IWYTBW - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Golden Bird in a Cage

Ten seconds is long enough for an average person to finish reading a paragraph, finish a glass of water, or take a photo... For most people, it’s only a couple of breaths. But for Yi Zhen, ten seconds is enough to beat the living daylights out of Rong Hongxue.

Because for ten seconds, he’s completely invincible.

The first thing he did was punch Rong Hongxue so hard that he vomited blood. The second was to break Rong Hongxue’s right wrist. The third was to grab the delicate syringe that fell from Rong Hongxue’s now broken right hand and shove it into the pocket of his pajamas. The rest of the time was spent in a frenzy of blows with no set pattern.

As long as I punch fast enough, time won’t catch up with me![qq: I really wanted to add: Like a frantic Bayonetta QTE section, mash until your thumbs are numb!] His thoughts were extraordinarily clear under the buff of the Peerless State. He knew what situation he would face once the ten seconds were up, what Rong Hongxue would say, what he would think, and how he would act. He knew the best way to respond and how to negotiate with him...

Many thoughts flashed through his mind. In the last second, Yi Zhen stopped in time and lifted the half-dead protagonist up with one hand and threw him into a chair to prevent him from noticing how weak his body was becoming.

Main Quest Completed!

Quest Name: Acquaintance

Task Reward:

Reinforcement Points x3

“Gray Rabbit” Antidote x1

[Since the player chose Strength among the three primary attributes, Strength reinforcement points will receive an additional 10% boost.]

[Please select one of Strength, Technique, and Spirit to reinforce. Remaining Reinforcement Points: 3]

“The drug he gave me wouldn't happen to be called 'Gray Rabbit,' would it?” Yi Zhen asked, panting. “Reinforce my Strength... no need to save any.”

[Affirmative. Acknowledged.]

A satisfyingly brutal Peerless State always had side effects. His heart was beating so fast it felt like it would jump out of his throat. His whole body was boiling with blood, and his limbs were still trembling. Yi Zhen tried to close his ten fingers together several times, but he couldn’t do it.

Of course, no matter how much pain he was in, he was still miles ahead of the protagonist, who was slumped over in his chair, clutching his wrist and spitting up blood.

The 3.3 reinforcement points he received quickly remodeled his body. Yi Zhen tried his best to calm his breathing. After thinking it over, he decided he didn’t need to hide it from Rong Hongxue. He used Tai’a to redeem the antidote and, in a moment of impulse, jabbed the short needle into his arm.

[Honestly, there was no need for that.] Tai’a’s reminder came too late. [The antidote is effective as soon as it touches blood. You only need to pierce the skin slightly.]

Yi Zhen grimaced. “Why didn’t you say so sooner?!” In these high-tech times, even syringes were drama queens. The needle tip wasn't like a mosquito's mouth, long and thin. Instead, it was more like a round USB port. Inside were three cold, gleaming spikes. The moment he pierced it, Yi Zhen's forearm felt like it had been stung by a scorpion. It hurt so much that he almost went berserk.

Fortunately, the antidote worked very quickly. Within a few breaths, the scorching heat in Yi Zhen’s body subsided.

Rong Hongxue coughed up blood and raised his head to look at him.

Yi Zhen pulled over a chair and sat down. He imitated Rong Hongxue and smiled leisurely.

“Let’s talk?”

Rong Hongxue pinched the broken bone. Blood stained his chin, making his face look even paler and more ghostly.

He clutched his wrist tightly. Although the beating he had just received had only lasted ten seconds, he hadn’t been able to react at all, let alone resist.

He clearly remembered Yi Zhen spreading his five fingers out like claws, his index, middle, and ring fingers clutching his right wrist, his thumb and little finger pinching it from below. Normal people could try this. With only one hand, they could only snap a rotten branch or a crispy fry. But Yi Zhen used this gesture to snap his wrist bone with just one hand.

It was the wrist bone of a person whose physique was SS-level and whose mental power was approaching double SS-level.

