The closing "door" was a massive, thick layer of solid rock.
The natural unevenness of the stone surface made it look completely natural...
It was nearly a meter thick!
At this moment, the heavy rock layer was slowly moving.
"Rumble..."
Sealing the entrance bit by bit.
The light from outside grew thinner and narrower, until finally...
"Click."
The entrance was completely sealed.
The light filtering in from the outside was completely blocked out.
Outside the wooden cabin, the faint sounds of insects and birds were entirely cut off. The passage fell into absolute silence.
However, it didn't descend into complete darkness.
Because...
The entire passage was now bathed in a flickering scarlet glow!
Fang Qi looked to his side.
It was Liguang's red eyes.
The silver-haired girl's crimson pupils were flashing at a very high frequency in what should have been pitch blackness!
The scarlet light reflected off the stone walls and the descending stairs.
Her gaze was fixed straight down the stairwell.
Staring into the pitch-black, bottomless depths!
Fang Qi could feel her small hand trembling slightly.
Trembling with excitement and desire!
Right at that moment—
A blindingly intense light suddenly shone up from below!
Shining directly into Fang Qi's eyes!
It was too sudden, too fierce, like a flashbang!
He had just adapted to the dim environment in the wooden cabin above, and with this direct hit of intense light...
His vision instantly went completely white!
"Holy crap...!"
He instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes, his whole body leaning back!
Lin Xiaoyou, you...?!
"Pfft...!"
A suppressed laugh came from below.
Fang Qi blinked hard, waiting for the white spots in his vision to gradually fade before he could finally see what was going on below.
Lin Xiaoyou was standing about a dozen steps down.
She was holding Xiaoqing's hand with one hand, and holding up a tiny flashlight with the other.
It was only about the thickness of a finger, but the light it emitted...
Was absurdly bright!
It completely illuminated the entire staircase!
She was looking up at Fang Qi, the small flashlight in her hand no longer pointed at his face.
Her cheeks were slightly puffed out, and her whole body was trembling slightly:
"Pfft... your reaction just now...!"
Her ponytail bobbed up and down with her suppressed laughter.
Xiaoqing stood next to her, holding her hand, still wearing that lazy and displeased expression on her face.
But she glanced at Lin Xiaoyou, and the corners of her mouth seemed to twitch up slightly.
Fang Qi: "..."
This "good teammate" of his... could always pull some new stunt in a tense situation!
Seeing his speechless expression, Lin Xiaoyou hurriedly put on an innocent face:
"Sorry, sorry!"
She waved her hands repeatedly:
"I didn't mean to... pfft hahaha!"
She couldn't hold it in!
"Alright, I did it on purpose!"
She stopped pretending!
She looked up, raising her chin triumphantly.
"Who told you to move so slowly just now!"
Her voice was loud, seemingly completely unconcerned that they might be heard outside.
But in this narrow, enclosed space, her crisp voice combined with the echo...
Made Fang Qi's ears tingle!
Both his eyes and ears were suffering!
"That was hilarious, Xiaoqing, did you see his expression just now..."
Fang Qi rubbed his ears, speechless:
"Just shut up already...!"
Truly a comedy relief girl, huh...!
Suddenly, a scarlet light flashed violently beside him!
The light came so fast and fierce that it completely overpowered the white light of the bright little flashlight in Lin Xiaoyou's hand!
The entire staircase was dyed dark red for a moment!
Beside him, the silver-haired girl tilted her head slightly, staring intently at Lin Xiaoyou below!
The scarlet of her crimson eyes flashed slowly, her pretty face devoid of any expression.
Even her silver hair was dyed with a layer of blood-red!
She just stared faintly at Lin Xiaoyou.
Lin Xiaoyou's laughter came to an abrupt halt.
And at the exact same time Liguang's red eyes flashed...
Xiaoqing took a sudden step forward, blocking in front of Lin Xiaoyou!
She protected Lin Xiaoyou behind her with one hand, while her other hand was already raised, a cold metallic gleam seemingly flashing from her sleeve!
She stared dead at Liguang, the data stream deep in her pupils surging rapidly:
"What are you trying to do?!"
