"Bioterror incident, don't ask questions. I'm your daughter. Follow me to save your wife!"
The eighteen-year-old Xia Feng was grabbed by a tall woman claiming to be his daughter and put on a motorcycle, behind them two passersby swelled in size, as two newly-born zombies began to roar.
About ten minutes later, Xia Feng looked up at the words 'Ping Shan Hospital' and couldn't suppress his curiosity, "This is a hospital, is my wife a doctor?"
His daughter blinked, "Your wife is about to be born."
"Ah?"
Xia Feng startled and suddenly opened his eyes, the blinding surgical light causing him to squint instinctively, as the sound of nurses' giggling filled his ears.
"Little buddy, Auntie is already thirty-six years old, I can't be your wife~" The female doctor skillfully removed her surgical gloves and turned off the light, "You're alright, just a bit of a concussion from the car accident, some rest and you'll recover."
Listening to the doctor, Xia Feng was still in a daze, and in his befuddlement, he was wheeled out of the operating room and into the ward.
Staring at the white ceiling, his thoughts lingered on the dream he had just had.
Zombies? An adult daughter? An unborn wife? What the hell was all that?
Though it was just a dream and shouldn't be taken too seriously, as a transmigrator, he was very sensitive to such abnormal phenomena.
He'd had these kinds of near-real dreams before, but this time was different because he could still recall the mysterious daughter's face!
He was sure it was a face he had never seen before.
Well, after all, since she was so pretty, if he had seen her he would definitely remember... as he thought this, his mind couldn't help but conjure all sorts of weird events from his two lifetimes.
In his previous life, in 2026, an animation called "Evil Realm Descent" was released. His friends said it was a super fiery anime that got intense from the first episode, especially with the evil "Destructive Witch" whose body and face made everyone's blood boil, amassing countless fans.
So he started the first episode with a critical mindset, only to find that he'd been duped; it was indeed a fiery anime without a hint of risqué content!
Darn it!
The first episode depicted the "Bronze Monarch" Destructive Witch wreaking havoc and bringing disaster to all life, painting the ultimate villain's wicked visage.
Feeling deceived, Xia Feng naturally had harsh criticism for the Destructive Witch and then... he was delivered into this world of animation, where power levels could devastate heaven and earth, by a devoted truck driver!
The good news was, he had the standard Golden Finger that comes with being a transmigrator!
The bad news was, he woke up to find his heart had been removed...
So, heartless, he could only cling to life by relying on his Golden Finger.
And this Golden Finger was indeed a heart— the Evil Demon Heart, whose vitality allowed him to live to eighteen. If he wanted to live longer, he had to fully activate the Evil Demon Heart by completing a contract.
Yes, he had to collect materials himself to activate this damned Golden Finger, which was pretty annoying.
So, he began a years-long arduous journey collecting materials.
At first, Xia Feng planned to ask for help from his childhood sweetheart, who had become the Church Court's Holy Daughter, naturally having some channels to purchase the activation materials.
Unfortunately, every time he went to see her, she was in closed-door cultivation, refusing visits. After a few attempts, Xia Feng understood that his childhood sweetheart wanted to distance herself from him.
You could say everyone has their own paths to follow; just be well.
And just now, oh, that is before the car accident that sent him to the hospital, when he had only a few hours of heart activity left, the hard-working him had finally collected all the materials, ready to awaken the mysterious Golden Finger.
His childhood sweetheart Cha Naixue suddenly showed up at his door, straightforwardly presenting him with a letter of marriage.
Thinking about this, the somewhat scrambled Xia Feng's thoughts drifted back 8 hours...
*
"This letter entitles you to marry into the Mu family as a live-in son-in-law, all thanks to my recommendation that convinced the Prince. Though the Mu family of Taicang has fallen, they are still nobility. Little Feng, if you obey Miss Mu's words, the Mu's won't treat you unfairly."
"As for those foolish words and deeds about us getting married when we grow up, just forget them."
