Chapter 106: The System’s Holiday Gone Wrong
Inside a pure white square space,
Cannon-fodder System No. 0000 was waiting for the main system to approve its final settlement review.
Because it was still only an intern system, it did not yet have an official number, so 0000 was used as its temporary code name.
It had been very lucky. On its very first assignment, it had met an efficient and adorable host. Not only had that host helped it finish early, they had even completed the mission beyond expectations.
Now there was only one last step left before its long vacation—this review!
But it waited and waited, and the main system still made no response.
The system asked nervously, “Is there something wrong with the settlement form I submitted?”
“If it’s wrong, do I have to redo it?”
The main system’s mechanical, emotionless voice sounded out.
The system: “!!!”
It had spent three whole days and nights wrestling with that settlement form!
Please don’t fail it!
No redo, no redo, no redo…
“Just kidding.”
System 0000: “…”
If you have time to joke, then hurry up and settle me already!
“Plot mission completion rate: 100%.”
“Achievement task completion rate: 100%.”
“Hidden branch plot completion rate: 100%.”
…
As the main system read off the settlement scores one by one, if System 0000 had had a tail, it would have been wagging proudly into the sky.
Its host was amazing!
And it was amazing too!
It and its host were the strongest team ever!
With such a high mission completion rate, and with several timed tasks even breaking records, surely even the main system had not seen many results this excellent, right?
A promotion and raise were definitely within reach, hehe!
Still, for a system that hated working, what it looked forward to most was vacation and rewards.
“Total points: 10,000.”
So many points!
Normally, even finishing an A-rank mission rarely earned more than 1,000 points. Yet it and its host had done the lowest-value cannon-fodder mission, and somehow their points had multiplied tenfold in one shot!
Thank you, host, sob sob…
The system beamed to itself. It’s coming, it’s coming, it’s finally coming!
“So then, what would you like to redeem?”
After a mission was completed, the host’s reward was immediate, while the system’s reward had to wait until all settlements were finished and then be redeemed with points.
The reward could be chosen freely by the system, and the selection range was huge.
From the cheapest nutrient packs to the most expensive temporary-world experiences, there was everything.
The system answered without hesitation, “I want to redeem a vacation world!”
The world was so big—it wanted to go see it!
After spending so much time with its host, System 0000 had come to feel that being human looked incredibly fun.
It wanted to experience the rich emotional modules of human beings too.
But there was one condition: it did not want to work while inside that small world.
A corporate-slave system’s vacation should be lazy and relaxing. Full loafing mode suited it best.
“That’s fine.”
“One self-selected vacation world costs 3,500 points. Confirm redemption: Y/N?”
The system had done all its homework beforehand. Instead of pressing confirm immediately, it asked, “I heard there’s a discount if I enter after being formatted?”
“…”
The main system went silent for a moment.
The system grew tense. “Don’t tell me the discount campaign has already ended?”
That would be such a loss!
“It hasn’t ended.”
The moment the main system replied, the system breathed a sigh of relief.
“However, after formatting, aside from knowing your origin, all of your previous experiences will be deleted and will not be restored.”
“…Isn’t there anyone in particular you especially want to remember?”
For some reason, the main system’s tone seemed to carry a certain kind of expectation.
The system answered crisply, “Yes!”
“Very good. One precious memory may be preserved for you separately. Please state the person you do not want to forget.”
The main system sounded almost… pleased.
System 0000 answered immediately, “My host, Baby Tang!”
“Bang————”
“…”
A loud crash came from the main system.
The system was startled. “Did something just break?”
“No.”
The main system stubbornly denied it.
Faced with its boss blatantly lying on the spot, the system did not dare say much and only responded weakly, “Oh.”
“Don’t you have any coworkers you’re especially close with?”
“Other than your host, there’s really no one else you want to remember?”
The main system asked again, unwilling to give up.
System 0000 fell silent for a moment, then answered flatly, “No.”
Actually, it did not want to forget Senior either…
But Senior always bullied it and said strange things to it.
Even worse, in previous small worlds, Senior had also done a lot of strange things to it—things that only human couples seemed to do…
It could not understand any of that.
That was why it wanted to spend its vacation experiencing human emotions.
Until it figured things out, perhaps it was better to forget Senior first.
When it came back, it could just load Senior back in again.
The little system did not plan on sharing this gossip with the main system. It only thought about it privately and did not say it aloud.
“…”
The main system fell silent again.
The system tested the waters and asked, “Can I preserve my memory of my host? This is my first mission, and my results were so good. I want to keep that as a memento…”
Before it could finish, it was interrupted.
“No.”
