His True Nature Revealed

Wu Hen sat down across from the girl who had just woken with a start.

It was as if they were on the same wavelength. From the girl's eyes, Wu Hen guessed that she might be from his world.

"Sing, dance, rap..." Wu Hen recited the secret code only people from home would understand.

The girl stared blankly at Wu Hen for a long moment before replying with words engraved in her bones: "Bas... basketball?"

They'd made contact!

He'd guessed right.

She really was from his world.

But why hadn't she been prepared at all?

When he'd put on the helmet and entered Otherworld Desolate Dust, at least he'd known his consciousness would leap to another world. She was different; it was more like she'd been dragged here against her will.

"Did you put on a Virtual Iris too?" Wu Hen asked.

"I don't know what you mean. A group of us stayed in the library. I was exhausted, so I just fell asleep. When I woke up, I was here..." the girl explained.

"Where are you from? What's your name?" Wu Hen asked.

"Licheng, Lixue High School. My name is Yang Qin." The girl showed a trace of trust; after all, they had the same idol.

"Huh?" Wu Hen's brain nearly overheated as he processed that.

Wasn't she the high school classmate he'd spent two and a half years with?

Could she be an Otherworld Pioneer who'd been selected too?

But she looked so frightened and unsettled. It didn't seem like that was the case at all.

"You must've heard the global announcement. Our world was virtual, housed inside the Nuwa Divine Terminal. Now you've awakened in the real world," Wu Hen explained to Yang Qin.

"I know that, but... why me? I don't want to go to some real world!" Yang Qin was clearly on the verge of breaking down.

She hadn't been prepared at all.

She'd even thought the global announcement was a conspiracy, something that couldn't possibly be true.

That is, until the Nuwa Divine Terminal abandoned her without warning, and her consciousness and soul awoke in the hellish Otherworld.

"Face reality," Wu Hen said.

"C-could you look after me? I don't know where this is, and I don't know anyone else. I... I don't know what to do... I heard, I heard it's easy to die out here." Yang Qin put on a helpless air and spoke in an affectedly sweet voice.

Hmph.

I've known you for two and a half years, Longjing girl. You think I don't know what kind of tea you are?

Don't try that on me!

"I can barely look after myself. You should try finding a stronger man to talk to," Wu Hen said.

"Please! I'll do anything if you'll look after me!" Yang Qin was terrified. The body she'd awakened in had been overcome by an instinctive fear.

Wu Hen looked Yang Qin's body up and down. It did bear some resemblance to her own, and she wasn't bad-looking either.

Too bad Wu Hen couldn't stand what she was like on the inside.

"If people are waking up indiscriminately, Yu Yu could have gone through the same thing." Wu Hen began to ponder the matter.

He'd entered the Otherworld voluntarily.

But because the Nuwa Divine Terminal couldn't sustain humanity's shared dream, some people were being forcibly dragged into the real Otherworld. They had no time to prepare, and no means of protecting themselves...

Without anyone to look after them, they probably wouldn't last long.

Fortunately, Wu Hen had gotten lucky this time. The body he'd awakened in had a powerful friend. Until he understood the strange things and rules of this area, sticking close to Su Li was surely the right move!

Su Li had already assigned everyone their tasks.

Wu Hen naturally moved closer to his Aunt, hoping to learn more from her.

"Aunt, do you have any weapons I could use?" Wu Hen asked.

"Weapons are scarce, especially after the Evil Soil spread here. This gun of mine is made from special materials, and the bullets have been infused with Yuan You fragments," Su Li explained.

"Why does everything seem to depend on Yuan You?" Wu Hen said.

"Of course it does. Yuan You is the only substance in this wasteland that can't be corrupted. It's the most primordial source of power," Su Li said.

"How are people supposed to survive when this soil is crawling with those unnatural things?" Wu Hen asked.

"Awakened can hold their own against Black Sun Evil Spirits and Midnight Mass. By the way, your Auditory Sense seems to have opened up. You've met the first requirement to become Awakened!" Su Li said.

Auditory Sense?

Wu Hen had noticed that his hearing had become extraordinarily sharp. Even the whispered conversations on the subway became crystal clear if he listened closely.

Meiqing Muxiu and Fengyun Youcun seemed to have been powerful because of their hearing. Could he have inherited their abilities after dealing with them?

"Here, take this gun." Su Li drew a pistol from the holster on her thigh and handed it to Wu Hen.

"There are only three Suiyou Bullets inside. Save them for emergencies."

"Okay!" Wu Hen nodded.

"An Awakened who meets the usual standard has heightened senses that surpass ordinary people, as well as an ability they can activate at will. The former is actually the harder part. The latter can be made up for with special equipment, like a custom firearm," Su Li said.

"Then are you Awakened, Aunt?" Wu Hen asked.

"I don't have heightened senses, and my weapon is only a low-grade Origin Energy Firearm... But having one or two things like this gives you at least some ability to protect yourself," she patiently explained.

Wu Hen glanced at the other unarmed people on the subway.

It was obvious that Su Li's Origin Energy Firearm was extremely valuable. When she handed it to him, everyone else had looked at him with envy and jealousy.