He took a deep breath. Yi Zhen raised his eyebrows in surprise because the black suit that Rong Hongxue was wearing seemed to have come to life, undulating like a real snake or dragon. It shifted its scales with each breath, and the sound of misaligned bones snapping back into place beneath the fine scale armor was swift and precise, emitting a sound that was oddly grating to the ears.

What a guy, he really is high-tech…

Rong Hongxue crawled up with difficulty and sat down, supporting himself with his good left hand.

“Who are you?”

He asked again.

Only this time, there was no trace of playfulness on Rong Hongxue’s face.

He repeatedly scanned Yi Zhen’s body with his mental power. It was still a weak physique that would have difficulty breathing after walking a few steps. There was no protective barrier around his psyche. At this point, he could have easily turned Yi Zhen’s brain into mush with a thought. But just a moment ago, he hadn’t been able to extend a single mental tendril.

Something he could not understand and that was beyond his expectations had happened.

“I’m Yi Zhen.” Yi Zhen chuckled. “You can test me however you want. You can draw blood or check my fingerprints and irises. I’m Yi Zhen, and no one else.”

Rong Hongxue’s gaze shifted down and circled the needle mark on his forearm.

“What do you mean?” He slowly wiped the blood from his chin. “Are you saying that the person I pressed down and forced open between my thighs a few days ago was also you?”

When he said this, his tone was calm and collected, but the humiliation he intended was even stronger. However, Yi Zhen didn’t give him what he wanted. He stared into his eyes and said sharply, “And if it was? I’m going to beat you up for that first, and then break your arm. Do you accept that?”

Rong Hongxue smiled and muttered to himself, “Can a person really transform in just a few days and become someone completely different?”

Without waiting for Yi Zhen to answer, he asked, “What drug did you use?” It seemed that he was more interested in Yi Zhen's sudden burst of strength than in the pain of being beaten or having his bones broken.

Yi Zhen ignored his digression and said, “I’m an independent entity. Rong Huaiyu is dead. Even if I had something to do with him, it’s a thing of the past. The sins of the fathers are not the sins of the sons, and the sins of the husbands are not the sins of the wives. You should understand this, right, little brother-in-law?”

Rong Hongxue’s expression didn’t change. He was still thinking about Yi Zhen’s trump card and what he was relying on to make his move. When he heard Yi Zhen’s question, he nodded. There was actually a bit of mischief in his smile. “I understand. The drug that changed your physique can’t fundamentally change your genes, and its effects aren’t permanent. It only temporarily boosts your physical abilities, giving you superhuman...”

“You don’t understand a damn thing!” Yi Zhen sat up straight and flung the empty syringe away. Rong Hongxue turned his head slightly, and the hard needle tip grazed his face without leaving a trace.

“Let me tell you,” Yi Zhen said in a sinister voice, “I can beat you up the first time, and I can beat you up the second and third time. The reason why I didn’t snap your neck just now is that killing you would be really troublesome, and I don’t want to deal with that kind of trouble.”

Rong Hongxue was silent for a moment, then he started to laugh.

“Continue.”

“I only broke one of your wrists because you really deserved a lesson. But I also enjoyed sleeping with you, and it was free. When I think about it, I’m not really at a disadvantage.” Yi Zhen thought to himself that this was a joke! After browsing those hundred or so pages of moaning and groaning, his loss in becoming his sister-in-law was more than made up for. Each time was so good it made his eyes roll back in his head... Ah, those lewd words were better left unsaid.

Rong Hongxue’s smile faded. His face finally showed a hint of confusion.

“Even if the story gets out, you don’t care? You’re not afraid to get a reputation as a dissolute prostitute?” Rong Hongxue raised an eyebrow. “Your husband just died, and you’re already sleeping with his younger brother...”

Yi Zhen looked at him in surprise, as if he were seeing a madman dancing and singing in the street.

“You...” He hesitated. “What year is it?”

“3680 Galactic Calendar, what’s wrong?”

“Has humanity settled in space?”

“The Imperial territory extends beyond the Milky Way, operating approximately 100,000 inhabited planets. What’s wrong?”

“Has humanity evolved superpowers?”

“In the process of exploring the universe, the role of mental power was discovered first, and then human physiques gradually became classified. The bone hardness of S-class humans is even close to that of sub-alloys... So what?”

