Fulfilling the Other Half of Your Wish

Outside Fang Ran's rented apartment, at one thirty in the morning.

A furtive figure appeared at the entrance to the corridor. He carefully looked around, confirming that no one was there and that the sound-activated sensor had not triggered the hallway lights.

Then, with a sudden sprint, he shot through the narrow corridor of the rental building! The figure was agile and swift, fiercely weaving past two massive obstacles—the electric scooter parked by the auntie next door and the unpickled vat of sauerkraut—before clearing the final pile of discarded books like a hundred-meter hurdler!

He had made it!

To the door of his own home.

At that moment, Fang Ran looked at his own front door—though it was rented—and burst into tears, unable to contain himself!

Oh my god, I finally made it home.

You had no idea how miserable his journey had been. He had snuck around like a thief, worse off than a wanted criminal on the run. Just to avoid people's eyes—

He had fucking taken a detour around five whole streets!!!

Five whole streets, without even wearing pants!!!

Fang Ran's mouth was full of bitterness. All he wanted was to get inside, drink a warm cup of cooled boiled water to calm his nerves, and then he habitually reached into his pocket.

No pants meant no pockets, and naturally, no keys.

"Damn! I almost forgot, I didn't bring my keys today."

Fang Ran let out a helpless sigh. Well, if he had had his keys, he would not have been driven to use his belt as a magic wand.

He looked at the belt around his waist, which had already returned to normal, and suddenly raised his head in melancholy.

Still, no matter how bad things were right now, Fang Ran felt as though a great weight had been lifted. Though he had not recovered from his shock yet, at least he had relaxed somewhat. He reached up along the doorframe and found a metal object beneath a layer of dust.

"Thank goodness, the emergency measure is still here. Though... I really did end up using the emergency measure."

Fang Ran tiredly mocked himself for that last sentence, then inserted the key into the lock. Just as he was about to open the door, at that very instant—

The lights in the homes of both aunties next door switched on at the same time!

"Who is it?! Stealing something?!"

Frightened out of his wits, Fang Ran scrambled into his own room and hurriedly slammed the door shut.

Fang Ran's rented apartment was not large. It was one room in a two-story building, small but fully equipped, with a bedroom, living room, kitchen, and bathroom. It was close to school too. Aside from being squeezed between two aunties on either side of the second floor, there was nothing particularly bad about it.

The room itself was simple as well. Apart from Fang Ran's daily necessities, there was only an old television that still relied on signal towers.

After turning on the lights, Fang Ran completely sprawled out on the living room floor. He felt the warmth of the carpet, perhaps heated by the sun, as exhaustion washed over him. He did not want to get up again.

Ever since entering that station, what the hell had he gone through? Had all of that really happened?

The station had collapsed just like that. The skyscraper had collapsed just like that. The high wall had collapsed just like that.

Damn it, why was everything he thought of something collapsing!?

"I think I need to relax."

Fang Ran said this with a solemn expression, then turned on the only electronic device in his home for entertainment—the old television! (Doraemon sound)

Watching the boring, dull, yet consistently ordinary and unchanged television programs, Fang Ran's heart slowly calmed down.

"Doctor Liu, then what do you think—hmm? Wait!! Sorry, viewers, we are now interrupting this program with a news bulletin."

Suddenly, the beautiful female host—the only highlight of the program Fang Ran was watching—looked startled. She then spoke apologetically, and an emergency news report cut in.

Fang Ran yawned. He had no desire to watch it, so he casually changed channels, only to find that another channel was broadcasting the same interruption.

He changed again. Still the same!

Fang Ran was surprised. Whoa, what was going on? What had happened for every Central TV Station channel to interrupt their broadcasts with emergency news in the middle of the night?

"Heh, this must be huge. I can already see tomorrow's trending headline."

Fang Ran nodded to himself with a knowing look, immediately focusing his attention. On the screen, the two famous hosts who normally presented major news programs were speaking with serious, tense expressions.

"Viewers, just moments ago, an extremely serious incident occurred."

"During an official recovery operation, a suspicious man suddenly appeared. At the final moment, he interfered with the official purchase operation and seized the recovery target," the female host continued.

