This is the border of Country S.
Yellow sand and rusted barbed wire are the dominant colors here.
A temporary hospital composed of several large white tents is the only sanctuary on this land.
The air raid siren has just been lifted.
A new batch of wounded is being continuously trucked in.
Lu Qianqian is crouched on the ground.
She is performing emergency compression to stop the bleeding for a man with shrapnel wounds to his abdomen.
Her movements are skilled, calm, even somewhat numb.
Sweat on her face, mixed with blood and dust, sticks to her skin.
Her T-shirt is soaked through with her sweat.
She hasn't had a proper night's sleep in three days.
The wounded man speaks in a faint voice, in a language she doesn't understand.
His eyes are filled with pleading.
Lu Qianqian can only guess his meaning from his eyes.
He is begging her to save his child.
Not far away, a boy of about five or six lies on a stretcher.
His leg has been blown off.
Lu Qianqian nods at him.
She finishes dressing the man's wound and hands him over to the next volunteer.
Then, she walks quickly towards the boy.
Ji Wushuang is standing not far away.
She is like a silent statue, blending into the chaotic background.
Her gaze sweeps over every person entering the hospital.
Distinguishing the wounded from potential threats.
This past year, they have gone from Country K, to Country T, and now here.
They have traversed half a globe of war and poverty.
Lu Qianqian is long gone the girl who would cry at the sound of gunfire.
She has seen a world more terrible than hell.
Ji Wushuang's satellite phone vibrates.
It's a message from Zhang Qi.
The content is simple.
Ms. Ji, the commission period is nearing its end. Thank you for your hard work. Please return on schedule.
The one-year contract is about to end.
Ji Wushuang looks at Lu Qianqian not far away, who is intently cleaning the wound of the boy with the severed leg.
Her mission is about to be completed.
She should feel relieved.
She walks over and hands water to Lu Qianqian.
"Next week, we're going back home."
"Your one-year research period should be wrapping up too."
Lu Qianqian's hand pauses for a moment.
She doesn't look up, just gives a soft "Mmm."
As if this is just an insignificant little matter.
She continues treating the boy's wound.
Cleaning, disinfecting, bandaging.
The boy is brave, not uttering a sound.
Just staring with hollow eyes at the tent ceiling.
In his hand, he clutches something tightly.
It is a crudely carved wooden bird.
After finishing his bandage, Lu Qianqian asks him softly,
"What is this?"
The boy is silent for a long time before saying in a hoarse voice,
"Dad carved it for me."
"He said it would take me flying."
"Fly to a place without bombs."
Lu Qianqian has seen too much death.
She thought she had become numb.
But at this moment, this boy and his wooden bird.
Still touch her heart.
She stands up and walks to the tent entrance.
Looking outside at the endless yellow sand.
At the blood-red setting sun sinking on the horizon.
At those living, breathing lives struggling for survival in suffering, like ants.
She turns around and looks at Ji Wushuang.
"Wushuang-jie."
Her voice is light, yet unusually firm.
"I don't want to go back anymore."
Lu Qianqian says.
"Jingzhou, the Lu family, that world... it doesn't belong to me anymore."
"This," she points at the barren, chaotic, yet life-filled land beneath her feet, "is where I belong."
"I want to travel to all these forgotten corners."
"I want to do something for them."
"Even if it's just... saving one more person."
"Building one more school."
"Digging one more well."
Ji Wushuang looks at her.
At her face, tanned to a light wheat color yet still delicate.
At her eyes, still shining under the sunset.
A year ago, at the training ground on the outskirts of Jingzhou.
She said to that pampered young lady who got tired after running a few steps,
"On the battlefield, no one will wait for you."
Now, this girl has shown her with her actions.
She did not stay where she was.
She has run ahead of everyone.
She charges on the battlefield she chose herself.
An indescribable sense of pride surges in Ji Wushuang's chest.
The mission is complete.
Exceedingly complete.
The porcelain doll she needed to protect has already donned the hardest armor.
And herself?
After the mission ends, where should she go?
Back to her hometown in Tangzhou?
She seems to be standing at a crossroads once again.
...
On the plane flying to Jingzhou.
Ji Wushuang sits in her seat.
Her back is straight, hands flat on her knees.
It is a posture ready for combat at any moment.
But she knows the fight is over.
Her gaze falls on Lu Qianqian beside her.
