Damon’s mask had long since fallen, and Li Shen had clearly seen his face.
What shocked Wan Tong was that Li Shen’s favorability for Damon hadn’t decreased in the slightest. This didn’t make sense!
Wan Tong was held by Li Shen as they returned to the car. She slowly adjusted her breathing, trying to calm herself.
The car was quiet. Her pale, slender fingers were stained with mud and Damon’s blood, and Li Shen carefully wiped them clean, one by one.
His hands were long and elegant, yet covered in fine scars and calluses, a stark contrast to hers.
“Why can’t we kill him?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
They had to either forced Damon, the Raider, away, or kill him twice. Otherwise, not only would she be in danger, but she feared that Li Shen, who kept choosing tolerance, would also suffer.
“He is Cen Lingyu.”
[He is Cen Lingyu!]
Two voices overlapped in Wan Tong’s mind, stunning her. She blinked in a daze, unable to react for a long moment.
[The Raider’s system conducted a DNA test on you and Damon.] Shishi continued to explain.
“He altered his face and falsified his records, so investigating was difficult. But the final confirmation just came through.”
Li Shen firmly grasped her retreating hand and pulled her back into his arms, cradling her like a child. He patted her gently and added, “I’ve already arranged for him to receive treatment. He’ll be fine.”
Wan Tong clutched the front of his shirt with both hands. Her eyes were wet and red, still filled with disbelief.
Had she just almost killed her own brother?
No. If this world worked like some of the others before, where Raiders entered the original owner’s body while it was still intact, then once the Raider left, the original owner could return.
The real question was : was her brother still okay when the Raider took over his body a year ago?
Throughout the journey, Wan Tong’s mind was clouded, unable to relax even for a moment. By the time they arrived, her consciousness felt as if it were floating, detaching her from her surroundings. She only caught fragments of conversation now and then.
A convoy of cars passed through the gates of a manor, drove across a wide training ground, and finally stopped in front of a row of elegant cottages.
Li Shen carried the sleeping girl into one of the small houses. The room was simply decorated yet warm and cozy. Even the bed had a delicate, pink canopy, giving it a soft, feminine touch.
As he placed her onto the bed, the canopy curtains fell around her.
Li Shen knelt beside the bed, gazing at her quietly.
Her little face was pale, her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and her lips—bitten earlier—were still a ghostly white. Even in sleep, she seemed restless.
His rough fingertips brushed against her forehead before lingering at the corner of her lips.
Unknowingly, he had leaned over her, his dark eyes deep as ink, as though something inside him had awakened—something desperate to claim the person before him, to merge her entirely with himself.
Yet, at the same time, a contradiction brewed in his heart. The distance between them was insurmountable, in every way imaginable.
He lowered his head, capturing her soft lips, but quickly pulled away, regaining control over himself.
By the time he stepped outside, dawn was breaking, and the night’s chill was slowly dissipating.
At the doorway, Daina was crouching in a corner. When he looked up and saw Li Shen, he didn’t move.
“Brother Shen, I was wrong.”
Li Shen looked down at him coldly. “How did you two negotiate?”
He hadn’t brought Daina along this time, yet somehow, he had appeared at the scene, clearly having worked something out with Tongtong.
“She had a bugging device, and she activated a tracker. In the car, she told me to find a chance to kill Damon, but the dense forest made it difficult to snipe him…”
Or rather, Damon instinctively positioned himself in the safest spot. If he hadn’t lost control of his emotions in the end, Daina might not have hit him at all.
If that had happened, she might have died back there.
He had been too impulsive, too overconfident. He should have informed Brother Shen first.
“Go receive your punishment,” Li Shen ordered before walking away.
He entered another room filled with medical equipment. The faint scent of disinfectant lingered in the air.
Damon was awake, leaning against the headboard. His hand and waist injuries had been treated.
His uninjured left hand was cuffed, restricting his movement.
When he saw Li Shen enter, he swept a cold glance at him, his presence undiminished.
“Didn’t expect it, did you? To fall into your hands like this.”
“You’re mistaken,” Li Shen replied. “You fell into Tongtong’s hands.”
Damon was momentarily at a loss for words.
After a while, he scoffed. “Just a momentary lapse.”
He simply hadn’t expected her to bring a sniper, and to be so well-prepared.
No matter how he looked at it, this was the most humiliating defeat of his life.
On top of that, the system had confirmed that she might really be the original owner’s sister, back from the dead… No wonder she was an anomaly in this world. She truly wasn’t simple.
Demon had been considering his next move, but strangely, irrelevant memories kept surfacing in his mind. He frowned and ordered the system to erase the original owner’s emotions again, allowing himself to think clearly.
“What’s with the hair sample you sent me?”
Damon adjusted his frameless glasses, his usual gentle expression returning.
“Didn’t you recognize it?” Li Shen countered, his dark gaze locked onto Damon.