"According to statements from the relevant department heads, what this individual took is very likely a national treasure-level historical artifact," the male host added in a grave voice.

"The relevant departments have already taken action. Although the suspect's identity is still unknown, it is expected that his identity will be determined soon."

In front of the television, Fang Ran clicked his tongue in amazement, looking every bit like an eager spectator enjoying the spectacle.

Holy crap, a national treasure-level historical artifact. There really was an idiot who dared make a move on it? Respect!

What a hero—pissing ten feet into the wind! Incredible! This humble junior admires you!

"A national treasure? Did that retard not consider that even if he got his hands on something like that, he couldn't possibly sell it? With the state's deterrence hanging over him, who the hell would dare buy it from him? He'd be exposed and dead in minutes anyway."

Fang Ran shook his head, scolding the culprit for failing to live up to expectations. Then, with an expression of astonishment, he said:

"But this is huge. An emergency news interruption in the middle of the night—it's probably even bigger than that escaped murderer the papers have been making a fuss about lately."

A headline, no question!

Fang Ran felt like he could already see how this would end.

Just as Fang Ran got up to go back and sleep, since his exhausting journey home had been about as hard as that of a fugitive on the run, a translucent pale-blue interface suddenly opened in front of him.

Ding! Reward received. Accept?

Yes/No

"Uh..." As though someone had clubbed him out of a peaceful dream, Fang Ran stiffly turned to look at it.

Right. Of course. So it really hadn't been fake.

Looking at the belt still wrapped around his waist, Fang Ran suddenly let his shoulders droop and said weakly:

"Yes."

Ding! Reward issued.

Crackle, crackle. Pale-blue sparks flickered as an opening like a wormhole appeared. Then something emerged from it and dropped into Fang Ran's hands. It was a metal object about the size of a human head, somewhat rounded, with an open mouth. Fang Ran examined it closely. Huh? It seemed to be carved in the shape of an animal's head?

This was... emmmm.

A snake??

Fang Ran was baffled. What was this thing? A reward? No way—was this the thing the whatever-the-hell Night Battle Reward had given him!?

He stood there dumbfounded. The reward for being chased across ten streets was this thing!? Fuck! What a massive loss! And damn it, weren't these kinds of stories supposed to give the protagonist something that could immediately turn his fate around!?

A gene serum, physical enhancement, or points as a reward. Hell, even some money would have been fine!

So baby had gotten dragged into this, risked his life for half the night, and aside from Magical Girl Power, gained nothing else, huh?

Fang Ran hugged the bronze statue and weakly fell to his knees. Damn it, if he had the choice, he would not want Magical Girl Power either.

Still, what the hell was this thing?

Fang Ran examined the bronze statue in his hands once more. Then, from the corner of his eye, he spotted something—a button that seemed to provide a system explanation. With a try-it-and-see attitude, Fang Ran pressed it. Sure enough, detailed information appeared!

Old Summer Palace Twelve Zodiac Heads—Si Snake.

In 1860, it was lost overseas during the invasion by the Anglo-French Allied Forces. Due to its connection to a history of national humiliation,

it possesses extremely high historical value and is a national treasure-level historical artifact.

Fang Ran: "."

Fang Ran: "."

Fang Ran: "."

Fang Ran covered his face: "."

Fang Ran fell to his knees again: "."

Great Water Method, Si Snake, national treasure-level historical artifact—

Fang Ran instantly understood something.

Amid the enormous shock and the what the fuck crashing through his mind, a thought suddenly surfaced.

So the idiot who had "bought" the artifact was me!

Pfft!

Fang Ran felt as though a knife had been stabbed into his chest, and he spat out a mouthful of blood!

Fang Ran, twenty years old, no bad habits.

Sigh!

Fang Ran, twenty years old, wanted fugitive. Did not smoke, did not drink, was not gay, was a virgin, had been single for approximately as long as he had been alive, had taken the Level Four English exam three times without passing, had his male friend confess feelings to him the day before yesterday, had lost money three times in the first half of the year, had missed his stop six times, and had been rejected seven times.

At this moment, he was probably going to make tomorrow's headlines.