03’s eyes widened.
For a moment, it forgot that its life was in Xie Yi’s grasp and blurted out:
[Y-you—you… how are you here?!]
Its shock was understandable.
The Transmigration Bureau and these book worlds did not exist in the same dimension.
Systems could freely travel between them.
But people from book worlds could never enter the Transmigration Bureau—
unless, like Lin Zhizhi, they were personally brought out.
But Xie Yi…
How had he gotten out?!
Naturally, Xie Yi did not answer.
He narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip.
“Where is Lin Zhizhi?”
03 instantly felt the killing intent radiating from him.
Its voice shook.
[Y-you… why are you looking for him?]
Xie Yi said lightly,
“Are you in any position to question me?”
That same feeling from years ago—the feeling of life and death being held in Xie Yi’s hands—returned once more.
And the current Xie Yi was far more terrifying than before.
03 immediately fell silent.
It dared not ask another question.
Only then did Xie Yi look around.
Everything before him was a scene he had never seen before.
Everywhere was pure white.
The ground beneath his feet was perfectly smooth, neither metal nor jade, yet solid and steady.
Not far away lay an enormous open book.
Above it floated countless tiny clouds of various colors.
Xie Yi had emerged from one of those clouds.
He knew this was what 03 called the book worlds.
Though he had long known the world he lived in was a book, seeing it with his own eyes still felt deeply shocking.
Was this the kind of place where Lin Zhizhi had grown up?
Had this been where he lived?
He recalled Lin Zhizhi telling him about his childhood.
There had always been something off.
03 remained obedient in his grip, too frightened to make a sound.
Fortunately, Xie Yi quickly withdrew his gaze and asked again,
“I’ll ask one more time. Where is Lin Zhizhi?”
03 made a miserable face.
[He’s not here.]
Xie Yi frowned.
“What do you mean he’s not here?”
03 answered:
[After completing the mission, he returned to his original world under a new identity…]
That single sentence revealed far too much.
Xie Yi froze.
He had always assumed Lin Zhizhi’s identity was the same as 03’s—that he was a “system” who entered book worlds to complete missions.
But from what 03 said, that was completely wrong.
So under Xie Yi’s relentless questioning, 03 could only shakily explain everything—
how it had chosen Lin Zhizhi, how it recruited him as a temporary worker, and how it sent him into the book world to complete the mission.
[I didn’t want to either… but you were too terrifying. And I didn’t want other systems to know, so I asked Lin Zhizhi for help.] 03 was practically crying. [I was wrong. Please don’t kill me…]
But after a long silence, Xie Yi finally spoke in a strained voice.
“So in Qingzhou, Zhizhi refused the mission to save me… Then later, he spent points to find me… and in the end suffered such severe injuries?”
03 was still trembling in fear.
Sniffling, it replied:
[Y-yes… I told him you wouldn’t die, but he wouldn’t believe me. If I hadn’t protected him right before disconnecting, he would’ve vanished…]
Of course, its real motive had only been avoiding mission failure.
But this was definitely not the time to say that.
Xie Yi naturally saw through it.
But he no longer cared about such trivial matters.
He shut his eyes tightly.
His Adam’s apple bobbed violently.
Everything in his life had made it impossible for him to fully trust anyone—
especially the “systems” who had wanted him dead.
So from the beginning, he had lumped Lin Zhizhi together with 03.
He had dismissed all talk of “saving him” with contempt.
Even after they became lovers—
he had always held back a measure of suspicion.
He would rather believe Lin Zhizhi helped Liu Muzhi for the sake of the mission than believe everything Lin Zhizhi had done was to change his fate.
He had always believed he loved more deeply in this relationship.
But in truth—
his devotion could not compare to Lin Zhizhi’s pure heart.
He had always hoped Lin Zhizhi would voluntarily tell him the truth.
But what right had he ever had to demand that?
Everything he longed for—
had already been in his hands.
For the first time in his life, regret rose in Xie Yi’s heart.
