At four in the morning, Dongfang Shu got up from the living room couch. He effortlessly broke the lock on Ye Zhizhou's door and walked over to the bed, where he unleashed his mental powers. The small mirror by the pillow quivered and then emitted a ball of light that enveloped Ye Zhizhou.
Ye Zhizhou had returned to the small building once again. This time, he didn't engage in a conversation with the small mirror but instead went straight to the alchemy room. He found a pill in the second row of porcelain bottles and swallowed it. Every time he had dreams like this, they woke him up, and he was curious about it.
After taking the pill, he felt warmth spreading through his body. He curiously touched his belly and looked around, "You've been making me take this pill all the time. Now that I've taken it, what's next?"
There was no response, but a gentle force suddenly rushed towards him and quickly engulfed him. His consciousness plunged into darkness, and when he woke up again, he found himself surrounded by a beautiful starry sky. He was bewildered, "Why am I in my mental sea of consciousness? My recent dreams have been really strange..."
A pretty little crane suddenly popped out and circled around him.
"Huh? Where did this bird come from?" Ye Zhizhou questioned. He found it strange that someone else's mental power was appearing in his mental sea of consciousness. Was he... experiencing some sort of infatuation?
With an awkward expression, he cleared his wandering thoughts and sat down cross-legged in his mental sea of consciousness. He began chatting with the little crane, "Why are you here? Running around in someone else's mental sea of consciousness can get you killed. You better leave."
The little crane let out a silent chirp and then perched on his shoulder, nuzzling him affectionately and shamelessly sticking its head into his clothes.
"...Why does this crane's shameless behavior seem so familiar?" Ye Zhizhou wondered. Lost in thought, he suddenly felt a burst of mental power from the crane, which came directly at his face. At the same time, a warm sensation enveloped him, and his consciousness started to drift away. The stars in the surrounding mental sea began to flicker, and he slowly fell to the ground, closing his eyes.
The condensed crane disappeared and reappeared, and the transformation of the planets became faster and faster. It seemed like only a breath of time, but it also felt like centuries. Suddenly, the change in the planets abruptly stopped, and Ye Zhizhou, lying in the middle of the starry sky, fluttered his eyelashes and opened his eyes.
Another little crane flew over, snuggled up to him, nuzzled him, and then shamelessly burrowed into his clothes.
Ye Zhizhou's expression shifted from confusion to clarity, and finally settled on a smirk. "A leopard can't change its spots," he said as he grabbed the little crane and plucked some of its feathers. "I told you I'd settle the score once I woke up. It seems you haven't learned your lesson."
The little crane flapped its wings and continued to nuzzle him. The spiritual animal materialized from mental power didn't feel any pain, so he plucked feathers at will. As long as there was an enjoyable aura nearby, it had no fear!
"Just as shameless as your master." Ye Zhizhou indignantly withdrew his hand, closed his eyes, and yawned, "Tongtian, I want to sleep for a while. Don't tell Dongfang I'm already awake. Also, this bird, make sure it's locked up and can't fly out to report."
The starry sea shifted slightly, and a child's voice said, "Alright."
Dongfang Shu attempted to withdraw his mental power but found that a part of it couldn't be retracted. He leaned over to check Ye Zhizhou's condition but found nothing unusual.
"What's going on?" He furrowed his brows, then leaned in again to examine Ye Zhizhou's mental power but sensed nothing. He couldn't help but feel a little anxious. "Could it be that I probed too abruptly? Tongtian, scan Xiao Zhou's body."
The small mirror remained silent.
He frowned, sweeping his gaze between Tongtian and the peacefully sleeping Ye Zhizhou. Suddenly, he chuckled, "Always causing trouble." With that, he pulled back the covers and laid down, cradling Ye Zhizhou in his arms.
By the time he woke up at noon, Ye Zhizhou opened his eyes groggily. He first touched the empty space beside him, finding no one there. Then, he carefully opened his eyes and reached out to the small mirror on the pillow, giving it a passionate kiss. "Tongtian, you've worked hard. I love you!"
The small mirror blushed, quivered, and displayed a message, "Do you wish to receive plot information?"
Ye Zhizhou looked puzzled, then pleasantly surprised. "You've healed? It seems the crack is gone... It's all my fault; I'll protect you better from now on!"
The small mirror blushed again for a while before displaying another message, "Do you wish to receive plot information?"
"Accept, accept, accept!" Ye Zhizhou rolled over, took the mirror, and slipped under the covers.