"Get some rest. We can leave as soon as we get the train running tomorrow morning," Su Li said.

"Okay." Wu Hen nodded.

He looked around the carriage in confusion, unsure where he was supposed to lie down.

It seemed like someone was already sleeping in every spot.

Seeing him like this, Su Li couldn't help smiling. "Come here. You used to sleep next to me."

Tsk...

What a lucky break!

Wu Hen shyly followed Su Li into a simple tent with a curtain.

The tent was narrow, and it would be a bit cramped for two adults. Luckily, Su Li was slender, so when she lay down, there was still room for him.

With a red face, Wu Hen lay down too.

It wasn't because he had any ulterior motives. He just didn't want Su Li to feel bad.

After all, the real Xiao Yun's consciousness might already have vanished.

"Do you know, when I was your age, your father did everything he could to protect me, allowing me, a wanderer, to survive in this world. I'm grateful to him..." Su Li said.

Her face was turned toward Wu Hen. He lay on his back, feeling her warm breath brush across his cheek. It tickled, and felt strange.

But when she finished speaking, Wu Hen let out a long breath.

Oh, she was an aunt with no blood relation to him.

Wu Hen's tense body relaxed a little, and he didn't have to keep his thighs clamped together so tightly.

"Are you uncomfortable?" Su Li moved even closer.

She was nothing like the decisive, coolly striking woman she'd been earlier. Now she was as gentle as an older sister, the sort who'd fret over even the smallest scrape.

"N-no, nothing. My arm just feels a little sore," Wu Hen explained, flustered.

He couldn't exactly say his crotch was too tight.

"Our Xiao Yun is a grown man now." Su Li seemed to have noticed something, and smiled softly. The alluring look in her eyes made Wu Hen's heart flutter.

What did she mean by that???

I'm still young, actually.

Why was the mood so suggestive?

Could Xiao Yun and this aunt be like Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü?

Th-this was such a delightful surprise!

Wu Hen instantly turned into a shy boy, mumbling and stammering without saying anything in particular.

Just then, Wu Hen felt a warm little hand settle on him. It was Su Li's. Her touch was so natural that it sent a shock through him, making his body go faintly numb.

"Would you like me to help you?" Su Li whispered teasingly in his ear.

Wu Hen didn't know how to refuse.

He really didn't want to expose himself; he needed Su Li to look after him.

But if he didn't clear things up, he might end up using someone else's account to do something he shouldn't!

At last, reason won out.

Wu Hen said nothing and closed his eyes, choosing to accept his fate.

A man had to do what it took to survive.

He was doing all this so he could make a home for himself in the Otherworld!

Feeling her warm, jade-like touch and looking at her beautiful face so close to his, Wu Hen's inner struggle was no longer about whether he could do it, but about how a man ought to hold out a little longer.

But Su Li was just too much like the older woman of a pure-hearted young man's fantasies. Just as Wu Hen was about to lose control, her surging movements suddenly stopped.

In their place came a force so domineering that Wu Hen's brows knitted tight.

"You're not my Xiao Yun, are you?" The dazed look in Su Li's eyes vanished, replaced by a trace of coldness.

"Uh..." Wu Hen's expression froze.

What the hell!!

He'd been so close!

Was she just torturing him for fun!!

"I... I don't know how to explain it to you." Wu Hen lowered his voice.

"I'm not a Lost One. Just tell me the truth," Su Li said, staring into Wu Hen's eyes as she leaned almost half her weight on him.

"My name is Wu Hen. I only woke up in this body a little while ago." Wu Hen knew there was no point hiding it anymore.

"Fine. From now on, I'll call you Xiao Hen." Su Li nodded.

Wu Hen was at a loss. Honestly, he'd been afraid Su Li would find out and shoot him on the spot!

After all, who could accept someone else's soul taking over the body of a friend or relative?

"Aunt, I didn't mean for this to happen," Wu Hen said awkwardly.

"You don't need to explain anything else," Su Li said.

"I have these scenes in my mind, like dreams I've had, about this body of mine. But they're slowly fading," Wu Hen said.

"As an Awakened, you'll retain only fragments of the body's memories. They won't last," Su Li explained calmly.

"But the feelings are still there. The sense of comfort I get from being with you..." Wu Hen said honestly.

This time, Su Li didn't answer.

She stopped leaning on Wu Hen and lay down beside him, shoulder to shoulder, watching the fireflies slowly flap their wings inside the tent.

Their faint glow reflected in her dark amber eyes, revealing a trace of sorrow.

"We're still family, even if we've been put back together differently," Su Li said.

"Oh," Wu Hen replied.

"Go to sleep," Su Li said.

"Okay... Um, I have one more question. Can I ask?" Wu Hen asked timidly.

"Go ahead."

"How did you see through me?" Wu Hen was a little reluctant to give up. If only he could've kept up the act a bit longer.

"Even when Xiao Yun was half-Lost, he wouldn't have let me do that to him." As she spoke, Su Li reached out and flicked Wu Hen hard.

Wu Hen curled up in pain.

What a disaster!

So his lecherous nature had given him away!!

Recommended: a new book by the great urban fantasy author Lao Shi.