Chapter 5

Before Li Qingshu could open her mouth to scold Su Shang, Su Bingyao immediately stepped forward and blocked him. With a serious expression, he spoke up.

“Mom, you know perfectly well what this banquet is really about. It’s only natural for Little Shang to resent you.”

“Dragging him here is insult enough already. You need to know when to stop.”

Su Bingyao knew his mother had truly gone too far this time, but it wasn’t a crime worthy of death!

He had to save her first!

[Eh? Is Big Bro about to pick a fight with Mom for my sake?] Luo Shang’s eyes lit up.

[Facts prove it: a Big Bro who hasn’t turned into an idiot is way more useful than one who has. Not turning him into an idiot really was the right call.]

Right, right, exactly. No more ideas about turning me into an idiot from now on. Who knew protecting Luo Shang came with perks like this? Su Bingyao’s heart stirred.

[–When the time comes, just wipe out the world directly.] Luo Shang thought to himself.

Holy shit… better turn me into an idiot after all! Su Bingyao nearly blurted it out.

Steadying his nerves, Su Bingyao decided to set aside the whole idiot business for the moment. A world-ending crisis was staring him in the face right now, and he needed to save the world fast.

Li Qingshu’s brows furrowed as she watched the “deep brotherly affection” between Su Bingyao and Su Shang.

Oh, really? Now you’re sticking up for him? You’re quite the big brother. You don’t bother spending time with your actual brother, but you’ll defend the impostor who’s stolen his place for over twenty years?

She snapped his full name. “Su Bingyao, and I haven’t even gotten to you yet!”

“Hold off on that. I’ve suddenly got something urgent to discuss with you.” Ignoring her completely, Su Bingyao pivoted the conversation.

“Let’s talk over by the guest rooms.” With that, Su Bingyao started walking ahead.

He had to fill Li Qingshu in on Su Shang’s situation immediately—this was a matter of the world’s survival.

Su Bingyao and Li Qingshu departed. Before leaving, he called over the lifestyle assistant for Luo Shang, instructing him to ask for whatever he needed. As a patient now, he required special care.

The second part was Su Bingyao’s explanation to Su Shang for why he was treating him so well.

Su Bingyao had pieced it together: for whatever reason, Su Shang didn’t want to expose his anomaly just yet. He hadn’t flipped the table and was still playing the part of the Su Family’s Third Young Master.

So Su Bingyao had no choice but to play along with the game, keep up the act with him, and even invent excuses to cover his odd behavior—anything to stop Su Shang from realizing he’d been found out and resetting the world again.

Who asked me to sense the world’s destruction before… Heh.

He wasn’t sure if it was a curse, but if his consciousness vanished along with the world, he probably wouldn’t care so much about its end.

Unfortunately, his awareness persisted!

That unimaginable horror lurking in the Endless Void… Just thinking back on the sensation drenched his back in cold sweat.

A few more rounds of that, and he’d go stark raving mad for sure.

Even for his own peace of mind, Su Bingyao had to do everything in his power to stop Su Shang from destroying the world.

Luo Shang accepted it all as his due.

His first act upon receiving the special treatment was to text Assistant Liang and ask him to bring over a wheelchair.

Luo Shang’s return wasn’t just for a vacation, of course.

The Reincarnation Game linked to the Myriad Worlds, offering countless dedicated vacation spots for players. Back with the Reincarnation Squad, the whole team had taken their break in one of those pure-fun worlds—far more entertaining than his Native World.

No, the real reason Luo Shang passed on those options and came back was to settle the “plot” issue once and for all, breaking free from the chains of “destiny.”

A sleek, sci-fi-style system panel materialized before Luo Shang, showing a single number.

“1%”

Current Fate Loading Progress: 1%.

“Still gotta stick to the plot,” Luo Shang grumbled.

He could flip his Native World upside down and destroy it over and over now, but it hadn’t budged the “destiny” weighing on him one bit.

He’d figured destroying the world to rewrite destiny was too blunt an approach anyway, with slim odds of success.

Still, actually seeing it fail—with the progress bar unmoved—left a sour taste.

Whatever. He’d keep pushing forward like this.

Destiny wasn’t something you changed on a whim.

What was destiny, after all? A précis of all the trials awaiting a person in their future.

Even in Greek Mythology or Norse Mythology, the gods held it in profound respect—either steering clear to avoid its edge or scheming endlessly in hopes of slipping its grasp.

For Luo Shang, everything had changed after he entered the Reincarnation Game. Once he was written into that novel, his path forward was no longer bound by some man or a single world—he could choose his own way.

But the Myriad Worlds were full of all sorts of bizarre abilities.

What if someone could seize Luo Shang’s hidden “Fate Line,” latch onto the “death” that was his original end on that line, and graft it onto the Luo Shang in the Reincarnation Game, dooming him to die?

