Twenty minutes left. Time was tight.
Su Yang sprinted all the way, taking just over a minute to get back to his car. He pulled the door open and hopped in.
Vroom~
The Cullinan let out a low, muffled roar. Without even taking a moment to check his phone, Su Yang spun the car around and slammed on the gas, the vehicle lunging forward.
Reaching the road, he jerked the steering wheel hard. The chassis fishtailed momentarily before straightening out, and Su Yang sped the Cullinan away, vanishing into the night.
Once he was driving at a steady pace, Su Yang finally tapped the center console screen to check his WeChat messages.
There were several unread notifications on the screen.
Liu Bo: Brother Yang, where are you? Why aren't you back yet?
Liu Bo: Hello? Plane, Plane, this is Rocket. Please respond!
Pan Ning: Last half hour.
Meng Wenzhou: Old Su, Fatty said you were back? Why aren't you here yet? Just how far did you run?
Chu Qiunan: Old Su, where you at?
Looking at the messages from the group, Su Yang held off on replying for the moment, shifting his focus back to the road to drive carefully.
It had taken him twenty minutes to drive from the city center to the suburbs earlier, but now Su Yang was pushing the speed to the limit for the return trip.
In less than eight minutes, he drove out of the pitch-black county roads and returned to the brightly lit main highway.
After entering the city limits, Su Yang slowed down slightly.
It wasn't until he hit a red light at an intersection that he replied one by one to the people who had messaged him.
Su Yang first opened Pan Ning's chat and typed a reply: I'm back~ Be there soon.
Pan Ning: Nothing bad happened, right?
Su Yang: No, I'll tell you later.
Pan Ning: Okay.
After replying to Pan Ning, Su Yang opened Liu Bo's chat: Coming, talk later.
Liu Bo: Was someone really following you?
Su Yang: More than following, I got into a fight with her.
Liu Bo: WTF???
Su Yang: Driving, talk later.
Next, Su Yang sent quick replies to Meng Wenzhou and Chu Qiunan just as the traffic light turned green.
He slammed the pedal to the metal. The Cullinan was the first to shoot forward, leaving the other sedans that were still starting up far behind in the dust.
Soon, Su Yang returned to the hotel parking lot and parked the car.
It was now 9:25 PM, five minutes before Pan Ning's deadline.
Su Yang smiled faintly and walked briskly toward the hotel entrance.
After entering the lobby, his phone rang again.
Su Yang took it out to check; Liu Bo had sent another message.
"Where are you, Brother Yang?"
"Lobby. Where are you guys?" Su Yang replied, looking around.
At this moment, the lobby only contained a few staff members and four or five strangers who were checking in.
Liu Bo replied quickly: "We are in the back garden. There's a lounge here, it's great for board games."
"Oh, oh. Coming."
Su Yang put away his phone and found a waiter to lead him to the hotel's back garden.
Passing through the beautiful garden, Su Yang could see his friends from a distance through a clear floor-to-ceiling window, sitting inside, talking and laughing while playing games.
He turned to the waiter and smiled. "Thanks, I can make it from here. You can head back."
"Alright, sir. If you need anything, please feel free to call the front desk to contact us."
"Okay."
Su Yang walked quickly into the building not far ahead.
This place was actually a comprehensive rest area. Upon entering the main door, there was a large bar counter.
Guests could drink and play board games here.
At this time, aside from Pan Ning and the others, there were several groups of young people in the hall sitting around chatting and drinking.
Su Yang walked quickly to his friends sitting by the window.
Seeing Su Yang return, Pan Ning nodded slightly, while Liu Bo immediately waved his hand. "You're here, Brother Yang! Come on, we were just waiting for you~"
"Why wait for me? You guys go ahead and play~"
"It's no fun without you, haha! Isn't that right, everyone?" Liu Bo looked at the others with a grin.
Meng Qianyu nodded with a smile. "That's right. My sister said you went to meet a friend?"
"Yeah~"
"You have friends in Ya'an?"
"Right, a former college classmate." As Su Yang spoke, he walked over and sat in the empty seat between Pan Ning and Meng Qianyu.
"Then why didn't you invite your friend to come over and hang out with us?"
"Oh~ She's quite shy."
"Shy? Don't tell me it's a girl?" Meng Qianyu leaned in close to Su Yang, blinking with a smile.
