That Dropped Chinese Novel’s Useless Me Says No to the System

Chapter 121 Exactly Same, Exactly Bad

I had no idea how long we ran. My lungs felt as if they were being torn open, and only when my breath was nearly gone did I suddenly realize that my feet had stopped moving. I lifted my head.

We were standing in front of a tavern.

“Deep Valley Tavern.”

The same crooked, weather-beaten signboard hung over the door. The wood was peeling, the characters half-faded, looking as if one more strong wind might rip it loose. The sight of it made my chest tighten at once.

“Lian…” I panted, one hand pressed against my chest, my throat scraping like blades grinding against each other. “Why… why did you bring me here? Hua and Elder An… they’re still back there.”

Before the words were fully out, Lian let out a low, strangled sound. He clutched his head, his whole body shuddering before he collapsed onto the ground, so pained he could barely breathe, let alone speak.

“No… no, this is wrong… all wrong…”

He muttered it over and over. The veins at his temple stood out sharply, as if he were wrestling with something unseen.

Alarm shot through me. I crouched down and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Easy, easy. Tell me slowly. What’s wrong?”

He didn’t answer immediately. One hand was buried in his hair in a death grip; the other trembled violently as he pointed at the tavern in front of us.

“Look!”

A chill crawled up my spine. I turned to look.

It was still the Deep Valley Tavern we knew. A few workers moved busily in and out, lifting jars, changing pots. Behind the counter the shopkeeper worked his abacus, muttering under his breath. Rows of wine jars lined the wall, and the air carried that familiar smell of mellowed spirits.

By all appearances, it was exactly the same Deep Valley Tavern as the one in the He Ling City.

“I don’t see anything different…” I murmured, though hesitation crept into my voice. “Looks the same as the one outside, doesn’t it?”

But the moment I said it, cold dread pooled in my stomach.

The same? How could that be?

Nothing in this silver box world was the same as the outside. Everything was reversed—mirrored—wrong.

Lian lifted his head. His eyes were a chaotic mix of pain and clarity, his voice trembling as he bit out each word.

“Exactly. It’s identical. And that’s the problem. Think—what about the bookstore? The Spring-Come Inn?”

A shock ran through me. The words burst out before I could stop them.

“Right! The bookstore and the Spring-Come Inn were reversed—why is this

place unchanged?!”I barely finished speaking when a thunderous boom split the air, shaking the entire street beneath our feet.

Lian and I snapped our heads up.

The night sky tore open into jagged crimson fissures. Scores of fire-bright meteors rained downward, dragging burning tails that lit the heavens like torches.

The distant mountains caught fire instantly, flames leaping skyward, thick smoke rolling like a living beast.

In the streets, people who had been working froze mid-motion. Some stared blankly at the sky; others ran in blind panic, shoes and hats scattering everywhere. Screams, barking dogs, crashing objects—all collided into a chaotic roar.

Terror surged through me. I seized Lian’s hand without thinking.

“Run! Go!”

The fire-meteors fell faster, like an avalanche of burning boulders crashing toward the earth.

Buildings crumbled. The street split open. Fire swept across everything.

We stumbled through the stampede, coughing on smoke so thick it scorched my throat raw.

And then—it happened again.

The hand I held suddenly tightened.

I turned in shock.

Lian’s eyes… the haze, the confusion—those layers fell away in the blaze, revealing the steady, sharp gaze I knew. The one that belonged to him.

He met my eyes, unwavering, as if pinning me in place.

He suddenly clasped my hand in return—firm, decisive, familiar.

“He’s back!” My heart lurched. I almost shouted. “It’s him—Lian!”

But I had no time to rejoice.

The stone beneath us cracked violently.

A deafening crack split the ground.

I choked on his name. “Lian—!”

And then the world dropped away.

My body lost all support, plunging downward. Flames spiraled past. Everything flipped upside-down.

In that final instant before the fall swallowed us, I clutched Lian’s hand with all my strength. My knuckles went white. He held back just as tightly—steady, warm, and impossibly calm against the ruin around us.

Together, we were swallowed by darkness.

When I next opened my eyes, my skull felt like someone had struck it with a hammer. My ears rang. Everything was pitch-black.

It took a long time before my vision cleared. I was lying in what looked like an abandoned temple.

Cold. Silent. The walls were cracked, dust floating down whenever the wind blew. The altar had collapsed into splinters, and a half-destroyed statue lay facedown on the floor, its features erased by time. There was a gaping hole in the roof where a crooked crescent moon hung amid dark clouds, its pale light making the place look even more desolate.

A jolt of fear shot through me.

I pushed myself upright—and saw Lian lying right beside me.

He lay very still. Peaceful on the surface, but completely unresponsive.

My heart clenched painfully. I scrambled over to him, calling his name again and again.

“Lian! Lian!”

My voice echoed through the empty temple like I was shouting into a well. Lian didn’t stir.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” My hands trembled as I reached to check his breath.

There—a faint whisper of air.

Only then did the boulder crushing my chest loosen a little. I collapsed onto the ground, sweat and dust sticking to each other unpleasantly—I couldn’t care less.

“Good… good. Still breathing.”

I leaned back against the wall, trying to steady my breath. But my eyes instinctively drifted toward the doorway.

And one glance was enough to send dread spiking back up my spine.

Outside, the wind howled. Black clouds churned like ink. Lightning ripped across the sky, illuminating the earth in blinding flashes. Gusts swept up dried leaves and broken tiles, whipping them through the air like a swarm of watching eyes.

My fists tightened.

This… this didn’t look like the real world. Not even close.

Could we still be inside the silver box’s fake world?

But this was an abandoned temple—not the one we stayed in He Ling City. It didn’t match anything we’d seen before.

So were we out… or were we not?

Cold sweat trickled down my brow. I hesitated. I needed to confirm what was outside. But Lian was still unconscious—what if something happened while I stepped out?

My mind was a tangled mess.

Then—a faint sound.

“…mm…”

I froze and looked down.

Lian’s eyelashes trembled. He slowly opened his eyes.

Lightning flashed across the sky and reflected in them, making them look even clearer, even sharper.

My heart nearly jumped out of my throat. “You’re awake! You scared me half to—”

Before I could finish, Lian pushed himself upright, eyes sharp as blades.

“Hua is in danger.”

“What?” I stared at him, stunned. “That’s your first sentence after waking up?! What are you talking about—”

But he grabbed my arm with both hands, grip firm and unyielding.

“Come with me.”

“H-hey—hey!” I didn’t have time to think. He was already pulling me through the temple doors.

His pace was astonishingly fast. I could barely keep up, practically dragged along. And to make matters worse—our hands were still clasped. Warm. Solid. Too solid. My heart beat far too fast for this situation.

Ever since entering this twisted version of He Ling City, we’d been holding hands more and more often…

Whether that was good or bad, I genuinely couldn’t tell.

I was still spiraling into unnecessary thoughts when a blast of cold wind snapped me back.

Before I could react, Lian leapt into the air with me in tow. His lightness skill flared, and within moments we landed in front of the Deep Valley Tavern again.

But this time, it was closed.

The front doors were shut tight. A padlock hung crookedly on the latch. The wooden sign slapped noisily in the wind. The street around us was deserted; not a single soul in sight.

I looked up at the sky.

Black clouds crushed the horizon. Lightning split the heavens. The wind howled like ghosts wailing in the rafters.

A chill ran through me, and I swallowed hard.

“With weather like this… it’s only natural the tavern’s closed.”

But even as I said it, it felt wrong.

When had He Ling City ever seen skies like this?