Midnight Anomaly, Ning Rongrong's Arrival

In March, the night wind in Shanghai still carried a chill.

Lin Mo set down his magnifying glass and rubbed his aching eyes. On the workbench sat an eight-petaled, rhomboid-shaped bronze mirror from the Tang Dynasty; he had just finished applying the final stroke of mineral pigment to a missing section of the surface. He took a sip of the tea that had long since gone cold and fixed his gaze on the mirror.

This object had some age to it. The rhomboid edges were carved with intertwined branch patterns, and the back featured four luan birds holding ribbons in their beaks—the craftsmanship was so exquisite it seemed impossible for something made over a thousand years ago. The person who sent it in for restoration claimed it was an heirloom and wanted it preserved as a family treasure.

Lin Mo reached out to touch the repaired area; the pigment was dry, and the color match was precise. He could deliver it tomorrow.

The sound of a ship's whistle drifted from the Huangpu River outside the window, and he turned his head to glance out. The Oriental Pearl Tower was still illuminated, and a few windows in the office buildings across the river were lit here and there, much like his own—people still grinding away in the dead of night.

He was twenty-six this year and had been in the artifact restoration business for seven years. He had chosen this trade for the peace and quiet. Artifacts didn't talk, didn't make demands; as long as you served them with patience, they would show you their original form. It was much simpler than dealing with people.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, the bronze mirror on the workbench suddenly vibrated.

Lin Mo froze, thinking it was an illusion. But the mirror vibrated again, more noticeably this time, and the freshly applied pigment along the edge of the mirror surface began to flake off in a flurry.

He instinctively reached out to steady it.

The moment his fingertips touched the surface, the entire bronze mirror shattered violently.

The fragments did not scatter; instead, they hovered in mid-air, each piece glowing with an eerie purple light. Before Lin Mo could react, the shards shot toward him simultaneously. He tried to dodge, but his body felt as if it had been frozen in place, unable to move.

Countless purple points of light surged into his right eye.

Pain.

It felt as if his entire head were about to explode from within. Lin Mo dropped to one knee, clutching his right eye with both hands, his nails digging into his skin. He could feel something writhing inside his eyeball, crawling up his blood vessels and burrowing into his brain.

He didn't know how much time had passed—perhaps a few seconds, perhaps a few minutes—when the excruciating pain suddenly vanished.

A cold, emotionless voice echoed in his mind:

[Boundary Eye binding... Host vital signs detected as stable... Binding success rate 99.7%... Binding complete.]

Lin Mo gasped for air, cold sweat soaking his back.

He tentatively opened his right eye. There were new things in his field of vision: a translucent purple light screen floating in the air, with text flickering across it:

[Welcome to the Two Worlds Reconciliation System]

[Host: Lin Mo]

[Age: 26]

[Boundary Source Points: 0]

[Current Status: Healthy]

[Main Quest: Delay the collision of the two worlds (365 days remaining)]

[Note: When the countdown to the collision of the two worlds reaches zero, Blue Star and Douluo Continent will undergo an irreversible plane overlap, resulting in catastrophe for all living beings in both worlds. Please acquire Boundary Source Points as soon as possible to delay the collision.]

Lin Mo stared at the words for a long time before slowly standing up.

His first reaction was that someone was pranking him.

Anything was possible these days—hidden cameras, prank shows. But what did he, a mere restorer of artifacts, have worth filming? Yet, the words in his right-eye vision were undeniably there; they remained when he blinked, and when he reached out to touch them, he felt nothing.

He walked to the sink, turned on the light, and leaned close to the mirror to examine his right eye.

His pupil was still black, but something seemed to be flowing deep within it, like purple mist. He stared for a few seconds, and the mist suddenly coalesced, revealing another line of text:

[First crisis summon detected, imminent trigger.]

[Target: Shi Nian]

[Identity: Possessor of the Martial Soul Residual Dream, Soul Saint-level Spirit Master]

[Soul Power Level: 76]

[Arrival Time: 47 hours and 58 minutes]

[Arrival Location: An abandoned chemical plant on the outskirts of SH City]

[Mission: Kill Shi Nian]

[Reward: Boundary Source Points × 500, Random Spirit Bone × 1]

[Failure Penalty: Collision of the two worlds accelerated by 30 days]

Lin Mo looked at the text, his palms beginning to sweat.

