Lu Ruoxi's heart leaped into her throat as she gripped her fountain pen, ready to stab the nearest assailant.
Yet, just as the three thugs' fists were about to crash into Su Yang—
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Two shadowy figures darted into the alley like phantoms, their movements swift as lightning.
Their strikes were precise, their forms agile, and their efficiency brutal.
Within seconds, the sound of dull impacts and the sickening crack of dislocated bones filled the air. The three hoodlums, who had been so arrogant moments ago, now writhed on the ground, moaning in agony.
It all happened too fast—Lu Ruoxi and Su Yang barely caught a glimpse of how the two strangers had intervened.
Silence returned to the alley, broken only by the groans of the defeated thugs.
The rescuers were two unremarkable young men in plain jackets, the kind who could vanish into a crowd without a second glance.
One of them stepped toward Su Yang, gave a curt nod, then pulled out a phone and dialed the police with practiced ease.
"Hello, 110? This is Alley No. 3, Guangming Road in the urban village. Three armed assailants attempted a robbery but have been subdued. Please send officers to handle it."
His tone was eerily calm, as if reporting a trivial daily occurrence.
Lu Ruoxi studied these sudden "good Samaritans," her wariness deepening instead of fading.
Too convenient.
Their timing was impeccable, their skills too professional, their demeanor too composed.
These were no ordinary passersby.
She turned to Su Yang beside her, her piercing gaze demanding answers. "Su Yang, who are they? Do you know them?"
Su Yang's face flushed instantly. His eyes darted away as he stammered, "Th-they're... friends I met at the computer mall. Just happened to be passing by..."
"Friends?" Her voice dripped with skepticism. "What a coincidence."
"Y-yeah..." He forced the lie, unable to meet her eyes. "I helped them out once before. They... said they owed me."
Just then, one of the black-clad men finished his call and approached.
"Su Yang, it's handled. You two should head home now. Stay safe."
With that, he exchanged a glance with his companion, and without another word, they vanished around the alley's corner in a flash.
Lu Ruoxi stared at the spot where they'd disappeared, her brow furrowed in thought.
She didn’t buy Su Yang’s explanation.
Those men moved like... professionally trained bodyguards.
Was this arranged by that man—Lu Chenyuan?
What else was hidden beneath his so-called "investment"?
---
Meanwhile, several hundred meters away on a main road...
Inside a black Audi A6, Li Jinchuan slammed his palm against the horn in frustration.
Ahead, a fruit-laden tricycle had overturned, scattering oranges and apples across the narrow street and blocking traffic entirely.
A middle-aged woman wailed on the ground, arguing with the tricycle driver while a crowd of onlookers clogged the road further.
"Damn it!" Li Jinchuan hissed, checking his watch.
His father’s timeline had demanded his arrival at that alley thirty minutes ago.
Now? He was too late.
Unseen by him, a man in a baseball cap murmured into an earpiece:
"Target successfully delayed. Estimated obstruction: thirty minutes minimum. Repeat, target has been intercepted."
This "accidental" street dispute was no coincidence—it was the handiwork of Lu Chenyuan’s operatives.
Simple. Effective. Untraceable.
By the time Li Jinchuan finally broke free from the gridlock and reached the alley, it was deserted.
Only a few cigarette butts littered the ground, the faint metallic tang of blood lingering in the damp, musty air.
In the distance, fading sirens narrated the aftermath of what he’d missed.
He was late.
Someone had called the police. The girl—Lu Ruoxi—was gone.
Li Jinchuan punched the steering wheel, the dull thud echoing his fury.
The sting of a thwarted plan ignited a fire in his chest.
Was this bad luck... or deliberate interference?
He grabbed his phone and dialed his father.
"Failed," he bit out.
A pause. Then Li Xiujian’s voice, icy: "Explain."
"Got held up. By the time I arrived, the cops had already taken her away."
---
Jingzhou, Lu Corporation Headquarters.
Lu Chenyuan had just concluded a cross-continental video call when Lin Yuan entered with a report.
"Sir, updates from Anhe County." He handed over the briefing. "Mission accomplished."
