Chapter 480: Mom’s Taste

At present, Ma Huainan had already borrowed all the money he could possibly borrow in order to protect his last remaining believers.

However… this was still not enough.

Even though his believers did not directly participate in the war, in that current Divine Kingdom environment polluted and shrouded by plague, they had begun to die in large numbers.

Every day, a large number of believers perished due to disease, hunger, poisoning, and the deterioration of the environment.

Ma Huainan's finger continuously scrolled through his contacts list.

Finally, it stopped at the very top.

[Dad]

Looking at this remark, Ma Huainan was silent for a long time.

In the end, he did not choose to open video, but simply made a phone call.

"Beep—"

"Beep—"

A few seconds later, the phone connected.

"Xiaonan. How have things been recently?"

"Did you encounter any Bottleneck in your development? Lacking resources?"

The voice of a middle-aged man came from the other end of the phone, his tone filled with concern.

"When you got married back then, the hundreds of millions of Faith Points that daughter-in-law Yurao transferred to us, your mother and I have never touched them."

"We've been saving them all for you."

"If you really lack money, just tell Dad, and I'll transfer it to you immediately."

Hearing his father's familiar voice, Ma Huainan's eye sockets instantly turned red.

Immediately after, a woman's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Xiaonan, you haven't called us in a long time."

"Why aren't you turning on the video? Mom wants to see you."

Hearing these words, Ma Huainan took a deep breath, trying to keep his voice calm.

"Dad, Mom."

"I'm fine."

"I'm not lacking anything, your son is an SS-rank Divine Kingdom talent owner after all."

"And I even married the proud daughter of heaven from the Sima Family, my life is going great right now."

"I…"

When he reached this point, his voice suddenly stopped, as if his throat was blocked by something.

The words behind, no matter what, could not be spoken.

He wanted to tell his parents that he had failed.

Everything he took pride in was collapsing bit by bit.

But these words… how could he possibly speak them aloud?

The other end of the phone fell silent for a moment.

Afterward, his father's gentle voice sounded once more.

"Xiaonan, we've lived through hard times for so many years and experienced all kinds of things."

"So you don't need to put so much pressure on yourself."

"How others view you is not important."

"Whether you become a person above others is also not important."

"Your mom and dad just hope that you can live a safe, peaceful, and happy life."

"That is enough."

Hearing his father's words, the tears in Ma Huainan's eyes could finally no longer be controlled, sliding down his cheeks.

Yet he still did not tell the truth.

In the end, the phone call hung up.

"Beep—"

"Beep—"

…

Meanwhile, on a remote living planet.

Inside an ordinary villa, the middle-aged couple looked at the prompt indicating the end of the flychat call, both of their faces revealing expressions of worry.

"What on earth is going on with Xiaonan recently?"

The woman furrowed her brows.

"A few days ago, Aunt Wang even asked me, saying whether Xiaonan borrowed money from her son."

"That woman just loves to gossip idly."

The man shook his head.

"Our son is now the son-in-law of the Sima Family, one of the Five Great Families, how could he possibly borrow money from her son?"

"I reckon… it should be that Xiaonan had some conflict with Yurao again."

Saying this, the man couldn't help but let out a sigh.

"Our Family's conditions aren't good."

"This marriage is also our son marrying above his station."

"Suffering a little grievance is also normal."

The woman did not refute, only gazing out the window.

After a long time, she softly said:

"When Xiaonan comes back next time, I'll make him braised spare ribs."

"When he was little, he liked eating my secret-recipe spare ribs seasoning the most."

Saying this, a trace of a smile appeared on the woman's face.

But deep within her eyes, thick worry was hidden.

They were Ma Huainan's biological parents, having accompanied their child's growth for over twenty years; naturally, they could hear the abnormality in their son.

Only… knowing, what could they even do?

They were merely ordinary Divine Beings.

Being able to enjoy a lavish life on this living planet nowadays was solely because they bathed in their son's light.

Without powerful strength, without massive resources, they didn't even have the qualification to ask for the reason.

Because they were very clear about it.

Even if they knew, they couldn't help with anything at all.

Powerlessness was the fate of the vast majority of ordinary people.

…

The Frontline, the Sima Family's ancestral villa.

Ma Huainan slowly leaned against the sofa, his face full of loneliness.

The once high-spirited youth now resembled a helpless child.

"Someone come!" Ma Huainan suddenly shouted.

"Master, what are your instructions?"

An Intelligent Life robot heard the sound and quickly pushed the door to enter.

Ma Huainan leaned on the chair, his voice low.

"I want to eat something, braised spare ribs."

"Yes."

The Intelligent Life robot nodded.

"I wonder if Master has any specific requirements for the flavor?"

Ma Huainan was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice:

"I want… Mom's taste."

The Intelligent Life robot paused for a moment.

"After retrieval, the option 'Mom's taste' does not exist in the recipe."

"Master…"

"Make whatever you want."

Ma Huainan closed his eyes, his entire body leaning against the back of the chair.

"Let me be quiet for a while."

"Yes."

The Intelligent Life robot bowed and exited, and the room returned to silence.

…

The periphery of the core area of Ma Huainan's Divine Kingdom.

At this moment, those Sima Family gods originally stationed here all had extremely ugly expressions.

"What on earth does Sima Zhao mean?"

A Tier 3 God couldn't help but say angrily.

"I reported all today's war losses upward, and all proof Materials are also prepared."

"But what about his Divinity Points?"

"Why is there not a single sound of movement?"

Another god beside him also had a gloomy expression.

"Boss, what the hell is there to guard anymore!"

"Ma Huainan himself hasn't appeared until now."

"You guys have also seen the situation of his Divine Kingdom; the believers who can still be alive right now probably number less than one billion."

"Continuing to guard, what meaning is there left?"

"In my view, that Sima Zhao is simply making empty promises!"

"That's right!"

Another god let out a cold snort.

"I originally thought that after the Family subsidy ended, he would at least put on a show and hold out for a few days."

"Now it looks like it's purely empty promises!"

…

For a time, various complaints kept sounding.

By now, how could the gods present not understand what had happened.

They weren't fools either.

If Sima Zhao was really prepared to continue bearing the war consumption, the Intelligent Life should have already transferred the Divinity Points over.

But so much time had passed without any news.

The answer was already very obvious.

Sima Zhao had given up.

Or rather… Sima Zhao was not prepared at all to truly bear the losses outside of the Family subsidy.

Sima Jin stood within the crowd, silent for a long time, and finally let out a soft sigh.

"Alright, the support cost has already reached the upper limit that the Family can accept."

"Continuing to fight has no meaning whatsoever."

"Retreat the troops."