Random tasks are a type of ordinary task but are distinctly different from regular ones. Unlike conventional tasks that have fixed locations and patterns, random tasks appear spontaneously based on the lives of the Lost Continent’s inhabitants. Their availability is limited—they do not remain indefinitely and often vanish within a short timeframe. For example, the task of retrieving a glass marble only exists for five minutes. If no one accepts it within that time, it disappears. Even after accepting it, failure to complete it within the given timeframe means... well, that little girl certainly won’t wait forever.

  Since random tasks fall under the category of ordinary tasks, their rewards aren’t significantly better. However, some of them may offer slightly special rewards.

  Ye Tianxie had always considered himself a kind and compassionate person—at least when it came to helpless little girls. Besides, this task seemed so simple it couldn't possibly be simpler—just picking up a glass marble.

  "Alright, little girl, don't cry. I'll get your marble back for you right away."

  He crouched down and reached into the deep, dark hole where the marble had fallen. However, he soon realized that this task was far from easy—in fact, for him, it was downright impossible.

  His hand groped through empty air; he couldn’t feel anything solid, let alone the missing marble. He frowned.

  If this were the real world, he could simply dig up the surrounding soil. Even if the hole were ten meters deep, he’d eventually reach the marble. But in a virtual game world, players couldn’t just destroy the terrain. The only way to break objects was by using weapons or items with destruction attributes—rare commodities that were nearly nonexistent. Even with his years of experience in virtual gaming, Ye Tianxie had only ever heard of such attributes but had never seen or possessed them himself.

  Seeing him withdraw his hand, the little girl looked up at him eagerly. "Big brother, did you get it?"

  Ye Tianxie paused for three seconds before smiling. "Just wait a little bit, okay? I’ll get it out for you soon."

  He shifted his gaze back to the hole and whispered so quietly that only one being could hear him:

  "Guoguo, go down there and get that glass marble."

  Guoguo was an existence only Ye Tianxie could see and touch. No one else could hear her voice, but no matter how softly Ye Tianxie spoke, she could always hear him. The hole was too small for him to enter, but Guoguo could easily float inside.

  Perched sleepily on his shoulder, Guoguo glanced at the deep hole and shook her tiny head furiously. "Ugh... no, no! My adorable dress will get dirty… And what if there are scary bugs or poisonous snakes down there? No way, no way!"

  "Even if every bug and snake in the world were down there, they couldn’t touch you," Ye Tianxie reasoned. "Come on, I’ll buy you a lollipop."

  "Nope! I still have plenty of lollipops."

  "I’m your master—you have to listen to me!"

  "Huh? Why do I have to listen to you just because you’re my master?"

  "...Alright," Ye Tianxie sighed, pulling out his trump card. "If you help me get that glass marble, I’ll ask that woman to make you candied water chestnuts tonight."

  In just a few days of living with Su Feifei, Ye Tianxie’s impression of her had undergone drastic changes. Every day, his understanding of her shifted in ways that completely upended his previous notions of wealthy heiresses. Su Feifei, it seemed, was not an ordinary rich girl.

  On his first day, he saw her lively and bold personality, as well as her stubbornness and defiance. He learned about her past. But by the second day, he discovered another side of her.

  How many people from a life of luxury would cook their own meals and do their own chores? As the only daughter of Asia’s richest man, she should’ve been the kind of person who never lifted a finger. And yet… she could cook. Not only that, but her cooking wasn’t just food—it was divine.

  From the first bowl of porridge he drank that night to the three meals he ate the next day, Ye Tianxie suddenly realized—this deal with Su Luo was an absolute win.

  "Candied water chestnuts… candied water chestnuts… Oh wow, really? Really?!"

  A string of drool dripped from Guoguo’s mouth, soaking a patch of her pristine white dress. She quickly sucked it back in before darting off his shoulder and into the deep, dark hole.

  Watching her eagerness, Ye Tianxie was speechless. He had to rely on Su Feifei to "command" the very creature that called him master yet never listened to him.

  Was there a more pathetic master than him?

  A moment later, a white blur emerged from the hole. Ye Tianxie immediately spotted the small, clear marble in Guoguo’s hands.

  Guoguo was a peculiar existence—she could physically interact with objects just like a normal person, but external forces could never touch her. Anyone attempting to grab her would only grasp thin air… except for Ye Tianxie. This defied all logic, yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t figure out why.

