"Wait, who the hell are you?!" Wen Qian felt like her world had ended the moment she woke up. Could anyone tell her how this silver-haired man got into her room? And... where were his clothes?!
He was just walking around her room... naked?
How... audacious!!
Dodging the hand the man extended toward her, Wen Qian wrapped the blanket tightly around herself and scrambled back into the corner of the wall. She looked both mortified and furious, as if she were the naked one.
The internet was really just a place to run your mouth. She'd left so many thirsty comments under risqué influencer posts, but when a ridiculously handsome, six-foot-two man actually appeared naked in her home, all she wanted to do was scream for help.
'Oh god, this has to be a dream!'
Seeing the girl wrapped up like a burrito, the man frowned in displeasure. The next second, he knelt on the bed with one knee and clamped a firm hand around Wen Qian's ankle. With a slight tug, he pulled her, blanket and all, into his arms.
Pressed against his broad, warm chest, Wen Qian froze completely. When she came to her senses, she immediately started screaming and struggling. "AHHHH... Pervert!"
With his chin slightly raised, the man let Wen Qian flail about in his arms.
A pleased look flickered in his eyes, as if he were observing some amusing little object. In the end, it was Wen Qian who tired herself out. She went limp in his arms, the very picture of despair.
'Oh, heavens! Is he even human? My hair's a total bird's nest from all that struggling, but he hasn't moved a muscle. He's not reacting at all.'
Wen Qian's eyes grew red—red with frustration.
'Can someone please save me? What does this guy want? Is he after my money or my body?!'
'If it's money, I don't have any. If it's my body... with a face like that, there's no way he's short on admirers, right?'
As she thought this, Wen Qian snuck a few more glances at the man. She had to admit, she'd never seen anyone so handsome. His skin was fair and flawless, his eyes a clear amber, his nose high and straight, and his well-defined lips were a faint shade of red. He was the type who looked handsome at first glance, and even more so on the second.
He was way better-looking than the pretty boys on short-video platforms with their full makeup and filters. Having worked as a makeup artist's assistant, Wen Qian was certain: this man wasn't wearing a single drop of makeup.
Countless thoughts flashed through her mind, finally landing on a video she'd recently seen about organ harvesting. She shivered violently, her expression turning grim. 'He's not after my organs, is he?'
The more she thought about it, the more terrified she became, and even her voice trembled. "We live in a society governed by laws, I'm telling you... Don't you try any of that Myanmar North crap on me!"
This time, she was really about to cry. 'My teacher always said that once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.' The man wasn't making a move right now; he was probably waiting for accomplices.
'He hasn't said a word... could he be mute?'
'He's not going to cut out my tongue, is he?'
'What should I do? Wait for an opening and fight back?'
'I, Wen Qian, won't just let myself be slaughtered! If this man really tries something, I'll leap up and bite his throat!'
'At my age, my teeth should still be pretty sharp, right?'
'Waaah, but what if I miss and he beats me to death...'
Feeling the person in his arms trembling uncontrollably, the man finally loosened his grip.
He gazed at her, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. After a moment, he actually nuzzled her earlobe with the tip of his nose.
The warm puff of his breath on her neck sent a shiver down Wen Qian's spine. The man tried to soothe her, his movements gentle and intimate. Finally, ignoring her resistant posture, he took her hand and pressed it against his soft ear...
In an instant, Wen Qian's eyes filled with astonishment. Her whole body went rigid.
'A soft... ear?'
'A furry one...?'
She gave it a subconscious squeeze, but before she could do anything else, he pulled his ear back.
"You can't do that, Qianqian." His voice was soft, with a pleading, almost spoiled tone. Nuzzling her earlobe with his nose again, the man said, "I'm Yin Zhi."
Yin Zhi added, "We've been living together for a month."
What?!
Wen Qian was dumbfounded. 'Little white?'
Holy crap! 'It couldn't be that stray cat she picked up last month... the silver gradient?!'
...
The Meta-Century in which Wen Qian lived was an era where global economic development had plateaued, while scientific power continued to break new ground.
In this age, countless uncertainties had become certainties: holographic games, autonomous driving, ultra-deep-hole geological drilling, gene editing... Human ingenuity was not limited to mere numbers; they harnessed it to its fullest potential, driving the era's progress.
For humanity, it was truly a wonderful world.
Of course, everything would have been even better if not for the cataclysm twenty years ago.
「Twenty years ago, in early autumn.」
Waves like colossal beasts shattered the coastlines, solid, unyielding walls of water roaring as they surged toward the frantically fleeing populace. Countless fortress-like buildings were submerged, succumbing to the rapidly rising sea.
At the same time, the earth began to tremble, wielding a power that devoured all as it tore valleys asunder. Screams were muffled by the sobs of the land itself. Houses collapsed, and countless lives were consumed. Bustling cities turned deathly still overnight.
Everyone thought their home, Blue Star, was finished. They felt life itself draining away before their very eyes. The sudden disaster robbed them even of the right to write a will. They didn't have time to say goodbye to their loved ones, or even to say, "I love you."
But unexpectedly, Blue Star was not destroyed.
Because on the second day, the tsunamis stopped, and the sun rose as scheduled.
On the third day, the aftershocks subsided to almost nothing.
Cities with less damage began rescue efforts, and it was then that Wen Qian was discovered. She was wrapped in a simple cotton blanket, and with her was an ice-blue pendant.
She was less than a year old at the time, and no one knew who her parents were. But everyone saw her as Blue Star's miracle, a symbol of good fortune.
The cataclysm she had endured hadn't harmed a single hair on her head, leaving only a thin layer of dust on her soft blanket. For a time, she was famous everywhere, with wealthy people clamoring to adopt her.
But this halo of hers only lasted for three years, because three years later, another major event occurred on Blue Star.
In Wen Qian's city, animals that could take on human-like forms were discovered. They possessed human bodies and figures but retained the ears and tails of beasts. At first, everyone thought it was just cosplay, until someone witnessed one of them shapeshift, filmed it, and uploaded it to the internet.
Overnight, the media went into a frenzy. Some even offered exorbitant prices for their capture.
Humanity's reaction to the unknown is not just curiosity, but also fear and greed...
Most people subconsciously viewed the Beastmen as inferior creatures. They used weapons and superior numbers to oppress them, treating them as research subjects. The rich and powerful went so far as to pay fortunes to keep them locked up in their homes as amusing pets.
Countless Beastmen were discovered, captured, and hunted down.
The Beastmen grew to hate humans to the bone, but fearing their methods, they could only hide in the shadows to survive.