The wind was scorching, the soil crimson, and the sky a faded shade of blue.
This was Camp No. 3, established by the "Horizon Foundation" in the Sahel region.
At the moment, the biggest crisis in the camp was the broken water pump—out of service for three days already.
Three days meant the only source of clean water for over 500 people had been cut off.
The air was thick with restlessness and unease.
And something else—the growing stench of despair.
Lu Qianqian stood in front of the broken pump.
She wore a wide-brimmed sun hat, a pair of worn work pants, and a simple long-sleeved sunshirt.
The arrogance of a privileged young lady from Jingzhou had long vanished from her eyes, replaced only by calm and focus.
Wrench in hand, she inspected each component alongside the camp’s local engineer.
Sweat soaked through the back of her shirt, grease smeared her hands.
This wasn’t the first time she’d done this kind of work.
Ji Wushuang stood a short distance behind her, maintaining a vigilant stance.
Water shortages bred chaos most easily.
If there was no breakthrough in half a day, Ji Wushuang would forcibly escort Lu Qianqian out of Camp No. 3 and back to the safe zone.
They couldn’t wait until desperation set in to evacuate.
"No good," the local engineer said, shaking his head helplessly.
"The core drive shaft is broken. We can’t fix it."
Lu Qianqian set down the wrench and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, leaving a streak of black grease.
"When’s the next supply convoy due?" she asked.
"According to schedule, next week," Ji Wushuang replied.
After a pause, she added,
"But the roads are bad. It might be delayed."
Next week was too long.
The camp’s stock of bottled water would last three days at most.
And that was prioritized for children and the sick.
Lu Qianqian fell silent.
Her gaze drifted to the women and children in the distance, clutching empty buckets as they waited in silence.
Their eyes, like the parched land around them, seemed on the verge of withering.
In the office towers of Jingzhou, people debated artificial intelligence, trillion-dollar corporations, and the stars beyond.
Here, a drive shaft worth a few hundred yuan could determine the fate of hundreds.
They had to call headquarters for help.
Deploy a helicopter to airdrop parts and water.
The cost would be high, but human lives had no price.
Lu Qianqian picked up the satellite phone.
Just then, a plume of dust rose on the horizon—a jeep speeding toward the camp.
Ji Wushuang’s body tensed instantly. She pulled Lu Qianqian behind cover, her hand moving to the holster at her waist.
In this region, there were government troops, rebel forces, and countless bandits who robbed to survive.
Any unfamiliar vehicle could mean danger.
The camp’s security team tightened their grips on their aged rifles.
The jeep drew closer.
Finally, they could see—it wasn’t a military vehicle or a bandit’s pickup.
Just an ordinary jeep, the white flag of the Horizon Foundation fixed to its roof.
Lu Qianqian and Ji Wushuang froze. This wasn’t part of the plan.
The jeep stopped at the camp’s entrance.
The door opened, and a fully armed security officer stepped out first—standard protocol for the foundation in these regions.
Then, an average-built man from Xia descended from the driver’s seat.
He wore quick-dry outdoor gear, sunglasses, his appearance dust-streaked and weary.
He removed the sunglasses, revealing an utterly ordinary face.
When his eyes landed on Ji Wushuang, a tired but deeply relieved smile spread across his face.
"Wushuang."
Ji Wushuang stood completely stunned. The ice and vigilance in her expression melted away.
An indescribable emotion surged in her chest.
"Chen Lei?" Her voice carried a tremble she hadn’t even noticed herself.
"What are you doing here?"
Chen Lei—Ji Wushuang’s husband.
An ordinary man who’d spent ten years as a field engineer at a state-owned enterprise.
Average in looks, unremarkable in experience.
He’d barely left his hometown from birth through school to work.
Yet this ordinary man had crossed half the planet to get here.
Chen Lei strode over and pulled his wife into a firm embrace.
"I missed you," he said simply.
"Took a long leave from work to come see you."
He released her, then turned to Lu Qianqian.
"Ms. Lu, hello. I’m Chen Lei." He extended his hand.
Lu Qianqian shook it—a calloused but strong grip.
"Hello, Mr. Chen. Welcome."
"I heard from Wushuang that you’re short on engineers."
Chen Lei gestured to the broken pump.
"Thought I’d see if I could help."
He said it casually, as if he hadn’t traversed continents and risked his life in a warzone.
As if he’d just dropped by after work to fix a neighbor’s pipe.
Ji Wushuang looked at her husband, her eyes suddenly burning.
When she’d left Jingzhou, he hadn’t said a word—just helped her pack.
She’d thought he didn’t understand.
Didn’t understand why she’d give up a stable life to follow Lu Qianqian to a place like this.
Now she knew.
He understood everything.
He’d just been supporting her, following her, in his own way.
This man of few words had expressed all his love and courage through action.
Chen Lei wasted no time on further talk.
He opened the jeep’s trunk.
It was packed with professional toolkits and precision spare parts.
"Before coming, I studied the models and blueprints of the pumps you use here," he said, pulling out tools.
"Figured there’d be something I could do."
He crouched by the pump and began methodically inspecting it, his movements practiced and efficient.
Half an hour later, Chen Lei looked up.
"It’s fixable," he said matter-of-factly.
"The spare shaft I brought can be adapted. Needs some grinding on the joint and a custom sleeve. Give me three hours."
In that moment, Ji Wushuang thought her husband was glowing.
A light of reason that could transform despair back into hope.
For the next three hours, Chen Lei worked like a tireless machine.
Cutting, grinding, welding—sparks flying.
The local engineer assisted, handing him tools, moving materials, wiping sweat.
The entire camp gathered at a distance, watching in silence.
