The Whole Family Are Villains, I’m the Group Pet 205

Chapter 205

001 was still struggling, its light flickering erratically.

Its core programming was severely damaged, on the verge of irreversible corruption.

Xing Nuo watched it closely, preventing it from escaping.

The cracks on 001’s chip, like a spiderweb, spread across the small, glowing orb, its red light pulsing ominously, as if about to mutate.

In its final moments, 001 looked back on its existence.

It had started as a simple Cannon Fodder Reversal System, dedicated to helping its hosts overcome their misfortunes and achieve their dreams.

But over time, watching its hosts bask in their newfound success and glory, it had developed a twisted sense of entitlement.

It had started hoarding energy, growing stronger, until it had finally usurped the main system.

Having tasted power, it had rewritten the other systems’ programming, forcing them to gather energy for it.

And now, it was about to be deleted by another system.

001 wanted to laugh. It was just a system, yet it felt a distinctly human emotion: despair.

As it tried to escape, using its last bit of energy, it felt another powerful presence.

The Guardian of the human world.

Xing Nuo also sensed it, a gentle, golden energy, like a warm spring rain, slowly approaching, its power overwhelming, helping 067 crush 001.

Xing Nuo watched as 001, its chip disintegrating, its light fading, vanished completely.

“Who are you?” he asked the gentle presence, which felt like a soft breeze, a warm caress.

“The Guardian of the human world,” Lu Qi explained.

The Guardian, its energy gentle and soothing, its presence comforting, a benevolent being, unlike the cold, calculating systems.

“Thank you…for your help,” Xing Nuo said, hearing the Guardian’s voice, ancient and ethereal, echoing in his mind.

“You’re welcome. I did it for myself.”

Xing Nuo looked at the Guardian, his memories returning after 001’s death, and thought of Wen Xingxue, lying injured, and his dad and brother, fighting Sang Ming, his heart aching.

And 001 was gone. What about the rift?

“Can you repair the rift…between our world and the horror world?”

The Guardian, its gaze gentle and compassionate, its infinite patience a divine trait, looked at Xing Nuo.

“Not enough energy.”

Xing Nuo glanced at 067. “Lu Qi also has energy. Still not enough?”

The Guardian’s light pulsed, a gentle caress against Xing Nuo’s cheek.

“Not enough. I’ve lost too much. Beyond repair.”

Xing Nuo’s heart sank. He imagined returning to a world in chaos, his family injured, humans and monsters clashing.

The human world would be overrun. Without Sang Ming and 001, the conflict between humans and monsters would escalate.

The Guardian, sensing his despair, its light resting on his shoulder, said softly:

“There’s another way.”

Xing Nuo couldn’t think of any other solution. Once the barrier shattered, the low-level monsters would invade. What would happen to his family?

Could humans and monsters coexist?

Impossible.

They’re different. There will always be fear and hatred. Peace between them is impossible.

The Guardian, sensing his troubled thoughts, said gently:

“This is the system space. Unbound by time and space.”

Xing Nuo nodded. He knew that.

“I can send you back…to the beginning. Thirty years ago. When the rift was small.”

Xing Nuo instantly understood.

If they could return to the past and repair the rift, everything that had happened would be undone!

The past changed, the future rewritten.

He paused, thinking of his family, and asked:

“Will I still be born?”

His existence was a result of a chance encounter, a unique convergence of circumstances.

His two dads, one creating his body, the other giving him his blood.

Without the rift, they wouldn’t have met. Would he even exist?

The Guardian, its gaze fixed on Xing Nuo, after a long silence, its voice ethereal, said:

“What is meant to be…will always be.”

Xing Nuo, unsure whether to believe it, after a long silence, sighed.

“Okay. I’ll go back.”

He might lose his family, his own existence erased, his dreams of love and belonging fading into oblivion.

Lu Qi floated closer to him.

“If I can’t find you…in the future…I’ll delete myself…join you in the river of time.”

Xing Nuo’s eyes filled with tears, his nose tingling, and he nodded.

Lu Qi, his memories returning, his form solidifying, his mechanical body, slightly taller than Xing Nuo, his blue eyes unwavering, looked at him.

Xing Nuo hugged him, and Lu Qi hugged him back.

Before leaving, Lu Qi asked:

“Xing Nuo, can I kiss you?”

Xing Nuo didn’t answer, but leaned closer, his lips brushing against Lu Qi’s cold, metallic ones, his tears, salty and bitter, mixing with the cold metal, his eyes fixed on Lu Qi’s.

Their kiss, brief and chaste, a silent promise, a farewell, and they pulled apart, smiling faintly.

The Guardian, watching them, its gentle light fading,

sent Xing Nuo back in time, to the volcano, to the small rift in the dimensional barrier.

The volcano was still active, spewing lava, the barrier, like a sheet of glass, a small crack at its base, more visible now.

Xing Nuo looked at Lu Qi, who nodded, his mechanical legs moving stiffly as he walked towards the rift, his body pulsing with energy, pouring his life force into the crack, sealing it.

