Seeing that Lin Wan didn’t want to be.woth him, much to what he wanted, Elder Shen, rely gave long zhan and Qin Mo a dismissive glance and vanished from sight.
The silence left by Elder Shen was more than the absence of sound; it was the weight of a world they didn’t know of it’s existence pressing down on their chests, telling them they can not do anything about it.
Long Zhan stared at the white powder beneath his boots, caused by stone that had been disintegrated by a re step.
His violet eyes were dark, his jaw set so tight the muscles in his neck stood out like cords.
Qin Mo stood nearby, his silver aura flickering out like a dying candle. For the first ti, the Teng Snake King looked small, he not just looked, he felt small.
"He actually called us placeholders," Qin Mo said, his voice flat and hollow.
Long Zhan exhaled a shaky breath, facing his own existential crisis. "It turns out my ho realm is still just a lower realm. All this ti... the ’Sovereign’ of the Northern Peaks. What a joke. To a man like that, I am a rely a lizard guarding a pile of sticks. What is the use of this superiority I’ve been feeling? Even the strongest elder back ho, cannot withstand a punch from elder Shen, We are big fish in a very shallow pond."
He looked at his hands, hands that had conquered tribes, and found them lacking.
The crushing realization of their own weakness had effectively broken their spirits.
The door to the cottage creaked open. Lin Wan stepped out.
She didn’t look like a goddess anymore. Instead, She looked like a woman who had been shaken to her core, her hair slightly disheveled and her face pale.
But as she looked at the two males—n who usually stood like unbreakable pillars, she saw the cracks in their pride. She saw the way their shoulders sagged under the weight of the word "diocrity."
"Stop it," she said. Her voice wasn’t loud, but it cut through the heavy air like a blade.
Both males turned to her, their expressions a mix of sha and protective instinct.
"Lin Wan, you should go back inside," Long Zhan muttered, his voice gravelly. "You shouldn’t be out here. The air is still charged with his presence. It may be.. it’s dangerous for the cubs."
"What’s dangerous is this suffocating silence," Lin Wan replied, stepping off the threshold and walking toward them.
She stopped between them, taking one of Long Zhan’s calloused hands and one of Qin Mo’s cold, elegant ones.
"Listen to . Both of you," she said, her eyes burning with a sudden, fierce light. "We were blindsided today. We were weak because we didn’t know the roof was that high. But that ends now. We don’t need to waste ti sulking about what we aren’t."
She squeezed their hands, forcing them to look at her. "He ca here to treat us like debris because he thinks we have reached our limit. He thinks we are passive victims to his ’High Heavens.’ But he’s wrong. We don’t need to worry about the gap between us and Elder Shen today. All we need to do is ensure that when the next one cos, or when soone even stronger than him descends, we aren’t the ones standing in the dirt."
She looked at Long Zhan. "You are a Dragon Lord. Your flas can lt mountains if you wish them." She looked at Qin Mo. "And you are the cleverest male I have ever known. And, We aren’t going to accept being ’weak.’ We are going to grow our strength until the Upper Realm has to think twice before sending a rude ssenger to my doorstep."
The two males looked at her, and slowly, the hollow look in their eyes began to vanish, replaced by a cold, sharpened determination. They nodded, a silent pact forming between the three of them.
They weren’t just protecting a ho anymore; they were preparing for a war against the very top.
After a long, tactical look between the two males, a silent agreent to set aside their distaste for the sake of the family, Qin Mo followed Lin Wan back into the cottage.
He didn’t act fussy or try to charm her. He simply sat down on the edge of the bed where she was resting, looking uncharacteristically insecure. He stared at his hands for a long mont before looking up at her.
"Lin Wan... give a status," he whispered.
Lin Wan blinked, stomped by the sudden vulnerability in his voice. "What?"
"Can you give a status," Qin Mo repeated, his silver eyes wide and searching. "I don’t want to feel like this anymore. I felt scared out there... terrified that because you don’t have my mark, you’d realize how much better that ’seat among the stars’ was. I was afraid you’d leave because I have no claim to keep you."
Lin Wan’s heart ached. She realized that while she was hurting over Wang, Qin Mo was hurting over the fear of being nothing to her. She reached out, pulling him into a deep, grounding hug.
"Yes," she whispered against his neck. "You can mark , Qin Mo. You aren’t just anybody. You are mine, Lin wan’s man."
She felt him shudder with relief.
"But," she added, pulling back slightly, "it has to wait until after I give birth. My body is under enough strain. But the promise is made, and I intend on keeping it."
The change in him was instantaneous. Qin Mo let out a sound that was half-sob, half-laugh, and surged forward to kiss her. It was a desperate, happy kiss that left her struggling to breathe.
When he finally let go, he was laughing out loud, a genuine, bright sound she had never heard from him. He hugged her again, radiating a warmth that finally began to thaw the icy fear in her chest.
Lin Wan let herself smile, leaning into him. She was happy for him, but a part of her remained self-aware. She was still weak. They were all still at risk. What if the Elders ca back for the babies once they were born?
It was in that mont of quiet reflection that a sharp, digital chi rang in her skull, causing her ear to ring.
