Under Chu Lian and the others' startled gazes, a pale hand slowly pulled the sheet away, revealing Zhang Feng's face.
Perhaps due to massive blood loss and his usual lack of outdoor activity, his complexion was now as pale as paper. Yet Chu Lian could clearly sense a vibrant life force within him. What was going on?
"Where am I? Wasn't I killed by that monster? Why am I here?" It seemed he had just regained consciousness—his mind still lingering in the final moment before death. He hadn't even noticed Chu Lian and the others beside him, muttering in disbelief at his current state.
"Weren't you dead? How did you come back to life?" Chu Chu spoke first, her face grim. She had seen his corpse, pierced through the chest by the xenomorph's three claws. His inexplicable revival both frightened her and filled her with curiosity.
"How are you here, Chu Chu?" Zhang Feng flinched at the sound of her voice, turning to look at her and asking weakly.
"Not just me—Big Sis is here too." Knowing he probably wanted to see Chu Lian more, Chu Chu gestured toward her.
"Chu Lian, are you alright? There were so many monsters outside just now, I was really worried about you…" A flicker of joy lit his eyes. Forgetting the strangeness of his situation, he looked at Chu Lian with concern.
"I'm fine. I only got separated while looking for Inori. That's why it took so long. Once I found her, we came back—and then I heard from Chu Chu that you'd died, so I came here." Chu Lian pressed her lips together to stay composed as she answered, her gaze fixed on him with a strange expression.
"That's good, that's good. You're blessed with good fortune—it was just me worrying too much," Zhang Feng said with a relieved sigh. He knew she'd be fine if she was standing here, but he couldn't stop himself from asking earlier.
"Instead of worrying about me, maybe you should think about yourself." Chu Lian quietly took a few steps back, unable to handle his gaze.
Her words made his expression shift. Touching his chest, he muttered, "I remember… I was walking at the back of the group because we had to go one at a time. When I reached a flowerbed, a monster fell from above right beside me.
"I was knocked down by the impact, and before I could react, something pierced through my chest. Then… I lost consciousness."
He spoke clearly, but something about it felt off to Chu Lian. She frowned. "Wasn't there anything unusual? Any strange feeling or special event?"
No one could simply come back from the dead—unless he hadn't actually died, or had been in a state of suspended animation. Zhang Feng wasn't some special constitution, so how could this happen?
Something was definitely wrong here—too many connections, too many unknowns—but she had no leads. Still, she asked just in case. She knew that even if something was amiss, Zhang Feng likely wouldn't know.
To be sure, Chu Lian scanned his stats again—and found exactly what she suspected.
Name: Zhang Feng
Gender: Male
Age: 13
Date of Birth: 2002.1.1
Zodiac: Capricorn
Blood Type: B
Strength: 17
Agility: 20
Constitution: 24
Spiritual Power: None
Body Data: Height 157 cm, Weight 70 kg (abnormal muscle and bone density)
Attribute: Dark
Luck: B (Should have no major setbacks in life, and not the fate to die young—why did this happen? Host, I suspect there's a problem here.)
Power Level: Japanese High School Student (That's a battle power off the charts!)
Talent: Evolution (Unknown)
Personality: Introverted, silent, Chu Lian-obsessed
Skills: Painting C, Writing B, Drums B
"As expected, his height and weight have changed, along with a significant increase in bone and muscle density. His talent changed from 'None' to 'Evolution,' and his attribute shifted from 'None' to 'Dark,'" Chu Lian noted internally after scanning, but she kept her expression neutral and continued discussing the incident with him.
In the end, she concluded that Zhang Feng seemed to have been chosen as a pawn by some unknown entity—one she could see and who harbored strong goodwill toward her. That meant the entity likely had no ill intent; otherwise, they could have hidden this information entirely, masking it as before. Zhang Feng had become this person's representative. Nothing might seem amiss now, but over time… who could say?
Still, nothing had actually happened yet. Chu Lian couldn't bring herself to reject or resent Zhang Feng over a possibility—especially when his care for her was genuine. It wasn't like Wang Tingsi's desire for her affection; his was the pure kind of care that wanted to protect her. She couldn't harden her heart against that.
