[Beep! Beep! Beep!]
The mysterious sound echoed in the darkness, causing Ren to unwillingly open his eyes. In front of him, a large clock-shaped system window appeared.
[Discipline is key. Morning exercise is the most important time for physical and mental development.]
"But I'm still sleepy..." Ren mumbled groggily, pulling the blanket over himself and closing his eyes again.
[Beep!! Beep!! Beep!!]
But the alarm sound grew louder, as if refusing to let him sleep.
[Overcoming emotional resistance is also part of training.]
"Annoying..." Ren tried to ignore it, covering his ears with a pillow and hiding under the blanket. But the alarm didn't seem to be coming from outside—it was inside his head. No matter what he did, the sound wouldn't stop.
Eventually, he wasn't even sleepy anymore after listening to the noise for nearly ten minutes.
Ren opened his eyes in frustration.
"Fine! I'm up, alright?!"
He got out of bed and went to the bathroom to wash his face, then sat back down on the bed as if waiting for instructions from the system.
"So? What do I do next?"
Silence...
The silence made Ren clench his fists.
'Okay... even if you won't say it, I can guess what you're trying to suggest. Something like "Zhongli wouldn't ask for advice—he'd act on his own," right?'
Ren sighed angrily and unclenched his fists. He walked to the window and opened the curtains to check the weather outside.
"Hm? Why is it still dark out?"
'Could it be that in this world, morning still counts as nighttime?' Confused, Ren picked up his phone to check the time.
It was only 3:30 a.m.
"..."
Half an hour later
Downtown area, Central Lungmeng
"Huff... huff... Morning exercise... totally sucks."
Ren jogged along the pedestrian street, complaining like a lifeless shell on the brink of collapse.
It was clear that yesterday's weather outside could've easily killed him if he didn't have a power shield. But in the early morning hours today, the city air was freezing enough to kill him from the cold if he didn't wear layers.
Just how cold was it? Well, the thick fog covering the streets was visible, even amid the bustling glow of shop lights already beginning to open for business.
Although traffic on the streets kept the scene from feeling too desolate, Ren was the only one jogging along the pedestrian path. The strange looks from shopkeepers watching a guy in workout clothes stacked with winter jackets struggling to jog by weren't exactly encouraging.
Even though Ren tried not to pay attention to their stares, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed—especially when a group of women setting up their shops giggled and pointed at him.
He felt like crawling into a hole. He definitely regretted choosing to run here at this hour. But he had no idea where the public parks were, and he hadn't prepared enough to look it up. So, he just ran along the streets, hoping to get something out of this first attempt at exercise.
'As expected... same as always... ends in disaster. Ugh... so tired... I just want to go home.'
Ren sat slumped against a wall, exhausted and discouraged.
Negative thoughts began to creep in, telling him to give up this nonsense and head back home to prepare for his first day at work. Those thoughts mocked him—"You think you'll have the energy to work after exhausting yourself like this in the morning?"
As the negativity began to consume him, suddenly he heard footsteps approaching.
When he looked up, he saw a cheerful-looking girl waving at him awkwardly.
"Uh... yo, mister! You busy? Can I ask you something? I don't know how to get to my school. Could you help me out?"
The girl had cat-like ears and a tail that resembled a snake. Ren couldn't quite tell what race she was from, but he figured it'd be rude to focus on that. So he just answered directly.
"Sorry, I'm not sure either... I just moved here yesterday."
Instead of being disappointed, the girl's eyes lit up with excitement.
"M-mister! You can speak Higashi?!"
Her eyes sparkled like she'd just reunited with a long-lost friend.
'Higashi? That sounds like Japanese... but we're speaking Chinese right now, aren't we?'
Before Ren could say anything, the girl suddenly lunged at him, grabbing and shaking him while looking like she was about to cry.
"Please, mister! Help me! I really don't know where my school is! No one in Lungmeng speaks Higashi! I just arrived this morning as a foreign exchange student! I'm totally doomed if I don't find my school! So please—you have to help me!"
"U-uh, okay, okay! I'll help! Just... stop shaking me already!"
'What kind of girl has this much strength...'
A little while later, after the girl had calmed down, they sat next to a vending machine on the pedestrian walkway.
After listening to her story, Ren got a better idea of her situation. She was an exchange student from Higashi, coming to study in Lungmeng mid-semester. Her name was Utage, a third-year middle school student passionate about Yan culture. But her language skills were poor, so she had no choice but to apply to Lungmeng, which had more linguistic diversity and was geographically closer to the Yan Empire.
However, when she actually arrived in Lungmeng, she found out most people still mainly used Yan or Victoria dialects. That made her life difficult. She could barely handle basic daily tasks like buying essentials or getting bus tickets. And today was literally her first day in Lungmeng, so she was completely lost.
Despite that, Utage's face still glowed with a bright smile as she told her story in a lighthearted way, not showing any of the sadness or isolation she initially did.
Ren was both amazed and impressed by her.
If it were him, he wouldn't even have the courage to come to a foreign place for a personal interest. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a bit jealous—despite her struggles, she could still smile and bravely move forward.
Meanwhile, here he was—an adult who was already about to give up after just 30 minutes of morning exercise.
He felt just a little bit less confident in himself...
"Hup! All charged up!"
Utage stood up and took a deep breath, flashing a cheerful smile.
"Thanks for keeping me company, mister! Want something to drink? My treat!"
She walked over to the vending machine and turned to ask.
"No need... I'm not really thirsty right now," Ren replied, even though he felt a bit parched from all the running and talking. He didn't feel comfortable letting a student buy him a drink.
"No need to be shy! Consider it thanks for chatting with me! How about barley tea? It's imported from Yan—it's the best, I promise!"
Without waiting for a reply, she bought two cans and handed one to him.
"Try it, mister! It's really good!"
She looked at him eagerly, like she was waiting for his reaction.
Ren saw her excitement and was reminded of his little sister.
She used to get just as excited when offering him things to try...
"Alright, alright..."
Ren opened the can and took a calm sip.
He wasn't expecting much—it was just a sweet drink, after all. Probably nothing different from the ones at the banquet yesterday.
But he was dead wrong. The refreshing taste that hit him instantly made his eyes go wide.
"This is amazing!"
"Right?! I told you it's delicious!"
"I've never tasted anything this good before!!"
"U-uh... that's a bit of an exaggeration, but I love your reaction!"
After that, the two of them chatted about many things. Utage turned out to be a total foodie. She knew about practically every good restaurant in the area—even if she'd never been before.
After a long talk, she finally got up to head to school. With Ren's help and some inquiries with nearby vendors, she learned which bus to take.
Before leaving, she waved goodbye from the steps of the bus.
"See you again, mister!"
"See you."
Ren waved back and watched the bus drive off into the distance.
"Whew... alright,"
Ren took a deep breath and tossed the empty can into the trash.
"I've gotta try harder too!"
He started jogging again, this time with a steadier, more confident stride than ever before—
Unaware that his every move had been observed by a silver-haired woman with a chilling smile...
Who had been secretly tailing him since the very moment he stepped out of the safehouse.