"[Anwu City Public Health Emergency Command Center]
Dear citizens: Recently, an unidentified epidemic has appeared in some areas of our city. A Level III public health emergency response has been activated, and various prevention and control measures are advancing in an orderly manner."
Well, it really is a plague.
However, it was only in "some areas," so it seemed it hadn't fully spread yet.
Zhu Yan found a patch of shade to stand under, scrolling through his message inbox.
"Please actively cooperate with physical examinations and other prevention and control requirements. Insist on wearing masks, washing hands frequently, and avoiding gatherings. When out, please maintain a 2-meter social distance."
"If large, irregular black spots appear on your body, please absolutely do not go out, and immediately call the Anwu City Center for Disease Control and Prevention."
"Currently, the supply of living materials in our city is sufficient. Please do not panic buy, and do not believe or spread rumors. Thank you for your understanding and support!"
Three or four messages like this had been sent within the last three hours.
Aside from that, there were quarantine notices for specific areas.
"Due to the sudden outbreak of an unidentified epidemic in some areas of our city, citizens whose activity routes in the past two days included the Old City District, the Far Suburb Villa District, the City Hospital, and the Xinkang District, are requested to quarantine at home immediately and call the Anwu City Center for Disease Control and Prevention."
Zhu Yan knew Xinkang District; it was where Meiyuan Street was located.
It seemed these areas were the main outbreak zones of the plague.
These places were quite far from Xishan University. This area shouldn't be too affected, right?
"In addition, citizens who receive a call from the Anwu City Center for Disease Control and Prevention are requested to cooperate with all procedures and testing processes."
Zhu Yan checked his missed and blocked calls; no one had called him.
The last remaining text message was an official reminder from Anwu City.
"Due to prevention and control management needs, our city is implementing a [One Person, One ID] system citywide. Entering and exiting all public places requires showing and registering an ID card. Citizens are requested to carry relevant identification documents with them."
This was a troublesome but very smart approach.
Zhu Yan could understand.
Those in charge of checking were most likely from the police department. No matter how Zhu Yan's ID card was modified, as long as he showed a flaw in his behavior, there was a possibility of being targeted.
The troublesome part was that Zhu Yan currently had no place to live.
He definitely couldn't return to that guesthouse, and if he booked a new room, he would easily be watched.
The Art Student's printer had indeed modified a property ownership certificate for him.
Was it possible for him to move into the house listed on the property certificate?
Zhu Yan exited the text message interface and searched for a nearby food court.
Since things had come to this, he might as well grab some food The Art Student liked to eat and go ask him.
...
The police department acted very swiftly.
When Zhu Yan followed the navigation to the food street near Xishan University, two police officers were already guarding both ends of the street.
It seemed this place really hadn't been greatly affected. All the shops were operating normally, and some residents were moving about inside.
Zhu Yan changed his appearance and walked over. The two officers, wearing only masks, stopped him from a distance.
"Please show your ID! Where do you live? You received the text message, right?"
"Have you been to any of the locations mentioned in the message?"
Zhu Yan hadn't had time to look at the property certificate, but the ID card also had address information.
He quickly glanced at it; it was a somewhat familiar place.
"I live in Qifeng Alley." Zhu Yan handed the ID over quite naturally. "I haven't been to those places."
The officer took the ID, looked at it, and swiped it on a handheld device.
There were no issues, so he waved his hand to let Zhu Yan in.
"Wear your mask properly. Starting tomorrow, entry without a mask will not be allowed."
Zhu Yan was already dazed by the delicious smells.
It was similar to the Old City District here; there was all sorts of food with a rich variety.
He bought items one by one according to what The Art Student had written on the paper card, and he also packed a lot of food and drinks from several shops, secretly stuffing a portion into his ring.
Two hours later, Zhu Yan, carrying only four bags in his hands, exited quite low-key from the other end of the block.
He followed the navigation to the tightly closed gates of Xishan University, planning to walk a lap around the perimeter wall.
However, an unfamiliar voice called out to him from behind.
"Hey! Come here!"
Zhu Yan was startled.
He turned his head toward the voice and found a gentle-looking middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
He confirmed that he did not know the other party.
"Zhu Zeyu?" This person, however, called out Zhu Yan's new name with absolute precision. "You're here to learn painting, right? Come here quickly."
