[14: Congratulations, Nannan, on successfully binding to the Saving Monsters System.]

[14: The staff member serving you this time is Employee No. 0900114. You may call me Fourteen, or Yao Si.]

[14: In your original world, you became a vegetative state due to a car accident. If you complete this mission, your bodily functions will be reactivated—meaning you will gain a second life.]

[14: We will temporarily seal your memories from your original world to prevent them from affecting or hindering your mission progress. However, for each monster you successfully save, I will unseal one segment of memories.]

Fourteen's explanation was very clear. If he refused, the moment he returned to his original world, he would face the fact that he was already dead.

Going back would be pointless.

Shang Nan opened his eyes. Someone gave him a playful punch on the shoulder, and then a boy's voice, still cracking from puberty, sounded beside his ear: "Nannan, why aren't you hitting him?"

"What?"

Shang Nan found himself gripping the handle of an umbrella. The metallic handle was ice-cold, making the joints of his fingers look snow-white.

A light drizzle pattered against the canopy, trickling along the ribs and dripping into the muddy ground.

His shoes were splattered with mud. The person at the tip of his shoes was a boy curled up against a wall, wearing the exact same blue-and-white school uniform, arms wrapped around his head, body balled up tight.

Perhaps because he hadn't heard Shang Nan respond for so long, the boy slowly lowered one of the arms shielding his head and looked up at Shang Nan with trembling timidity. His gaze carried a searing intensity, as though it had taken physical form and was licking over Shang Nan from head to toe.

"The fuck you looking at!" Meng Xiao, who had his arm draped over Shang Nan's shoulder, saw the boy's expression and broke out in goosebumps all down his arm. He raised a fist as if to strike.

The boy immediately threw his arms back over his head, clutching it tightly. The rain had soaked him through; his uniform clung to his overly gaunt back, the ridge of his spine jutting sharply.

He was trembling—maybe from the cold, maybe from fear.

Shang Nan caught his friend's wrist. "Meng Xiao, forget it." He held the umbrella and spoke to Meng Xiao beside him.

Meng Xiao didn't understand. "Forget it? Someone like Zhang Gou deserves a good beating to teach him a lesson."

"He even stole your jacket and hid it—shit! I've never seen anyone this disgusting."

When Meng Xiao saw Shang Nan's silence, he assumed he'd gone soft. Hands on his hips, standing in the rain, he circled Shang Nan twice, fuming: "Sure, the kid's decent-looking, but with how gross he is, his looks are worth half at best."

Shang Nan had no intention of hitting anyone. That wasn't a way to solve problems.

"You guys head back first. I'll deal with the Zhang Gou situation myself," Shang Nan told Meng Xiao. In this world, Meng Xiao was his closest friend—similar family backgrounds, similar personalities before, and similarly abysmal grades. "I'll treat you to a meal later."

Meng Xiao scoffed. "As if I care."

With that, he popped open his own umbrella and said casually, "I'm out. Don't forget you owe me a meal."

Once Meng Xiao left, the others had no reason to stay—they were all Meng Xiao's followers. After exchanging glances and tossing out a "We're heading out too, Brother Nan," they chased after Meng Xiao.

A group of tall, strapping high school seniors departed together.

The rain continued to fall. Zhang Gou remained frozen in place, arms around his head, curled into a ball, his exposed ankles bony and frail.

Shang Nan held the umbrella over his head.

The rain beating down on him suddenly vanished. Zhang Gou looked up in bewilderment, staring at the dark umbrella canopy above him for a long time before woodenly shifting his gaze to Shang Nan's face. Only then did Shang Nan see Zhang Gou's face in full.

It was small, fragile, pale. The blue veins along his neck were faintly visible. The look in his eyes as he gazed at Shang Nan slowly turned mournful.

He shifted position, lowering his arms. His overly thin fingers crept along the flowing gutter water to the top of Shang Nan's shoe, loosely encircling Shang Nan's ankle. The instant their skin made contact, a look of entrancement surfaced in the depths of his eyes. "So warm... Classmate Shang Nan, you have feelings for me, don't you?"

"No," Shang Nan answered without hesitation. He fished a packet of tissues from his pocket, bent down to press them into Zhang Gou's hand, and stepped back. Zhang Gou's grip wasn't tight, so he pulled away easily. "Take care of yourself."

