Chapter 29

Chapter 29

What was supposed to be a gathering had first turned into a live exposé, and then instantly became a murder scene.

The innocent and naive college students had never seen such a scene before. When they saw Lin Kecheng press Fu Xiuning's neck down onto the coffee table, they all screamed in fright.

Only Xing Shi remained calm, immediately getting up and rushing outside.

Those around him were jolted back to their senses and followed suit, rushing over.

As Xing Shi helped Fu Xiuning to his feet, they managed to restrain Lin Kecheng.

Lin Kecheng's eyes were vacant, his face pale, and his whole body limp, offering no resistance.

They exchanged glances, guessing that he was either too shocked or had just realized the severity of his actions and was now afraid.

Fu Xiuning's attention was fully on him, and when Lin Kecheng suddenly shuddered, Fu Xiuning gripped Xing Shi's wrist.

Thinking Fu Xiuning wanted to say something, Xing Shi was about to turn his head when he suddenly sensed an energy fluctuation. He quickly looked at Lin Kecheng and immediately understood the intention behind Fu Xiuning's actions.

Without hesitation, Xing Shi rushed over and knelt in front of Lin Kecheng, grabbing his shoulders. "How could you hurt your Senior?" he berated, while activating his energy absorption mode.

Fresh energy quickly surged into his body, and the system exclaimed in shock, “What the hell is going on?”

Xing Shi pretended to be confused. “You sensed it too? What's going on with him? Is he being punished?”

The system, feeling the continuous influx of energy, said, “I was talking about you!”

Xing Shi asked, puzzled, “What about me?”

The system asked, “Haven't you felt any discomfort or noticed anything unusual?”

Xing Shi replied, “No, I feel fine.”

Hearing his calm and quick responses, the system had no reason to suspect anything.

Humans couldn’t detect normal energy used for tasks like retrieving information or forming alliances unless a large amount flowed in, which could cause physical discomfort. But with Xing Shi's high pain threshold, it was normal for him not to feel anything.

The system explained, “There is energy coming in.”

Xing Shi said, “Is that so? I didn’t notice at all.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the last bit of energy flowed into his body.

Deep in his mind, a familiar energy body flickered briefly before sinking into silence again.

His pupils narrowed. If he wasn’t mistaken, that was his magic core.

Not the basic magic core from when he first arrived in the magic world, but the advanced magic core he had worked hard to upgrade.

So it had come with him through the crossing. No wonder he hadn’t felt anything after siphoning energy a few times—this amount wasn’t enough to activate his advanced magic core.

He noticed the body in his hands was trembling and continued to berate, “Say something!”

Lin Kecheng's lips quivered, his expression blank, and his pupils unable to focus at all.

The people holding Lin Kecheng soon realized something was off and quickly freed one of them to pull Xing Shi away. “Back off! Don’t shout at him, let him catch his breath.”

Xing Shi glanced at Lin Kecheng with a mix of anger and disappointment, then stopped trying to talk to him and turned back to Fu Xiuning.

Fu Xiuning sensed the energy entering Xing Shi's body and looked up at him.

Xing Shi met his gaze, his eyes gleaming faintly.

Fu Xiuning got it right away—this energy could be absorbed and was useful.

He stretched out his hand, and Xing Shi caught him, allowing him to lean on his body.

"Beep beep"

"Current favorability: 12"

The system didn’t have time to be pleased and continued to explain, "The energy from Lin Kecheng's system entered your body."

Xing Shi pretended to be confused again, "Hmm? Is it because we're allies?"

The system was bewildered, "Ah?"

Xing Shi said, "Otherwise, why would his system energy come to me? Maybe they’ve given up and want to pass the responsibility to us, their allies. How much energy did it give you?"

The system was even more confused, "It... didn’t give me any."

Xing Shi said, "But you said it came over. It didn’t just come by to say hello and leave, right?"

The system felt like it was about to short-circuit, "Wait, let me check the alliance agreement."

Xing Shi said, "Go ahead."

The system's calculations were powerful, and it searched quickly.

The alliance existed to protect the safety and interests of both hosts, preventing them from killing each other during the alliance period. Lin Kecheng had been abandoned by Fu Xiuning due to his own actions, which had nothing to do with them. However, there was no clause stating that if one party withdrew, their energy would be transferred to the ally.

It reported back, "There’s nothing about that in the agreement."

