Inside the room.
Gu Yan opened the file and began examining the information about Xiao Lin.
The first line read:
[There are a total of 33 people named Xiao Lin in the city, and one Xiao Lin has arrived in Jianghai City in the past week.]
[Xiao Lin (32) [Expand]]
[Xiao Lin (1) [Expand]]
Gu Yan briefly looked at the other 32 Xiao Lins and found that none of them matched the conditions of the original male protagonist.
Then, he clicked on the single Xiao Lin entry.
A portrait image appeared before his eyes.
The picture showed a young man whose appearance could only be described as average.
However, his eyes revealed a determined and passionate look.
Below was the subject's information:
[Xiao Lin, male, 24 years old, arrived in Jianghai City by boat at 18:10 today.]
[Born at Jianghai Hospital, parents died when he was 5, lived in an orphanage since then.]
[At the age of 14, Xiao Lin disappeared from the orphanage, all information lost.]
That was all the information available.
However, a slight smile appeared on Gu Yan's lips.
He closed the file, his eyes revealing a mysterious meaning.
The less information available, the more it suggested that this person was problematic.
If he wasn't sure before whether this person was Xiao Lin, now he could be certain.
In the original story, Xiao Lin was taken to Dragon King Mountain by the master of the Dragon King Palace at the age of 14 to begin his training.
So this person must be Xiao Lin!
Thinking this, Gu Yan sent a message to Old Gao: "Keep an eye on that Xiao Lin who just arrived today."
"Tell me his current location."
A few minutes later.
Buzz buzz~
Old Gao called.
Gu Yan answered.
The next second, the other's voice came through.
"Young Master, this Xiao Lin saved a woman from being harassed by thugs as soon as he arrived in Jianghai City today."
"The woman, hearing that Xiao Lin had just arrived and hadn't found a place to stay, lent him her attic to live in."
"The address is 7-602 in Yulin Residential Area."
Hearing this, Gu Yan suddenly understood.
In the original story, when Xiao Lin first appeared, he saved the original second female lead, who wanted to repay the protagonist, so she let Xiao Lin stay at her home.
If Gu Yan remembered correctly, the next day, Xiao Lin would go out to look for a job and happen to see the security guard recruitment notice for Shen Wan'er's company.
Then, the wheel of fate would start turning.
Of course, Gu Yan was also a bit surprised by Old Gao's efficiency: "You're not personally monitoring that Xiao Lin, are you?"
On the other end.
Old Gao stood on a tree, holding binoculars and looking towards Yulin Residential Area. He answered the phone with his right hand: "Yes, Young Master."
"I've already had people keep an eye on the other 32 Xiao Lins."
"Only this Xiao Lin with missing information for over a decade seemed suspicious, possibly the one you're looking for, so I've been following him since he arrived."
Hearing this, Gu Yan replied: "The others can be left alone, just focus on this Xiao Lin."
"Also..."
At this point, Gu Yan's tone became somewhat grave: "Old Gao, you must remember..."
"If you're discovered, you must run! Run with all your might!"
Old Gao heard the gravity in Gu Yan's voice. Although he didn't think the youngster he was monitoring could pose any threat to him, since the Young Master had warned him, he would naturally keep it in mind: "Understood, Young Master."
Click.
The call ended.
Gu Yan put away his phone and lay down on the bed, his mind beginning to ponder.
In the original story, the female landlord who was saved was also one of protagonist Xiao Lin's harem members, because of his heroic rescue.
So she had a good impression of Xiao Lin from the start, but...
To say when they truly opened their hearts to each other, that would be related to a key plot point later on.
Gu Yan's expression became somewhat peculiar.
Besides Shen Wan'er, Xiao Lin had many other women in his harem, it's just that he loved Shen Wan'er the most.
However, these women in the harem also became extremely powerful in the later stages.
It could be said that if it weren't for these people, in the original story, Leng Qingqiu would absolutely not have exhausted her energy and perished together with Xiao Lin.
Thinking of this.
A cold light flashed in Gu Yan's eyes, and he slowly clenched his hand in the air.
The female protagonists provided Xiao Lin with a lot of help, and there were many life-and-death moments where the female leads resolved the crises for Xiao Lin.
So...
Preventing these female leads from getting involved with Xiao Lin was actually a way to weaken his combat power.
Not to mention he still had Shen Wan'er as a hidden chess piece.
With layer upon layer of schemes, Gu Yan couldn't believe he wouldn't survive until the end!
"Good! Time to sleep!"
.......
.......
Yulin Residential Area.
A man with thick eyebrows and a passionate face, wearing shabby clothes, was lying on a mattress in the attic.
He had his legs crossed and his hands behind his head.
His eyes curiously surveyed the surroundings, and he grinned: "Hehe, the pretty sister is so nice to me, she even found me a place to stay."
"Master was right, city women are the best!"
"Oh, right, I still have a marriage contract, seems like it's with some young miss from the Bai family?"
"No, no, I already have the pretty sister."
Just as he said this, a pleasant voice came from downstairs: "Xiao Lin, are you cold? Do you need another blanket?"
Hearing this, Xiao Lin's face lit up like a love-struck fool, and he shouted: "It's fine, it's fine! This is just right! Pretty sister, you go to sleep!"
"Alright, you sleep early too."
Seeing there was no more movement downstairs, Xiao Lin wiped his nose and chuckled happily: "Living with a pretty sister is just like a dream!"
"For the past decade and more on that wretched mountain, all I saw every day were the ugly faces of those old men and women. Today! I can finally enjoy life properly!"
"But I can't keep troubling the pretty sister. I'll go out and find a job tomorrow!"
Having said this, Xiao Lin also closed his eyes contentedly.
Downstairs.
A woman in pajamas sat at a table.
The yellow light from the bedside lamp in the corner of the bedroom illuminated her worried face.
She clutched one medical bill after another in her hands.
At 26 years old, her eyes revealed exhaustion and helplessness, her long hair falling messily over her shoulders.
In the lamplight, her silhouette appeared particularly weary.
A quiet atmosphere pervaded the room, with only the sound of bills being turned and the woman's contemplative sighs. On the table lay scattered medical reports, medication instructions, and some folded papers.
"Mom..."
Wang Yulan's brows were tightly knitted, her eyes revealing anxiety and unease.
She closed her eyes and lay on the table, tears gradually appearing at the corners of her eyes.
She was so tired. Her father had passed away years ago, and her mother had been seriously injured in a car accident six months ago and was hospitalized.
The daily treatment costs were almost crushing her.
Every day was just about earning money to pay debts, it seemed like almost nothing good ever happened.
Oh, no, there was one thing today.
Wang Yulan raised her head, a hint of gentleness appearing in her eyes.
Today, just as she was returning home after visiting her mother in the hospital, she was accosted by some hooligans.
Just when she was feeling scared, Xiao Lin stepped in to save her.
His straightforwardness made her feel some goodwill towards him, which is why she offered to help when she heard he had just arrived and had nowhere to stay.
However...
Even though something good happened in life, it still couldn't solve her current problem.
That is, the large hospital bill.
If she still couldn't pay it...
Then, her mother...
"Mom..."
Wang Yulan murmured, and without realizing it, she closed her eyes again and slowly fell asleep on the table.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
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?"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
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)
