Chapter Text
Liu Qingge bolted upright, his heart pounding and cold sweat pouring down his back.
Before his reflexes could kick in to check the multiple sword wounds he was certain he should have, his head felt like it was about to split open, the pain so intense that he nearly vomited all over himself as his vision swam and he collapsed to the ground, both hands clenching his head so hard he would be worried he’d crush his skull, if he could string two thoughts together.
Memories he should never have had flooded in, one after another, a torrent of sensations and images so vivid that it caused him actual physical pain, but almost as suddenly as it happened it faded away.
Liu Qingge groaned softly, and as he looked up, his hazy eyes focused on a flickering screen in front of him.
[Welcome New User 002.2! Due to the sudden demise of the Protagonist of Proud Immortal Demon Way, vers 3.0, New User has been registered to this System, formerly the System of User 002 who had been acting as scum villain, Shen Qingqiu.]
From the sudden knowledge he’d just gained, Liu Qingge knew that this screen wasn’t ‘normal’ in wherever the hell he was, and there were a lot of concerning words that popped up on the screen, but right now he didn’t care.
“What do you mean, what happened to Shen Qingqiu?” he demanded, heart racing once again. “What have you done to him?!”
The last thing Liu Qingge remembered before he woke up to … all of this was a rift cut through the air and Luo Binghe, no, someone who looked extremely like an older version of that disrespectful brat, stepped out of it, wielding a sword that gave off a malicious aura.
It happened so fast that Liu Qingge couldn’t believe it.
Shen Qingqiu’s favorite disciple had gone to intercept the clearly hostile impostor, but hadn’t lasted long.
Strong. Too strong.
There was no hope for Liu Qingge to resist this madman, but Shen Qingqiu had looked terrified, fingers digging into Liu Qingge’s hem, hand trembling. Anyway, there wasn’t any way for him to escape, so Liu Qingge fought the impostor with all he had, but in the end –
“… Binghe! Qingge!”
“Hmph. It seems he hasn’t won you over yet in this world, hm? Shizun.”
As Liu Qingge had lain on the ground, his senses fading fast, he heard Shen Qingqiu’s sobs and that impostor’s sneer.
Don’t call him Shizun, you imposter – those were the last things he thought before he woke up here.
Oh … oh no, he’d left Shen Qingqiu alone with that madman.
Liu Qingge felt like his limbs were freezing from the chill that shuddered through him.
[This System would like to inform User 002.2 that it was the one that saved User 002 from being abducted and soul-marked by Protagonist Luo Binghe from PIDWvers1.0. However, during the process this System was severed from User 002 and was not able to completely redeem User 002’s points to recover User 002’s original body -]
“Wait. Stop. What do you mean, User 002 and original body?”
[User 002 is a native of this world who substituted for Scum Villain Shen Qingqiu upon the sudden and unexpected death of the original Shen Qingqiu. As for User 002’s original body, it is the original body of User 002 that was left behind due to a near-death experience that allowed User 002’s soul to be attached to Shen Qingqiu’s body.]
Liu Qingge flinched violently at this unexpected, unbelievable news.
But … somewhere deep inside him, didn’t he suspect … well, he hadn’t suspected this, but he’d certainly suspected that Shen Qingqiu was no longer the same person after that supposed ‘qi deviation’ fever.
To think the original had died then, and a completely different person had been opened his eyes in Shen Qingqiu’s body … was that even possible?
… … Liu Qingge scowled as he looked around himself.
It wasn’t any less possible than the situation he currently found himself in, he supposes.
But, if this was the world the second Shen Qingqiu was originally from, then did that mean that he could… find him? Did he make it back here? This ‘System’ had said … wait a second.
“Wait. What do you mean by recover his body?” No, it couldn’t be. Shen Qingqiu couldn’t have … if there wasn’t a body waiting for him, if he didn’t make it back … Liu Qingge clenched his fists so hard his nails drew blood, and the breath in his throat turned ragged as he felt a deep distress come over him.
[This System was in the process of redeeming User 002’s points and was able to increase User 002’s vitality, but due to the error caused by PIDWvers3.0 falling apart, this System was disrupted and was forced to find another host.
User 002’s current lifespan: 1 year.
Points inherited from User 002: 1,500]
One year?! Only one… …
“Where is he?” Liu Qingge demanded, standing suddenly before falling heavily against the wall from vertigo.
[User 002, named Shen Yuan, is located at XXXX Hospital, Room ###.]
The memories he’d just inherited kept him from being too confused about what a hospital was and where this particular one was.
Once he regained his balance, Liu Qingge grabbed a ‘jacket’ and swiped the ‘keys’ from where the original owner of this body had left them and prepared to leave the ‘apartment’.
[This System advises User 002.2 to stop and tend to the original Liu Qingge’s immediate problems before taking the time to see User 002.]
“No. Shen Qingqiu comes first.” That’s not right. The System said his name was Shen Yuan now, wasn’t it?
Shen Yuan… a flutter tickled Liu Qingge’s heart as he placed his hand on the doorknob.
[User 002.2 won’t be able to increase User 002’s vitality past another year with just the amount of points inherited from User 002!]
