The Creatures That We Are - Chapter 25: Old Man Zhang

When he first crossed over, Chen Liguo did not want to accept it.

But he quickly discovered, after he crossed, he found that all the men he met had perfect figures and eight-packs. Furthermore, these men liked him.

As a gay man, Chen Liguo was so excited he shed tears of joy.

However, the world obviously wouldn’t have such good things.

Because, just as he was drooling and about to pounce, a system appeared and told him: Buddy, sorry to let you down, but you can’t be with these people.

Chen Liguo: What if I insist?

System: Hehe

……

Chen Liguo: You trash system! Destroying my youth! Ruining my s*x life!

- Description from novelupdates

For as long as he could remember, life had always been cruel.A young man in his early twenties—his name now lost to the past—was dealt a life filled with misfortunes.A cold, empty apartment, a soul-crushing job, and, finally, a terminal diagnosis.With nothing left to live for, his only comfort had been escaping into the fictional world of Path of the Elemental Sage, a story of heroes, magic, and survival.But fate had other plans.When death finally came for him, he didn’t fade into nothingness.Instead, he awoke in the world he had only read about—a world of chaos and danger where death lurked around every corner.The air smelled of magic, the sky was filled with possibilities.{«[Status Window]»}[Name: Lyrium Blackwood][Age: 16][Rank: D-][Skills: None][Elements: None}At first, confusion filled his mind.Who was Lyrium Blackwood?Why was he here?And why did this body feel so different?But as his memories returned, so did the realization: this wasn’t some blessing or second chance.He wasn’t reincarnated as the protagonist.No destined savior.No cheat abilities.No grand fate.He was just another mob, a face in the crowd meant to exist and die without leaving a mark.But this young man—the one who had left his old name and life behind—wasn’t the kind of person to roll over and accept his fate.“This world is dangerous. The protagonist isn’t the only one fighting for survival here,”he muttered, his red eyes deep and sharp.Unlike the naïve characters in the story, he knew the stakes.He’d read the web novel.He’d seen the carnage, the betrayals, the disasters that wiped out entire cities.And if there was one thing he refused to be, it was a pawn in someone else’s game.“I don’t care about glory. I don’t care about saving the world. All I care about is surviving—no matter what it takes.”Lyrium Blackwood wasn’t planning to live quietly or avoid danger.The only way to survive in this brutal world was to rise to the top.To be strong enough to stand above both heroes and villains.Using his knowledge of the story’s events and his iron will, Lyrium sets out on a relentless path to surpass the protagonist.Whether through clever manipulation, brutal training, or sheer desperation, he’ll climb higher and higher, leaving nothing to chance.But the deeper he gets, the more he realizes that this isn’t just the story he once read.As fate pushes him closer to the heart of the narrative, Lyrium begins to suspect that his reincarnation wasn’t an accident—and the world itself might be watching him.“I don’t care who or what stands in my way. If the story wants to kill me, I’ll rewrite the ending myself.”----------------------------------I apologize for any mistakes in this story, as it’s my first attempt at writing a novel.

What would you do if you were reborn in the world of Battle Through the Heavens without a distinguished background or an elder in your ring and just a decent talent?Luckily, Xiao Ming has awakened the Life Simulator System![The Life Simulator is on]......[You have experienced an ordinary life.][Elements are being chosen.][Currently available: Green Lotus Core Flame, Flame Mantra, Woeful Poison Body.][Please choose one.]Every seven days, he can choose to extract one of the elements from his life simulation.In this way, Xiao Ming began his ordinary life.

Yan Xi was the eldest young lady of Beiqiao City’s top four families, the Yan family. Despite her talents, she was sickly and destined to die young. She was an unattainable dream girl for many.

One day, she had a dream, and the setting was in a novel. In the novel, for the sake of alleviating his pain of losing his wife, and soon his daughter as well, her father adopted a girl named Chen Xiangxiang who looked just like her. The girl was docile as a deer and very therapeutic, which made her all the more lovable. This girl became her substitute, and after a series of heart-wrenching incidents, everyone, from her father, brother, fiance, to her friends, they all doted on this girl. Meanwhile, she, the real rich daughter, was schemed against. After being disfigured, she jumped from a building and fell to her death.

Now, she returned to the moment when she was just discharged and before the tragedies happened. She lowered her head and looked at the person before her. She smirked. This time, she would control every development, and those who intended to harm her could forget about escaping.