Actually, that so-called "meteorite from beyond the sky" that the alchemists found back then was indeed genuine extraterrestrial material.
This meteorite carried strong radiation, and when people stayed near it for extended periods, their bodily functions would mutate due to this radiation. Some developed heightened senses, some gained immense strength, while others became incredibly agile with extraordinary endurance...
There were even some who possessed all these abilities, becoming comprehensively developed advanced test subjects.
There were only two such test subjects—the siblings who served as the final experiments, Yin Lan and Yin Qi.
The reason they possessed such powerful abilities was actually quite simple—the meteorite fragments within their bodies were the largest among all test subjects, making them the most severely affected by radiation.
Because of this, while other test subjects had gradually lost their special abilities as the meteorite's energy waned, returning to normal humans or even dying naturally, the female lead Yin Lan, though appearing elderly, could still use some of her abilities to protect herself, eliminating all the assassins sent to capture them.
All of this was thanks to the meteorite.
Meanwhile, Yin Qi discovered that by collecting more meteorite fragments, their bodies could undergo reversal again, achieving the effect of rejuvenation.
Simply put, they were both hosts to the meteorite. The meteorite fragments were the reason they survived—if the meteorite left their bodies, they would immediately age and die. But if more meteorite entered their bodies, they would not only gain longer lifespans but also acquire stronger abilities.
At that point, soaring through heavens and earth might truly become simple matters.
Unfortunately, everyone escaped too hastily back then, and that meteorite had disappeared without a trace. Despite searching secretly for years, Yin Qi never found its whereabouts, so he turned his attention to the other test subjects—
Back when testing medicines, many test subjects had taken pills made from meteorite fragments. Since there were no powdering machines back then, these so-called pills were more like stone residue.
Once these fragments entered the human body, they couldn't be naturally excreted.
So by capturing these test subjects, using instruments to locate the fragment positions, and then extracting the meteorite fragments from their bodies, he could regain longevity and special abilities. He planned to repeat this cycle until he found the complete meteorite, at which point he would truly possess eternal life.
However, the test subjects from back then had long scattered to various places and corners. Though they occasionally kept in touch, after so many years and changes, many had lost contact completely, their fates unknown. Even using the connections and background he'd built over the years, Yin Qi couldn't track everyone down.
Especially in Dragon Country. To avoid Yin Lan discovering his activities, Yin Qi deliberately avoided developing his influence here. But actually, this country contained the most test subjects—many still loved and yearned for this land, so through the long passage of time, most remained in Dragon Country, living their lives either prominently or discreetly.
—Thanks to modern technological advancements, Yin Qi could easily track one person's trail to uncover many others.
But if he wanted to quickly lure these people out and gather them together, the best method was to find a reason to make them panic first.
Thus, an evil longevity organization emerged.
And Yin Qi, as the only one who "escaped back," brought this news and successfully integrated into the test subject circle known to Yin Lan as a "survivor." He then joined Yin Lan in searching for and protecting other test subjects, collectively resisting the longevity organization.
Of course, these plot points were only revealed in the later stages of the comic.
In the early storyline, many readers saw Yin Qi as a brother who heavily relied on his sister, was warm toward everyone, and always wore a smiling face.
Despite their ages being far greater than even the readers' ancestors' ancestors, thanks to the comic author Jiao Dai, the main cast regained their youth through the meteorite and were drawn with exceptionally attractive appearances. Yin Qi's look leaned toward the academic style—giving off vibes of a youthful college boy—so many early readers followed the female lead in calling him "little brother," viewing him as reliable family.
Then, completely unexpectedly, this damned author Jiao Dai had planted such a massive plot twist!!!
Most of the main cast were killed by this guy!
—To be more precise, even many people from the "longevity organization" side were killed by him too—Yin Qi was utterly black-hearted!
The comic's structure was actually quite simple, composed of episodic stories featuring different main cast members. Each volume focused on one test subject character, covering their past experiences to present circumstances, then what happened after Yin Lan found them, exploring their life-and-death choices and final outcomes.
Some had achieved fame and success, standing in the spotlight with unprecedented achievements. The emergence of the longevity organization instead stirred their greed—having experienced the glamorous world, they too craved longevity, so they decisively betrayed Yin Lan and others, choosing to side with the longevity organization. But ultimately, Yin Qi executed them privately and took their meteorite fragments.
Others, though holding wealth and power, had grown weary of life. Friends, acquaintances, and even lovers from different stages of their lives had passed away successively, leaving them completely devoid of motivation to live. They drifted through each day aimlessly, without life goals or expectations to continue. Rather than longevity, they desired death. In the end, Yin Lan and the others couldn't save them either—while covering everyone's retreat, they voluntarily contributed the meteorite fragments inside them to Yin Lan, then perished together with the enemies.
Then there were those who had long hidden in mountain forests, unaware of passing years, untouched even by wars. Yet unexpectedly, the longevity organization detected clues and tracked them down. Fortunately, Yin Lan and the others arrived in time to prevent a tragedy.
As one character after another appeared, Yin Lan's group witnessed many different life experiences and encountered various people's insights along their journey. The entire story contained both passionate fervor and tears, along with reflections on humanity's pursuit of "longevity" and "eternity," even extending to derivative topics like "how should people spend their lives." Many readers developed different interpretations after finishing this comic, leading to extremely high discussion levels and a very broad reader base.
Moreover, even with the female lead Yin Lan as the main perspective, "Corner Also" portrayed highly popular characters of different genders and personalities. Whether male or female readers, everyone would inevitably have one or two favorite characters.
Xiao He became deeply captivated by such a storyline, staying up all night to binge-read the comic "Corner Also" up to the latest updated chapter.
When he saw the large "Updating" text, the hyped-up Xiao He felt a surge of frustration with nowhere to vent.
He incredulously refreshed the page repeatedly, even exiting and reopening the official website to check if Xiao Chen hadn't downloaded all the content. Yet the same "Updating" text still appeared before his eyes.
Xiao He: !!!
Ahhh! It's actually a serialized comic! Damn it!!! Update faster, you damned author!!!