Chapter 1 : Ordinary Life

The school bell rang loudly, signaling that class had finished. A young boy walked out of his classroom, carrying his heavy bag. A group of boys called out to him.

"Shu Lan! Want to hang out after school?"

The boy named Shu Lan stared at them for a moment and said, "No thanks," before leaving the room.

"Why did you ask him? You know he never hangs out with any of us," one of them whispered.

"I invited him as a courtesy," said another.

Shu Lan heard everything they said, but as always, he chose to ignore it. He rarely interacted with his classmates.

Shu Lan walked down an empty road alone. He had grown used to it. After arriving home, he threw his bag aside and lay on his bed. He took out his phone to play a few games. Suddenly, an advertisement appeared on his screen.

"Between Three Empires will be released as a game next week! An exciting omegaverse that shocked the world! Stay tuned and order now! A secret ending will be given to the first 1,000 people! Don't miss out!"

"Between Three Empires" was a novel Shu Lan had bought last week. The story was quite exciting. He had bought it because it was prominently displayed... and he liked the cover too.

"I still don't understand this omegaverse thing... maybe I should just throw away my logic and read this novel," Shu Lan said.

The story was about a boy named Qing Shan, an omega who joined a sect called Heaven Peak. His parents had died from a mysterious disease, so he set off to uncover the truth behind it. Upon entering the sect, he met the first male lead, Yue Chen, a runaway prince from the Yue Empire. Yue Chen was a dominant alpha. Many heart-throbing events unfolded.

A clue appeared during their first treasure hunt in the magical realm—a mysterious curse born in the cursed land. Both Qing Shan and Yue Chen embarked on a journey to the cursed land. Along the way, they met the second male lead, Xu Ming, the illegitimate child of the Xu Emperor and another alpha. According to Xu Ming, it was impossible to enter the cursed land. However, another clue emerged: the key to entering the cursed land was in the Yang Empire. So, the three of them continued their adventure.

Upon arriving at the Yang Empire, they encountered the third male lead, Yang Wei. Yang Wei was completely different from the other two leads. He had a twisted personality caused by a tragic childhood and threats from his brother. As the story progressed, things became heavier for Shu Lan to read. Near the end, it was revealed that Yang Wei's brother had become a puppet of the cursed land overlord. In other words, Yang Luoya was the sub-villain in this story.

"This story is getting more complicated," Shu Lan muttered. He had stopped reading the book, so he didn't know how it ended. He put his phone down and drifted off to sleep.

The next day, he went to school as usual. Entering the classroom, studying, taking breaks, studying again—his routine continued. During lunch break, Shu Lan decided to head to the rooftop.

Shu Lan had always enjoyed being alone, so the rooftop was the perfect place for him to take a break.

"Between Three Empires is getting complicated, but I'm curious about the ending. Maybe I should read a bit before the game premieres next week," Shu Lan thought as he opened the door. A gentle breeze blew through his hair. A warning sign stood near the rooftop fencing: "Danger: Under Maintenance."

"That was my favorite spot," Shu Lan muttered. The fencing didn't look like it was under maintenance. He walked closer to inspect it, tapping the fence to make sure it was safe.

"It's not broken... maybe the maintenance hasn't started yet," Shu Lan said. He leaned against the fence and began to read the book. Suddenly, there was a loud crack. The fencing broke open, leaving an empty space behind Shu Lan. He lost his balance and fell from the rooftop.

"Oh no... HEEEEELLLPPPppp!" he yelled as he fell. The next moment, everything went black. The ground was cold and covered in blood.

"Am I going to die?" he thought, unable to see or hear anything, as everything grew cold. He closed his eyes.

Shu Lan tried to open his eyes. His body ached terribly. As his vision cleared, he realized he was in an unfamiliar place. The room had an ancient Chinese style, with crimson red ornaments.

"Am I in a hospital?" Shu Lan whispered. His body was sore all over, and many bandages were wrapped around him. He tried to get up despite the pain. He rubbed his forehead, only to realize his hair had grown long.

"What's this?... Did I go into a coma for years?" Shu Lan said as he played with his hair. Just then, there was a knock at the door. A girl in plain ancient clothes entered, carrying a water basin.

"You've... woken up... my lord," the girl stammered, placing the basin next to Shu Lan. "L-let me wipe your body for you... my lord," she trembled.

"Um... hey," Shu Lan started, trying to ask the girl where he was and how long he had been asleep. Before he could speak, the girl yelped in fear, "F-F-Forgive me, my lord! I-I-I was acting rude in front of you!" She fell to her knees. Shu Lan grew more and more confused.

He lifted his head, and his reflection appeared on the surface of the water. It wasn't his face, but it seemed strangely familiar. He had sharp crimson eyes, blood-red pupils, and fiery hair. It resembled the character from "Between Three Empires," but there had been no character with red hair like this—except Yang Wei's older brother, Yang Luoya.

Seeing the girl tremble, Shu Lan felt pity for her. "Go back," he said, dismissing her. The girl hurriedly ran out. After she left, Shu Lan stared at his reflection again.

"Why did I become you? Can I become someone else? You're one of the most unfortunate characters in this novel. Why can't you be a good guy and accept the protagonist's plot armor?" Shu Lan muttered while staring at himself.

"Let's stay low for now... be a good guy and accept the protagonist's plot armor," he added. Suddenly, a man burst into the room. He was in his 50s, with a white beard, and looked down arrogantly at Shu Lan.

"As I said, my lord, you shouldn't have intervened in this case. Yes, I'm the one at fault for not stopping the bandits from escaping, but you're also at fault for messing things up at the end. Now, at least fifty of your men have died in vain," the white-bearded man grumbled.

Shu Lan had always been a calm and relaxed person. It didn't matter who insulted or criticized him; he would ignore it. But just seeing this man's attitude made Shu Lan want to rip his mouth off. He tried hard to hold back his anger.

"This is why Yang Empire needs a strong but smart leader. If you keep making mistakes like this, Yang Empire will be finished. Sometimes I wonder why..." Before the man could finish, Shu Lan couldn't hold it in any longer. His anger reached its peak, and he grabbed the man's hair, shoving his head into the water basin to suffocate him. There was no pity in Shu Lan's eyes, only bloodshot fury.

The man struggled desperately to save his life, but Shu Lan was stronger and kept him in place. A few minutes later, the man stopped struggling. Shu Lan let go of his hair.

"W-What have I done? I killed someone," Shu Lan panicked. The man's body grew pale and slumped to the floor.

"Yang Luoya... had anger issues in the last stage."