Chapter 0059: The Splendor Fades in the Absence of People

Di Ping turned his gaze away from Gina and reopened the system interface. He clicked on the tavern icon, eager to check if any new heroes had been refreshed.

Upon accessing the hero recruitment screen again, he saw that, as expected, the heroes had indeed been refreshed. By now, Di Ping had figured out the system's rules. The hero recruitment updates once per day, likely at midnight. He had checked the previous night around 11 PM and noticed no changes, but now, everything had shifted. This pattern had occurred twice before, confirming his hypothesis about the system's refresh cycle.

Three heroes appeared on the screen, all rated as D-tier. However, Di Ping no longer viewed this as a negative outcome. In the game, D-tier was considered the weakest, but Gina, the female mage, had completely altered his understanding of D-tier heroes. Even D-tier potential could be quite formidable.

Although Di Ping knew that D-tier wasn't necessarily weak, he still preferred a higher-tier hero if given the choice. After all, why settle for D-tier when C-tier heroes were available?

Perhaps it was just bad luck today. This refresh yielded only D-tier heroes, with not a single C-tier hero to be found. Di Ping felt a moment of frustration, torn between whether to refresh the heroes again. After all, each refresh cost a Crystal Coin!

He had only just accumulated a small number of coins and didn't want to waste them unnecessarily.

Despite his hesitations, Di Ping couldn't let go of the hope of getting a better hero and decided to refresh the roster.

A flash of golden light appeared, and the interface blurred. The three D-tier heroes gradually faded away, only to be replaced by another set of three heroes that slowly materialized, becoming clearer as the golden light dissipated. But to Di Ping's dismay, all three were still D-tier.

"Damn it!"

He cursed under his breath. Sure enough, his luck had been poor. He scowled but didn't dare refresh again, as that would cost five Crystal Coins. At the moment, he only had fifteen coins, and using them all could leave him with nothing when a truly great hero came along.

"Forget it," he sighed in resignation, closing the system interface. Sometimes fate gives, and sometimes it doesn't—there was no point in forcing it. He tried to remain optimistic about the situation.

"Gina, it's time to go."

He packed his bag and called out to Gina, who was sitting cross-legged on the bed, meditating.

"Yes, master!"

Upon hearing Di Ping's voice, Gina immediately opened her eyes, smiled brightly, and leaped off the bed.

Di Ping opened the small door, peered outside, and saw no signs of danger. He stepped out of the small house, taking a deep breath of the fresh air, feeling completely at ease. The sun shone brightly, and the trees provided plenty of shade. It would have been perfect if it weren't for the apocalypse, Di Ping thought, though he knew it was nothing more than a fantasy. Shaking his head, he led Gina toward the eastern path.

The journey was smooth, with no disturbances on the road. The sun had risen high, casting intense heat down on the earth. Fortunately, the trees provided ample shade, so the temperature wasn't too unbearable. Di Ping and Gina made good progress, having already walked four to five kilometers from the small house. Checking the time, it was only 9:30 AM, and they were getting closer to their destination.

Although it should have been the hottest time of day, the weather didn't feel too oppressive. A gentle breeze made the air feel cooler, and as long as they weren't directly under the sun, there was no burning heat. Di Ping glanced at Gina, who walked beside him. She was dressed in a mage's robe, yet her face remained flawless, not a drop of sweat in sight, as if she hadn't walked for miles at all.

"Gina, are you tired? Do you need to rest?"

Di Ping asked, feeling it was only right to check on her, especially since she was a woman. It was his duty to show concern.

"Master, I'm not tired!"

Gina responded immediately with a bright smile, her voice soft and reassuring.

"Damn it!"

Seeing Gina smile so charmingly, Di Ping's heart skipped a beat. A surge of desire rose within him, and his face flushed. He quickly suppressed the feeling, turning his head away in haste. He mentally berated himself, realizing how much his mental state was being affected by his recent rapid power-ups. This level of aggression was not normal for him.

The previous strength he had gained still wasn't fully under control, yet he had already upgraded again. Was this even a game?

He had been walking with an odd sensation, at times light and at other times heavy. He struggled to control his strength, leaking power without realizing it. Fortunately, after walking several kilometers, he felt a bit more grounded.

Gina, noticing his reaction, stifled a giggle behind him. Her large, expressive eyes formed a mischievous crescent as she tried to contain her amusement. If Di Ping had known she was doing it on purpose, he would have certainly scolded her. He was doing his best to calm the restless feelings inside him and didn't have the capacity to focus on anything else.

Not having the courage to turn around, he kept walking ahead. Gina, as always, didn't speak unless he did, and so the two continued in silence. After another kilometer, they completed the loop and entered the urban area.

Though the area was a new development, it had been established for nearly a decade. The streets were lined with tall buildings, and the risks were much higher here. With structures on both sides, mutated creatures could potentially appear at any moment. They could no longer afford to be as carefree as before.

The streets were still adorned with decorative trees, though now mutated into towering giants with trunks thick enough for two or three people to wrap their arms around. Their powerful roots had damaged the pavement, causing cracks and upheavals. The concrete was shattered in some areas, and weeds stubbornly grew through the gaps in the sidewalk tiles.

The streets formed two green belts, with several accident vehicles abandoned along the way. Some were nothing more than charred skeletons, and bloodstains were visible here and there. However, there were no corpses in sight. The shops were locked, some with open doors, others with shattered windows, but the silence was unsettling. There was not a single human in sight, except for Di Ping and Gina.