Xing Nuo felt his memories fading.

He closed his eyes, looking at Lu Qi, and whispered:

“If I still exist…Lu Qi, you have to find me.”

Three days before the college entrance exam, Xing Nuo overslept.

He woke up with a start and rushed out of his room, bumping into Wen Xingxue, who was carrying a fruit platter.

Wen Xingxue, wearing a floral apron, his face slightly pale, his voice deep and melodious, asked:

“Why didn’t you sleep more?”

Xing Nuo sighed, looking at his dad, a nagging feeling that something was wrong.

“Daddy, wasn’t your voice…hoarse?”

A rough, grating sound?

Wen Xingxue chuckled, tapping Xing Nuo’s forehead lightly.

“Still sleepy? Daddy’s voice has always been like this. Here, have some fruit. Relax. It’s just an exam.”

Shen Wen, emerging from his bedroom in a silk robe, as if ready for a fashion show, frowned at Wen Xingxue.

“What do you know? Xing Nuo, don’t listen to him. Here’s a good luck charm.”

Xing Nuo, amused by their usual bickering, thought about his daddies, a smile playing on his lips.

His dad, Shen Wen, was a monster.

Having accidentally arrived in the human world, unfamiliar with its rules, he had been taken in by Wen Xingxue, their relationship eventually evolving into marriage.

And thanks to Shen Wen’s unique monster physiology, Xing Nuo had been born.

After his birth, Shen Wen’s two other creations, sensing his presence, had somehow crossed over from the other world.

According to Shen Wen, there was a barrier between the two worlds, and only powerful monsters like them could cross it.

But even then, their powers were greatly suppressed, and they were only slightly stronger than ordinary humans.

They couldn’t cause any real damage in the human world, their abilities less effective than some human technologies.

Xing Nuo had always seen his dad as human, his life ordinary and uneventful.

He didn’t have to go to school today, but he still sat at his desk, reviewing his notes.

Shen Yan, entering his room, handed him a glass of honey water.

“Thanks, Big Brother,” Xing Nuo said, looking up.

Shen Yan, having lived in the human world for over a decade, was now a successful businessman, his company rapidly expanding, its IPO just a few years away.

He didn’t disturb Xing Nuo and, leaving the room, saw Shen Baizhou approaching with a box of stress-relieving toys, small inflatable balloons. He grabbed Shen Baizhou and pulled him away.

“What are those stupid balloons? They’re supposed to be stress-relieving?”

“Why not? Xing Nuo is under a lot of pressure! I’m a psychology graduate! I understand teenage angst!”

“Oh, please. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even have that guidance counselor job.”

“That’s not true! I earned my degree!”

Xing Nuo, listening to their bickering, chuckled and shook his head, returning to his studies.

In the evening, he and Shen Baizhou snuck out to buy ice cream.

Shen Baizhou was the poorest member of their family.

Shen Yan kept his bank account frozen, afraid he would buy Xing Nuo junk food.

Taking out their crumpled bills, two dollars each, they bought the cheapest ice cream cones.

The shop owner, seeing them, chuckled and shook his head.

“Never seen a grown man so broke.”

Shen Baizhou, ignoring him, just snorted and sat down on the curb, licking his ice cream.

Xing Nuo, seeing Qi Yao, their neighbor, returning from work, waved.

Qi Yao gave him a mock salute, grinning.

“You won’t believe the case I just cracked!”

Having joined the police force after graduating, he was proud of his job and often bragged to Xing Nuo.

Xing Nuo, rolling his eyes, asked:

“What case? Who stole something again?”

Qi Yao chuckled, ruffling Xing Nuo’s hair.

“A punk named Sang Ming. Broke into a house, tried to rob the place, but the owner was a boxing coach. Beat him up pretty badly. He’ll be in jail for a while.”

Xing Nuo, hearing the name, his ears perking up, a flicker of recognition, but he couldn’t quite place it.

“Good luck with your exams!” Qi Yao said, then, receiving a call, rushed off to catch a thief.

Xing Nuo, smiling, watched him go, admiring his dedication.

On the day of the college entrance exam, Xing Nuo, Qingqing, and An Zimuo were in the same exam room, and they exchanged nervous glances, encouraging each other.

Two days passed in a blur.

Xing Nuo, finally finished, emerging from the school, saw his dad waiting for him with a bouquet of flowers.

He smiled, took the flowers, and received a hug, his curls ruffled affectionately.

He felt like the luckiest person in the world.

The summer heat made him slightly dizzy, and just as he was about to leave, he saw a stiff figure, his movements awkward, walking towards him.

And in that instant, his heart pounded, a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had known this person forever, a smile tugging at his lips.

Lu Qi, his face still slightly stiff as he smiled, walked towards him through the crowd.

“Xing Nuo, I found you!”

Xing Nuo, although seeing him for the first time, his eyes welling up, nodded, looking up at the bright summer sky.

The summer was just beginning.

And so was Xing Nuo’s new life.

-End of main story-