Chapter 65
Xing Shi dodged the attacker’s strike again.
With extensive combat experience, he made a quick assessment within the brief clash.
The man was fast, with precise control, not swinging the knife randomly.
As the third slash came at him, Xing Shi deftly sidestepped and grabbed the man’s wrist.
The moment they made contact, he sensed a familiar energy fluctuation.
But the next instant, the man violently broke free with immense strength.
Without a moment’s pause, the man slashed again, this time aiming directly for Xing Shi’s neck.
A distant scream erupted from a classmate, who instinctively shut their eyes.
Xing Shi remained calm, blocking the attack with a forceful raise of his arm. As he noticed the man’s leg moving, he swiftly dodged and turned to run.
The man chased after him, only to trip inexplicably after five meters and crash heavily to the ground.
The impact was so hard it seemed to shake the floor. An ordinary person would’ve been stunned, but the man appeared unfazed. He didn’t loosen his grip on the knife and immediately pushed himself off the ground.
Green Bean Paste gasped.
99 exclaimed in shock, “Xing Shi, something’s really wrong with this guy!”
Xing Shi responded with a calm “Mm,” slowed his pace slightly, and looked back. Seeing the man closing in, he manipulated the wind to trip him again. The man fell hard, landing less than half a meter behind Xing Shi.
Xing Shi spun around, kicked the man’s wrist, and disarmed him on the spot.
With another kick, he sent the knife flying far away.
The surrounding students, seeing the opportunity, surged forward in unison.
As soon as the man stood up, several hands grabbed his clothes, and then more pinned his arms. A group of people held him firmly in place.
“Don’t move!”
“Call the police!”
“What the hell is going on?”
“Pull his mask down! He’s not from our school, right?”
“I’ll do it! Damn, definitely not. He looks like he’s in his 30s. Xing Shi, do you know him?”
Xing Shi looked him over and calmly said, “No.”
The man was wearing a knit hat and had an unshaven chin. His clothes were loose and ill-fitting.
He seemed entirely oblivious to the chaos around him, staring unblinkingly at Xing Shi.
A few seconds later, his gaze suddenly went blank.
Xing Shi caught the change. Pretending to help hold the man down, he placed a hand on the man’s shoulder while pulling out his phone to act like he was calling the police.
Sensing the familiar energy under his palm, he activated absorption mode.
When the last trace of energy was drained, the man coughed up a mouthful of blood and instantly went limp.
The students, startled by his boneless collapse, let go in fright.
The man fell to the ground, unconscious.
One bold student reached out to check his breathing and pulse, their face paling. “I… I think he’s dead?”
The surrounding crowd instinctively stepped back.
Xing Shi considered for a moment, then knelt to perform CPR, though he knew it wouldn’t work.
99 reported the results, “Another system just disappeared from the group.”
When All of You Are Just Concubines and Congratulations on Getting Rich heard the notification, they checked the group chat. After reporting to their hosts, they immediately investigated Xing Shi and watched the hallway’s surveillance footage.
All of You Are Just Concubines: [Wow, so that’s what “handling it” looks like? Hardcore.]
Congratulations on Getting Rich: [Isn’t this going too far?]
The remaining two emergency systems stayed silent. 99 and Green Bean Paste remained in hiding.
[Congratulations on Getting Rich] tagged them both. When there was no response, it also went quiet.
After updating Xing Shi about the chat, 99 asked in surprise, “Why didn’t you keep the system? It might’ve had new intel.”
Xing Shi said, “It’s a disposable thing. Couldn’t keep it even if I wanted to.”
99 processed this for a couple of seconds before angrily responding, “So it was sent here specifically for a suicide mission? That’s vile!”
Green Bean Paste added solemnly, “Exactly. Completely disgusting.”
99 looked at it suspiciously. “Are you being sincere, or do you just want to survive?”
Green Bean Paste said honestly, “Both, sweetie.”
Minutes later, police cars and ambulances arrived.