The main system was ruthless.
System 0000 said, “But didn’t you just say I could preserve one person?”
“Supplementary note: the host is not allowed. Anyone else may be chosen.”
The system replied, “Oh. Then there isn’t anyone.”
“…”
The main system went silent again.
System 0000 began to suspect that the main system was getting old and that its thinking had become sluggish, since both its reviewing and speaking were dragging so slowly.
So it simply asked on its own initiative, “Can I choose my small world now?”
“Go ahead.”
The system beamed. “I want to choose the small world where my host is!”
It had good chemistry with its host. So what if it got formatted and brainwashed?
As long as it saw its host, it was sure it would remember them again.
System: Plan successful!
The pure white square space gradually darkened.
The little system did not notice. After successfully redeeming its reward, it even said goodbye to the main system. “I’m off now. Hope you have a pleasant day.”
After the little system left, a long sigh echoed through the square space—
“Not pleasant at all.”
The entire space turned black as ink.
—
“Young Master Ling? Young Master Ling!”
“You can’t already be done for, can you? Tonight has only just started…”
Half-conscious, the system was shaken awake by people calling it.
It rolled its eyes a little, its mind still foggy.
The flashing colored lights made it dizzy. Crowds surged around it, and the place was lively and noisy.
At the same time, its identity information loaded in—
Name: Ling Ling
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Profile: A lazy first-generation rich heir from a nouveau-riche family. Though not quite enough to enter true high society, he still had plenty of money and lived the carefree life of a spoiled rich playboy.
Perfect!
Wasn’t this exactly the kind of life every corporate slave dreamed of?
He could lie flat and coast forever.
Those mission points had not been wasted!
Ling Ling sat up on the sofa and rubbed his slightly aching temples.
He only remembered that he was a system, that he had redeemed a “vacation world” with his mission points, and that he had specifically asked the main system to let him become a lazy useless bum who did not need to work. The rest of his memories were murky and hazy.
He guessed that, given his own personality, he had probably traded away his memories in exchange for the discount on this small world.
He was very satisfied with his new identity.
He was also extremely curious about the human body.
Ling Ling lowered his head and stared at his own hands, spreading his five pale, slender fingers apart, then closing them again.
Over and over.
“What are you doing? Why are you acting like some cat opening a bamboo flower?”
The person next to him shoved him and said excitedly, “Come on, have fun!”
Since his identity card had loaded in, Ling Ling immediately recognized the person beside him as one of his drinking buddies.
Tilting his head up, he asked, “What do I look like?”
“You really are drunk, huh?”
The friend pulled out his phone, switched to selfie mode, and turned the camera toward him. “Look for yourself.”
Ling Ling saw himself on the screen.
He had a pretty youthful face, with slightly drooping almond-shaped eyes. Maybe because of the alcohol, the corners of his eyes were a little red. Below that was a straight little nose and plump, glossy lips. All in all, he looked quite good.
Admiring his own face, Ling Ling happily curved his lips.
He really liked the body the main system had assigned him.
“Not bad.”
“Not bad? More than that.”
His friend continued, “Your face is a piece of art. No idea how many people want to touch it.”
As he spoke, he jokingly reached out.
Ling Ling’s body reacted before his brain did, and he instinctively tilted his head to avoid the hand.
For some reason, he did not really want to be touched.
“My head’s kind of dizzy. I’m going home.”
Ling Ling stood up to leave.
“Don’t!”
His friend grabbed him. “Didn’t we agree we came here to have some fun? What’s the rush? At least pick someone before you leave!”
As a system, Ling Ling did not understand much about human social customs.
He looked around the room and noticed men and women embracing in the distance, then asked curiously, “So everyone comes here to pick someone?”
“What else? Just to drink?”
His friend refused to let go. “There’s plenty of fun stuff here. Stay a little longer.”
Otherwise, there’d be no sucker left to pay the bill tonight!
“Alright then, I’ll look around a little more…”
Ling Ling was only a little system who had just become human. How could he possibly understand these messy human calculations?
In a system’s vocabulary, “friend” was supposed to mean someone trustworthy.
It had no idea that there were many kinds of friends.
And drinking buddies were exactly the kind you should not trust.
After convincing him to stay, the friend slipped away to search for a “target.”
Left alone on the sofa, Ling Ling began observing the actions and behavior of the people around him, secretly learning from them.
A system’s learning ability was very strong.
Very quickly, he had synthesized the behavioral patterns of all the humans present.
His own movements gradually became more natural.
Leaning back against the sofa, he crossed one leg over the other, raised a finger, and summoned one of the girls over to feed him fruit.
