Morning sunlight filtered through the blinds, cutting alternating patches of light and shadow across the white hospital bedsheets.
Chen Zhi was awakened by the pain.
The anesthesia had completely worn off. With three broken ribs and his left leg encased in a heavy cast suspended high in the air, even taking a shallow breath sent a tearing, piercing pain through his chest.
He stared at the pale ceiling of the hospital ward and gasped in pain.
The ward door was pushed open.
Pei Ningxue walked in carrying a stainless steel thermos. She had changed into a clean, light gray casual outfit, her hair casually tied back. The dark circles under her eyes were prominent, clearly showing she hadn't slept well at all last night.
Seeing Chen Zhi's eyes open, Pei Ningxue paused for a moment before walking over to the bed and slamming the thermos heavily onto the nightstand.
With a loud thud.
Chen Zhi shivered from the pain. "Are you trying to murder your husband?"
"Say one more word, and I'll pour this entire bucket of porridge over your head," Pei Ningxue said, her beautiful face frosty as she pulled out a chair and sat down.
Chen Zhi shut his mouth.
At a time like this, going along with her was the only way to survive.
Pei Ningxue unscrewed the lid of the thermos, and the steam from the century egg and lean pork porridge wafted out. She took out a small bowl, scooped out half a bowlful, and stirred it with a spoon.
Chen Zhi looked at her eagerly.
Pei Ningxue handed the bowl over. "Eat it yourself."
Chen Zhi struggled to raise his right hand, which wasn't hooked up to an IV. It swayed in mid-air a couple of times before his wrist hung limply.
"I don't have any strength in my right hand," Chen Zhi sighed, his tone full of weakness. "When I fell yesterday, I think I tried to brace myself against the ground. Now my whole arm is numb."
Pei Ningxue stared at him.
"The doctor said you only broke your ribs and your left leg."
"Maybe the doctor missed something," Chen Zhi said shamelessly. "Or maybe it's a chain reaction. The nerves are all connected. When my left leg hurts, my right hand cramps."
Pei Ningxue laughed out of sheer exasperation.
She slammed the bowl down on the table, making the spoon clatter. Chen Zhi thought she was going to lose her temper, but instead, she picked the bowl back up, scooped a spoonful of porridge, blew on it gently, and brought it to Chen Zhi's lips.
"Eat."
Chen Zhi opened his mouth and swallowed. The temperature was just right.
"Delicious." Chen Zhi looked at her. "Did you make this?"
"Bought it at the cafeteria downstairs."
"The cafeteria ladies' cooking is getting better and better. It tastes just like my wife's."
"Chen Zhi, do you want me to break your right hand too?" Pei Ningxue's spoon stopped in mid-air, her tone flat.
Chen Zhi immediately shut up, obediently opening his mouth to wait for the next bite.
After finishing more than half the bowl, the sunlight hit the side of Pei Ningxue's face, making the dark circles under her eyes even more visible. It was obvious she hadn't slept well the night before.
Chen Zhi was just about to say something to ease the tension when the phone by his pillow suddenly started vibrating.
Chen Zhi turned his head to glance at the screen.
Caller ID: Wanwan.
And it was a video call request.
Chen Zhi broke out in a cold sweat.
He was currently lying in a hospital room, his upper body wrapped in thick bandages, his left leg suspended in the air, with the standard white walls and medical equipment as his background.
If he answered this, all hell would break loose back in Jiangcheng.
Pei Ningxue also saw the name on the screen. She put down the bowl, took a tissue to wipe her hands, leaned back in her chair, and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Answer it," Pei Ningxue said, raising her chin slightly.
Chen Zhi swallowed hard. "It's a work call. No rush."
"Since when did Lin Wanwan become your colleague?" Pei Ningxue wasn't buying it at all. "Aren't you supposed to be a master juggler? Answer it. Let me see how you juggle this."
The phone was still ringing.
Chen Zhi knew Lin Wanwan's personality very well. If he didn't answer, she would immediately call him on voice. If he didn't answer that, she'd call Dai Damai directly, or maybe even buy a ticket and fly straight back to Beijing.
He couldn't hang up.
Chen Zhi took a deep breath and quickly started setting the scene.
Gritting his teeth and enduring the sharp pain in his ribs, he used his right hand to yank the blanket all the way up to his chin, completely covering the bandages on his body. Then he adjusted the angle of the phone so the camera only pointed at his face and the ceiling above.
