"Happy New Year, happy New Year~"
The sound coming from the phone caught Ye Shuang's attention. Seeing the girl beside him staring at her phone with her head lowered, he couldn't help but smile and ask, "New Year’s still months away. Why are you watching this?"
Bai Yuyou gazed at the video on her screen. "Phones are amazing. Even though it’s summer now, you can see other seasons inside."
"Who knows? Maybe there are higher-dimensional beings celebrating the Spring Festival right now, watching us through their phones too." Ye Shuang ruffled Bai Yuyou’s hair.
They had already spent several days on this private island. According to Chen Qin’s plans, today was supposed to be their last day, with a trip to another island as the grand finale.
Just then, Ye Shuang’s phone rang. He pulled it out and glanced at the screen—
"Hello?"
"Ye, we’re about to head out. Are you guys ready?" Chen Qin’s voice came through the phone.
"Yeah, we’ll be right there."
After hanging up, Ye Shuang turned to Bai Yuyou. "Let’s go."
"Okay."
The two stepped out of the room to find Tang Keke and the others already dressed and waiting.
"Come on, we’re taking the yacht. The nearest island is still about forty minutes away," Chen Qin said cheerfully.
"I thought you’d go for a helicopter," Ye Shuang remarked.
"Not enough landing spots. Trust me, I’d love to," Chen Qin sighed. "All the helipads are taken."
"Wow, even helipads are fully booked. Guess there are just too many rich people in this world," Ye Shuang mused. His family had been comfortably well-off, but nowhere near Chen Qin’s level.
Once aboard the yacht, Tang Keke and Bai Yuyou stood on the deck, gazing out at the ocean.
"Think the other island’s fun too?"
"I heard there are sharks! I wanna see!"
Watching Tang Keke’s excited expression, An Shiyu chimed in, "Heard they’ve already eaten a few people. Still wanna try?"
Tang Keke shrank back. "Really?"
"Wait… you’re messing with me, aren’t you?!" She quickly caught on.
"Who knows?" An Shiyu averted her eyes.
"Ugh, I knew it!!"
Soon, the yacht approached the shore. From a distance, the island appeared much larger than Chen Qin’s private one, with countless yachts and boats docked along the coast.
"Alright, let’s go!" Chen Qin was the first to disembark.
Ye Shuang and the others followed closely behind.
Tang Keke eagerly tugged Bai Yuyou forward, brimming with excitement.
But her steps soon faltered—
They were standing on a street lined with food and drink stalls on the left.
First shop:
[Mixue Ice City]
Second shop:
[Golden Arches]
Third shop:
[Jianbing Guozi]
And so on.
The entire street was filled with Asian faces, making Tang Keke wonder if she’d somehow taken a wrong turn. But the blue beach in the distance confirmed this wasn’t an illusion.
"Uh… is something off here?" Tang Keke muttered.
"Hey there, want some coconut water?" A vendor nearby greeted them in fluent Mandarin.
"Whoa, you knew I’m Chinese?" Tang Keke blinked in surprise.
"Of course. Most tourists here are from China," the vendor replied.
A few minutes later, Tang Keke held a cup of coconut water while Bai Yuyou sipped on a lemon tea from Mixue Ice City. Tang Keke couldn’t help but grumble,
"Seriously, this doesn’t feel like a foreign country at all! Drinking Mixue and chatting in Mandarin with the staff!"
"And look, barely any foreigners around—just a sea of black hair."
"It’s peak travel season. What’s so strange about Chinese tourists flooding a small island nation?" Ye Shuang flicked her forehead.
"Ugh, I’m kinda disappointed."
"Relax, we’re here for the scenery anyway." Ye Shuang chuckled, his eyes already locked onto a Mexican grilled meat stall nearby.
"Chen Qin, you want some?"
"Too greasy," Chen Qin wrinkled her nose. "Gonna need some herbal tea later to balance it out."
"Fugui, how about you?"
"I’ll take some."
"Got it."
While Ye Shuang ordered food, Tang Keke, Bai Yuyou, and An Shiyu wandered off in search of something more exotic. The area was crowded, with stalls offering cuisines from all over the world.
Being by the sea, seafood dishes were especially abundant. An Shiyu grabbed a plate of sashimi and started nibbling as she walked.
"Yuyou, look! That stall’s got a huge line!" Tang Keke pointed at a particularly popular vendor.
"Let’s check it out."
After waiting their turn, they finally reached the front.
"Um… that, uh… One! That one!" Tang Keke stammered in broken English, pointing at the foreign-language menu. "Just… that!"
"With all that ‘One, One, One,’ people might think you’re saying ‘I’m done for,’" An Shiyu deadpanned, looking unimpressed.
"Then you do it!"
An Shiyu turned to the vendor and said, "Give us three of the first item on the menu."
"OK, no problem-o!" The blond, blue-eyed vendor replied in heavily accented Mandarin, giving a thumbs-up.
Tang Keke gaped. "Wait, he understands Chinese?!"
"Of course. Most tourists here are Chinese. They’d lose business otherwise," An Shiyu said flatly.
Tang Keke: "…"
Minutes later, the trio received their snack—a steamed potato, sliced open and stuffed with melted cheese, then drenched in mayonnaise and ketchup.
Served in a small paper box, the gooey mess was meant to be eaten with a spoon.
"Uh… is this even edible?" Tang Keke eyed the unpeeled potato skeptically. Was this what passed for food abroad?
One bite in, and it was just a mouthful of sauce. Might as well squeeze it straight into her mouth.
"What, you thought foreign countries were all about gourmet food?" An Shiyu scooped a spoonful, her expression suggesting she was one second away from tossing it.
Bai Yuyou, however, ate it quietly. She’d endured Chen Qin’s cooking without flinching—this cheesy potato was nothing.
"Alright, let’s head back to the others," Tang Keke said, turning around—only to bump into someone. "Ah, sorry! So-sorry!"
It was a group of three foreign men, one holding a camera as if filming something.
"Hello, beautiful ladies! Are you from China?" A curly-haired man in the lead asked with a smile.
"Huh? Yeah, we are," Tang Keke replied, caught off guard.
"Fantastic! We’re YouTubers doing a fun challenge. Wanna join?" the man said eagerly.
"Challenge? What kind?" Tang Keke eyed the camera in another man’s hands. Were they live-streaming?
"Absolutely! We're doing a random kissing challenge—would you lovely ladies be up for a 30-second kiss with me?" The curly-haired guy flashed what he thought was a charming smile.
end. Thus one must continue to cultivate, and become a saint or great emperor, in order to prolong one's life. Chen Xia, however, completely reversed this. Since his transmigration, he has gained immortality, and also a system that awards him with attribute points for every year he lives. Thus between the myriad worlds, the legend of an unparalleled senior appeared. "A gentleman takes revenge; it is never too late even after ten thousand years." "When you were at your peak I yielded, now in your old age I shall trample on you." - Chen Xia
ts me of treason?" "Correct. The host must return to the capital and gradually build up influence." "Wait—I have half a million soldiers, and you want me to go back to the capital to 'build influence'?" "Host, you are currently the Northern Garrison General, loyal to the Great Xia Dynasty." "Of course I am loyal to Great Xia! Absolutely loyal!" "But you keep referring to yourself as 'We'..." "Never mind the details! Summon all the regional commanders and military officers! We suspect treacherous officials are manipulating the court! They shall march with Us to the capital and purge the corrupt!" "......"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
