The ending of the main storyline on the system screen had long since been rewritten.
After jumping into the sea, Song Liang was rescued and taken back to the Xiao residence. Xiao Yi, meanwhile, had used CIVL to expose Xiao Musheng’s crimes to the public. Xiao Musheng and Liang Sizhong were both taken into custody by the Linhai Municipal Public Security Bureau. Before a verdict could be delivered, Xiao Musheng died in prison.
As Xiao Group’s latest research and development project, CIVL had drawn universal attention with the proprietary technology it demonstrated during the chaotic wedding. Once officially launched, it immediately propelled Xiao Group to new heights.
Soon afterward, Xiao Yi’s will was made public. All his personal assets were donated, while his nephew Xiao Ji inherited all his shares.
After Xiao Ji took over as Xiao Group’s executive president, Song Liang wore the Emperor’s Tear at their formal wedding. Before all their guests, he exchanged rings with Xiao Ji, recited his vows, and received everyone’s blessings.
After he left, that world’s story carried on.
Only one person’s name was missing.
Song Liang swept a hand across the screen, closing the instance results, and asked flatly, “What’s the next instance? Am I still a simp?”
【Uh… yes. But the setting is different, the genre is different, and the instance rank is rather different too.】
【Normally, the first world a host enters after completing the beginner instance isn’t too difficult. It’s usually ranked B or C. But since you personally raised the beginner instance’s difficulty to A and still successfully completed your missions and cleared it, the main system has decided you’re capable of entering higher-ranked instances.】
“So?”
【This instance is ranked A.】
“Sounds about the same?”
【It’s completely different!】3085 suddenly stressed. 【The beginner instance was originally an F-rank world. As long as the host follows the rules, their life generally won’t be in danger. But a world that starts out at rank A has far more threats. One careless mistake could get you killed.】
【Besides, didn’t you notice how little involvement you had in the last instance?】
Of course Song Liang had noticed. The main storyline of the previous instance revolved entirely around the Xiao and Liang families. Even if he had transmigrated into some underling like Liang Long, he could have obtained more information and had greater freedom to act. Instead, he had become the illegitimate son of an ordinary nouveau riche family—and a simp at that, whose sole objective from beginning to end was getting married.
If he hadn’t kicked Xiao Wenyu on the yacht, jumped into the sea to save himself, and stumbled into that robbery, he probably wouldn’t have come anywhere near the main storyline.
【That’s because it was an F-rank beginner instance to begin with. Every aspect of it was relatively easy, including the fact that your assigned character was only a peripheral figure.】
At this point, 3085 couldn’t help sounding a little aggrieved. 【Only you could turn such a minor background character into the source of so much chaos.】
Song Liang neither agreed nor disagreed. “So my character this time will be heavily involved?”
【Yes. And the danger will be correspondingly high, so you must be extremely careful. You absolutely cannot act as recklessly as you did last time.】
“Mm-hmm, got it, got it,” Song Liang replied dismissively.
【…Take this seriously!】
So Song Liang gave it a serious brush-off. “All right.”
3085 was furious. 【…Get ready to enter the instance.】
“I’m ready.”
【Beep! Host, please prepare yourself. You are about to enter the next instance, A Realm to Rest Upon. Assigned role—the Emperor of Great Yao, Li Huai.】
Song Liang: “???”
Before he could react, his whole body lurched backward. The back of his head slammed into something hard, like a wall, and the white before his eyes became the interior of a carriage draped in bright yellow, vermilion, and purple brocade.
Caught completely off guard, Song Liang not only took a vicious blow to the head but also ended up sprawled in a corner of the carriage, limbs akimbo.
A plain-looking young man in a brown robe immediately turned toward him, brows tightly knitted and expression impatient.
Song Liang looked at him and said with regal hauteur, “What are you staring at? Help me up.”
The man stared at him in astonishment, as though looking at an idiot, his expression tinged with disgust. “Are you out of your mind? Help you up? Get your ass up!”
Without sparing Song Liang another glance, he rose, lifted the carriage curtain, and shouted outside, “What’s going on?”
Someone outside said something. The man immediately jumped down from the carriage, and the curtain fell again, blocking the view.
Song Liang slowly picked himself up and sat down. “He dares show me such disrespect. I’ll have his head later.”
【…You certainly got into character quickly.】
Song Liang was very pleased. “I think I’m perfectly suited to being an emperor. I definitely won’t break character this time.”
He had barely finished speaking when the curtain lifted again. The man climbed in, looking irritated. At the sight of Song Liang sitting serenely in his seat, his face darkened.
“Move!”
Song Liang raised his eyes without betraying a thing. “What did you say?”