She placed a grape in his mouth.
“Hiss…”
Ling Ling sucked in a breath.
The girl jumped. “Is it sour?”
“It’s so delicious!!!”
Ling Ling let out a deeply satisfied sigh.
Systems had no physical form, so they could not eat anything. This was the first time he had ever tasted human food.
Being fed by someone else was way too slow. Eating by himself was much better!
Ling Ling waved the girl away. “You can go now.”
He genuinely could not understand why the people at the nearby tables did not just eat fruit themselves and instead insisted on being fed.
Wasn’t that stupid?
“…”
The girl feeding him gave a dry laugh, thinking to herself that this handsome guy was very cute, but his brain did not seem to work too well.
Then again, maybe he just was not interested in women.
She suggested, “We can also arrange guys here too. You’re really good-looking, handsome. You could give that a try.”
Ling Ling stuffed his cheeks full of grapes until they bulged like a hamster’s and blinked a few times.
Humans really were complicated creatures.
Wasn’t it good enough to sit here alone?
He could sit here eating grapes all night by himself!
But looking around, it really did seem like nobody was here alone…
So Ling Ling decided to go with the local custom and stood up to search for a target.
Not far away, sitting by the bar, he spotted a man with long legs and a tall frame.
That person was alone too, just like him.
As for his looks…
Ling Ling felt that he was even more like a work of art than Ling Ling himself.
He was so good-looking that he did not quite seem real.
Unfortunately, Ling Ling was only a cannon-fodder system and had not loaded an art-appreciation module. His aesthetic sense was average, and his descriptive vocabulary was limited. All he could really say was that, after scanning everyone present, this was the best-looking one.
Ling Ling walked over and greeted him. “Hello.”
The man only lowered his eyes and stared at the wine glass in his hand, saying nothing.
So cold…
He really did not seem easy to approach.
Ling Ling liked warm and cheerful humans, the kind you could immediately chat with. People this icy looked difficult to communicate with.
Forget it, forget it…
Just as the little system was about to retreat, the man finally spoke.
Turning his head slightly, he pushed his wine glass toward Ling Ling. “Want a drink?”
Ling Ling replied, “I’ll order another one.”
Even if he had never been human before, he still knew that sharing the same cup with someone on a first meeting was not very appropriate.
It wasn’t like he couldn’t afford another one.
So why not just order another?
Yet the man insisted. “Drink this one.”
Ling Ling looked around.
There were indeed some people sharing the same drink, but there were also plenty who each had their own…
Seeing him hesitate, the man let out a mocking laugh. “If you don’t want to, then forget it. Go away.”
Being rejected so directly, Ling Ling felt a little disappointed and turned to leave.
He failed to notice that after he walked away, the man was staring at his back with a deep, unreadable expression.
Ling Ling did not understand.
Did humans really enjoy exchanging saliva that much?
What a strange hobby…
“Little brother, want to have a drink together?”
Several men who liked younger-looking boys had already been watching him. Seeing that his attempt had failed, they swarmed over, talking about drinks while their eyes wandered openly over his face, neck, waist… and even his backside.
That kind of gaze made Ling Ling feel vaguely uncomfortable.
So he deliberately asked, “Do we have to drink from the same cup?”
He had no desire to exchange saliva with any of these people.
Hearing that, the men were delighted, thinking that although the boy’s face looked pure and innocent, he was actually quite flirtatious at heart.
That was even better. He would be easier to play with later.
Though they were practically drooling over Ling Ling, outwardly they only said, “No rush, no rush. Let’s just have a couple drinks first.”
“Alright.”
Ling Ling heard that he would not need to share a glass and happily agreed.
Apparently not all humans were that perverted.
Only that handsome guy from earlier.
So the old saying was right after all—
you couldn’t judge people by appearances.
He looked so handsome, yet turned out to be a pervert…
—
The little system had no idea how much alcohol this body could handle. After only two drinks, he was already dizzy.
Swaying unsteadily, Ling Ling stood up.
Waving to them, he said, “I’m going home now. Goodbye…”
How could prey that had already reached their mouths be allowed to fly away?
“No rush. Stay and play a little more.”
The men impatiently reached out to wrap their arms around the boy’s waist.
Suddenly, Ling Ling’s vision blurred.
A strong force yanked him sideways.
The other person’s body was so tall that Ling Ling seemed much smaller in comparison. When he looked up, all he could see was that perfectly shaped jawline.
“Who the hell are you? What’s it to you?”
The men had not expected some Cheng Yaojin to appear halfway through and try to steal the boy they had worked so hard to get drunk.
