The Birthday Gift and the Looming Shadow

“There was still over a hundred yuan left on the card, far more than he could possibly use. He sighed, deciding to consider it a tip for the landlady.”

A pang of regret crossed Huang Xiu’s face; he had only just topped up a hundred yuan last month, taking advantage of a member recharge promotion.

Now, it was all for naught.

Just as he prepared to exit the client and log off, a small, insistent light began to flicker in the “Collections” section at the top right corner of the game client.

Upon clicking it open, he discovered notifications for newly acquired skins.

Blood Moon (Yasuo), High Noon (Yasuo), PROJECT (Yasuo).

A total of three new skins had been added to his collection.

“Hmm???” Huang Xiu paused, a beat of bewilderment stretching into half a second. He navigated back to the client’s homepage, then clicked into the “Collections” tab once more.

“Wait, how did these skins appear?” The young man’s mind swirled with questions.

He never spent a dime on games; his philosophy was to be a true free-to-play champion, a zero-top-up marvel.

At that moment, the sofa beneath him suddenly dipped, indicating someone had leaned against it.

“Ta-da! Happy birthday, Xiu-ge! So, what do you think of the skins I gifted you, pretty cool, right?”

Shi Lei burst into boisterous laughter, sidling closer, only to be met with Huang Xiu’s immediate, disgusted shove.

“Ugh, get away from me! Do you realize you’re completely saturated with the smell of smoke? It’s absolutely foul!”

Despite the utter disgust in his words, a faint smile played at the corners of the young man’s lips.

So many events had unfolded over the past two days, a whirlwind that had even made him forget it was his own birthday.

He never would have expected this fellow… to actually remember such a detail.

“Alright, alright,” Huang Xiu said, logging off and rising to his feet. “I’ve already boosted you to Diamond II, so consider these skins my payment. Now, hurry back to school.”

“Fiiiiine!” Shi Lei grumbled, a hint of reluctance in his voice, yet he knew that if they lingered any longer, it would be too late.

Chatting and laughing, the two friends followed the small path, walking beneath the moonlight until they reached the school gates.

They had barely taken a few steps when Huang Xiu abruptly halted, then turned and jogged towards the security office.

“Excuse me, sir, could you please check if there’s a package here addressed to Huang Xiu?”

Shi Lei’s thoughtful gift had jogged Huang Xiu’s memory.

His mother, he recalled, had apparently ordered something for him online, which was scheduled to arrive today.

“A package, you say? Let me take a look.”

The elderly security guard adjusted his reading glasses, then ambled unhurriedly into the security office to begin his search.

Before long, he emerged, a small box clutched in his hand.

“Here you go, this one’s for Huang Xiu. Just a single package.”

“Thank you!”

Huang Xiu offered a polite thank you, accepted the package, then turned and quickly made his way back to Shi Lei, who was waiting nearby.

“What is it?” Shi Lei asked, his curiosity piqued.

His friend rarely engaged in online shopping, making this particular instance quite unusual.

“My mom bought it for me,” Huang Xiu announced, a wide smile spreading across his face as he waved the small package box. “It must be a birthday gift.”

Shi Lei rummaged in his pocket, producing his dorm key and offering it. “Why don’t you open it and see what’s inside?”

“Alright!” Huang Xiu was, in truth, just as eager to discover what his mother had purchased for him.

Given its small size, it was unlikely to be clothes or shoes, more probably some small trinket or bauble.

Regardless of its contents, the mere fact that his mother had bought him something filled him with a profound sense of gratitude.

Huang Xiu was, by nature, a contented soul.

Using the key, he slit open the tape, revealing a small object nestled within the cardboard box, meticulously swaddled in layers of bubble wrap.

“Is this… a necklace?” Huang Xiu carefully peeled away the bubble wrap, revealing a small, vibrant green jade pendant strung on a red cord.

The jade pendant, no larger than a finger, boasted exceptional clarity and translucence, shimmering with a faint, milky green luminescence under the warm yellow glow of the streetlights.

On its front, the character “Xiu” was carved in prominent relief, while the reverse side bore an intaglio etching of a young boy’s head.

Huang Xiu recognized the image instantly as himself from childhood, and the character “Xiu” was indeed his cherished nickname.

Undoubtedly, this was a custom-made jade pendant from his mother.

“Whoa, that’s gorgeous!” Shi Lei yelped, a touch of envy in his voice. His own mother, for his birthdays, merely handed him cash or bought him expensive, yet utterly impractical, trinkets.

Those items paled in comparison to the exquisite jade pendant in Huang Xiu’s grasp.

“My mom bought it, so of course it’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Huang Xiu murmured, unable to resist turning the jade pendant over and over in his hands.

