The man was caught off guard and slammed into the table by a force coming from the back of his head. Not only was his forehead injured, but even his teeth, which he had just exposed when he opened his mouth to speak, were painfully bruised.
Anger surged to the man's head in direct proportion to the pain, and as soon as he regained consciousness, he roared, "Damn it, who the hell are you?! Are you crazy?!"
Lu Shizhen still didn't loosen her grip on the man's hand, and retorted through gritted teeth, "You're the one who's sick. Your head's frozen solid in the dead of winter, spouting nonsense here!"
Upon hearing this, the man immediately raised his head to see who this fool had dared to provoke him.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't lift his head. His neck was being held down by a single, monotonous force, and he couldn't twist it. All he could do was erupt in impotent rage: "Damn it, I'll say whatever I want! Why are you meddling in my business! That little bitch is your..."
Just like before, this person's words were interrupted by the sudden force exerted by Lu Shizhen's hand.
The chaotic and glaring lights illuminated the night market as brightly as day, yet they still couldn't bring even the slightest hint of a gentle blush to Lu Shizhen's complexion.
Despite her sickly appearance, as if she were struggling to breathe, she possessed a strength in her hands greater than that of an adult male.
The man swallowed back the profanities, leaving only an uncontrollable, pitiful scream: "Ah—fuck, fuck, it hurts so much!! You son of a bitch, let go of me!!!"
Lu Shizhen seemed oblivious to the man's cries, and continued to increase the pressure on his hands.
The veins that were slightly raised on the back of her hand were taut with strength, so fierce that they looked as if they wanted to snap her neck in two, so that her mind would no longer be able to say or think of anything that would tarnish Xu Shiyue.
Indeed, when Lu Shizhen heard this person say that Xu Shiyue had reduced her to ashes, her heart immediately sank.
This feeling made her want to escape, to ignore, and even to sever all ties with Xu Shiyue and never have anything to do with her again.
But when she heard the man uttering foul language, she found that she still couldn't turn a blind eye.
Almost reflexively, she stood up and slammed the man's head onto the table, a swift and ruthless move that exuded a morbid quality.
The wind this night was not as fierce as last night's, but rather a gentle mellowness, overlapping with the night breeze of the previous night.
The various lights intertwined shone on Xu Shiyue's profile, her pale skin forever unable to be lost in the sea of people.
Her eyes, slightly open beneath her disheveled hair, shimmered with the moon's brightest light, dark and crystalline, pure and untouched by any dust.
Those were roses she had painstakingly grown in the garden, and yet she thought she could just pick them with such filthy, cracked hands?
dream!
Let him dream big!
As Lu Shizhen thought this, the ruthlessness in her eyes grew stronger, and the force in her hands increased accordingly.
The man couldn't take it anymore and roared angrily in a trembling voice, "You motherfuckers, Dong Qi! Wang Liu! What the hell are you standing there for?! Get him!"
That's when the blond-haired guy, who had been watching from the sidelines, finally snapped out of his daze, stood up, and warned Lu Shizhen, "I'm warning you, let go of my brother. I won't lay a hand on you because you're a woman, but don't be ungrateful!"
"Let go."
The man with the watch, without giving Lu Shizhen any warning, walked over and tried to pry her hand off.
The original owner of this body was a madwoman who had studied various Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) fighting techniques. As soon as Lu Shizhen saw the man approaching, she reflexively raised her leg. The cramped seating arrangement restricted the man's path, and he didn't even get close to Lu Shizhen before she knocked him down with a single kick.
Amidst the surrounding noise and footsteps, Lu Shizhen's leg, which she had just pulled back, seemed to sweep backward as if by inertia.
The blond-haired man, who was about to launch a sneak attack, was stunned for a second. He was so dizzy that he saw a sky full of stars. Before he could even react to why he was so dizzy, his legs gave way and he fell towards the man who was being held down on the table by Lu Shizhen.
"Thump!"
Two heads that didn't look very bright collided with a loud bang.
