Fang Qi was climbing up the stairs, gripping the railing.
That was right.
They were climbing the stairs!
To be precise...
All three of them were climbing the stairs together!
"I—can't—do—it—anymore—!!"
Lin Xiaoyou's wail echoed through the stairwell.
She leaned against the wall, her legs trembling...
Sweat was pouring down her round little face.
"It's only the eleventh floor... one more to go..."
"I... I'm gonna die...!!"
She howled.
Fang Qi didn't even look back.
"You climbed seven or eight floors of a dilapidated building without complaining!"
"Th-that was because I was alone!"
Lin Xiaoyou kept wailing behind him.
"Now you guys are climbing so fast...!"
Fang Qi rolled his eyes and turned to look at her.
"Didn't you want to take the stairs?!"
The reason they weren't taking the elevator...
Was because Lin Xiaoyou said she didn't dare to.
She was in a state of being targeted by "fate."
She said that if she took Fang Qi and Liguang into the elevator and it shot straight up to the top floor...
Wouldn't that just be replaying the disaster that befell her father back then?
She said she would climb the stairs alone.
But Fang Qi wasn't comfortable letting her climb alone.
Getting crushed in an elevator that crashes through the roof would kill her...
But if she tripped and fell, rolling all the way down the stairs, that would kill her too!
In the last loop, she had pretty much died that way, hadn't she?
He had originally thought about having Liguang protect Lin Xiaoyou while he went up first...
After all, there was no way it would be him protecting Lin Xiaoyou while letting Liguang go up alone, right?
But Liguang still refused.
"Master is also in danger right now."
The silver-haired girl's phoenix-like eyes narrowed slightly, her tone leaving no room for negotiation.
"Liguang must always protect Master."
So, in the end, they compromised.
They climbed together.
Fang Qi took the lead, Liguang brought up the rear, and the Miss Genius was sandwiched in the middle.
That way, Liguang could keep an eye on her master ahead while also preventing Lin Xiaoyou from stepping into nothing and tumbling down.
"Liguang... could you give me a hand...?"
Lin Xiaoyou leaned against the wall, her legs trembling, looking back pitifully at the silver-haired girl behind her.
"I really can't go on anymore..."
Liguang remained unmoved.
"Miss Lin, please continue."
She stood one step below Lin Xiaoyou, her lips curved in a kind smile.
"Liguang will make sure you don't fall."
"...Could you just give me a push?!"
Lin Xiaoyou wailed.
Meanwhile, Fang Qi, breathing heavily, stepped onto the next landing and looked at the sign that read "11th Floor."
No problem.
There was still time.
Based on the three previous experiences, Sister An Lian...
She had died around nine in the morning every time!
It was always roughly around that time.
It was as if fate...
Wanted her to die at that exact moment.
Now, it wasn't even eight o'clock yet!
So she shouldn't be in any trouble...
"BANG——!!!"
The sound was deafening!
It made Fang Qi's head ring for an instant!
Huh?
...Gunfire?!
His pupils contracted sharply.
Coming from upstairs?!
His mind went blank for a moment...!
The twelfth floor...
It came from the twelfth floor, didn't it?!
...Sister An Lian!
Then his body moved faster than his mind!
Pushing off the ground, he charged straight upward!
"Master, dangerous! Let me handle it!"
A pale-blue figure shot past him even faster than he could!
The silver-haired bob flashed before his eyes!
Lin Xiaoyou stopped wailing, her face instantly changed!
Her almond-shaped eyes sharpened, and clenching her jaw, she gritted her teeth and bolted upward!
Fang Qi's heart was pounding wildly in his chest!
Why was there gunfire...!!
He followed Liguang straight to the twelfth floor and saw—
Liguang was standing by the open window at the end of the hallway, reaching out sharply with her slender hand!
But she didn't catch the...
Shadow that threw itself out of the window!
And the window was wide open.
"Whoa! He jumped—!"
Lin Xiaoyou's exclamation came from behind him!
Fang Qi rushed over!
Liguang's crimson eyes were flickering at an incredibly high frequency!
Her hand was still outstretched, fingertips reaching forward...
"Splat!!"
A dull thud came from the ground outside the window!
It was the sound of that person hitting the concrete after falling from over ten stories up!
Then...
"AAAAHHHH—!!!!"
The screams of passersby on the street below!
Fang Qi didn't look down.
Because the door to An Lian's apartment, unit 1201, was wide open!
Wait...!
Wait, wait, wait!!
The gunshot just now, and that person... don't tell me...!
Damn it!! Did we arrive too late?!
"Sister An Lian—!!"
His eyes widened in fury as he charged straight in!
Then...
The expression on his face froze.
...Huh?
Because he saw...
An Lian was sitting on the floor right now.
She was leaning against the shoe cabinet, her long legs curled up.
...Huh?
Fang Qi was stunned for a moment.
Sister An Lian... was still alive?
But...
He quickly pulled himself together.
Her condition wasn't good!
Her breathing was rapid!
There were a few dark red splatters on her white T-shirt.
Her hand was fiercely clutching her right ear!
