The Fang and Chen families sat huddled together, eyes glued to Zhang Rui's stream. The footage was blurry, but they could still make out shapes and hear voices. The time in the corner ticked down relentlessly—one more hour until they could finally speak to him.
They had been worried at first, but after seeing him meet the two Zhao siblings, their tension began to ease slightly.
"My name's Zhang Rui," their son said in the stream, resting his bow against his shoulder. "I guess I'm the archer of the group."
"He's calling himself Zhang Rui. That means he's using an alias," Chen Jia murmured to Fang Yuren's parents—Fang Lee and Liu Minhua, a dutiful housewife who had once worked at their family restaurant before it closed.
"It seems so," Liu Minhua replied, dabbing at her tears. "Even if he isn't calling himself Fang Yuren, I know it's for a good reason." Her husband, Fang Lee, wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close.
"He'll be fine," Fang Lee reassured her, his voice steady and warm. "That's our boy. No matter what life throws at him, he always finds a way to come out on top."
Chen Jia nodded. "Uncle Fang is right, Aunty. Fang Yuren will be alright." She clenched her fist. "If anything, the Tower will regret taking him. If I know him, he'll only take challenges he can win—and overprepare for every single one."
Chen Wei and Lin Fang nodded in agreement behind her.
"He's a strong boy, that's for sure," Chen Wei said. "But right now, you should all be paying attention. You wouldn't want to miss even a few more seconds of your son's life."
"You're right, Chen Wei," Fang Lee exhaled, forcing a smile as he turned back to the screen. "What kind of parents would we be if we didn't watch over our child?"
"I am Lin Qiao," Lin Qiao said with a faint nod on screen. Her voice was soft but steady. "Grass Sect disciple—support specialist. I can treat injuries, wrap wounds, and call forth the Heavenly Sovereign's winds against my enemies."
The man beside her chuckled and shook his head. "Don't mind her. She thinks talking like a martial arts sage will help her Dao Seed advance faster. If you're wondering what that means, just read what's inside your golden slip later. Annoying as it is, her method kind of works—but don't think you have to copy her. She's just dramatic."
He thumped a hand against his chest. "Name's Zhao Ren. And the girl who introduced herself is actually Zhao Qiao—my little sister. By the way, nice gear. Where'd you get that stuff?"
The two families watched the Zhao siblings interact with Fang Yuren. They learned that Fang Yuren had crafted his own weapons, though he was quickly interrupted by Lin Qiao, who had apparently been planning to act mysterious before her brother exposed her real name.
Things finally settled when she extended a hand of goodwill and reintroduced herself properly.
"Well, the mystery's ruined now," she sighed. "So let me reintroduce myself. Hi, I'm Zhao Qiao—but you can keep calling me Lin Qiao."
Fang Yuren nodded and respectfully cupped his hands. The siblings' eyes drifted to the bundle he held—wrapped in a soaked school shirt.
"Then let's start again," he said. "Nice to meet you, Sister Lin Qiao and Brother Zhao Ren. You both introduced yourselves, but I didn't get the chance to introduce myself properly."
The conversation began harmlessly. They offered him a seat, and he picked up the clothes on the chair before sitting. Lin Qiao began explaining the items laid out on the stone pedestal in front of him—starting with a gold spirit coin that granted access to a status panel.
"Little Chen Jia—you play video games, right? What does that mean?" her father asked at home, noticing her eyes light up whenever Fang Yuren mentioned the word "system."
The Fang couple turned toward her as well. "Tell us," Liu Minhua said anxiously. "Is that a good thing, dear?"
"It's a great thing," Chen Jia said confidently. "At first, I thought it would be hard for Fang Yuren to survive, but with this—it changes everything. If it works like it does in games, then by killing monsters he can grow stronger and level up."
"How about those unique traits and the Dao Seed he mentioned?" Chen Wei asked.
"It's just like that girl said in the video," she explained. "Traits are powers—like super strength or enhanced intelligence. The Dao Seed is probably a support ability that can work with or without a trait."
"So if Fang Yuren has both, he'd be a cut above others who didn't get one," Fang Lee said with renewed hope.
Chen Wei glanced at his daughter with surprise. "Seems like all those days playing games on your phone weren't a waste after all."
"Hey! Dad—what's that supposed to mean!?" she snapped, glaring at him.
Her mother laughed, and for a moment the tension eased—until they heard about the final item. The one connected to their last hope of seeing Fang Yuren again.
Lin Qiao pointed at the smooth white token floating above the table. "And finally… that. The Return Token. You should've already seen the Tower notification about it. Break it, and you get a one-way trip back to Earth. No strings attached."
Her eyes narrowed as she examined Fang Yuren's face.
"I really hope," she said slowly, "that you're not the type of guy who'd go back. Earth has nothing for people like us. No mystical paths. No Dao. No awakened powers. Just bills, debts, bosses, school, taxes—and a miserable grind until you die."
The living room went silent as Lin Qiao's words echoed from the stream.
A Return Token. A way back home.
Fang Lee and Liu Minhua stared at it, stunned. Chen Wei leaned forward unconsciously, tightening his fists. Even Chen Jia swallowed hard, eyes filled with desperate, trembling hope.
"Does that mean," Liu Minhua whispered, voice cracking, "he… he could come home? Right now?"
