Chapter 2: Activation

A mother and son sat together, one massaging the other's shoulder, while the latter squinted, lost in his thoughts. The atmosphere grew suddenly tense. Yang Haoran's mind raced with anxiety. He needed to keep the conversation going, else another beating session was around the corner.

As Yang Haoran's thoughts whirled, desperately trying to think of something to say, Liu Ruoxi finally spoke, "That's enough, stop now. Turn on the computer." At her words, Yang Haoran's heart skipped a beat. He continued to knead her shoulder, feigning nonchalance, "Dear mother, why should I turn on the computer? Has yours broken down?"

"Heh, my computer isn't broken. It's your brain that's broken, you've become too brazen," Liu Ruoxi's voice was cold and piercing. "What are you waiting for?"

"Right away, right away," Yang Haoran couldn't afford to play any more games. He knew that if he continued to prevaricate, he would definitely face the consequences. He knelt down, fumbling to turn on the computer, then got up to power on the monitor.

The familiar startup tune played, and the Windows operating system logo appeared. Thankfully, the previous pages didn't persist after a fresh boot.

"Move away," Liu Ruoxi commanded, getting up and giving her son a stern look. Yang Haoran obeyed, stepping aside respectfully.

Seated in front of the computer, Liu Ruoxi began navigating through the system, clicking on each drive, peering into every file. After about eight minutes, having gone through every folder and finding no video she was looking for, Yang Haoran breathed a sigh of relief, his head bowed slightly. He felt proud that his clever decision to hide the folders had paid off since the last time his mother discovered and deleted all the videos.

However, catching a glimpse of her son's smirk, Liu Ruoxi scoffed, "I'll give you one more chance. Are you going to show me, or should I find it myself?"

"Find what?" Yang Haoran played dumb, "Dear mother, just tell me what you're looking for, and I'll help you."

"Last chance," Liu Ruoxi stared icily at her son, repeating her warning. Yang Haoran felt a chill run down his spine under her gaze, but he was too stubborn to confess now.

"I don't understand," he responded quickly as her gaze grew colder, "I really don't understand." He was betting she wouldn't find anything. Otherwise, why would she still be pressing him? His logic seemed flawless, and he was full of confidence.

"Hmm..." Upon witnessing her son's stubbornness even in the face of inevitable discovery, Liu Ruoxi's lips curled into a smirk, "I gave you a chance, but you didn't appreciate it. Don't blame your mother later."

Seeing his mother's expression, Yang Haoran was struck by a sudden sense of foreboding. Her tone, her demeanour, it was as if she had him cornered. Could she really find it?

Liu Ruoxi seemed done with the conversation. She deftly opened a browser and typed into the search bar, "How to find hidden folders on a computer." Seeing those words, Yang Haoran was dumbfounded. His cleverness had backfired. He had only thought of how to hide folders, but had completely overlooked that she could search how to find them.

As she clicked the search button, a host of solutions filled the screen. Liu Ruoxi casually selected one and began reading through the steps. A few minutes later, the folder marked "Study Materials" on the screen left Yang Haoran in despair.

"Do you have anything else to say?" Liu Ruoxi asked indifferently.

"Oh, my beautiful and merciful mother," Yang Haoran fell to his knees with a thud, his face stricken with sorrow. "Could you perhaps grant me another chance? I promise never to repeat this mistake."

Liu Ruoxi, observing her son's theatrical plea from where she sat, wore a poker face while a small twitch danced at the corner of her mouth.

How on earth had she given birth to such a thing?

"The usual rules, butt or hand?" Liu Ruoxi sat in her computer chair like a queen issuing her decrees from her throne.

"Could…could I choose neither?" Yang Haoran looked up at his imposing mother, his expression hopeful.

"What do you think?" Liu Ruoxi retorted with a cold laugh.

"Understood, mother," Yang Haoran looked dejected as he fished a feather duster from under the bed with a drooping face.

He had clearly been through this process before. It was routine by now.

Handing the feather duster to his mother with utmost respect, he decided to make one last plea: "My beautiful and merciful mother, could you perhaps be a bit gentle?"

"Cannot." Liu Ruoxi replied simply.

"Alright," Having lost all hope, Yang Haoran resigned himself to his fate and lay flat on the bed, preferring his bottom to his hand as it had more padding to withstand the blows.

"Remove your trousers."

It was then that he heard the chilling voice from behind him, sending shivers down his spine.

"Surely not, old hag," Yang Haoran jumped up in fright, nearly cursing aloud.

"What did you call me?" Liu Ruoxi's icy gaze, cold as ancient ice, sent a bone-chilling fear down his spine.

Realizing his slip, Yang Haoran hurriedly put on a sycophantic smile:

"My beautiful and merciful mother, why has it come to this? You've never asked me to remove my trousers before."

"That was then, this is now. If I don't teach you a stern lesson, will you ever respect me as your mother?"

Liu Ruoxi replied coolly: "Take them off, or not?"