Zhu Yan seemed to understand something.
Zhu Zeyu—this new name was changed for him by The Art Student.
Combined with the phrase "here to learn painting"...
Could this be The Art Student?
He was still hesitating, but the other party was already walking quickly toward him.
"Hurry up, I'm The Art Student." This person lowered his voice at Zhu Yan. Zhu Yan was surprised to find that the middle-aged man's voice had turned into that of a young boy.
"I recognized you at a glance! Let's go inside to talk. It's not convenient for you to climb the wall right now, is it?"
It indeed wasn't convenient. There were surveillance cameras everywhere, and climbing the wall would be too suspicious.
"I am Professor Wang right now."
The Art Student grabbed his wrist and walked forward, while impatiently snatching the food from his hands.
"Come on, do you have a conscience? I nearly died liquifying your photos, and now I'm wearing 15-centimeter elevator shoes to cosplay as Professor Wang to pick you up, and you only bought this much?"
"Is this right? Zhu Yan? Zhu Yan (Bamboo Salt)? Zhu Zeyu?"
Liquify... what?
Zhu Yan didn't understand this word and looked down specifically at The Art Student's shoes.
Well, looking closely, the platforms on these shoes were indeed abnormally thick.
"Mr. Security Guard, this is my student, here to paint."
The Art Student greeted the gate guard quite familiarly. "Thanks a lot, sir."
Huh?
Only then did Zhu Yan notice that there were surprisingly no police officers at the school gate, only two security guards.
But he had no time to ask why.
The Art Student led Zhu Yan to the right onto a small path, and only then did Zhu Yan get a chance to explain.
"I bought a lot of food," he said. "I put it in the ring."
The Art Student instantly became happy.
"WOW!" he let out a strange cry, not answering Zhu Yan's question.
"Sob sob sob, I thought you wouldn't be able to come or would come very late. Ah, I'm really suffocating to death; the progress of [Fangcun Mountain] hasn't been able to move forward at all. I think we're doomed."
"You have no idea how excited I was when I found out the printer's card was pushed out!"
The Art Student tore open the milk tea packaging. "Oh... bubble tea! I love you, Zhu Yan (Bamboo Salt)!"
His overly familiar mouth finally stopped.
Zhu Yan took the opportunity to ask, "What exactly is [Fangcun Mountain]? If you're not a thriller creature, then what are you?"
"Also, what is going on with [Carnival Paradise]?"
The Art Student chewed the tapioca pearls in big bites, as if he hadn't eaten a meal in a long time.
"Right now, you can only see a small part of [Carnival Paradise]," he said indistinctly. "It is a product of power mutation, a massive contamination."
"Fake humans, witches, plague demons—don't you find these very familiar?"
"What do you mean by power mutation?" Zhu Yan asked immediately.
He recalled those bizarre-looking thriller creatures in the [Hall of Mourning].
Some of them indeed looked very familiar; he could see the traces of various stories, legends, and even history.
In the short time it took to exchange a few words, The Art Student had already downed half a cup of milk tea.
"We're here." He pointed to a white academic building up ahead. "Let's go inside and talk. Bring your cat."
"You can tell me about your situation and experiences first, and then I'll tell you mine."
"I did help you modify your identity card twice, after all!"
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.
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
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."
villain is the number one simp for the book's leading female protagonist, Shen Wan'er. As expected, he later becomes a tool for the main character to show off and slap faces, ultimately meeting a tragic end with his family ruined and his life in shambles. Fortunately, he awakens the [Universal Pure Love System], which allows him to earn points by performing acts of pure love. To change his fate, Gu Yan makes a decisive choice to seek warmth and companionship with the book's biggest villain—Cold Qingqiu. ........... My name is Leng Qingqiu. To find the murderer who killed my parents years ago, I deliberately blinded myself so that everyone would lower their guard around me. Just as I was secretly accumulating power and capital according to my initial plan, a man walked into my world. "Lengleng, Qingqing, Qiuqiu, which nickname do you prefer?" I don't like any of them. You'd better leave quickly! "Why aren't you saying anything? How about I call you my baby wife?" Leng Qingqiu thinks to herself, this man is truly annoying! (Stubborn pure love warrior + single female lead + true pure love + 1v1)