He walked away without looking back. Behind him, Zhang Gou tilted his head ever so slightly.

On the way back to the classroom, Fourteen gave Shang Nan a brief overview of the currently known plot and background information. More details would only become available as Shang Nan interacted more with the monster.

[14: The monster's name is Yu Zhibai. You are his pursuer—you once courted him, but he rejected you the very first time you confessed. You were angry, though it didn't matter much. You understood that love can't be forced. So now you're essentially strangers; you haven't spoken in a very long time.]

[14: Yu Zhibai's family is very poor. He's a subsidized student, and his only remaining family is a grandmother.]

[14: Nannan, Yu Zhibai has a very good temperament. By my calculations, the probability of him harming you is extremely low. You're quite lucky.]

[14 began detailing what the monster had endured: As a child, the monster suffered severe school bullying. Someone tore apart its textbooks. Someone broke its arm. Someone shaved its head. Someone used a red-hot piece of iron to brand its face. Someone locked it in an abandoned factory and played terrifying movies for it. Someone pushed it off a tall building.]

The Main System had said that Shang Nan was the host best suited to complete this mission—and the person most likely to succeed.

"Because in the moment before death, what Shang Nan thought about was actually a cat. If he has that much love for animals, he'll surely be the same with monsters."

"A person without compassion cannot complete this mission. They're monsters, not idiots."

Fourteen only agreed with the Main System's second point. The first one, it didn't quite endorse—after all, fluffy cats and cold-blooded, absurd monsters were hardly in the same league.

Shang Nan yawned. In the patter of the drizzle, he was growing drowsy, while simultaneously pondering how to repair his relationship with Yu Zhibai before even broaching the subject of salvation.

He had pursued Yu Zhibai, and it had already been over half a year since they'd had any interaction—worse than ordinary classmates.

A terrible opening hand.

[14: The monster's current corruption level is at 50.]

[14: It hates all humans.]

Shang Nan: "What about me?"

[14: It dislikes you.]

"......"

Being disliked by a monster was not a good thing. Shang Nan felt the will to live draining out of him. "Thanks for the impossible assignment."

Shang Nan's deskmate, Zhang Hu, was eating bread. Seeing Shang Nan staring at him, he offered to share. He'd assumed a rich kid like Shang Nan would never deign to eat toast from the school store, but to his surprise, Shang Nan smiled, said thank you, and ate it with genuine enjoyment.

"I'll bring you chocolate tomorrow." Shang Nan bit into the bread, his soft fringe falling over his forehead. He ate without making a sound, his long, slender fingers pinching the bread slice—every gesture radiating good breeding.

Zhang Hu stared a little. The gap between a beauty and an ordinary person really was absurd.

A crack of thunder exploded outside the window, rattling the glass. Leaves whirled through the air. Rain fell in dense, woven threads. The night was deep, thick, and cold.

The moment the dismissal bell rang, everyone in the classroom moved as one—they'd been ready a full minute before it sounded.

Yet even after class had ended, Shang Nan still hadn't seen Yu Zhibai—the monster, as Fourteen called it.

[14: The monster's corruption level has risen by two points. It's being beaten up.]

Shang Nan's brow furrowed slightly. He grabbed his bag and umbrella and headed for the classroom door.

Zhang Hu, still packing up, barely registered what happened—he thought Shang Nan had teleported.

The rain was heavy. The streetlights cast a dim yellow glow. The asphalt road had been washed to a gleaming black. Puddles on either side gathered into small streams flowing toward the drains. Fallen leaves stuck to the road surface in a thin layer, like a soggy, dirty carpet.

Changyu High School was enormous and situated outside the city center. Once past the crowded, bustling school gates, the surroundings gradually fell silent.

The road narrowed. Occasionally, a dog barked in the distance. A reflective road sign indicated this was North-South Straight Road, 553 meters long, no branches, connecting to Red Stone Tunnel at 887 meters, and after that, a pedestrian overpass leading to one of Huinanfang's busiest streets.

The long-handled umbrella gripped in his hand, rain blowing into his face, the sidewalk uneven—every few steps splashing into a muddy puddle, trouser hems and canvas shoes soaked through—Shang Nan just kept running forward, until he heard jeering voices.