Only after a considerable time did he finally fasten the jade pendant around his neck, carefully tucking it beneath his collar to keep it close to his skin and safely out of sight.

“Come on, let’s head back to the dorm!” He declared, poised to leave, only for Shi Lei to abruptly seize his arm, pulling him back.

“Hold on, could you come back to the classroom with me first? I left my campus card there.”

The campus card served as an all-access pass; at No. 1 Middle School, it was essential for everything from the cafeteria and convenience store to even accessing hot water for showers.

Without his card, Shi Lei would be forced to retrieve it from the classroom tomorrow morning before he could even think about breakfast.

Given that No. 1 Middle School was a prestigious high school, morning schedules were already notoriously tight. Such a delay would undoubtedly mean missing breakfast entirely.

Huang Xiu turned his gaze towards the U-shaped teaching building, silhouetted against the profound darkness of the night sky. After a moment’s consideration, he nodded.

“Fine by me!”

After all, a quick trip wouldn’t hurt, and he could also take the opportunity to gather his own belongings from the classroom.

That way, he could leave school directly for home tomorrow morning.

“Let’s go, GKD (TL Note: An internet slang term, ‘gān kuài diǎn,’ meaning ‘hurry up’ or ‘go quickly’).” Huang Xiu stretched languidly.

While his hands and nose hadn’t absorbed too much of the smoke smell, his clothes, he knew, still carried a faint trace of it.

This lingering scent made him feel somewhat uncomfortable, yearning to return and take a shower as soon as possible.

“Then let’s go!” Shi Lei exclaimed, turning on his heel and bolting. “Let’s see who can reach the classroom first!”

“Childish!”

Huang Xiu pursed his lips. “How old are we? Still playing these childish games. Does he really think I’d accept such a challenge?”

Well, actually, he would!

Among boys, the competitive spirit burns with an extraordinary intensity!

Even if he were to become a girl later, at this precise moment, he was undeniably still a boy!

Given that truth, a victor simply had to be determined!

Taking a deep breath, his footsteps gradually quickened.

Shi Lei’s physical constitution was inherently inferior to his own, and that was even before considering how Huang Xiu’s physical prowess had been enhanced by Void Energy.

This was destined to be a brutal, one-sided rout.

Huang Xiu merely maintained a light jog, yet within a few effortless strides, he had already caught up to Shi Lei, who had been running full-tilt for several seconds.

Surpassing his panting, utterly winded friend, Huang Xiu turned his head, poised to deliver a few teasing remarks.

Suddenly, a shimmering, indistinct silhouette materialized deep within his pupils, immediately seizing his entire field of vision and undivided attention.

“Th-that’s… that is!” Huang Xiu halted abruptly, his right hand shooting out to grasp the bewildered Shi Lei and yank him back.

His pupils, fixed on the sky, dilated with sheer shock.

“Shi Lei, did you see that?” Huang Xiu’s voice was low and serious as he pointed towards the distant sky.

Shi Lei followed his friend’s gaze, but the inky expanse of the night sky revealed only a smattering of stars and the soft, diffused glow of the moon.

Other than that, only a few insects buzzed haphazardly around the streetlights.

“What are you talking about?” Shi Lei craned his neck, squinting. “I don’t see a single thing! Xiu-ge, are you trying some new prank on me?”

“You didn’t see it?” Huang Xiu was utterly dumbfounded.

He *didn’t* see it? A school of that immense size, floating in the very sky, and he claimed not to have seen it?

He pointed towards the heavens, his voice laced with disbelief. “Such an enormous school, suspended in mid-air, and you actually…”

Wait a moment!

Could it be… the Void Realm (TL Note: A mysterious, otherworldly dimension that can manifest in the physical world.)!

Huang Xiu froze, the remainder of his sentence dying on his lips.

Was it the Void Realm, descending upon the real world?

But why now? And why without any prior warning whatsoever?

As these thoughts raced through his mind, a wave of profound dread drifted towards them from the distance.

Huang Xiu’s eyes darted towards it, revealing a grotesque silhouette gradually solidifying and expanding in the distance.

That was…

“What school are you talking about?”

Shi Lei reached out, waving a hand impatiently before Huang Xiu’s eyes. “Xiu-ge, enough with the jokes. Trying to scare me like this is truly dull…”

Before he could finish his sentence, however, his words caught in his throat. He had just noticed the profound gravity that had settled upon his Xiu-ge’s expression.

Large beads of sweat were visibly breaking out on Huang Xiu’s otherwise delicate features.

Shi Lei could even discern the extreme dilation of Huang Xiu’s pupils, stretched wide with unadulterated terror.

Hold on… why did it look as though there were two figures reflected within Xiu-ge’s eyes?

One, tall and slender, was undoubtedly himself… but who was the other? That tall, corpulent, and strangely shaped figure?