In a space of pure white, Bai Rui slowly opened his eyes. Just that one look made his eyes instantly flush red as he sat up abruptly. His pupils had completely turned blood-red, shimmering with a flickering light filled with endless bloodlust and fury.

“Lao Hei, what’s going on? Didn’t we agree that once Xiao Zhan died, my life would end too? Why am I back in the system space again?!”

After completing the mission in the last world, Bai Rui had used all his energy to weaken the contract between him and Lao Hei. That way, even though they were still somewhat connected, his death wouldn’t impact Lao Hei too much—at the very least, it would spare his life.

They had clearly agreed that once the world ended, he would leave together with that man. Yet, unexpectedly, he had woken up once more. Bai Rui looked deeply at Lao Hei, but thinking of the countless worlds they had gone through together, he eventually calmed his rage and sighed.

“Forget it… I should’ve known you couldn’t do it. I’ll do it myself.”

As he spoke, a surge of red light suddenly burst from Bai Rui’s body—it looked like he was about to ignite himself and self-destruct within this space. In a world without Xiao Zhan, Bai Rui felt he didn’t want to go on for even a second longer.

Seeing Bai Rui like this, Lao Hei immediately flapped his wings anxiously, flying toward him while shouting loudly:

“Xiao Rui! Calm down! Don’t you want to see Xiao Zhan again?!”

“What did you say?”

The moment Bai Rui heard Lao Hei’s words, he stopped what he was doing. The red ripples in his eyes gradually calmed down.

“Xiao Rui. In the last world, I originally planned to disperse your soul after Xiao Zhan died. But then I suddenly discovered that a powerful spiritual entity separated from Xiao Zhan and entered another space. That’s why I brought you back to the system space—to tell you about this!”

“You mean… he’s a tasker like me?”

Hope lit up Bai Rui’s eyes as he asked eagerly.

Lao Hei fluffed his feathers, hesitating before speaking.

“I don’t think so. The energy within him is very strong—I could feel it. In the last small world, his power must have been suppressed. If he awakens, he’ll be incredibly powerful.”

“Whether he’s a tasker or not doesn’t matter. Lao Hei, I still have hope of seeing him again, right?”

Bai Rui clenched his fists, his whole body trembling uncontrollably at the thought of being able to reunite with his beloved. Lao Hei flapped his wings happily, and proudly announced:

“Most likely! Because I knew you couldn’t bear to part with him, I secretly placed an energy marker on him. That way, we can follow him wherever he goes. Whatever world he enters, we’ll follow!”

“Lao Hei!”

Bai Rui suddenly stood up and reached out to hug Lao Hei, but Lao Hei smacked him on the head with a wing, making Bai Rui pull his hand back with a silly grin.

“Lao Hey, thank you! Really—thank you!”

Bai Rui breathed heavily, genuinely and deeply grateful to Lao Hei. Watching Xiao Zhan lose his breath right before his eyes—it wasn’t that Bai Rui hadn’t been devastated.

That kind of pain, the kind that felt like dying, was unbearable. That was why he had wanted to follow Xiao Zhan in death. It was why he made Lao Hei promise that, once Xiao Zhan was gone, he too would disappear from this world.

But now, Lao Hei was telling him that he still had a chance to see his beloved again. Just the thought of those decades spent side by side—loving each other, staying together—made Bai Rui feel like crying.

It was the first time Lao Hei had seen Bai Rui with such a goofy, lovestruck grin, and his heart was filled with a mess of emotions. It seemed that love, truly, could change a person.

“Kid, you’d better rest for a bit! Soon, we’ll be following him into the next mission world!”

But Bai Rui just shook his head and flashed a wide, radiant smile.

“Let’s go now! I don’t want to wait another second—I want to see him right now!”

Seeing Bai Rui like this, Lao Hei no longer hesitated. With a sigh, he activated the system he controlled. A flash of light appeared before them, and in the next moment, both man and beast vanished from the pure white space, entering the next world.

“Host body replication in progress: 3-2-1…”

“Host body replication complete!”

The system’s default notification rang in his ears. As Bai Rui opened his eyes once more, his breathing was a bit labored. He could feel that his body had sustained serious injuries—there was a dizzying sensation from blood loss.

At this moment, Bai Rui was lying on a makeshift bed in a basement. The surroundings weren’t exactly pleasant, but after reviewing the intel Lao Hei had passed to him, Bai Rui understood that due to the urgent circumstances, this was already the best place the original owner’s subordinates could provide for him to rest.

Forcing himself to sit up, Bai Rui couldn’t help but hiss as the pain in the gunshot wound in his left shoulder flared up unexpectedly. Shaking his head, he sighed inwardly—he must’ve been spoiled too much by Xiao Zhan in his previous life; he had become a little delicate.

But according to Lao Hei’s tracking, the culprit behind this very injury seemed to be none other than his unlucky man—who, at that moment, was being thoroughly beaten and disciplined by Bai Rui’s subordinates.

Bai Rui’s smile was both bitter and helpless. He had just entered this world and was already at odds with his own man. It looked like a happy life wouldn’t be happening anytime soon.

“Patriarch, you’re awake! You should rest a little longer. How are you feeling?”

Hearing Bai Rui’s voice, Kong Sheng rushed in through the door. Bai Rui saw the genuine concern in his eyes and nodded at him with a faint smile. From the original body’s memories, Bai Rui knew this was Kong Sheng—one of his subordinates, who was fiercely loyal.

“I’m fine. Did you get anything out of him?”

Kong Sheng shook his head, his tone rough and impatient.

“Not yet, Patriarch. That guy’s tough—stubborn as hell. Honestly, I say we just finish him off and toss him in the river!”