This was the first time Lu Shizhen had ever heard the sound of human heads hitting each other. In addition to pleasure, her eyes were filled with novelty and surprise at the crisp sound of human skulls hitting each other, and she even laughed.
However, her exhilaration didn't last long. Qiuqiu anxiously floated to her ear and nervously reminded her, "Host, what I'm seeing here is that although these three people are stunned by your attack, your combat power will drop precipitously after a brief burst. You won't be able to outlast them. The best time to escape is now!"
Lu Shizhen paused for a moment, then mentally let out a dissatisfied yet nervous "Huh?"
She felt a little regretful that her divine punishment hadn't made them repent more deeply, but she also understood Qiuqiu's words very well.
The night wind was biting, and Lu Shizhen looked down at the three people she had just punished.
Although she was nervous about the situation that she was about to be at a disadvantage, she did not panic or relax in the slightest. She spat at the three people who were stunned by her: "Pah, trash, scum, you're just scum pulled out of the incinerator!"
"You fucking..."
"Don't go, wait for me! Damn it..."
"Damn it, you son of a bitch..."
The curses from the three men were increasingly vicious, making Lu Shizhen's spitting seem less fierce in comparison.
As they spoke, they hunched over, struggling to stand up like maggots.
"Fine, I'll be waiting for you!" Lu Shizhen's eyes were full of disdain, and she didn't forget to threaten the three of them before she finished, "Don't worry, I will tell Xu Shiyue all of this tomorrow, and you can just wait to be ground to dust by her!"
She hadn't discarded the imposing aura she'd learned from the original owner; her deep voice was filled with ruthlessness.
Whether it was Lu Shizhen's attitude or the name she mentioned, the three people who had just begun to regain their senses suddenly froze.
This group of people will only ever fantasize about others behind their backs; they're always stubborn and argumentative.
Outsiders would tremble at the mere mention of the name of someone they had offended in front of them, let alone the person they had offended today, who was a hot topic in society recently, a very popular figure, and Xu Shiyue, who was ruthless and decisive in her killings.
Things that are shameful to be seen by others will never be seen in public and will never be presented in a respectable manner.
They watched this man with some skill and suddenly felt that he was hiding his true abilities, and it wasn't impossible that he knew Xu Shiyue.
For a moment, the three of them looked at each other, none of them daring to step forward and make a move against Lu Shizhen.
This gave Lu Shizhen time to escape.
Her eyes were full of disdain and disgust. She didn't want to pretend to be like those three people for even a second longer. Her gaze left as she turned away, and she left without lingering.
then……
The moment she disappeared into the crowd, she ran off without looking back.
The bustling crowd resembled a fish that had just escaped from a fisherman's grasp, its retreating figure particularly noticeable.
The man in the lead had by then recovered from the violent collision and immediately realized that he had been tricked.
That's right, how could someone from their place possibly know someone as important as Xu Shiyue!
Damn it, I've been scammed!
The man was instantly enraged and slapped one of his brothers standing on either side of him: "What are you looking at! We've all been fooled by that little wench! Who does she know, Xu Shiyue! Damn it, get on her and go after her!"
With a snap, the blond-haired man and the man with the watch seemed to have had their brains opened, realizing at the same time that they had been tricked, and took off chasing after the figure that was moving quickly through the crowd.
"Don't run!"
"Stop right there!"
...
The bustling night market was filled with the cacophony of voices, and amidst this noise, Lu Shizhen could hear the voices of these few people from afar.
She once thought that such words only existed in TV dramas. After all, if someone told her not to run away in such a fierce and menacing manner, even a fool would know to run for their life.
Qiuqiu had already helped Lu Shizhen with navigation yesterday, and this time it was even more adept at it, quickly planning the best escape route for Lu Shizhen, and thus it nimbly and skillfully led her through this unfamiliar environment.
The wind, trampled by the crowd, rose with the girl's steps, lightly lifting her hair.