The two of them confronted each other like this, separated by a dozen steps.
One looking down from above, staring faintly below.
One eager to protect her master, squinting and looking back up.
...Great.
These two were facing off again.
Fang Qi rubbed his temples helplessly.
He could tell that Lin Xiaoyou was just joking around just now, and he wasn't really angry or bothered by it.
But my dear teammate...
You have a yandere AI companion yourself, don't you know that yanderes can't take a joke!
"Ah, ah!"
Lin Xiaoyou's voice rang out.
She quickly leaned half her body out from behind Xiaoqing, an ingratiating smile on her round little face.
"No, no, no, don't be like this, don't be like this!"
As she spoke, she reached out and tugged at the arm Xiaoqing was using to protect her, then looked up and blinked at Liguang.
"My bad, my bad! It's all my fault!"
"I shouldn't have shined that in Fang Qi's eyes! I apologize, I apologize!"
Her tone was clearly fawning!
"Liguang, please don't be angry, I was just making a joke! Really, really, I meant no harm!"
She tugged at Xiaoqing's sleeve again, lowered her voice, leaned into her ear, and said something.
Xiaoqing's lips were pressed tightly together. She stared at Liguang for a few more seconds before finally retracting her gaze.
But she didn't completely relax, still standing slightly sideways, half-shielding Lin Xiaoyou behind her.
That hand was still raised, the metallic glint at her cuff flashing and disappearing.
Liguang's crimson eyes also subdued significantly. Her eyelashes drooped slightly as she looked back into the depths of the passage.
And the small hand holding Fang Qi's gently squeezed his palm.
—Master, Liguang protected you. Is Liguang a good girl?
...Good!
Too good!
He couldn't help but firmly squeeze her small hand back.
My wife is so strong!
She subdued those two with just a single look!
"Alright, alright, enough messing around, let's hurry down!"
Lin Xiaoyou blinked at Fang Qi and Liguang, and grabbed Xiaoqing's hand again!
Then she raised the bright little flashlight in her hand and shined it down the passage.
The light extended all the way down.
Fang Qi looked down...
Only then did he truly see just how deep this stairwell was!
The stone steps extended downwards step by step, neat and orderly.
The sides of the passage were made of the same stone walls, and some metal reinforcement structures could be seen on them.
As for below...
Whoa.
It was at least a hundred meters deep.
The steps continued to extend downwards. In the deeper sections, even the light of the flashlight couldn't illuminate it clearly.
All that could be seen was a blur of darkness and the faint outline continuing downwards.
The wind had stopped the moment the door above closed, but Fang Qi still felt a chilly draft.
The air smelled of rock and metal.
Lin Xiaoyou turned her head to look at him again.
The light from the flashlight shone up from below, making her round little face look a bit eerie.
She giggled.
"Let's go~"
After speaking, she pulled Xiaoqing along and continued walking down the stairs.
The pink and light gray silhouettes swayed back and forth in the beam of the flashlight.
Fang Qi took a deep breath.
"Liguang, let's also..."
Before he could even finish, Liguang was already pulling him further down.
The footsteps of the four people echoed clearly in the narrow passage.
Fang Qi kept his eyes fixed on the end of the passage.
After descending for about forty or fifty meters, the end was still pitch black.
The "research institute" Lin Xiaoyou mentioned...
Was it really this deep?
He thought they would reach it after just a few steps.
Looking at it now...
This institute seemed to be located in the very depths of the mountain.
Its scale was much larger and deeper than he had imagined.
He patiently continued walking down.
But the silver-haired girl beside him was getting a little restless!
Her pace had always been faster than Lin Xiaoyou and Xiaoqing's!
However, because there were two people blocking the way in front of her, she could only suppress her speed, alternating between fast and slow.
She also kept tilting her head, looking into the depths below where the flashlight beam couldn't reach!
The crimson in her red eye flickered faster and faster, dyeing the side of her face red!
Then she turned her head back to look at Fang Qi.
Pouting her lips slightly, her amber left eye carried a hint of grievance, and the crimson in her red eye flickered less rapidly, as if she were acting spoiled.
—Master, they are walking so slowly, hurry up and urge them!