That made Liu Qingge pause.
That’s right, now that he thought about it, what was his plan for extending Shen … Yuan’s life?
Hah, he obviously hadn’t had one, just wanting to barge out and see him.
“… What are you suggesting?” he asked warily.
[It is possible to increase User 002’s vitality in order to extend his lifespan, however this System would not recommend this inefficient method. The previous point redemption was done as an emergency measure in order to keep User 002’s body from failing immediately, but now that this System is bound to User 002.2, it is possible to use points in order to allow User 002 and User 002.2 to cultivate again.]
Ah, if they focus on cultivation, then it would definitely be possible to increase Shen Yuan’s health without relying on points… wait a minute.
Liu Qingge frowned. “Those memories said that there is no cultivation in this world.”
[The original Cannon Fodder Liu Qingge remained unaware of the cultivation in this world, as cultivators are very secretive and hidden in normal society. The spiritual energy in the atmosphere is also much sparser in this world, making cultivating much more difficult. However, due to both User 002 and User 002.2’s prior experiences with cultivation, with items from the Shop, both User 002 and User 002.2 will be able to regain at least 70% of their previous cultivation within four months.]
“… Provided I have the points to buy the items.”
Without those memories, Liu Qingge would probably have a hard time understanding the ‘System’, but basically, it was trying to tell him to do things and earn points.
[… This System would also like to mention that it’s possible that the previous anomaly Luo Binghe from PIDWvers1.0 might find his way to this world as well. Although this System is not certain of this information, this System’s fellow colleagues have reported his invasion into many worlds of all different kinds searching for both Shen Qingqiu and User 002’s souls.]
Liu Qingge’s blood ran cold.
70% of his former cultivation wouldn’t be enough. 100% wasn’t enough.
[Of course, depending on how many points you gather, it’s possible to increase your cultivation past your previous state. Furthermore, due to the lacking spiritual energy in this world, this world’s cultivators have gotten more clever about using spiritual ingredients and technology in order to boost their combat abilities, so it is possible to use items native to this world to increase your cultivation as well.]
Liu Qingge took a deep breath.
“… Alright. What do I have to do?” he asked.
[Current quests available:
Questline: The Despicable Chen Baozhai –
Prevent the loss of at least 25% of your possessions: 50
Avoid being homeless: 200
Avoid Chen Baozhai’s schemes:
– avoid being sued by Chen Baozhai’s current lover: 100
– avoid being framed for domestic violence: 100
– avoid being left jobless and destitute: 100
Keep Grandfather Liu from dying of grief: 250
Make Chen Baozhai regret her actions: 5,000]
Liu Qingge felt speechless as he looked at this list.
First of all, how bad did things get that the amount of possessions he had to avoid losing was only 25%?
Second, wasn’t that last one’s point value a little too different?!
No, in the first place… “Who is Chen Baozhai?” he couldn’t help but ask.
[Information about Chen Baozhai should be already assimilated by the User.]
Uhmm… Liu Qingge really was able to drag knowledge about Chen Baozhai out from those memories. And as he sifted through it, the more knowledge he gained, the more his face turned blue.
At the end of his recollection, Liu Qingge just wanted to bang his head against the wall.
This world’s Liu Qingge was too, too stupid!
How was he so easily tricked by such a shameless, greedy, scheming woman?! Not to mention, such a low-quality woman… rather than someone with vulgar movements and gaudy tastes, he’d much rather … …
The memory of fluttering green and white robes and a slender, porcelain hand that hid a beautiful smile behind a silk fan distracted Liu Qingge for a moment.
This world’s Liu Qingge was an orphan, raised by a caring grandfather who had picked him up from a trashbin.
He intended to enlist in the army to spare his grandfather the expenses of university, but along the way, he was ‘picked out’ by Chen Baozhai for his good looks and well-trained body as her boyfriend.
With no immunity to women, this world’s Liu Qingge believed the sweet front she put up, unaware she was only using him to look good until she found someone else with a bigger wallet. Behind his back, she would scoff and sneer at him and his grandfather for being poor even while pretending to be such a saint for ‘looking past that’ and being smug as her friends drooled over the pictures of his muscles.
Believing her to be sincere, this world’s Liu Qingge had even signed up for a joint bank account under her insistence and hesitated to enlist while thinking of marriage…
… Only to be smacked in the face with the news that not only was she not sincere, she had never been. There had been lots of men, she had said. Lots of them when he was busy working part-time jobs and caring for his grandfather.
She’d found a rich fuerdai who was willing to spend money on her, and her sneers went from behind his back to in front of his face, resulting in her dumping him.
But not before she’d emptied their bank account and somehow… somehow managed to sell his apartment? That was supposedly under his name? Somehow?
After this sudden turn of events, this world’s Liu Qingge drank heavily the night before, and … died of alcohol poisoning? Or something?
… Was it legal for an 18-year-old to drink in this world?
“… System. This can’t possibly be real.” Liu Qingge wasn’t asking. He was stating a fact. This ridiculousness couldn’t be real.