This was the first time Lu Shizhen had felt the coolness and pleasure of the wind brushing past her ears, and the sound of her boots tapping on the old-fashioned floor tiles even made a thudding vibration.
She was running freely with her healthy body and legs that she could completely control.
The wind on the winter night was so cold it was almost bone-chilling, but Lu Shizhen felt a sense of complete freedom.
Cars on the road brushed past her, whipping her hair up in the wind.
She ran faster and faster, as if even the wind couldn't catch her. She forgot about escaping and focused on running freely.
After running for an unknown amount of time, Qiuqiu was quite tired and quickly spoke up to stop them, saying, "Alright, alright, host, they won't catch up anymore, let's stop."
Upon hearing this, Lu Shizhen looked up as if she had just realized what was happening.
She let out a casual sigh and slowed her pace: "Okay."
White mist wafted from the girl's light pink lips, piling up as if reluctant to leave them.
The intense running left Lu Shizhen slightly out of breath. She walked along the sidewalk, trying to catch her breath, when suddenly a firework went off in her peripheral vision.
A loud and sharp sound suddenly ripped through the sky, and a golden firework ball, tinged with red, flew into the sky with a long tail.
Lu Shizhen looked up, following the trajectory of the fireworks, and saw that the sky in her line of sight was divided into several pieces by a steel cable thicker than her wrist. When the fireworks reached their highest point, they exploded, filling every part of the sky in clusters.
The fireworks were fleeting, and sparks fell like scattered stars along with the withered flowers.
The bridge was very close to the sky, and the falling Mars seemed to be about to fall into Lu Shizhen's eyes, but she did not flinch, her blank gaze as if she had thought of something.
Not long ago, she also watched a sudden fireworks display at home.
The fireworks back then were more brilliant, more magnificent, and more romantic than this.
The enormous fireworks illuminated the entire sky as bright as day, filling the large living room with an ambiguous atmosphere.
A wind carrying the scent of gunpowder blew towards Lu Shizhen, stirring up the warm fragrance she remembered.
Xu Shiyue's face was now right in her line of sight, with bright eyes and white teeth.
The girl's long, flowing hair enveloped them, as if the world had shrunk to just the two of them.
They should kiss.
This idea suddenly popped into Lu Shizhen's head again, completely illogical.
She was horrified that she had come up with that sentence, and her eyes darted around frantically, searching for a place to land.
She finally found a place to land.
She was somewhat surprised to find herself back on the same bridge where she had stopped for her walk that morning; the fireworks she had just seen were set off by a group of people on the shore.
Just as a cluster of fireworks was launched into the sky, someone else placed fireworks on the ground and lit them.
These fireworks certainly couldn't compare to the luxurious setups in the wealthy neighborhood, but they were the simplest and most spectacular. The simplest spherical fireworks, without any fancy designs, exploded one after another in the sky, filling the gloomy and desolate sky with dazzling golden light.
Lu Shizhen looked up and couldn't help but smile.
Just as Lu Shizhen was looking up to admire the fireworks, Qiuqiu floated over with a large plastic bag on its tail, immediately disrupting her view. "Host can't carry this anymore..."
The little ball made a somewhat bitter sound, as if it was really struggling.
Lu Shizhen was wondering why Qiuqiu couldn't hold on so quickly today, but when she saw the huge pile of food they had ordered at the night market that it was hooking with its tail, she suddenly realized: "You really don't forget your food even when you're running for your life. If these things could hide with you, even if I wasn't caught by those three people, I would definitely be on the news tomorrow."
"But they smell so good!" Qiuqiu argued, watching Lu Shizhen take her treasures. Only then did she carefully loosen her tail, which had been curled into a hook the whole way, from the bag handle, and skillfully hooked out two starch sausages. She said to Lu Shizhen in a fawning manner, "Want a starch sausage?"
Lu Shizhen looked at Qiuqiu, who was fawning over her. Although she seemed to dislike its behavior of not forgetting to bring food even when escaping for its life, she still reached out and took it.