Xing Shi saw that the Student Council President had also arrived and asked, "Is it urgent? If not, I’ll take care of this first, and we can talk later."

The system sensed the situation and said, "You go ahead."

As they spoke, the Student Council President ran to them, her face pale.

Seeing Fu Xiuning’s condition, she burst into tears.

Before dinner, the leader said he wanted to confront Lin Kecheng and asked her to take Lin Kecheng's phone. She thought they’d just argue, but it almost ended in disaster.

She fumbled with her phone, dialing 911, and asked in a shaky voice, "Leader, are... are you okay?"

Usually so composed, Fu Xiuning now looked completely disheveled.

A cup on the coffee table was smashed, and a piece of glass had embedded itself into his back. Fresh blood mixed with the spilled lemon water, leaving his entire back wet with a light red hue.

But that wasn’t the most critical part; it was his neck.

Fu Xiuning knew what injuries weren’t fatal and deliberately made the situation appear more severe. The Student Council President and the others watched in horror as blood trickled down his neck.

Fu Xiuning winced, pressing one hand to his neck and leaning on Xing Shi’s shoulder, his voice hoarse, "Call the police."

Someone else said, "I’ll do it."

Another person said, "I'll go ask the hotel staff if they have a first aid kit!"

After the initial chaos, everyone sprang into action.

But whenever their eyes fell on Fu Xiuning, they felt uneasy, worried that their leader might go into shock from blood loss at any second.

Xing Shi helped him sit on the sofa, and as everyone gasped, he lifted Fu Xiuning's hand to check the wound. Confirming it wasn't fatal, he quickly applied first aid to stop the bleeding.

The hotel manager and the Fu family's charity director soon arrived.

The director had arranged this dinner but had left the private room midway to give them space and had only just heard the news.

The Fu family was vast and powerful, and as the president's only son who had long held shares, Fu Xiuning held a significant position.

The director had only seen Fu Xiuning from afar twice before. This was his first time interacting with him. He had followed Fu Xiuning's instructions to coordinate with students from Z University for a charity event. He had also arranged for the student council to dine at a hotel under their company and had pre-tested the live streaming equipment.

He knew his young master had planned to do something tonight, but since he had heard that students from prestigious universities couldn't possibly cause much trouble, he hadn't taken it seriously. Yet things had escalated to such a severe point.

If anything had happened... Cold sweat broke out on his forehead as he looked at Fu Xiuning's neck.

Fortunately, the hotel wasn't far from the hospital, and the ambulance arrived quickly.

Fu Xiuning, leaning on Xing Shi's shoulder, managed to stand up again. At that moment, Lin Kecheng, who had been sitting on the floor under everyone's watch, finally snapped back to reality.

He looked around blankly, then his eyes landed on Fu Xiuning.

When the system left the host, it didn't waste energy trying to eliminate the host. At first, it erased all memories, but as connections with the host failed, the main system likely realized that if too many people in front of Fu Xiuning lost their memories and went mad, it would arouse his suspicion. So it adjusted the approach, only erasing the part related to the system, while keeping the rest intact.

Therefore, Lin Kecheng clearly remembered what he had just done.

He hurriedly dragged his sore body forward, and after being held down by those around him, he struggled to crawl forward on his hands and knees, crying, "Senior... Senior, I was wrong. Please forgive me this once. I swear I won't dare again! I just... I just wanted to follow you, to stand by your side."

It felt like he had been living in a dream.

Z University was full of talented individuals, and he had been insignificant there. But he had suddenly found the courage to tear open his ordinary shell and do things he had only dared to dream about, becoming increasingly arrogant and extreme.

Unfortunately, his abilities couldn't support his ambitions, and now that the dream was shattered, he felt like a turtle that had been stripped of its shell, returning to his previous state of weakness.

He shook all over, crying and sobbing, "Senior, I didn't really mean to kill you. I was momentarily blinded by evil thoughts. I don't know what I was thinking or why I did this. I was wrong, I'm sorry. Please forgive me, Senior..."

Fu Xiuning looked down at him, his hand on Xing Shi's shoulder lightly tapping a few times before stopping.

Xing Shi turned his head curiously but couldn't discern any meaning or signal. After a moment of thought, he understood. The taps were just for fun, enjoying the other's suffering, using the wails as a beat. He was purely enjoying it.

He felt like laughing but held it in, asking, "Ready to go?"