Blood was seeping through the gaps between her fingers.
Drip by drip, it stained the collar of her T-shirt...
Spreading into a shocking dark patch!
Her face was as pale as paper!
Fine beads of sweat covered her forehead, and her lips were trembling slightly.
"Sister An Lian, you...!"
Fang Qi rushed to her side!
She looked up.
Her pair of cold, gray eyes met his.
"Xiao Qi..."
Her voice was trembling, but she mustered a faint, strained smile.
"I'm fine."
"This time..."
"I survived."
...
...
Inside the apartment.
Fang Qi stared at An Lian's ear, still oozing blood...
And clenched his fists.
The silver-haired girl was kneeling beside An Lian, carefully bandaging her.
She had pulled out medical gauze and disinfectant from An Lian's first-aid kit.
Now, her strange-colored eyes, which had just blazed with murderous red, were focused intently.
Her fingers moved gently and steadily.
As for Lin Xiaoyou...
The Miss Genius was scrambling, trying to help Liguang!
She tore open a pack of antiseptic wipes, trying to hand them over...
But her hand slipped, scattering the whole pack on the floor!
"Oh no!"
She quickly bent down to pick them up!
"Hm?"
Liguang tilted her head slightly and glanced at her once.
Lin Xiaoyou immediately yanked her hand back!
She shrank off to the side, looking wronged...
"I just wanted to help..."
She muttered quietly, crouching in the corner as if drawing circles.
"Miss An Lian, please tilt your head a little."
Liguang said gently.
An Lian gritted her teeth and complied, turning her head.
Blood had matted her black hair to the side of her face; Liguang carefully brushed it aside...
Fang Qi looked...
Then slowly averted his gaze.
The bullet hadn't hit her head, but...
That one shot had blown off her right ear.
The ear cartilage was shattered, and there was a lot of bleeding.
But luckily, Liguang had treated her quickly.
Disinfect, stop the bleeding, apply medicine, wrap in gauze...
She really was a pro.
Fang Qi took a deep breath, trying to suppress the lingering dread still churning in his chest.
His heart, which had been racing wildly, slowly calmed.
His breathing steadied.
He pursed his lips and watched Liguang treat An Lian's wound.
Having such a versatile wife...
She really could handle any situation!
What a strong wife!
But...
He took another deep breath.
This situation was really something special...!
Just moments ago, An Lian had briefly explained what happened to them!
Someone rang the doorbell, even disguising their voice to sound like him.
An Lian said the voice was exactly like his.
She opened the door without suspicion, and a gun was thrust through the gap...
Someone could actually mimic his voice...?
He walked to the window, looked outside, and narrowed his eyes slightly.
The noise downstairs continued.
From this angle, he couldn’t see the person who had fallen from the twelfth-floor window of the corridor.
But he knew that person was now...
Lying in the most gruesome way in the greenbelt of the residential complex!
Because there were many people gathered around!
So many!
And their faces were all twisted in horror!
Also...
Someone must have called the police by now.
The police should be arriving soon, right?
The police...
Fang Qi narrowed his eyes.
…Would Gu Xi come?
Fang Qi turned and walked back to An Lian’s side.
”Sister An Lian.”
He crouched down, looking at her pale face.
”Did you see what that person looked like?”
Who was it?
Fired a shot, then jumped straight to suicide?
An Lian’s eyelashes fluttered faintly.
She didn’t answer. Instead, her gaze shifted slightly...
To the round-faced girl in the corner, still mumbling softly.
Her eyes were hesitant, carrying a sense of...
Unspoken suspicion.
…Huh?
Fang Qi’s expression tightened abruptly.
What did that mean?
Lin Xiaoyou?
Liguang’s crimson eyes also flickered as she looked at Lin Xiaoyou!
The bandage in her hand paused for a moment.
Lin Xiaoyou stopped mumbling immediately.
She froze for a second.
Her gaze met An Lian’s complex gray eyes. Her almond-shaped eyes blinked, and then...
”Sister An Lian...?”
She suddenly forced a grin.
But the smile was stiff.
“Why... are you looking at me like that?”
She was still trying to keep her tone light, but...
It was already trembling slightly.
”That person... doesn't have anything to do with me, does it...?”
An Lian pressed her lips together, watching her expression for a few seconds in silence.
Then she asked softly,
”Lin You... do you have a brother?”
Fang Qi’s pupils contracted sharply.
Liguang’s crimson eyes blazed briefly!
And on Lin Xiaoyou’s face, the forced grin completely froze.
The living room fell silent for a moment.
The noise outside was grating.
Fang Qi glanced at the stunned Lin Xiaoyou, his eyelid twitching!
He knew who An Lian was talking about.
Who else could it be?
…Young Lin Zhouyuan!
The ghost who looked exactly like the photo on the access card, with the same tiny mole at the corner of his eye!
It was him...?
Disguising his voice as Fang Qi’s, ringing An Lian’s doorbell, aiming a gun at An Lian’s head, and then—just as Liguang rushed to grab him...
Jumping from the twelfth-floor window?
A ghost, a spy... here to kill An Lian?