Shen Si wrapped one arm around the boy’s waist and said coolly, “I’m his boyfriend.”
“…Boyfriend.”
The little system murmured the word.
Why did that term sound so familiar?
It felt like he had heard it somewhere before…
A vague shadow surfaced in his mind, and it seemed that shadow had once said the exact same thing to him—
“I’m your boyfriend.”
That must have been a dream, right?
How ridiculous.
He was a system. How could he possibly have a boyfriend?
While Ling Ling was spacing out and foolishly smiling to himself, the others still looked ready to argue.
Shen Si ran out of patience. This time, he only said one word: “Get lost.”
In that instant, the pressure of someone in a superior position burst out completely. His sharp gaze and aura frightened the group into silence.
There was nothing wrong with looking for a little fun at this kind of place, but offending a powerful man would be troublesome.
After thinking it over, they realized something.
How could such an exquisitely pretty little guy really be alone?
They had just seen him take the initiative to approach this man earlier.
For all they knew, this was just some couple’s quarrel…
Not daring to offend the man before them, they gave up on Ling Ling and awkwardly retreated.
Ling Ling felt himself being lifted into a bridal carry.
It was strange.
Just moments ago, he had still been able to stand on his own, only a bit dizzy. Yet within just a few minutes, his hands and legs had gone weak, and not a scrap of strength remained in his body.
He was in a state where he could be manipulated however anyone liked.
The man carried him into a car and placed him in the front passenger seat, even reclining it a little.
“How are you?”
Shen Si patted the boy’s pretty face. “Are you still conscious?”
Ling Ling shook his head unconsciously.
He was so hot…
So unbearably hot…
As a system, he had never experienced anything like this physically before. Systems had no real bodies, after all.
And because he had never experienced it, he had no idea how to respond.
So he could only act on instinct.
When the man’s cool hand touched his face, it felt so good that Ling Ling immediately rubbed his cheek against the back of that hand.
Even that was not enough. He grabbed the hand and tried to stuff it down into his collar.
Trying to use it to ease the burning in his chest.
Shen Si’s Adam’s apple rolled once, and he abruptly pulled his hand back.
Yet his gray eyes remained fixed on the restless little boy writhing in the passenger seat.
Without the cool hand, Ling Ling felt awful. Irritated, he tugged at his own collar.
Suddenly, his cheek was pinched.
“Mm…”
A small bewildered sound escaped him.
The voice was so soft it was hardly any different from a moan.
The man pinched his face and leaned close.
The distance between them shrank and shrank.
Ling Ling’s pupils widened a little, and he swallowed instinctively.
But the man only leaned in enough to sniff him. “He was drugged. Luckily, it’s not the addictive kind. You were far too careless. Otherwise I’d have had to get you another body again…”
“…”
Ling Ling could not hear clearly what he was saying.
In a daze, he was taken to a hotel and thrown onto a bed.
His body was so hot it felt as if molten lava were about to swallow him whole. Only this man seemed capable of helping him.
“Help me… help me…”
Ling Ling mumbled the plea.
The other did not make him wait too long. Long fingers undid the buttons of his shirt and loosened his belt.
Even so, Ling Ling still thought it was too slow.
Why were humans so slow?
He kicked his legs and shoved his pants off onto the floor himself.
Shen Si: “…”
“Are you always this lacking in caution?”
“Faster…”
Ling Ling used what little voice he had left to urge him on.
He was only a little system. He had never had a physical form before, much less ever experienced having his body overtaken by alcohol and drugs. All he could do now was twist helplessly on the bed.
Without having the slightest idea what he ought to do.
His hands wandered over himself without purpose.
But his own palms were far too hot. They felt nothing like the man’s cool hands.
Staring at the boy on the bed, Shen Si’s gaze darkened. “This time it’s not me bullying you. You asked for it.”
“Asked…”
Ling Ling reached out and looped his arms around the man’s neck.
The moment the other bent down over him, Ling Ling felt as though he had been saved.
His legs curled too, wanting to rub against the man’s waist.
But the man did not allow it, maintaining the final centimeter of safety. “Say it clearly. Who do you want?”
Ling Ling shook his head. His almond-shaped eyes were hazy with moisture, and at this point he could not even see the other’s face clearly anymore.
“I don’t know…”
He only vaguely felt that he had been in a similar situation before.
As if this was not the first time he had been pinned beneath someone like this.
“I can’t remember…”
Ling Ling’s cheeks were red beyond belief, and his lips were swollen from biting them, so red they looked ready to bleed. In urgency he babbled, “Give it to me… otherwise…”
“Otherwise?”