  "I got it! I got it!" Guoguo cheered, tossing the marble down into Ye Tianxie’s waiting hands before floating back onto his shoulder. She anxiously twirled in place, checking to make sure her dress was still spotless. Only after confirming that it was perfectly clean did she let out a tiny sigh of relief. Then, tugging on Ye Tianxie’s hair, she warned, "Master, I got the marble, so don’t forget—Feifei has to make me candied water chestnuts! You have to remember… I really want to eat them… If you break your promise, Guoguo will be very, very mad!"

  Ye Tianxie nodded like a pecking chicken, then turned around and handed the glass marble to the little girl.

  "Here you go, little one. Your marble is back."

  The girl’s face lit up with joy. Holding the marble close, she beamed. "Thank you, big brother! This is my favorite marble because it’s the prettiest one I have—just like a crystal! And my mommy gave it to me. I love my mommy so much… but she’s very sick now. The doctor said she’s going to…" The little girl trailed off before smiling brightly again. "Big brother, thank you so much!"

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  Ding… Little girl Sasa’s favorability toward you has increased by 25 points.

  "No need to thank me," Ye Tianxie replied with a smile, though inwardly, he wondered—was favorability the only reward for this quest?

  "Oh! Mommy told me that when someone helps you, you should always return the favor… Big brother, this is for you."

  She held out a large white glass sphere. "This is a light-element lamp! Mommy said it contains a lot of light-element energy. If you tap here, you can release the energy to light up dark places. A single lamp lasts a long time, but this one is almost used up… It can only shine for three more minutes. Daddy threw it away, but Mommy said we should be frugal, so I secretly picked it back up. Big brother, it’s yours now!"

  The white marble was nearly weightless in his palm. Ye Tianxie glanced at its three-minute lifespan and smiled gently. "Thank you, little one. I’ll treasure it."

  When she spoke of her mother, there was a deep love in her voice—along with a hidden sorrow. Something about it stirred an ache in Ye Tianxie’s heart. Pure, untainted emotions like this always touched something within him—something buried, something he never wanted to face.

  He remembered her name—Sasa.

  Even if she was just a minor NPC in this vast virtual world… even if they never met again—he still remembered her name.

  Though he couldn’t explain why.

  The sky of the Destiny World was a pristine azure, with the ever-present sun radiating warmth and brilliance, gently embracing the thriving land below. The vast expanse above stretched endlessly without a single wisp of cloud, only occasionally pierced by sharp cries echoing across the open plains.

  This was the northern region of Tianchen City, a serene and picturesque land where even the monsters were docile.

  A figure clad in resplendent armor stood elegantly upon the verdant plains. The Son of Heaven gazed silently into the vast emptiness ahead, his sharp and handsome eyes glinting with an unreadable light.

  "A beautiful place… This world is far more comfortable than that filthy one. If I could become its king, how satisfying that would be."

  A light breeze whispered past his ears, carrying away his murmured words into the vast sky.

  "King? That title belongs only to the strongest. Someone like… Xie Tian. Wouldn't you agree, my dear brother?"

  A woman dressed in a sky-blue mage’s robe appeared soundlessly behind him. The snug fit of her robe accentuated her figure, as graceful as the peaks of a mountain range. Under the blazing sun, she smiled enchantingly, her snowy-white complexion tinged with a delicate rosy hue, as if kissed by rouge. Her eyes, shimmering under the brilliant sunlight, gleamed with an unfathomable radiance.

  Her silky hair cascaded like a dark river, framing a face of breathtaking beauty. Her jade-like neck shimmered with an almost translucent luster. Eyes like the stars, lips as red as cinnabar, skin as fair as sculpted jade—she was a woman of stunning allure. But more than her otherworldly beauty, it was her eyes that captured the soul.

  At a glance, they seemed no different from those of an ordinary person—save for their unnatural brightness. Yet, as if guided by an indescribable force, anyone who looked at her would first be drawn to them. And if they truly understood what they saw, they would realize, with a shudder, the sheer depth within—like a boundless sea, an infinite cosmos. A depth so mesmerizing, so terrifying, that a single gaze could invoke an irresistible desire to drown within them. It was an intoxicating feeling, one that both captivated and instinctively terrified.

  Her smile was faint, so light it was almost nonexistent. She stood right there, yet a thin veil of mist seemed to shroud her presence, making her form appear ethereal, dreamlike—like a vision one might glimpse only in slumber.

  She was the kind of woman whom one glance could etch into memory for a lifetime.

  "Xie Tian?" The mention of that glaring name at the top of the ranking charts made the Son of Heaven narrow his long, sharp eyes. A glint of something—perhaps cold contempt, perhaps something else—flashed through them like a blade. "Xie Tian, huh? He probably just stumbled upon some hidden quest, or used some opportunistic trick to pass the Abyss Trial. This… is merely the beginning. What right does he have to be called 'King'?"

