The moment the rich scent of meat spread through the air, Baobao, who had been wearing a frosty expression just moments ago, immediately twitched its nose.
The next second, Baobao’s head whipped around.
Those golden eyes filled with clear, innocent light. With its little head—topped by a diamond-shaped crystal—it frantically rubbed against the fingers of Chen Guan’s hand, which held the dried meat, while a flattering purr rumbled in its throat.
The speed of that change nearly made Wang Hanyue’s jaw drop.
“Heh.”
Long Ao, who had remained silent until now, let out a soft chuckle through his nose. Watching the scene, he muttered at a volume that everyone could hear:
“This leopard is awfully opportunistic.”
Chen Guan’s feeding hand paused. Before he could say anything, Baobao, who had been burying its head in his arms and eating ravenously, stopped as well.
Its golden slit pupils turned toward Long Ao. There wasn’t the slightest trace of flattery left in its gaze.
Then, under the astonished eyes of Wang Hanyue and Long Ao, Baobao opened its small mouth and spat out two crystal-clear words. Its voice was childish and soft, yet carried an unmistakable note of command.
“Shut up.”
The two words were like someone pressing a pause button.
Long Ao stared at the little cat that had just warned him. His mind buzzed, and for a moment, it went completely blank.
What kind of cat was this? How could it talk?
No, that wasn’t right. He remembered it wasn’t supposed to be like this.
Wang Hanyue’s outstretched finger remained suspended in midair, his mouth slowly falling open.
[Hahaha! Brother Ao getting owned in real time—I could laugh about this for a whole year!]
[That fierce little baby voice! A cold, sharp-tongued cat—I'm in love!]
[Brother Coffin’s leopard can talk. There’s no way he can keep it secret now.]
[So what if he can’t? It’s not like Lao Ba’s secret got exposed.]
The few students still in the classroom also noticed what was happening and turned toward them curiously.
One second. Two seconds.
Then a scream loud enough to tear the roof off erupted from Wang Hanyue’s throat.
“Aaaaaah! I-it—it can talk!!!”
Wang Hanyue jumped three feet into the air as if he had stepped on a live wire, stammering badly. His trembling finger pointed at Baobao in Chen Guan’s arms, his face filled with utter shock.
The noise gave Chen Guan a splitting headache. He reached out and covered Baobao’s ears.
He really couldn’t understand how someone from a third-generation military family could still be so easily startled.
“I…” Realizing that he had lost his composure, Wang Hanyue’s face flushed red. After struggling for a long while, he finally squeezed out, “It’s just… my first time seeing one alive.”
He scratched his head. The shock in his eyes faded, replaced by burning envy.
This was a real demon beast—one that could speak. And judging by its intelligence, it was no different from a human. On top of that, it was still a cub.
There were plenty of demon beasts that could speak, but very few could be kept as human pets.
Wang Hanyue couldn’t help thinking back to six months ago. Like Ross, he let out a wistful sigh in his heart.
I was actually able to beat him back then?
That little incident was soon put behind them.
The rest of the meal passed in a distracted blur. As soon as Chen Guan returned to the dormitory, he locked the door.
“Baobao.” Chen Guan placed the little creature on the open floor. “Can you change back?”
Baobao gave a rumbling purr and did as he asked.
With a faint series of cracking sounds, its body, originally no bigger than a kitten, was stretched by an invisible force. Beneath its dark-purple fur, sleek muscles rapidly swelled into clearly defined lines.
In less than three seconds, a cheetah nearly one meter tall at the shoulder appeared in the middle of the room. Its powerful, athletic body seemed filled with explosive strength.
Those golden slit pupils radiated an innate majesty as they swept across the room, completely unlike its earlier appearance.
Chen Guan studied it for a moment before reaching a conclusion.
The tiny version was still cuter.
This one was simply too large. The entire room instantly felt cramped.
After confirming that it could change back, Chen Guan returned Baobao to its kitten form and tossed it onto the bed. He then turned on the computer.
He immediately pulled up a satellite map of Yunlan City. The terrain, population distribution, transportation hubs, and Great Wall garrisons were all mostly public information.
One piece of information after another was rapidly committed to memory, and an enormous model of the city gradually took shape in his mind.
If he wanted to control the area affected, he would need extremely precise calculations.
No one knew how much time had passed. It was only when the light from the screen began to sting his eyes that Chen Guan finally shut down the computer.
He lay on the bed. Beside him, Baobao was already fast asleep, its breathing even and steady.
Chen Guan kept his eyes open, staring at the pure-white ceiling of the dormitory. Only when his eyelids grew sore did he finally drift into a deep sleep.