According to the records, Cen Lingyu had no history of amnesia, and when he first saw Tongtong, his emotions had indeed fluctuated.
“Do you believe that the dead can suddenly come back to life?”
“I don’t.”
Damon was momentarily stunned.
Li Shen continued, “But I believe she is Cen Wantong.”
“……” Damon’s lips twitched. Isn’t that the same thing?
As he stared at Li Shen’s expressionless face, the strange feeling in his heart disappeared. No wonder Li Shen’s favorability toward him had always remained at a neutral level. He had suspected his identity all along.
Li Shen had made Damon his psychiatrist, likely for this very reason. He might have even known that Damon’s suggestion therapy was worsening his hallucinations, yet he still accepted it in a self-destructive manner, as if atoning for a sin.
For the first time, Damon felt stifled, like a fool being played by Li Shen!
“I want to see her.” Damon lowered his face.
“She doesn’t want to see you.”
“……”
Damon clenched his fists in anger, but a sharp pain shot through his hand, draining the color from his face.
That gunshot had nearly crippled his hand.
Li Shen glanced at him, then turned to leave, but after a few steps, he stopped and said, “If you harm her, I will repay you a hundredfold, whether you are her brother or not.”
The moment those words were spoken, Damon heard a notification indicating a decrease in favorability.
He didn’t care, but at this point, it seemed all his efforts over the past year had been wasted.
Cen Wantong had rekindled Li Shen’s hope and determination. His arrangements tonight had made that clear.
But as long as Cen Wantong existed, she would always be Li Shen’s weakness. Sooner or later, he would exploit that weakness to make Li Shen willingly walk to his own death.
Wan Tong had spent a few leisurely days in the small manor, avoiding Damon because she didn’t know how to face him.
She resented the Raider but had only managed to harm her brother’s body.
Fortunately, though, her brother’s injuries could heal with proper care.
Late at night, when everything was silent, Wan Tong quietly left her room and carefully entered Damon’s quarters.
She had observed his routine, his room’s lights went out around ten every night. Now, at past midnight, he should be asleep.
She didn’t turn on the lights, moving toward the bed by the dim glow filtering through the window.
Damon’s eyes remained shut, but his entire body was on alert. The moment she entered, he had sensed it.
Like a cat, the girl tiptoed closer to the bed. His injured hand curled slightly. If she dared attack him, he wouldn’t let her off easily!
But the girl didn’t speak or make any move for a long time. She just stood there, seemingly watching him in silence.
He could feel her gaze burning on his face, making him more and more restless.
He remembered how fiercely she had tried to kill him that night. Had Li Shen told her the truth? Would she believe it? After all, compared to the brother she remembered, he looked different and had a completely different personality.
Just as Damon thought she was about to make a move, he suddenly heard the sound of soft sobbing.
“……” For a moment, Damon’s mind went blank.
Then, he felt a warm, delicate embrace wrap around him and heard her whisper, “Brother.”
He didn’t know how much time passed after she left before he finally opened his eyes.
[Host, the system was just attacked.]
[From where?]
[Unknown.]
[Then find out.] Demon was utterly impatient.
……Perhaps it was the emotions of the original owner acting up, but he didn’t sleep at all that night.
Wan Tong wiped her tears as she exited Demon’s room, only to see a man leaning against the wall, waiting for her.
She hesitated before walking over. “Brother Li Shen…”
Li Shen’s hands roughly wiped the tears from her face. His deep voice cut through the night, “Did he bully you? I’ll beat him up for you.”
It was just like back when a boy in school had bullied her, and he had promised to get revenge for her.
But now, he was more mature, steadier, and far more imposing.
Wan Tong shook her head, her tear-streaked eyes glistening under the moonlight. “He’s not like my brother. I don’t like him.”
Now, figuring out how to drive away the Raider had become a challenge.
When she touched Demon earlier, Shishi had managed to connect with his Raider system, but it was only for a fleeting moment before it was detected.
She had to admit, this Raider was stronger than the previous ones, as evident from his system’s higher level.
Moreover, Shishi said that Damon was a ‘living soul,’ whereas the other Raiders she had encountered were all ‘dead souls.’
Wan Tong was growing more confused. Where exactly did Damon come from? Was there a connection between the Raider system and Shishi? Who had created them? And beyond the small worlds she had traveled through, was there an even greater space-time dimension?
She looked at the man standing before her and suddenly wondered—
[If I kill the boss, will this world collapse?]
[The boss carries the fate of this world. No matter who kills him, the world will collapse.]
[Then where will I go? And what about you?]
[Shishi doesn’t know if it’ll disappear, but Tongtong might continue to exist, floating in space and time like before.] Shishi seemed to be speculating.
That would be too miserable. Wan Tong seemed to recall the sensation of that chaos and shook her head. She would rather keep traveling through small worlds like this.
Her mind was in turmoil. After speaking, she reached out and hugged the man in front of her, rubbing against his chest affectionately.
