Zhao Yu's eyes narrowed as he watched the figure step into the Aptitude Assessment Hall.
"Heh~ this is it,"
He muttered to himself, almost under his breath, voice low enough that no one else could hear.
"The main character of this world. The Shivering Skies, Rosswell. At least, I think that's what they call him… I still don't know his full surname. And beside him… well, that's one of the main heroines, Gu Xie Yang Yi. Pretty as hell, yeah… but compared to what's coming in the future? Pfft… she doesn't even scratch the surface."
He leaned slightly forward, tilting his head, trying to take in every tiny movement, the sway of Rosswell's coat, the subtle aura of qi that barely shimmered around Yang Yi, the confident, calm way Rosswell moved, as if the ground itself recognized his presence.
Something flickered in Zhao Yu's chest, a tingle, a thread of warmth and pressure that he couldn't quite place.
His brows furrowed. He whispered,
"Wait… that feeling… that… energy… that something…"
It was subtle, faint, but undeniably there.
A presence that made his teeth clench slightly, his heart rate shift in rhythm with an invisible pulse, like the air itself was bending around a hidden current.
Zhao Yu's eyes widened.
"Did he… did he also get the same feeling?"
His voice was barely audible, but the words carried a mix of surprise and cautious curiosity.
"...."
He blinked, shook his head slightly, trying to rationalize it.
"No… it can't be… can it?"
He swallowed hard, scanning Rosswell carefully.
The man's movements were smooth, controlled, calculated.
Every step was measured, every turn of the head precise.
But Zhao Yu could feel it, underneath it all, there was something unfamiliar, something unnatural flickering around him, pulsing like a heartbeat that didn't belong to the city.
"Yeah…"
Zhao Yu muttered to himself, lowering his voice even further, almost as if saying it out loud would somehow make it real.
"Yeah, he probably already… already defeated the tutorial beast in Husk Field, right? And he… he absorbed it, didn't he? That's why there's that… that energy. That thread of something extra… something outside of normal qi… or normal life."
He paused, eyes narrowing as he traced Rosswell's path.
"Right… he probably already has it. That… thing. The system. it's not just some… beginner's gift or cheat. It's something else. Something that recognizes him, measures him. Judges him. Tests him.."
Zhao Yu's lips curled slightly, a mixture of awe and cautious excitement twisting his expression.
"And I… I can feel it too. I can feel it pulsing… reacting… almost like it's reaching out, trying to make contact. That… that's insane. That's… wow."
He blinked rapidly, shaking his head, muttering under his breath.
"No… no, I have to stay calm. Just… observe. Don't make a fool of yourself. But… I have to know. I have to know what it is… and if he's already got it, then that means… I'm not crazy. I'm not imagining it. This thread, this… resonance… it's real."
His hand brushed over his inventory absentmindedly, as if that could ground him, as if touching his capsule or papers could somehow tether him to reality.
"Oh… he definitely has it. And if he has it… then… then it's not just me. We… we're connected in some way. Even if we're not supposed to be. Even if I'm just… a side character transported into this mess, this… game… whatever this world is."
He squinted, lips moving slightly as he whispered again.
"Heh… he's calm, like always. He's always calm. Even when there's a chance of dying, he doesn't flinch… doesn't hesitate… doesn't panic. And this… this system, or whatever it is, it's probably already recognizing him. Measuring him. Learning him. Preparing him."
Zhao Yu paused, then tilted his head, muttering more to himself than anyone else.
"And here I am… just arriving. Barely level two, barely conscious of how the rules work. But I can feel it. That… thread… that presence… it's almost alive. And it's… pointing to him. Recognizing him… maybe even… reacting to him. Not me, him. Him… Rosswell. That… that's insane."
He took a step forward, then froze, swallowing audibly.
"And if he can feel it… then maybe… maybe he can see me too. Maybe… he knows I'm here. Maybe he's… aware. No. No. Stop. Stop thinking that. He wouldn't… he wouldn't notice someone like me. Not now. Not yet."
Still, he couldn't take his eyes off him.
"Yeah… yeah, he's got it. That thread, that… system… he has it. And that means… things are going to get interesting. Really, really interesting."
"Haa..."
Zhao Yu exhaled slowly, the weight of realization sinking in. He muttered with a wry grin,
"Well… I guess the tutorial beast wasn't just a practice round. Not for him, not for me. This… this isn't just a normal quest. Not even close…"
And in that moment, as Rosswell moved steadily forward with Yang Yi beside him, Zhao Yu could feel it in every fiber of his being, the pulse of the system, the thread of unseen energy connecting them, the undeniable certainty that whatever was coming next… it was going to change everything.
***
'I do not know this individual, Rosswell thought, eyes narrowing slightly as he noticed the boy standing a few meters away. Yet… there is a resonance. A subtle pulse. Persistent. Unfamiliar… yet connected. Assessment of emotional signature inconclusive. Measurement indicates… recognition?'
'I do not recognize him. I do not know why my perception reacts. The blue thread? Possibly. Attention remains drawn. Observation warranted.'
He scanned the boy carefully, noting posture, energy flow, and the faint, almost imperceptible pulse that seemed to react to his own presence.