In this world, he was aware of the protagonist's identity, which was Anya. There were four Soul Flags in total: the ones he had already met, Lou Yi, Fang Yixing, and the ones he hadn't met yet, Shao Feng and Qian Yuan. Shao Feng was a second-generation individual with a status similar to Lou Yi's. Qian Yuan was someone Anya had known since elementary school and could be considered childhood friends. His family wasn't well-off, so he had been receiving support from the Ren family and was also a student in the genetics program.
When Anya was young, her talent and grades were average. She barely managed to get into college but unexpectedly excelled in the genetics program, which was known for its extreme difficulty in the military academy. She even skipped a grade.
Ye Zhizhou raised an eyebrow; this plot seemed very familiar. First, there was a rapid increase in talent, followed by attracting outstanding individuals to form a harem, and crushing various cannon fodders in the way, ultimately reaching the pinnacle of life. He rewound the plot and discovered that Anya's talents had suddenly skyrocketed just before his car accident. Before the accident... something fishy was going on.
Quickly skipping past the romantic subplots, he focused on the part where the world was destroyed. After regaining his memories, this was the part he was most concerned about. In his own world, the Bug race was just a group of unintelligent brutes, strong in physical power but lacking in intelligence. Even the Bug Queen was the same, so they weren't a significant threat. While the entire star system had several independent sovereign nations, there were no major conflicts between them. The public was strongly against war, and anyone who dared to wage war would be ousted from power. In such a peaceful environment, he couldn't fathom how the protagonist and his harem would destroy the world.
In the grand reunion ending more than ten years later, the male leads successively ascended to positions of power in their respective families. Even Qian Yuan, who had no family, had become one of the Federation's top genius researchers, with abundant resources and talent at his disposal. The protagonist had truly become a dominant figure within the Federation, so she started to act recklessly. She decided to research an incredible drug—the Talent Enhancement Elixir!
As the name suggested, the Talent Enhancement Elixir improved one's talents and allowed them to reach the pinnacle of life. Once this elixir was created, everyone could become a 3S (smart, strong, and successful) individual! Who would be afraid of the Bug race then? With a wave of their hands, they could wipe them out! The male leads, who adored her, fully supported her career and dream development. Thus, Lou Yi handled the location, Shao Feng managed the connections, Fang Yixing took care of equipment, and Qian Yuan provided the talent. Soon, a brilliant project team was formed.
With such strong resource support, the Talent Enhancement Elixir was created within a few years. After preliminary experiments, the male leads were the first to use it, and their talents all significantly improved. The most outstanding, Shao Feng, became an unprecedented five-star genius in the history of interstellar achievements!
The male leads were thrilled, and so was the protagonist. They began mass-producing this incredible elixir. The Talent Enhancement Elixir started to spread within the military, the political sphere, and was eventually sold at high prices to high-ranking officials in other countries. It gradually made its way to the general public. The protagonist became a celebrated genius and hero, receiving numerous accolades, while the male leads grew fonder of her, showering her with love.
Ten years later, the Talent Enhancement Elixir had spread to every corner of the world and became a necessary injection for newborns. Fifteen years later, people who had taken the elixir began to exhibit signs of genetic breakdown. Twenty years later, genetic breakdown symptoms started to proliferate among children and teenagers, casting doubts on the elixir. Eventually, it was banned, and the protagonist left, leaving behind the male leads who were experiencing genetic breakdown symptoms one after another. Thirty years later, a large number of humans died, and the survivors despairingly discovered that their reproductive systems had been damaged by the elixir, and genetic breakdown could even be hereditary. Forty years later, the Bug race wiped out the dwindling human population. After a few more years, various planets were devoured by the Bug race, and the world was destroyed.
Ye Zhizhou closed the information and felt a complex mixture of emotions. The world he had grown up in had been destroyed by a mysterious Talent Enhancement Elixir, which was truly...
Suddenly, the blanket was lifted, and a weight descended on him. His earlobe was nibbled, and a voice said, "Xiao Zhou, it's time for breakfast."
He snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at the small mirror in his hand. Then, he turned around and looked into the eyes of Dongfang Shu, who was sitting on the bed. He stretched his leg and kicked him, saying, "Go fix my door lock, or... hehe." He had locked the door securely last night; he knew very well what his lover was capable of. Gentle lock-picking? Dream on!
Dongfang Shu got up silently, touched the places where he had been injured twice, and then turned to fix the door. Well, this energetic Xiao Zhou was quite cute...
"He's one of the male leads," Ye Zhizhou scolded, his mood lightening a bit. After successfully fixing the lock, Dongfang Shu wiped his hands and sat down beside him, embracing him without any room for refusal. He nuzzled Ye Zhizhou's ear and asked, "Where are all the Soul Flags in this world?"
