What does it feel like to suddenly learn you only have one year left to live?
Unfortunately, this isn’t some clickbait Q&A from Zhihu, nor is there a marketing account burning the midnight oil to spin you some tear-jerking "true story."
An Yi felt his brain go numb.
Isn’t this just the same as receiving a terminal diagnosis?!
Only one year left—what ordinary person could handle that?!
Wait, why was he even listening to Shen Muxuan’s nonsense?
This girl couldn’t even count the three steamed buns he stole from her—no way she could calculate his lifespan.
But then again… if she didn’t know his lifespan, how did she know it had suddenly dropped by ten years?
Damn it! It might actually be true!
Seeing An Yi’s expression darken, Shen Muxuan also realized something was wrong. Her face paled. "A-An Yi… don’t tell me you don’t have a way to extend your lifespan?"
An Yi’s lips twitched.
Are you kidding me?!
Since when was extending lifespan something anyone could just do?!
Waving his hand in defeat, An Yi muttered, "No cure. No treatment. Just waiting to die now."
This damn system!
It lured him with that 200% all-attribute boost from [Berserk Mode], let him use it for ten minutes, then silently deducted ten years from his life!
Back then, he’d naively thought he could live to his seventies or eighties like a normal person.
As for why his lifespan was so short now…
An Yi pondered and quickly found the answer.
Most likely, it was from escaping the Celestial Tower.
Forcibly breaking through spatial barriers!
Not only did it leave his body severely injured, but he also lost all his power!
If not for the lucky coincidence of the Villain System attaching to him and enhancing his stats, he’d probably be just an ordinary guy right now.
Shen Muxuan grabbed An Yi’s hand, her eyes brimming with tears. "An Yi, there has to be a way! There has to be! I won’t let you die!"
Touched, An Yi gently stroked her cheek and smiled. "Don’t worry. There’s no way I’m dying! I still have over a year left!"
Over a year… that’s so short.
How could he extend his lifespan?
An Yi fell into deep thought.
An emperor from Xia Country had once agonized over this same question. Later, he died.
Shen Muxuan’s tears fell like raindrops as she stared at An Yi with determination. "I’ll beg my master! She’s incredibly powerful and knows ways to extend lifespan. But… she specifically warned me never to reveal this to anyone!"
"Muxuanzi, I’m counting on you."
An Yi patted her head gratefully.
With a disciple like this, what more could he ask for?
Secretly, he swore to himself: Whatever secrets he had, he’d take them to the grave before sharing them with this girl!
"Mm! I’ll definitely save you!" Shen Muxuan wiped her tears, her expression resolute.
Ding! System Notification: Host’s lifespan is critically low. Please recharge immediately!
The system’s voice abruptly echoed in An Yi’s mind.
An Yi thought this Villain System’s timing was terrible—it should’ve waited until after he died to send this message!
But as he carefully processed the system’s words, his eyes widened.
Recharge?!
You can recharge lifespan?!
Ecstatic, An Yi immediately tapped the recharge button.
Money for life?!
This was beyond broken!
He always knew the system was a real MVP!
Money? No problem!
He still had the 50,000 Lin Chen gave him—he was practically swimming in cash!
If money could buy lifespan, then that 200% all-attribute Berserk Mode would be his to activate whenever he wanted!
Grinning, An Yi clicked the exchange button, ready to dump all 50,000 into it.
Money or life—which was more important?
Was that even a question?!
Ding! System Notification: Lifespan recharge must be calculated in days!
An Yi froze.
Days?
Then he saw the exchange rate listed below.
50,000 = 0.5 days!
What the hell?!
He’d risked his life to earn that 50,000, and now it could only buy him half a day?!
50,000 for half a day?!
Useless trash system!
Shen Muxuan watched as An Yi’s expression cycled through confusion, joy, shock, and rage like a one-man theater show. "An Yi… what’s wrong?"
"Oh, nothing. You contact your master, and I’ll focus on making money. We’ll split the work."
An Yi spoke with newfound determination.
His dwindling lifespan had forced this lazy bum into a corner—he had to start hustling!
Shen Muxuan nodded blankly, only half-understanding.
Relying on himself for money wouldn’t cut it.
Without hesitation, An Yi called one of his subordinates.
"Boss, what’s the order?"
Ding Renfeng’s voice came through the phone, solemn and serious.
An Yi chuckled awkwardly. "Uh, yeah, so… Feng, buddy… you got any cash? I’m a little tight right now."
Borrowing from his underling—he was probably the first boss to stoop this low. But pride was a luxury he couldn’t afford.
Ding Renfeng replied earnestly, "Boss, I’ve got about 300 left. After deducting cigars and Forget-Me-Not milk, that leaves around 200. Will that—"
An Yi hung up.
Clearly, he’d asked the wrong guy.
Someone who smoked knockoff cigars was never going to be rich.
These guys struggling on the poverty line probably expected him to lead them to prosperity!
Who was the wealthiest in Jiangbei City?
An Yi’s knowledge was limited, but the first name that came to mind was Qiu Xu’s father, Qiu Dafu!
No way that’d work—he’d beaten up the man’s son. No loans there.
Next was Qin Yao’s father, Qin Zhengwei!
Yunzhou City.
A damp, dimly lit basement.
Two women hung suspended, their hands bound.
One had tanned skin and a curvaceous figure, though her face was plain.
The other was burly, her build anything but feminine.
Their bodies were covered in blood, bruises, and wounds—some so infected they’d begun to fester.
Creak!
The basement door opened, and a middle-aged man walked in, followed by a mixed-race beauty.
"Still not talking, Wild Rose?"
The man lit a cigarette, flicking the ash as his gravelly voice filled the room.
The two captives were none other than the ones who’d sold Nie Qinglan to Night Blossom for 500,000.
The tanned woman was Wild Rose; the other, her subordinate.
Wild Rose lifted her battered face, pleading, "Boss Nie, I swear I didn’t know Nie Qinglan was your daughter! Please, spare me!"
"Didn’t know?"
Boss Nie smirked. "Wild Rose, I’m almost fifty. You think I’m stupid? Are all you Pleasure Sect members this dense?"
Wild Rose regretted everything.
She never should’ve crossed this man.
Boss Nie’s influence ran far deeper than she’d imagined—what she’d seen was just the tip of the iceberg.
And Nie Qinglan? She’d touched a dragon’s reverse scale!
Wild Rose gritted her teeth. "Boss Nie, I’ll tell you the truth!"
Boss Nie didn’t bother listening. He loaded a bullet into his revolver and pressed it to Wild Rose’s forehead. "Sorry. Not interested anymore."
"Boss Nie! Please—"
Bang!
Bang!
Two gunshots later, the two tortured women became corpses.
"Dare hurt my daughter? You had a death wish."
Boss Nie tossed the gun aside, his gaze icy.
"How’s Qinglan been lately?" he asked the mixed-race woman coolly.
The mixed-race beauty adjusted her black-framed glasses and spoke up, "She's still in Jiangbei City, and she's been getting closer to An Yi lately."
"An Yi..." Boss Nie pondered silently.
He had never underestimated An Yi, but every time, An Yi's capabilities exceeded his expectations.
"Boss, if you don’t rein in Qinglan soon, she might just get swept away by that An Yi kid!" the mixed-race beauty said with a playful grin.
Boss Nie’s lips curled into a smile. "I actually like that An Yi kid. If he ends up as my son-in-law, I might not mind at all."
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."
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.”
] [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!"
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?"