"Given what happened, you'll likely need to go to a hospital for a battery of tests, and then be questioned by certain departments for a while. Are you ready for that?" Chu Lian finally asked the question Zhang Feng had been avoiding.
He didn't know if the news of his death had reached his parents yet. If it had, they were probably already on their way. If not, how would he explain the likely fallout? This wasn't some TV drama where someone 'not completely dead' woke up again—he had been genuinely killed, his heart pierced through, and plenty of people knew it.
After a moment's hesitation, he said bitterly, "I don't know what to do. I guess I'll have to talk to my parents. I think they'll understand. Surviving something like this is the greatest gift I could give them. Compared to my death, a period of tests and separation is nothing. I just hope I won't end up as one of those legendary lab rats."
His worry wasn't unfounded. This incident was severe enough that no detail would be overlooked. The fact that he had died and then come back to life would draw heavy government attention. To gather data, they might very well treat him like a test subject.
"If you promise to stop bothering Big Sis, this won't happen," Chu Chu interjected, clearly making a deal—if he gave up on pursuing her sister, she'd help solve his problem. Zhang Feng's expression turned complicated before he managed a wry smile and began to answer.
"Chu Chu!" Chu Lian cut in, glaring at her and halting Zhang Feng's reply. The girl stuck out her tongue and fell silent. "We'll make sure your fears don't come true. Just cooperate with their tests and you should be back soon. As for your parents, I can guarantee nothing will happen to them. They'll just have to answer some questions about your background, and whether anything like this has ever happened in your family before."
It wasn't hard to guess what questions would be asked, so Chu Lian laid them out in advance to set his mind at ease.
"Then I'm relieved… Chu Lian, thank you. I'll definitely repay this kindness someday," Zhang Feng said, his expression easing. Coming from a modest family, he understood the cost of what Chu Lian was doing for him and couldn't help but make the promise.
"It's not kindness—just responsibility," Chu Lian murmured softly, low enough that Zhang Feng didn't hear. Only Inori and Chu Chu, standing beside her, caught the words. Inori's small hand tightened around hers, while Chu Chu's eyes glimmered with resolve.
"Chu Chu, go back and tell the teacher and classmates about the situation here. Don't say too much—it'll just make explanations harder. I'm going to make a call to my mom to explain what happened here," Chu Lian instructed, taking out her phone and leading Inori out by the hand.
Before leaving, she turned to Zhang Feng. "Go back with Chu Chu later. Someone might have already noticed the problem here. Just say you went to check on a classmate. I'll make sure they don't give you trouble."
With that, she vanished from the room, leaving behind a displeased Chu Chu and an awkward-looking Zhang Feng. "Sorry to trouble you again, Chu Chu," he said, trying to speak up, but Chu Chu ignored him with a huff and turned away.
Seeing this, Zhang Feng didn't stay in bed any longer. Pulling off the blanket, he jumped down, glanced at his tattered shirt and the perfectly healed skin beneath, and froze for a moment before chasing after her.
Meanwhile, on a desolate planet unimaginably far from Earth, an injured adult xenomorph awoke on the barren plains. It gazed at the dark sky and the distant, light-shielded city, letting out a roar.
Raising its arms, it howled for a while before speaking—in fluent Chinese: "Chu Lian, just you wait. I'll show you the price of leaving me in this state without killing me! This planet is my hunting ground. One day, I'll return to Earth with an endless xenomorph army and mold you into my perfect queen. Then, you'll do whatever I command."
It swung its claws as though slicing through the air. "An infinitely evolving body… the perfect lifeform. I may no longer be human, but my growth potential far surpasses any human's. And I still have a fraction of a Spacetime Traveling Merchant's exchange ability. Hahaha—heaven itself must be aiding me…"
As it spoke, a bolt of lightning split the dark sky, striking nearby with a deafening crack. In the flash, its monstrous form looked even more twisted and terrifying.
Rain began to fall silently—as though the world itself trembled at the birth of a new terror.