After confirming that no medical equipment could be seen on the screen, he pressed the answer button.
"Wanwan," Chen Zhi said, trying to make his voice sound normal.
Lin Wanwan's face popped up on the screen. She was still in her bedroom back in her hometown of Jiangcheng, wearing pink pajamas with messy hair, leaning close to the screen to inspect him carefully.
"Chen Zhi, why are you still in bed? Do you know what time it is?" Lin Wanwan's voice was sweet.
"Something came up at the company last night. I only just lay down," Chen Zhi lied smoothly.
"Your face is so pale," Lin Wanwan frowned, her heartache visible even through the screen. "And your dark circles are so heavy. Have you been skipping meals again?"
"It's just from staying up late. I'll be fine after a nap."
Just as Chen Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, a loud clatter suddenly came from beside him.
Pei Ningxue had deliberately dropped the thermos lid onto the table.
The sound echoed in the spacious hospital room.
Lin Wanwan froze for a second. "What was that sound?"
Chen Zhi's heart skipped a beat, but his expression remained unchanged. "Dai Damai is eating takeout next to me. He's clumsy and dropped his lunchbox on the floor."
"You're at the company?"
"Yeah, I rushed over overnight yesterday." Chen Zhi tilted the camera up higher, leaving only half his head in the frame. "Wanwan, I'm too sleepy. I'm going to sleep for a bit..."
Without waiting for Lin Wanwan to ask any more questions, Chen Zhi decisively pressed the hang-up button.
The phone screen went black.
Pei Ningxue threw her wet wipe into the trash can, pulled her chair back, and sat down again.
Pei Ningxue looked at him with a mocking tone. "Mr. Chen, with your ability to spin lies, it's really a waste of your talents not to go write scripts."
"I was pushed into a corner," Chen Zhi pulled the blanket down a bit, panting heavily. "You almost got me killed just now."
"Why weren't you afraid of getting killed when you jumped off the building?"
Chen Zhi looked at her, suddenly reaching out with his right hand and grabbing her wrist.
Pei Ningxue struggled for a moment but couldn't break free.
"Let go."
"No." Chen Zhi stared into her eyes. "You were jealous just now."
"I was not."
"You were." Chen Zhi held her wrist, his thumb gently stroking her pulse. "You made that noise on purpose. Pei Ningxue, you care about me."
Pei Ningxue turned her face away, a suspicious blush rising on the tips of her ears. She forcefully pulled her hand back, stood up, and straightened her clothes.
"Don't flatter yourself. I just can't stand the way you lie to people."
She turned and walked toward the door.
"Where are you going?" Chen Zhi asked anxiously.
"To handle your admission procedures. And while I'm at it, I'll ask the doctor if they can sew your mouth shut too."
The door was pulled open. Just as Pei Ningxue walked out, she almost collided with someone rushing in with a stack of documents.
"Whoa, holy crap!" Dai Damai rushed into the ward in a flurry.
Seeing Pei Ningxue, Dai Damai froze for a second and quickly stood up straight.
"Hello, Boss Pei!"
Pei Ningxue gave a faint nod without saying a word and walked straight out.
Dai Damai turned his head and looked at Chen Zhi, who was wrapped up like a mummy on the bed, looking utterly shocked.
"Mr. Chen? What happened to you? Did you go work a summer job in Syria?!"
"Cut the crap." Chen Zhi pointed to the chair nearby. "Close the door, and if you have something to report, speak quickly."
Dai Damai quickly locked the door, pulled over a chair, sat down, and opened his laptop on the hospital bed.
"Mr. Chen, something big has happened." Dai Damai's expression turned extremely serious. "Last night, Qiandu made their move."
Chen Zhi's eyes narrowed.
"Give me the details."
"At 3 a.m. today, Qiandu's app store completely removed all the beta interfaces belonging to our company, Deep Space Technology. Not only that, but they have also throttled the keyword 'Moss' on their search engine. Right now, if you search for Moss on Qiandu, all that comes up is negative news and smear campaigns."
Dai Damai opened a folder and handed it to Chen Zhi.
"They are trying to create public pressure on us right from the traffic gateway."
Chen Zhi wasn't surprised in the slightest.
How could tech giants at the level of BAT just sit back and watch a startup take the lead in the AI sector? Suppression, plagiarism, and traffic blocking—these were their standard go-to tactics.
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
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!
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.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
