Crack, crack—
With the sound of crunching snow underfoot, a slender, ink-black figure walked through the vast, snow-covered mountains.
Deep within Changbai Mountain, a Forbidden Land on the planet Lan Xing, the temperature had dropped to an unbearable level for humans. Yet, this person, clad only in plain, ordinary single-layered clothing, stood as straight and tall as a pine tree.
Exhaling a plume of white mist, Zhang Qiling looked up towards the depths of the snowy mountains. Beneath his hood, his dark, disheveled hair framed a pair of eyes as calm as still water.
[Main Quest: Explore Changbai Mountain]
[Current Role-Playing Progress: 23%]
His name was Zhang Qiling, differing by just one character from that national heartthrob.
Three days ago, he was just a university student in Hua Guo, a shut-in who loved all sorts of suspense novels.
But after waking up from a sleep, everything had changed.
He had transmigrated to a place very similar to Earth, but with more advanced technology and greater mystery—Lan Xing.
Earth had ancient legends of cultivating immortality, demons, and ghosts, leading people to often fantasize about hidden secrets within the famous mountains and rivers of the world.
But on this Lan Xing, all these fantasies had come true.
Forbidden Lands had become dangerous territories that the planet's inhabitants spoke of with dread, and no one had yet been able to unravel their mysteries.
The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself standing within the Forbidden Land of Changbai Mountain.
If it weren't for his persistent chuunibyou even in university, always wearing black, and his fortuitous activation of the Qilin Little Brother role-playing system, he might have become the first transmigator to freeze to death at the start.
At this moment, although he was only wearing black clothes, beneath them, his well-defined, smoothly contoured upper body was adorned with a majestic and peerless ink-black Qilin tattoo.
With every breath, the ink Qilin seemed to gain sentience, emitting scorching heat that flowed into his body.
He had only achieved 23% of Little Brother's role-playing progress, possessing only a portion of his physical abilities and the Qilin tattoo. He hadn't even activated his signature finger-pointing skill.
The main quest required him to explore Changbai Mountain, so he hadn't rushed to leave the Forbidden Land.
However, Changbai Mountain was vast, and its terrain was incredibly complex. Without Little Brother's memories and grave-robbing knowledge, he had wandered for days without finding anything.
Speaking of Changbai Mountain, he could only recall that the book described it as the head of a mystical dragon脉, where Wang Canghai had built a palace. It was shrouded in mist, magnificent and beautiful, known as the Cloud Top Heavenly Palace.
But at the time, he had been too engrossed in the atmosphere the book created to remember how they found the place.
He only remembered there seemed to be an infant in the ice…
Or was it a Kunlun embryo?
As he mused, his thoughts drifted. By the time Zhang Qiling snapped back to reality, he had been standing in place, gazing at the sky for half an hour.
Zhang Qiling: …
Never mind, he should keep searching.
Just as he adjusted his hood and prepared to move on, his keen hearing faintly picked up what sounded like screams in the distance.
…Shouting so loudly in the snowy mountains, aren't they afraid of causing an avalanche?
—
“Ahhhhhh! What is this?! Help!”
At this moment, Wu Tianzhen was desperately fleeing. After a moment of panic, he quickly realized the danger of an avalanche. Forcing down his fear, he shut his mouth.
He glanced back at the snow-white monsters chasing him, gritted his teeth, and pushed his physical limits to accelerate.
The live-streaming optical computer beside him floated up and down, with lines of comments flashing rapidly within.
“Holy cow, holy cow, holy cow! Are there so many monsters in Changbai Mountain?”
“Run, Tianzhen!!! Damn it, these things look disgusting!”
“Help! Someone, help!”
“How can there be anyone in the Forbidden Land?! I said Wu Tianzhen coming here to stream was just courting death, did he really think he could be the first person to explore a Forbidden Land?”
“What kind of hindsight is that? Is this the time for armchair quarterbacking?”
“Ahhhhhh! Up ahead! Tianzhen, look ahead!!!”
Wu Tianzhen was oblivious to the comments. He was already gasping for air, seeing stars in his vision.
