Under the night sky.
A young man wearing a black trench coat with a sheathed straight sword strapped to his back walked along the empty streets.
Street lamps illuminated the path ahead, with tree shadows swaying along the roadside.
Su Ze, carrying the straight sword, listened to his best friend Shen Qingsheng's excited chatter through his earpiece.
He took out a flask from his waist and took a sip, then noticed something peculiar under a street lamp ahead, "Let's talk later."
He pressed the earpiece to end the call.
His gaze focused intently on the lonely figure under the street lamp.
It was a girl with vibrant wine-red hair, wearing a Japanese shrine maiden outfit with a white top and red skirt.
A Japanese person?
Su Ze was puzzled. He cautiously surveyed his surroundings and after confirming that her energy fluctuation was practically zero, he approached and asked, "Do you need help?"
Upon hearing his voice, the girl slowly lifted her face from where it had been buried in her knees.
A beautiful, fair face appeared before Su Ze!
Su Ze was momentarily stunned, "Why are you crouching here? Isn't it too late to be out? Shouldn't you head home?"
"Afraid of the dark."
The girl's voice was soft and delicate, with a hint of sadness, answering his first question.
"No home."
That was her answer to the second.
"You're Japanese, right? How did you end up here?"
"Don't know." The girl shook her head innocently.
A foreigner, homeless, with no idea how she got here - putting all the pieces together, Su Ze came to what seemed like a reasonable conclusion.
Su Ze took out his phone, dialed 110, and smiled, "How about I find you a place to stay? They provide regular meals, accommodation, and a structured daily routine."
To think a tiny spy would dare to appear so brazenly!
"Thank you."
The girl's amber eyes, full of innocence, looked up at him. Under the street lamp, the girl hugging her knees appeared both beautiful and pitiful.
Su Ze quietly put his phone back in his pocket. Well, calling her a spy seemed far-fetched now.
After all, she seemed rather simple-minded. If she were a spy, she should be blending in with the crowd, not sitting under a street lamp at night wearing such conspicuous clothing.
Without warning, Su Ze placed his hand on her head.
His ability 'Mirror' instantly allowed him to view all of the girl's rather limited memories.
He concluded that the girl was named Uesugi Akizuki, and she had amnesia, only remembering the past three days.
On the first and second days, a girl about her age had led her around, hiding from place to place, apparently being pursued by someone.
On the third day, this morning, they were discovered by their pursuers.
The girl who had been protecting Uesugi Akizuki hid her behind a large tree in a park before facing the pursuers alone. She hadn't been seen since, and her fate remained unknown.
Uesugi Akizuki waited until her stomach growled with hunger. As darkness fell, she fearfully ran from the grove. By then, there were few people on the streets, and she stood bewildered in the desolate road.
When the street lamps came on, she seemed to see hope, running to the light like a moth to flame. She crouched there, burying her head in her knees, curling up as if only this could give her a sense of security.
Su Ze couldn't help but feel moved. The country was facing unprecedented dangers, and it was a sensitive time. If he turned Uesugi Akizuki in as a spy, those lunatics responsible for handling domestic affairs would probably torture the poor girl beyond recognition.
It had been a month since graduating from high school, and Su Ze had been accepted to Huaxia University, with classes starting in another month.
He did have a way to handle this situation properly.
"I can protect you. Would you like to come home with me?"
Su Ze asked.
Uesugi Akizuki nodded without any hesitation, like an innocent child.
"Follow me," Su Ze said as he turned and started walking.
Suddenly, his hand was grabbed. Su Ze turned back to see Uesugi Akizuki looking somewhat anxious, as if she too felt this action might be inappropriate.
During these three days, the girl who had been helping Uesugi Akizuki escape had always held her hand to prevent her from wandering off or getting lost. This constant physical connection had given the amnesiac, confused, and lonely Uesugi Akizuki a sense of security.
Su Ze, having seen this poor girl's memories, understood her aimless wandering through Huaxia these past three days, being led around by that mysterious girl.
She could only choose to trust that girl, who had never even told Uesugi Akizuki her name.
Because Uesugi Akizuki never asked questions, just did whatever she was told.
Seeing that Su Ze didn't reject her but instead held her hand in return, Uesugi Akizuki's anxious heart finally calmed down.
They walked hand in hand through the quiet, dim streets, with Uesugi Akizuki following behind, her amber eyes studying the handsome, cold yet refined profile of the young man before her.
Ten years ago, Mystery descended upon the Blue Star, creating domains constructed by laws across the planet. It was a turbulent era, but one full of opportunities.
Those with real ability weren't at the gambling tables - the biggest gamble was entering the Mystery domains.
Due to Mystery's descent, all the shops on the street were closed, fearing supernatural occurrences at night.
Su Ze felt in his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He skillfully offered one to Uesugi Akizuki and put one in his own mouth. Just as he was about to light up, he suddenly froze.
He turned to see Uesugi Akizuki mimicking him, holding the cigarette backward in her mouth. He quickly pulled it from her lips.
He stared at her intently until she became frightened and pulled her free hand to her chest, nervously clenching it into a small fist. Only then did Su Ze grumble,
"Smoking at such a young age, wonder who taught you that."
Su Ze hypocritically blamed others for his own foolish action. After bullying the simple girl, he put the lighter back in his pocket and irritably tucked both cigarettes behind his ear.
Uesugi Akizuki looked at Su Ze with confusion, completely bewildered.
Back at home, in the dark living room, Su Ze could feel Uesugi Akizuki gripping his hand even tighter.
Click.
The living room suddenly blazed with light, startling Uesugi Akizuki so much that she crouched down, trembling like a frightened kitten.
Su Ze patted her head, and after a moment, the girl's shaking gradually subsided. A few minutes later, she dared to look up at Su Ze with her beautiful large eyes.
Su Ze patted her head again, and she finally stood up. "Are you hungry?"
The girl nodded slightly.
"Now, let go of my hand and sit over there while I make dinner. We'll eat together, okay?" Su Ze pointed to the sofa, speaking as if to a child.
The little shrine maiden nodded, obediently released his hand, and went to sit on the sofa. However, after sitting for just a moment, she pulled her feet up onto the soft sofa and curled up in the corner.
Su Ze could only shake his head in resignation.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
] [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!"
'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.
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