Alarm bells rang in Ye Zhizhou's mind, and he furrowed his brows, twisting Dongfang Shu's face, "Why are you asking this? What do you want to do?"
Dongfang Shu blinked, his face darkening, "I... I was just curious."
Ye Zhizhou also paused, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.
The problem indeed persisted, and as soon as it touched upon points that both of them cared about, the warm atmosphere would be instantly shattered by mutual questioning.
"Xiao Zhou," Dongfang Shu's eyes dimmed momentarily as he cradled Ye Zhizhou's face and locked eyes with him. "In the previous world, it was my fault. I promise I will never treat you like that again. Trust me one more time, okay?"
His lover had never used such a almost pleading tone to speak to him, and Ye Zhizhou's heart immediately softened. He extended his arms and hugged Dongfang Shu, nuzzling him affectionately in his arms. "I was too sensitive... I trust you, I love you."
"Yeah, I love you too."
The two of them shared a tender embrace for a while, then, in perfect harmony, gave each other a gentle kiss before continuing to discuss the plot.
"Your little brother seems a bit jealous, no, all the male leads seem a bit jealous. Wait, they aren't together yet, so the current plot... probably means your little brother is going to be a father?"
Dongfang Shu stroked his hair, his eyes filled with contentment and tenderness.
"Anyway, no matter what it is, now is the perfect time to pull the flag!" Ye Zhizhou plucked the little crane that had landed on his documents and condensed it into a butterfly, then sent it over. He picked up his communicator and dialed Lou Yi's number.
Dongfang Shu glanced at the little crane and butterfly playing together, a hint of a smile in his eyes. Wherever this person was, that was home.
Lou Yi was dumbfounded as he put down the communicator, stupefied for three seconds, and then frantically dialed Shao Feng's number.
"Hello, little fox, why is Little Fox looking for me?"
"You trash!" Lou Yi took off his glasses and angrily opened the video window that had popped up. "Are you trying to ruin your political career? You, you're driving me crazy with your behavior!"
Shao Feng was bewildered, "Behavior? I haven't done anything wrong. How can I have a behavior problem when I'm not even able to do anything wrong?" He wanted to do something wrong, but he also needed to be able to do it successfully.
"You're pretending to be clueless!" Lou Yi exploded. "Do you dare to say that the child in Anya's belly isn't yours? You've been getting very close to her recently!"
"What? Anya is pregnant?"
Lou Yi, relying on over twenty years of experience with Shao Feng, deduced that his surprise was probably genuine. He furrowed his brows in confusion. "You didn't know?"
"Why would I know? I haven't even touched her!"
The two stared at each other with wide eyes, and then Lou Yi quickly shut off the communicator.
Shao Feng froze for a moment, then exploded in anger, "Lou Xiaoyi, you actually suspect that I got someone else pregnant! Damn it! If your belly could get big, I would have been... Oh, so annoying!"
[Lou Yi's chances of falling in love with the main character have dropped to 0%. The second flag has been removed. Congratulations, host, please keep up the good work.]
[Shao Feng's chances of falling in love with the main character have dropped to 20%. Please keep up the good work, host.]
Ye Zhizhou nodded in satisfaction, the speed was good, this wave was promising. He happily set aside the Anya family's genealogy and various documents and patted Dongfang Shu, "I have a task for you."
Dongfang Shu, who was flipping through the photo album, turned his head and kissed Ye Zhizhou's cheek.
"Be serious!" Ye Zhizhou pushed him away and wrote down Qian Yuan's name on a piece of paper, passing it over. "Help me find out about this person's background and contact information. He's the last male lead who hasn't appeared yet, and now is the perfect time to pull the flag. I need detailed information about him." He didn't dare to mess around in his own world, so he entrusted this investigation task to his lover, who had connections and resources.
Dongfang Shu took the paper, folded it, and carefully put away the slightly worn photo album. He leaned over to kiss Ye Zhizhou.
This was the perfect moment! Ye Zhizhou smirked, letting him kiss him, and intentionally teasing him. Then he casually said, "Now my body belongs to me, but your body doesn't, Dongfang... Lou Qian has quite a handsome face."
Dongfang Shu stiffened, silently released him, and lowered his head to look at his current body, his face darkening.
Ye Zhizhou whistled inwardly, letting him go and burying his mind back into various documents. The mission was more important now. As for a certain impatient and needy big crane, well, let him be jealous and conflicted with the body he's using right now!