He clenched his fist.
The golden fragment from 03 dug so deeply into his palm it nearly embedded itself in flesh.
Yet he felt nothing.
Traveling from a book world into the Transmigration Bureau was reverse traversal.
Without this tiny golden fragment, he could never have done it.
But even so, his body was covered in wounds, bearing unimaginable pressure.
His wounds kept splitting open.
Blood had nearly soaked his entire body red.
The suppressed pain in his chest and abdomen stirred restlessly, but he forcibly pushed it down.
03 stared in stunned disbelief.
T-this… as expected of an SSS-ranked mission. This man was this ruthless even toward himself!
After a long while, Xie Yi finally said in a hoarse voice,
“Take me to Zhizhi.”
03 looked ready to cry again.
[No! You can’t! You’re characters from different book worlds. If you enter his world, something will go wrong!]
Xie Yi replied,
“Why not? Didn’t you send Zhizhi to my side in the first place?”
[How is that the same?!]
Not to mention Lin Zhizhi had only been a cannon-fodder character in his original world, so his presence or absence barely mattered.
And besides, 03 had sent him over under the identity of a “system.”
But ever since it confessed everything to the main system, that loophole had already been sealed.
Even if it wanted to repeat the trick, it could not.
Xie Yi let out a soft laugh.
“It’s not as if I absolutely need your help.”
03 froze.
[?]
Xie Yi said casually,
“I can simply tear you apart and use your system shell. Then I’ll search world by world.”
03 nearly exploded in terror.
[!!!!]
Waaahhh what kind of demon is this?!
The worst part was—
it knew Xie Yi was not bluffing.
After all, Xie Yi had already used that tiny fragment from its body to travel from a book world into the Transmigration Bureau.
Going from the Bureau into book worlds would only be easier.
Just as 03 was drowning in terror, Xie Yi suddenly sensed something.
He gripped 03 and stepped back three paces.
Above them, a man in white robes and white hair had appeared at some unknown moment.
His features were elegant and refined.
His eyes were shut, yet intricate patterns formed from countless ink characters covered his eyelids.
The moment 03 saw him, it burst into tears.
[Lord Main System! Save me!!]
The instant he appeared, Xie Yi felt an overwhelming pressure descend upon him.
It was a suppression originating from the deepest level of the soul.
As though he had become an ant standing before a god.
An ordinary person might have fallen to their knees on the spot.
But Xie Yi instead lifted his head, meeting the other’s gaze without flinching.
The pressure caused veins to bulge along his neck, and wounds that had barely begun healing split open once more.
The Main System sighed.
With a slight lift of his hand, a golden cloud flew out from the giant book’s pages.
He “looked” in Xie Yi’s direction and said:
[This is the world you belong to. If you return, I can guarantee that for one hundred years, no new story will be born there. You will be free from the control of “fate.” Isn’t that what you always wanted?]
But to his surprise, Xie Yi smiled.
“I can go back.”
“But first, I need to see Lin Zhizhi.”
The Main System fell silent for a moment.
And from that brief silence, Xie Yi deduced many things.
At that point, he no longer seemed rushed.
Leisurely, he said,
“The one truly being controlled… probably isn’t me.”
“Think carefully, Lord Main System.”
03 was dumbfounded.
He was bargaining with the Main System?!
Then it heard the Main System sigh again.
[How did you figure it out?]
Xie Yi raised his blood-soaked arm indifferently.
“Because under normal circumstances, someone who’s lost this much blood should already be dead.”
“The fact that I’m not dead means it’s not because of anyone’s mercy.”
“It means I’m useful.”
He looked at the Main System, a faint smile curving at his lips.
“If I’m right, you need to draw power from my world.”
“But without me, that world stagnates.”
The Main System paused.
[You truly are remarkable. But allowing you to enter another book world is too dangerous. You may ask for another condition.]
Xie Yi rejected him without hesitation.
“Impossible.”
