Chapter 77
The hot spring hotel was located on a mountainside, with limited dining options nearby.
As a result, Sang Chenhao and the others chose a hotpot restaurant on the commercial street at the base of the mountain.
When Xing Shi arrived, Feng Zifan and the others had just gotten there themselves and were a bit surprised to see him.
They had reserved a private room, with the restaurant’s location and room number shared in the group chat. Xing Shi could easily find it. However, the hotpot gathering wasn’t originally meant to include the “little couple.” Even though Xing Shi was in the chat, he hadn’t participated in the discussion, and everyone had assumed he was eating with Fu Xiuning.
Sang Chenhao glanced behind him. “Boss didn’t come?”
Xing Shi closed the door to the private room. “He’s working. He was worried I’d be bored waiting alone, so he insisted on having the bodyguard drop me off here to join you guys.”
Both Sang Chenhao and Li Yu had heard about the proposal plan from Feng Zifan earlier. Upon hearing this, they immediately understood the situation.
After the “heart-to-heart” conversation earlier at lunch, they were already somewhat skeptical about this whole affair. However, since the Main System had issued orders, they were prepared to see it through regardless of the outcome.
Li Yu asked, “Have you eaten?”
Xing Shi pulled out a chair and sat down. “Yes, but I could eat a little more.”
Feng Zifan offered with a smile, “I’ll go grab some dipping sauces. I’ll get a bowl for you too.”
When the sauces were brought back and the dishes were served, the four of them began eating hotpot together.
Xing Shi casually ate a few bites, then used energy to tap on 99’s barrier.
This barrier program was set up by the Main System. They were concerned that the Main System could potentially monitor whether 99 had truly activated the barrier in the private chat channel. To be safe, Xing Shi had instructed 99 to immediately retreat to the “black room” the first time it was summoned, avoiding detection.
Now that enough time had passed, it was safe to come out.
The first thing 99 did upon emerging was check all the recent messages and report back to Xing Shi. “It still hasn’t said what it plans to do tonight.”
Xing Shi hummed in acknowledgment and instructed it to ask directly.
99 caught on quickly and popped up in the chat.
Lover of Beauty: ?@01, sorry, my host locked me in the black room [crying emoji]?
The other two systems responded immediately.
All Others Are Merely Concubines: ?It’s over already??
Fortune Awaits: ?Did you two make up??
Lover of Beauty: ?No, it’s just halftime… I’m still trying to reason with him.?
All Others Are Merely Concubines: ?Ugh.?
Fortune Awaits: ?Do you think you’ll still make it??
Lover of Beauty: ?I’ll try my best [big crying emoji]?
The Main System coldly observed this exchange, silently cursing them as useless.
99 noticed that the Main System wasn’t responding, so it sent a private message. ?My host seems to be softening his stance. We should be able to make it to the hot spring hotel tonight. Do you need us to do anything specific??
Main System: ?Wait until you arrive.?
Lover of Beauty: ?Got it. Should we bring anything for you??
Main System: ?No need.?
99 relayed this to Xing Shi.
Xing Shi remained calm. “No rush, let’s wait and see.”
But even after they finished eating, the group chat remained silent.
99 was baffled. “It gathered everyone here but hasn’t given any instructions? Could it be assigning different tasks to everyone privately?”
Xing Shi made a few guesses. “Not necessarily.”
99 asked, “Then what is it planning?”
Xing Shi said, “We’ll find out soon.”
After paying the bill, they left the hotpot restaurant.
Both Sang Chenhao and Li Yu had driven to the restaurant. Sang Chenhao asked, “Are you comfortable driving up mountain roads at night, Sister Li?”
Li Yu replied calmly, “Yes.”
Sang Chenhao grinned. “Great. I’m not, so I’ll hitch a ride with you.”
He glanced at the remaining two people but didn’t get a chance to speak before Xing Shi took the initiative to invite Feng Zifan into his car.
Feng Zifan agreed without hesitation.
After giving his answer, he “remembered” the system in his mind and said, “Sorry, I forgot to check with you first. It just slipped out, and now it would be awkward to backtrack.”
The Main System didn’t seem to care. “Just don’t forget next time.”
Feng Zifan breathed a sigh of relief. “Understood.”
He got into Xing Shi’s car.
Based on what happened earlier that afternoon, he knew Xing Shi and Fu Xiuning were aware of Sang Chenhao and Li Yu’s identities. Now that everyone was headed to the same place, it was unlikely Fu Xiuning’s plans were purely about proposing.
Feng Zifan initially thought Xing Shi had invited him into the car to drop hints about what was happening. However, after a while, Xing Shi didn’t seem to have any intention of saying more.
He asked, “Is the boss done with his work?”
Xing Shi nodded. “He texted me to wait for him at the hotel.”
He turned to Feng Zifan. “I’ll be with my brother, so I can’t look after you. You’ve been training all day—take this chance to enjoy the hot spring. It’s a rare break. Once you start running promotional events in a few days, you won’t have this opportunity.”
Feng Zifan wasn’t sure if this was a subtle way of telling him not to worry, but he responded with a smile.
Xing Shi understood Feng Zifan’s hesitations but wasn’t trying to signal anything.
He only needed to confirm that the Main System was in Feng Zifan; the rest would proceed according to plan.
The reason he invited Feng Zifan along, just as he chose to appear at the hotpot restaurant, was to serve as an outside presence. This way, the others wouldn’t be too candid in their conversations and inadvertently start discussing sensitive topics, like their hosts.
After all, if Sang Chenhao or Li Yu asked about 99’s real host and got “Yu Yi” as the answer, it might remind them of Yu Yi’s breakdown and lead to questions about Yan Feng. Things could unravel quickly from there.
