All those who opposed had vanished one by one, with no one asking why or investigating. The former allies of the Sima Family were also thoroughly scrutinized for one reason or another, and many new faces appeared in the imperial court. The most striking change, however, was Fuhai, who now stood by Fang Zhiyi's side.
Fuhai wore a deep crimson robe, different from what ordinary eunuchs wore. Rumors had already spread in the court that Fuhai oversaw an organization called the "Eastern Depot," though its members rarely appeared in public.
During court sessions, the Emperor's casual jokes often sent chills down the spines of the officials below.
"Is this braised pheasant with mushrooms tasty or not?"
Two officials below immediately broke into a cold sweat. The night before, they had dined together, and the main dish had been this very braised pheasant with mushrooms, a gift from their subordinates.
Fang Zhiyi smacked his lips. "Ah, hearing about it makes me want to try it. Fuhai, arrange it for later."
Once again, the courtiers were awestruck by the Emperor they had once looked down upon. This street-smart ruler was proving far more terrifying than the Sima Family.
"You didn’t fall asleep again, did you? Do you know how miserable I’ve been? In this world, my flattery skills have reached their peak!" Fang Zhiyi complained.
Little Hei chuckled sheepishly, its dark body shimmering with faint white light, almost dazzling.
"My fault, my fault. If not for me, the original host’s empress might have been saved."
The two floated in the air, watching as the original host returned to his body and handled affairs of state.
"What was the original plot?" Fang Zhiyi asked.
"Well, this guy wasn’t bad either, just unlucky. He had planned to endure until Sima Ci’s death before dismantling the Sima Family’s power. But then the Dowager Empress poisoned his wife. For love, he went all out against Sima Ci—attempting an assassination on the day of his new empress’s coronation. He failed."
"Oh?"
"But Sima Ying was a good person, just born in the wrong era. After the original host died, she cursed her father and brothers before smashing her head against a pillar."
Fang Zhiyi shook his head, watching Sima Ying standing below in her court robes. "Before I left, I decreed that women could serve as officials. I wonder if this guy will make good use of it."
"Let’s go. Next world."
"The next world might be a bit... intense."
"Intense?" Before Fang Zhiyi could process it, he was yanked into a swirling vortex. Little Hei’s strength seemed to have grown considerably.
When he opened his eyes, a foul stench filled the air. Fang Zhiyi immediately stood up, checking himself—thankfully, he wasn’t the source. But the surroundings didn’t bode well. The small room resembled an abandoned storage space: shattered glass containers, organ specimens, charred marks on the walls...
"Plot."
Fortunately, Little Hei didn’t drop the ball this time. The backstory came swiftly.
Thirty years ago, on Blue Star, the supernatural had descended en masse. No one knew why or to what end. Periodically, fog would envelop certain cities, and people would be pulled into games set in another world.
This world was in ruins, inhabited almost entirely by monsters.
Survival was simple: make it back alive.
If the participants returned, the fog over their cities would disperse. If they died, not only would the fog remain, but something far worse would follow—creatures from beyond this world would roam freely within the mist.
Every move the participants made was broadcast globally, as if by some cruel design.
Fang Zhiyi, part of the third wave of chosen participants, had already survived two games and was a seasoned veteran. But the third world tripped him up.
The reason? He encountered his first love here.
After using his wits to clear two games, he had become a celebrity. The authorities had even placed him under protection. As an ordinary person, Fang Zhiyi had let it go to his head a little.
Still, when other factions tried to recruit him, he refused. He knew right from wrong.
But shortly after the third game began, he saw someone who only appeared in his dreams—a figure in a white dress, her hair tied in a high ponytail, no makeup, wearing a single earring—the one he had given her.
Fang Zhiyi and Ning Yi'an reunited in this hellish place.
He used his item to drive away the supernatural creatures chasing her. They locked eyes. Ning Yi'an simply tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, then stepped forward to straighten Fang Zhiyi’s collar. "Stand up straight. Didn’t I tell you not to slouch?" She tilted her head and smiled.
Fang Zhiyi reached out to touch her but stopped halfway. "It’s really you, Yi'an."
The live stream exploded.
"Real seduction isn’t some guy saying, ‘Hey, handsome, have a drink’ or ‘I feel dizzy.’"
"Real seduction is your first love standing before you, speaking to you the same way she did when you first met!"
"Oh my god! Is Fang Zhiyi about to fall for this?"
"Who is this woman? Where’s her stream?"
"Damn, found it. She’s not from our country!"
"A foreigner?"
"No, probably an immigrant!"
"Something’s off!"
"I’m going crazy! I want to jump in and warn Fang Zhiyi!"
But viewers couldn’t communicate with players. The authorities had only one chance to send a hint, and they didn’t waste it on questioning the woman’s identity—most agreed it wasn’t worth it.
They watched as Fang Zhiyi charged ahead, shielding Ning Yi'an from danger again and again, using his intellect to navigate trap after trap. When he finally obtained the key to clear the game, both fell silent.
Only one person could leave with a single key.
After a brief hesitation, Ning Yi'an pushed Fang Zhiyi toward the exit.
"Go ahead. I’ll catch up." Her voice was tender. "It’s been so long. You’ve lost weight—eat more. And don’t stay up late."
The live stream erupted again.
"Wow, this woman’s playing 4D chess!"
"No way Fang Zhiyi leaves now!"
"If I walked away after hearing that, I’d wake up at night just to slap myself."
"Wake up, people! This is obviously a trap!"
"Even if it is, he has no choice but to walk into it."
Fang Zhiyi took the bait. Despite Ning Yi'an’s protests, he pushed her out instead. As her cries faded into the void, he smiled in satisfaction. He ignored the authorities’ hint. He apologized to the empty space before him, knowing the whole world was watching. His actions endangered entire cities, but he couldn’t help it—he was human, and humans had their weaknesses.
Fang Zhiyi pressed on, searching desperately for another key.
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!
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
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?!
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