In the past, when she was in the ward, Lu Shizhen often heard doctors say that things like those sold at street stalls were very unhealthy and it was best not to eat them.
But the aroma of all these spices is so irresistible, who could resist it?
As I was thinking this, another firework shot into the sky.
Louder than any of the fireworks before, its sharp sound pierced the quiet night sky, and a bright white light shot into the air in a flash.
Then, right before Lu Shizhen and Qiuqiu's eyes, a dazzling golden beam exploded.
It's as if they've tricked even the stars into coming.
Whether it was because of the fireworks or because of the question that had been on her mind, Lu Shizhen suddenly thought of that person again.
She lowered her gaze slightly, looking at the starch sausage in her hand, and asked thoughtfully, "Qiuqiu, do you think your main system will forcibly correct the protagonist's behavior if it deviates from its intended course?"
"Logically speaking, it shouldn't be like that." Qiuqiu shook its head vaguely while gnawing on a starch sausage three times the size of its entire ball. "We can only guide the protagonist's behavior to be reasonable and act according to the plot. Moreover, the closer we are to the protagonist's circle, the smaller this radiation effect becomes, and it is even more impossible to force it."
"Then do you think it's reasonable for Xu Shiyue to grind me to dust?" Lu Shizhen asked, turning to look at Qiuqiu.
Qiuqiu stopped eating abruptly.
It also felt it was unreasonable, just as unreasonable as Lu Shizhen's score exceeding her expectations.
But all of this happened under the monitoring of the Supreme God and the main system, so it's impossible for anything to go wrong.
After a pause, Qiuqiu simply said, "But that's how the plot is set up, and it won't be changed."
Lu Shizhen fell silent.
She had read the book many times and knew, of course, that her end would be to be reduced to ashes.
But she hoped that among all these established things, perhaps a small change could occur, such as Xu Shiyue not discarding her like a worn-out shoe.
Lu Shizhen stared at the fireworks exploding in the air, her eyes blurred with confusion.
She found this feeling strange, as if a spark from the massive firework had fallen onto her heart, its intense heat burning through that part of her being, sending her plummeting straight down.
No one knows where it will fall, and no one knows where it will burn before it goes out.
It hurts, it really hurts.
Lu Shizhen gently twirled the starch sausage in her hand; the pain of the extremely thin skewer grinding against her fingers was insignificant compared to this sensation.
Whether it's anger or hatred.
These radical emotions, after unleashing a tidal wave that overwhelmed people, all turned into this pain in my heart.
It burned endlessly, a dark abyss filled with sorrow.
Lu Shizhen frowned slightly, wondering what was behind her sadness.
But what's the use of knowing now?
She is no longer hers.
She will never be hers.
As if sensing Lu Shizhen's emotional change, Qiuqiu sat on her shoulder and tried to distract her by saying, "Host, we have a lot of points now. Are there any worlds you'd like to visit?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Shizhen was indeed pulled back to her senses.
She thought for a moment and said, "I'm interested, but I'm not that keen to go."
Qiuqiu didn't quite understand Lu Shizhen's meaning, so she asked again, "So where do you plan to go next?"
"I……"
The wind brushed past Lu Shizhen's hair, the newly cut ends brushing stiffly against her cheeks.
Her gaze remained fixed on the world, the ice reflecting the light bestowed upon it by the people of this city, both quiet and bustling.
"I want to leave a mark on this world."
Qiuqiu was even more puzzled when she heard Lu Shizhen's words: "Why? This world is the most ordinary of all the worlds in the system. There is no advanced technology, no spiritual power or divine energy."
“Maybe it’s because she’s ordinary,” Lu Shizhen said.
She didn't really want to leave this world, but she couldn't explain why.
She thought that sometimes you just fall in love with a place for no reason, without knowing why you choose to stay.
Although Qiuqiu didn't think highly of this world, it still respected its host's wishes and asked, "So, should we continue living in S City as well?"
Lu Shizhen shook her head this time: "I think it's best not to."