Was this even a choice? Yang Haoran didn't think so.

He wore a distraught expression, his heart icy with dread. He anticipated that he wouldn't be able to leave the bed for at least three days.

Resigned to his fate, he placed his hand on his trousers, ready to pull them down, but noticed his mother was still watching.

"Mother… mother, could you possibly turn around first?" Yang Haoran wore an embarrassed expression.

"Hmm..."

Liu Ruoxi had never seen her son, usually shameless, in such an embarrassed state before. A laugh escaped her lips, and for a moment, her icy beauty, like the thawing of ancient frost, appeared startlingly radiant.

Yang Haoran was taken aback. He always knew his mother was extremely beautiful. While reading the "Ode to the Goddess," he imagined his mother's fairy-like visage.

'In the north there lives a beauty, matchless and solitary.

A glance from her can topple a city, a second glance can topple a kingdom.

Can you comprehend a city and kingdom being toppled?

Such a beauty is hard to find again.'

At this moment, he felt a surge of warmth coursing through his lower body, erecting his little brother, but he was oblivious to it.

His attention was entirely focused on his mother's enchanting face.

Observing her son's unwavering gaze, Liu Ruoxi regained her composure and quickly resumed her icy countenance. "Well? Are you going to remove them or does your mother have to assist you?" she asked expressionlessly.

"Oh... yes..." Yang Haoran came back to his senses and hurriedly started to pull his trousers down. He didn't notice the rather evident reaction in his lower body.

In his distracted state, he applied too much force, and the zipper of his trousers violently grazed his erected cock.

It is widely known that this part of the male body is particularly sensitive, and any harm done to it can cause intense pain.

"Ah!!!" A scream of agony erupted from Yang Haoran. Suddenly unstable, his face contorted in pain as he collapsed onto the bed. His complexion paled instantly, cold sweat drenching his body. His hands reflexively covered his lower body, as if this could somehow alleviate his suffering.

Cries of pain poured from his lips as he writhed incessantly on the bed.

The sudden outcry from her son left Liu Ruoxi frozen on the spot. A few seconds later, her tense, cold expression vanished, replaced by a panicked and frantic look.

"What's wrong, Haoran? Did you hurt yourself?"

"Pain... pain... so much pain..."

Yang Haoran's face was twisted in agony, his skin ghostly pale, devoid of colour. Cold sweat covered his body and his speech was fragmented.

The piercing pain rendered his mind blank.

He held his lower body tightly, crimson blood seeping from between his fingers, dripping onto the bed, staining his hands.

Seeing her son clutching his lower body, his hands soaked in blood, the sight made Liu Ruoxi feel dizzy, as if the sky was falling.

She didn't have the luxury to care about anything else. Her heart raced - a description that hardly did justice to her anxiety. Her face turned pale, filled with urgency as her trembling hands fumbled for her phone.

She knew where her phone was, but her panicked mind caused her to fumble for a while before she found it.

Her shaking fingers swiped the screen to unlock the phone. Her fingers immediately landed on the "120" emergency call button.

Unfortunately, due to her extreme nervousness, her fingers were sweaty and only pressed "20". She didn't have time to care about such details. She wiped her sweat, deleted the incorrect input, repressed the correct number, and made the call - all in a fraction of a second.

The pain was too intense, unbearable. His brain triggered a defence mechanism, and Yang Haoran fainted from the pain. As he lost consciousness, he could vaguely hear his mother's frantic voice, sounding like a dream, slowly fading away.

However, in the current commotion, neither of them noticed that on Yang Haoran's right hand, stained with fresh blood, the blood was soaking into the black ring he wore on his index finger.

The ring was entirely black, with a depression in the centre of its surface, adorned with various unknown and mysterious symbols.

Upon close inspection, these mysterious symbols were divided into two separate sections.

A few seconds after the blood soaked into the ring, a faint luminescence flashed across its surface, as if activating something. The symbols carved into the depression of the ring started glowing. The first set of symbols emitted a faint light, which spread downwards like a liquid, flowing towards the second set of mysterious symbols at the base of the ring.

As the light slowly traversed the lower symbols, a significant portion lit up. However, just when the light was about to continue spreading, a crack appeared as if a chasm had opened up, hindering its path. On the other side of the chasm were the remaining symbols.

The incomplete symbols obviously couldn't be activated. Not long after, the light from the lower symbols dimmed and returned to its original state.

Only the first set of symbols still emitted a faint light.

The first set of symbols flashed three times, then sent out a wave of invisible energy, radiating outwards like a radar.

Liu Ruoxi, who was beside Yang Haoran, was the first one within the scanning area.

A few seconds later, a voice sounded in Liu Ruoxi's mind.

[Requirements met, game program loading…]

All this happened within a mere ten seconds. The panicked Liu Ruoxi, however, did not notice this alert that seemed to resonate from within her mind.

All her attention was focused on her son, Yang Haoran.