“I said move. Are you deaf, Li Huai?”
“You dare address me by my personal name?”
“…”
The man froze, then let out a derisive laugh. “You really think you’re the emperor now?”
A muscle twitched between Song Liang’s brows. What did that mean?
The man sneered. “The reigning imperial family’s surname is Chen. Yours is Li.”
Song Liang arched a brow. “Am I an illegitimate son?”
The man: “…”
“Illegitimate son, my ass! Royalty doesn’t have illegitimate sons. They’re called princes lost among the common people. But you…” He jabbed a finger at Song Liang and said contemptuously, “You’re just a beggar.”
Song Liang: ???
A beggar? What beggar?
【You are a beggar.】
Song Liang: 【Excuse me?】
【I’ve sent you the script. Read it yourself.】
With a decidedly unfriendly man beside him, Song Liang only skimmed the first few lines of the plot before falling silent.
Song Liang: 【Do you think there’s any chance your main system has been hacked?】
【…No, thank you.】
Song Liang: 【Then why has my identity changed from emperor to beggar???】
【…Have you considered that you were assigned to play a beggar all along?】
Li Huai, the universally despised, malicious fourth male lead and cannon fodder of A Realm to Rest Upon. A simp who had only managed to squeeze into the position of fourth male lead through a dramatic rise in status. Because he bore a striking resemblance to Emperor Chen Min as he had looked years earlier, certain schemers arranged for him to replace the reigning emperor, drawing him into the power struggles of the Great Yao dynasty.
The system had announced the Emperor of Great Yao and Li Huai. Two identities. Nothing wrong with that.
Song Liang: 【I refuse. I want to restart.】
【…Do you think this is a game? Restart?】
Song Liang: 【Speaking of games—】
【All right, stop. Any more of that and you’re being rude. I cannot get your phone over here.】
To an outsider, the conversation between man and system looked like Song Liang simply sitting there in a daze. The man before him sneered and pointed at his nose.
“You’d better behave. A beggar impersonating the emperor like you will be sentenced to death by a thousand cuts if this gets out. Your entire clan will be exterminated too. Understand?”
Song Liang narrowed his eyes slightly. He was about to speak when a scream rang out outside, followed by the neighing of horses. The carriage beneath him began shaking violently. Something had clearly gone wrong.
Startled, the man turned and lifted the curtain to look out. Everything outside was already in chaos. A group of unknown attackers had first disguised themselves as merchants and blocked their path with goods, then seized the opportunity to draw their blades and attack.
One look was enough to tell that these were ruthless men. More than half the man’s subordinates had already been cut down. Naturally, he didn’t dare go outside. Instead, he ducked back into the carriage and reached for the jade pendant at Song Liang’s waist.
Song Liang caught his hand. “What are you doing?”
“Give me the pendant! And whatever silver you’re carrying!” The man glared viciously at him. “Or I’ll expose you. You’re a fake emper—”
Before he could finish the word, Song Liang seized his throat and twisted. There was a sharp crack. The man’s eyes went wide, his breathing stopped, and his body went limp.
Song Liang casually tossed him aside and calmly wiped his hands. “There. Now I’m the real one.”
【…】
Song Liang said, “What?”
They were the only two people in here. He could chop the man to pieces without breaking character. The system wasn’t going to trick him.
3085 kept starting to speak, then thinking better of it. Although its host hadn’t technically done anything wrong, it couldn’t shake the feeling that he was acting even more brazenly than in the last world. At least back then, he hadn’t killed someone at the first disagreement.
The corner of Song Liang’s mouth lifted. Of course he didn’t kill people indiscriminately. He had already taken in the situation outside the carriage. Two groups dared to slaughter each other in broad daylight, which showed that the law here was poorly enforced. Technology was primitive too. There was nothing remotely like surveillance cameras.
Practically paradise.
Perhaps he had spent too long living in luxury in the previous world, because the man seemed unbearably filthy and foul-smelling to him. Wiping one hand wasn’t enough. Song Liang started on the other.
Just as he was leisurely cleaning his fingers, the carriage curtain was yanked open again, and a masked figure in blue rushed inside.
The newcomer startled at the sight of the dead man, then looked up at Song Liang. “What happened to him?”
Song Liang replied, “He was downsized.”
The masked figure: “?”
【…】
The masked figure clearly didn’t understand what “downsized” meant, but didn’t seem particularly concerned about whether the man lived or died. Instead, the newcomer grabbed Song Liang’s wrist.
“As long as you’re all right. Hurry, come with me, Li Huai!”
Song Liang: “…”
At this rate, he’d never finish killing them all. Why was there another person who knew his identity?
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