"I know, I know that you've always secretly liked me, but some things are just impossible. Xia Feng, you're a good man...."
"You won't blame me for taking the initiative to arrange a marriage for you, will you?"
Cha Naixue's gentle voice still echoed in his ears. Hehe—Xia Feng naturally didn't mind. After all, minding was useless, since once the Prince's approval was secured, his opinion wasn't that important anymore. It had to be done whether he liked it or not! One could only say that Cha Naixue knew how to disgust him.
However, just as he was admiring Cha Naixue's outrageous actions and self-loving thoughts, the photo of Miss Mu from the Mu family printed on the marriage certificate caught his attention—
It was an elegant woman wearing a black dress, her face unclear due to her sideways pose on the windowsill, but Xia Feng was all too familiar with that iconic, graceful black dress.
It was the very dress of the Destructive Witch he remembered!
Upon a second glance at the name, Mu Qingtong—
It matched perfectly with the Destructive Witch's revered title—the Bronze Monarch!
Xia Feng was nearly scared to death; the terrifying vision of Mu Qingtong destroying heaven and earth lay vividly before his eyes. Becoming the fiancé of this woman? Wasn't that like a mouse licking a cat's butt—looking for trouble?
Cha Naixue ah, Cha Naixue, worthy of you, really good at causing me trouble!
[...99%—100%—]
[Activation successful—]
[Evil Demon Heart (Incomplete)]
[Demon Power·Heart of the Strong: You can make a permanent contract with a high-intelligence life form whose bone age differs by ±1 year from yours. When your overall strength is lower than the other party's, your power (including but not limited to physical fitness, neurological reaction, combat premonition, combat knowledge, combat skills, supernatural abilities...) will immediately synchronize with theirs. "Learning ability including perception" and "Spiritual Energy unsealing" excluded.]
"Ah?"
The Golden Finger's information flooded into his brain, and Xia Feng almost burst with joy, recalling once again Mu Qingtong's terrifying power to bring doom.
Ah, sorry Sister Nai Xue, I misunderstood you, you're actually a good person!
Simply put, as long as he found a genius boy or girl close to his age and destined for greatness, and bound his strength to theirs, he could rise in rank while lying down!
And now and then, checking the progress of the other person's cultivation, his level would rise with theirs—this sensation of knowledge automatically entering his brain was delightful to think about.
As for who to bind with, that goes without saying.
The Mu Qingtong who was only nineteen now, able to reach world-shaking power before thirty—
This woman, revered as the Bronze Monarch, obviously had an unquestionable talent for cultivation!
Of course, compared to the Destructive Witch, binding with the protagonist of this anime might be a better choice.
But awkwardly, having watched less than one episode of the anime's prologue, he didn't even know who the protagonist was, nor whether they were male or female...
And time was running short.
[Notice: The current heart energy is severely deficient, vitality is about to run out.]
[Vitality remaining: 9 hours]
[Effect 2: You may increase the heart's vitality by devouring 'Evil Power.' When vitality reaches a certain stage, a new Demon Power can be activated, granting a new ability.]
[.....]
[Please choose an intelligent life form within your visual range to soul-bind with and synchronize strengths. Depending on the target's Spiritual Pressure intensity, you may extend the vitality time by 2-3 days.]
Understanding the function of the Golden Finger, he didn't hesitate, bid a quick farewell to the very kind Cha Naixue, and drove as fast as he could toward Mu Qingtong's location.
Then—
Then he had a car accident and ended up in the hospital, until eight hours later, at this moment, just waking up from surgery...
"Eh? Wait... did I forget something?"
At that thought, he felt a chill in his heart and quickly checked his heart. "Damn it!"
[Vitality remaining: 63 minutes]
"I'm screwed, totally screwed!"
Thump—taking a tumble out of bed, he rushed out of the hospital ward.
As for the 'unborn wife,' there was no time to think about her, finding the Destructive Witch was more urgent!