The police began their investigation on-site, collecting eyewitness statements, watching videos taken by students, and reviewing hallway surveillance footage. They escorted Xing Shi and the corpse away.
The news quickly spread across campus. Fu Xiuning was just pulling into the company’s underground parking lot when the chairman called. His grip tightened on the steering wheel, and he immediately turned toward the police station.
By the time he arrived, the preliminary investigation was complete.
The attacker was identified as a mentally ill man. According to his family, he had been mumbling about finding a good-looking person the night before and ran off early that morning. The family had just filed a missing person report when the local police station received the university’s call. Upon cross-referencing the data, they confirmed the attacker was the missing person from a nearby neighborhood.
The exact cause of death still required a forensic autopsy, but based on the evidence so far, it seemed Xing Shi had been caught in a random, unfortunate incident.
After offering a few words of reassurance, the police looked up to see Fu Xiuning enter. Their expressions shifted slightly. Recognizing him, they greeted him with familiarity before showing him a photo of the deceased.
“This is the man who attacked him. Do you recognize him?”
Fu Xiuning glanced at the photo. “No.”
The police studied his reaction, nodded, and put the phone away. They then informed Xing Shi that he was free to leave.
Xing Shi politely said, “Goodbye, Officer.”
Fu Xiuning, seeing him rise, stepped forward and took his hand, carefully looking him over from head to toe.
Xing Shi said, “Brother, I’m fine.”
Fu Xiuning said nothing, silently leading him out of the station.
After the ordeal, Xing Shi didn’t return to campus and instead went straight home.
The two tossed their phones aside with their jackets and entered the study.
Xing Shi instructed 99 to activate a privacy shield and recounted the incident to Fu Xiuning. He concluded, “His actions were entirely controlled by energy. Though some was consumed during the process, the remaining amount was low. I suspect the total energy was no more than a third of a standard system’s.”
In other words, while three systems had technically been sent, the energy had been split among them, equaling only one regular system in total.
Fu Xiuning listened quietly before asking something Xing Shi hadn’t mentioned. “Did the energy-driven person’s abilities differ from a normal human’s?”
Xing Shi instinctively wanted to say, “Not much,” but remembering that Fu Xiuning could access the surveillance footage, he replied, “Yes. Their speed and strength are slightly enhanced, but they’re still human and have limits.”
This explained why the attacker had died. His body had been pushed to its absolute limits by external forces, causing irreparable damage to his internal organs.
Fu Xiuning’s expression darkened instantly.
If it had been a simple case of manipulation or an attempt to get close, he wouldn’t have worried too much, confident that Xing Shi could handle it.
But if it involved external control, logic and predictability went out the window.
Such dangers, capable of appearing anywhere, anytime, would unsettle anyone.
Xing Shi, seeing his expression, called, “Brother.”
Fu Xiuning pulled him closer, responding softly, “Mm.”
Xing Shi said, “The new systems are here. On the bright side, I can think of it as takeout being delivered. My magic core is just shy of being fully charged.”
Fu Xiuning’s gaze deepened, and he let out a low “Mm.”
Both of them were sharp enough to guess the main system’s plan.
It had already learned of Fu Xiuning’s unique constitution through returning systems, opting for this direct method. Killing Xing Shi outright was ideal, but even if it failed, a string of misfortunes would inevitably draw suspicion to Fu Xiuning.
No one wanted to stay near a walking disaster.
Eventually, Xing Shi might leave on his own, or Fu Xiuning might be forced to let him go. Either way, it achieved the main system’s goal.
Though Xing Shi spoke lightly of the situation, his mood was far from good.
The system had turned Fu Xiuning into a “special case” and exploited that to sever the people he cared about.
If he hadn’t had the experience of crossing worlds, if he’d met Fu Xiuning under normal circumstances, and if Fu Xiuning had still fallen for him—what then?
If the main system had suddenly intervened and taken him away, how would Fu Xiuning have handled it?
He was too clever not to suspect the main system. In the end, wouldn’t that drive him to madness?
The two exchanged a deep look.
