The situation had become so chaotic that the Zhang Family Head had no way to explain why he was standing guard here. A large crowd had kept watch all night, without even catching a glimpse of Qi Ao.
The family head, already advanced in years, could no longer hold out.
Upon questioning a servant, they learned that Qi Ao was sound asleep.
At the time, people at the scene had tried to smooth things over, saying, "You can't take a child's words seriously."
But now, the Zhang Family Head narrowed his eyes.
He had sent people to probe several times afterward, all to no avail.
Coincidences don't happen one after another. The seemingly naive child before him was indeed his brother's flesh and blood.
At his age, he never expected to be outmaneuvered by the younger generation.
He admitted he had misjudged the situation.
Judging from Qi Ao's attitude, he likely held little affection for the Zhang family. Tomorrow would be Qi Ao's last day with the Zhangs, and Qi Yuan would come to take him away.
The Hermit Clans stuck together for mutual benefit, and the Zhang family had no shortage of information sources.
Faced with the gradually strengthening monsters, the Zhang family's position was becoming awkward. The Zhang Family Head could sense that times were changing. There was no time for them to slowly nurture the next generation, waiting for a descendant to become a powerful ability user before asserting themselves.
The Hermit Clans' expectations of reclaiming their ancestral glory through the emergence of abilities still showed no signs of being fulfilled.
As the family head, he had no choice but to seek new breakthroughs.
Today, he had also received news of Qi Yuan leading his subordinates to encircle and suppress a high-level monster. The mysterious subordinate who had always kept a low profile finally showed themselves.
The monster's specific level was confidential, but it was certainly S-level or above.
Any subordinate able to participate in such a battle would be no less than A-level.
This meant that while the Zhang family was still observing and considering which S-level or above ability user to cooperate with, Qi Yuan didn't care whether they pledged allegiance or not.
This was probably the source of his confidence in sending the fruit basket.
Thinking of this, the Zhang Family Head turned his gaze to the child in the room.
"Stop pretending. I know you're very clever."
"Hehe."
The child before him feigned incomprehension, his expression of smug satisfaction at being praised was flawless.
This performance... it seemed he had no intention of laying his cards on the table.
But things weren't at their worst yet. At least he was still willing to continue the conversation.
"If the Zhang family wanted to befriend your brother, what should we do?"
Qi Ao scratched the back of his head. What did this have to do with him?
"Go... find my brother?"
The Zhang Family Head sighed. As expected, he wouldn't reveal any specifics. But at least one thing was confirmed: Qi Yuan didn't like underhanded tricks. He preferred obedient subordinates.
It would be difficult for the Zhang family to achieve an equal partnership.
This was why he had hesitated until now.
"What if your brother isn't willing?"
Qi Ao recalled the time when he was caught sneaking snacks outside because it was too noisy, and his brother tattled to their mother. "...Find someone else to be friends with?"
If the argument continued, something terrible might happen.
He also didn't know why his brother seemed to know everything.
Find someone else...
The Zhang Family Head pondered briefly, then suddenly drew a sharp breath. He reassessed the child before him, weighing the pros and cons.
His knuckles tapped on the table. After a long while, he asked, "If the Zhang family befriends your brother first, and he's unwilling to be friends with you afterward, would you mind?"
Qi Ao looked utterly bewildered. Although he couldn't understand why making friends had to follow an order, or why grandpa still wanted to be friends with him, he really wanted to go back and finish his "homework."
"I wouldn't mind."
...
"...This child is very clever, with great wisdom..."
Qi Yuan woke from his dream, sat up, and held his head. Could this predictive dream be inaccurate?
Recently, he had been familiarizing himself with abilities, creating personas, scripts, and stages. Feeling his hairline might be in danger, he had created a predictive dream ability.
He couldn't create an ability to predict the future with 100% accuracy given his current energy levels, and an inaccurate predictive ability would interfere with his thoughts. This ability, however, helped him identify oversights, seek inspiration, and simulate possible future developments based on his existing information.
[Little Bro: Voice message] *N
[Little Bro: What time are you picking me up today?]
[Little Bro tapped you]
Up so early?
Qi Yuan glanced at his lit-up phone screen but didn't rush to reply. Instead, he first went to wash up, and only after finishing breakfast did he leisurely open the voice messages.
Probably realizing he had been completely forgotten, Little Bro started sending his "diary" entries. However, Qi Yuan didn't really want to listen; Gao Changze sent a message every night.
He already knew everything he needed to know.
Listening through the voice messages, aside from Little Bro's artificial embellishments and parts he couldn't remember so he made up, it was pretty much the same as what Gao Changze had sent.
Not only had Little Bro forgotten about him, but he had also been busy familiarizing himself with his avatar's ability settings and personality these past few days, going from awkward to numb, and had similarly forgotten about Little Bro.
When he arrived, he had avoided pleasantries by focusing on work. Now that he was leaving, he couldn't avoid facing it.
After all, unlike his father who hired assassins, he at least had to give Little Bro a choice.
...
"What's going on today? It seems like all the important figures in the clan have returned."
A woman who had sent her child to the martial arts training ground started chatting with other friendly mothers.
Someone chimed in, "Yeah, I saw all the cars have come back."
"You don't know yet?"
They eagerly asked, "Know what?"
"A few days ago, a child came, right?"
"Are you talking about...?"
The mothers exchanged glances, their eyes widening.
Qi Yuan, the subject of their gossip, had finally managed to send away a group of elders with a face full of perfunctory politeness.
The Zhang Family Head was not a blundering fool who couldn't read the room. He briefly touched on unimportant matters and had someone summon Qi Ao and Gao Changze.
"I hope my brother hasn't caused you any trouble."
"Not at all. We're family, what trouble could there be?" The Zhang Family Head praised effusively, completely different from his initial disdain and contempt. "This child is very clever, with great wisdom. I've learned a lot from him..."
Qi Yuan stopped listening carefully to the latter part of the speech, his mind echoing with "This child is very clever."
Are you serious?!
He couldn't possibly associate great wisdom with Little Bro.
He could tell that the Zhang Family Head was sincere.
This was what shocked him. Perhaps the Zhang Family Head had been addled by filial piety, and his mind wasn't quite clear...
Just then, Little Bro walked in wearing his backpack.
Qi Yuan met Little Bro's blank stare, his expression full of wisdom was so unbearable that he had to look away after a single glance.
This guy definitely rushed to finish his homework last night and still hadn't woken up.
When Qi Yuan faced the Zhang Family Head again, he couldn't help but soften his tone.
To see great wisdom in Little Bro, perhaps... maybe... this was the greatness of the bond between grandparent and grandchild?
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.
lan, the Luo family, tracked him down - along with the babies in their arms. Mo Xuan stared pensively at the paternity test results from over a dozen top institutions, both domestic and international, showing a 99.99% match between himself and the two baby girls. At 23, Mo Xuan, a doctoral student, had become the father of two three-year-old children. The kicker? The mothers weren't even the same person! He gradually realized he was being lured step by step into an elaborate trap designed by these two yandere sisters. "Be good, little Xuan. Sister's life belongs to you entirely." "Brother, if you try to run away, I'll have no choice but to tie you up." Mo Xuan: "Do whatever you want, ladies. I give up."
] [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!"
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)
