and white outfit matches her name pretty well."
Though he was cursing inwardly, outwardly he kept a bright smile and even let his eyes glisten with tears as he said:
"Thank you, young lady. You are truly too kind. You are my savior, the redeemer of my life. I've never met anyone as good-hearted as you since the day I was born. Please, allow me to bow to you."
True to his words, he started to bow, but Ye Qingyun quickly stopped him. She said gently:
"Sir, you're too old to do such things. If you insist, I'll feel terribly guilty."
This was the first time in her life that she had encountered someone in such a sorry state, which was why she invited him to her estate.
If she knew that his pitiful appearance was entirely because he had poured all his money into research, she'd probably be shocked speechless.
As for Ender, he was shameless to the extreme—tricking a kind-hearted young girl without a hint of guilt. Truly, he deserved a good beating.