Chapter 2: A Night of Shattered Worlds

Late at night, after evening self-study, day students hurried home, some alone, others in groups.

“Yawn, I’m really tired.”

The Young Man, with a backpack slung over his shoulders and an extracurricular book in his hand, mumbled.

“Oh, really? You slept through two evening self-study periods and you’re still tired?” His classmate, walking home beside him, exclaimed upon hearing the Young Man’s murmur.

“Lu Feng, how can you even say that to me? You slept for almost an entire afternoon *and* two evening self-study periods! And why didn’t the teacher call you out or punish you?” Gazing at his classmate, Qi Lin recalled Lu Feng’s behavior over the past few days, a look of exasperation on his face. After all, the teacher had made him stand for a long time whenever he was caught sleeping, though mercifully not tonight. ‘Perhaps they think I’m beyond saving?’ he mused. ‘Maybe.’

“Uh, hehe, well… you see…” Hearing Qi Lin’s words, Lu Feng struggled to find a suitable reply. ‘Should I tell him the truth? That my father is the principal?’

“Fine, don’t tell me then.” Shrugging his shoulders, Qi Lin ceased speaking.

They walked to a crossroads, waiting for the traffic light. The moment the light turned green, the two parted ways.

After all, their paths only coincided from the school gates to the traffic light just outside; beyond that, they diverged.

Exchanging greetings, they each set off on their separate routes.

After walking for a few minutes, Qi Lin halted his steps outside a park, not far from his home.

He took off his backpack, unzipped it, and retrieved a plastic bag from within. Tossing the bag lightly, Qi Lin smiled.

With excited strides, he entered the park, made his way to a patch of bushes, pushed them aside, and slipped inside.

“Hello, little cats, I’m back!” Gazing at the three kittens nestled behind the bushes, Qi Lin’s face lit up with a smile as radiant as the sun.

Meow~

Soft, milky meows began to emanate from the kittens as Qi Lin approached, as if his arrival filled them with joy.

He opened the bag, and a wave of fragrance wafted out. Or rather, a fishy smell, which, to the kittens, was undoubtedly a delightful aroma.

Qi Lin squatted, placed the bag on the ground, and watched with a beaming smile as the three kittens pounced on it, eagerly devouring the cat food.

The quiet rustling of the bushes now echoed with the distinct sounds of crunching. Normally, the kittens’ gentle chewing would not have been so pronounced.

As he watched the kittens, a melancholic feeling began to settle over Qi Lin. ‘How I wish I could take them home,’ he thought wistfully, ‘but supporting myself is already a struggle, let alone taking on their care.’ He reflected, ‘Being an orphan, this must be the hardest part, isn’t it? Thankfully, the state provides subsidies for orphans like me, otherwise, I wouldn’t even be able to attend school.’

Thump~

A dull thud suddenly resounded, followed by a powerful shockwave emanating from the impact.

Caught completely off guard, Qi Lin was flung backward by the sheer force of the blast.

He landed with a thud, sprawling on the ground.

Seeing Qi Lin thrown, the kittens scurried over, nudging him gently with worried expressions.

“Hiss~ I’m fine, don’t worry,” Qi Lin said with a casual laugh, sucking in a sharp breath as he rubbed his backside and stood up.

Bending slightly, Qi Lin paused, his hand poised to stroke the kittens’ heads. The once adorable and docile felines had suddenly bristled, their fur standing on end.

Qi Lin withdrew his outstretched hand, pushed aside the bushes, and stepped out. In that moment, he harbored a flicker of regret for having emerged.

Within the park, a Black-Robed Figure and a person clad in dark red and gold-emblazoned armor had appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.

Initially, Qi Lin assumed it was cosplay, but their subsequent actions quickly disabused him of that notion, shattering his very worldview.

The Armored Figure, wearing a helmet reminiscent of a bat, unfurled a pair of bat-like wings from his back and soared into the air. In his hand, a dark red light pulsed, and a broadsword materialized from thin air into his grasp.

‘What in the hell is this? The supernatural? My damn worldview just shattered!’ Qi Lin’s mind screamed. ‘Didn’t they say no spirits after the founding of the nation? What about a materialistic world? What are you people? Someone, please answer me!’

Qi Lin began to tremble uncontrollably. A terrifying sense of oppression emanated from the Armored Figure, and his heart hammered like a frantic war drum of fear.

The Armored Figure spared a glance for the fear-stricken Qi Lin before dismissing him, his gaze refocusing on his true target. ‘Why bother?’ he thought with disdain. ‘What attention does an ant require?’

The Black-Robed Figure was considerably weakened, and the armored warrior believed that one more push would be enough to complete the Bloodline Queen’s mission.

“If I give you the item, will you spare me?” the Black-Robed Figure asked in a low, gravelly voice, revealing a gaunt, skeletal hand from within their sleeve and slowly opening their palm to display a test tube.

