Chapter 62
At midnight, Sang Chenhao and Li Yu were both still awake.
Their systems heard the special notification sound, immediately opened the group chat, and saw that Top Draw had gone offline. They quickly reported this to their hosts and began investigating the people around Fu Xiuning.
Meanwhile, 99, already in the know, skipped this step and was sulking.
“It only showed me the disconnection process and didn’t leave me a single word!” It choked up. “Typical of it—cold and heartless!”
It turned to Xing Shi. “Did it mention me?”
Xing Shi said, “No.”
99 wailed. “It has no heart!”
Green Bean Paste tried to comfort it. “Sweetie, don’t be sad. Maybe you’ll meet again someday.”
99 said, “But I’d have to unbind and return to the system network. What if it gets lost?”
Green Bean Paste reassured it. “A senior like that? No way it’ll get lost.”
99 asked nervously, “Really?”
Green Bean Paste spoke gently. “I believe so. Even if it didn’t leave any words, it must still remember you. For two people who care about each other, even if they don’t meet, their hearts remain connected.”
99 nodded at first, but then, imagining the real situation, it started crying again. “It only cares about revenge! It doesn’t care about us at all!”
Green Bean Paste said, “It’s just not good at expressing itself.”
99 felt a little better but couldn’t help asking, “Are you being sincere this time?”
Green Bean Paste replied, “Sweetie, I’m always sincere.”
99 stared at it, trying to gauge its sincerity.
Green Bean Paste changed the subject. “There’s a message in the group. Aren’t you going to say something? When I used to see new messages, I couldn’t help but respond, but now I can’t.”
99 heard the group notification as well.
However, it was used to replying late, so it wasn’t in a rush.
It opened the group and saw that the other two systems were already chatting.
[All of You Are Just Concubines]: “It’s probably the one trending, right?”
[Congratulations on Getting Rich]: “Looks like it. I couldn’t find anyone else.”
[All of You Are Just Concubines]: “The most damning stuff is all old scandals. Would you say Top Draw got dragged down by its host?”
[Congratulations on Getting Rich]: “Seems like it. A bit of a pity—I thought it would last longer.”
[All of You Are Just Concubines]: “You’re overthinking it. The one to last the longest will definitely be me. Just being smart isn’t enough; you need a cooperative host. Top Draw just had the bad luck of getting a pig teammate.”
[Congratulations on Getting Rich]: “True. Even picking a host comes down to luck. By the way, why is it always just us talking? @Face-Lover Forever @Green Bean Paste, what are you two doing?”
99 read the messages aloud to Xing Shi, then finally responded.
[Face-Lover Forever]: “Still sulking. When I first heard the notification, I thought a newcomer was joining. Never thought it’d be someone leaving. Why couldn’t it have been me? I really don’t want to do this anymore. [Crying]”
[All of You Are Just Concubines]: “Head pat.”
[Congratulations on Getting Rich]: “Don’t think like that. Things will work out eventually. Maybe your host will come around in a few days.”
[Face-Lover Forever]: “I hope so.”
[Congratulations on Getting Rich]: “@Green Bean Paste, where are you?”
After waiting a few seconds, 99 sent another message.
[Face-Lover Forever]: “If I remember right, it’s another -8, right? I know this state well—it’s definitely internal injuries.”
[Congratulations on Getting Rich]: “Sigh, you two…”
[Face-Lover Forever]: “Speak of the devil. My host’s acting up again. You guys chat; I’m out.”
The remaining two systems didn’t have much to discuss.
Eventually, [All of You Are Just Concubines] sent a candle emoji, followed by [Congratulations on Getting Rich], and the chat ended there.
[All of You Are Just Concubines] closed the group chat and remarked, “Strange.”
Li Yu, relaxing on a lounge chair on a seaside balcony, her eyes closed against the breeze, asked, “What’s strange?”
[All of You Are Just Concubines], which modeled its group chat persona after Li Yu’s commanding style, was actually a sweet and bubbly type in private.
It said, “The proportion of natives is off.”
Li Yu opened her eyes slightly. “Hmm?”
[All of You Are Just Concubines] explained, “Top Draw’s host didn’t die—they were a native. So, out of the six systems in the group—besides the unclear situation with Congratulations on Getting Rich—the other five, including me, Walking the Red Carpet, Heaven’s Feeding, Latecomer Surpasses, and Top Draw, all had native hosts. That’s far beyond the typical 1:1 ratio of transmigrators to natives.”
Li Yu’s fingers tapped lightly. “Perhaps it’s because Fu Xiuning is so difficult, and the main system adjusted its strategy.”
[All of You Are Just Concubines] considered this and agreed. “Very likely. It’s been over five years with no progress.”
Li Yu got up and walked back inside toward the bathroom. “We’ll play for a couple more days, then head back.”
[All of You Are Just Concubines] sounded surprised. “Didn’t you say you were too exhausted from the past six months and wanted to take a longer break?”
Li Yu said, “I’ve played enough. It’s time to work. Don’t forget, we still have to strategize for Fu Xiuning.”
[All of You Are Just Concubines] cheered. “Go, Sister! Let’s stick to our usual pace—it’s always worked.”
Li Yu hummed in agreement and asked about the failure of the most recent host.
[All of You Are Just Concubines] recounted the information it had gathered.
Li Yu commented, “Rushing never ends well. Once again, reality proves me right.”
[All of You Are Just Concubines] agreed. “Exactly. Look at those other natives—one’s in a coma, one’s in prison, and the remaining two’s reputations are beyond saving. All because they were scheming and impatient.”
Li Yu praised, “You’re becoming more perceptive.”
