Chapter 01

Chapter 01

Xing Shi stood silently, his eyes filled with confusion.

He was indoors. To his left was a cozy dining area, with a very fresh and delicate style. To his right, a long row of food counters buzzed with activity and chatter.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this looked like a cafeteria.

But what was this situation? Shouldn’t he be in the magic world?

Years ago, he had inexplicably been transported to the magic world, where technology was primitive, and power ruled. Nearly everyone possessed a magic core within them. His life had been tough, and the only way to find peace was to become stronger. After intense effort, he finally upgraded his magic core and joined the ranks of the elite.

Upgrading the magic core was an incredibly grueling process. It took him three days and nights to break through, leaving him utterly exhausted and in desperate need of rest.

But when he opened his eyes, he found himself here.

Familiar skin, familiar clothes, and the unmistakable atmosphere of the human world.

Was he dreaming? Or had someone cast an illusion spell on him while he was asleep?

However, his residence was protected by a high-level defensive magic array, and he carried a magic stone that resisted illusions. It would have been nearly impossible for someone to trap him without triggering any alarms.

That left only one possibility.

That he had been transported again.

He had returned to the ordinary human world.

The moment this thought crossed his mind, the world around him seemed to come alive.

His heart raced, beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and the smell of food in the air made his mouth water.

Following the scent, he spotted the nearest food counter.

Chinese cuisine!

Fresh, steaming-hot Chinese food—something he hadn’t tasted in years!

Xing Shi turned toward the food, but then an icy voice echoed in his mind.

"System 99, successfully bound to the host."

Xing Shi froze in place.

At a nearby table, Fu Xiuning paused mid-chopstick, having just picked up a piece of green vegetable.

He calmly continued eating, having heard such voices for years. At first, he thought it was just his imagination, but soon enough, those "hosts" would come and try to manipulate him.

"Host, complete the mission by manipulating the target as required, or face elimination."

"Target: Fu Xiuning."

"Beep."

"Current favorability: -5."

Fu Xiuning remained impassive.

He had tried playing along, but their favorability system was surprisingly accurate. As long as he was within the scanning range, any change in his favorability would trigger an immediate update.

No matter how friendly he acted, his favorability kept plummeting, and he realized he couldn’t fool the system. So, he stopped pretending altogether.

After going through a period of anxiety, frustration, and anger, he became increasingly skilled at handling things, taking down one batch of hosts after another.

It had been over a month since he dealt with the last host, and he’d been expecting the system to "restock" soon. Sure enough, a new one arrived today.

He took a sip of water and waited for the newcomer's reaction.

Meanwhile, after reporting the favorability, the system said, "You can communicate with me mentally to avoid any inconvenience in your daily life."

Xing Shi didn’t respond.

Neither the system nor Fu Xiuning were surprised. It was only natural for someone to need time to process such bizarre events.

The system offered options: "You can ask questions anytime. Right now, you can choose to review Fu Xiuning’s profile, check your own stats, or perform a newbie draw."

Having fought magical beasts, battled demons, and even encountered dismembered bodies on the roadside, he had seen all kinds of bizarre and disturbing things. Unless it was something truly extreme, nothing could faze him.

The voice wasn’t robotic or mechanical, and its tone was calm and indifferent, showing no hint of emotion.

Since he could communicate mentally, he decided to share his excitement: "Great!"

Both the system and Fu Xiuning thought: _Looks like he’s back to reality._

They weren’t surprised by his reaction. People like him, who had lived difficult or unfulfilling lives, often believed that being chosen by the system would be their ticket to a better life.

Generally, such people were highly accepting, cooperative, and enthusiastic.

The system was satisfied, but just as it was about to tell him to calm down, it heard his next words, spoken with excitement: "Fried soybean paste noodles!"

System: "?"

Fu Xiuning: "?"

_What does that have to do with anything?_

The system said, "Host..."

Xing Shi interrupted, "It’s the smell of fried soybean paste noodles!"

The system tried to steer the conversation back on track: "Host, please..."

Xing Shi stayed excited: "Fried soybean paste noodles!"

The system asked, "Are you even listening to me?"

Xing Shi snapped, "Shut up! No one’s stopping me from eating fried soybean paste noodles today!"

The system’s voice turned cold. "If the host doesn’t cooperate, we will initiate the punishment protocol. In severe cases, this could result in termination."

Xing Shi exclaimed, "There are fried soybean paste noodles here!"

The system was ruthless. "Detected non-cooperation from the host. Initiating Level One Punishment Protocol. Countdown: 3 seconds."

Xing Shi remained completely unfazed.

Despite years of frustrating life wearing down his temper, he still had one bottom line—he hated being threatened or controlled.

The moment "eradication" was mentioned, his only thought was to destroy it.

First, he needed to understand its mechanics and potential damage so he could plan accordingly.

Fu Xiuning didn’t hear the host tell it to stop, so he glanced up slightly.

From what he knew, a Level 1 punishment was the mildest, but even that wasn’t easy to endure. The host would either turn pale, tremble uncontrollably, or scream—there were no exceptions.

He discreetly scanned the room, curious to see what would happen. However, after looking around, he didn’t spot any suspicious individuals. He guessed the host might be somewhere behind him, and coincidentally, someone nearby was eating zhajiangmian (noodles with soybean paste).

But this thought was quickly dismissed.

Because he heard the host speak, and there was no hint of pain in his voice.