“Have you discovered other intelligent civilizations?”

“...”

Yi Zhen asked one question after another, and Rong Hongxue answered each one. As the questions went on, he himself vaguely sensed something amiss, but he couldn’t grasp the crux of what was wrong.

“—So, my friend,” Yi Zhen looked at him mockingly, “The world is constantly evolving, technology is discarding old parts and techniques every day, humanity’s footsteps have transcended national borders and planets, walking between the sun and the moon, and you’ve even discovered extraterrestrial civilizations! Perhaps they’re silicon-based life forms, perhaps they’re dimensional beings beyond carbon-based and silicon-based life, whatever the case, space is vast and boundless, the starry sky is immense and profound, this era has long been able to answer the Heavenly Questions of the beginning of time, when the universe was formless and void.”

He observed Rong Hongxue’s expression, his speech slow and deliberate: “But now, you’re threatening me with... the reputation of being a lowly wanton woman.”

Yi Zhen burst into laughter, watching Rong Hongxue’s rapidly changing expression, finally feeling a sense of triumph, sweeping away the previous displeasure.

Beating him up brought physical satisfaction, but making him mentally flustered brought mental satisfaction. Now, things were finally complete.

Yi Zhen was right about one thing: the interstellar background in this erotic novel served no other purpose than to provide more locations for the two talented young men to engage in physical entanglements. They could do it in a state of weightlessness, they could do it on alien planets, but as for the spiritual connotation, there was no change, still following the theme of “wrestling between desire and ethics”.

As the saying goes, people who seek a sense of reality in virtual creations are as foolish as those seeking the moon in the water. But when Yi Zhen also became a character in a virtual creation, he realized how many fatal bugs there were.

“I think it’s better not to be so narrow-minded, right? Times have changed, it’s an era where humans and AI can get married, and you’re still engaging in feudal courtyard play with me, what with the widowed sister-in-law seducing her brother-in-law... So you’re Wu Song, and I’m Pan Jinlian?[long e/n: “widowed sister-in-law seducing her brother-in-law” (寡妇勾引小叔 guǎfù gōuyǐn xiǎo shū): This is a reference to a classic Chinese novel called “Water Margin” (水浒传 Shuǐhǔ Zhuàn) or “Outlaws of the Marsh,” where there is a subplot involving Pan Jinlian, a widow, seducing her brother-in-law, Wu Song. This story is widely known in Chinese culture and is often used to illustrate complex relationships and moral dilemmas. “Wu Song” and “Pan Jinlian”: These are characters from the aforementioned classic Chinese novel. Wu Song is known for his strength and bravery, while Pan Jinlian is portrayed as cunning and seductive.]” Yi Zhen sighed deeply, suddenly feeling a bit of sympathy for this little bastard.

Even if your strength and physique were lined with countless S’s, your bone hardness comparable to alloys, able to reattach a severed hand instantly, and your every word and action exude a calm and collected aura, in the end, aren’t you still unable to escape the limitations of your worldview?

Maybe you’re really powerful, really arrogant, holding the authority of the world in your hands, able to decide the life and death of many people with a single word, a single smile, but unfortunately, you can’t transcend the “reality” you’re in... You’re still a golden bird trapped in a cage.

Sudden! Hidden Main Quest Triggered!

Quest Name: World Evolution ①

Objective: Do bionic paper figures dream of electronic dimensional walls?

Oops, my words seem to have shattered Rong Hongxue’s worldview again. As one of the protagonists, how his changing worldview will affect this fictional world is still unknown to me. It seems that this requires further exploration.

Task Reward:

Skill points x3

Special Task Reward:

Cultivation System Manual x1

Yi Zhen was taken aback.

Hidden Main Quest: World Evolution ① Completed!

Hidden Main Quest: World Evolution ② Triggered!

Quest Reward:

Strengthening points x3

Cultivation System x1

[Please choose one of the following attributes to strengthen: strength, skill, spirit. Remaining skill points: 3]

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I hope anytime you(my dear reader) read another interstellar novel with traditionalist values you flashback to this chapter lolll

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