After leaving the barbecue restaurant, both Wang Fei and his sister returned to their shared house. It was an ordinary-style home commonly found in Lungmen. He and his sister had saved up together to buy it on their own, without asking for any money from Old Wei or Madam Fumizuki.
The reason wasn't that they resented either of them — it was just that his sister didn't want to be involved with that silver-tongued old man who always talked about work and profit in every conversation.
As for Wang Fei, personally, he didn't hold as much of a grudge against Old Wei as his sister did. He just felt uncomfortable with the way the man always seemed to look at him as nothing more than a convenient tool. Maybe it was just his personality, but Wang Fei still felt sorry for Madam Fumizuki every time he thought about her marrying a man like that.
"Fei Fei, are you going to bed now?" Hui Jie, fresh out of the bathroom with a towel around her neck, asked him as she noticed her younger brother had just finished cleaning his room.
Since they hadn't been home all week, there were traces of dust in the corners of the floors and ceilings. Chen herself felt a bit guilty for having been too busy with work to pay attention to it — she had stayed at the office all week.
She had also forgotten to hire a cleaner this time... Usually, the cleaning duties were shared between her and Wang Fei in turns. But since she hadn't told anyone — not even Aunt Fumizuki — about Wang Fei's injury, she didn't hire someone to clean the house like usual.
"You can sleep in my room first, sis. I'll clean your room and go to bed afterward," Wang Fei offered casually. He was more concerned about the fact that his sister hadn't slept properly in days and wanted her to rest in the safest place possible.
"Stop right there. You're a patient. Go to sleep. I'll handle my own room," Chen said, trying to grab the broom from him — only to be surprised when she couldn't pull it away, despite being physically stronger than him under normal circumstances. Sure, she hadn't slept in days, but this still shouldn't have been hard.
"Haha, see? My sister is so weak right now she can't even take the broom from me. So listen to your little brother and go to sleep— Oof!" Wang Fei doubled over mid-sentence as his sister punched him lightly in the stomach. It wasn't hard, but it was enough to make him wince.
"Don't get cocky. You're still miles away from beating me," Chen smirked, took the broom from his hand, and opened the door to her room.
"W-Wait, sis—don't—!" Wang Fei tried to stop her, but it was too late.
Chen opened the door — and saw dozens of unwanted flying creatures in her room. They had dark brown bodies and buzzed through the air…
BANG! Chen slammed the door shut with force and stood motionless, her face unreadable. Wang Fei couldn't help but admire her. Even he had gone weak in the knees from just a glance inside.
"As expected of Sister Hui Jie! Even against those bug monsters, you—"
But before he could finish, Chen collapsed backward with a loud thud!
Wang Fei panicked. He rushed to her side and found that she had fainted.
"Damn… Even my sister can't handle them?"
With no choice, Wang Fei carried her into his room and laid her on his bed. He spread a mat on the floor for himself — the bed wasn't big enough for two, and even if it was, he was far too old to sleep in the same bed as his sister. She'd definitely be disgusted by the idea.
After that, he went back to her room and sprayed insecticide before cleaning up. It took about an hour.
The reason those bug monsters had invaded her room wasn't because it was dirty, but because the attic above was poorly ventilated and damp — especially during this rainy season. The ceiling must have collapsed slightly, allowing the creatures to get in.
He had told her many times to swap rooms with him, but she always worried more about him and insisted she'd hire someone to fix it later. But with everything that happened to him over the past week, she must have completely forgotten.
After cleaning, Wang Fei went to the kitchen for a drink. He looked around and noticed a sword mounted on the wall, displayed like an ornament. But it wasn't. It was a birthday gift from his sister for his 20th birthday. She still wanted him to learn swordsmanship even now. But due to his weak body, he hadn't been able to lift it — so he just kept it up there, though he still polished and maintained it regularly.
Wang Fei took the sword down from the wall — and to his surprise, he could now lift and swing it with ease, without feeling tired.
'System, I feel like my body has gotten stronger. Is this related to the ability I received?'
He stopped swinging the sword and asked the system mentally — the one he hadn't heard from in hours.
A game-like window popped up in front of him:
(Your body has become stronger due to the effects of the Nier family bloodline ability. However, it only enhances your body to the level of an ordinary person. It does not cure the underlying defects of your body.)
'So even if I train my body as hard as I can, my strength won't increase like before?'
(Correct. If you wish to truly become physically stronger, the system recommends acquiring an ability that enhances physical development — or finding a way to strengthen the Dragon lineage within you.)
'Sounds easier said than done… Doesn't that mean I'll need to score highly in the simulation world just to choose the right ability? But last time, I was restricted by my race and couldn't access most of them.'
(That's unavoidable. If the system allowed you to gain abilities unrelated to your race, it could cause more harm than good… As for the Nier family's ability that boosts your bloodline, it's not restricted to Kurantas only. Even other races can train in it, though it's far harder if they lack Pegasus blood — due to their low compatibility with holy energy. If you want to access abilities from other races at 100% efficiency, there's only one way — become a hybrid or chimera.)
'Chimera? I've never heard of that before…' Wang Fei was fairly knowledgeable about Terra, but he had never heard of someone with the Chimera or hybrid race.
You have to understand — in this world, if parents from two different races have a child, that child will inherit the dominant bloodline from one side, usually the stronger one. So the chance of an actual hybrid being born is almost zero. But he had read that there were exceptions — like with the Sargonian race, where even if they had a child with another race, the child would never be a true Sargonian. At least, that's what the scriptures of Laterano said.
