Though the sunny days had driven away much of the spring chill, the March nights were still cold. The North Lake at Xingda University was a famous spot, especially in March and April when countless cherry blossoms bloomed, creating a stunning scene.
During this time, the university was bustling with visitors from all over who came to admire the cherry blossoms.
As the weather warmed, the cherry trees around the lake began to bud, ready to burst into bloom.
On this quiet, chilly night by the lake, a thin figure sat motionless, staring at the dark water. Empty beer cans were scattered around him.
Under the cold moonlight, his usually warm and smiling face was pale, streaked with faint tear tracks. Xu Ze had always believed that men should shed sweat, not tears. But tonight, he couldn’t hold back.
The bruises on his chest and the bite marks on his lips, slowly oozing blood, barely suppressed his sobs. Only the tears continued to flow.
“Why did you leave me? What does he have that I don’t? Is it because he’s richer than me?” Xu Ze took a swig of beer, ignoring the liquid spilling from his lips. “I work harder than most people. How do you know I won’t make more money in the future?”
“Why? Why?” Xu Ze wept, his low cries echoing across the silent lake. He chugged the remaining beer, not caring that it made him choke and his tears and snot flow.
As time passed, the lake grew quieter. The thin figure remained seated, unmoving. It was unclear how long he had been there, but his tears had dried up. Thinking of Zhang Linyun’s smiling face no longer hurt as much.
Xu Ze numbly reached for the jade pendant around his neck, not shaped like Guanyin, and yanked it off.
In the moonlight, the jade glowed faintly green. Xu Ze was suddenly reminded of the shattered white jade pendant and Zhang Linyun’s concerned expression for the other boy. His heart ached sharply.
The sudden, tearing pain made Xu Ze clench the pendant tightly, not even noticing his nails digging into his palm.
“Huff… huff…” Feeling his dry eyes welling up again, Xu Ze closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and forced down the pain. He vowed to himself that this would be the last time he allowed himself to be weak. From now on, he would never cry for a woman again.
After tilting his head back a few times, the tears still flowed, driven by frustration and pain. Xu Ze let them fall. Cry if you must… but this is the last time.
After what felt like an eternity, the tears finally stopped. Xu Ze came to his senses, looked around, and felt the cold and numbness in his body. He realized that if he stayed any longer in the freezing night, he might freeze to death.
With great effort, he pushed himself up, his numb legs barely supporting him as he stood.
But as soon as he took a step, a wave of dizziness hit him. Xu Ze’s heart sank, and his vision darkened as he slowly collapsed.
In Room 306 of the male dormitory, Luozi, the eldest, was anxiously dialing Xu Ze’s number, but the phone kept saying, “The number you have dialed is switched off…”
The second eldest, Fatty, was pacing nervously. “Did you get through? Where is Aze? He wouldn’t do something stupid over that bitch, would he?”
The third, Gangzi, frowned and shook his head. “Aze isn’t the type to do something reckless. Even if he’s not coming back, he should at least call…”
Hearing the same message, Luozi slammed his phone on the table. “If anything happens to Aze, I’m going after that bastard and his whore tomorrow!”
By the lake, all was dark. Xu Ze lay silently under the cherry blossom tree, seemingly lifeless, as if the cold had taken him.
Indeed, the combination of alcohol and the near-freezing temperature over several hours could easily have killed him in his unconscious state.
But in the palm of his tightly clenched hand, the poorly carved jade pendant seemed to absorb a faint trace of blood. As if angering some deity, a white light burst from the pendant.
Beep… As the light flickered, a cold, mechanical voice spoke softly, “System activated. Super Medic Support System initiating. Body fluid analysis: Bloodline match, gene purity level A, fusion requirements met. Initiating pre-fusion scan.”
“Host analysis: Chinese male, approximate physiological age 20, physical fitness level G, vital signs weak, alcohol levels excessive, unconscious, body temperature dropping rapidly, heart rate decreasing, respiration slowing… Critical condition…”
“Alert… Initiating emergency fusion… Countdown begins: 10, 9, 8, 7… Host acceptance rate 100%…”
“Fusion complete. Total time elapsed: 38 seconds. Initiating emergency medical protocols: D-level protective shield activated, body temperature restoration initiated, detoxification initiated, life support initiated…”
“Alcohol levels normalized, body temperature normalized, heart rate normalized, respiration normalized. Body repair complete. Total time elapsed: 25 minutes.”
“Scanning host’s external equipment for system attachment… Equipment found: Low-grade alloy resin glasses, low-grade alloy ring. Minimum attachment standards met. Initiating modification. Estimated time: 56 minutes.”
Beep… Modification complete. Initiating primary gene optimization in 10 seconds…”
Beep… Insufficient energy. Only 10% remaining… Optimization paused. Calculating optimal solution…”
“Optimal solution calculated. Activating host’s cellular bioelectric charging function. Estimated time to accumulate sufficient energy for primary gene optimization: 300 hours.”
“Executing solution. Activating cellular bioelectric charging function… Activation complete.”
“Total energy consumption: 93%. Initiating hibernation mode. Protective shield will deactivate in 4.5 hours, automatically awakening host…”