Fu Xiuning tightened his grip on Xing Shi’s hand and said, “I’ll call back my bodyguards.”
Xing Shi replied, “No need. They’d just get in my way.”
Fu Xiuning said, “Then at least let them drive you between school and work. Don’t travel alone.”
This time, Xing Shi agreed. “Alright.”
Fu Xiuning pulled him into an embrace.
After spending some time in the study, they left.
Xing Shi retrieved his phone from his jacket and responded to the flood of messages with a simple “I’m fine.”
Noticing Fu Xiuning sitting beside him, Xing Shi asked, “Not going to work?”
Fu Xiuning replied, “I’ll go in the afternoon.”
Xing Shi nodded and leaned against him, scrolling through his phone.
The next day at school, Xing Shi was greeted with an outpouring of concern and a desk covered in snacks.
The police needed time to confirm the cause of death, so the university hadn’t released an official statement. However, rumors had spread that the attacker was mentally unstable.
His three roommates were still shaken. “I can’t believe someone like that came to our school. Scared the hell out of me.”
Xing Shi agreed, “Yeah.”
They looked him over. “Are you really okay?”
Xing Shi smiled. “I’m fine. No injuries, no nightmares.”
Reassured, one of them joked, “Your face is so handsome, even crazy people recognize it.”
Xing Shi laughed. “Exactly.”
Life returned to normal.
For two days, everything was peaceful.
Then, after finishing class, Xing Shi was walking toward his ride when a commotion nearby caught his attention.
He turned and saw a car suddenly accelerate, speeding straight toward him.
Beside him, two students stood frozen in fear. Xing Shi acted quickly, pulling them both to the ground.
The car missed them by inches and slammed into a tree, its hood smoking as it came to a stop.
Xing Shi immediately got up and approached the vehicle. He tried the door but found it locked. Sensing energy seeping through the car, he began absorbing it without hesitation.
99 listened to the group’s familiar notification sound and said, “Another system down.”
Xing Shi didn’t respond.
This time, the system had merely controlled the driver, without enhancing physical abilities. As a result, it still had a significant amount of energy left, enough to fully charge his magic core—and even leave a surplus.
Using the extra energy, Xing Shi directed it toward Green Bean Paste.
Green Bean Paste screamed, “Sweetie, what are you doing?!”
Xing Shi replied, “Running an experiment.”
Green Bean Paste wailed, “Are you sure this isn’t disassembling me?!”
Xing Shi said, “Not sure.”
Green Bean Paste sobbed, “Help me, senior system! Save me!”
99 floated away slightly and offered, “The campus is nice. Lots of books and a scholarly atmosphere. Maybe you can come back as a reader in your next life.”
Green Bean Paste cried harder, “You’re so heartless!”
Meanwhile, security guards and curious students had gathered around the crashed car.
Xing Shi stepped aside to let the guards take over while continuing to direct the energy into Green Bean Paste’s core.
Top Draw had been an experiment. Latecomer Surpasses had been a plant. 99 was essential and had to stay. That left Green Bean Paste, the perfect candidate to test his theories.
The 30-day surveillance limit on the mountain road incident had passed, so even if Green Bean Paste went offline, it wouldn’t matter anymore.
Still, the chaotic environment made it difficult to concentrate. Xing Shi only managed to probe one layer before stopping, letting the excess energy dissipate into the air. He decided to finish the job later.
Green Bean Paste, still conscious, scrambled to escape the energy and made a last-ditch plea.
The bodyguard, who had rushed over after noticing the commotion, tried to escort Xing Shi away from the scene.
Xing Shi nodded, but before they could leave, the security guards smashed the car’s window.
Afraid the vehicle might catch fire, they worked together to drag the driver out. After checking his pulse, someone shouted, “He’s still alive! Call an ambulance!”
Xing Shi: “?”
System 99: “!”
Green Bean Paste, tears still wet: “!”
For a moment, there was absolute silence.
99 finally broke it, stunned. “He’s… alive?!”
