Chosen: Beyond Fate

It was common knowledge that before a major battle there was always resupply, and after a major battle there was always settlement.

Among all the Supreme Benevolences, the blessings of the White Deer and the Swarm were especially fast acting. After all, wilderness predation and life-and-death warfare were usually short, brutal, and decisive. The results were clear cut—if you won, you won; if you lost, you died on the spot.

The life-and-death struggle in the villa had just ended, and the White Deer’s blessing immediately descended from the heavens.

It was like a streamer finishing a great team fight and getting a massive donation from a whale[1]. And the biggest beneficiary was the blond guy who had been hovering on the edge of the fight the entire time and didn’t really participate at all.

He was one of only two proper White Deer-types in the villa, and he did contribute at least a tiny bit of damage and DKP. Even if it was barely anything, the key was that far too many people had died, and his level was far too low.

After stumbling through the battle and gaining the same amount of experience, his level had practically ridden an express elevator straight into top-tier. Just from getting beaten up once by Ji Jue, he had practically picked up a blessing for free.

Blondie was so happy he was on the verge of losing his mind. He was like a rat accidentally getting caught in a brawl between giant beasts, randomly kicking once in the chaos, and somehow going home with half a steak. He was practically feasting as if he was celebrating the New Years.

But what happened next left everyone completely stunned. It almost made the blond guy stop breathing right there and drop dead.

When they turned back toward the ruins of the villa, amidst the blood and wreckage in the hall, faint lights flickered, illuminating a phantom that seemed not to belong to this place at all.

As if it had come from eternal chaos and the free wilderness itself, from a forest of blood and death, a solemn white deer turned its head and looked toward this place. From the call of this brutal hunt and contest, the shadow of the White Deer had answered. It had come to witness this abundant harvest.

This is...

“Supreme Resonance?” Tom blurted out.

In the dead silence, the almost illusory White Deer walked lightly through pools of blood and corpses, approaching the blond guy one step at a time. Under his ecstatic gaze and anticipation, it simply turned aside and continued forward.

Finally, it stopped in front of Ji Jue. It looked down in silence.

Under the long, suffocating stare, Ji Jue stiffened, swallowed dryly, and finally asked, “What are you doing?”

The White Deer gave no answer. It seemed to let out a faint, regretful sigh, before turning and leaving. The illusion dissolved, leaving no trace behind.

Ji Jue’s eyes widened in disbelief. It’s gone?!

“Hey, aren’t you going to leave something behind?!” he shouted in disbelief. “I contributed too! I’m the team leader, no, the MVP! I’m the top performer! Team leader! Team leader!!!!”

Unfortunately, no one responded. Only Ji Jue, who had been looking around for a long time, stood there with a confused expression.

After a while, Tom walked over with a sigh and patted his shoulder.

“White Deer seems to think pretty highly of you.”

“Really?” Ji Jue was puzzled. He couldn’t understand it at all. If they really thought highly of him, shouldn’t they at least throw him a donation?

Who just looks once and then closes the livestream?

Tom sighed. Numbly, he muttered, “Too bad. You just don’t get it.”

Ji Jue blinked. “Huh? What do you mean?”

Tom looked at that utterly innocent face and gritted his teeth so hard he nearly wanted to punch him on the spot.

“What do I mean? This was such a huge hunt and contest, a textbook example of the weak overcoming the strong. If you had even acted a little coy, a little flirty about it, said something like ‘White Deer, you’re so strong,’ ‘White Deer, you’re amazing,’ ‘White Deer’s path is insane,’ maybe the Supreme Benevolence would’ve bought you gifts. But the Supreme Resonance already came knocking at your door, practically ready to tip you personally, and you didn’t even give it a chance!“

It wasn’t that White Deer was stingy and didn’t give him anything. He was the one who never even asked for it! The payment app was open, but he never showed his QR code. How was the boss supposed to tip him?