"Count them—go on, count how many men your mom has seduced."

"Aren't your grades good? Can't you count?"

"Count them. I'll reward you with a slap for each one. How's that sound?"

The streetlight was behind Shang Nan. The shadows of several boys stretched infinitely long. They bared their fangs and claws, and their shadows did the same—by silhouette alone, they looked like a pack of demons.

Yu Zhibai was in the middle, leaning against the wall, bag held in one hand. His eyes were downcast, his profile deathly pale, long legs slightly bent—adopting a posture of casual ease toward the group before him, every one of whom was shorter and less imposing than he was.

"What are you doing?" Shang Nan gripped the umbrella handle and stood behind the group. His eyelashes were beaded with rain, clinging together in damp strands, and he squinted uncomfortably.

Lu Yang heard the voice and his expression shifted—turned vicious—but when he turned and saw it was Shang Nan, he forced a smile. "Oh, hey, Brother Nan." The others echoed the greeting.

Lu Yang was in the same class as Shang Nan and Yu Zhibai. At present, Shang Nan didn't know their motive for bullying Yu Zhibai.

They called him Brother Nan not because Shang Nan was a delinquent like them, but because Shang Nan's family had money. In this world, money made you a "Brother."

Clearly, Shang Nan hadn't come with good intentions. The forced smile on Lu Yang's face slowly faded.

Shang Nan was part of his social circle; their families' businesses overlapped to some degree. So even though Shang Nan liked Yu Zhibai, he had never intervened in the conflicts between Lu Yang and Yu Zhibai. What was different today? Charging into battle for love? Lu Yang seethed inwardly, but his mind raced.

Going against Shang Nan would gain him nothing. The Shang Family had only this one son, and Shang Nan's father was already dead. Barring the unexpected, Shang Nan was one hundred percent certain to become the head of the Shang Family.

The silent standoff lasted a long while. Lu Yang raised both hands and said with a smile, "Fine, fine. If Brother Nan wants to protect him, I've got nothing to say."

Lu Yang walked under one of his lackey's umbrellas. As he passed Shang Nan, he stopped, leaned close to Shang Nan's ear, and murmured, "Someday you'll realize how stupid it was to protect him." Then he led his group away, swaggering.

The surroundings fell quiet. Only the sound of rain remained.

The muddy ground was covered in deep footprints. Books and homework lay scattered everywhere. The boy leaning against the wall hadn't moved, hadn't said a word.

The streetlight shone from behind and to the side onto Yu Zhibai's face. Half of it was pale as paper. Shang Nan could clearly see the sharp shadow his lashes cast beneath his eyes. That face, so white—yet his lips were vivid red as blood.

Shang Nan walked over, propped the umbrella against the wall, and pulled a small packet of tissues from his bag. He asked softly, "Are you okay?"

Yu Zhibai didn't look up for a long time.

Shang Nan assumed he was crying. This monster is pretty fragile, he thought. He tilted his head slightly, trying to get a better look at Yu Zhibai's face—to see whether this monster was injured.

But at that moment, Yu Zhibai suddenly lifted his head. His gaze was hollow, wandering over several spots before finally settling on the face of the boy before him—a boy as beautiful as a work of art. He studied him carefully, closely, watching all of Shang Nan's concern dissolve into barely concealed shock.

Yu Zhibai curved his lips into a smile, looking very polite, as though entirely unaware of how abnormal his current appearance was. "Classmate Shang Nan, could you help me find my left eyeball? It's gone missing," it said.

Both of its eyes were pools of ink. The ink in the right eye was gradually fading, but the left remained pitch-black and bottomless. On closer inspection, the left eye... the left eyeball had vanished entirely. A hollow, fathomless void occupied the socket.

Even without the eyeball, Shang Nan could still feel its gaze on him.

The instant their eyes met, Shang Nan's throat felt as though an invisible hand had clamped down on it.

Shang Nan could roughly predict the situations this mission would throw at him, but even with all the mental preparation in the world, it took him a long, long moment to adjust to the sight of this monster—brazenly, fearlessly revealing its true nature before him. His response came half a beat late: "O-okay... you... just wait a moment."