Su Yang nodded. "It is indeed a girl."
"What? It really is a girl? You actually went behind my sister's... I mean, everyone's back to go out and meet a girl?"
Su Yang scratched his head. "We just met up and chatted a bit. She's a college classmate I had a decent relationship with back in the day. Since I'm in Ya'an, naturally I had to meet her."
"Alright then~" Meng Qianyu didn't ask any further.
However, Liu Bo, Meng Wenzhou, and the other guys looked at Su Yang with strange expressions.
Ji Bo took out his phone and asked in the boys' small group chat: Brother Yang? It's really a girl?
Zhang Ziming: The person you said was following you all the way was a girl? It's not your ex-girlfriend, is it? Did she want to rekindle an old flame and followed you all the way to Ya'an?
Chu Qiunan: Yeah, that explanation would make sense.
Su Yang: What ex-girlfriend? No. I'll explain later.
After that, the group gathered around to play a few rounds of Werewolf, and then played poker for a while.
It wasn't until 11:40 PM that the gathering broke up.
The girls went back to their rooms to rest first, while the boys stayed behind to smoke and chat.
"Hurry up and tell us what exactly happened! I've been holding it in for ages!" Liu Bo looked at Su Yang and asked impatiently.
The others were also full of curiosity.
Su Yang took a sip of his drink and simply recounted the earlier events.
After listening, everyone looked dumbfounded.
"A woman? A figure in a black robe?"
"What is all this?"
"And you say she's an expert? She fought you to a draw?"
Su Yang said calmly, "Not only that, she beat me until I coughed up blood."
"Holy shit??!"
"For real? Why do I feel like you're making this up?" Zhang Ziming said skeptically.
Su Yang rolled his eyes at Zhang Ziming. "What benefit do I get from lying to you?"
Ji Bo scratched his head, looking dazed. "I'm a bit confused. A woman followed you all the way from Licheng to Ya'an just to have a fight with you?"
"She didn't state her specific purpose, she just said she would find me again."
"Oh man, I still think that's a bit wild. That's literally Absurdity's mom opening the door for Absurdity—absurdity has arrived home." Chu Qiunan picked up the drink on the table and downed it in one gulp.
Su Yang looked at them helplessly. "Anyway, I haven't told a single lie. If you guys don't believe me, there's nothing I can do."
Meng Wenzhou said calmly, "We definitely believe you. It's just a bit hard to accept. Mainly because the story you told is a bit, how should I put it... fantasy-like. And the opponent was a girl."
"At first, I also thought the opponent was a man. I guessed it might be a friend of that Ge Hai guy I beat up before coming for revenge or something, but those guesses were all wrong."
"Actually, never mind you guys, even I'm still confused right now."
Liu Bo said, "Alright, I still believe you, Brother Yang. But did you see what that girl looked like?"
Su Yang shook his head. "Nope. She kept a massive hat and a black mask on the whole time. Couldn't see a thing."
"Well, seeing as she didn't try to off you, I guess you just let it go."
"Not much else I can do. I'll just have to wait and see. She said she'd find me again anyway, so I'll figure out what she's after when that happens."
"Fair enough."
"Ready to roll, then? Let's go back and get some rest. We leave for Kangding tomorrow."
"Roger that. Moving out."

u Chenyuan transmigrated into a female-oriented novel about a real and fake heiress, becoming the CEO elder brother of both. Unfortunately, the entire Lu family—including himself, the CEO—were mere cannon fodder in the story. Determined to save himself, Lu Chenyuan took action. The spoiled, attention-seeking fake heiress? Thrown into the harsh realities of the working class to learn humility. The love-struck real heiress? Pushed toward academic excellence, so lofty goals would blind her to trivial romances. As for the betrayed, vengeful arranged marriage wife… the plot hadn’t even begun yet. There was still time—if he couldn’t handle her, he could at least avoid her. "CEO Lu, are you avoiding me?" Mo Qingli fixed her gaze on Lu Chenyuan. For the first time, the shrewd and calculating Lu Chenyuan felt a flicker of unease.

rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!

young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."

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.