Chapter 3: School, Secrets, and the Second Box.
7:22 AM. March 15, 2002. Qinghe Town Middle School, South Gate.
The bus coughed to a stop. Lin Yu was out first, exercise book already open, muttering about the Tang Dynasty. He followed, slower. The *[Open next?] [Y/N]* text still sat in the corner of his vision. Patient. Waiting.
School hadn't changed. Red brick buildings, five stories, paint peeling on the north side where the winter wind hit. Bicycle sheds packed. Students flooding through the gate in blue and white jackets, same as his. Same as last time.
He walked to the classroom. Grade 12, Class 3. Third floor, last room on the left. The door was open. Chalk dust in the air. Blackboard wiped clean except for one corner: 84 days until college entrance exam.
Someone had written it yesterday. Probably the class monitor. Same as last time.
He sat down. Third row, window seat. The desk was carved up. Lin Er was here 1999. Not him. Different Lin. The compound had a lot of Lin Ers.
Lin Yu slid into the seat next to him. "You're staring again."
"I'm thinking."
"About what? The letter?"
He didn't answer. The letter was burning a hole in his inner pocket. 668. County Rank: 1. Last time, he'd been proud. This time, it felt like a trap. Nanjing. Four years. Then Shanghai. Then the truck.
No. Not this time.
The teacher walked in. Math. Same teacher. Same haircut. Same red pen that always ran out by third period.
"Morning self-study," the teacher said. "Mock exam papers back tomorrow. For now, review page 112."
Pages turned. Pens scratched. Normal.
He opened the Family Ledger in his head.
695 names. He didn't scroll. He filtered.
Location: Qinghe Town Middle School.
Twelve results.
Lin Yu. Location: Grade 12, Class 3, Seat 4. Health: Excellent. Mood: Focused. Loyalty: 89/100.
Eleven others. Cousins. All in different grades. All surnamed Lin. All here.
One entry blinked red.
Lin Wu. Location: Grade 11, Class 1. Health: Fever. 38.2°C. Mood: Anxious. Loyalty: 54/100.
Fever. He didn't remember Lin Wu getting sick in March. Last time, Lin Wu dropped out in April. Said it was family reasons. Went to work at Hardware Store 7. Died in 2018. Car accident.
He closed the Ledger. His head throbbed. Too much information. Too fast.
"Brother." Lin Yu whispered, not looking up from her book. "Your face. You're pale. Are you sick?"
"No."
"You should go to the infirmary."
"I'm fine."
First period ended. Second period. History. He didn't hear a word. He was thinking about fever. About 2018. About a car accident he could maybe stop if he paid attention.
*[Open next?] [Y/N]*
The text nudged him.
Lunch break. He didn't go to the cafeteria. Didn't go to the roof where he used to eat alone. He went to the old equipment room behind the gym. Locked door. Nobody used it except the janitor, and the janitor was asleep in the boiler room until 1 PM.
He checked the handle. Locked. Good.
"Open," he said.
*[Opening Lineage Gift Box x1...]*
*[Item Acquired: Bloodline Sense Lv.1]*
*[Effect: Passive. Detect all bloodline members within 50 meters. Feel general direction and emotional state. Stronger with closer kin. No names. No numbers. Just... feel.]*
*[Warning: Sense is always on. May cause headaches until adjusted.]*
The box shattered.
*[5 Unopened Gift Boxes Remaining.]*
*[Open next?] [Y/N]*
And then it hit.
Like a wave.
Twelve points of pressure. All at once. Behind him. Above him. Below him. To the left.
Lin Yu. Two floors up, left side. Sharp, focused. Like a pencil point. Worried not about history, About him.
Three more. First floor, east wing. Dull, tired. Bored.
One. Gym. Sharp pain. Ankle.
One. Boiler room. Muffled. Sleepy.
And one. Close. Right outside the door.
He froze.
The handle turned.
The door opened.
It was the janitor. Old man. Not Lin. No pressure. No sense. Just a man with a mop and a confused expression.
"What are you doing in here?" the janitor asked.
"Lost," he said. First thing that came to mind. "Looking for the bathroom."
The janitor pointed. "Other side of the gym. This is storage."
He nodded. Walked out. The sense of the janitor faded instantly. No bloodline. Nothing.
But the twelve others. Still there. Still pressing. Lin Yu strongest. The one with the ankle pain spiked.
He walked fast. Toward the gym.
He didn't know why. The Ledger said Lin Wu had a fever. The Sense said someone had a bad ankle. Different people. Or maybe not. Maybe Lin Wu was in the gym. Maybe the fever made him clumsy.
He pushed the gym doors open.
Grade 11 was doing drills. Basketball. One kid was on the floor, holding his ankle. Face white. Teacher blowing a whistle, telling everyone to back up.
Lin Wu.
The Sense screamed.pain, Fear. Embarrassment.
He knew that ankle. Last time, Lin Wu iced it, walked it off, kept playing. It never healed right. Limped after that. Slower. Got hit by a car in 2018 because he couldn't jump out of the way fast enough.
He had the Ledger. He had the Sense. He had five boxes left.
And he had 84 days.
But he also had right now.
"Teacher," he said, walking onto the court. "He needs the infirmary. Now. Not ice. X-ray."
The teacher frowned. "You're not"
"His cousin," he said. True. "Family rule. We don't walk off joint injuries."
That wasn't true. Not yet. But it would be.
The teacher hesitated. Then nodded. Two students helped Lin Wu up.
Lin Wu looked at him. Confused. Then grateful. The fear in the Sense dimmed to relief .
*[Family Ledger Update: Lin Wu. Mood: Relieved. Loyalty: 61/100.]*
Seven points. For one sentence.
He walked out of the gym. The Sense of Lin Wu faded as the distance grew. But he could still feel him. 50 meters. Like a warm spot in his head.
*[Open next?] [Y/N]*
No. Not yet.
He had to get back to class. Had to act normal. Had to wait.
But he touched the envelope in his jacket. 668.
He wasn't going to Nanjing.
He was going to build something here.
Starting with an ankle.