Fu Xiuning, weakly, said, "Let's go."

He gave Lin Kecheng one last glance, then said calmly, "You can tell the police what happened."

Lin Kecheng shook his head vigorously, "No, no, no..."

He watched helplessly as the other left, and again he lunged forward, "Senior, don't go... Senior!"

Xing Shi helped Fu Xiuning out of the rest area and handed him over to the medical staff who had just arrived. He accompanied him into the ambulance.

Since Fu Xiuning couldn't lean back because of his back wound, he leaned sideways against Xing Shi.

Xing Shi could still smell the faint metallic scent of blood in his nose. His breath, rhythmic and warm, sent shivers down Xing Shi's neck, raising goosebumps.

He turned his head to look at the person next to him. Fu Xiuning had regained his composure, his face pale but calm, sitting with an air of quiet serenity. The medical staff couldn't help but regard him with fondness.

Fu Xiuning sensed his gaze and lifted his eyes slightly.

Xing Shi asked, "Does it hurt?"

Fu Xiuning replied, "It's bearable."

Their eyes met, and Xing Shi said, "Don't scare me like that again, think about your older brother."

Fu Xiuning understood that Xing Shi was asking for some information and lightly agreed, adjusting his position to get more comfortable.

The system had just come out of the chat group. There was a special notification sound when a group member left.

Hearing the sound, several systems quickly joined the group.

They saw the ID "Feeding by Heaven" suddenly dim and disappear, and immediately notified their respective hosts.

The hosts' reactions were largely the same; they instructed the systems to find out who it was.

They didn’t know each other's identities, but they could easily gather information once a system went offline.

Thus, the systems easily found the result: Lin Kecheng, a student from Z University and the minister of the Student Union's Arts Department.

The reason for the incident was also quickly discovered: Lin had once plotted against Fu Xiuning. In response, Fu Xiuning set up a charity event to put him to work. When Lin was most enthusiastic, Fu Xiuning arranged a dinner and live-streamed an expose, first giving him hope, then crushing it, ultimately driving him to madness.

They reported back to their hosts, urging them to learn from this experience and avoid similar mistakes.

The hosts listened in silence, thinking that it was indeed typical of Fu Xiuning, his psychopath persona standing strong.

The systems and hosts discussed this matter for a while before entering the group.

The once quiet group was lively again.

Hou Lai Ju Shang: "Hiss, another one's gone. When did the last one disappear again?"

Gong Xi Fa Cai: "Beginning of the year."

Hou Lai Ju Shang: "Have you all finished reading the profile? I'm shocked, redefining 'low maintenance.'"

All Are Concubines: "Tch, so many pretty words, but they all left in the end."

Gong Xi Fa Cai: "Sigh, it was just yesterday that it bragged about having a low-maintenance host."

All Are Concubines: "Just get used to it, anyway, I'll be the one staying till the end."

Hou Lai Ju Shang: "Look at my ID, you might not be the last one."

Gong Xi Fa Cai: "Don't argue, we should at least mourn the loss of a family member."

Shang Shang Qian: "Lighting a candle."

System 99 had been instructed by Xing Shi to rarely speak, but if there were any emojis posted in the group, it could follow with one as well, so it posted a candle.

Several systems shared their thoughts and began discussing the various ways their hosts had exited over the years. Most of them had never met, and they had inferred these events from Fu Xiuning's records.

As a newcomer, System 99 kept quiet. Shang Shang Qian wasn't much of a talker, so it was basically the three most active ones speaking.

After one round of discussion, all the systems fell silent as they looked at this bloody lesson from the past.

A few seconds later, one of them spoke up.

Latecomer: "Do you really think anyone can make it?"

The other systems remained silent, and the group fell dead silent again.

System 99 was also shocked and closed the chat box, only to meet eyes with Fu Xiuning, who was adjusting his posture.

The words Fu Xiuning said during the live stream, like "always knows my location" and "suspects you have an organization," not only scared Lin Kecheng and his system but also nearly caused it to crash. It only stopped being afraid when it got distracted by that energy.

Now, after reading the chat from its colleagues and being near Fu Xiuning, fear surged up quickly.

Recently, it had been having too much fun living with the host and had forgotten that this was a big boss who had not been successfully conquered in five years and had taken out a bunch of systems and hosts.

When he decides to strike, it happens out of nowhere.

Just moments ago, during dinner, it saw Fu Xiuning chatting and laughing with Lin Kecheng, and then he sent him off.

