Xiao Xun straightened the back of his seat and said, "I've been a bit busy lately, perhaps another time! If you need anything, you can directly find Secretary Fan; she knows what to do."
The person on the other end immediately replied respectfully, "Alright! Alright! Then you go ahead and be busy."
After hanging up, Xiao Xun returned to the villa complex, called Mu Jiahe, who was exercising, and they went to Sister's Noodle House for Grandma Tang's ramen.
Unexpectedly, the noodle house had been converted into a shop selling and repairing electric bicycles.
Xiao Xun parked his car to the side and walked over. A young mechanic was crouching on the ground, adjusting a battery. "Hello, may I ask, wasn't this a noodle house before? Where did it move?"
Without looking up, the young mechanic pointed towards the opera stage not far away. "Over there."
Xiao Xun thanked him and drove Mu Jiahe to the vicinity of the opera stage. From a distance, he saw two elderly women setting up a simple red tent in the cold wind. The tables were the extremely unstable long tables, and the stools were long benches.
Of the three elderly women, only two remained. One was cleaning tables, while the other was warming herself by a stove.
From afar, Xiao Xun could see that the woman cleaning tables had two band-aids wrapped around her hand. Looking at the basin on the ground, he knew it was from washing dishes in cold water, causing her fingers to crack.
There weren't many customers either. At this hour, only four or five people were there.
Xiao Xun didn't go over. Instead, he turned the car around and headed back towards the villa complex. "I'll make you something to eat instead!"
Mu Jiahe said nothing, perhaps lost in thought. Ever since Xiao Xun returned this time, Mu Jiahe had been unusually quiet.
After eating, it was still early, and with rare leisure, Xiao Xun opened his game.
His former friends were all offline, and he no longer had the same enthusiasm for the game. He played casually.
Unexpectedly, this casual play disgusted him.
He was playing the hottest 5v5 battle royale game, where each player controlled a hero, and each hero had their unique skills and roles.
He chose the top lane.
The jungler's avatar was of a very handsome young man, and the support's avatar was of a cute girl. He wasn't sure if they resembled their real-life selves.
It was a game that was going smoothly for his team until this conversation appeared on the public chat: wap.kanshuwu.net
Support: Jungle King, I've been so annoyed lately!
Jungler: What's wrong?
Support: My period has been so irregular these past few days.
Jungler: How old are you, girl?
Support: Twenty.
Support: I really like being called "girl." It sounds so much better than "that sissy."
...
Since the chat was open to everyone, the opposing team immediately initiated a surrender.
Before surrendering, the enemy marksman sent a message: You guys are too disgusting. Hmph, goodbye.
Xiao Xun stared at the computer screen in a daze for a long time, unable to let it go. He closed the game, clicked to report it, and then lay on the sofa to watch television.
A while later, Mu Jiahe walked over. "I'm going out for a bit. I probably won't be back before dinner. If you don't want to cook yourself, just drive out and buy something."
Xiao Xun asked Mu Jiahe where she was going and if she needed him to accompany her, but she just said, "No, I don't."
He then lay back on the sofa and didn't move, falling into a daze and drifting off to sleep.
Suddenly, he woke up with a start. The house was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything, not even a flicker of light.
Only the faint glow from the streetlights outside reminded Xiao Xun that he wasn't blind.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead, wondering what kind of nightmare he had. He had forgotten it as soon as he opened his eyes.
As he prepared to get up, he noticed two bright red dots in the kitchen area, which then instantly disappeared.
Xiao Xun rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things.
When he got up and turned on the living room lights, a pale face appeared before him.
"Mr. Xiao, I trust you are well!"
Xiao Xun was startled. It was Lei Wenxiu, who had been missing after her escape from prison.
"How could it be you?"
Facing Xiao Xun's evident panic, Lei Wenxiu took two steps forward, clearly enjoying his reaction. "Surprised, aren't you? I'm back. It's been a while, have you missed me?"
Xiao Xun had no strong feelings towards Lei Wenxiu. Although she was beautiful, he was surrounded by many attractive women. Not only was she lazy at work and opportunistic, but she also corrupted her colleagues. Most importantly, she was a corporate spy for Jingji Group.
However, what truly baffled Xiao Xun was why she insisted on framing him for murder, causing him to experience the ordeal of imprisonment.
"Why have you come to see me this time?"
Lei Wenxiu clasped her hands together, raised them upwards to her left, and declared, "By the express command of my master, Your Highness Swain of Saint Román is summoned to face his demise."
Xiao Xun was stunned. "What did you just call me?"
Lei Wenxiu lowered her hands. "You don't need to be so surprised. My master knows everything about your background."
With that, she produced a rope, which she used to bind him directly. The moment Xiao Xun tried to move, his entire body trembled as if he had been electrocuted.
Lei Wenxiu gently patted Xiao Xun's face. "I suggest you don't make any sudden movements, or I cannot guarantee your safety."
Xiao Xun didn't know Lei Wenxiu's full capabilities, but since she knew his identity from another world, it meant there was a passage to that world in this one, a passage he was unaware of.
Seeing that Xiao Xun was no longer resisting, Lei Wenxiu placed a bag over his head and took him away from the villa.
After an unknown duration, Xiao Xun experienced only dizziness, periods of stopping and starting, and the scent of various things. One scent, in particular, made Xiao Xun frown. Having returned from the battlefield, he recognized it as the smell of blood, and very fresh blood at that.
Xiao Xun arrived in a hall that was entirely blood-red. On the throne in the center sat an elderly man with slicked-back short hair, clad in a black robe, possessing an eerie aura and a refined countenance.
"Who are you?"
Xiao Xun knew that this old man wouldn't harm him, but if Lei Wenxiu was his subordinate, then his framing was heavily related to him.
He slowly stood up and paced around Xiao Xun. "Hmm! You look the part. How did you defeat the siege by the three Demon Kings? Tell me."
Xiao Xun glanced around. It was just him and this weathered old man. He stiffened his neck. "I have nothing to say to you."
The old man's tone softened. "Young man, you have ambition. Do you know who you are to me?"
"I don't know, and I don't want to know."
"My name is Gatliod, people in this world call me the Vampire, and people in another world call me His Majesty, the First Emperor of the Great Saint Dynasty."
Upon hearing this, even a fool would understand. "Are you Mu Jiahe's father?"
Gatliod waggled his finger. "No, more accurately, the Emperor Father of Sailerpes."
Xiao Xun understood. This was his father-in-law.
"Then you..."
"You must have many questions, correct?"
Xiao Xun nodded. Gatliod continued, "Time is pressing. Besides the siege by the Four Demon Kings in that world, this world has also suffered unprecedented damage. The high-energy individuals of this world are actively responding to the impending apocalypse."
Xiao Xun asked curiously, "Is that doomsday prophecy true?"
"Not only is it true, but it might be even worse than anticipated."
Xiao Xun lowered his head in thought for a moment, then suddenly looked up. "Mu Jiahe told me that you weren't... how is this possible..."
"I was indeed killed back then, and I myself was convinced I was dead. However, my wife, oh! Sailerpes's stepmother, she saved me, allowing me to eke out a living until today."
Xiao Xun thought that the story Mu Jiahe told was just a joke, but he never expected her to actually have a stepmother. "Does she have the ability to bring the dead back to life?"
"To be precise, it wasn't bringing me back from the dead, but rather transforming me into a member of the blood race."
Xiao Xun looked at the old man before him in astonishment. "Blood race?" Having played games for so many years, he naturally knew what the blood race represented.
The old man nodded. "That's right, the blood race."