In response to the Black-Robed Figure’s question, the Armored Figure remained silent.

“Tsk, I knew it wouldn’t work…” the Black-Robed Figure muttered, lowering their head, adding inwardly, ‘After all, the victim is the Bloodline Queen.’

Bang! With an explosive sound, the spot where the Black-Robed Figure had stood erupted into a shattered crater, as they hurled like a cannonball towards the Armored Figure.

“Mere parlor tricks,” the Armored Figure’s deep voice resonated, serving as his only reply to the charging Black-Robed Figure.

Gripping the broadsword, he unleashed a single powerful swing.

The clash of metal reverberated throughout the park.

Amidst the clangor of steel, Qi Lin stood bewildered. He could not discern the movements of either the Black-Robed Figure or the Armored Figure. If not for the faint sight of trees and foliage in the night, he might have believed himself blind.

While the Black-Robed Figure was still parrying the broadsword, the armored warrior delivered a devastating punch.

With a dull thud, the Black-Robed Figure curled into a ball and was sent flying like a projectile.

Lying on the ground, the Black-Robed Figure clutched their chest, coughing up a mouthful of rich, vivid blood.

“You are truly weak. So feeble, yet you dared to attack my Queen,” the Armored Figure scoffed, appearing beside the Black-Robed Figure in an instant, pressing his sword against the neck obscured by the dark robe.

The Black-Robed Figure remained silent.

“Hand over the item, or else, hmph.”

“Heh, my apologies, but the item is gone,” the Black-Robed Figure chuckled, then flung the test tube in their hand. Its target was none other than the motionless Qi Lin, the only sentient being present. As for why Qi Lin hadn’t fled during the mysterious figures’ battle, he would have stated that his legs had turned to jelly, rendering escape impossible.

Unable to dodge in time, the test tube struck Qi Lin squarely on the forehead.

With a shattering clang, the test tube, its momentum combined with Qi Lin’s resistance, broke into countless fragments.

The blood within the test tube splattered all over Qi Lin, and, by an unfortunate coincidence, some of the glass shards flew directly into his mouth.

Overwhelmed by tension and fear, Qi Lin inadvertently swallowed the fragments, and a searing pain enveloped him.

Clutching his throat, Qi Lin collapsed to his knees in agony, groaning.

The Armored Figure’s brows furrowed as he observed Qi Lin’s state. This was not due to any burgeoning sympathy, for as the Bloodline Queen’s weapon, such emotions had long since been purged from him.

With a slight flick of his wrist, the Armored Figure decapitated the Black-Robed Figure with a single swing of the sword, then fixed his piercing gaze upon the groaning Qi Lin.

As the Armored Figure continued to watch Qi Lin, the headless Black-Robed Figure dissolved into a dark mist, vanishing from this world. They were, indeed, utterly and irrevocably dead.

Time trickled by, and Qi Lin’s face grew crimson from suffocation.

Finally, Qi Lin ‘died’ amidst his torment.

Striding over to Qi Lin’s side, the Armored Figure waited in silence. As for the bristling kittens huddling around Qi Lin, the Armored Figure didn’t spare them a glance. ‘Mere lowly creatures,’ he mused inwardly.

His ears twitched slightly. Upon sensing no heartbeat from Qi Lin, he fell silent. ‘Dead? Could he not absorb the Queen’s blood? What a pity.’

After waiting a few more moments, and confirming the complete absence of breath or any other signs of life, the Armored Figure unfurled his blood-red wings and departed. He wondered how his other colleagues, tasked with tracking the Youth who could create clones, were faring.

Once the Armored Figure had left, the bristling kittens finally relaxed, their fur settling back into place.

Mewling mournfully, the kittens collectively nudged the person lying limp on the ground.

Time continued to ebb away, and as dawn approached, a strong, rhythmic thumping began to reverberate throughout the park.

The kittens, who had curled up around Qi Lin’s lifeless body and fallen asleep, simultaneously snapped their eyes open.

Cough, cough~

Qi Lin abruptly opened his eyes, which had, at some point, begun to glow with a crimson light. A second later, the scarlet glow subsided, leaving behind not his original brown pupils, but slightly dulled crimson ones.

Around Qi Lin, the kittens’ formerly soft fur had instantly bristled, as if they had encountered a natural predator the moment his eyes opened.

With his slightly dulled pupils, Qi Lin coughed heavily. As he gasped for breath and looked towards the kittens, they scattered like startled birds.

“Wh-what… is… wrong… with… you… all?” a perplexed Qi Lin rasped, his voice a hoarse, low growl that seemed to tear through the air.

‘What happened to my voice?’

Hearing his current voice, a grating, wind-like rasp capable of frightening a child to tears, Qi Lin panicked.

In his panic, Qi Lin disregarded everything else, stumbling clumsily towards home, his body feeling as if it were weighed down by dozens of pounds of iron.

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