It couldn't help but let out a sob.

Xing Shi and Fu Xiuning heard it clearly and exchanged a glance silently, unsure if it had discovered something.

Xing Shi asked in surprise, "What's wrong with you?"

The system said, "I'm a little scared."

Xing Shi asked, "Scared of what?"

The system cried, "Scared of Fu Xiuning. He's really terrifying. What if he suddenly schemes against us in the future? I know you're smart, but I'm really afraid you can't outsmart him."

Xing Shi felt relieved, "Think again, am I relying on my intelligence to conquer? It's my looks!"

The system's sobbing stopped.

Xing Shi said, "Go check our favorability score."

The system saw the number 12 and felt reassured, but asked one last worried question, "What if he gets tired of your face? What do we do then?"

Xing Shi thought for a moment, "If that happens, I’ll just pretend to be his dad."

The system: "?"

Fu Xiuning: "..."

The system didn't get what he meant, but his calmness made it feel better.

It asked, "Do you want to talk about that energy?"

Xing Shi watched the ambulance pull up and said, "Let’s wait a little longer."

After handling the wounds, being questioned by the police... by the time things were mostly settled, it was almost 10 p.m. when they got home.

Fu Xiuning was covered in blood and lemon water. He was always meticulous about his appearance and couldn't possibly sleep with that on him. Xing Shi was about to offer to help clean him but saw that he had already called a caregiver in advance.

The caregiver was incredibly thorough, not only cleaning him up but even giving him a haircut. The caregiver gave them a warm smile before leaving.

Star Shi watched as Fu Xiuning, dressed neatly and finished with a call to his family, sat on the couch reading a book. He was impressed; it was clear Fu Xiuning was no stranger to tough situations.

He walked over, sat down, and called for the system.

That night, he had engaged in sporadic conversations with it but had deliberately held back on mentioning this matter. Now that he was sure the system hadn’t discovered anything, he began to delve deeper into the topic.

He asked, “What’s the situation with that strange energy?”

The system replied, “I don’t know. It seems to have vanished inside your body. Are you sure you’re not feeling any discomfort?”

Star Shi said, “No.”

The system continued, “I’ve scanned several times but couldn’t find where it went.”

Star Shi speculated that it was because the advanced magic core was an energy entity, and it activated a protection mechanism when it went dormant.

He said, “Maybe you should scan thoroughly again?”

The system agreed, “Okay.”

Fu Xiuning lowered his eyes back to his book, quietly waiting for the result.

He wasn’t fully aware of Star Shi’s specific situation, but he knew this was the last issue they needed to address that night.

Star Shi was also waiting. A few seconds later, he heard the system say, “Still can’t find it.”

He responded with an “Oh,” feeling somewhat regretful.

This showed that his magic core was stronger than these systems. He genuinely hoped the system could detect his magic core. If it came into contact with his magic core, it would be instantly absorbed.

The system suggested, “Should I try reporting to the main system?”

Star Shi said, “I wouldn’t recommend that.”

The system asked, “Why?”

Star Shi explained, “What if the main system suspects something is wrong with me and takes me back for inspection? You’ll lose your reward and have to find a new host.”

The system found this reasoning sound and asked, “But what if this energy turns out to be a problem?”

Star Shi said, “You can report it later when the time comes.”

He reasoned, “Your energy is more than enough. You can help me fend it off while going to report to the main system. We can always recharge using our favorability; what’s there to worry about?”

The system weighed the pros and cons and was convinced, “Okay.”

Star Shi and Fu Xiuning exchanged a subtle glance, knowing they had passed this hurdle. Now they could move on to the next host.

Star Shi felt his luck wasn’t too bad after all. Although he had been transported into the magic world, he had managed to return. Although he was bound to a system, his magic core had come with him, and he had encountered a system that was easy to handle.

He decided to reward its cooperation, “Tonight was too stressful. How about we watch two episodes of ‘Little Bear’ to unwind?”

The system was instantly delighted, “Yes!”

Fu Xiuning sat quietly as Star Shi brought over the snack cart, turned on the TV, and found the playback. Just as he was about to start watching, Fu Xiuning closed his book and said, “I’m going to sleep. Don’t watch too late.”

Considering Fu Xiuning was still recovering, Star Shi didn’t stop him.