“I don’t feel anything. Are you not done yet?” Xing Shi asked. “Is time moving differently for you? Are you still counting down?”

System: “Wait, what?”

Fu Xiuning: “Huh?”

The system hesitated, “You’re really okay?”

Xing Shi got it. “So the punishment is over? That’s it?”

Feeling relieved, he said, “I’m going to grab some zhajiangmian now. See ya!”

For a moment, the system’s energy flickered, its arrogance crumbled, and its calm tone shattered. “Wait, why aren’t you affected?”

Xing Shi ignored it.

The moment the system activated, his instincts—sharpened by years in high-risk environments—kicked in, and he tried to activate the magic core. But the familiar energy was gone. He immediately realized that after the transmigration, he had become an ordinary person again, no longer possessing magic.

Still, though the magic was gone, his experiences remained. Pain? He could handle it.

Surprisingly, after mentally preparing himself, he felt absolutely nothing.

Xing Shi wasn’t sure why, but he had no intention of telling the system.

He ordered a portion of zhajiangmian, and upon learning it was free, he carried the tray to the nearest seat and eagerly dug into the food.

The system scanned him from head to toe, suspicious. “Are you really okay?”

Fu Xiuning also wanted to know, and used the motion of wiping his mouth to glance around again.

Unfortunately, no matter what, the volume of the conversation between the system and the host always sounded the same to him, making it impossible to gauge the distance. It was mealtime, and the restaurant was crowded. People were constantly lining up at the zhajiangmian window, so he couldn’t pinpoint the target.

After asking three times with no response from the host, the system brought up the rule about punishment for non-cooperation once more.

Xing Shi continued to ignore it.

The system announced, “Monitoring shows the host is not cooperating. Initiating Level 1 punishment program in 3 seconds.”

This time, it closely monitored the host’s breathing, heartbeat, muscles, and nervous system. Finding no disruptions, it double-checked its program, confirming everything was running smoothly. It was genuinely surprised. “You’re really okay!”

Fu Xiuning, now aware of the situation, was also surprised.

In all these years, this was the first host to be immune to a Level 1 punishment. What could be the reason?

The system also asked, "Why aren't you affected?"

Xing Shi kept eating, pretending not to hear.

The system: "..."

It glanced around the busy restaurant, feeling a pang of loneliness.

It had never felt so ignored before and burst out, "Can you at least acknowledge me?"

Xing Shi continued to ignore it.

After wolfing down his noodles, he put down his chopsticks and, still eyeing the other food stalls, wondered what else he could get.

At that moment, he caught the guy next to him waving and turned to look.

It was a long table, and the guy was sitting one seat away, holding an open pack of tissues. He smiled and asked, "Need a tissue?"

Xing Shi paused and took one. "Thanks."

The guy had silver-gray hair and a bright smile. "I'm Feng Zifan. What's your name, man? Are you here for the interview or were you pre-selected?"

The guy across from him chimed in, "I go by Da Zhuang. Call me that. You must be pre-selected, right? With that face, you're basically a walking advertisement for 'handsome'!"

Xing Shi was confused and called out to the system, "What are they talking about?"

The system finally responded, albeit coldly, "Weren't you ignoring me?"

Xing Shi smiled at the two guys and asked, "Are you here for the interview or were you pre-selected?"

Feng Zifan replied, "We came for the interview. Both of us passed and are just waiting for the class assignments this afternoon. We'll probably end up in the regular classes, but you should be in Class One, right?"

Xing Shi shrugged. "Not necessarily."

He changed the subject. "I'm going to grab a drink. Want anything?"

Feng Zifan and Da Zhuang both politely declined.

Xing Shi stood up and left, muttering to himself, "Do you really think you're that important?"

The system replied, "This is just the beginning. Do you even know where you're going or what you're doing this afternoon? Once this is over, do you know where you'll be staying? Or even this body's name?"

Xing Shi admitted, "No idea."

The system said, somewhat condescendingly, "Then please, host, keep a positive attitude and cooperate. I'll provide the information."

Xing Shi said, "Or I could sprint a hundred meters and crash into that wall, then tell the cops I lost my memory to get all the info I need."

The system: "...Wait, what?"

Caught off guard, it blurted out, "You're not afraid of dropping dead from that? Fainting would be a better option!"

Xing Shi, of course, knew fainting was the safer option.

But his goal wasn't just to get the information; he also wanted to test the system's limits. Fainting would be quicker, but he wanted to see how much control the system had over his body during the process.

He said, "No, falling backward freaks me out. I don't feel safe."

The system said, "Falling backward scares you, but crashing into a wall doesn't?"

Xing Shi said, “Yeah, I’m scared, but I can just close my eyes and charge ahead.”

He mimicked the system’s tone, “System not providing data. Initiating 100-meter dash in 3... 2... 1... Sprint!”

The system warned, “If you keep acting wild, we’ll activate the punishment protocol!”

Xing Shi asked, “What level of punishment are we talking about?”

The system hesitated, “...Only level one.”

Xing Shi said, “Whatever works for you. I’m sprinting.”

The system felt his legs tense and quickly said, “Hang on, I’ll tell you!”

Fu Xiuning stayed calm, thinking, _If you’re so bold, go ahead and sprint._

But it was the system’s job to give him the info. Now that it gave in, he could listen in too... Just as he thought that, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Xing Shi bolt.

At the same time, the system screamed, “Ahhh, stop! Stop!”

Fu Xiuning: “…What?”