Hacking the Game Didn't Go as Intended

CHAPTER 115: Metamorphosis - Rehabilitation & Change

Now Daisuke perfectly understood how Reeza felt. Despite her inadvertent role in the people's suffering, they still regarded her as a saint, unknowingly worshiping her as their savior.

Daisuke's chest tightened in distress as the slum folk gathered around him with reverent expressions, whispering words of praise, thankfulness, and relief that he had returned in one piece.

Zephyr nestled into the torso of Daisuke's clothes, hidden from view, as the leader of the notorious Slum Sprites was tentatively touched and caressed as if he were some mythical creature or divine being. Daisuke couldn't help but wonder if they believed he had returned to continue where he had left off—stealing from the financially stable and giving to the poor.

Suddenly, in the distance, Daisuke heard the unmistakable sounds of construction work. It struck him as a mistake; almost no one in the slums bothered to work anymore. They had long since surrendered to despair, constricted by the steely fingers of hopelessness that gripped their lives.

And yet, it was undeniably the sound of productivity.

Elysia, the Perfectly Endowed Woman, offered a warm smile as Daisuke lagged behind her, his eyes wide with surprise. In the rearmost section of the slums, it became clear that the farming endeavor he had introduced several years ago was still thriving.

The sight of the flourishing crops filled him with a mix of pride and disbelief, a glimmer of hope amidst the harsh reality he had grown accustomed to. Gardens of various sizes adorned the space around the shoddy houses, each boasting a vibrant array of crops. But something had changed—the scale had seemingly transformed overnight, which shouldn't be possible.

Initially, the few who had taken up farming faced significant challenges. They either had to risk venturing outside the village walls to fetch water from the river or ration their precious drinking water, salvaged carefully from the rain. Each drop was hard-won, and the struggle to sustain their crops mirrored the harshness of their lives.

"Then how did—"

TUCK-TUCK-TUCK!

The rhythmic sound of men and women working the earth with hoes caught Daisuke's attention. They were diligently carving trenches in the ground, creating channels that led to the various residences with gardens.

Daisuke's expression contorted into disbelief as he took in the scene. "An irrigation system? But how?" he murmured, struggling to comprehend the transformation.

"According to a group of children," Elysia said as she guided him toward a stretch of farmland, "they were chasing a shadow when it burrowed underground to escape. Shortly after, water began gushing out of the hole it created."

"...An underground reservoir," murmured Daisuke in awe. But what's this talk about a shadow?

"The villagers believe it was the work of a Guardian Spirit that shares your belief in sustainable farming."

Daisuke raised an eyebrow in skepticism. "Guardian Spirit? Ideology?"

The woman turned, her gaze sweeping over the sight of people diligently working to pave a path toward a better future. "It may not look like much at first," she said with a warm smile, "but dropping a pebble into a lake creates ripples. And, with the right conditions, those ripples can grow into powerful waves."

Daisuke followed her gaze, the profundity of her words washing over him.

"I'm not sure how much you believed in the vision yourself, but that doesn't change the fact that you took the initiative and literally gave these people the seeds to sow and build a better life. Deep down, you must have realized that stealing wasn't a sustainable solution. You understood that you needed to find a better way to help these people."