Ding! Host, do you want to receive the system reward?
Ding! Host, do you want to receive the system reward?
Ding! Host, are you going to accept the system reward or not?!
"Autobots, transform! Beep beep beep…"
Lin Bei ignored the mechanical voice in his head and ran wildly around the two-hundred-square-metre bedroom, arms raised in the air.
The luxurious room was cluttered with toys—cars, Transformers, Pikachu dolls, water guns, and everything else a child could want.
At the door stood a group of people in white coats and a middle-aged man in an expensive suit.
They all frowned as they watched Lin Bei.
"Doctor Wang, what happened to my son?" Lin Xiangdong asked quietly.
"Boss Lin, the young master suffered brain damage in the car accident," Doctor Wang said. "It resulted in intellectual disability—commonly called mental retardation."
Lin Xiangdong's face tightened, unwilling to believe it.
"But my son was fine yesterday. How could he become mentally disabled overnight?"
"This…" Doctor Wang hesitated. "There are still many things beyond current medical explanation. We suspect the young master may have a split personality. One is childlike, with the mind of a six-year-old; the other is abnormally intelligent—beyond human limits."
"Cough, cough…"
Lin Xiangdong's chest tightened, and he began to cough violently.
My son… mentally disabled… with a split personality.
What am I supposed to do?
"Doctor Wang, when can my son recover?"
"There's no cure at the moment," Doctor Wang said. "We can only hope his personalities gradually merge. Maybe then he'll return to normal."
Lin Xiangdong coughed again, covering his mouth. A faint trace of blood stained the white handkerchief in his hand.
"You've all worked hard," he said weakly. "Go and rest."
"Understood, Mr Lin."
As the doctors left, Doctor Wang paused at the door. "Mr Lin, please take care of yourself as well. The cancer cells have begun to spread, but if you continue treatment, you could still have a year."
"I know."
Lin Xiangdong's face darkened. For a moment, a shadow of sadness passed through his eyes, and he seemed to age years in seconds.
When the room was quiet again, he pushed open the door to his son's bedroom.
"Don't move! Hands up!" Lin Bei aimed a water gun at him.
Lin Xiangdong stared at his twenty-something son—now acting like a child—and forced a bitter smile.
"Alright, alright. I won't move."
"Biu, biu, biu! Move and I'll shoot! Lulululu~"
He sprayed water onto his father's face before running off to play with Pikachu.
Lin Xiangdong wiped his face slowly, his heart heavy.
His instincts told him the car accident wasn't an accident at all. Someone had done this deliberately.
As the CEO of several multinational corporations, Lin Xiangdong's net worth had long surpassed a hundred billion. Assassination attempts and kidnappings were common. Over the years, he had made too many enemies.
And the world itself was no longer normal.
He had seen with his own eyes a small bird swell into the size of a pterosaur mid-flight, seize a man from the street, and drop him from the sky—smashed into pieces upon impact.
Abroad, blood-red moons hung in the sky while crimson rain fell. Those touched by it turned into monsters that fed on flesh and blood.
In certain regions of the Dragon Country, people with special powers had begun to awaken. The government had even formed a Superpower Management Bureau to control them.
The whole world was changing—fast and dangerously.
And for a man of his wealth and reputation, danger came twice as quickly.
"Well," he murmured, "I don't have much time left anyway. But… my son…"
His gaze softened.
What should I do if my son stays like this?
"Son, when will your illness be cured?"
"I'm not sick! You're the one who's sick—your whole family's sick!" Lin Bei said indignantly.
Lin Xiangdong stared at him wordlessly. "Cough, cough…"
He pressed the handkerchief to his lips again, fresh blood blooming through the white fabric.
Lin Bei pointed. "See? I told you you're sick."
Lin Xiangdong exhaled slowly. He had no strength left to argue.
Doctor Wang had said it clearly—advanced lung cancer, a year at most.
"Son," he said softly, "your father doesn't have long. I can take care of you for a while, but not forever. The road ahead… you'll have to walk it yourself."
Lin Bei paused, Pikachu in hand, and turned to look at him with a strange, thoughtful expression.
Lin Xiangdong's heart eased a little. At least he understands something, he thought.
"But don't worry," he added. "I'll protect you for the rest of this year. No one will hurt you again."
"Dad, I want to have a feast," Lin Bei said suddenly.
"…"
Lin Xiangdong stepped out into the corridor, suppressing a sigh. "Guard the young master," he ordered.
"Yes, Mr Lin!"
The bodyguards straightened immediately. Lin Bei's car accident had been suspicious. Though he survived, the attackers might not give up so easily.
As night fell, the estate glowed under a starry sky. It was vast—so vast that people joked the nanny and the gatekeeper had broken up over a long-distance relationship.
Ding! Host, would you like to claim the system reward?
Ding! You—please, at least pay some attention to me…
The system's voice grew weak.
Lin Bei sat on the bed, wrapped in his blanket, eyes darting around the dark room.
"Oh, there are always villains trying to harm me!"
He couldn't sleep.
So boring… I want to go out and play. But those black-suited idiots won't let me. Who'll play with me, then?
Outside, a figure in black slipped over the wall, silent as a shadow. Evading the patrol, the intruder hooked a chain onto Lin Bei's window.
A killer—come to finish the job.
Ding! Danger warning. Someone is approaching from the window. Please leave immediately!
"What? Someone's coming?"
Lin Bei threw off the blanket, jumped from the bed, and opened the window wide.
[System: I said run, not open the window!]
Lin Bei blinked. Hanging right outside was a man in black.
For a moment, both froze.
The killer stared at the young man before him, completely thrown off.
"Shh!" Lin Bei pressed a finger to his lips and whispered, "Be quiet—come in quietly."