Although she still chooses to stay in this world, the rule that Xu Shiyue's behavior described by the man and the plot Qiuqiu described cannot be changed, forcing her to temporarily avoid the limelight and leave the entire city filled with the words "Xu Shiyue hates Lu Shizhen".
Although the thought was rational and flashed through her mind quickly, it still made Lu Shizhen's eyes darken slightly.
Looking at the glacier that stretched almost across the entire city, she said, "I think we should go to the Northeast first. I want to try skiing, so if I fall, it won't hurt too much."
What do you think?
"Okay!" Qiuqiu nodded without thinking, wagging its tail to indicate, "Wherever the host wants to go, I want to go!"
Lu Shizhen looked at it and couldn't help but smile.
She thought to herself, "Luckily, I have such a talking AI by my side..."
Although Lu Shizhen and Qiuqiu had planned their destination, she still stayed in S City for a few more days.
Besides making travel guides, the most important thing was that she used her points to shop extensively in the system store, creating an orphan identity for herself that wasn't particularly amazing, and thus gaining the identity of an ordinary senior high school art student.
As for painting, through these days of giving Xu... they have completed Lu Shizhen's painting recovery.
She wanted to take advantage of the upcoming joint entrance exams and college entrance exams after returning from Northeast China to explore this world that was almost identical to her original world.
Three days later, after all the preparations were completed, Lu Shizhen bought a plane ticket for 11 p.m. After checking out of the hotel, she carried a small bag and headed to the airport.
This time, she's really leaving the city.
With plenty of time to spare, Lu Shizhen paused, bypassed the taxi waiting area at the hotel entrance, and headed towards the nearby subway station.
Even before the night is deep and quiet, the city lights, shrouded in darkness, are still on, as if resisting the rules of the world in this way.
Lu Shizhen was still wearing the same black hoodie she had worn when she arrived, her entire head covered by the hood, as she followed the crowd across the street after the green light.
On the giant screen of the shopping mall across the street, there was a very realistic cat lying on the other side, lazily grooming itself.
I don't know if it was too engrossed in licking, but it didn't notice that it was leaning against something, and its tail wagged as it lashed out at that thing...
Then its owner came over and stopped its tail in time.
It was only then that people realized it was actually an advertisement. As the cat continued to lick its fur, the camera gradually zoomed out, and a building model appeared on the screen.
Lu Shizhen, who had stopped because of the adorable-looking cat, completely stopped in her tracks.
The model projected on the large screen was exactly as she had described to Xu Shiyue, with smooth curves that abandoned the old appearance of the building and were full of design sense.
Lu Shizhen's heart suddenly stopped.
She watched the scene and noticed the words "Maud Building Redevelopment Project" in the lower right corner.
However, the next second her heart stopped beating and hit her hard.
Below the "Mao De Building Redevelopment Project" is a line of company signatures, clearly indicating that the building was jointly developed by Xu's Real Estate and Shen's Construction.
It was Xu Shiyue and Shen Yanxing.
"It's the Xu Group again. They've been getting quite powerful lately."
"Yes, I heard that Miss Shen from the Shen Group helped the Xu family a lot this time. Is this considered getting a share of their profits?"
"This is hardly a small share of the pie. Miss Xu is just helping out her future in-laws."
"But the Shen family doesn't only have one daughter..."
...
The conversations among passersby went from exclamations to surprise, and then to unspoken glances exchanged between them, as they walked away from Lu Shizhen.
The billboard lights illuminated Lu Shizhen's raised face, while a layer of darkness covered her fine eyelashes.
Without lingering, Lu Shizhen shook her hat, lowered her head, and buried her face in the darkness once more.
"Host..." Qiuqiu sensed Lu Shizhen's low spirits and poked out of her pocket, about to say something, but was then pressed back down by Lu Shizhen. "Let's go, or we'll miss our flight if we miss this subway."
After saying that, Lu Shizhen turned around and disappeared into the crowd.
And so she left this city, a place filled with all her understanding of the world.
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