Lu Chenyuan skimmed the details.
"Li Jinchuan was successfully intercepted. The target remains unharmed. The three hired assailants are in police custody—initial interrogations confirm they were paid anonymously via a burner phone."
"Trace the number?" Lu Chenyuan asked.
"Prepaid black-market SIM. Dead end," Lin Yuan replied. "But our surveillance confirms Li Jinchuan left for Anhe this afternoon."
"It’s him," Lu Chenyuan said, setting the report down, his eyes glinting like frost. "The old fox Li Xiujian couldn’t resist making his move."
From the moment he’d decided to shield Lu Ruoxi, he’d known this clash with the story’s "protagonists"—the Li family—was inevitable.
He just hadn’t expected their desperation to surface so quickly.
"Next steps, sir?" Lin Yuan asked. "Should we reinforce Anhe?"
"No." Lu Chenyuan’s lips curved. "The bait’s set. Now we wait for the fish to bite. Why guard against thieves when you can lure the snake from its hole?"
He rose, striding to the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city’s glittering skyline.
"Lin Yuan, instruct Zhang Qi to dig up dirt on Shengtian Real Estate."
"Shengtian?" Lin Yuan blinked. "Their connection to the Li family is...?"
"Not yet. But soon." Lu Chenyuan’s gaze darkened. "Isn’t Li Xiujian’s brother-in-law a Shengtian executive?"
Lin Yuan’s breath hitched—the boss wasn’t playing defense anymore.
He was declaring war.
"Understood. I’ll arrange it immediately!"
As Lin Yuan exited, Lu Chenyuan’s focus returned to the horizon.
Li Jinchuan, your script is outdated.
Since you're determined to join the game, I'll play along—properly.
But this time, I'll set the board. And the rules? Those are mine to write.
iemie, male, Race: Moon. Hobby: Collecting anomalies. At first, he thought he possessed two systems: the Crimson Rainbow Moon and the Clear Cold Frost Moon. One day, he discovered that he himself could also become a system for others, holding the chessboard of fate. The Eighth Epoch, also known as the Eternal Moon Epoch. Humans, witches, elves, bloodline descendants, specters, demons, and spirits together compose a new history. Walking the path on behalf of the moon, before he knew it, Chen Miemie's footsteps were followed by all manner of strange and wondrous anomalies. As time passed, many titles circulated about him—The King in Yellow, Lord of Anomalies, Heart of the Eternal Moon, and more. "Me? I'm just a traveler who enjoys collecting interesting creatures," Chen Miemie said.
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
e, Immortal Body, Transmigration, System, Progression Fantasy, Academy Setting, Third-Person Perspective. Alternate Title: Transmigrating into a High Martial World and Reading Live Comments. Bad news: I transmigrated. This is a terrifying high-martial world, and my original, pathetically weak body fell into a coma and never woke up. Good news: I got a Popularity Points system upon arrival. I can see live comments and even create an unkillable alternate identity. Starting out, the alternate identity has all stats at 1. The system tells me that to grow stronger, I must participate in the plot, gain popularity points to allocate stats and grow stronger, and ultimately awaken my original body. And so, carrying my original body on my back, I officially entered Huaqing Academy, where the story's protagonist resides. From that moment on, Chen Guan kicked the original plot to pieces. Live Comments: [Doesn't anyone find this mysterious coffin guy creepy? He can summon indescribable grey misty hands.] [Is this guy a hero or a villain? What kind of onion became a spirit?] [By the way, does anyone know who's in the coffin? Shouldn't the debt for saving his life be repaid by now?] [According to unofficial histories, the person in the coffin was Chen Guan's first love. Their love was once passionate and earth-shattering, but they were separated by life and death due to worldly circumstances. What a star-crossed pair.] ... Years later, the world knew of a demon god born from a coffin, shrouded in grey mist, impossible to gaze upon directly. His foremost divine emissary often wielded a scythe, reaping lives like the god of death. As war approached, facing former friends and a boundless sea of enemies, Chen Guan merely raised his scythe. "Would you like to dance as well?"
