When The Phone Rings - Chapter 5

In the wake of the first wave of shadow creatures, the world was plunged into ruin, a desolate yet enchanted wasteland. Humanity, driven underground, clung to survival while desperately plotting to reclaim their shattered world.But from the abyss of darkness, something miraculous stirred—a mysterious tree, shimmering with ancient power, appeared overnight. It chose only the strongest of heart, those with unbreakable will, gifting them extraordinary abilities. With these powers, humanity rose from the depths, waging war against the shadows.Yet beneath the surface of their heroic deeds lay a hidden rot. Corruption seeped into their ranks, and arrogance clouded their judgment. As their powers grew, so did the whispers of betrayal. The true battle may not be against the creatures lurking in the shadows—but against the darkness festering within their own hearts.A question lingers: When heroes fall, who will rise to take their place?

Xiao Shan is a famously profligate prince, the kind that makes his emperor father angry just by being seen. Xiao Shan’s greatest wish in life is to be a salted fish who lives without any worldly strife, until his father bestows upon him Xie Zhui, a ger who has been mixing with men, to be his bride. Xie Zhui took his brother’s place in the army at fourteen, achieved great merits by successfully defending against enemies outside the northern border city at sixteen, and was discovered to be a ger after being seriously injured at eighteen. After returning to the capital, the emperor pardoned Xie Zhui’s crime of deceiving the monarch and bestowed him to Xiao Shan as his rightful spouse. Everyone says that Xiao Shan has married a ger who came out of a pile of men, with a vast grassland above his head. They think about how much the emperor must dislike Xiao Shan to have given him such a troublesome marriage.

“Why does no one remember the true world?!”

Earth fell long before Auron Drex was born. By the time he turned nineteen, the skies were brown, the air filtered through broken machines, and humanity had retreated underground, outnumbered, outgunned, and slowly fading.Auron was one of the last unmodified humans, no implants, no neural lace, no connection to the system. Just blood, flesh, memory, and a little bit of fight left in him.Then he died.Killed in an invasion with the machines, Auron thought that was the end. But something else was waiting for him.The Goddess of Death.She offered him a contract. A second chance at life, a new world far from Earth, and one simple promise: when the time came, he would help her. No explanation. Just a bond, sealed in death and carried into life.Now, Auron wakes in a world nothing like his own. A cultivation realm, where beasts roam free, ancient sects dominate the mountains, and humans wield godlike power through spiritual force and brutal discipline. It’s a world where strength decides everything, and weakness is an invitation to die again.But he’s not alone.The Goddess of Death, bound to his soul, follows him, watching, guiding.He doesn’t know her true reason for bringing him here.He doesn’t understand what help she’ll need or when. But he remembers Earth. He remembers the silence. And if there’s a chance this journey will give him the strength to return, to fight back against what destroyed his home, he’ll take it.He was forged in a dying world. Reborn in one that lives by the sword. And somewhere between them, Auron Drex will carve out who he’s meant to become.