They watched this engineer from Xia who’d descended from the sky.
Watched as he used cold, lifeless metal to save their lives.
By evening, the setting sun bathed the land in gold.
Chen Lei tightened the last screw.
He stood, wiping grease from his face.
"Done."
He pressed the start button. The pump rumbled to life.
Seconds later, a stream of slightly murky water flowed from the outlet.
The camp erupted in thunderous cheers.
Children shrieked and dashed toward the water, letting the cool rush drench them.
The women wept with joy, clasping their hands together and bowing repeatedly in the direction of Lu Qianqian and Chen Lei.
Meanwhile, Chen Lei was having the sweat and grime on his face gently wiped away by Ji Wushuang with a towel.
For the first time, Lu Qianqian saw this side of her long-time companion, Wushuang-jie—a tenderness she hadn’t witnessed before.
Chen Lei gazed at the cheering crowd, his face breaking into a warm, humble smile.
Lu Qianqian smiled too.
Perhaps this was what it meant—an ordinary person, using their skill and kindness, to bring even the smallest yet tangible change to a broken world.
Explosive Plot Song Gua crossed over into another world, bringing along a whole crew of his doppelgangers—all of them mischief-makers. This was a world where everyone could choose a class. Song Gua became a "Bondweaver," capable of borrowing power, while his doppelgangers took on a wide variety of classes, covering just about everything. The number of doppelgangers grew day by day, each one a talented individual with a charming way of speaking. Under Song Gua's brilliant leadership, they would "greet" each other daily and engage in friendly "sparring," pulling off one major scheme after another on Earth. Sometimes they were bandits—stealing bosses, plundering mines, snatching resources. Sometimes they were saviors—descending like divine warriors to face world bosses threatening to massacre cities. Sometimes they even went undercover, infiltrating various major factions to stir up trouble from within, keeping their enemies constantly on edge. To prevent their doppelganger abilities from being exposed, Song Gua made them wear masks with mahjong tile patterns and don Taoist robes in various colors. "Remember, in front of outsiders, call me 'The Dice.'" "Got it! Boss!" "Not 'Boss'—it's 'The Dice.' Think about the vibe, pay attention to the vibe." "Yes! Boss!" "For crying out loud..." From then on, whenever they appeared, they would have their own theme song playing: ~Hey~ paying respects at the mountain stronghold at night~ whose arm is draped over whose shoulder~ gather your courage and follow along...
orn and Humiliation】【Forced Love】 In his past life, Lin Ran was betrayed and murdered by his girlfriend and family, while the yandere female aristocrat, who had treated him as a mere plaything, avenged him by doing in his enemies. Upon seeing the yandere female aristocrat lying in the same coffin, ready to die with him, Lin Ran realized how profoundly mistaken he had been. Reborn, he abandoned the fickle campus beauty and wholeheartedly embraced the yandere female aristocrat's arms. "Ran! If I dig out your eyes and turn them into a specimen, you'll only be able to look at me!" Lin Ran: "Darling, kiss me!" "Ran! If I break your legs, you won't run away anymore, right?" Lin Ran: "Love, hold me tight!" "Ran! If..." Lin Ran: "Hush now! Love me more!" Luo Yao: ... Seeing his scumbag dad: "Take him out!" Seeing his stepmother: "Get rid of her!" Seeing his brother: "Eliminate him!" Seeing his white moonlight: "Send that to Southeast Asia!"
close your eyes and open them again, only to find yourself transmigrated into the role of a villainous male supporting character. Readers familiar with urban wish-fulfillment novels know that it is only through the relentless antics of the villainous male supporting character that the plot between the male and female leads can progress. As the villainous male supporting character, Long Aotian not only has to bully the female lead, harass the second female lead, and flirt with the third female lead, but he also has to go all out to antagonize the male lead. In the end, when his body is discovered, he is still clutching half a moldy fried dough stick in his hand. Fully aware of the plot, Long Aotian is determined to change his fate, starting with the female lead! In the beginning, the female lead lacks confidence: "Big brother, I hope I didn't scare you?" In the middle, the female lead treads carefully: "Brother Long, please don't hit me, okay?" Later on, the female lead becomes coquettishly clingy: "Aotian, it's time to pay the 'public grain' tonight." Long Aotian's legs go weak, and he feels like crying: "I taught you to be thick-skinned, not shameless!"
esick Sect? Well, at least it's considered a respectable orthodox sect. Wait a minute— What kind of vibe are you all giving off? Shouldn’t this be a love-struck, romance-obsessed sect? Why does everyone here sound more like demonic cultivators? "Master, today he’s getting married. This disciple wishes to descend the mountain and crash the wedding, then toy with him to death right in front of his wife..." "Elder, I only got into your sect through connections, so why won’t you teach me anything?" "Because I also became an elder through connections." Thankfully, Su Ji was just an outer sect labor disciple. Surely, nothing too crazy would— "Junior Brother, you’ve broken through to Qi Refining. Once you sever your useless spiritual root, you can officially become an outer sect disciple." "The Great Dao is merciless. Don’t let a worthless spiritual root waste your essence and spirit, hindering your cultivation." Is this really the Lovesick Sect? ... Three years later, Su Ji sat in the seat of the Lovesick Sect’s sect master, sighing with emotion. His rise to this position all started when his junior sister adamantly insisted on preserving his "spiritual root." "Mmm... Senior Brother, what’s our relationship now?" "Stop talking. Keep going." "By the way, that newly promoted top-tier sect—didn’t they come to buy our Love Beans?" "One top-grade spirit stone per Love Bean—is that really so expensive?" "I suspect they’ve eaten too many Love Beans." "Now they’re lovesick." Well, this really is the Lovesick Sect after all.