…
For two days, the atmosphere on campus remained as calm as ever.
In the student council office, An Changqing sat with his head lowered, organizing documents. The latest list of student field assignments needed to be sorted and filed.
His phone vibrated in his pocket.
He ignored it until he had finished dealing with the document in front of him, then picked up the phone.
The sender was his father, An Changsong.
[Don’t go to any southern cities for the time being. It’s dangerous there.]
An Changqing’s brows drew together.
His father rarely interfered so directly with his movements. The south… Something serious was probably about to happen.
He locked his phone, a trace of gloom settling over his heart.
…
That afternoon, at the library.
An Changqing had just returned a book when he ran into Wang Hanyue.
“An Changqing, perfect timing.” Wang Hanyue’s voice was loud enough to draw glances from those nearby, so he quickly lowered it. “Have you seen Chen Guan? We agreed to eat together, but he disappeared in the blink of an eye.”
“He may have accepted a school assignment.” An Changqing smiled gently. “I saw him choosing one for quite a while this morning.”
“Another assignment?” Wang Hanyue muttered. “I think so. I heard him say he was going south, to a place called Tianze City.”
Tianze City?
The smile faded from An Changqing’s face.
He remembered that name. It was a southern city, and that very morning he had sorted an assignment involving Tianze City. It was a Grade B mission.
An Changqing had never been to Tianze City, though he had visited neighboring Yunlan City.
“Is he going alone?” An Changqing asked.
“Of course. That guy’s always been used to doing things by himself.”
Wang Hanyue scratched his head, determination beginning to burn in his heart.
Everyone stronger than him was working themselves to the bone. He had to work harder too!
While Wang Hanyue was still making up his mind, An Changqing’s thoughts had already drifted far away.
His father’s message and Wang Hanyue’s words echoed in his mind.
Was it a coincidence?
Perhaps.
After chatting with Wang Hanyue for a few more minutes, he made an excuse and turned to leave.
He walked through the quiet corridors of the library, but in the end, his footsteps changed direction and carried him toward the dormitory building.
He stood downstairs for a moment before seeing Chen Guan walk out. The purple leopard cat was draped over his shoulder, and he appeared to be preparing to leave.
“Chen Guan.” An Changqing called out.
Chen Guan turned at the sound of his voice. “What is it?”
“Nothing much.” An Changqing walked up to him and asked, “Wang Hanyue said you accepted a school assignment in Tianze City?”
“Mm.” Chen Guan nodded. There was no reason to hide it. He needed an excuse to leave, after all.
“Coincidentally, I heard something.” An Changqing kept his tone casual, as if he were merely bringing it up in passing. “Things don’t seem very peaceful in the south lately. If you’re going there, you’d better be careful.”
] [Lone Wolf, No Male Gaze] [Protagonist is pursued early on; extreme protagonist-stans, stay away!] The "Carnival Paradise" descends and slowly devours the real world in the form of a game. By chance, Zhu Yan awakens the talent [Roleplay], becoming one of the first beta players. He thought he could develop safely, but after clearing the first instance, he is branded by humanity as the chief culprit behind the game's spread—a traitorous villain. A villain? Who would ever... become one! He'll be the villain! From then on, Zhu Yan is not only a player but also a lackey for the Carnival Paradise. Between the straight path and the crooked path, he chooses the con. With his left hand, he dons the villain's mantle, staging scenes within instances, infuriating players who decry him as a despicable traitor, all while the game happily promotes him. With his right hand, he joins the non-human organization "Fangcun Mountain," which opposes the Carnival Paradise, transforming into a mysterious player who slaughters game bosses, earning cheers of "Long live the expert!" from fellow players. Gradually, Zhu Yan rises to become an S-rank human player in Fangcun Mountain's archives, while also being the Carnival Paradise's certified top game Boss. But when the final war erupts and both major factions place their hopes in him— Players tag his various aliases: "Experts, this offensive depends on you." The Carnival Paradise's supreme Boss throws an arm around his neck: "Bro, you're the iron, I'm the steel; you can't let me down again!"
d intelligence to keep the plot moving, and sometimes even the protagonists are forced into absurdly dumb decisions. Why does the A-list celebrity heroine in urban romance novels ditch the top-tier movie star and become a lovestruck fool for a pockmarked male lead? Why do the leads in historical tragedy novels keep dancing between love and death, only for the blind healer to end up suffering the most? And Gu Wei never expected that after finally landing a villain role to stir up trouble, she’d pick the wrong gender! No choice now—she’ll just have to crush the protagonists as a girl!
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
