Pain!

Too much pain!

At this moment, aside from pain, Gao Yang was filled with infinite fear: I'm going to die, I'll die soon.

What does death feel like? It definitely won't be like crossing over to another world. From now on, there will be no me in any world, and even my thoughts and fears at this moment will vanish.

No!

I don't want to die!

Gao Yang tried to open the half of his eye that wasn't squeezed shut by the tentacles, and he seemed to see something floating in front of him.

A translucent, faintly glowing golden hexagram. It rotated quietly, seemingly waiting for someone to touch it.

Gao Yang didn't know what it was, but his instincts told him this was his only chance to struggle before dying.

He used all his strength to raise his left hand, inching it closer to the hexagram in the air.

Almost... almost there.

"Ah!" His left arm collapsed due to the extreme pain that had taken all of his body's strength.

"Is this what humans are like? Human blood, human taste..." Li Weiwei's voice had a panting tone because she was too enthusiastic. "Amazing! So incredible!"

Li Weiwei held Gao Yang's head like an uncooked egg, just waiting to be squeezed and crushed.

She was careful not to break him too soon. She held back, keeping the pressure just enough to prevent his head from being crushed. She desired to fully experience the terror and hopelessness of a person near death.

These feelings were quite valuable.

She might not get another opportunity in her lifetime like this one.

Li Weiwei's body shook with anticipation as she approached the culmination: "Gao Yang, you're a good person. I like you... I love you..."

"I want you!"

"Give me everything you have!"

The power of the strangling tentacles slackened for a moment, a sign of gathering force.

Gao Yang seized the moment, quickly lifting his hand and touching the hexagram in the air with his middle finger.

[Whoosh-]

[System Activated]

[Loading user information...]

[Loading Complete]

[Name: Gao Yang. Age: 18.]

[Gender: Male. Race: Human.]

[Status: Awakening.]

[Talent: Luck. Serial Number: 199. Rune Type: Miracle.]

-Are you a system? Or a cheat? It doesn't matter! I want to use my talent!

Gao Yang couldn't speak, but his inner voice was recognized by the system.

[Luck is a passive talent and cannot be used.]

-Then what's the point of you! I'm going to die! Save me! Somebody save me!

[Access Ended, System Hidden]

[Whoosh-]

The system disappeared.

Everything happened in an instant. The hexagram before Gao Yang's eyes vanished, and he was still unable to do anything. How unwilling he was, but there was no hope left.

He closed his eyes, waiting for death.

After a while.

Strange! Why am I not dead yet? Why is the pain starting to subside? Why is the force strangling my head gradually retreating?

[Whoosh-] The tentacles softened and retracted into Li Weiwei's arm.

Gao Yang collapsed to the ground, freed from the suffocation and pain, clutching his throat and coughing desperately. "Cough... cough!!"

As he coughed, he looked up.

Li Weiwei's arms had returned to normal. She stared at Gao Yang with wide, bewildered eyes, tears welling up. "Why... why..."

Gao Yang's gaze moved from Li Weiwei's face downward, seeing that her chest was stained with blood.

Li Weiwei looked at Gao Yang with resentment, still trying to reach out to him: "You... are... mine..."

"Thud-" A long Tang sword pierced Li Weiwei's heart from behind, her body bending backward like a fish impaled by a harpoon.

"Move." A voice came from behind Li Weiwei.

Gao Yang trembled and stood up, finally seeing that it was Qing Ling. She stood behind Li Weiwei, gripping the hilt of the Tang sword, holding a stabbing posture.

"Qing Ling? Why are you... here?"

"Move!" Qing Ling repeated coldly.

"Okay..." Gao Yang quickly stepped aside.

"Stand behind me," Qing Ling said.

Gao Yang obeyed.

Qing Ling swiftly withdrew the sword, causing blood to spurt from Li Weiwei's chest, staining the pavement red.

Gao Yang barely held back his urge to vomit. He then noticed that Qing Ling's Tang sword remained pristine, without a drop of blood on it.

Qing Ling held the black hilt with one hand and slid her long index finger along the blade. The nearly 150 cm long Tang sword disappeared as if folded into another dimension.

Gao Yang was stunned.

Was this magic? Or a superpower?

Qing Ling didn't look at Gao Yang. "Don't ask anything, go home immediately. I've already destroyed the nearby surveillance. Everything that happened here has nothing to do with you."

"But..."

"You know nothing, say it." Qing Ling's gaze was like a sharp blade.

"I... know nothing."

"Say it again."

"I know nothing."

"Again."

"I know nothing."

