Morning in the city proceeded as usual.
The sky was clear, the sound of vehicles filled the streets, and campus life returned to the same rhythm as yesterday, as if nothing had changed at all.
Students ran to their classes—some laughing, others complaining about piling assignments. From the outside, the world looked normal.
But for Lin Xuan, the word "normal" no longer truly applied.
He sat in the campus cafeteria, holding a cup of coffee that had already gone cold.
His gaze was vacant, but his mind was anything but.
Every time he closed his eyes for a moment, it wasn't campus life that appeared, but a narrow alley, the impact of blows hitting his body, and that strange pressure that made the air feel heavy.
"You aren't drinking."
Long Yuer's voice sounded beside him.
Lin Xuan turned his head slowly.
"I forgot what it feels like for this coffee to be warm."
"It isn't the coffee that changed."
Lin Xuan gave a small smile.
"Yeah... it's me. I'm the one who changed."
Long Yuer sat silently in the chair next to him.
As usual, not a single other student noticed her presence. It was as if she had never existed in this world to begin with.
Lin Xuan watched this for a long time.
"...Sometimes I forget you're actually here."
"If you forget, it means you are still living in the wrong world."
That answer silenced Lin Xuan.
🌇 A World That Looks the Same
Around them, campus life moved along normally.
Discussions about assignments, the sound of laughter, footsteps in the corridor.
Everything looked like the world Lin Xuan once knew.
He stared at them for a long time.
"...Funny."
"What's funny?"
"I used to be a part of that too."
Long Yuer glanced at him.
"You can still go back."
Lin Xuan shook his head.
"No."
The answer came faster than he realized.
He fell silent after saying it, as if only just realizing that he had chosen a direction from which there was no turning back.
Long Yuer said nothing more.
⚠️ An Unusual Vibration
Suddenly, Lin Xuan stopped eating.
His expression shifted.
"There's something."
Long Yuer didn't look surprised.
"I know."
Lin Xuan turned quickly.
"Where?"
"Not above."
"...Then?"
"Below."
Lin Xuan frowned.
"Below what?"
Long Yuer stared at the cafeteria floor.
"The world you see is merely the surface."
Lin Xuan went quiet.
"...You're starting to sound like a conspiracy theorist."
"But you're starting to feel it."
And that was something Lin Xuan couldn't argue with.
🕳️ Toward the Lower Layers
That night, Lin Xuan did not go straight back to his rented room.
He followed Long Yuer through parts of the city he had never noticed before.
A narrow alley behind the market.
An old building with a rusted iron door.
And a corridor that seemed insignificant to an ordinary person.
Lin Xuan stopped in front of the metal door.
"...What is this place?"
"Go in."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"It doesn't need to."
Before Lin Xuan could refuse—the door opened on its own.
🏙️ The World Beneath the City
Behind the door lay a long staircase descending downward.
The air changed instantly.
Colder.
Heavier.
As if the world above was just a thin veil covering something much deeper.
Lin Xuan swallowed hard.
"...This is like entering another world."
"Because it is."
They descended slowly.
Every step felt further away from the world of ordinary humans.
Until finally—they arrived at a vast space.
🌑 The Underworld Market
Beneath the city—there existed another world.
Wide corridors filled with people.
Small shops lit by strange lights.
Energy crystals hanging in the air serving as lamps.
And people with auras that could not be explained by the word "ordinary."
Lin Xuan stopped.
"...I don't like this place."
"Good."
"Why is that good?"
"Because you realize you are a 'nobody' here."
Lin Xuan looked around.
Some people looked like regular merchants.
But others—possessed a pressure that made his chest feel tight just by standing near them.
"...This isn't the human world."
"Not entirely."
🧠 The First Pressure
A man passed in front of Lin Xuan.
He didn't touch him. He didn't speak.
Yet the moment it happened—Lin Xuan immediately felt a weight in his chest.
Like an invisible burden pressing down on his body.
"...What was that just now?"
"Aura," Long Yuer answered briefly.
Lin Xuan swallowed.
"Everyone here has that?"
"Some of them."
"...And the strong ones?"
"They would make it impossible for you to stand."
Lin Xuan went dead silent.
🏪 The Information Broker
They stopped at a small kiosk.
An old man sat behind a wooden desk.
His eyes were sharp. Too sharp for someone who looked so ordinary.
"It's been a while, Miss Long."
Lin Xuan tensed up immediately.
"...He knows you?"
"Yes."
The old man looked at Lin Xuan.
"...Is this the new kid?"
Lin Xuan went on the defensive.
"Why does everyone call me that?"
The old man gave a small smile.
"Because that's exactly what you look like."
Lin Xuan knit his brows.
"...What does that mean?"
Long Yuer cut straight to the point.
"We need information."
The old man nodded slowly.
"That organization?"
Lin Xuan stiffened.
"...You know about them?"
The old man sighed.
"I know enough to be afraid."
The atmosphere shifted. It grew heavier.
⚠️ The Unspoken Name
The old man stared at Lin Xuan for a long time.
"Targets like you rarely appear."
Lin Xuan frowned.
"I don't even know why I'm a target."
The old man smiled thinly.
"That is the reason they are interested."
"...Who are 'they' exactly?"
The old man went quiet for a moment.
Then he said softly:
"I do not speak that name here."
Lin Xuan immediately felt uneasy.
"...It's that bad?"
Long Yuer looked at the old man.
"Give us the information."
The old man nodded.
"But there is a price."
Lin Xuan spoke up instantly.
"I don't have any money."
The old man laughed softly.
"Not money."
"...Then what?"
"Your awareness."
Lin Xuan frowned.
"...What is that supposed to mean?"
The old man looked at him more seriously.
"Once you know more deeply, you can never go back to being an ordinary person."
Lin Xuan went quiet.
Long Yuer said softly:
"We have already passed that point."
The old man nodded.
"In that case... you are already halfway in."
🧩 The First Clue
The old man took out a scrap of paper.
On it was the same symbol Lin Xuan had seen in the alley before.
"This is their mark."
Lin Xuan stared at it.
"...What is it?"
"An organization that observes the changes in the world."
Lin Xuan swallowed.
"...Observes?"
"And tests."
⚠️ The Second Pressure
Suddenly—the room felt different.
The air thickened.
Lin Xuan felt something crushing his body.
Heavier than before.
He almost fell to his knees.
"...What is this?"
The old man watched him.
"A small aura to test your endurance."
Lin Xuan gritted his teeth.
"...This is small?"
Long Yuer stood beside him without moving.
And the pressure vanished instantly.
The old man smiled thinly.
"Enough."
🌌 Closing
They left the underground market.
Outside, the night air of the city felt significantly lighter.
Lin Xuan let out a long breath.
"...I just touched a world that goes even deeper."
Long Yuer looked at him.
"You've only just seen the door."
Lin Xuan smiled bitterly.
"And I can't close it again, can I?"
"No."
In the distance—someone recorded Lin Xuan's name in the shadows.
🔥 END CHAPTER 10