"Is this... the afterlife?"
Ren slowly opened his eyes, finding himself lying on a deserted road surrounded on both sides by an endless stretch of dry, lifeless desert. The sight was nothing short of confusing.
Having spent his entire life bedridden due to an incurable illness, Ren had often imagined that, when he finally closed his eyes for the last time, he'd either wake up in the afterlife or some version of heaven. Not that he had lived an especially virtuous life, but he hadn't done anything evil enough to deserve hell either.
"But this... this place doesn't look like heaven at all," Ren thought, sitting up and brushing the dust off his hospital gown.
The desert landscape reminded him of Hueco Mundo from Bleach. If not for the pale yellow sand, he might've believed he'd been transported straight into that world—just like in those isekai novels.
"Ugh!"
Suddenly, a searing wind whipped across his face, forcing him to raise his hand to shield himself.
But as he did, a translucent brown shield—seemingly made of stone—materialized around his body, blocking the stinging wind completely. At the same time, a glowing blue window appeared in front of him:
[Current Imitation Rate: Zhongli – 20%]
"Imitation rate...?" Ren muttered, confused. But as soon as he saw the name Zhongli, he went completely silent.
Zhongli? That's the name of a character from Genshin Impact, isn't it?
As someone who spent most of his life in bed, Ren had naturally turned to reading novels and playing games to pass the time. He was no stranger to Zhongli—the overpowered Geo Archon whose release had forever changed the team comp meta (well, post-buff anyway).
"Wait... is this one of those 'system' things? Does it want me to imitate Zhongli?"
Ren didn't understand why this so-called system wanted him to copy a fictional character. And why did it already say 20%? When had he been acting like Zhongli?
Before he could think more on it, the roar of engines behind him snapped him out of his thoughts.
With the surrounding landscape so barren, it was easy to spot the source: a convoy of black SUVs chasing after a lone white jeep with a strange penguin logo on its side.
To the average person, it might've looked like some sort of off-road race. But Ren—now apparently blessed with incredibly sharp eyesight—could see clearly from a distance.
The black SUVs were firing bullets at the fleeing jeep.
And what shocked him most was that there were only two young women—roughly his age—inside that small white vehicle.
Just then, the system popped up another message:
[Can Zhongli stand by while people suffer before his eyes?]
"What do you want me to do? I'm just an ordinary guy!"
Of course, if he could help, Ren wanted to. But what could someone like him possibly do against armed attackers in speeding vehicles?
No... wait. That brown glow from earlier...
He raised his hand again.
This time, something felt different. Through his palm, he could sense energy—earthly particles swirling all around him. It was as if he could feel the stone beneath the surface of the road. He could see it in his mind, and he understood: beneath this road was solid rock.
Zhongli's power comes from stone... does that mean I can use his power too?
Whatever. Let's just try it first!
With the SUVs closing in, Ren focused his gaze on the one closest to the jeep. Mimicking what he remembered from the game, he tried to summon a stone pillar from the ground—just like Zhongli would.
THUD!!!
Ren's eyes widened as a brown stone pillar erupted from the road, smashing through the front hood of the black SUV and launching the vehicle into the air.
Uh... was that too much?
He wasn't sure if the people inside were okay, but he hadn't meant to kill anyone—just stop them.
The sudden appearance of the stone pillar caused the rest of the SUVs to slow down in shock. Even the white jeep ahead decelerated slightly, though only for a moment before speeding up again. The black SUVs, meanwhile, began accelerating to catch up.
Alright, this time I'll go easier on them...
Ren narrowed his eyes, aiming more carefully. He summoned a smaller pillar, targeting just the tire of the nearest black SUV.
Unfortunately for that vehicle, the pillar caused it to swerve wildly and crash into the others, triggering a domino effect that ended with one SUV flipping and rolling off the road into the sand.
"At least... that was a little better, right?" Ren muttered sheepishly.
Soon, the white jeep passed by him, and he watched it go with a sigh. He wanted to ask them some questions, but he understood why they wouldn't trust a random guy standing in the middle of a road.
Guess I'll just have to ask the ones I knocked over...
Though nervous about approaching the wrecked vehicles—especially since he was the reason they were in that state—he didn't really have another choice. So, he turned to walk in that direction.
That's when—
"Hey, mister!! Thanks for helping us out!!"
A cheerful voice called out. Ren turned and saw the red-haired girl from the jeep waving at him. The vehicle had stopped and was now reversing toward him.
Ren felt a spark of joy—until he saw the glow above her head. A halo-like ring hovered above her.
"An angel!!"
"Hm? Did you just call me an angel?" she laughed. "I know I'm pretty, but being called an angel is a bit much—"
"He means your race, Exusiai," the black-haired girl in the driver's seat said flatly, shooting him a deadpan look. That stare sent a chill down Ren's spine. But what shocked him even more was that she had animal ears on her head.
"A-Are those dog ears?!"
"Pfft—he said you have dog ears, Texas!" Exusiai burst out laughing.
Texas's brow twitched. Without saying a word, she calmly picked up a box of pocky from the dashboard and started eating.
"So, mister, what are you doing out here anyway? Judging from your outfit, it kinda looks like you just broke out of a hospital."
Ren glanced down at his hospital gown and began scrambling for an excuse. But then:
[Zhongli dislikes lies.]
You've got to be kidding me, system. What do you want me to say—"I'm from another world"?
If he said that, they'd probably think he was insane.
Surprisingly, Exusiai didn't press the issue. She simply smiled warmly and said:
"If you don't wanna talk about it, that's fine! This area's a bit of a drive from the city, and we just wrapped up our job. Want to hitch a ride with us?"
"Really?!" Ren blurted out, caught off guard by her kindness. But then he hesitated and glanced nervously at Texas.
"Uh... are you sure it's not too much trouble?"
"Not at all! You helped us, remember? That's a big favor! Texas, you're okay with it too, right?"
"I don't mind..."
"You heard her! Hop in, mister!"
Relieved, Ren smiled and thanked them both before climbing into the back of the jeep. As soon as he got in, Texas started driving again.
A moment later, Exusiai turned and introduced herself with a friendly grin.
"By the way, we haven't introduced ourselves yet! I'm Exusiai, and this is my partner Texas. What's your name?"
"...Name?" Ren hesitated, then finally spoke.
"My name is Ren."
[Imitation Rate: Zhongli – 20% → 19%]
Wait—what?! It can go down too?!