What if someone could set up a ritual magic that used the misfortune on that original “Fate Line” to affect the current Luo Shang?

What if…

Just the possibilities listed by Squad Captain Ke Yanjin of his own Reincarnation Squad numbered in the dozens, not to mention there might be even more methods out there in reality.

Luo Shang had to guard against it. He had to deal with this “Destiny.”

As long as it wasn’t fully walked out, as long as it remained “Destiny” for Luo Shang, it was still a “weakness”—a potential “threat” to his life.

So the safest way wasn’t to destroy this world. It was to walk it out completely, turning Destiny into mere experience.

That way, all those vague possibilities would crash down to earth. The Fate Priests, who specialized in manipulating the future, could no longer interfere with him through “events that hadn’t happened but were fated to.” And one more “threat” on his body would be gone.

A perfect plan.

Walking out the original Plot was the fundamental reason Luo Shang had come back.

[But what do you need the wheelchair for?] the System asked.

[If you’re following the original Fate Line, the you on that line didn’t sit in a wheelchair.]

The pages on the virtual System Panel flipped with a rustle.

[The spiritual energy you just used to destroy the world was a piece of cake for you. It didn’t weaken you enough to need a wheelchair,] the System said.

[Do you know what “the student surpasses the master” means?]

[In the original Fate Line, I’ll fake a collapse at the banquet. That’ll set the guests whispering and gossiping behind closed doors, accusing the Su Family of favoring the second son while neglecting the youngest’s health. It’ll smear Su Mingyao right from the start, putting a stain on him the moment he returns.]

[Yes.] The System obligingly flipped to that page in the original work.

[Now, if I roll up in a wheelchair, won’t it make me look even more frail? Everyone will see I was dragged straight out of the hospital.]

[The effect will be the same.]

[Plus, when I fake the faint, I can just pass out right in the wheelchair instead of hitting the floor like in the original work.]

[After all, I’m not the same as I was before entering the Reincarnation Space. My physical condition is way beyond a normal person’s.]

His body was strong enough now that he could go bungee jumping off Mount Everest without a cord—just leap off casually with no harm done.

[Back then, if I’d collapsed, I’d have hurt my head on impact. Now, if I suddenly drop, the decorative blue bricks on the ground might shatter under my skull…]

That wouldn’t look good at all.

Who ever heard of someone pretending to be sickly only to crack the floor tiles with their head? That wouldn’t be frail—that’d be a street performer smashing bricks with his skull on a bridge!

So the wheelchair was a must!

~~~

Meanwhile, Su Bingyao walked side by side with Li Qingshu.

All along the way, Su Bingyao’s mind raced with tension, imagining every possibility.

Su Shang had survived for centuries now, wielding strange powers and able to casually destroy worlds. What if he had eyes and ears everywhere, knowing all?

…What if he could overhear his conversation with his mother?

But he had to tell her—and his father too—that “Su Shang isn’t the Su Shang he used to be, and he might not even be human anymore.” If he didn’t warn them and they provoked Su Shang, the consequences would be dire.

Su Bingyao gritted his teeth and made his decision.

In truth, Su Bingyao was overthinking it. Luo Shang was happily lounging in his wheelchair right now, directing Assistant Liang to push him around everywhere. He had no attention to spare on what Su Bingyao was up to.

Su Bingyao led Li Qingshu to an empty room and locked the door.

His expression was taut with nerves, his palms slick with sweat. Even Li Qingshu grew uneasy watching him force a calm facade.

The moment they sat down, Li Qingshu demanded, “What on earth happened? What do you need to tell me?”

Su Bingyao said, “Mom, whatever I say next, you absolutely cannot freak out.”

Li Qingshu looked shocked. “?”

Su Bingyao struggled for words. “Su Shang… he’s not the same Su Shang anymore. He might not even be human. He has the power to destroy the world. Please, don’t anger him.”

Li Qingshu: “???”

She looked at Su Bingyao in astonishment. “Little Shang got injured and his brain isn’t working right anymore, and now your brain isn’t working right either? I feel like you’ve been under too much stress lately…”

Su Bingyao emphasized, “Everything I said is true!”

Li Qingshu hesitated for a moment, lowered her head, and typed a few words on her phone before looking up again.

Her expression turned to one of understanding. “You’ve been under too much psychological stress lately. I just asked Xiao Mo, and he told me that you had him book a psychiatry appointment at the hospital for next Wednesday…”

Su Bingyao said, “Wait, Mom, let me explain?!”

He immediately presented the factual evidence. “You can hear his Heart Voice too, right? Those strange words!”

Li Qingshu was stunned for a moment, then fell into deep thought.

“You mean those are all his Heart Voice??”

“Yes.” Su Bingyao nodded.

This time, he had mustered a great deal of determination before saying it.

“He is very likely no longer… human now.”

“Hm?”

“I think you’re still under too much stress.” Li Qingshu said.