A Soul Saint? Level 76? He had absolutely no idea what these terms meant, but he understood "kill" and "failure penalty." Either he killed this person named Shi Nian, or the countdown would be moved up by thirty days, leading to the "catastrophe" of the two worlds.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

Just then, a crisp sound came from behind him.

Lin Mo whipped around and saw a vortex appear out of thin air in the center of his studio. It was over a meter tall, its edges shimmering with iridescent light, its center a bottomless darkness. The vortex spun, emitting a low, humming sound, and the oil paintings on the walls fluttered in the draft.

Before he could react, the vortex suddenly exploded.

A pink figure tumbled out, slamming heavily onto the floor.

Long hair spilled across the ground, obscuring her face. Her small pink top and trousers were covered in dust, revealing a glimpse of fair ankles. The figure lay motionless on the floor for two seconds before slowly pushing herself up.

She raised her head.

It was a face as exquisite as a porcelain doll, though slightly distorted by terror and rage. Her pink-blue hair reached her waist, tied in twin tails that were now disheveled. Her eyes were large and bright, currently wide with shock, with tears caused by the spatial transit still clinging to her eyelashes.

After steadying herself, she instinctively straightened her collar and scanned the surroundings with vigilance: the oil paintings covering the walls, the chandelier overhead, the bronzeware inside the glass cabinet, and not far away, Lin Mo, who was drenched in sweat with his right eye still glowing with a faint purple light.

"Who are you!" she barked, her voice crisp but trembling slightly.

She extended her right hand, and a seven-colored radiance suddenly ignited in her palm.

The light condensed, transforming into an exquisite seven-story pagoda that hovered above her palm.

Immediately following, four soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, and purple—rose from beneath her feet, rhythmically circling her body.

Lin Mo watched her, watched those glowing rings, and watched that seven-colored pagoda, with only one thought in his mind:

The "Douluo Continent" the system mentioned earlier was real.

"Where is this?" the young girl glared at him, her voice rising an octave. "What do you want by dragging me here? I'm warning you, I am the young miss of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! My father is Ning Fengzhi! Grandpa Sword and Grandpa Bone will come looking for me any second!"

She spoke with great bravado, but her slightly quivering voice betrayed her.

Lin Mo raised both hands, trying his best to make his voice sound calm: "Don't be agitated, I mean no harm."

"No harm?" The girl sneered, though her smile was also a bit shaky. "If you meant no harm, would I be here? What kind of hellish place is this? Why are those paintings so strange? What is that glowing square box?"

She pointed at the television.

Before Lin Mo could explain, a piercing siren wailed outside the window. A fire truck roared past the building, its red and blue lights flashing across the glass.

The girl shuddered in fright, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda nearly slipped from her hand.

She bit her lip, forcing herself to appear composed, but her voice still gave her away: "W-what kind of soul beast is making that sound outside?"

Watching her put on a brave front, Lin Mo suddenly felt like laughing for some reason.

But he didn't.

He simply lowered his hands, slowly crouched down to meet her gaze, and said softly:

"That's a fire truck. This is another world. As for how you got here, I have no idea either."

The girl stared into his eyes, seemingly judging whether he was lying.

After a long while, she whispered: "You... you first make those rings disappear. You're making me nervous."

Lin Mo was stunned: "What rings?"

"The words in your eyes!" She pointed at his right eye. "They keep flashing, I can't tell what you're saying!"

Lin Mo then realized that she must have been seeing the projection of his Boundary Eye.

He silently thought "Close," and the light screen in his right eye's field of vision vanished as expected.

Seeing this, the girl also retracted her martial soul and soul rings. The seven-colored light dissipated, and she let out a sigh of relief, though she still kept a wary eye on Lin Mo.

The two stared at each other in silence.

A few seconds later, her stomach suddenly let out a loud growl.

Her face turned red instantly. She clutched her stomach and insisted stubbornly: "I... I'm not hungry at all. The cultivation techniques of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect allow one to go three days without eating."

No sooner had the words left her lips than her stomach growled again.

This time, Lin Mo couldn't hold it back, and the corners of his mouth curled upward.

Seeing him smile, the girl was both embarrassed and annoyed: "What are you laughing at!"

Lin Mo stood up and turned toward the kitchen: "Wait there, I'll get you something to eat."

The girl wanted to say something, but eventually just muttered under her breath: "Who knows if you'll poison it..."