As for true hybrids — meaning both parents were pure-blooded and had a child — that case was so rare it was almost impossible. Pure-bloods these days were less than 0.01% of the population, and many races had long gone extinct with time.
'Hope this works…' Wang Fei gripped the sword and tried to release the sword aura he had practiced in the simulation for ten years.
Soon, a faint light appeared along the blade — before vanishing, draining half his energy.
(The host's body is too weak to channel sword aura through the weapon. Using your body as the medium would be easier… but the system does not recommend it, as it may cause the Originium crystal in your brain to grow dangerously.)
'So that means I still can't use it after all…' Wang Fei grumbled.
(The host is mistaken. If you use a weapon made from Originium ore or armor with ore components, you can use aura as effectively as you did in the simulation.)
'Sigh… Do you even know how expensive Originium ore is? Just three rocks cost more than this whole house!'
(The system only makes suggestions. The rest is up to the host.)
'…Fine. Then can you suggest a fast way to earn money?'
(Suggestion: Sell the sword or this house—)
'Okay. Shut up!'
After finishing the argument with the system, Wang Fei returned to his room to rest. The room was dark, and after lying down for a few minutes, he realized someone was beside him. That person shifted under the blanket and clung to him tightly.
"Hui Jie? What are you doing here…?" Wang Fei, seeing his sister — who was supposed to be on the bed — tried to gently peel her hands away so he could lift her back onto the bed.
But he froze when he heard her mutter softly in her sleep.
"Talulah…"
"Talulah… don't go…" Chen's face looked pained, and her trembling arms clutched him tightly as though she feared he would vanish.
"…"
Wang Fei now understood why his sister didn't want to sleep. Maybe it was because she feared the nightmares — nightmares about something that happened long ago and still haunted her.
'Talulah… That must be Talulah, Hui Jie's half-sister who disappeared when she was a child.'
"Disappeared" didn't mean she died… but that she was kidnapped by someone.
He didn't know who had kidnapped her, because even Hui Jie and Madam Fumizuki didn't know who that person was. His sister only said that one day, she would bring Talulah back home—no matter how long it took, even if it meant spending her entire life doing it...
One of the reasons she went to Victoria to continue her university studies was also to search for her sister. But judging from the fact that she returned without saying a word, it was clear that she truly hadn't found her.
The only person who knew where Talulah had gone—or who had taken her—was likely none other than Old Wei. And getting that man to speak was harder than carrying a mountain of gold and placing it in front of Uncle Meng. That was why his sister had tried so hard to climb her way up to the position of Supreme Commander of the Guard Unit—so she could access the classified internal files that only the upper echelons could read. And he was willing to support her fully, even if he couldn't do much himself…
Wang Fei tried to comfort his sister with a gentle hug. When he saw the pain on her face lessen slightly, a vision of a certain blonde-haired girl came to his mind.
"Even though I know it's just a simulation world... I wonder how Margaret is doing right now," Wang Fei thought, before closing his eyes and drifting into sleep.
Elsewhere
At a place not far from Lungmen…
Rhodes Island, a massive machine resembling a small mobile city, was pushing through the wilderness, heading straight there.
On the rooftop, a silver-armored woman stood watching the mobile city of Lungmen from afar.
Strapped to her back was a beautiful, broken sword—split in half. Her orange eyes were fixed on that distant city, as if deep in thought.
Until a voice snapped her out of her reverie.
"Operator Nearl, you understand the situation once we arrive in Lungmen, correct?"
The woman turned to see a feline (cat-like) woman with light green hair approaching her.
"Yes, Doctor Kal'tsit. We're going to negotiate for cooperation from Lungmen for the Chernobog operation… nothing more than that," the woman named Nearl replied expressionlessly. But Kal'tsit, wanting to make sure, reiterated her warning.
"…I must emphasize this, Operator Nearl. If you encounter that man, you must not say anything that might provoke him. Even if he was once involved with your family, he no longer has any connection with anyone from his past. Provoking him would only destabilize his mental state and could pose a danger to both Rhodes Island and himself."
"I understand perfectly, Doctor Kal'tsit. I can control myself…"
"But what's on your back says otherwise," Kal'tsit said, referring to the broken sword. "The one who destroyed the sacred blade of Kazimierz."
She deliberately mentioned Nearl's title to gauge her reaction.
"…That was my own choice, and I've never regretted it," Nearl replied coldly, then raised her gaze toward Lungmen, which they were steadily approaching.
"Kazimierz no longer needs a Radiant Knight. They are unworthy of my brother's protection…"
"That's all there is to it."
"…"
Kal'tsit said nothing more. She simply let out a soft sigh before turning to head back down below—leaving behind the woman who was once filled with the justice and honor of a knight, now lost in her own world of thoughts.
"Just how badly must her heart have been wounded… to stain someone once so noble into a shadow of what she was? That damned boy… doesn't he realize he's created a monster?" Kal'tsit could only mutter to herself in her mind.
---------
MyPatreon : patreon.com/TrueAngel?
Now : (ZAW)System Acting Zhongli in arknights World? (Now Chapter 50)
Now : (INSL) I Never thought simulating life could screw me up this badly!! (Now Chapter 36)
--------
Coming soon : Texas Character Relationship Content (4 Chapter)
Coming soon : Exusia Character Relationship Content (4 Chapter)
Coming soon : Lapland Character Relationship Content (4 Chapter)