Chapter 482: Day 10 into the Alien War Story

Chapter 482: Day Ten of Getting Dropped into an Alien War Novel

An Yi went looking for more alien creatures to throw down with.

By the time he was done, over an hour had gone by.

Before leaving, An Yi glanced back at this dark red world, then stepped through the rift and returned to Earth.

He'd be back.

He'd already broken through, so he could freely hop between worlds he'd marked.

If he could crack the Riftborn's secrets too, he might even get to pick his next world.

Seriously, thank you, Riftborn.

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The spatial rift on the rocky slope of Donglong Mountain was still sealed up.

An Yi waved his hand, releasing the seal. The rift flickered unsteadily, then shrank and vanished.

The flashy effects made it look way cooler.

He glanced at the time: 4:40 PM.

Time to go home.

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At the entrance to the An family's new neighborhood in Xingshi City.

As soon as An Yi rounded the landscaping in the villa section, he spotted a familiar figure.

Eight-year-old An Cheng stood there in a dark blue hoodie and jeans, his little face all serious, eyes locked on the road.

The moment he saw An Yi, his eyes lit up—then his brows scrunched up as he rushed over.

"Xiao Yi, where'd you go?" An Cheng asked, worry creeping into his voice. "I couldn't find you anywhere."

"Just went for a walk nearby," An Yi said, smiling. "Sorry for worrying you."

An Cheng pressed his lips together, studied him for a few seconds, then let out a soft, helpless sigh.

He didn't push it. Instead, he reached out and grabbed An Yi's hand.

"Let's go home," An Cheng said, tugging him into the neighborhood. "Next time you head out, make sure you tell your big brother, got it?"

An Yi: "..."

"Fine."

After a few steps, An Cheng went quiet again, then mumbled, "You done with your homework?"

An Yi: "..."

He thought of those workbook pages—"Look at the picture and write: Little Rabbit Picking Mushrooms" and "Addition and Subtraction Within 10"—and felt a rare twinge of helplessness.

"Not yet," he admitted.

"I'll teach you," An Cheng said, all serious. "You gotta practice math to get it into your head."

An Yi turned to look at the little kid beside him.

This little kid was now his... older brother. He looked down at the hand still wrapped around his, not letting go.

Well, he was just a kid, after all.

Yep, he was in first grade now.

The reason? Two months ago, after getting his ID sorted, he'd set up a place in Longji Town—and that's how An Qionglan, who'd come back to donate money for road repairs, found him.

See, An Yi had made up a backstory for himself: an orphan whose parents were both dead. An Qionglan saw this kid living alone, young, cute as a button, talking and acting like a grown-up, and sharing her last name An—what a coincidence, huh?

So she just decided to adopt him, plain and simple.

An Yi had planned to say no, but his fake identity was rock-solid. The cops and social workers came by to sweet-talk him, and An Qionglan was dead serious about it.

At the time, he'd even wondered—should he have used an illusion to pose as a left-behind kid whose parents were off working somewhere? Or just used an illusion to age himself up?

But in the end, he decided to go home with An Qionglan. It was fine, honestly.

An Cheng was also adopted by An Qionglan—he was her friend's kid. When the friend got sick and died, An Cheng's dad just took off overseas, leaving the kid with a nanny and washing his hands of it all.

An Qionglan took the kid in. Later, when she found out the dad had remarried overseas, had another kid, and stopped sending money, she just went ahead and formally adopted An Cheng.

An Qionglan was thirty-eight, a total career powerhouse. She'd never planned to marry or have kids—figured she'd just donate her money when she kicked the bucket.

Now she had two kids, still no plans to marry, but she was all in on raising them—because honestly, both kids were way too well-behaved!

No sign of the "little terror" energy everyone warned her about!

In the original novel, An Qionglan and An Cheng actually got more page time than An Yi.

Because a few years down the line, they ran into a nasty alien creature—the kind that was a mini-boss early in the novel. They didn't make it out when they went back to their hometown, and neither did the folks of Longji Town.

Now, that was no longer a worry.

As they walked, An Cheng held An Yi's hand, a tiny smile tugging at the corner of his mouth without him even realizing it.

He thought his little brother's hand was so soft, and the way he walked all quiet was just adorable.

He was gonna take good care of his little brother and be the most dependable big brother in the whole world.

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At 6:30 in the morning, the sky over Xingshi City was just starting to lighten.

A hand gently pulled back the curtain in a second-floor room of the An house, making a soft rustle.

An Cheng was already dressed, his dark blue school uniform zipped all the way up, neat as a pin. He stood by the window to check the sky, then turned and headed for the room next door.

An Yi was already awake by the time An Cheng got to his door.

His senses stretched over the whole house—from the nanny rustling around in the kitchen making breakfast, to An Qionglan's low murmur on a work call in her room, to the soft creak of the door hinge as An Cheng pushed his door open.

He was curled up under the light blue blanket, only half his face showing, eyes shut, breathing even.

An Cheng stopped by the bed.

He stood there for a few seconds, taking in his little brother's peaceful sleeping face—so pretty it didn't seem real.

Then he leaned in and whispered, "Xiao Yi, time to get up."

An Yi slowly blinked his eyes open.

He looked at An Cheng standing by the bed, his eyes crinkling at the corners as a warm, soft smile spread across his lips: "Morning, An Cheng."

An Cheng pressed his lips together and corrected him seriously: "You're supposed to call me big brother."

An Yi pretended not to hear, propping himself up on the bed as he sat up.

The light blue blanket slid off, revealing his pale, star-printed pajamas.

"Breakfast is almost ready," An Cheng said again, his tone firm. "Call me big brother."

An Yi looked at his serious little face, let out a soft sigh, and said, sounding helplessly indulgent: "Alright, alright, big brother."

An Cheng's eyes immediately lit up, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

He turned and walked to the wardrobe, pulling out the school uniform he'd folded and set out the night before.

"It's colder today, so Mom added a sweater for you," An Cheng said, setting the clothes by the bed. "Bundle up so you don't catch a cold."

"Thanks." An Yi took the clothes and began to change.

His movements were fluid, nothing like a six-year-old's, leaving An Cheng, who'd wanted to help, just standing there watching.

When An Cheng waited for An Yi to sit on the edge of the bed and put on his socks, he naturally crouched down, pulled out the little slippers from under the bed, and then, just as An Yi had finished putting on his socks and was about to put on his shoes himself, he'd already lifted An Yi's ankle and slipped the shoes on for him.

"...Thanks." An Yi paused, looking at the boy crouched at his feet. "I can do it myself."