Lin Mo didn't look back, but the smile on his face deepened.

Behind him, the girl who claimed to be the young miss of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was cautiously examining this strange world. She reached out to touch an oil painting on the wall, was startled by the cold glass, and quickly pulled her hand back. She then leaned in toward the television, staring at the pitch-black screen for a long time, trying to see if there were people inside.

In the kitchen, Lin Mo opened the refrigerator and took out eggs and greens.

He suddenly recalled what the system had said: By summoning female characters and establishing a "Life Bond," one can delay the collision.

What was a Life Bond? He hadn't asked, and the system hadn't explained. But looking at the girl in the living room studying the television and occasionally glancing back at the kitchen with suspicion, he vaguely felt that the days ahead would not be very peaceful.

The water in the pot began to boil.

Lin Mo dropped the noodles in and poured oil into another pan, preparing to fry an egg.

Outside the window, the lights on the opposite bank of the Huangpu River grew sparse. The city was sinking into the dead of night, while his life had just been swept into a completely unknown vortex.

The girl's voice drifted from the living room: "Hey, how did the people get inside that glowing painting of yours?"

Lin Mo didn't look back: "That's a television, not a painting. I'll explain it to you in a bit."

"Television?" The girl repeated the word. "What a strange name..."

The oil in the pan sizzled, and the egg solidified into shape. Watching the fried egg turn a golden yellow, Lin Mo suddenly remembered that he hadn't cooked for anyone in a long time.

When you live alone for too long, certain habits become instinct. Like eating alone, staying up late alone, and facing everything alone. But now, He turned his head to glance toward the living room. The girl was sprawled in front of the television, her face nearly pressed against the screen, trying to find traces of "people" inside. Her long, powder-blue hair slipped from her shoulders, casting a soft luster under the lights.

Lin Mo turned back and scooped out the fried egg.

Perhaps, some habits were meant to be changed.

Two bowls of plain noodles were placed on the table. Clear broth, thin noodles, a few leaves of greens, a poached egg, and a sprinkle of vibrant green scallions.

The young girl stared at the bowl, carefully lifting a single strand of noodle with her chopsticks, sniffing it, and then placing it into her mouth.

Her eyes lit up instantly.

The second bite, the third bite... she couldn't stop at all.

Lin Mo sat opposite her, watching her wolf down the food, and picked up his own bowl to eat slowly.

Halfway through the meal, the girl suddenly stopped her chopsticks and looked up at him.

"Right," she wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth, struggling to maintain the poise of a young lady, "I am Ning Rongrong. What is your name?"

"Lin Mo."

Ning Rongrong nodded and buried her head back into her noodles. Only after she had finished every drop of the broth did she set down the bowl and lick her lips, then, realizing what she had done, her face flushed red again.

Just as she was about to say something, a sharp pain suddenly shot through Lin Mo's right eye.

He instinctively covered his eye as a purple light screen emerged once more.

[Summoned character "Ning Rongrong" has stabilized.]
[Current Affinity: 25 (Slightly favorable)]
[Side quest released: Cause the target to lower their guard within 24 hours. Reward: Primary World Origin Points ×100.]

Ning Rongrong saw the glowing characters and stood up vigilantly: "What is that?"

Before Lin Mo could explain, a sharp whistling sound suddenly erupted from outside the window.

Both of them turned their heads toward the window at the same time.

In the distance, toward the outskirts of SH City, a pillar of purple light shot into the sky, illuminating half the night. The beam lasted for three seconds before vanishing abruptly, leaving only a faint purple mist lingering in the night sky.

The system's voice sounded again:

[Warning,] [An abnormal expansion of the planar rift has been detected.] [The arrival time of target "Shi Nian" may be advanced.]

Lin Mo looked at the residual purple mist outside the window, then back at the wary Ning Rongrong beside him, and suddenly realized one thing:

That Soul Saint named Shi Nian, that level 76 enemy, was coming much faster than he had imagined.

And right now, he had no help at all, save for a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl.

Ning Rongrong walked to the window, looked at the vanished light pillar in the distance, and asked in a low voice: "Is that... an enemy?"

Lin Mo did not answer.

The night wind blew in from outside, carrying the distinct chill of March. In the distance, the lights of the Oriental Pearl Tower remained brilliant, as if nothing had happened. But he knew that from this moment on, some things had changed forever.