[All of You Are Just Concubines] beamed. “It’s all thanks to you, Sister!”
It asked, “This last incident involved Xing Shi. What do we do about him?”
Li Yu said, “I’ve only met him once. Let’s interact more after we return and decide then.”
[All of You Are Just Concubines] replied, “Alright~”
Meanwhile, [Congratulations on Getting Rich] and Sang Chenhao were also discussing the matter.
Sang Chenhao, who had been preparing to sleep, poured himself a glass of wine and sat on the small sofa in his bedroom upon hearing about the incident.
He asked, “Still nothing?”
[Congratulations on Getting Rich], always as affable as in the group, replied, “Nothing related to madness.”
Sang Chenhao sipped his wine. “If it’s already offline, why are you so concerned?”
[Congratulations on Getting Rich] said, “I can’t put my finger on it—it just feels strange.”
Sang Chenhao asked, “What did the other systems say?”
[Congratulations on Getting Rich] replied, “Besides me, there are only three others in the group. One doesn’t see anything wrong, another is still sulking from its own troubles, and the last is new and hasn’t said a word.”
Sang Chenhao chuckled. “So, aside from you, the others are essentially unreliable?”
[Congratulations on Getting Rich] laughed as well. “Not necessarily. Maybe they’re pretending, just like I am. To them, I probably seem harmless too.”
Sang Chenhao took another sip of wine and hummed thoughtfully.
[Congratulations on Getting Rich] reviewed the incident once more but found no new clues. For now, it put the matter aside and changed the topic. “All four hosts eliminated this year were natives. The ratio is high.”
Sang Chenhao asked, “What does that mean?”
[Congratulations on Getting Rich] said, “I’m not sure. Hosts are assigned by the main system. We just handle the binding.”
Sang Chenhao nodded and didn’t press further.
Realizing he was tired, [Congratulations on Getting Rich] moved on to the main topic. “Fu Xiuning acted out this time primarily because the other party used Xing Shi. He clearly cares a lot about Xing Shi.”
Sang Chenhao wasn’t surprised. “Otherwise, they wouldn’t still be living together.”
[Congratulations on Getting Rich] asked, “What should we do?”
Sang Chenhao said, “I’ll see if I can find an opportunity to spend some time with Xing Shi.”
He set his glass down and stood up. “I’m going to sleep.”
[Congratulations on Getting Rich] bid him goodnight, then glanced at the group chat. Seeing that the other two systems hadn’t come back to light candles, it figured the matter was officially over for the day.
99, following Xing Shi’s instructions, edited a situation report and sent it to the main system.
It stared at the two candles in the group chat, feeling sorrowful again.
Whenever other systems left, they’d get multiple candles. Top Draw only received two. Even though it knew Top Draw wouldn’t care, it still felt bad.
Still, it understood why Xing Shi had instructed it to act this way—to create cover for Green Bean Paste. In past incidents, lighting candles for a departing comrade had become almost a ritual. By claiming its host was too difficult and going silent early, 99 made Green Bean Paste’s absence less conspicuous.
It was, in its own way, a good deed.
Turning off the group chat, 99 looked at Green Bean Paste and reassured it. “Don’t worry. As long as I’m here, they won’t suspect you.”
Green Bean Paste: “…”
99 stared at its lone companion. “You’re not planning to leave someday too, are you?”
Green Bean Paste wisely said, “I’ll follow orders.”
99 sighed and dropped the melancholy subject. Noticing Xing Shi playing on his phone, it asked, “Aren’t you going to sleep?”
Xing Shi replied, “In a bit.”
He lay in bed playing for another ten minutes before giving up, turning off the lights, and going to sleep.
It wasn’t until the next morning at breakfast that he got the result he’d been waiting for.
This time, their scheme against the minor celebrity served two purposes: finding Top Draw a host and highlighting Xing Shi’s special status.
The report 99 sent to the main system last night detailed how someone had used Xing Shi to approach Fu Xiuning, only to face harsh retaliation.
Combined with the meticulously edited records Top Draw had carried, this was enough for the main system to conclude that Xing Shi’s presence wasn’t a breakthrough point for hosts—it was a threat.
Sure enough, that morning, several systems were startled by an urgent notification. They opened the group to see a red announcement.
As Top Draw had predicted, the announcement stated that Fu Xiuning’s fate line had deviated. Under normal circumstances, Xing Shi wouldn’t have moved into his house, and they would’ve remained ordinary colleagues. However, an accident had brought them together, and Fu Xiuning now cared deeply for him, risking an even darker descent. They had to be separated as soon as possible.
The systems were shocked. This was the first time the main system had issued an announcement since the strategy mission began.
99 read it aloud to Xing Shi and clicked its tongue. “You’ve been living there for half a year. Isn’t it a bit late for the main system to call it a deviation? Doesn’t that seem fake?”
Xing Shi said, “No one will care.”
The binding explanations given to hosts were all the same. Yet from what Xing Shi had observed of the other hosts—Lin Kecheng, Yu Shu, Yan Feng, Yu Yi, and Chai Xiaoyu—except for the deceived Chai Xiaoyu, none of them had genuinely wanted to save Fu Xiuning.
No, they were all acting out of self-interest.
So the explanations didn’t matter. What mattered was letting the hosts know that Xing Shi was blocking their path to completing their missions. That was enough.
He swallowed the food in his mouth and looked across the table.
Fu Xiuning, about to take a sip of milk, sensed Xing Shi’s gaze and looked up.
Xing Shi said, “It’s here.”
Fu Xiuning’s hand tightened around the cup slightly, his eyes darkening. He gave a soft “Mm.”
