Chapter One: My Sister Goes Missing
Parallel world, Los City.
“Hush, don’t make a sound, little sister! It could mean death!”
On a night of thunder, lightning, and stifling heat, the rain brought not relief, but a heightened sense of danger. Xi Yan and his younger sister, Xi Lin, cowered in the corner of an abandoned building. Xi Yan held his little sister tightly as Xi Lin trembled in terror.
A sudden flash of lightning outside illuminated their hiding place. Before them stood a figure—once human, now rotten and decayed—staring straight at them.
“Brother…”
“Run, Linlin!”
Grabbing her hand, Xi Yan pulled Xi Lin into a desperate flight, the grotesque creature lumbering after them, mumbling words that were barely intelligible. Yet Xi Yan could still make out the meaning of its speech.
“Don’t run, my delicious ones. It’s me, Uncle Chen from next door…”
The bizarre voice echoed in their ears. Xi Lin sobbed in terror as she ran, and at last, they burst into a room with only a single iron door—perhaps some kind of storeroom for the building.
“Brother, are we going to die here?” she whimpered.
Xi Lin was seven years younger than Xi Yan, who was himself only a nineteen-year-old boy.
“Don’t be afraid. Stay here and lock the door tight. I’ll lure the monster away.” Xi Yan patted her head gently and was about to leave, but Xi Lin grabbed his arm.
“Brother… please, don’t let anything happen to you…”
Xi Yan turned, giving her a fond, reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, silly girl. I still have to look after you.”
With that, Xi Yan left the room and confronted the monster that had been pursuing them.
“Uncle Chen, are you looking for me?” Xi Yan bared his little canine teeth, the gesture at odds with the nauseating sight before him. The monster turned at Xi Yan’s voice, twisting its mangled features into a grotesque smile.
On that bloodied, ruined face, the smile was all the more bizarre and repulsive.
“Xi Yan… come here… Uncle misses you so much… A snack… Eat him…”
The monster’s words became increasingly incoherent, but Xi Yan was unfazed, eyes vigilant as he searched for an opportunity to kill the creature.
This was not the first monster Xi Yan had encountered. He had already killed one before—once the director of the orphanage.
Now, “Uncle Chen” advanced step by step, slow and lumbering. Another flash of lightning outside illuminated his face, the decaying flesh trembling with delight, ready to drop at any moment.
Xi Yan stood his ground, his smile fading and hardening into cold indifference. At some point, a device resembling a flashlight appeared in his hand.
“Scorching Sunlight:
Cooldown: 2 hours
Effect: Emits sunlight identical to the real thing. Functions exactly as sunlight does. Ideal for camping, a superb firestarter.
Durability: 10%”
Xi Yan switched on the flashlight, shining it directly at the monster. Exposed to the artificial sunlight, the creature’s movements slowed drastically. Xi Yan seized the moment—a dagger appeared in his hand, which he drove into the monster’s temple.
The creature thrashed violently, trying to tear Xi Yan apart, but Xi Yan increased the flashlight’s intensity, the beam growing even brighter. The monster struggled but was powerless under the simulated sunlight.
Xi Yan withdrew the dagger and stabbed it into the monster’s other temple.
He thought this would finish the beast—after all, that was how he had killed the last one—but this time, it was different.
The moment he pulled the dagger free, it suddenly vanished.
“Ordinary Dagger:
Effect: Dagger
Durability: 100%”
As the dagger disappeared, the monster sent Xi Yan crashing to the ground, its bony hand reaching out, intent on piercing his heart.
In that desperate instant, Xi Yan unlocked another item.
“Ordinary Sharp Wooden Board:
Effect: Useless
Durability: 80%”
It was just a plain wooden plank. Xi Yan snatched it up, stabbing it into the monster’s eye, then withdrew it and drove it into the top of its head.
This time, the creature ceased to struggle. It collapsed, dissolving into motes of starlight that condensed into a crystal-like stone—yellow in color—and a card.
“Cough… Didn’t expect it to be a yellow core crystal again. But what’s this card?”
Xi Yan picked up both the core crystal and the card, inspecting the card first.
“Uncle Chen’s Affection: Dropped by D-Rank Lost One
Effect: Can summon ‘Uncle Chen’ as an ally in battle
Uses remaining: 3”
The name on the card left Xi Yan speechless, but his focus shifted to the yellow core crystal.
Core crystals were ranked by color, with red as the lowest. Their purpose was to enhance the survivor’s level.
Xi Yan gripped the core crystal, which quickly dissolved in his palm. A translucent, pale blue control panel appeared before his eyes.
“Character: Human Esper, Xi Yan
Level: lv3 (Shop unlocks at level 66)
Unlockable Card Slots: 10
Slots Used: 3
Ability: ‘So Close’
Effect: In the face of danger, you might be just a hair’s breadth from death; in a lottery, you might be just a hair’s breadth from an SSR. Good or bad, there’s no odds—everything is random.”
“Level 3, more card slots. Not bad. I have to find Linlin quickly.”
Xi Yan hurried back to the room where he’d left Xi Lin, only to find the sole iron door shattered, the room empty.
Seeing the scene, Xi Yan clenched his fists. The light from the lightning and the blood on his face lent him a terrifying expression.
“Linlin… Damn it! She’s been found and taken!”
He searched the room for clues. Seeing there was no blood, he felt a small measure of relief.
Just as he was about to leave, he spotted a faintly glowing card in a corner, its light so weak it was nearly invisible.
Xi Yan picked up the card. On it was a single sentence, the handwriting shaky.
“Brother… Suddenly, a lot of people came! It’s them again! They want to take me away. Brother… save me…”
The last few words were scrawled in a hurried, trembling hand—clearly written by Xi Lin in a moment of desperation, then quickly tossed into the corner.
“Damn it! It really is them!”
Gritting his teeth, Xi Yan crushed the card in his hand, glaring into the stormy night with seething hatred.