  A soft sigh escaped the woman's lips. She cast her gaze forward, her voice as gentle as the breeze. "Never justify another's strength with excuses. In the end, you still haven’t grown up."

  She was seventeen.

  The Son of Heaven, her elder brother, was twenty-four.

  A younger sister, seven years his junior, sighing in disappointment at her brother’s immaturity—it should have been an amusing sight. And yet…

  Famous for his arrogance, unwilling to tolerate defiance from anyone, the Son of Heaven did not laugh. He did not sneer, nor did he rebuke her words. He didn't even retort—his lips merely twitched slightly.

  He could never forget that it was this very sister who had made him who he was today. Without her, he might have ended up a beggar on the streets… or worse, dead. He could defy, reprimand, or even mock his own parents without hesitation, but never her—not even with a single word of disrespect.

  Only his own family knew the truth: this girl, whose existence was known to almost no one, was the most terrifying person in their household. So terrifying that, on occasion, merely thinking of her made him shudder.

  Deep down, he feared her.

  She was the only one he feared.

  She was also the only one who could reprimand and restrain him.

  "Never overestimate your strongest opponent… but never underestimate anyone either, even if they are just a beggar on the street. I told you this a long time ago," she murmured softly, her expression calm as drifting clouds and falling blossoms. She knew he might listen in this moment, but in just a few minutes, he would likely cast her words aside. After all, the hardest thing to change in a person is their nature.

  "I will take Xie Tian seriously, but that doesn’t mean I fear him," the Son of Heaven said. The formidable background that placed the world beneath his feet had forged his confidence, his arrogance. He enjoyed—no, he thrived on—the feeling of absolute control.

  "Then why, back then, did you not dare provoke Tian Mo Xie?" The girl’s eyes flickered as she cast him a sidelong glance, her words striking his most sensitive nerve.

  "Because… Hmph, he simply never crossed my path," he scoffed. "Otherwise, he would have long since lost everything he once had. One man may defeat ten, or even a hundred… perhaps even a thousand. But before my army of a million under the Wings of the Overlord, he is nothing but an ant."

  His laughter was laced with disdain, yet there was a subtle distortion to it.

  "Tian Mo Xie may not have been an army-slaying warrior, but within the protection of a million men, he could still take your life. Do you believe that?" Her voice was calm, yet to the Son of Heaven, it carried the chill of an icy wind.

  His laughter froze.

  Tian Mo Xie… That name had lodged itself deep in his mind, an unshakable presence. He had never met the man in person, yet he knew every story, had watched every clip and recording about him. And in those fleeting images, a shadow had been burned into his consciousness—a shadow he could never erase.

  Taking the head of a general amidst a million soldiers… Could that ghostly figure truly achieve such a feat?

  "If one chooses to make a move, they must be prepared to bear all consequences," she said gently, her star-like eyes piercing straight into his heart. "I don't wish for my words to waver your resolve."

  "You overthink things," he replied, his expression relaxing into a leisurely, confident smile. "I’m rather curious… when provoked by the Wings of the Overlord, does he even have the courage… to stand against me?"

  Then, his gaze sharpened. "Besides, my greatest rival… is not him."

  The girl’s expression finally revealed a slight change in emotion. "The heavens have gifted me new eyes," she mused, "Perhaps I should see for myself… what kind of woman could drive you all to such madness."

  The Son of Heaven turned to her, meeting her gaze. "Actually, what interests me more… is the kind of man that could possibly catch your eye."

  "That man has yet to appear… Perhaps, he never will," she answered with a soft, almost liberating smile.

  "…I can’t even imagine someone in this world who would be worthy of you," he murmured, a rare hint of self-deprecation in his tone. "Even the so-called 'Son of God,' the only one who stands equal to me, is unworthy. Even Zuo Pojun, the untouchable force ruling the distant capital, is unworthy. If you and I weren’t siblings, even I would feel unworthy to defile you with my thoughts… You don’t belong to this world, my sister."

  She whispered, almost to herself:

  "The man destined for me… will be a true king."

  She turned gracefully, her departure as ethereal as a drifting cloud. And as she vanished into the horizon, her final words lingered in the air—

  "Your true enemy is not Zang Shen, but Xie Tian. He is… the true Tian Mo Xie. If you can defeat him, then you can easily trample Zang Shen beneath you and claim the one you desire—Liu Qiyue."