Afterwards, Ye Feng gave Shen Mengli a few more reminders about things to pay attention to, such as not kicking off the blankets in her sleep, before preparing to leave. Just as he was about to go, Shen Mengli suddenly reached out and tugged at the hem of his clothes.
"Mengli? Is there something else you wanted to say?"
Ye Feng turned around and patiently crouched down, looking up to meet Shen Mengli's crimson eyes. But in her gaze, he detected a hint of hesitation and unease.
"Xiao... Xiao Feng..."
Shen Mengli placed a small hand over her chest, taking a deep breath before stammering, "For some reason, my heart is racing so fast—it feels like you might be in danger. The nightmare I had earlier was also about you."
"About me? Did you dream that I disappeared from your side?"
"No."
Shen Mengli clutched Ye Feng's hand tightly and murmured, "It was because you were in danger."
"I was in danger? How? Sure, there were dangerous situations before, but I managed to get through them. Life has been relatively peaceful lately—how could there be any danger now?"
"I don’t know why either, but I’m really worried about you, Xiao Feng! I don’t want you to get hurt!"
Seeing that Ye Feng wasn’t taking her words seriously, Shen Mengli’s tone grew heavier.
"Promise me, Xiao Feng. Promise me you’ll always stay alert and be cautious of your surroundings, okay?"
"Mengli, you—"
"Promise me!"
Shen Mengli insisted stubbornly, as if she wouldn’t let Ye Feng leave unless he agreed.
"......"
After a moment of silence, Ye Feng realized she wasn’t joking. Though he didn’t understand why she was suddenly saying this, he decided to reassure her.
"Alright, I promise."
"Thank you, Xiao Feng."
Relieved by his answer, Shen Mengli finally relaxed. At the very least, she felt a little more at ease. She spread her arms and smiled at him.
"Xiao Feng... I... I want you to hug me one more time before you leave, okay?"
"Why does this feel like some kind of farewell?"
Ye Feng muttered under his breath, but he still complied with her request.
As he wrapped his arms around Shen Mengli’s slender waist, she closed her eyes, savoring the warmth of the moment before their parting. She held onto him for a long time, refusing to let go. Just as Ye Feng was about to remind her, he felt her lips gently press against his cheek.
"There~ I’m satisfied now."
Shen Mengli released him, tilting her head with a soft smile. Unconsciously, her affectionate gestures toward Ye Feng had become more frequent—and bolder—without hesitation.
"I’ll head home now. If anything comes up, you can ask the director to call me."
"Okay~ Be careful on your way back, Xiao Feng."
As she watched Ye Feng’s figure gradually disappear into the distance, the forced smile on Shen Mengli’s face vanished. Her delicate brows furrowed as she placed a hand over her rapidly beating heart, murmuring to herself,
"I hope it’s just my imagination..."
......
"Why is it getting dark so fast? It’s not even late afternoon yet."
After a short journey, Ye Feng arrived at the entrance of his apartment building, muttering in confusion.
"Next time I go out with Mengli, I’ll have to check the weather first. This unpredictable weather is ridiculous."
Just as he was about to step through the apartment’s main door, he suddenly felt an icy gaze piercing him from the direction of his home—like a frigid dagger stabbing straight into his heart, sending chills spreading through every inch of his body.
"Who’s there?"
Ye Feng looked up toward his apartment window. Aside from the closed curtains swaying slightly in the breeze, there was no other movement.
"Must be my imagination..."
Seeing that everything seemed normal, Ye Feng slowly walked into the elevator.
"F~o~u~n~d~ y~o~u~"
A murky, pale blue eye peered through the curtains, watching from above as Ye Feng entered the elevator. Then, it slowly vanished back into the darkness behind the curtains...
Ding
As the elevator doors slid open, Ye Feng stepped out, keys in hand. Since it was still afternoon, the motion-sensor lights didn’t activate. But the unusually gloomy weather made the dim hallway feel unsettling in a way he couldn’t quite describe.
Tap, tap, tap
His heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor as Shen Mengli’s earlier warnings flashed through his mind—though he quickly dismissed them.
No, no, what’s there to be afraid of in my own home? I’m just scaring myself.
Taking a deep breath, Ye Feng approached his front door, keys ready.
Jingle, jingle
The sound of keys clinking filled the air as he inserted one into the lock. But just as he was about to turn it, his body froze.
Because he noticed a single white thread clinging to his shoe.
What’s this?
He crouched down, picking up the thread and examining it closely.
A cotton thread? Why is it on my shoe? Did it drift out from under the door?
Puzzled, Ye Feng hesitated before opening the door. Shen Mengli’s words echoed in his ears, and his heartbeat quickened.
Maybe... I should check the peephole first?
The door of his rented apartment didn’t have a modern, anti-spy peephole. If someone outside looked carefully, they could still make out the general layout inside. With that in mind, Ye Feng leaned closer to the peephole. As his breathing grew heavier, he pressed his eye against it...
For some reason, the peephole didn’t reveal the interior of his apartment. Instead, it was completely obscured by darkness. Even if the room were pitch-black, he should at least be able to see the direction of the balcony—but this was far too dark to be normal.
Just as he was about to pull away, something horrifying happened.
The pitch-black peephole suddenly filled with a pale blue iris, its bloodshot veins spreading like sinister cracks. The eye gleamed with a terrifying mix of predatory delight and madness—like a hunter locking onto its prey.
"!!!!"
Ye Feng jolted back in shock, his mind going blank. Without a second thought, he abandoned the key still in the lock and turned to flee.
But at that very moment, the tightly shut door swung open on its own.
From within the darkness of the room, a flash of silver-white light sliced through the air...
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!
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
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!" "......"
