"Is that so? That's just... wonderful!"
Hearing Ye Feng's words, Xie Yuyan didn't feel fear—instead, her voice grew even more excited. Toying with the dagger in her hand, she eagerly continued,
"Then let's... begin, shall we? My dear... Ye Feng~"
Before her words fully faded, Xie Yuyan's gaze sharpened in an instant. Her movements were swift and agile, closing the distance between them almost immediately.
So fast!
Fortunately, Ye Feng's reflexes were sharp. The moment Xie Yuyan moved, he lowered his center of gravity, bracing himself for her attack. He knew Xie Yuyan's strikes disregarded defense entirely. To exploit her openings, he’d have to abandon defense as well. It would come down to who collapsed first in this brutal clash.
Xie Yuyan’s relentless assault came at him without pause, but this time, Ye Feng didn’t retreat. If she refused to talk, force was his only option.
In one exchange, the tip of Xie Yuyan’s blade grazed Ye Feng’s abdomen. Gritting through the pain, he seized the dagger, his palm sliced open but refusing to let go.
With sheer strength, Ye Feng finally wrested the weapon from her grip. Just as he thought it was over, Xie Yuyan’s free hand darted to her waist—she’d come prepared.
Ye Feng couldn’t let her draw another blade. Pinning her wrist, he slammed her against the wall, pressing the stolen knife to her throat.
"Don’t move! You’ve lost! Xie Yuyan, can you calm down now?"
"Hehe~"
Xie Yuyan didn’t resent her defeat. Instead, she giggled, her gaze drifting to Ye Feng’s bleeding hand. Ignoring the blade at her neck, she licked the blood from her lips, savoring it under his stunned glare.
"Xie Yuyan, you’re insane!"
Ye Feng recoiled, horrified by her ecstatic expression. He’d never imagined this monstrous side of her.
After relishing his blood, her murky eyes gleamed as she purred, "What a shame... such delicious nourishment wasted~"
"Congrats on winning, Ye Feng. Will you kill me now? Then you can frolic with your little sweetheart all night~"
"Xie Yuyan, what nonsense are you spouting? Let me finish!"
"Finish? Did you wait for me? You broke our promise! Only I... only I kept waiting..."
"I was just keeping my vow. I told you... if Ye Feng betrayed our pact... I’d kill you myself! Hehehe~"
Her chilling laughter held no remorse—no desire to reason. Ye Feng was at a loss.
"Kill me, Ye Feng~ If you don’t, I’ll kill you~ Want to be with that thieving fox? Then you have to kill me~"
"Xie Yuyan, you—"
His distraction was her opening. She seized his arm, guiding the blade toward her own heart.
"Kill me! Do it!"
Her dark eyes flashed, her tone no longer furious but pleading, desperate for release. As the dagger neared her chest, Ye Feng twisted free, redirecting it—only for the blade to plunge into his own.
Thud.
[Ding. Host in critical condition. Auto-use of substitute puppet activated to negate fatal damage.]
The system’s voice barely registered as his vision blurred.
......
As consciousness faded, the system chimed again—unheard this time.
[Unlocked Exploration Character: Crimson Rose]
[Exploration Progress: 10%]
[Congratulations on evading a story mission. Rewards sent to task log.]
......
"Wh...what? Why?"
Xie Yuyan’s haze shattered. Seeing Ye Feng’s bloodied chest, her mind reeled as if struck.
"Xie Yuyan... next time... don’t do this..."
Ye Feng’s weak voice snapped her back.
"Didn’t I promise? I’d stay with you. I didn’t forget... We still have cake to eat..."
His strength failed, and he collapsed into her arms. At his final words, Xie Yuyan froze, thunderstruck.
"Cake...? You... remembered?"
"NO!!!!"
......
"Xiao Feng..."
At the orphanage, Shen Mengli leaned against a pavilion pillar, rehabilitating her legs. Yet her mind wandered to Ye Feng, her gaze drifting homeward.
"Why... why does my heart ache so much...?"
......
"Ugh..."
Time blurred before Ye Feng’s eyes fluttered open. His body felt shattered, immobile. Bandages wrapped his chest—he was in his own bed.
"What happened...?"
Memories flooded back. He’d passed out in Xie Yuyan’s arms. Yet he’d survived?
As he pieced it together, a rustling sound came from the corner. Turning, he spotted Xie Yuyan curled against the wall, only her guilty eyes visible, locked onto him.
"Xie Yuyan?"
"......"
At his call, she trembled, burying her face in her knees.
"Xie Yu—"
"Don’t... don’t say my name... I don’t deserve it..."
Ye Feng was baffled. Was this the same terrifying Xie Yuyan from before?
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
g Yu was preparing for retirement when her organization decided to eliminate her. She transmigrated to a zombie apocalypse world. However, a tiny unexpected situation occurred: She somehow transformed into an adorable little girl?!
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
mance] After transmigrating for eighteen years, Lin Qi lived as an utterly ordinary herbalist in the countryside. One day, he kindly brought home a sickly, beautiful girl covered in blood. They married in a flash and began their blissful, intimate life together. Right then, his long-delayed system finally activated. [Warning! Host detected in contact with the "Crimson Calamity," the world-ending witch!] Lin Qi looked at the adorable wife currently curled in his arms, who couldn't even open a jar lid and trembled at the sight of a mouse. Lin Qi: "System, are you insane? This is clearly just a weak and delicate sickly girl!" Thus, Lin Qi treated the system as a "Contrast System," where taking care of his wife made him stronger. Combing his wife's hair rewarded him with [Free Attribute Points]. Taking his wife out for sunshine rewarded him with [Forbidden Spell: Arcane Explosion]. Lin Qi: "This soft life tastes so good!" ... Yet, in the eyes of outsiders: The strongest Beastkin Assassin: "That man dissected a Beast King with a common skinning knife! That was a show of force towards the powerful!" The Holy Son of the Radiant Church: "I infiltrated his home as a tutor, but he had me babysit the children... He must have seen through my disguise!" The World-Ending Witch, Felucia: "I hid all the way in the countryside. How is it that the husband I married on a whim is stronger than I was at my peak?"