Tom finally understood what was going on. This bastard Ji Jue probably had zero interest in White Deer’s whole system from the very beginning. Maybe he’d been a little interested, but not much. He’d never offered even a shred of enthusiasm, nor did he show any excitement or desire for the kind of hunt where the weak overcome the strong. He had never admired the wilderness White Deer represented. Instead, he’d only ever observed it from afar.

The boss had been holding their “donation” in their hand all night yet couldn’t find a chance to send it out.

Ji Jue had his chance and he didn’t make it count! The White Deer was already unusually good-tempered by only shooting him a glare before leaving.

Tom was almost furious. “When something happens, reflect on your own faults first. Don’t blame the Supreme Benevolence, alright? After getting involved this deeply and after going this far with the White Deer, you didn’t even show the slightest enthusiasm. How is this any different from a scumbag who cheats in a marriage?”

“Mm-hmm.” Beside them, An Ran, who had returned at some point, nodded vigorously in approval. “Ji Jue is exactly like that.”

Ji Jue’s face twitched. Several times he looked like he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

He could only complain in his heart. Since when did Supreme Benevolences care about pure love anyway? If I don’t want it, can’t you just force it on me? Everyone’s just here to have fun. Flirting under the neon lights with a wine of glass, satisfying each other’s desires. Isn't that enough? Why does it have to involve true feelings? Why does it have to be mutual affection? What a mood killer.

Although White Deer didn’t give him anything, he did not find it particularly regrettable. After all, he was still in the Resonance Realm and didn’t really need White Deer’s blessings yet. Besides, he had no intention of indulging his desires, breaking his restraints, and throwing himself into that wilderness of endless hunting and slaughter.

As for Ember, tonight’s harvest was already more than enough. It was practically New Year’s. Not to mention all the random alchemical scraps the other attackers carried, which could be used to practice Dissociation Technique and improve his abilities. Although without workshop support they couldn’t be preserved before the blessing faded, the corpses were still usable.

Ji Jue was as busy as a diligent little bee, shuttling through the villa as he picked through everything, sealing usable parts with mercury for preservation. Before long, he had already piled up a full cart. He was practically a model of thrifting and good household management.

By the end, he even started resenting the fact that he hadn’t brought enough mercury. He could only try his best to keep the higher-value and easier-to-preserve parts. As for the rest, he reluctantly fed them all to Horsey. He was the perfect embodiment of never wasting anything.

While rummaging, he actually found a tattered bell in the courtyard. It seemed to be the final relic left behind by that lightning old man from earlier. Having survived Minerva’s destruction, its value was clearly extraordinary. Even if he couldn’t figure out how to use it right away, sealing it for now was definitely the right call.

After several hours of being busy, it wasn’t until deep into the night that Ji Jue finally found a moment to check on Chen Yubo, who was still locked in the safe room. The night had been long and unpredictable; no one knew what could happen next. It was safer to just let him stay there until morning.

Ji Jue had also given a serious warning on the way: he was only helping out because of their friendship, so Chen Yubo shouldn't even dare think of ever repaying Ji Jue’s kindness with betrayal, and definitely not come in the next life trying to compensate Ji Jue with his body...

When he turned back and looked at An Ran, who was obediently sitting in the living room, Ji Jue smiled. He picked up the medical kit and waved him over.

“Got injured?” Putting on medical gloves, Ji Jue used a scalpel to carefully cut open the stitching at the collar of his T-shirt. “Don’t move. Let me take a look.”

“It’s nothing, Mr. Ji,” An Ran said with a smile. “It’s just some superficial injuries. I’ve already applied medicine.”

“You still have to be careful. If it turns into an internal injury or doesn’t heal properly, that’ll be trouble.” Ji Jue carefully cleaned the wound on the neck, applied medicine, and wrapped it with bandages. Only then did he let out a breath of relief. “Alright. That should do it.”