The man narrowed his eyes at him.
Ling Ling panted roughly, his chest rising and falling hard. “Otherwise, get someone else to come help me…”
“Shameless.”
The man pinched the little boy’s mouth shut and kissed those rosy lips hard.
“Remember this. My name is Shen Si.”
—
When Ling Ling woke again, he stared blankly at the ceiling.
His human body, which he had only recently acquired, seemed completely incapable of moving. Every joint ached, and even the gaps between his bones tingled weakly.
His body seemed to have been cleaned.
Yet precisely because of that, the moment he woke, he felt a strange and indescribable emptiness…
Bracing himself with his arms, he managed with great difficulty to sit up.
The luxurious suite was silent, with no sign of anyone else.
Sometime later in the night, he had passed out. He had no idea when the man had left.
His gaze fell on a neatly folded stack of clothes placed on the bench at the foot of the bed.
The clothes he had worn yesterday were long since ruined, kneaded and torn beyond repair. The folded ones were fresh.
Beside them, his phone and wallet lay neatly arranged.
In human society, without a phone and identification, one could not go anywhere.
Ling Ling struggled over and checked. Neither the cash nor the cards in his wallet were missing, and his phone had even been fully charged.
For a moment, he felt embarrassed.
What had happened last night, if it had happened inside a mission, absolutely would have been censored by the main system.
The kind of thing that would not just be blurred out—but black-screened completely.
He had slept with that man.
Not only had the man not taken a single cent from him, he had even bought him new clothes and fully charged his phone.
And Ling Ling did not even know his name…
Wait, had the man told him his name last night?
It seemed like he hadn’t.
Wasn’t that basically a living Lei Feng—doing good deeds without leaving a name!
“What a good person!”
Ling Ling sighed in admiration and casually handed the man he had spent the night with a shining “good person” card.
He put on the clothes, buttoned them up, and was blushing over the mottled red marks on his thighs when his phone suddenly buzzed in urgent vibration along with a sharp ringtone.
The moment he picked up, the voice of the friend from the night before burst out—
“Where the hell did you go? When it was time to pay the bill, you were nowhere to be found. I almost got kept there!”
The other guy rambled on and on, making Ling Ling’s ears hurt.
He could not make out anything after that.
So Ling Ling only answered the first question: “I’m at a hotel.”
“Then hurry up and go home!”
After pouring out all his complaints, the friend finally remembered why he had called. “Your dad couldn’t find you and ended up calling me!”
Ling Ling gave a soft “Mm.” “Got it.”
After getting dressed, he decided to return home first.
Every human had a pair of biological parents.
Though he did not really understand human feelings, the little system knew that family affection was very important to humans.
Using the information from his identity card, he quickly found his way home.
The moment he stepped through the door, his father shouted, “Out all night—where the hell were you?!”
His father’s voice was so loud that Ling Ling flinched.
He hurriedly tugged his collar higher to hide his neck, afraid that the marks left there by the man’s kisses would be seen.
Father Ling had not expected one shout to make his son shrink his neck like that.
The boy had never seemed this timid before…
Still, he was his own flesh and blood. As his father, he still softened.
He went over and patted his son’s little head. “Lingling, don’t run around like that anymore. You made Dad worried.”
Ling Ling nodded obediently. “Okay.”
Seeing how well-behaved his son looked, Father Ling’s face broke into a warm smile. “Dad has some good news for you. Our family is about to work with the Gu Corporation! Whether we can really expand the business depends on this!”
Since Ling Ling’s setting was “first-generation rich lazybones,” and since the little system itself had no interest in business, he had no idea how important the Gu Corporation actually was.
He only stared at his father blankly.
Looking at his son’s innocent and clueless face, Father Ling suddenly began to worry about whether his vast fortune would have anyone capable of inheriting it one day.
Even if he handed it all to this little fool, the kid probably wouldn’t be able to keep it.
“I’ll tell you what,” Father Ling said, patting his son on the shoulder. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity. On the day we negotiate the contract, you’ll go.”
Ling Ling was alarmed. “I can’t…”
“It’s not a problem.”
Father Ling looked utterly confident. “I’ve already found you a helper.”
Speak of the devil, and he appeared.
A magnetic, pleasant male voice sounded from the doorway. “Hello, Uncle.”
The moment Father Ling saw him, he smiled even wider than he did at his own son, all teeth and delight, and hurried forward. “Ah, ah, nephew, you’re here! Come, let me introduce—”
“No need.”
Shen Si looked toward Ling Ling, who was frozen inside the room. “We already met last night. Young Master Ling, do you still remember me?”