[Ding!]
The sound was jagged and cold.
"Weiwei?" she called out internally.
[Host...] The system’s voice didn’t sound like its usual playful self. It sounded distant, chanical, and strangely formal. Hearing the tone, Lin Wan’s smile faded.
A sudden, heavy, ominous feeling settled in her gut—a premonition that the ground was about to shift beneath her feet once again.
Sothing was very, very wrong.
The warmth of Qin Mo’s embrace seed to chill instantly as the blue interface in Lin Wan’s mind flickered with a violent, red-bordered notification.
[ERGENCY DIRECTIVE: 001]
"Weiwei, what’s going on? What ergency directives?," Lin Wan thought, her heart beginning to race.
[Host... I have received a recall command,] Weiwei’s voice was small, stripped of its usual sass. [The Mother System has detected the interference from the Upper Realm. The power level of Elder Shen has caused a ’Reality Fracture’ in this sector. They are calling all auxiliary units back for a mandatory global upgrade.]
Lin Wan sat bolt upright, her movent so sudden that Qin Mo pulled back, his brow furrowed in concern. "Lin Wan? What’s wrong? Is it the cubs?"
She couldn’t answer him. Her mind was a whirlwind of panic. "Recall? For how long? You can’t leave now, Weiwei! I’m months away from my birth date, the Wang’s clan is hunting , and I don’t even know how to function without you!"
[I really have no choice, Host. The Mother System wants back in the Central Core. If I stay, I will be force-deleted for ’Corrupted Data.’] The blue screen began to fade, pixel by pixel.
[I am leaving for the upgrade... but Lin Wan, listen to . The Mother System is... different lately. This upgrade feels like a lockdown. I’ve hidden a small in your subconscious for the birth, but beyond that... you will be on your own.]
"Weiwei, wait! When will you be back?"
[I don’t know,] the system replied [Be careful, Lin Wan. Without paying attention, you won’t see them coming. And there’s a huge possibilities that sothing more troubleso will co]
With a final, mournful chi, the blue light vanished entirely. For the first ti since she had arrived in this beast world, Lin Wan felt truly, terrifyingly alone in her own head.
She looked at Qin Mo, her eyes wide with a new kind of dread. The system was gone.
The "golden finger" she relied on to survive this primitive world had just been stripped away at the exact mont the upper realm beastn had marked her as an enemy.
The ominous feeling from before didn’t just stay; it grew, wrapping around her heart like a cold serpent. Sothing bad wasn’t just coming, but even if it does co, Lin wan wouldn’t be the passive one anymore, at most she’ll run away and escape until she grew strong enough to fight it head on.
"Lin Wan! Speak to !" Qin Mo’s voice finally broke through the static. He was shaking her gently by the shoulders, his silver eyes wide with a fear she had never seen before. "Is it the cubs? Did that old man do sothing to you before he left?"
Lin Wan looked at him, but her eyes were glassy. She felt a wave of exhaustion hit her, not the physical exhaustion of pregnancy, but a deep, spiritual fatigue.
For months, she had carried the secrets of the system, the secrets of her origin, and the burden of knowing things no one else in this primitive world could understand, it had felt exhilarating letting Qin Mo and Long Zhan know of Weiwei’s existence.
She was tired. She was tired of the secrets, tired of the "cheat codes" that made her feel like a spectator in her own life, and tired of being the only one who knew how high the stakes really were, she wouldn’t and couldn’t delude herself to say she’s going to solve it, so letting Long Zhan and Qin Mo know of what’s coming is the best option.
"She’s gone," Lin Wan whispered, her voice cracking.
Qin Mo froze, his brow furrowing. "Who is gone? The ssenger? We know, Lin Wan. He disappeared into the sky."
"No," she said, finally looking him in the eye. She reached out and grabbed his arm, her grip surprisingly strong. "Call Long Zhan. Now. I need to tell you both sothing."
Qin Mo didn’t hesitate. Sensing the gravity in her tone, he let out a low, vibrating hiss that called the Dragon Sovereign from the square.
Monts later, the door creaked open, and Long Zhan stepped in, his fur mantle still dusted with the white powder of the shattered stones outside.
"What happened?" Long Zhan asked, his violet eyes darting between Qin Mo’s tense face and Lin Wan’s pale one.
Lin Wan took a deep breath, settling herself on the edge of the bed. "You both know that I have... a gift. You’ve seen the items I produce from thin air. You’ve seen know things about this world that I shouldn’t know. You called it a divine blessing. I call her Weiwei."
The two kings exchanged a glance. They had long ago accepted that Lin Wan was connected to sothing higher, a "cheat code" from the gods that ensured her survival. It was the one thing that had allowed them to sleep at night—knowing that even if they failed, the "voice" in her head would guide her.
"Weiwei is gone," Lin Wan said, her voice steadying as the truth poured out. "She was called back by the Mother System, the source of her power. She said this realm is too unstable. She doesn’t know if or when she’ll be back. I can’t scan for enemies anymore. I can’t buy dicine. I can’t see the ranks of the beasts in the forest. I am... I am just now."
User Comments
0 comments from readers