"Looks like it," Chen Wei muttered. "If he breaks that token… he'll be back."
For a brief, fragile moment, the families allowed themselves to hope.
Maybe—maybe they would get him back.
On screen, Lin Qiao leaned in, her voice dipping to a sharp whisper.
"In the Tower—we can become something. Power is real here. Ascension is real here. Every path is open. So I hope," she gave him a thin, provocative smile, "you're not a loser who wants to quit early."
Chen Jia scoffed. "Tch… what a snake. Talking big like that. Who does she think she is?"
"You tell her!" Chen Wei grinned despite himself.
Zhao Ren's laugh echoed from the feed. "Pretty sure he didn't even get the chance to think about going home before you started preaching."
Lin Qiao flicked her fingers dismissively. "I just don't want someone weak-minded dragging down our clears. If we're going to reach the top, we need people who are hungry."
Her gaze fixed on Fang Yuren like a blade. The challenge was unmistakable.
"So," she asked coolly, "are you planning to stay… or are you going to run home the moment things get hard?"
Back in the living room, every heart froze. Hope wavered.
"Break it…" Liu Minhua whispered, gripping Fang Lee's sleeve. "Please, Yuren… just come home…"
"Come on, kid," Chen Wei muttered, staring at the screen. "Don't let these Tower people brainwash you. Break the damn token."
Chen Jia clenched her skirt. She didn't want to be selfish—but she couldn't lose him again.
Please come back.
"You know… I really did want to go home," Fang Yuren said at last.
Everyone leaned closer.
His voice was quiet—exhausted even. Honest in a way that made every parent in that room ache.
Lin Qiao raised a brow, already smug—until he continued.
"That was back when I was still trapped," he said, tone dropping low, "surrounded by a dozen man-eating monsters."
A hard glint entered his eyes.
"But once I killed the first one… once I watched it stop moving and felt power pour into me—I changed how I thought."
He tilted his head slightly, smiling now. A cold, dangerous smile.
"If I became stronger from killing one… what about two?"
His fingers began to count, expression calm.
"Two became four… four became eight… eight became twenty-five."
He reached forward and picked up the golden spirit coin. He held it between two fingers… then crushed it without hesitation.
"No!" Liu Minhua gasped, rising from her husband's embrace. "Yuren!!!"
Golden light burst across the stream as the coin dissolved, flowing into his chest. Notifications flashed—but the image was too blurry to make out details.
Then Lin Qiao squinted. "Hold on—why do you have the title Husband?"
Zhao Ren nearly choked. "You're married?"
Fang Yuren smirked lazily. "Well, I do have a cute wife after all—and I'm sure she's watching this right now. She just can't reply yet."
Back at home, everyone froze.
"…Husband?" Fang Lee muttered.
"…Married!?" Chen Wei blinked.
"…What?" Liu Minhua whispered.
Silence spread across the room… Then slowly, every head turned…
…toward Chen Jia.
Her face exploded red. "Wha—WHAT are you all looking at me for!?"
Fang Lee scratched his chin. "Well… you two did spend a lot of time together…"
"And he did say cute wife…" Chen Wei added suspiciously.
"Dad!! I—I don't know anything about this!" She snapped, folding her arms and looking away, pouting furiously. "How would him having a husband title relate to me!? That's not even—!"
She hesitated. Her eyes widened slightly. Wait… could it be…?
Her mind drifted—back to when they were kids. Running around the neighborhood, playing pretend, building a pillow fort and calling it a home. She remembered Fang Yuren giving her a string ring he made at school—and her saying:
"Okay! From now on, I'm your wife then!"
Her face burned even hotter.
No… no way… right?
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the Tower, another woman was watching the same stream—and couldn't help but smile.
"He's actually calling me his wife~." Bai Lian cooed, eyes dreamy as she plucked feathers from a balut—a half-developed duck egg—before cracking another shell and peeling away the membrane.
Around her, people at the same table shifted uneasily. No one dared disturb her as she hummed, happily working through a pile of unhatched duck eggs.
She picked one up, cracked it with delicate care, and repeated the process, mind replaying his words: her lover told her to make a brush for herself as she worked rhythmically.
"I need to work faster," she murmured, smiling softly. "As his wife, I should be more dutiful. If he wants healing talismans, I'll make them for him. Don't worry, Zhang Rui… I'll make you proud to be my husband."
Her tone was warm—but her eyes held something dark. Possessive.
A few seats down, Chen Hao leaned close to Liang Xiu. "Psst—Little Boss. Look… I know I misunderstood your relationship with that girl before, but… I really hope you don't get involved with her. I'm pretty sure she's insane."
Liang Xiu didn't disagree. He slowly glanced at Bai Lian—the same beautiful, quiet girl who had disappeared earlier, only to reappear with a haunted smile, disheveled clothes, and fresh kiss marks along her neck like some horror story masquerading as romance.
He turned back to Chen Hao and exhaled. "You couldn't tell that before now? … Though I agree about keeping a distance…"
Across from them, Liu Qiang—the former police officer—cleared his throat, forcing himself not to look at Bai Lian as she lovingly sucked the broth from another egg.
What have I gotten myself into? he thought grimly.
Determined to preserve his sanity, he turned away and focused on the Live View streams of other players—anything to distract himself from the increasingly unsettling girl at their table.