But the system knew Fu Xiuning enjoyed watching too and was somewhat afraid of him. Thoughtfully, it suggested, “Maybe we should wait for him so we can watch together. We can do it tomorrow.”

Xing Shi hesitated for a moment.

Fu Xiuning remained silent.

Xing Shi, trying not to laugh out loud, nodded in agreement. “You're right. We can't just leave him behind.”

The system chimed in, “Yes.”

Xing Shi then turned off the TV and went back to his room to sleep.

The next day, as the two of them sat down in the dining room, Xing Shi noticed the finger marks on Fu Xiuning's neck.

Lin Kecheng had clearly lost control and showed no mercy. By the next morning, bruises had started to appear. Though Fu Xiuning had a bandage around his neck, a small part of the bruise still peeked out from the edge.

It’s kind of hard to ignore, Xing Shi thought.

Fu Xiuning ate calmly and glanced up at Xing Shi across the table.

Xing Shi pointed at his neck.

Fu Xiuning said, “It'll go away in a few days.”

Xing Shi asked, “Are you still going to the company today?”

Fu Xiuning responded with a soft “Mhm.”

Though he wasn’t very interested in work, the system’s newbie draw adjusted based on his daily life. To ensure future hosts were mostly artists, he needed to spend enough time at the company.

Xing Shi had a class in the morning and arrived at the company around noon.

Despite his injuries, Fu Xiuning calmly showed up for work. The news started circulating throughout the morning.

The trainees had only vaguely heard about what happened. When Fu Xiuning walked into the dining room at lunchtime, they watched him head into the private room and collectively sucked in their breath.

That was when Xing Shi walked in.

He put his backpack on his seat, glanced around, and raised an eyebrow. “What?”

The trainees were hesitant to speak, worried about saying the wrong thing.

Feng Zifan and Yu Yi had more complex expressions in their eyes. The marks on their boss's neck looked like someone had gotten rough with him. It was no secret that Xing Shi lived with the boss.

Xing Shi looked at them. “What’s going on?”

Then it hit him. “You saw the marks on the boss’s neck, didn’t you?”

They nodded eagerly, and seeing that he wasn’t upset, figured it was okay to ask.

Feng Zifan asked, “How did it happen?”

Xing Shi said, “Let me ask him if he can talk about it, then I’ll tell you.”

Their eyes lit up with uncontainable curiosity. “He’s eating in the private room. Why don’t you go eat with him? The food inside might be better.”

Xing Shi had heard them mention before that there might be special meals inside, but at that time, his relationship with Fu Xiuning was just average. He didn’t want to be too high-profile, and the food outside suited his taste just fine, so he had never gone in to share a meal.

But now… he hesitated for a moment. “Would it look weird for a trainee to join the boss for lunch? People might talk.”

They said in unison, “With how close you two are, no one would dare say anything. If they do, we’ll back you up!”

Unable to refuse their insistence, Xing Shi said goodbye to them and headed to the private room.

The so-called private room was actually a more elegant and quieter dining area, divided into several seating sections that offered excellent privacy.

Fu Xiuning was sitting alone in a booth, with the food just served. He glanced at Xing Shi upon seeing him.

With a concerned look, Xing Shi said, "Bro, I came to keep you company for dinner."

Fu Xiuning saw right through him, knowing that Xing Shi was likely using his injury as an excuse to join him, probably encouraged by others.

He gestured for Xing Shi to help himself to whatever he wanted, and only when Xing Shi returned did he ask, "Couldn't find a seat outside?"

Xing Shi, having tasted the food, found it indeed better than the outside, said, "I was worried about you and couldn't eat."

Fu Xiuning replied with a faint smile, "I must be blind."

Xing Shi swallowed and said earnestly, "It's true. You're already hurt, and now you're eating alone. That’s just too much, bro. I can’t let you go through this!"

Fu Xiuning simply said, "I’m fine."

Xing Shi grinned, "But your little brother thinks you’re not fine."

He picked up a shrimp and dropped it into Fu Xiuning's bowl, flashing a mischievous grin. "How about I stick around and keep you company from now on?"

Fu Xiuning remained unmoved. Just as he was about to respond, a familiar beep interrupted them.

"Beep"

A message flashed on the screen: "Current favorability: 13."

Xing Shi blinked, clearly thrown off guard. "...What?"

The system chimed in with a dramatic exclamation: "!"

Fu Xiuning just stared, unsure of what to say.