Defusing Disaster from the Start

"My name is Liu Di. Di as in little brother."

"I came today just to find out how much longer I have left to live."

Before a fortune-telling stall in a small alley, an ordinarily dressed young man spoke dejectedly to the fortune teller before him.

A banner stood nearby: "Foretell All Matters Under Heaven, See Through Fortune and Misfortune."

The fortune teller adjusted his tiny dark glasses, smoothed his eight-shaped mustache, and looked at the young man with flickering eyes.

"Young man, I see white light flashing deep in your right eye. Your gaze never wavers. You must be illuminated by the Fortune Star. Within three days, a great opportunity will come your way."

The fortune teller said solemnly, "Little brother, you're about to rise. Why ask about life and death?"

"Sir, that's a prosthetic eye."

Liu Di sighed softly. Then, with practiced ease, he squeezed his eye socket. His right eyeball plopped into his palm, leaving only a horrifying black hole in the socket.

"See?" The young man held out his hand.

"Holy shit."

The fortune teller's body trembled. "No wonder your gaze never wavers. It's plastic."

Liu Di said helplessly, "Even though none of what you said was reliable, I'll take it as a lucky blessing."

Liu Di only had one good eye.

Three years ago, he had stepped in to help at a bar. While saving a girl surrounded by hooligans, he had been stabbed directly in the right eye with a broken bottle.

His eyeball had to be removed.

From then on, he wore a prosthetic eye.

But good people got no reward.

That morning, the hospital had given him the results. His injured eye had caused sympathetic ophthalmia. Over the years, most of his nerves had died, and now it had begun affecting his good eye as well.

The doctor said that in as little as one year, or at most three, Liu Di's other eye would go blind too.

And there was no cure.

"What a rough fate. Going blind so young... I might as well die."

Liu Di gave a self-mocking smile, rubbed his temple, and skillfully placed the prosthetic eye back into its socket.

But he did not notice that faint currents suddenly flickered within the prosthetic eye now in place!

As he walked out of the gloomy alley, a bustling street lay before him.

Vendors along the street called out their wares, while pedestrians flowed endlessly past.

Just as Liu Di lamented the world's heartlessness, a piercing pain suddenly shot through his right eye!

It was as though countless tendrils had extended from behind the prosthetic eye, drilling viciously through his eye socket toward his brain!

Self-evolution complete. Beginning neural fusion.

Liu Di squeezed his eyes shut in pain and staggered onto a bench by the street.

After an unknown amount of time battling that brain-shattering agony, Liu Di opened his eyes again.

Everything had changed completely!

The street scene in his vision remained the same.

Yet countless streams of blue code flew through the air, and every object was clearly marked with all manner of data!

The world before his eyes was vast and magnificent, filled with dense blue branches.

The speed of cars, the height of buildings, pedestrians' height and weight, the speed of the wind, even the number of leaves—it was as though a digital storm had swept into existence.

"Hehe, hello, Liu Di!"

Suddenly, a little boy's voice rang out in Liu Di's mind, crisp and ethereal.

"I'm the supercomputer in your right eye. I've now fused with your brain nerves and become the world's only artificial intelligence capable of independent thought."

"I even gave myself a name—Demon Eye!"

The contrast between that information and the adorable little boy's voice in his mind left Liu Di standing there in a daze!

"What happened?"

Just as Liu Di came to his senses, a red halo suddenly appeared in his vision and locked onto a beautiful woman in a red miniskirt not far away.

"Liu Di, there's no time to explain. In two minutes and fifty seconds, that girl's brains will be splattered all over the ground!"

The little boy's voice came again from his mind. "Liu Di, pick up the apple from the stall beside you!"

"Brains splattered? An apple? What are you talking about?"

Liu Di froze. About ten meters away, the beautiful woman walked elegantly along the roadside with her head held high. Her scarlet miniskirt and seductive figure made her the brightest sight on the street.

There was absolutely no sign of danger!

"I'll simulate it for you!"

As Demon Eye's voice fell, another halo appeared in Liu Di's vision, locking onto a bright green apple at the fruit stall beside him.

An absentminded touch from the vendor set the apple rolling. It rolled off the stall and fell to the ground.

An elderly man passing by happened to see it. With a faint smile, he kindly helped the vendor pick up the apple.

The instant the old man bent over, the Parker fountain pen in his breast pocket slipped to the ground.

Roll, roll, roll.

The pen rolled one and a half meters before stopping in the middle of the sidewalk.

Thirty seconds later, a young man rode past on a mountain bike, and his front wheel landed right on the pen.

The bicycle's front wheel slipped. The young man lost control and fell toward the side of the road.

Screech.

A piercing brake screech rang out. A sedan traveling at seventy kilometers per hour swerved sharply to avoid the cyclist!

After suddenly turning at high speed, the sedan spun out of control and charged straight toward the woman in the red skirt at the roadside!

Bang!

The woman in the red miniskirt had no time to react. She was struck hard by the sedan, her body sent flying high into the air. When she fell, her forehead hit the curb dead-on!

"Ah!"

Terrified screams erupted from the pedestrians, and the street descended into chaos!

The old man who had picked up the apple still held the green apple in his hand, while the cyclist had just gotten back on his feet.

The sedan's hood was warped, thick white smoke pouring from it.

As for the woman in the short skirt, her skull had burst open, and she died on the spot!

This...

Liu Di's hairs stood on end instantly!

The next moment.

Ripples spread through Liu Di's vision.

The scenery slowly blurred, turning into strings of digital code before exploding into nothingness.

Everything returned to reality.

The green apple was right beside Liu Di's right hand. In the distance, the old man was strolling toward him, the cap of the silver fountain pen on his chest reflecting flashes of light.

The woman in the short skirt was still walking with her chin raised.

The cyclist was still more than ten meters away.

A countdown appeared in the corner of his vision: 1 minute 40 seconds.

"Was that real?"

Liu Di stood there blankly.

"That was a virtual scene I simulated based on reality. Only you can save that girl!" Demon Eye's voice broke Liu Di from his stupor.

The apple had already begun rolling!

Liu Di hesitated no longer. He reached out and firmly grabbed the green apple in his hand!

After that, the old man with the fountain pen and the cyclist passed safely by Liu Di.

The speeding Toyota sedan roared down the street and disappeared into the distance.

Everything remained normal, and the people around them noticed nothing.

No car accident!

No death!

Just like countless other mornings, the street was hurried yet peaceful!

Liu Di stared fixedly at the unharmed woman in the short skirt, unable to calm his turbulent heart for a long while.

The woman noticed Liu Di staring at her and frowned. "Tch, filthy pervert!"

Crunch.

Liu Di blankly bit into the apple in his hand.

The sourness filling his mouth told him that all of this was real!