Chapter 11: Month's End and New Beginnings
Day 30 arrives like any other morning. Sunlight through dormitory windows. Chen Bo complaining about his sore muscles. The smell of rice porridge drifting from the dining hall.
Nothing explodes. No one attacks. No sudden catastrophes.
The day passes in ordinary mediocrity—formation class, sparring practice, evening cultivation. I eat dinner with Fang Zheng, discussing defense techniques. Walk back to my dormitory through familiar paths. Lock the door. Sit on my mat.
"Quest 'Survive First Month' completed. Analysis: Host survival rate exceeded baseline predictions by 34%. Contributing factors: Conservative risk assessment, information advantage through clone network, strategic Fang Yuan avoidance, timeline knowledge from single death reset. Assessment: Performance optimal given constraints."
Thirty days. One death. Multiple near-misses. Constant paranoia.
I don't feel triumphant. Just tired.
"Psychological observation: Host demonstrates adaptation to high-stress environment. Survival mechanisms functioning. Warning: Prolonged exposure to existential threats creates cumulative mental strain. Recommend identifying stress mitigation strategies."
I survived by being nobody. How do I celebrate that?
The thought sits hollow in my chest. Outside, the academy continues its rhythm—students training, elders scheming, Fang Yuan planning his next move toward immortality.
And I'm here. Still breathing. Still invisible.
It'll have to be enough.
CLONE #2 - JADE MOON TOWN
Three weeks of merchant cover had built trust slowly, carefully. Old Wu considered "Gu Yue Chen" a friend now—the kind of friend you shared drinks with after successful business deals.
Tonight, the clone ensured those drinks kept flowing.
"Another successful week?" The clone poured wine, filling Old Wu's cup generously.
"Very successful." Old Wu's words already slurred slightly. "My special clients are very pleased with recent deliveries."
"The information trading?" The clone kept its tone casual, conspiratorial. "You mentioned that before. Must be lucrative."
Old Wu leaned closer, wine-loose and eager to impress. "More than you'd think. There's a whole network—dozens of us across the region. We track promising students, report patterns, identify... anomalies."
"Anomalies?"
"Students who don't fit the standard curves." Old Wu tapped his temple significantly. "The analysts, they have charts. Expected advancement rates, behavioral patterns, resource consumption. When someone breaks the pattern—too fast or too slow, too consistent or too erratic—they flag it."
The clone poured more wine. "And then what?"
"Prevention." Old Wu giggled, a drunk man's inappropriate mirth. "They pay triple for anyone who might reach Rank 3 before twenty. Prevention is cheaper than elimination later, they say. Smart business model, really."
Great Sage logged every word, building networks of connection. The clone smiled, laughed at Old Wu's jokes, and kept the merchant talking for another two hours.
By the end, Old Wu had revealed the entire structure: seven information brokers, two Bai Clan handlers, target selection criteria, payment schedules. Everything.
He passed out happy, thinking he'd impressed a friend.
The clone left him sleeping and transmitted the intelligence home.
Day 31. Morning.
The memory transfer from Clone #2 arrives during cultivation—sudden knowledge flooding my consciousness like cold water.
I process it systematically. The Bai Clan network. The targeting criteria. The phrase that makes my stomach drop: statistical anomaly.
"Analysis: Host was flagged for assassination not due to obvious threat, but due to pattern-breaking behavior. Specific triggers: Consistent mediocre performance suggesting calculated strategy rather than genuine limitation, unusual primeval stone expenditure patterns, clone activity generating spiritual signature anomalies. Irony: Attempting invisibility created visibility through consistency of effort to remain unremarkable."
I tried to hide by being perfectly average. But perfect averages don't exist in nature. Real mediocrity has variation—good days, bad days, random fluctuations.
My calculated mediocrity was too calculated. Too perfect. A pattern that screamed "deliberate" to anyone analyzing the data.
I outsmarted myself into a death sentence.
The library is quiet in the afternoon. I'm reviewing inheritance ground histories when Shen Cui sits down across from me. No invitation. Just presence.
"We need to talk," she says quietly.
My pulse spikes. "About?"
"The merchant network in Jade Moon Town." Her eyes are steady, knowing. "My family has connections in information trading—distant cousins, mostly. I recognize the patterns. The way your 'cousin' has integrated so quickly. The questions he asks. The people he cultivates relationships with."
"I don't know what—"
"Stop." Not harsh. Just tired. "I'm not here to expose you. I'm here to warn you." She leans forward. "The network deals with Bai Clan. They're targeting Gu Yue students who show potential. And somehow, despite your careful mediocrity, you're on their list."
"How do you know?"
"Because I asked." She says it simply. "I have family in Jade Moon Town. They hear things. Your name came up in conversations it shouldn't."
Great Sage analyzes her expression, body language, tone. "Assessment: Genuine concern detected. No evidence of deception or hostile intent. Probability of trap: 11.2%. Subject Shen Cui appears to be providing authentic warning based on family intelligence sources."
"Why tell me?" My voice comes out rougher than intended.
"Because you're not like the others." She stands, preparing to leave. "You're scared, paranoid, and clearly carrying secrets that weigh on you. But you're not cruel. You help Fang Zheng without asking for anything back. You never kick down at weaker students. That's rare enough to be worth protecting."
She walks away before I can respond. Leaves me sitting there, processing the idea that someone might actually care whether I live or die.
SHEN CUI
Mo Bei needed allies, even if he didn't realize it yet.
Shen Cui had watched him for weeks now—the hypervigilance, the careful routines, the way he looked at Fang Yuan like a rabbit watching a wolf. Whatever secrets he carried, they were eating him alive.
Her family's merchant connections had confirmed the danger. Bai Clan was hunting. Mo Bei was prey.
He can't fight this alone. He doesn't even know he needs help.
But she could position herself nearby. Be ready when he inevitably stumbled.
Healing was about preventing damage, not just treating it afterward.
Day 32. New quest parameters appear.
"Quest accepted: 'Prepare for Flower Wine Monk Inheritance.' Duration: 21 days. Objectives: Acquire survival Gu, scout territory, develop extraction strategy, maintain cover while building capability. Survival probability in inheritance ground: Currently 34.7%. Target: 60% through preparation."
Twenty-one days to increase my odds from abysmal to merely terrible.
Time to work.
Note:
Please give good reviews and power stones itrings more people and more people means more chapters?
My Patreon is all about exploring 'What If' timelines, and you can get instant access to chapters far ahead of the public release.
Choose your journey:
Timeline Viewer ($6): Get 10 chapters of early access + 5 new chapters weekly.
Timeline Explorer ($9): Jump 15-20 chapters ahead of everyone.
Timeline Keeper ($15): Get Instant Access to chapters the moment I finish writing them. No more waiting.
Read the raw, unfiltered story as it unfolds. Your support makes this possible!
👉 Find it all at patreon.com/Whatif0