Breaking the Persona

[Critical plot point in progress. The Host is forbidden from interfering.]

The system’s warning echoed relentlessly in his ears.

Shi Ji was gasping for air. The moment he had seen Li Chen exit the car on the monitor, he had sprinted out of the company building. Following the direction Li Chen had taken, it had taken him an agonizingly long time to track him down.

By the time he arrived, Li Chen was already surrounded by those four “extra” Alphas. Shi Ji’s entire body shook uncontrollably. He took a deep breath and shouted in a near-breakdown, “Why are you controlling him?!”

[Apologies. The System cannot control anyone other than the Host. The protagonist is simply fulfilling the plot as it should naturally develop.]

The system replied with its usual mechanical coldness.

Shi Ji watched as the four men drew closer to Li Chen. A defective Omega would have a violent physical reaction to even a trace of Alpha pheromones, let alone four at once!

Without even thinking, Shi Ji could feel Li Chen’s current despair.

He instinctively tried to run forward, but his body wouldn’t budge. His legs felt as though they had been filled with lead, completely anchored to the spot.

[Please maintain your persona. The Host’s mission in this scene is to watch with cold indifference. If the Host breaks character, the System will issue a severe penalty.]

“Let go of me!” Shi Ji’s eyes grew red with desperation. He stared fixedly at Li Chen. The helpless Omega had been pushed to a point of no escape, and some were already beginning to touch him wantonly.

Shi Ji’s hands trembled. The distance between him and Li Chen wasn’t far, yet it felt like a galaxy stood between them—a gap he couldn’t cross by even half a step.

[Final System Warning: Please maintain your persona!]

“LET GO OF ME!!”

Shi Ji screamed hysterically. He simply could not stand by and watch Li Chen suffer with cold eyes.

It had nothing to do with the plot, and nothing to do with his own survival.

He just felt that… Li Chen shouldn’t have to go through this.

[Warning! Character OOC level: 1—]

The moment the warning sounded, a piercing alarm blared in Shi Ji’s mind. He gritted his teeth, pouring every ounce of strength into resisting the system’s shackles. It was like struggling through a sinking marsh; an invisible force pressed down on him with crushing weight. Sweat slid from his temples, dripping onto the hard pavement.

He kept his eyes locked on Li Chen. Every time an Alpha touched the boy, Shi Ji’s heart flinched. Finally, as if unable to support himself any longer, Li Chen collapsed to his knees.

[Warning! Character OOC level: 2—]

The system’s voice continued to explode in his ears, but Shi Ji no longer cared. He knew that from the moment he started running toward Li Chen, there was no turning back.

He forced himself forward inch by inch. Something in the air seemed to be physically yanking his feet backward, obstructing his every move. A distance of just a few steps felt like it took minutes to cross.

[Warning! Character OOC level: 3—]

As the third warning fell, the crushing pressure on his body suddenly lessened, and the pulling sensation vanished.

“Get lost!” Li Chen shouted in the distance. This single act of resistance nearly brought Shi Ji to tears. His soft lips were accidentally cut by his own teeth, and the metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, though he could barely feel it.

[Warning! Character OOC level: 4—]

The system seemed to give up its physical restraint. Shi Ji felt he could finally move freely. He bolted toward Li Chen.

The wind whistled past his ears. Closer, even closer…

Shi Ji grabbed one man by the back of his collar and yanked him backward with all his might. The Alpha, currently lost in his pheromone-induced heat, was stunned. The suddenly tightened collar turned his face a deep, suffocated red.

The man turned to look at the Shi Ji who had dropped from the heavens. His combative instincts were instantly triggered. He glared with bloodshot eyes, balled his fist, and swung a punch straight at Shi Ji without a second thought!

In the real world, Shi Ji was nothing more than a shut-in; he rarely even exercised. Fighting a violent Alpha in heat was essentially asking for a beating.

He managed to clumsily dodge the punch aimed at his face. Taking the opportunity, he ripped off his coat and threw it over Li Chen’s head.

Immediately after, Shi Ji dodged another Alpha’s attack. He raised his leg and kicked hard at the man’s hip—luckily, he actually landed the hit. He then darted through the gap and grabbed Li Chen’s hand.

The moment his slender fingers closed around the other’s hand, Shi Ji’s heart finally settled.

“You…” Li Chen felt the searing warmth of the palm against his own. His muddled brain couldn’t quite process what was happening.

He didn’t understand the point of Shi Ji doing this. He never imagined Shi Ji would actually come to save him.

“Stop talking,” Shi Ji whispered, staring warily at the Alphas around them, who were hunched like beasts ready to pounce. “Come with me.”

The moment the words left his lips, he pulled Li Chen and started running.

Suddenly, someone threw a stone the size of a fist at Shi Ji. it struck him squarely on the shoulder. Shi Ji let out a muffled groan, his grip on Li Chen’s wrist tightening involuntarily.

The flesh on his shoulder felt torn; he could vaguely feel something warm welling up, but he didn’t have time to check. He could only force his legs to move faster.

[Warning! Character OOC level: 5—]

Suddenly, a bolt of electricity shot through his mind, followed by a blinding flash of white light. The sharp pain caught Shi Ji off guard; for a second, he felt like he was going to black out.

