"Little uncle? What little uncle? What on earth are you talking about, kid?"
Emperor Bro, who was standing right nearby, saw that the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity he had been eyeing was about to be snatched away by the protagonist of this world, and he quickly jumped out to make a last-ditch effort.
He was all too familiar with this trope. A precious chance that countless people could only dream of, would end up clinging to the protagonist the second they showed up... Was there even any decency left?
Someone, anyone, come stop this!
Even NPCs have their pride and anger!
"Kid, you must have mistaken me for someone else, right?" Emperor Bro spoke up.
The little nephew was taken aback when he heard that. He rubbed his smooth, double-folded chin and said, "That can't be right?"
As he mumbled to himself, he paced back and forth in front of Ye Cheng, looking him up and down, and patted Ye Cheng's body every now and then.
"This firm, solid build, this tall, imposing figure, and this handsome face—he just looks exactly like my little uncle!"
Ye Cheng: "..."
Even with his usual big heart and sharp mind, Ye Cheng was completely stunned for a second—okay, fine, he almost had a heart attack right then and there.
What the heck is this?
Where did this little chubby kid pop out from out of nowhere?
Is there no end to this nonsense?
If he remembered correctly, he had taken a non-stop bus all the way to the vast Northwest China, and he hadn't exposed his trail at all along the way. If no one knew where he was, how could he have been found?
So... how did this little chubby kid just appear out of thin air? Is this bug in Earth Online way too ridiculous? When are the devs going to patch this? This is straight-up teleporting across the map...
"Nonono, little kid, I'm not your little uncle. I'm a native of the Northwest, you've got the wrong person..."
The second Ye Cheng opened his mouth, a strong whiff of lamb fat and mutton accent came through, which left Emperor Bro standing beside him completely confused. He never would have guessed... Ye Cheng was actually a local?
The little nephew was also thrown off. The accent was way too different. People from the big coastal city of Haida all speak standard Mandarin.
Not to mention how authentic Ye Cheng's accent sounded.
For a moment, the little nephew even started to doubt himself, wondering if he had got the wrong person. After all... the man in front of him did look exactly like his little uncle, but... his skin was way too dark.
He remembered his little uncle had very fair skin, almost as pale as a girl's.
Well, Ye Cheng had deliberately darkened his skin with a "soy sauce" tint, making him look tanned and fitting in perfectly with the locals. Otherwise, his fair, clean skin would have made him stand out way too much.
He would never be able to blend in that way—everyone would spot him in a crowd at first glance, and then all his plans would go down the drain.
Originally, Ye Cheng had planned to do a full-on disguise for himself, but he left in such a rush that he didn't bring any of the supplies he needed, so he had to give up on that idea and settle for just darkening his skin a little.
He had been so careful, every step of the way...
Normally, no one would ever be as cautious as Ye Cheng was. After all, he'd traveled thousands of kilometers, and to be extra safe, he hid out in the wild for two days before finally making his way to the military region to report for work.
Even Ye Cheng himself couldn't predict his own travel route—all his moves were spontaneous. No wonder, the military region offered free food and accommodation... hell, who could say no to that?
He had been so meticulous covering his tracks, even darkening his skin, and then... who would have guessed the little nephew would pop up right in front of him completely out of the blue!
Even the most over-the-top TV drama wouldn't dare write a plot this absurd.
Ye Cheng strongly suspected some weird unseen force was setting him up... otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that on his very first day at work, the military region came under enemy attack?
Could this enemy attack really be aimed at him? That can't be, right?
The little nephew blinked and said, "Oh, right then... I guess I got the wrong person..."
The little nephew mumbled to himself, and Ye Cheng nodded in relief. Phew... great, kids are so easy to fool. Guess once their brains are fully developed in a few years, tricking them won't be this easy anymore.
Hehe, taking advantage of a kid's naivety.
*Click!*
The little nephew pulled out his kids' smartwatch and snapped a photo of Ye Cheng.
Ye Cheng: "???"
"Hey kid, what are you doing? Taking photos of people without asking is really rude..." The mutton-accented drawl was back in Ye Cheng's voice.
"No, you're overthinking it, uncle. I was just taking a photo of the first aid poster behind you, not you. You're being silly." The little nephew said.
Oh?
Is that so? Guess he was overreacting. But just to be safe, Ye Cheng decided to double-check.
"What are you taking that photo for anyway?"
"Oh, nothing much. I'm sending it to my auntie, she's a doctor. I want her to teach me the first aid steps, I'm only a five-year-old kid, I can't read all the characters properly, I can't learn it by myself..." The little nephew said while fiddling with his smartwatch.
Ye Cheng: "..."
"Alright then, big brother, I'm going upstairs to find my auntie now. This first aid stuff is so hard to understand." The little nephew turned off his smartwatch and got ready to head upstairs.
"Hold it!" Ye Cheng grabbed the little nephew by the arm.
"Kid, I can read perfectly fine. How about I teach you? I'm a doctor too!"
"No, that's too much trouble for you, big brother. I'll just ask my auntie later..."
"Come on, it's no hassle, we're practically buddies..."
"Nah, my auntie told me not to talk to strangers..."
Emperor Bro: "..."
What on earth are these two doing?
One thing was for sure, these two definitely knew each other. His golden, guaranteed once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was over before it even started.
Boom! It felt like a bolt from the blue struck Emperor Bro. He froze on the spot, completely petrified, and then...
The whole world left him alone to his misery...
The little nephew: Hey, who stole my background music?
"Xiaobao, don't you remember? I'm the one who used to play games with you!"
"Stop acting, little uncle! I already knew it was you the whole time, just admit it!"