'Curiosity engaged. Connection noted. Context undefined. Anomaly detected. Further data required.'
Before Rosswell could continue analyzing, Yang Yi's sharp voice cut through his thoughts.
"Rosswell! Yang Yi was right, you doze off every single time!"
Rosswell's head snapped slightly toward her, voice flat and precise.
"Not dozing. Observation continues. Awareness is active."
Yang Yi sighed, shaking her head, gold eyes flicking to the registration office in front of them.
"Observation or not, you're going to fail if you don't focus. You need to do the aptitude assessment. Remember, we just registered you here."
Rosswell's gaze briefly returned to Zhao Yu, still standing at the edge of the hall, lingering in the corner of his vision.
'Unknown individual remains under observation. Connection persists. Identification: unknown. Reaction: unexplained. Must continue movement while monitoring anomaly.'
"Understood,"
Rosswell replied, precise, detached.
"Proceeding to assessment. Observation of surrounding variables remains active."
Yang Yi's lips curved slightly, a mix of exasperation and amusement.
"Good. Keep that robotic commentary to a minimum while you're walking, genius. The panels don't care about your thoughts, they only scan your abilities."
Rosswell didn't respond verbally, but internally, he continued to track Zhao Yu's presence, the blue thread pulsing faintly at the edge of his perception.
'Anomaly persists. Measurement ongoing. Relevance unknown. Assessment required before further action.'
***
Zhao Yu's eyes didn't leave Rosswell as he walked, Yang Yi gliding beside him with quiet efficiency, her voice calm and measured as she explained the registration and upcoming aptitude assessment.
The hall around them hummed with life, the morning sun bouncing off cobblestones and the faint glow of latent qi dancing through the streets, but Zhao's attention was locked solely on the boy with that precise, almost alien posture.
"Heh… I have to admit,"
Zhao muttered under his breath, the words more to himself than anyone else.
"I enjoyed playing Shivering Skies back then. The storyline… it's clever. Not just a mindless gacha grind, not just stats and leveling. No, it has this… rhythm, like a novel disguised as a game, and it does it well. Every female lead is distinct, alive, and believable. Even the harem stuff isn't shallow, it's grounded. Every character has motivation, desires, fears… and they act according to that, not because the plot demands it."
He tilted his head slightly, following Rosswell's movements as the boy scanned the surroundings, his gaze calm, almost detached, yet precise to a fault.
Zhao felt a shiver of unease at the familiarity of the movement, it was as if he recognized patterns, instincts, but didn't know why.
"But then… Rosswell. That's the problem. The one thing that always bothered me. I know his backstory, I know the timelines, I know where he came from, and yet… I can't wrap my head around it. The way the game handled his growth, his personality, everything about him… it's frustratingly unrealistic. At first, he's a lost kid, confused, scared, making mistakes like anyone would. And then… bam. Suddenly, he's not just stronger, he's… different. His personality becomes robotic, precise, efficient, like a machine with human flesh around it. Every reaction calculated, every movement controlled, almost nothing spontaneous. And the weirdest part? The female leads… keep falling for him. How? How does anyone buy that? I could forgive gameplay mechanics, I could forgive narrative shortcuts, but this? This makes no sense. And now, seeing him here, moving through the streets… the same precise posture, the same calculating glance, it's… uncanny. Surreal."
Zhao's gaze narrowed slightly, and he felt the subtle pulse of something blue flicker faintly at the edge of his awareness, a resonance, something he didn't fully understand.
It tugged at his instincts, made his heart beat a little faster, and forced him to reconsider everything.
"The thing is… that thread. That blue pulse,"
He whispered, eyes locked on Rosswell as if it might speak to him.
"It's reacting to him. I don't know why. I don't know how. But whatever it is… it knows him. Or at least, it responds to him. And somehow… it's reacting to me too. Like it knows we're connected. I don't even know this guy, he's a stranger, but there's something… familiar. Something wrong, or maybe right. Either way, it's significant. Unnerving. Fascinating. Frustrating… all at the same time."
Zhao's voice lowered further, almost lost in the bustle of the city.
"And now he's walking in this world… not a character on a screen, not a simulation, not a fantasy. He's here. Right in front of me. And that… blue thread, whatever it is, is pulsing like it's alive. Like it's measuring him, weighing him, maybe preparing him for something. And for some reason… it's pulling me along, too."
He paused, leaning slightly on his staff, letting his eyes track every micro-movement Rosswell made.
The way he adjusted his stance, the way his fingers flexed subtly, almost unconsciously, it all screamed familiarity, skill, instinct honed far beyond what this city normally produced.
"Even the way he walks…"
Zhao continued, his tone quiet but intense,
"Like every step is calculated, every breath measured… he's not lost, not confused. He's observing. Absorbing. Learning. Even now, in the registration process, he's processing everything… analyzing. He's thinking about… something else. Something more."
He shook his head, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"And yet… I feel it. That connection. That thread. Whatever it is, it doesn't lie. I don't know what's happening, and I don't know why I feel this… tether, but it's real. And it's pointing at him. Not me. Him. Rosswell. This is going to be… interesting."
***