"Little Yu..."
"Little Yu..."
"Little Yu..."
Amidst the void, a cacophony of voices reached her ears, accompanied by a faint buzzing. Her muddled consciousness gradually stirred awake.
When she opened her eyes again, she was met with a stark white ceiling and the sharp scent of disinfectant.
"..." The short-haired girl on the hospital bed slowly raised her hand. Her sickly pale arm resembled a brittle branch, devoid of vitality.
An Shiyu's dull eyes flickered faintly as she parted her cracked lips.
"Water..."
"Here." Another girl beside the bed handed her a baby bottle.
After moistening her parched throat, An Shiyu finally regained her senses. As the mechanical bed adjusted upward, she once again saw the light of the world.
The pale glow of dawn seemed to symbolize rebirth and hope, a stark contrast to the dreary hospital room.
An Shiyu: "..."
She turned her head slightly and saw a girl who looked almost identical to her, along with an elderly man with red-rimmed eyes.
His wrinkled hands hovered in the air, as if torn between embracing her and fearing she might shatter like a fragile bubble.
After a few seconds of silence, she spoke softly, "How long was I out this time?"
"Over a month," the girl beside her replied.
"A month... That long? It felt like just a moment to me." An Shiyu murmured, though the relentless weakness in her body served as a cruel reminder of the truth.
"Little Yu, are you alright?" Anshi Yilang asked, his voice trembling. The night before, when he heard his granddaughter's heart had stopped, he nearly collapsed but rushed to the hospital immediately.
The old man looked haggard, as though he had aged a decade overnight.
But thankfully, An Shiyu had been revived—and even regained consciousness!
"Had a disgusting dream," An Shiyu said with a pale face, her eyes narrowing slightly as she hugged her arms. "Some sleazy guy was hugging me and spouting the cringiest pickup lines. I wanted to kick his head off..."
The girl beside her subtly averted her gaze. "Oh?"
Just then, a man in a white coat entered, holding An Shiyu's medical reports.
"Mr. Anshi..."
He paused, glancing at An Shiyu before turning back to Anshi Yilang. "Could we speak outside?"
"Alright." Anshi Yilang started to rise, but An Shiyu spoke again from the bed.
"Just say it here. I know my body better than anyone."
The doctor hesitated, but Anshi Yilang, familiar with his granddaughter's stubbornness, sighed and nodded for him to proceed.
"Miss Anshi's condition is still critical. In fact, it's..."
An Shiyu remained eerily calm. "Go on."
"She likely only has about a week left." The doctor lowered his voice.
"What did you say?!" Anshi Yilang shot to his feet, grabbing the man's collar with surprising strength for his frail frame. "My granddaughter just woke up! Where the hell did you get this nonsense?!"
"..."
"Run the tests again!!!"
"..."
"Mr. Anshi, I—I'm just..."
"..."
"Bullshit!!!!"
"Grandpa." An Shiyu's weak voice instantly deflated the old man's fury. Unfazed by the grim prognosis, she simply said,
"Enough. I understand."
"Little Yu, they're just scaring you! It's fine—Grandpa will make them work overtime to develop the medicine..." His voice cracked with desperation.
"You're all I have left..."
An Shiyu: "..."
She exchanged a glance with the girl beside her.
Reaching out, she placed her bony fingers on the old man's head and whispered, "Grandpa, I want to go to school."
"..."
"Alright..."
......
After changing out of her hospital gown, the other girl spoke up. "Really not considering it? It's the best option."
"Considering what..."
"Your heart."
An Shiyu replied flatly, "You're not my 'shadow.' You're you, and I'm me. You're his granddaughter too."
"My... sister, as far as I'm concerned."
The other girl fell silent.
"Live well." With that, An Shiyu stuffed her hands into her pockets and walked away.
Her figure looked unbearably frail, the warm sunlight from the window doing nothing to dispel the pallor of her skin.
"Stubborn as ever. Not that I dislike it..." The other girl shrugged, pulling out her phone.
"Revive—"
The screen still displayed a paused video player. She quickly closed the app.
"At least it worked."
Then, she too left the hospital.
......
After summer break, Haizhu City remained sweltering, though the cicadas' clamor had faded.
At Yinshan Academy, Ye Shuang arrived at the infirmary as usual. When he pushed the door open, a familiar figure was curled up on the couch, eyes half-lidded.
"Shouldn't you be at the military training? Why are you napping here?" Ye Shuang asked, but as he took in her profile, realization dawned.
[Character: An Shiyu
Congenital heart disease, critical condition.]
[Would you... be willing to pay the price?]
Ye Shuang: "..."
At that moment, An Shiyu seemed to sense his presence and lazily opened her eyes. "Hey..."
Her voice was weak.
"Are you... okay?" Ye Shuang stepped closer, noticing how much thinner she had become.
"No idea what you're talking about." An Shiyu paused, then suddenly grimaced slightly.
"Your voice is kinda grossing me out right now."
Ye Shuang: "?"
What did I do?
"Take me somewhere, old man." An Shiyu suddenly said, her pale lips quirking into a faint smile.
"Let's skip class."
Ye Shuang: "..."
"Alright." He didn't ask further.
They drove until Ye Shuang realized their destination—the village entrance.
Stepping out of the car, the familiar sight reminded him of the time An Shiyu had taken him there on her motorcycle.
"Here again...?"
"Let's go." An Shiyu didn't elaborate, walking ahead at a slow pace.
After winding through the same twisting alleys, they reached the same dilapidated shack at the end.
The same shop, the same elderly woman—frozen in time, untouched by the modern world.
The air was thick with the scent of age.
"Granny, two milk teas. And some peanuts." An Shiyu ordered.
The hunched old woman stood up, assembling the items before extending a gnarled hand. "Two yuan..."
An Shiyu placed a hundred-yuan bill into the drawer. "Keep the change."
"Mm... mm."
An Shiyu didn’t leave the shop. Instead, she stuck a straw into her milk tea and began sipping quietly. Only after finishing the entire cup did she finally speak.
"Granny, I might have to leave here soon. About the promise we made… I’m sorry."
The old woman opened her cloudy eyes. Though hard of hearing, she faintly caught the word "leave." A lifetime of solitude had taught her how to say goodbye, and so she forced a smile, her lips trembling slightly.
"Alright, alright… Be careful on your way."
An Shiyu gave a faint smile in return. "Mm."
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!
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!" "......"
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