Even though the boss of every world was new, to her, he and Shishi were the same. They had accompanied her through a long time.
Li Shen’s hands hovered in the air. He lowered his head slightly, trying not to make his posture too stiff.
The girl in his arms held him tightly, her reliance evident in her every movement. He felt both delighted and tormented.
Had she ever seen him as a mature man? Did she realize that such an embrace could stir up his desires?
In the end, his large hand gently rested on her shoulder, his voice turning hoarse. “If you don’t like it, then he won’t exist.”
The deep, low voice by her ear made Wan Tong shrink her neck slightly. After thinking for a moment, she suggested, “Brother Li Shen, help me lock him up, so he doesn’t cause trouble again.”
Li Shen’s gaze darkened. As if on purpose, he continued speaking right by her ear. “What trouble can he cause? I’ve already told him about you were siblings. He won’t hurt you anymore.”
Wan Tong shook her head firmly. “But I don’t think he’s my brother. Something must be wrong.” He must be locked up.
“Alright, then we’ll lock him up.” Li Shen didn’t insist on his own opinion and agreed immediately. Normally, he would think things through more, but right now, he just assumed she was frightened by Damon.
“Tongtong.” He called her name, tightening his arm around her shoulders.
Wan Tong looked up at him in confusion. “Hmm?”
“If you don’t want to play with guns…” Li Shen spoke slowly, his dark eyes as silent and deep as a vortex, drawing people in. “You need to be more careful in the future.”
Wan Tong pieced his words together and blinked twice before realizing what he meant. Her face instantly flushed red as heat rushed to her head.
“Li Shen, you scoundrel!” She bit her teeth and pushed him away.
But Li Shen immediately pulled her back into his arms again. “Who acted like a scoundrel first, hmm?”
“…” Okay, she did hug him first. “But we used to do this all the time…”
She mumbled a weak protest.
A trace of tenderness flickered in Li Shen’s eyes as he carried her up in his arms. “From now on, whatever Tongtong wants to do to me, I’ll accept it all.”
“…” This was clearly leading her astray. What could she even do to him?
Because of Damon’s injury, Li Shen and Wan Tong stayed at the estate for quite some time.
But the place was secluded, and no one came to disturb them. Life was rather leisurely. Wan Tong felt that Li Shen’s mood had improved a lot, but she herself was sleeping worse and worse. Every morning, she woke up with numb limbs, and despite using a bed net, mosquitoes still managed to leave bite marks on her.
At 9 AM, the sun was glaringly bright. Wan Tong, still groggy as she ate breakfast, mentioned this to Li Shen.
Li Shen took a sip of ice water, a complex glint flashing in his eyes. He said in a low voice, “I’ll have a masseur come over for you later.”
“Great! I was just about to say I wanted to go with you for a massage.” Wan Tong instantly perked up, biting off a big chunk of bread, her cheeks puffed adorably.
Li Shen felt a heat rise in his throat. He nodded but said, “I won’t get a massage.”
“Why not?”
“Because the masseur might not make it out alive.”
“…” Wan Tong glanced at Li Shen’s muscular build under his army-green tank top and understood. With his size, it would indeed be difficult to serve him, and with his strong sense of vigilance, how could he tolerate a masseur touching him?
Before long, the masseurs arrived, two beautiful women.
Seeing Wan Tong lying obediently on the mat, Li Shen stepped outside and headed straight for the training grounds.
“Brother Shen!” A group of teenagers of various skin colors greeted him excitedly, including Daina.
They were all orphans, some even rescued from the battlefield. It had taken a long time for them to go from depressed and withdrawn to the cheerful, united group they were now.
“Brother Shen, are you here to train us?” Someone asked eagerly, and the others looked just as excited.
Li Shen had originally come to find their coach, but seeing this bunch volunteer themselves, he nodded.
In the distance, several burly coaches hid inside a small building, occasionally peeking out the window. The moment Li Shen glanced their way, they quickly ducked out of sight, afraid to meet his gaze.
Less than two minutes later, the once energetic teenagers were all sprawled on the ground, groaning in agony.
Through a closed door, a few coaches trembled as they looked at Wu Li, who was calmly sipping tea.
“Hey, Old Wu, what’s up with Brother Shen? He has a beauty in his arms, but his temper is still this bad?”
Wu Li gave them a long look. “Don’t talk nonsense. That’s Brother Shen’s little sister.”
He had asked Li Shen privately before. Li Shen had taken a long time to answer, saying that Cen Wantong was still young, and he saw her as a sister.
One coach scoffed. “Pfft, you’re the one talking nonsense. If she’s just his sister, why does Brother Shen go to her room every night? To ward off mosquitoes?”
Wu Li simply shrugged and remained silent. Then, he swiftly jumped out the window, putting down his teacup.
*Bang* The door was pushed open. Li Shen strode inside.
His sharp gaze swept over everyone as he flexed his knuckles and asked in a deep voice, “All rested up?”
The coaches : “???”