THE SUPREME SIGN-IN SYSTEM
Chapter 1: The Blood-Stained Reunion
The alleyway in the Greyside District smelled of damp trash and rusted iron, but now, it carried the heavy, metallic tang of fresh blood.
You Feng stepped over a shattered tooth, his knuckles white and dripping. His breathing was heavy, rhythmic, and terrifying. Beneath his thin, sweat-soaked shirt, the outlines of an eight-pack—honed not in a gym, but in the trenches of survival—shook with receding adrenaline. His emerald green eyes, identical to the ones currently staring at him in horror from the mouth of the alley, were cold.
"I told you," You Feng rasped, his voice like grinding stones. "Don't touch my bike."
At his feet, three thugs—men twice his size—lay in a heap. One was unconscious; the other two were trying to remember how to breathe through broken ribs.
"You Feng?"
The voice was soft, trembling, and hauntingly familiar.
You Feng turned. His glasses were cracked, perched precariously on the bridge of his nose. Standing there, flanked by a phalanx of black-suited security guards, was a woman in a silk dress that cost more than the entire block. Beside her stood a man who looked like a carbon copy of You Feng—the same white hair, the same handsome face, the same green eyes.
But where the twin brother, Ren, looked like a refined prince with a lean, athletic build, You Feng looked like a demon crawled out of a cage.
[Ding! Host's Heart Rate exceeds 150 BPM. Rage detected.]
[First Contact with Bloodline established.]
[System Initializing... 100%.]
[Daily Sign-In Available. Location: The Threshold of Fate.]
You Feng blinked. The translucent blue screen floated in his vision, ignored by everyone else. Sign in, he thought bitterly. Whatever gets me out of this conversation.
[Sign-In Successful! Congratulations, Host.]
[Reward: 'Absolute Composure' Passive Skill (S-Rank) – Your anger is now your weapon, not your master.]
[Bonus Reward: 10% Shares of the Sheng-Long Global Conglomerate.]
[Combat Bonus: You defeated 3 thugs. Reward: +5 Strength, +5 Agility.]
Suddenly, a cool wave washed over You Feng's mind. The red fog of his "anger issues" didn't vanish, but it compressed. It became a focused, icy weight.
"You Feng, oh my god, my baby!" The woman—his mother, Evelyn—rushed forward, ignoring the blood and the carnage. She threw her arms around him.
You Feng froze. He hadn't been touched with kindness in ten years. His older brothers, Kenji and Hiro, stepped forward warily, their eyes darting between the broken thugs and their "lost" brother. His older sister, Miyu, gasped, covering her mouth, while the youngest, little Hana, hid behind her father's coat.
"He... he did this?" his father, Takumi, whispered, looking at the lead thug's caved-in chest. "To three of them?"
"They started it," You Feng said, his voice eerily calm thanks to the new skill. He looked at Ren, his twin. Ren was staring at You Feng's chest—where the sweat had made his shirt transparent, revealing the dark, coiled tail of a massive dragon tattoo.
"You're coming home," Takumi said, his voice firm but vibrating with guilt. "No more alleys. No more fighting. You're a Thorne now."
You Feng looked at the system screen hovering over his father's head.
[New Quest: The Elite Transition. Survive one week at St. Jude's Academy without killing anyone. Reward: Pagani Huayra 'Dragon Edition'.]
You Feng wiped blood off his cheek and pushed his cracked glasses up. "Fine. But I'm bringing my bike."