Lu Qianqian leans against the cabin wall, head slightly tilted, as if asleep.
Her face is washed clean.
No more gunpowder smoke, no more bloodstains, no more dust.
Her skin, once as fair and smooth as milk, is now a resilient, stubborn light wheat color.
Ji Wushuang watches her quietly.
This face is completely different from the one she first saw in Jingzhou a year ago.
The contours are sharper.
The lines are harder.
The last trace of a girl's softness has been completely polished away by the wind and sand.
This is her work.
The thought pops into Ji Wushuang's mind.
Then, she immediately dismisses it.
No.
She is merely a witness.
An observer.
A paid bodyguard.
That's all.
She has completed her task.
...
Jingzhou International Airport.
Ji Wushuang follows behind Lu Qianqian, walking out of the VIP channel.
Familiar air.
Familiar temperature.
Familiar, the clamor of the civilized world.
In the crowd, a tall, familiar figure waits there.
Lu Chenyuan.
Lu Qianqian sees Lu Chenyuan.
Her footsteps halt, and waves instantly stir in her eyes.
Then, she quickens her pace.
Finally, it turns into a small run.
She rushes up to Lu Chenyuan.
"Big brother."
Her voice is hoarse and trembling.
"I'm back."
Lu Chenyuan looks at her.
He reaches out, as if to pat her head.
But his hand stops halfway.
Instead, he changes to patting her shoulder.
"Welcome home."
Four simple words, yet like a command opening a floodgate.
Lu Qianqian can no longer hold back.
She throws herself into Lu Chenyuan's arms, burying her face deep in his chest.
Lu Qianqian's shoulders shake violently.
All the suppressed grievances, fears, longing, and delayed terror of the past year.
At this moment, they all break through the dam.
She cries like a child.
Ji Wushuang stands not far away, watching quietly.
She watches the girl who could carry a crate of medicine without batting an eye amidst gunfire and explosions.
Now, in a warm embrace, crying again like a lost child.
Ji Wushuang suddenly feels.
Her mission is truly complete.
She no longer needs her.
She has a big brother, and a family, capable of sheltering her under a vast sky.
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?"
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
ive and Ruthless] Before his transmigration, Ye Xuan was playing a game called "Severing Emotions to Attain the Dao." The game's core wasn't about leveling up by fighting monsters, but about conquering various "bad women" with wicked personalities and cold, fickle natures. There was only one method to conquer them: stay unwaveringly by their side, then die at a critical moment, driving them to madness after losing the protagonist. The higher their level of regret, the higher the player's score. To dominate the server, Ye Xuan conquered all the bad women. In the early stages, he showered them with boundless tenderness, only to choose to sacrifice himself for them later, making them weep bitterly and drown in regret. Among them were: Xia Lengyue, the unfaithful immortal wife who chased after powerful men and discarded her husband like trash. Ye Qingcheng, the Demonic Venerable of the Joyous Union Sect, who appeared pure and innocent but was, in reality, promiscuous. Wu Lingxiao, the Empress of the Great Xia Dynasty, who lusted after men and loved maintaining a harem. Bai Qiangu of the Endless Demonic Sect: a bloodthirsty mass murderer. However, when the protagonist transmigrated into the game world, he made a horrifying discovery. Eight hundred years had already passed. The bad women he had conquered had now each become deities and revered ancestors. Faced with the endless stream of toxic women coming for him, Ye Xuan could only rely on his god-tier acting skills to carve a path of survival through this world of treacherous women.
uld barely embark on the path to immortality. Just as he was on the verge of death, his golden finger awakened. No matter whether it was poison, drained blood and vital energy, diminished lifespan, or any other physical debuff caused by paying a price—once midnight passed, everything would be refreshed. From then on, whenever someone asked what kind of person Chu Ran was, the answer was simple: Forbidden arts that other cultivators dared not learn? Chu Ran would learn them. Prices that even demonic cultivators dared not pay? Chu Ran would pay them. Lifespan that even righteous cultivators dared not burn? Chu Ran would burn it. All the blood essence in his body? Take it. Want both his hands and feet? He would cut them off and send them to you. You say he’s finished? He wasn’t built to sit idle. You think he’s gone mad? No—he was simply waiting for midnight. From that day onward, Chu Ran would respect neither Heaven nor Earth, bow to neither gods nor ghosts. He had only one wish: For midnight to arrive a little sooner.