The agonizing pain forced him to slow down, but the sound of chaotic, roaring footsteps followed closely behind. Shi Ji shook his head, ignoring everything as he continued to run wild with Li Chen.

Their shadows lengthened under the sun. The dead leaves kicked up by the wind played a frantic tune for their escape.

Shi Ji looked up at the vast blue sky. For a brief moment, a thought crossed his mind: This move of mine should really be recorded in history.

[Warning! Character OOC level: 6—]

The sensation of electric shocks grew more intense. Shi Ji’s face turned white, and his heart raced so fast he felt he couldn’t breathe. His limbs began to go numb. He nearly tripped several times. Li Chen pulled the coat off his head; seeing that Shi Ji was acting strange, he asked worriedly, “What’s wrong with you?”

Shi Ji kept his pale, dry lips pressed shut. He couldn’t speak. Heaven knew how much he wanted to grab Li Chen by the collar and tell him that he was literally putting his life on the line to save him!

[Warning! Character OOC level: 7—]

As the character collapse deepened, it felt as though the bones in his body were being violently wrenched apart. Shi Ji’s vision pulsed with darkness, and a high-pitched ringing filled his ears. Despite the excruciating pain and his deathly pallor, he stubbornly repeated the same motion, running forward like a machine.

He kept running until he was intercepted by Yan Guangsheng, and the four men chasing them were thoroughly subdued by Yan Guangsheng’s subordinates.

“Mr. Shi?” Yan Guangsheng looked at the erratic Shi Ji with utter shock, then turned his gaze to Li Chen. “…What on earth happened?!”

Li Chen’s lips trembled as he walked to Shi Ji’s side. He looked down at the violently twitching man; Shi Ji’s grey-white face made him feel… like Shi Ji was about to die.

[Warning! Character OOC level: 8!!] [Warning! Character OOC level: 9!!!]

The system’s warnings were so loud that Shi Ji could hear nothing else.

He felt as though something had ignited inside him, the searing heat burning his internal organs. Every muscle in his body felt like it had been crushed by a giant truck. No matter how the people around him called out, he couldn’t gather his thoughts to answer.

He should be bleeding by now. Perhaps he had already stopped breathing.

Was it over?

Shi Ji looked at the cloudless sky. His sensory perception felt infinitely magnified; he thought he was going to be melted by the scorching sunlight.

Suddenly, a figure blocked his view. Those misty-blue eyes were actually more brilliant than the blue sky he had been staring at.

The boy’s brow was knit tight, sweat beaded on his forehead, and his lips were moving as if calling his name.

Shi Ji looked at Li Chen blearily.

He suddenly remembered that in the original text, the owner had forced himself on Li Chen from the start. If he were to bite Li Chen’s gland now, that shouldn’t count as breaking character, right?

The moment the thought appeared, Shi Ji reached out, looped his arms around Li Chen’s neck, and pulled him down.

“I’m sorry.”

The apology brushed past Li Chen’s ear.

In the next second, Shi Ji lowered his head and bit into the back of Li Chen’s neck.

[Congratulations to the Host for completing this plot segment. 8,000 points awarded, loaded into the database, data synchronization complete.]

[Detection: Host character OOC level 9. 5,000 points deducted. Detection: Risk of supporting characters noticing character replacement is 0. 100 bonus points awarded.]

[Current total points: 14,200.]

[Entering intermission.]

The deafening alarms finally ceased. A few bursts of static crackled in Shi Ji’s ears, and even the system’s notification voice became somewhat blurred.

He swallowed, released his hold, and his eyelashes fluttered. He looked at the faint teeth marks on the jade-white skin. Next to the red marks was a small, slightly raised patch of soft flesh—Li Chen’s gland.

Then, the world began to spin. Shi Ji felt as though his bones had completely fallen apart. He simply let his head drop, closed his eyes, and leaned against Li Chen’s shoulder.

He could no longer tell who was calling his name. The voices were all jumbled together, making him feel irritable.

He felt someone’s arm wrap around his waist, pulling him into a firm embrace. Cool fingertips gently pinched the back of his neck.

The touch reminded him of the night Li Chen lost control, but he had no strength left to struggle, nor the energy to wonder if the boy still wanted to kill him.

Whatever you want to do… go ahead.

With that final thought, his heart thudded heavily, his head lolled to the side, and he lost all consciousness.

At the exact second Shi Ji blacked out, Li Chen felt a weight on his shoulder. The warmth against the back of his neck vanished. As Shi Ji’s head dropped, his dry lips grazed against Li Chen’s skin.

The man leaned into his arms, completely limp. Li Chen turned his head to look at him; seeing Shi Ji’s bloodless face and tightly closed eyes, his own breath hitched. He immediately reached out with trembling fingertips to check Shi Ji’s breathing. Only after feeling a faint breath did his heart, which had been lodged in his throat, finally settle.

Yan Guangsheng stood by, still in a daze. His lips moved as if to say something, but the boy holding Shi Ji looked up, his eyes rimmed with red.

“Save him,” he said.

“This…” Yan Guangsheng frowned deeply.

“Please,” the boy murmured. “Don’t let him die.”