Balance: ¥23.7
Li Chen stared at his phone, his expression numb.
Twenty-three yuan.
That was everything he had left.
Rent overdue. Debt piling up. His job barely enough to survive.
He let out a cold laugh.
"So this is how it ends…"
A useless life.
A wasted future.
Click.
The sound came from his laptop.
Li Chen frowned.
"I didn't turn it on…"
The screen lit up by itself.
Pitch black.
No system.
No logo.
Then—
A line of blood-red text slowly appeared.
[Do you wish to awaken your bloodline?]
Li Chen's eyes narrowed.
"…What kind of scam is this?"
Two options appeared:
[YES]
[NO]
The cursor blinked.
Waiting.
He should have shut it down.
But he didn't.
Because he had nothing left to lose.
"Fine."
He leaned forward, eyes calm.
"Let's see what kind of joke this is."
He clicked—
YES.
The screen went dark.
Then—
[Scanning Bloodline…]
[Bloodline Identified: Li Clan]
Li Chen froze.
"…Li Clan?"
[Ancestor Located]
The screen changed.
A scene appeared.
Ancient.
Primitive.
Cold.
A young man lay on the ground.
Covered in blood.
Breathing weakly.
Below him—
Name: Unknown
Clan: Li
Era: Great Zhou Dynasty (Year 1273)
Status: Critical
Li Chen's pupils shrank.
"This…"
"This isn't a game."
The man on the screen coughed violently, blood spilling from his mouth.
His life was slipping away.
A notification appeared.
[Your ancestor is dying.]
[Survival Probability: 9%]
Li Chen's heart tightened.
Ancestor.
Not character.
Not NPC.
Ancestor.
"…If he dies…"
A strange thought flashed through his mind—
And refused to leave.
Another panel appeared.
Available Actions:
Heal Wounds (Cost: 15 Points)
Provide Food (Cost: 10 Points)
Relocate (Cost: 5 Points)
[Initial Reward Granted: 20 Bloodline Points]
Li Chen stared at the screen.
His breathing slowed.
His eyes sharpened.
"This… is my chance."
He didn't hesitate.
Heal Wounds — Confirm.
The screen flickered violently.
The man's body trembled.
Blood flow slowed.
Breathing stabilized.
Then—
[Intervention Successful]
[Survival Probability Increased: 38%]
At that exact moment—
Li Chen's phone vibrated.
He looked down.
Opened it.
And froze.
+¥10,000 received
Silence.
Li Chen stared at the screen.
Then slowly raised his head.
Looking back at the laptop.
"…So it's real."
A new message appeared.
[Your bloodline has been altered.]
[Reality has been updated.]
Li Chen's heartbeat began to accelerate.
Faster.
Stronger.
He slowly stood up.
Eyes locked on the screen.
"This isn't a game…"
His voice turned low.
Cold.
"This is power."