…What?
Fang Qi clutched his head.
What the hell was going on...?
”...!”
Lin Xiaoyou suddenly moved!
She spun around and rushed out of the apartment!
Fang Qi: “?!”
His eyes sharpened!
”Hey!”
He immediately followed!
When he reached the window, he saw Lin Xiaoyou leaning almost entirely out of it!
She was clinging to the open window, staring down below!
Her upper body was completely suspended, her ponytail dangling upside down as she swayed!
”Lin Xiaoyou!!!”
Fang Qi rushed over!
He grabbed her by the nape and yanked her backward!
Lin Xiaoyou stumbled from the pull, barely falling back into the corridor.
Fang Qi’s hand, still gripping her nape, was trembling.
”Don’t forget you’ve got your own problems right now!”
He growled through clenched teeth.
She was a target of “fate” now!
If she had just fallen headfirst...!
Lin Xiaoyou didn’t say anything.
She stood there, dazed, held by him, staring blankly out the window.
Fang Qi took a deep breath.
Then he leaned out to look down.
Below, that person was lying face-down.
A large patch of dark red slowly spreading beneath them.
Motionless.
Falling from the twelfth floor, without the resilience of an AI companion or the cushioning of a semi-mechanical body...
That was an ordinary person.
Or rather...
The shell of an ordinary person.
Liguang’s core had already confirmed it once.
”—!—!”
In the distance, the sirens of police cars and ambulances wove together.
They were approaching fast.
Lin Xiaoyou’s gaze was still trembling as it fixed on the pool of blood below.
Her lips quivered, but she couldn’t say a word.
”Ring—!”
Fang Qi’s phone suddenly rang.
Lin Xiaoyou flinched.
Fang Qi pulled out his phone. The name flashing on the screen was...
【Gu Xi】?
He squinted slightly.
Was she really coming?
He steadied his churning breath and pressed the answer button.
”Hello—”
”Fang Qi!!”
Gu Xi’s voice was urgent, almost sharp!
She cut him off directly!
“Leave now! Take An Lian and go! Don’t meet the police, leave now!!”
”Click!”
Then the call hung up instantly!
Leaving him no chance to respond.
Fang Qi: “...!”
He froze for only a second.
Then, he tightened his grip on Lin Xiaoyou’s nape again, pulling her back from the window!
”That’s just an empty shell!”
He shouted!
His voice low and forceful!
“And besides, it’s not like he can’t be revived! Snap out of it!”
Lin Xiaoyou’s body jolted!
She looked up, and light finally returned to those almond-shaped eyes.
From that hollow emptiness, they lit up again!
Then, she raised both hands...
“Slap!!”
She slapped her own face hard!
Red marks appeared on both cheeks, and she blinked vigorously again.
”...Right, he can be revived... he can...”
She murmured.
By then, Liguang had already helped An Lian out of the apartment.
An Lian’s right ear was wrapped in layer after layer of gauze. Her face was still pale, but her steps were steady.
The silver-haired girl held An Lian’s arm with one hand, the other still clutching the half-used roll of bandage.
Her crimson eyes flickered slightly as she glanced at Fang Qi’s phone.
Fang Qi knew his wife was always monitoring his communications.
Clearly, she had heard Gu Xi’s call.
”Master.”
She looked up, her phoenix eyes narrowing slightly.
”Now... what do we do?”
Fang Qi took a deep breath.
”We—!”
...Huh?
His gaze caught something.
By the window, in the corner...
There was a gun.
His eyelid twitched!
It was the pistol the person had dropped when jumping out!
Now lying quietly on the tiles.
He bent down and picked it up.
The gun barrel still held a faint, lingering smell of gunpowder.
Then he looked up, his gaze sweeping across Liguang, An Lian, and Lin Xiaoyou.
Outside, the sirens grew closer.
The noise downstairs continued.
An Lian’s ear was still oozing faint blood.
Lin Xiaoyou’s cheeks still bore the red marks from her own slaps.
And his Liguang...
Was blinking gently at him.
—Master, I’m here.
Yeah.
I know.
Fang Qi gripped the gun tightly.
The cold metal touch steadied his chaotic mind a little!
”We...”
”Leave now!”
”Go where we need to go!”
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!
ng to die together with you." Lin Xuan is dead, his body thrown into the river by his scumbag lover and her accomplice. She, the president of the Su Group, is decisive, ruthless, and ice-cold. For three days and three nights, she had his body fished out of the river, and without hesitation, she kissed the bloated corpse of Lin Xuan. She laid down beside him in a cold coffin, their fingers intertwined, a smile lingering on her lips as she closed her eyes. The noble and cold-hearted woman, only bending for one man—Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan, with his golden finger, is reborn and returns to the day of his wedding to the treacherous woman. Su Qiang comes to steal the bride. Lin Xuan's eyes light up, eager to pledge his loyalty on the spot, but instead, her kiss transfers a glass of drugged wine into his mouth, causing him to pass out... 【Male Protagonist with Single Female Lead】【Yandere Tycoon】【Action-Packed】【True vs. Fake Heir】
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
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.