The Main System was puzzled.
[Why?]
Xie Yi was silent for a moment.
Then he answered:
“Because without Lin Zhizhi…”
“…my world stagnates too.”
—
Lin Zhizhi had already been back for more than ten days.
His original body had already died.
03 gave him a new identity and converted all his points into money—enough for him to live safely and comfortably in this world for the rest of his life.
Lin Zhizhi bought an apartment in the city center.
Then he spent an entire week lying around in it.
It felt absurd.
Back in ancient times, he had longed every day to return to the convenient modern world.
But now that he was truly back—
he found himself missing every detail of life there.
He missed Songlü, Qing Li, Cen Xuezhou, Luo Zhitang…
Even the soldiers who loved hearing his stories.
And—
Xie Yi.
The name he did not even dare say aloud.
To stop himself from drowning in those thoughts, Lin Zhizhi forced himself to pull it together and decided to look for a job.
Maybe staying busy would help.
He rolled over and sat up, went to the bathroom to wash his face, and looked at himself in the mirror.
This body was the one he had exchanged points for.
Only now, he no longer needed to pay monthly rent for it.
Two years had made his appearance seem a bit more mature.
Long black hair draped down his back, looking strangely out of place with modern clothes.
Lin Zhizhi held the long strands in his hand, hesitating.
He probably should cut it.
But in the end, he simply tied it back, put on a baseball cap, and walked out.
As he left the apartment building, the security guard greeted him.
“Mr. Lin, heading out early today?”
Lin Zhizhi smiled faintly, though he had little desire to chat.
He wandered the streets alone without purpose.
He claimed he was looking for work.
But in truth, he had no real plan.
This was clearly the city where he had grown up.
Yet he felt like a wandering ghost cut off from everything around him.
Lin Zhizhi lightly slapped his cheeks, trying to stop himself from overthinking.
Just then, he noticed a café nearby hiring servers.
He was about to go inside when the café door suddenly swung open.
A young man stormed out angrily and collided directly into him.
Lin Zhizhi staggered back several steps.
Fortunately, all those horse-stance exercises with Xie Yi were not for nothing—his footing remained steady.
But the baseball cap on his head was knocked off.
His long black hair spilled down.
The young man apologized repeatedly and bent to pick up the cap for him.
Lin Zhizhi said it was fine as he reached for it.
But the moment he saw the young man’s face, he froze.
That face looked seventy to eighty percent similar to his own.
Before he could process it, a middle-aged couple rushed out of the café.
“Lin Zhimu! Are you trying to drive us to death?!”
Lin Zhizhi instinctively looked at them.
And froze again.
They were his parents.
But their eyes only skimmed across his face with faint surprise and unfamiliarity before they hurried after the young man named Lin Zhimu.
Lin Zhizhi stood there blankly, staring at their backs.
Though 03 had already told him—
his identity had changed after returning.
Naturally, his parents no longer had any memories of him.
But knowing that and truly experiencing it were completely different.
A bitter emptiness rose in his chest.
And with it—
the feeling of being abandoned again.
So for the next several days, Lin Zhizhi filled every minute of his schedule.
Eating, drinking, entertainment—anything.
Aside from occasionally returning to sleep, he left himself almost no free time.
Until one day.
He returned home.
After finishing his shower and stepping out of the bathroom, the lights flickered—
and suddenly went out.
Darkness swept over him once more.
Lin Zhizhi was no longer afraid of the dark.
But this darkness came too suddenly.
All the emotions buried deep inside him suddenly broke loose.
He curled into himself on the cold floor.
Tears fell before he even realized it.
Subconsciously, he murmured:
“Xie Yi… it hurts…”
At that moment—
through his blurred vision, he saw the darkness in front of him tear open.
A familiar figure emerged from the rift.
Covered in blood.
Wrapped in black mist as he descended from above.
Lin Zhizhi stared at him blankly.
Until he was pulled into a fierce embrace.
“I found you.”