Emptiness.
That was the first sensation Li Xuan felt upon awakening.
His head throbbed slightly with confusion. As clarity returned, he instinctively began observing his surroundings.
He found himself in a vast, square-shaped chamber, its floor tiled entirely with polished white bricks. Suspended in the center of the space floated a glowing white sphere, pulsing faintly like a living heart.
Around the edges of this room stood twenty wooden doors, intricately carved and closed tightly, each spaced evenly along the walls.
On the ground nearby, four others lay unconscious.
One was a pretty high school girl in uniform. Another was a bespectacled man dressed in a suit. Next, a bloated middle-aged man with a sagging belly. Lastly, a casually dressed woman with delicate features and a calm presence.
None of them stirred. They showed no signs of waking.
Li Xuan studied their faces. He did not recognize a single one.
That was his second realization.
A creaking sound interrupted his thoughts.
The sharp groan of wood rang out as one of the doors slowly swung open.
Li Xuan turned toward it, his eyes narrowing.
What was going to emerge? Was it human?
Despite the strange circumstances, his expression remained cold and composed, not a hint of fear or tension on his face. Most people would panic after waking up in such a strange place, but not Li Xuan. He felt an unnatural calmness deep within.
He did not have to wait long.
The door opened wide, revealing not a monster or bizarre creature, but a stunningly seductive woman.
She wore a black pencil skirt that hugged her curves, paired with blood-red high heels that echoed softly as she stepped forward. Her long black hair cascaded down to her waist like a silk curtain, while heavy smoky makeup gave her an air of mystery and allure. A half-rimmed pair of glasses sat on her nose, adding a touch of intellect that clashed intriguingly with her otherwise provocative appearance.
A cigarette rested between her crimson lips. She exhaled slowly, the smoke curling through the air as her gaze swept over the group near the glowing orb.
Upon noticing Li Xuan, who was already awake, her eyebrows lifted slightly. Her expression shifted into mild amusement as she exhaled another puff of smoke and spoke in a sultry tone.
"Well, look at that. Already awake? Not bad at all. And quite the looker, too."
Li Xuan was of average build, but his sharp features and dark, slightly messy hair gave him an edge. His skin was smooth, and his piercing eyes carried a cold clarity. There was something captivating about his presence, a quiet sharpness that made him stand out.
He ignored the flirtatious remark and slowly sat up, speaking calmly as he faced the approaching woman.
"What is this place? And who are you?"
She waved his questions off with a casual gesture, her voice teasing.
"Let's wait until the others wake up. I don't want to explain everything twice."
At some point, without him noticing, she had already drawn close.
Li Xuan's entire body tensed instinctively.
Goosebumps prickled his skin. Every sense was on edge. It was not her beauty that triggered this reaction, but something far more primal.
She radiated danger.
Li Xuan's face remained expressionless, but his mind was racing.
He understood immediately why he felt this way.
This woman was powerful.
Far stronger than he was. If they were to fight with everything on the line, she could absolutely kill him.
Li Xuan was no ordinary person.
He had grown up an orphan. On the day he turned eighteen, something inexplicable had appeared in his mind — a sign-in system.
By touching certain people or objects, he could "sign in" and receive something related to them. These rewards ranged from skills to items.
The only limitation was that he could only sign in once per day.
Now over twenty years old, Li Xuan had already spent two years using the system in the real world and had gained a wide range of abilities.
From a boxer, he obtained Basic Boxing Technique. From a soldier, he received Combat Foundations. From a manga store, he gained Anime Knowledge. From a master swordsman, he unlocked Instinct.
Some skills could be enhanced through repeated sign-ins with similar people or items. His combat and knowledge-based skills had already reached mastery. However, Instinct was unique. It could not be stacked or upgraded. It was fixed.
And it was this very instinct that was now warning him.
If he fought her seriously, he would die.
That realization weighed heavily in his chest. But he also knew that if he avoided a direct fight, he might at least survive with injuries and escape. Unfortunately, the environment was unknown, and those closed doors offered no guarantee of safety. There was no way to tell if they could even be opened.
A fight had to be avoided at all costs.
That was the conclusion he reached with a clear, rational mind.
Perhaps sensing that the others would not awaken immediately, the woman seemed in the mood for small talk. She flicked the ash from her cigarette and asked him in a playful tone.
"Soldier? Assassin?"
"Just an ordinary man," Li Xuan replied blandly.
The woman chuckled.
"Come on now. That's cute. Normally, all newbies wake up at the same time. But here you are, already up and calm as ever, while the others are still out cold. And you expect me to believe you're just some regular guy? Please."
Li Xuan frowned slightly. He disliked being called things like that by a stranger, but her tone was more teasing than disrespectful, so he let it slide.
"Instead of joking around, why not explain what's going on here?"
"You're no fun at all," she said with a shake of her head.
"If you're worried about having to repeat yourself later, I can explain to them when they wake up," Li Xuan offered.
She wagged a finger slowly.
"No can do. If you explain, then I miss out, and I don't like missing out."
Miss out?
Li Xuan's eyes narrowed. Her tone hinted at something deeper. Perhaps newcomers like them were worth something. Perhaps there was some kind of reward for explaining things to fresh arrivals.
No matter. Once the others woke up, she would explain eventually.
About thirty minutes passed.
Finally, the unconscious people began to stir. During that time, Li Xuan had stayed exactly where he was, despite his curiosity about the surroundings. He had not moved recklessly.
He had not used today's sign-in yet. But touching the floor, walls, or doors had triggered nothing. The system gave no notification. Apparently, this space itself could not be signed in with.
The woman, on the other hand, could be signed in with. But it required physical contact, and that was not an option for now. He would wait.
The first to awaken was the casually dressed woman. She blinked rapidly, her expression dazed. Upon noticing the others — some awake, some unconscious — and seeing the seductive woman staring sharply at her, her face paled.
Her voice trembled.
"What are you… what are you going to do to us?"
The high school girl awoke next, immediately screaming in panic.
"Kidnapping? Is this a kidnapping?!"
The bespectacled man remained composed. He adjusted his glasses and said calmly, "If this is a kidnapping, please don't harm us. We're willing to negotiate. Just tell us what you want."
Then came the obese man, who showed no fear whatsoever. His eyes lit up at the sight of the seductive woman, brimming with undisguised lust.
"Well, well, now that's a woman! Compared to her, the ones at the store were absolute trash!"
The woman smiled faintly, clearly amused by their reactions. She turned to Li Xuan and said softly, "None of them are as impressive as you, little brother."
He said nothing in return.
Then, with a snap of her fingers, she drew everyone's attention.
Without warning, a pistol appeared in her hand, as if conjured from thin air. She raised it and fired a single shot at the obese man.
A piercing scream echoed through the room.
The bullet tore through his thigh with brutal force, shredding muscle and spraying blood like a blooming red flower.
"I really hate being stared at like that," she muttered through her cigarette, the pistol spinning casually in her hand.
Her expression remained light, almost playful, as if she had not just shot a man without hesitation.
The high school girl screamed again, hysterical and inconsolable. The casually dressed woman covered her mouth in shock, her eyes wide with horror. Even the suited man, who had remained calm until now, turned pale, beads of cold sweat forming on his forehead.
Li Xuan was surprised as well. His eyes narrowed as he studied the mysterious woman.
Where had she drawn that gun from?