[Consciousness Transfer Record Stored][Temporary Script Path: Deviation World – Branch LR Activated][Awakened No.002/006]
Li Qi stared at the extinguished terminal, but that cold male voice still echoed in her mind.
—"You don't belong in this script. You're a variable—the beginning of fate's rupture."
She remained silent for a long time, until a faint sound of breathing reached her ears.
She turned sharply—through the crack of the security warehouse door, a shadow silently slipped inside.
It was a girl, dressed in a cleaner's uniform, with a faint scar under her left eye.
She kept her head low, but her fingers were trembling violently.
"You're... Li Qi, right?"
Li Qi narrowed her eyes and saw the newcomer clearly—
The little maid from the corner of the banquet hall.
But her gaze had completely changed from before.
[Awakened No.002: Su Ying][Memory Fragment Activated: 11th Script Failure Record][Fate Keywords: Substitute / Betrayal / Revenge / Self-immolation]
"I remember you." Su Ying's voice trembled. "In the 11th iteration of the script, you took the fire for me."
Li Qi froze—that was one of the failed branches where she hadn't survived.
"You... retained that memory?"
"You told me, 'The real ending is never what fate arranges. It's what we choose for ourselves.'" Su Ying took a step closer, fists clenched tightly. "So I woke up."
[Side Script Triggered: Intersecting Line – Su Ying][Shared Permission Enabled: Micro Memory Projection]
The air seemed to distort. Before Li Qi's eyes, a blurry flame-filled memory emerged.
It was the moment from the 11th death ending—her charging into the fire to save Su Ying.
The system was never meant to allow access to "dead-end branches," yet now, the erased scenes were returning.
Li Qi understood.
—Every one of her deaths had paved the way for those who followed.
She looked at Su Ying and, for the first time, gave a genuine smile:"Welcome back, Awakened No.002."
"Now, we've got a life to take back—together."
—
Meanwhile, in the System Core Hub · Surveillance Hall
He Linyun stood before hundreds of light screens, eyes locked on the flickering anomaly code.
[L-000] [No.002 Su Ying] [Main Control Authority Disrupted] [Fate Grid Imbalanced]
The deputy controller looked tense."They seem to have formed an unscripted alliance. This could collapse the entire narrative—"
"Enough." He Linyun's gaze turned sharp. "Deploy the Balancer."
"Activate the G-Class Inducer—Lu Qi."
"And bring Jiang Yu online."
"I want to see how she plans to rewrite six people's fates alone."
—
[Script Activated: S-Group Character – Lu Qi][Role Definition: Fate Intervener · Advanced Inducer Personality][Initial Stance: Observer]
—
Nightfall. Old Hospital, East Side of the City.
Li Qi led Su Ying into the abandoned Building No.4. Labeled by the system as an "unimportant scene," this cold data zone offered them a brief shelter.
Su Ying sat at the edge of a bed and asked,"What's our next move?"
"Find the next awakened." Li Qi answered, "There are six core characters in the script. If I can awaken each of them, the system won't be able to patch the narrative anymore."
"But..." Su Ying hesitated, "Some of them… were the ones who sent you to your death."
Li Qi lowered her eyes, voice calm:"Then I'll die again—if that's what it takes to wake them."
"I'm not afraid of dying. What I fear is living inside a story that was never mine to choose."
—
A soft rumble of wheels echoed outside the window.
A silver-gray car slowly pulled into the old hospital parking lot. A man in a black trench coat stepped out.
His aura was icy cold, each step seeming to tread on someone's heartbeat.
The system interface rang out:
[Lu Qi has reached target coordinates][Induction Task: Expose L-000's true motives. Attempt to divide potential awakened.]
Li Qi narrowed her eyes."He's here."
A visceral reaction surged within her—disgust, alertness, even fear.
Yet deep within her consciousness, a fragmented memory surfaced:
—She had once trusted this man.
—And had been destroyed by him with his own hands.
—
Lu Qi entered the hallway without a sound.
He stood outside the door, gazing at the two figures within, and suddenly spoke in a gentle tone:
"Li Qi, long time no see."
Li Qi didn't move, but her eyes were ice-cold."You still remember me."
"I do." Lu Qi said softly. "You screamed loud before you died."
Su Ying's face changed. She rushed forward to lock the door, but Lu Qi dodged effortlessly.
He stepped inside like visiting old friends—not hunting targets.
"You know," Lu Qi said, lowering his voice, "what you're doing now isn't 'role-playing' anymore. You're corrupted consciousness."
"You… are viruses in the system."
"And I'm here to clean you up."
Su Ying gritted her teeth and lunged at him, only to be pinned hard to the floor with a single grappling move.
Li Qi watched coldly, unmoving.
Lu Qi raised an eyebrow."Not going to save her?"
Li Qi slowly raised her hand and pressed the sensor behind her left ear.
[Activating Script Card Fragment · E18][Skill Triggered: Mirror Rewind]
Her world spun—and rewound five seconds, to the moment before Su Ying was subdued.
Her eyes changed. Without hesitation, she lunged forward, shoving Su Ying aside!
—Script Rewind Successful!
Lu Qi paused, clearly surprised by her level of control.
"You… can rewind now?"
Li Qi stared at him, emotions bursting forth beyond system surveillance:"I'm going to rewrite every ending you forced on me."
"From now on—I'm the protagonist of this story."