Cheng Jun set off in her Porsche from home.
She had never been to Peaceful Lake Residence before, but with GPS navigation, it wasn’t an issue—just a quick tap on the central control panel would do the trick.
The drive was smooth, with almost no traffic, and in less than twenty minutes, she arrived at the security gate.
Her car came to a steady stop in front of the barrier, where a security guard promptly jogged over to the driver’s side window and asked in a low voice,
"Good afternoon, ma’am. May I have your surname?"
"Cheng."
"Hello, Miss Cheng. Are you a resident or a visitor?"
If she were a resident, her license plate would already be registered, and she could usually drive right in—though exceptions did happen.
Most cars stopping at the gate were visitors, so the guard had to confirm.
Cheng Jun rolled down the window slightly, her face half-hidden behind oversized sunglasses as she replied coolly,
"Visitor. Peaceful Lake Residence, No. 17."
"Understood. One moment, please."
The guard acknowledged, pressing the walkie-talkie on his shoulder to verify with his colleague inside the booth.
Just then, a taxi pulled over by the roadside, and Shu Yunyi stepped out from the back seat.
She had tidied up at home before hurrying over.
Since she was usually more of a homebody, she didn’t own a car and had no choice but to take a taxi this time.
After paying the fare, Shu Yunyi walked up to the security booth and began speaking with the guard inside.
Her distinctive voice was instantly recognizable, catching Cheng Jun’s attention as she waited nearby.
Curious, Cheng Jun pressed the button to lower the passenger-side window and slid her sunglasses down just enough to peek over the rims. Sure enough, it was Shu Yunyi.
Seeing her standing alone with a bag in hand, Cheng Jun lightly tapped the horn.
"Beep!"
The soft honk made Shu Yunyi turn around, and she heard a voice call out,
"Get in!"
Her eyes widened in surprise as she bent slightly to peer into the car.
"Cheng Jun?!"
Even with the sunglasses, Shu Yunyi recognized her immediately—after all, they had spent the entire previous evening together.
Shu Yunyi was about to ask why she was here too, but then it dawned on her. It wasn’t just her—most likely, all three of them had been summoned. None of them would be left out.
Since they were heading to the same place, she didn’t hesitate, walking straight over and sliding into the passenger seat.
Right then, the security guard finished verifying and raised the barrier, saluting to signal that Cheng Jun could proceed.
"Everything checks out. You may enter now."
"Take a right up ahead for No. 17. Have a pleasant day!"
Shen Yi must have already arranged things in advance since he had called all three of them here. The clearance came in less than two minutes.
"Thank you," Cheng Jun said politely before pressing the accelerator and driving in.
Shu Yunyi gazed ahead, breaking the silence first.
"Looks like you just got here too?"
"Yeah. Same as you," Cheng Jun replied, keeping her eyes on the road as she turned the steering wheel.
"You got Shen Yi’s message as well, right? Have you been here before?" Shu Yunyi asked, pulling the seatbelt over herself and clicking it into place.
Cheng Jun shook her head.
"No, it’s my first time too."
"I don’t know any more than you do."
"Oh..." Shu Yunyi nodded in understanding.
The car fell into silence. Cheng Jun focused on driving while Shu Yunyi sat primly clutching her handbag, neither speaking a word.
Their current relationship and emotions were rather peculiar.
On one hand, they were still affected by last night’s shared dream. On the other, there was an undeniable sense of real-world unfamiliarity between them.
This clash—of intimacy and distance—made it impossible for them to quickly warm up to each other.
Exchanging pleasantries like old friends was out of the question, but neither were they hostile enough to outright reject one another.
So, silence it was.
Fortunately, though the villa district was expansive, Unit 17 was conveniently near the front, and they arrived in no time.
Cheng Jun immediately recognized the 7 Series parked in the spot as Fu Nanzhi’s car.
"Nanzhi’s already here."
"You saw her?"
Shu Yunyi straightened up and glanced around.
As she parked, Cheng Jun tilted her chin toward the vehicle.
"See? Her car."
"She beat us here again," Shu Yunyi remarked.
Cheng Jun turned off the engine, removed her sunglasses, and tucked them away before explaining,
"She lives in Peaceful Lake Residence—Phase One. It’s much closer, so of course she got here faster."
"Let’s go, then."
Cheng Jun hummed in agreement, swapping her flats for something more presentable before stepping out and hurrying after Shu Yunyi.
The two women approached the entrance in single file. Just as Shu Yunyi located the doorbell and raised a finger to press it, Cheng Jun pushed the gate open without hesitation—apparently, it had been left unlocked in anticipation of their arrival.
Pausing by an ancient tree, both were momentarily captivated by the scenery.
Cheng Jun, well-traveled and discerning, scanned the surroundings critically.
"The decor is average, but this view is rare."
Shu Yunyi, however, focused on something else entirely.
"Is Shen Yi and Fu… Nanzhi here?"
"Definitely inside."
Cheng Jun crunched through fallen leaves, her gaze catching on a toppled broom. Frowning, she mused,
"This place isn’t small. It must’ve cost a fortune."
"Earlier, security mentioned the owner. Did Shen Yi buy it?"
"Where’d he get the money?"
Shu Yunyi scoffed without missing a beat.
"Obviously from Fu Nanzhi."
"She’s the one with deep pockets."
Cheng Jun considered this and nodded.
"True."
A pang of sadness flickered through her—Shen Yi hadn’t asked her to contribute a single cent for something so significant. Did that mean he saw her as an outsider?
Walking down the dappled path beneath the trees, Shu Yunyi pointed to a swing on the right.
"I love this…"
Unlike the ubiquitous chain-driven swings of today, this old-fashioned wooden one exuded nostalgia.
Cheng Jun smiled, surprised that even at thirty, Shu Yunyi still harbored such a girlish heart.
"The kids will adore it someday."
"Yeah, the older ones pushing the younger, laughing and playing."
With a shared sigh, they reached the entryway.
Before they could step inside, muffled laughter drifted out.
Pushing the door open, they entered the living room—only to find Fu Nanzhi straddling Shen Yi, her teeth playfully nibbling his ear.
The sudden intrusion froze the couple mid-action.
An awkward silence descended as Fu Nanzhi slowly released her grip.
Then came Shu Yunyi’s icy chuckle and a dry remark:
"Well, looks like we’ve got quite the scene here."
"Cheng Jun... Shu Yunyi... you two..."
Fu Nanzhi let out an awkward laugh as she climbed off Shen Yi, then promptly settled back onto the sofa, straightening up properly.
Shen Yi wiped his ear and sat up, taking over the conversation with a casual, "You’re here."
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?"
pression Bureau] Transported to a fantasy world overrun by demons and monsters, Gu Qingfeng becomes a jailer in the Demon Suppression Prison of the Great Yan Dynasty's Demon Suppression Bureau. From this point on, bizarre cases frequently occur in the Demon Suppression Prison, once known as hell on earth and infamous for its gloomy, terrifying atmosphere! Why do the demons and monsters in the prison wail miserably every night? Why has the corpse demon, capable of transforming into various beauties, donned black stockings and switched careers to become a foot massage therapist? Why has the eye demon, expert in soul-snatching and illusions, turned into a VR headset? Why is the fox spirit performing otaku dances? Are all these occurrences a twisted expression of demonic nature, or a descent into moral depravity? After peeling away layer upon layer of mystery, all clues ultimately point to a jailer named Gu Qingfeng. Gu Qingfeng: "Hehehe... My dear demons and monsters, whose card shall we flip today?"
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.”
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.