Even though “Top Draw” and “Latecomer Surpasses” couldn’t betray them, it was still better to be cautious with such carefully planted seeds.
But simply preventing conversations wasn’t enough.
The Main System had granted punishment mechanisms to systems and energy usage permissions to hosts as a means of mutual control. However, it wouldn’t place such restrictions on itself and could freely utilize the network.
If it checked the timestamps of Yu Shu and Yan Feng’s deaths against the moments when “Top Draw” and “Latecomer Surpasses” went offline, it might discover discrepancies.
The Main System was arrogant, treating systems and hosts as mere worker ants, and wouldn’t usually waste energy on such minutiae. But nothing was absolute—if they were unlucky, the Main System might notice something right away.
If that happened, “Top Draw” and “Latecomer Surpasses” would undoubtedly fight back. The only question was how long they could hold out.
Meanwhile, Xing Shi and Fu Xiuning’s side had to set the trap as soon as the Main System descended. It was all a race against time.
The two cars drove one after the other onto the mountain road.
The hot spring hotel was located halfway up and wasn’t far.
Sang Chenhao looked at the dimly lit road ahead and asked, “Sister Li, are you a native here?”
Li Yu replied, “Yes. What about you?”
Sang Chenhao said, “I’m not, but the world I came from is similar to this one, with comparable technology.”
Li Yu, having learned about transmigrators from her system, was surprised. “You can remember?”
Sang Chenhao said, “A little.”
Li Yu asked, “What did you do before?”
Sang Chenhao reminisced. “I think I was also a celebrity. I enjoyed gaming and had a teammate I got along with.”
Li Yu remarked, “That matches your current role perfectly.”
Sang Chenhao chuckled. “Exactly.”
He sighed softly. “Maybe tonight this journey to another world will finally end. I wonder what the Main System plans to do. Honestly, what it set up a few days ago was really risky. I thought Xing Shi was a goner. If it had been me, I wouldn’t have survived.”
Li Yu recalled the videos Xing Shi had uploaded and hummed in agreement.
Sang Chenhao asked curiously, “Why do you think that driver is still alive?”
Li Yu repeated her system’s explanation. “No idea. Maybe he signed an agreement with the Main System.”
Sang Chenhao said, “If he had an agreement, why would he come forward to expose it?”
Li Yu said, “Maybe he forgot.”
Sang Chenhao laughed along. “Makes sense. Just like I signed an agreement with the Main System when I transmigrated here, but I don’t remember the details.”
Li Yu finally glanced at him. “Really?”
Sang Chenhao nodded. “Yep. Most transmigrators don’t have memories, but I got lucky and remembered a little.”
The car slowly pulled into the hotel parking lot.
Sang Chenhao observed the number of vehicles. “Not too few. Guess everyone likes soaking in hot springs during winter.”
He unbuckled his seatbelt. “Crowds can be chaotic. Sister Li, you’re more famous than the rest of us. It’s best to stay inside tonight.”
Li Yu’s heart skipped a beat as she looked at him.
Sang Chenhao gave her a slight smile, opened the door, and stepped out.
The hotel had a traditional Chinese courtyard style, sprawling across a large area with various pools available.
The surrounding vacation villas and the nearby area were all Fu family properties. The villa district had only recently been developed, with few residents so far.
The key selling point here was its proximity to nature. The villas were spaced far apart, providing a sense of tranquility and privacy.
Xing Shi parted ways with Sang Chenhao and the others, saying he’d wait for Fu Xiuning.
Ten minutes later, Feng Zifan received a call from Fu Xiuning asking for help with something. He agreed immediately and got into a bodyguard’s car.
Meanwhile, Xing Shi used an internal passage to quickly meet up with Fu Xiuning.
He asked 99 for an update. Hearing that the group chat was still quiet, he informed Fu Xiuning of the situation.
Exchanging a look, they both guessed the Main System’s intentions.
The world operated under its own rules. If the Main System could do as it pleased here, they wouldn’t have needed to force it down.
Its current limitations likely meant it could only use energy to control humans, temporarily enhancing their speed and strength—a disposable method.
With hosts varying in personality and ability, immediately coordinating them could easily lead to mistakes.
So, the lack of orders in the group chat likely meant it didn’t expect much from the hosts. Its primary purpose in gathering them was likely to use them as backup vessels.
Fu Xiuning took Xing Shi’s hand and reassured him, “It’s fine. It won’t take long.”
Xing Shi nodded.
Feng Zifan stepped out of the car and looked at the villa before him.
He didn’t know Fu Xiuning and Xing Shi’s exact plans, but he couldn’t help trying to gather some intelligence. He asked the system, “Can I ask a question?”
The Main System replied coldly. “Speak.”
Feng Zifan asked, “What are you planning to do to Xing Shi and the others? I understand you can’t tell me everything, but Xing Shi is my friend. If you’re not going to hurt him, I can help you voluntarily.”
The Main System said, “You’ve already helped enough.”
Feng Zifan paused mid-step. “…What?”
Before he could process, his vision abruptly went black.
A surge of energy overwhelmed him, and his senses slipped away.
The entire world turned dark.
The Main System easily seized control of his body, scoffing coldly. “Trying to play games with me.”
Using the day’s accumulated data, it quickly adjusted to Feng Zifan’s expressions. As it walked forward, it rifled through his memories for potential use.
Seconds later, it came across the energy burst from Yu Shu’s death and immediately sensed something wrong. It quickly extended its energy to the network, then withdrew it.
Outside the world, “Top Draw” and “Latecomer Surpasses” were locked onto by the Main System’s energy, accompanied by a chilling voice: “Come here.”
