Fifteen minutes later.
Lin Yu returned to the first-floor hall.
The meal was ready, and everyone was chatting together.
Aside from waiting for Lin Yu,
they were also waiting for Xia Yiwei and her older sister, Xia Xiashan.
Judging by the time,
the two of them, along with Aunt Ruxue, should be arriving soon.
Lin Yu had already run multiple simulations in the past ten-plus minutes based on the scenario.
The focus of these simulations, of course, was no longer about clearing everything in one go,
but rather how to smoothly help Maomao navigate the crisis if she suddenly arrived.
Time was limited,
and Aunt Ruxue’s temperament was so unpredictable.
After several attempts, Lin Yu concluded there were three possible outcomes.
Two of them would lead to a good result today.
But if—
other unpredictable factors emerged, he’d have to improvise on the spot, tackling problems as they came.
After all, humans weren’t rigid, lifeless programs.
This feeling was like…
spending half a day diligently studying the "Underwear Formation" from a Gomoku tutorial, then eagerly challenging an opponent—
only to find they weren’t following the scripted moves at all!
As Lin Yu descended the stairs, he checked the location on the map once more.
And just like that—
a curveball arrived!
Lin Yu: “???”
When he saw the location, he could hardly believe his eyes.
Had Aunt Ruxue… lost her phone?
Why was her signal lingering in the nearby market?!
Sensing something was off,
Lin Yu pulled up Xia Yiwei’s phone number for a location check.
Lin Yu: “!!!”
No mistake?!
The nurse’s phone signal was also in the nearby market!
What in the world was going on?
Had Aunt Ruxue taken the Xia sisters to go grocery shopping?!
No, no, something wasn’t right…
In the "Virtual Aunt Ruxue" persona he’d constructed, there wasn’t a single trait suggesting she enjoyed markets or cooking.
Even if she felt it was impolite to visit a stranger’s home empty-handed and wanted to bring a proper gift—
knowing Aunt Ruxue’s personality, she wouldn’t buy it from a market!
Moreover, during his last-minute preparations upstairs, Lin Yu had confirmed Aunt Ruxue’s location twice.
The last time, she had already passed the street where the market was.
Meaning—
after driving past the market, had something happened in the car?
Something that made them turn back and waste time browsing the market?
It didn’t make sense!
If all else failed, he might have to resort to ruder methods…
Wiretapping!!
Out of self-imposed restraint, Lin Yu hadn’t planned to go this far unless absolutely necessary.
But with the situation spiraling out of control,
it seemed like he might not be able to handle what came next without it.
As his conscience wrestled with the dilemma—
an even bigger twist arrived!
“Ring-ring~ Ring-ring~”
“…”
Aunt Qimeng’s phone rang.
She quickly wiped her hands and picked it up, murmuring to Maomao:
“Hmm? It’s Yiwei calling… probably checking if we’re getting impatient waiting.”
Maomao looked puzzled.
She had tried calling Xia Yiwei several times, but each call had gone unanswered before automatically disconnecting.
Xia Yiwei often kept her phone on silent,
so Maomao hadn’t thought much of it—nor had she called Xia Xiashan.
She figured Xia Xiashan was driving, and calling might distract her.
Road safety came first.
But—
if Xia Yiwei had finally checked her phone, why hadn’t she called Maomao first?
Instead, she’d called Aunt Qimeng?
This genuinely confused her.
Lin Yu was equally baffled.
Hearing Aunt Qimeng’s muttering, he quickly moved closer to the dining table.
Perhaps—
if Xia Yiwei couldn’t directly contact Maomao or Lin Yu to relay information,
she might be using Aunt Qimeng as a messenger to pass along critical "intel."
A classic trope from movies and TV dramas!
“Hello, Yiwei, are you almost here?”
“Huh? Not Yiwei… is this her sister?”
“What? Du… what? I can’t hear clearly.”
“Sorry, it’s noisy here—hold on, let me move somewhere quieter…”
Lin Yu: “!!!”
In the noisy environment, Maomao hadn’t caught the words “Du… what.”
Du what… Du Ruxue!
Two possibilities:
First—
the call wasn’t from Xia Yiwei, but from Xia Xiashan.
Xia Xiashan had used her sister’s phone to call Aunt Qimeng,
hoping to inform Lin Yu and Maomao through her: Du Ruxue is here!
Second—
the caller was introducing herself… I’m Du Ruxue!
The first scenario was understandable, but the second was downright bizarre!
Watching Aunt Qimeng head to the kitchen, half-closing the sliding door behind her,
Lin Yu casually drifted closer, ensuring he could hear the details.
Unfortunately,
in this setting,
he couldn’t make out the voice on the other end—only Aunt Qimeng’s responses.
But—
just five seconds later,
his frustration vanished.
Because the crucial information had already spilled from Aunt Qimeng’s lips—
“Du Ruxue… Little Xue!!”
“Is it really you, Little Xue?”
“My goodness, it’s been so many years since I last heard your voice—it feels like a dream.”
“How did you get my number… wait…”
“This is Yiwei’s phone, so you know her?”
“Oh my, go on, I’m listening…”
“Maomao? Of course I know her—what?!”
“How can such a coincidence exist? Ah, my head’s spinning just trying to process this…”
“…”
Near the kitchen,
Lin Yu crumpled a paper cup in his hand: “!!!”
Aunt Qimeng’s words mirrored his own thoughts exactly!
It felt like a dream!
His head was spinning too!
Aunt Qimeng and Aunt Ruxue… actually knew each other?!
This—
was something Maomao definitely didn’t know.
The "Virtual Aunt Ruxue" simulation could never have uncovered this "hidden route."
Such a bombshell revelation left Lin Yu in a rare state of mental paralysis.
...
(Update complete. Tomorrow officially begins Aunt Ruxue’s arc! Hope you’ll show your support—take a moment to check out a quick ad if you can. Grateful as always!)
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
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!
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.
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?!