Bai Rui shook his head. Even if he had been injured by the man, there had to be a reason. This was his beloved, after all—how could he bear to hurt him? With a cold expression, Bai Rui scolded Kong Sheng sharply.

“How many times have I told you? Use your brain when handling things. Bring him to me.”

“Yes, sir!”

Hearing Bai Rui say that, Kong Sheng let out a chuckle and quickly left. In his mind, there was nothing the Patriarch couldn’t handle. Handing over that tight-lipped brat to the Patriarch? There was no way he wouldn’t talk.

The room was now quiet with only Bai Rui remaining. He closed his eyes, calmly going over the storyline Lao Hei had transmitted to him.

When he opened his eyes again, Bai Rui had already grasped the basics: this body’s name was Song Rui’an, a renowned CEO of the Rui Xin Corporation in country H. But he also had another identity—head of the secretive Song family, whose lineage, historically speaking, wasn’t exactly clean.

Once again, he was cast as a villain. But this Song Rui’an wasn’t particularly vicious. The Song family had a long history, and after taking over, Song Rui’an had worked hard to clean up their reputation, focusing solely on legitimate business.

Song Rui’an ran things with great order, and both the Song family and Rui Xin thrived under his leadership. Unfortunately, that was when he met the female lead—Mo Xiaoyun.

Mo Xiaoyun was a sophomore in college, and under normal circumstances, she and Song Rui’an wouldn’t have crossed paths. However, she worked part-time at a bar owned by Song Rui’an. One day, when she was being harassed by a customer, Song Rui’an happened to witness it and stepped in to help.

Because of that, Mo Xiaoyun developed feelings for Song Rui’an and confessed to him multiple times without hesitation. However, Song Rui’an wasn’t swayed by her “female lead halo” and rejected her firmly and seriously.

The reason was simple—Song Rui’an was gay and naturally had no interest in women. Additionally, the original host had a bit of a cleanliness obsession. With his high standards and the pressure of being born into the Song family, he kept up a strict image and focused on managing the family’s affairs. As a result, he never allowed anyone to get close to him—so even those closest to him had no idea he liked men.

But Mo Xiaoyun, who had been observing him closely, eventually discovered the truth. She found out that Song Rui’an secretly had feelings for his adopted younger brother—Song Yi.

Song Yi was the male lead of this world. He was originally the son of one of Song Rui’an’s father’s [Song Xing] close subordinates. Because of that deep bond, after the subordinate died, Song Xing adopted Song Yi and raised him. The two essentially grew up together. However, Song Yi didn’t feel grateful toward the Song family—instead, he harbored suspicions, believing that Song Xing and Song Rui’an had ulterior motives.

One night, after getting drunk, Song Yi accidentally ended up sleeping with the female lead, Mo Xiaoyun. One was heartbroken over unrequited love from Song Rui’an, and the other was filled with resentment toward the Song family—so the two ended up becoming a “true love” couple. Together, they worked tirelessly to destroy the Song family and ultimately forced Song Rui’an into exile.

While fleeing overseas after losing everything, Song Rui’an was shot and killed by Mo Xiaoyun’s brother, Mo Sheng, who was a mercenary. During the shootout, Mo Sheng also lost a leg and was left disabled. The big villain died, and as for the male and female leads—they naturally lived a long, happy life together.

After sorting through the entire plot, Bai Rui seriously wanted to smear the Heavenly Dao with dog poop.

Song Rui’an and the Song family had truly treated Song Yi well—there was never any hidden agenda. And Mo Sheng? He had been completely misled by Mo Xiaoyun. In the end, they were all nothing more than sacrifices to fulfill the male and female leads’ desires.

According to Lao Hei’s investigation, Bai Rui now knew that this time, his lover’s identity was actually Mo Xiaoyun’s mercenary brother—Mo Sheng. A vein on Bai Rui’s temple twitched. His lover and his enemy being blood-related… That definitely complicated things.

But no matter what, he had to meet his man first and clear up the misunderstanding.

“Patriarch, the man’s here!”

Just as Bai Rui was thinking that, he saw Kong Sheng approaching with four or five subordinates. Kong Sheng, struggling a bit, dragged a tall, bound man into the room and threw him heavily to the ground.

The man’s clothes were torn, his body covered in wounds of all sizes, and the sight made Bai Rui’s heart ache. But he instinctively maintained his cold, expressionless persona, showing no reaction to the scene before him. In a detached tone, he ordered them,

“That’s enough. All of you, leave.”

“Patriarch, leaving you alone in the room with him, I’m worried…”

Kong Sheng, always quick to speak his mind, wanted to say more but was immediately silenced by a sharp glance from Bai Rui. Left with no choice, he scratched his nose and begrudgingly led the others out, grumbling under his breath.

“Patriarch is still as scary as ever…”

Once the door closed, only Bai Rui and Mo Sheng remained in the room. Even from a distance, Bai Rui could smell the thick stench of blood on the man. He knew that because he had been injured, his subordinates must’ve gone all out in torturing the man for answers.

But right now, Bai Rui couldn’t do anything for his lover, because in his lover’s eyes, he was probably nothing more than a complete villain.

Bai Rui sighed inwardly, walking up to the man. He took out the dagger hidden in his clothes and swiftly cut the ropes binding Mo Sheng. After that, he sat back down on the bed and softly spoke.

“Lift your head.”

Feeling the restraints loosen, Mo Sheng gritted his teeth against the pain and slowly sat up. He had initially planned to glare fiercely at the man who had harmed his sister, but as soon as he raised his head and met Bai Rui’s gaze, it was as though his heart had been drawn into a pair of deep, dark pools.