This felt just like running a thousand meters during a university physical fitness test…
He suddenly thought of a dark joke, then felt like an idiot for thinking of it at a time like this.
Panting, he looked up, and a huge face suddenly appeared before his eyes!
Calling it a face was more like a giant ball of risen dough, or some pale skin shaped like a human face. The barely discernible features floated on the skin, with dense, circular protrusions occasionally emerging, distorting and undulating around the features.
“Holy crap!!!”
Wu Tianzhen instinctively rolled away like a lazy donkey. Looking closely, he realized the dough-like creature was actually wearing clothes—it was one of the previously missing adventurers.
…Could it be that everyone who enters the Forbidden Land turns into this ghastly state?
He swallowed, wanting to get up and flee again, but found himself surrounded by dough-balls, with more and more emerging from the snowy ground.
As these monsters stood up, their entire bodies trembled, appearing at first glance like some very elastic pudding.
Damn it, he would never eat pudding again after this!!
“Ahhhhhh! I can’t watch anymore, it’s too terrifying!”
“Hasn’t the rescue team arrived yet? Wasn’t it reported long ago?!”
“The terrain of the Changbai Mountain Forbidden Land is so treacherous, how could the rescue team possibly arrive so quickly?”
“I said we shouldn’t have come. Forbidden Lands are simply not places for us humans to venture into!”
“Wait, is that someone over there?”
“Are you hallucinating from fear? How could there be anyone in a place like this? Even if there were, it would be a humanoid monster!”
“No, it really looks like a person, in the upper left corner, look quickly!!!”
“Holy cow, he’s flying over! Damn, that speed is incredible!!”
“Flying over walls and walking on rooftops!! This is flying over walls and walking on rooftops!!!”
Like a splash of dark ink against the vast snowy expanse, he was suddenly right in front of him. Wu Tianzhen felt himself being grabbed by the collar of his shirt and pulled up. After a dizzying moment of flight, he found himself thrown out of the encirclement.
He landed on the thick snow, taking a mouthful of snow. Thinking that this was the same snow these dough-balls used to bathe in, he spat it out in disgust.
Focusing his gaze, he saw a figure in black, standing amidst the monsters, now surrounded.
“Be ca— ”reful
Wu Tianzhen’s words cut off. He saw the black-clad figure slowly raise its head, revealing a clear, pale face beneath the hood. His ink-black eyes held no joy or sorrow, appearing so detached as if he had already left this world.
Despite wearing the ultimate black, he seemed about to melt into the swirling wind and snow…
Zhang Qiling had no time to pay attention to Wu Tianzhen. Although he had rushed over to save him, it was purely instinctive. Now surrounded by these snow Buddhas, while his expression remained unchanged, he felt a hint of nervousness.
After all, when he thought about it, he didn't have any offensive abilities yet. Should he ask the Qilin tattoo to fight on its own?
Just then, perhaps sensing his predicament, the system's voice sounded.
[Detected host's heroic rescue of a person, fitting Little Brother's image. Role-playing progress +1]
[Current Role-Playing Progress: 24%]
[Unlocking advanced ability of Qilin tattoo: Qilin Pressure]
As the system's voice faded, a furious roar of a Qilin erupted in Zhang Qiling's mind. The ink color of the Qilin tattoo on his body suddenly deepened, with a golden pattern appearing at its edges.
The restless snow Buddhas were instantly purified, with Zhang Qiling at their center. Snowflakes danced and the air churned. After the commotion subsided, only a few skin husks, hollowed out by the snow Buddhas, gently drifted down to the ground.
At this moment, Zhang Qiling suddenly remembered that the unlucky fellow he had thrown out had said something. He turned to look.
Wu Tianzhen was stunned speechless by the scene before him. Noticing those calm, deep eyes, he became particularly nervous, feeling that his half-spoken “be careful” had been incredibly foolish.
“Uh— I mean, do you… want to eat snow?!”
He abruptly grabbed a handful of snow and stuffed it into his mouth, grinning foolishly, “It’s quite tasty, really!”
Wu Tianzhen: …
Zhang Qiling: …
Wu Tianzhen slapped himself in the face.
Damn it, am I an idiot???