[User 002.2 has transmigrated into the cannon fodder character, Liu Qingge, ex-boyfriend of the villainous love rival, Chen Baozhai, of the dogblood drama, “Loving the ‘Useless Man’ Who Ended Up Transcending the Heavens’. In the original trajectory, Liu Qingge dies in the army due to underhanded schemes, and the male-lead and female-lead uncover all of his grievances in order to convict Chen Baozhai for good.]
… … … Liu Qingge had no words for how he felt right now.
Could the original Liu Qingge even be counted as a character in this story? Cannon fodder? He wasn’t even cannon fodder. He was just background story, completely!
This was too much – Liu Qingge had no idea how to even begin to process this.
So he did what he always turned to in times of stress – no, the second thing he would turn to, since slaying monsters didn’t seem like a viable option.
He attempted to meditate.
Inspecting his meridians, Liu Qingge frowned.
This world’s Liu Qingge had kept his body well-trained, but his cultivation… well, he didn’t know there was cultivation to begin with.
“… System, how much would it cost to open my meridians?” he asked.
[For a Meridian Blaster Pill, it would cost 5,000 points. However, due to User 002.2’s experience with cultivation, this System suggests a Cultivation Starter Pill. It will open enough acupoints for the User to begin cultivating seriously, and costs 750 points.]
That’s acceptable. It would also leave enough points for a pill for Shen Qi… Yuan as well.
With the System guiding him, Liu Qingge bought the pill and swallowed it before drifting back into meditation.
Half an hour later, he’d finished brutalizing opening his meridians, although quite a few were raw and tender from his brute force method, and the System was shocked speechless.
How fast! And who would actually risk destroying their meridians by doing things like THAT?!
Oh yeah, the OG!Shen Qingqiu didn’t call him a brute for nothing…
Liu Qingge wrinkled his nose as he examined the state he was left in.
After opening his meridians, he’d expelled almost all the impurities from his body, and it was disgusting. He was covered in what looked like silt and grime, and the clothes he’d been wearing would be unsalvageable.
Before going to the hospital, he’d need a shower… Liu Qingge didn’t waste any time before acting.
He wanted to see Shen Yuan sooner rather than later.
As for those quests… only the preventing loss of possessions and avoiding being homeless were urgent, and he already had enough points to help Shen Yuan start cultivating, so he’d deal with everything else later.
Right now he had no money, and Chen Baozhai had already informed him on having sold his apartment, so he didn’t really know what he could do about being homeless, but as long as he kept about 25% of his possessions on him at all times, he could accomplish the first one, right?
While drying his hair, he sorted through the original Liu Qingge’s stuff.
This was going to be such a pain without qiankun pouches...
But it wasn’t like the original Liu Qingge had a lot of stuff. He saved most of his money to put his grandfather into a good retirement home when he retired, and most of the money he spent was on Chen Baozhai.
Well, all his savings were gone now, though.
Liu Qingge placed everything important, like the laptop, cellphone, identity papers, and some pendant that was marked as ‘important plotpoint item’ by the System in the worn backpack he found and crammed everything else he could into the rolling suitcase from under the bed.
Once again, the original Liu Qingge didn’t have a lot of stuff. Not even much furniture. Just a low table and a mattress.
So it actually didn’t take him long to fulfill the 25% mark, with the System keeping track.
Just as he was snapping the suitcase shut, the System suddenly flashed red and made an alert sound.
[Warning. User 002 has just awakened from his coma and is in a distressed state. May be detrimental to his health. Advising User 002.2 to hurry to XXXX Hospital.]
Liu Qingge swung the backpack over his shoulder, grabbed his keys and suitcase, and ran out the door, not even bothering to lock it behind him.
All the while his heart pounded.
Shen Yuan, Shen Yuan, please… Please what? He didn’t know, but fear gripped him in its icy claw as he ran all the way to the hospital.
It was difficult to get to Shen Yuan’s room with his luggage in hand, but Liu Qingge wasn’t the Bai Zhan War Lord in another world for nothing.
The nurses barely noticed him as he stepped onto the floor of the private wards while concealing his presence, and he hurried towards his target practically unimpeded.
There was a buzz of frantic of activity around the room, and Liu Qingge’s heart stuttered in fear as he approached.
Within was the frail form of a young man, covered in tubes and medical apparatuses, flailing in clear distress, tears in his eyes as he kept trying to move without caring for what was attached to him, or what he might accidentally knock askew or tear out of himself.
The medical personnel were working in a panic as they tried to restrain him, soothe him, do anything to keep him from hurting himself. They began calling for sedatives as the young man began to thrash.
As Liu Qingge stepped into the room, that young man was the only one who noticed him, eyes snapping directly to him, hand reaching out towards him without caring for the limited range of the IV stuck in it.
“L-Liu … shidi...”
A hoarse, fragile voice croaked out, and Liu Qingge quickly crossed the room and took his hand.
“I’m here,” he said, and he felt that weak hand grasping as tightly as it could, as if its owner was terrified he’d disappear.
“I’m here,” Liu Qingge repeated, and his eyes felt hot as he carefully held that hand. “I’m not going anywhere.”