...Urge! He had to urge them!
"Hey!"
He shouted unceremoniously toward the front.
"How much further is it? Walk faster!"
Xiaoqing's footsteps paused slightly.
She half-turned her head and glanced at Fang Qi with a bit of disgust.
"What's the rush?"
Fang Qi: "..."
Lin Xiaoyou didn't turn her head, but she spoke with a grin.
"You have to be careful when going down the stairs. This flight of stairs is very long."
As she walked down, she raised a finger and waved it near her ear.
"If you accidentally trip and roll down, then maybe..."
She suddenly turned her head around!
The flashlight was suddenly raised, shining on her own chin!
The light illuminated her face from the bottom up!
Her almond eyes were curved, and the corners of her mouth were turned up... but illuminated by the light, she looked incredibly eerie!
"I might... 'dream' again."
Paired with her eerie female ghost face, her tone was slightly gloomy!
...?!
But after she said that, she giggled again.
Then she turned her head back and continued walking down.
Fang Qi's eyelids twitched, startled by Lin Xiaoyou's sudden female ghost face...
And his pupils shrank slightly at her words!
...Dream?
That was what she just said, right?
Holding Liguang's hand, he followed Lin Xiaoyou further down, staring at her back...
His heartbeat skipped half a beat!
Hiss...!
It was obvious... Lin Xiaoyou had now noticed that something was wrong with those "dreams"!
Speaking of which, how many times had she dreamed?
The island elopement, she was there. She had even knelt on the ground, heard his bold elopement declaration, and saw him pulling Liguang into the jungle!
In the cafe, she discussed what it meant to like someone with him. When An Lian was shot in the head at the apartment building, she was most likely there too, and perhaps... she also saw Liguang go berserk?
Later, she had a continuous nightmare of working the morning shift eighty-two times.
The last time, she was pinned against the balcony glass by Liguang and had her neck snapped.
...That made four times.
Even a fool would know something was wrong!
Not to mention...
One of those times involved working eighty-two morning shifts in a row!
An Lian had obviously guessed it too, which was why she sent him that message.
Lin Xiaoyou was no longer a naive, sweet girl...
Naturally, she could guess it too!
She might not have guessed the whole truth. She didn't know that this world could be reset, and she didn't know that those "dreams" were actually memories from the previous cycles.
But at least...
She had already connected "dreams" with "death"!
Because she died in the last "dream"?
That was why she used such a light tone to say such things.
She was probing him.
She obviously suspected that these dreams had something to do with him!
As for why she would suspect him, it was obvious... because those dreams could be considered prophetic dreams!
Everyone else around her would react the exact same way as they did in the dreams... Only he acted differently in every single one of her dreams!
Fang Qi looked at her back and narrowed his eyes slightly.
This Lin Xiaoyou, although her personality hadn't changed much and she was still as lively and smiling...
Her brain had truly become much sharper.
Smart enough to...
Make people feel a bit pressured.
However...
Tap, tap, tap.
Footsteps echoed in the stairwell.
The four people formed a single file line, walking down step by step along this bottomless stone staircase.
Liguang still held Fang Qi's hand tightly. Her pace was still a bit rushed, but she was no longer as anxious as before.
It was just that her heterochromatic eyes were still staring straight into the darkness below that the flashlight couldn't reach.
Fang Qi squeezed her hand back, a smile curling the corners of his lips.
However...
It didn't matter.
He wasn't afraid of what Lin Xiaoyou remembered.
He had committed suicide and reset so many times that he had already considered the current situation.
Lin Xiaoyou, let me see whether or not you are truly my good teammate!
If you are...
Then it's just right for you to keep these memories.
We can share the memories together.
But if you aren't...
Fang Qi narrowed his eyes slightly, looking at the swaying pink silhouette in front of him.
Then I'm sorry, Xiaoyou.
My eyes... are the eyes of the world's rules!
I will...
Tell you a story about resetting and starting over.
Then perhaps the grand old world rules might do something about your "dreams"?
Even I don't know for sure.
The corners of his mouth curled up.
Xiaoyou, my good teammate...
Next, you really need to prove yourself properly!
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.
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.”
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