The two of them were playing a full-on game of wits, and eventually they just dropped the act—there was no point keeping the charade up, both of them were masters at playing dumb. Ye Cheng was completely out of tricks. He should have just run away earlier, he never expected to get outsmarted by a little kids' smartwatch.
Dammit, he knew it, even a fancy Richard Mille watch can't beat a good old Tencent Kids' Smartwatch!
Ye Cheng was kicking himself inside. He should have picked the kids' watch when he was at the watch store back then... Ugh.
"Shhh, shhh, shhh." Ye Cheng quickly put a finger to his lips to shush the little nephew, looked around to make sure no one was nearby, then whispered:
"How the heck did you end up here?"
The little nephew blinked and said, "Second uncle got injured, grandma and the rest of the family sent me and my auntie to come visit him."
"Wait, which second uncle are you talking about?" Ye Cheng asked, falling silent for a second. He suddenly had a terrible sinking feeling. Did he just run all the way straight into his family's home base?
That... can't be right? He couldn't be that unlucky, could he?
How the hell did you just walk right into the trap on your own?
The little nephew was being his usual sneaky self. He copied Ye Cheng, glanced left and right to make sure no one was around, then leaned over to whisper conspiratorially to him.
"Uncle Ye, my second uncle is the military region commander. Don't tell anyone about that, okay..."
Ye Cheng: "..."
Military region... commander?
That's a full lieutenant general, for Christ's sake!
This entire stretch of the northwest is under his top command. He'd literally wandered straight into the man's stronghold!
The last bit of hope in Ye Cheng's chest died a complete, total death...
"Uncle Ye, what are you doing all the way out here?" the little nephew blinked. His tiny mung bean-sized eyes were wide with pure, genuine confusion this time.
Even someone as bold as Ye Cheng thought he was seeing a ghost when they ran into each other here. The little nephew was no less shocked. He still couldn't believe the Ye Cheng in front of him was real, so he poked and prodded him a few times before he finally confirmed... yep, it was really him.
"It's a long story. Back when the world was just born, a giant sprouted..."
"Uh, Uncle Ye, that's a little too long. Do you have a shorter version?" the little nephew cut in.
"Fair enough. I'm about to graduate, so I came out here looking for a job. I heard the northwest is short on people, there are tons of openings, so I showed up," Ye Cheng fired off without a second thought, not a flicker of a lie on his face.
The little nephew nodded. "Oh... that makes sense. Job hunting. Uncle Ye, you should've said so earlier! Come work at my dad's company. You can be the general manager, and I'll be the deputy general manager. We can just slack off and coast through life together!"
Even now, the little nephew hadn't forgotten his own little plan.
He knew he'd never get to slack off all day at the company on his own, but with Ye Cheng around to back him up, that lazy, easy life was a sure thing.
Put simply... both he and his uncle had a bright, carefree future ahead of them!
General manager?
Holy crap, that sounded amazing. Is this what people mean by living off the good graces of others?
The little nephew's words had Ye Cheng almost sold. He wanted to jet right back home and laze around immediately, but... the problem was, going back now would be no different than walking straight to his death.
"Ahem, that's a pretty great idea. I appreciate the offer, but... Xiaobao, I can't head back right now," Ye Cheng coughed a couple times, then put on a serious face.
"Why? What's wrong, Uncle Ye? You aren't gonna tell me you're staying here to serve the country and the people, are you?" the little nephew asked, his tone full of disbelief.
Ye Cheng: "..."
"More or less..."
"No way, I won't let you!" the little nephew exclaimed loudly.
Are you kidding me? If his uncle stayed here, his whole plan of becoming deputy general manager and slacking off would go up in smoke. He absolutely refused to let that happen!
Ye Cheng: "..."
"Xiaobao, how are your grades in class?"
"I refuse to agree... huh? Grades? They're fine, I'm just below average..." the little nephew said without a hint of shame. Well, more like way, way below average... at least he wasn't dead last.
Ye Cheng nodded in satisfaction. Good. Then he wouldn't feel bad about what he was about to do.
"Xiaobao, do you know what score I got on the college entrance exam back then?"
The little nephew blinked, his eyes wide with innocent confusion. "No I don't... and Uncle Ye, why are you smiling so creepily..."
The little nephew swallowed hard. Suddenly, he had a terrible feeling, like a chill was running down his spine.
"Nothing much. I just suddenly feel like heading back, and when we do, I'm gonna make you do 12 hours of tutoring every day. Three hundred new English words a day, five hundred new idioms, twenty 800-word essays, and thirty... uh, practice drills. We aren't stopping until you can hit 700 points on the exam, that's all. No big deal."
The second Ye Cheng finished listing that out, the little nephew nearly wet himself. He could already see the bleak rest of his life playing out in front of him, nothing but flashcards, test papers, and essays... NOOOO!!!
"NOOOOO, Uncle Ye! I'm your own nephew, you can't do this to me, I'll die, boo hoo, no please, boo hoo..."
The little nephew threw himself at Ye Cheng's leg... well, actually his calf, since he wasn't tall enough to reach the leg.
"Xiaobao, you don't want to have to work for that 700 points, do you?"
Ye Cheng's grin grew even more devious.
The little nephew: Nooooooo!
...
Top floor of the sanatorium!
"How come there's no sign of him here?"
"Da Huang, did we come to the wrong place?"
"Woof!"
"Down below? Are you sure?"
"Woof."
"Alright, I'll trust you one more time!" Du Wanyi blended back into the shadows, and headed back the way she came.
After all... Da Huang already said he was down there. It'd be pretty rude of her not to trust the dog.
Da Huang: If I'm wrong, I'll eat my own...
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
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.
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
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?"
