The starry sky beyond the bulletproof glass resembled a curtain torn by divine claws. Qin Siyang knew he must never let anyone discover his Deity Devourer Sequence. A coin danced across his fingertips — heads for the safe zone gates, tails back to school.
The Coalition government offered Sequence users generous subsidies and resources. In exchange, they hunted deities beyond the safe zones. The bigger the kill, the greater the rewards. Proof required bringing back a deity's unique body part. This was why Qin Siyang had contemplated lurking near the safe zone gates — a fleeting urge to snatch a mouthful of deity flesh and verify if the Deity Devourer could truly augment his power.
"Devouring raw deity flesh enhances power but doesn't fill your stomach."
Golden armor flaunted by forum elites flashed through his mind, dissolving into cafeteria meal vouchers stained with grease. When the coin lodged vertically for the third time, hunger cramps vetoed all options. The kicked tin can clattered into darkness.
09:47 glowed on the school's dying electronic bell. Qin Siyang sprinted across the playground, nostrils locking onto third-floor curry — Auntie Zhang's "charity stew," a gruel made from expired military rations.
"Xiao Qin!" The canteen window's metal spoon drummed rhythmically. The cook's apron hid newspaper-wrapped bread, weekend rations for orphans. Ink from the newsprint seeped into the starch.
As Qin Siyang bit into lead-tinged bread, cheers erupted beyond the dome. A hunter squad dragged a ten-meter deity tentacle through the gates, its mucus etching rainbow scars on the barrier. He licked crumbs from his fingers, sealing the Deity Devourer interface in his mind's deepest vault.
Sunlight leaking through the cafeteria ceiling felt warmer than any deity's golden glow.