His hands gently rested on the boy’s shoulders, as if in comfort. Yet, on those pale hands, intricate patterns quietly surfaced. It was the matrix, Pacifier!

Immediately, it forcibly restrained and froze all spirit-matter circulation. Those seemingly light fingers were pressing against a major artery through the thin layer of skin.

And so, Ji Jue’s gentle tone turned abruptly cold. After a night of restraint, its sharp edge was finally revealed.

Ji Jue bent down and asked curiously in An Ran’s ear, “Can you tell me who you really are? What did you do to my friend?”

“Ji Jue?” An Ran looked confused. He instinctively tried to turn his head, but his cervical spine and artery were being pinned down, making it impossible to move. His face was filled with doubt and nervousness.

Ji Jue lifted his head and looked forward. “What’s wrong?”

Right in front of them, the full-length mirror reflected the two of them with perfect clarity, every tiny detail visible. Unfortunately, a long crack ran crookedly across the glass, slicing apart the harmony and smiles between them. All that remained was a cold, fractured trace.

“I’m An Ran,” the boy said, blinking in confusion. “Do you suspect someone is impersonating me?”

“Alright, alright, enough. That’s already very convincing, you don’t need to keep imitating him anymore.” Ji Jue’s tone turned cold as he tightened his fingers slightly. “I’ll admit it, your tone, your expressions, and even your spirit-matter fluctuations are identical to his. But figuring out whether you’re really An Ran is simple. You just need to roll up your pant leg.”

An Ran slowly raised his hand and rolled up his pant leg, revealing the nail embedded in his knee. It was exactly the same as before.

In the brief silence, Ji Jue finally couldn’t help but let out a breath of relief. He even smiled.

“Thank the heavens. I thought you’ve been—”

Boom!

Still wearing that smile, Ji Jue struck without hesitation.

Pacifier’s spirit-matter manipulation ruthlessly disrupted the opponent’s internal spirit matter, locking down the carotid blood flow. Ji Jue’s hands tightened, shifting from stillness to motion as he activated Dissociation Technique!

But before he could do anything, his hands only grasped at empty air. The Pacifier’s restraint was broken. Not even Flawless Craft could catch the boy, and Pacifier’s spirit-matter control had not sensed the slightest trace of spirit-matter movement. It was pure muscular control alone, relying on unbelievably precise vibrations and contractions to break free from Ji Jue’s hold in an instant, without any buildup or warning whatsoever.

With a flash, he reappeared at the other end of the room. Then, the slender, delicate-looking boy finally let out a small sigh of admiration.

“Eh? Except for Mr. Zhang, no one noticed, not even that Aether user Tong Hua.” “An Ran” turned back, smiling brightly. “Were you perhaps... too perceptive?”

Even though his appearance was exactly the same as before, his aura had changed completely. It was now sharp as a blade, unfathomably elusive as a phantom. Just looking at him made cold sweat pour down Ji Jue’s back.

“An Ran” shook his head and sighed helplessly. “Are you saying that simple suspicion alone is enough to make you attack your own trusted friend? How cruel, Mr. Ji.”

“Who the hell gave you the right to call me that?!” Ji Jue pulled the trigger without the slightest hesitation.

With a deafening roar, all eight corrupted bullets shot out with full force. In this narrow room, there was not enough space to dodge. And yet, the eight burning bullets vanished the instant they left the barrel.

When “An Ran” unclenched his fists, the intact bullet tips fell one by one from between his spread fingers, dropping to the ground. Not even the mercury seals on them had been triggered. He was completely unharmed.

“An Ran” still smiled so sweetly. “Can you satisfy my curiosity? Could you tell me exactly where I slipped up?”

Ji Jue sneered. “It’s simple. It’s because you don’t remember my famous quote, of course!”

1. A "whale" is a high-rolling viewer who contributes massive financial support, often thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, to a streamer. These heavy spenders make up a disproportionate percentage of many content creators' incomes. ☜