"Good." Qing Ling lightly leaped, vaulting over the two-meter wall and disappearing into the darkness.

Late at night, Gao Yang quickly left the scene and ran all the way home.

Mom and Dad had already gone to bed, and only his sister remained cuddled up on the sofa, looking through her phone. When she spotted Gao Yang at the door, his face covered in wounds, she leaped in fear.

"Wow, what happened to your face?"

"Oh, this..." Gao Yang, anxious to return home, had forgotten about his facial injuries.

"Ah, I get it!" His sister noticed, "You're cosplaying as a zombie!"

"Uh, right... exactly!" Gao Yang agreed with his sister's statement, "Pretty realistic special effects makeup, huh?"

"Realistic! It looks just like the actual thing." His sister smiled mischievously.

This girl understands which of her statements are genuine and which are untrue.

Forget it; the events that occurred were too abrupt and ludicrous. His mind was in chaos, and he didn't have the energy to cope with it. It would be much more unpleasant if his parents awoke and discovered him.

Gao Yang searched the living room cupboard for the first aid box before hurrying to his bedroom.

He locked the door, calmed himself down, and got out disinfectant and cotton swabs to clean the cuts on his face before applying bandages. He then cleansed his arms' wounds and covered them in gauze, gritting his teeth and sweating excessively from the discomfort.

After merely healing his wounds, Gao Yang collapsed on the bed, tired.

Shock and fear replaced grief. Gao Yang thought everything that had transpired tonight was completely surreal.

Li Weiwei... his boyhood buddy, with whom he had spent every day for almost a decade. They trusted each other, shared everything, and then she transformed into a monster who ate people?!

Gao Yang would prefer to think that she was eaten by a monster and then impersonated by the monster. As in the myth of Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf ate the grandma and then claimed to be her.

But is this actually the case?

Why did the Li Weiwei who attempted to murder him continue to talk like Li Weiwei? It was as if she were Li Weiwei, but with a second personality.

Too many things did not make sense.

His wounds still stung. Was he infected? Will he wake up tomorrow to discover himself transformed into a monster?

Gao Yang was restless.

The hexagram in the air resurfaced at some time, gently drifting in front of him.

Gao Yang sat up and reached out to touch it.

[Whoosh-]

[Entering System]

[Congratulations! You have survived for 3 hours]

-What's there to congratulate? I almost died!

[You can obtain 3 Luck Points]

-Why?

[Talent: Luck. Serial Number: 199. Rune Type: Miracle.]

[Effect: The talent holder gains 1 Luck Point for every additional 60 minutes they survive]

-So that's how it works. What can I do with Luck Points?

[The attribute panel contains various attribute values, which you can permanently enhance using Luck Points]

-Open the attribute panel.

[Stamina: 10 Endurance: 10]

[Strength: 10 Agility: 10]

[Mentality: 10 Charisma: 10]

[Lucky Points: 0]

Gao Yang studied it. Having played games before, he understood that these six main attributes likely corresponded to health, defense, attack, speed, magic, and control. As for "Luck Points," maybe it represented evasion or the chance of getting rare items?

With only 3 Luck Points, boosting any attribute seemed meager. Gao Yang's gaze returned to that glaring number.

[Luck Points: 0]

-Luck Points? Isn't my talent Luck? What's the difference between the two?

[Luck is a talent. Luck Points is an attribute value.]

-That explains nothing.

-This Luck talent doesn't seem very good. Can I change to another talent?

[No]

-Open the talent list, let me see.

Instantly, a densely packed list of talents appeared before Gao Yang.

Gao Yang immediately saw "Serial Number 199" at the top, which was his own "Luck." Strangely, the talent names and descriptions for Serial Numbers 198-1 were all hidden.

-I can't see anything!

[The system cannot display information that has not been explored]

-This system is so lousy! It's nothing like the systems in web novels.

"Knock knock." Someone tapped on the window.

[Access Ended, System Hidden]

[Whoosh-]

Gao Yang quickly sat up, and the system automatically shut down.

A shadow had already opened the window and easily jumped into the room.

It was Qing Ling, wearing her usual training shorts and short-sleeved shirt. In the moonlight, her long limbs were as white as jade.

She quickly kicked off her sneakers, untied her ponytail with one hand, and let her black hair fall softly over her full chest.

"You..." Gao Yang started to speak.

Qing Ling lightly jumped onto the bed, stepping on Gao Yang's chest with her bare feet and pressing him back down onto the bed. "I ask, you answer."

"Okay..."

"Do you like men or women?"

"Wo-women."

"Alright." Qing Ling crossed her hands over her shirt's hem and quickly pulled it off. "Come on."