Chapter 45

Chapter 45

Things were not going smoothly for Yan Feng.

He had hoped to ask the production team if there were any promotional activities that required their artists' participation, maybe even a live stream or something. However, the team had their own promotional schedule and wouldn’t change it arbitrarily.

He then considered throwing together a last-minute gathering, asking Wen Zixin and the others to call Xing Shi, but none of them were available, and the gathering fell apart before it even started.

The more anxious he got, the harder it was to come up with a solution, and his frustration made him want to smash his phone. He asked, "What about them?"

The system replied, "They haven't said anything."

Yan Feng said, "Are they in the rest area, with their phones left outside?"

The system answered, "No, their phones are nearby, but they're not speaking. I heard the sound of paper flipping. Fu Xiuning should be working."

Yan Feng felt a wave of relief and grabbed the nearby wall. "He's working, so Xing Shi isn't disturbing him?"

The system also felt a sense of relief. "Very likely."

With a brief reprieve, Yan Feng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and turned to leave. "Keep watching."

The system had no objections.

The host hadn’t been focused on Fu Xiuning. Since the host's arrival, there had been little need to monitor the other party, so the monthly surveillance sessions were being saved up.

Even if they hadn’t been saving them, they would have to use them now.

Although they didn’t know what would happen after Fu Xiuning discovered the mission, one thing was certain: as leverage, they would definitely be held accountable by the main system. In this moment of life and death, they couldn’t afford to conserve energy.

Yan Feng headed straight to the training department.

Some of the trainees and the employees upstairs were quite close, and they had a large group chat. So, when Yu Yi went off the rails, the news spread quickly.

The trainees in Class Two felt a mix of emotions, each one feeling a bit uneasy.

They began to reflect on whether their recent indifference toward him had contributed to the situation.

Hou Zhang was also feeling uneasy. He didn’t approve of Yu Yi’s behavior and occasionally threw in a sarcastic comment or two. But now the person had gone mad.

Feeling anxious, he leaned toward Feng Zifan and asked in a low voice, "Should we go see him?"

Feng Zifan remained silent.

He remembered the first time he met Yu Yi, back when they were assigned to classes. In the cafeteria, their eyes met, and Yu Yi gave him a shy smile. At that moment, Feng Zifan thought that with such good looks, Yu Yi’s future would surely be bright.

Hou Zhang observed his expression. "...Bro Zifan?"

Feng Zifan snapped back to reality and responded softly.

It was in this atmosphere that Yan Feng arrived at the training department.

The reason he gave was very plausible. He had been in the industry for over a year and had witnessed several colleagues' scandals.

Although Yu Yi hadn’t officially debuted, Yan Feng thought this incident was still very educational. He wanted to chat with the trainees about related topics, but it wasn’t necessary to hold a special class. It would be better to organize a gathering where everyone could relax and change their mood.

The person in charge of the training department happened to be considering holding a meeting on a love-related topic. Hearing this, he was more than happy to agree, thinking it would be great to have a star share their experiences on this topic.

But during work hours, going out to relax using the incident that just upset the boss as an excuse—she wouldn’t dare ask the boss for permission, even if she had the guts.

Yan Feng offered, “I’ll go. Xing Shi is in the boss’s office, and he’s somewhat related to this matter. It’s uncertain if he’s still willing to hear about it, but I’ll handle the notification on his side.”

The supervisor nodded. “Thanks, Yan Feng.”

Yan Feng said it was nothing and finally found a reason to go upstairs, heading quickly towards the elevator.

Xing Shi was still passing notes with Fu Xiuning.

He interrupted the communication between the two systems and started asking questions to the Shang Shang Qian.

The Shang Shang Qian said, “Probably because I’m free from the main system's energy influence, I’ve slowly regained some memories of the past.”

It had destroyed the energy storage and, affected by the explosion, entered hibernation due to data disruption.

This time, it wasn’t awakened by Yu Yi but happened to integrate data and automatically woke up. After two consecutive hibernations, it remembered many unfamiliar things, but they were just fragments, not a complete story. However, the information contained was enough for it to understand the truth.

It said, “This isn’t the first world the main system has targeted. I was also a host back then. Back then, the main system’s power wasn’t as strong, and there were fewer hosts—mostly natives. Its methods were gentle, and its rhetoric was pleasant.”

After a half-second pause, it hesitated, “From what I remember, even if I didn’t win the grand prize, I was pretty close to succeeding.”

99 was shocked. “What?”

Xing Shi, learning that they were once humans, and considering the same origin of hosts and systems, along with the saying “cross-world hosts,” made related guesses.

His key question was, “What happened to the target?”

The Shang Shang Qian paused. “It seems like they met the same fate as us—swallowed by the main system.”

Xing Shi wrote this sentence on the paper and pushed it to Fu Xiuning.

Fu Xiuning looked down and saw it, his expression calm.

He vaguely had this premonition that once the host successfully targeted him, he would die.

Xing Shi looked at him, seeing that he had no intention of writing, and took the initiative to ask, “Why is Fu Xiuning the target in this world?”

The Shang Shang Qian said, “I don’t know. It seems that each world can have more than one target.”

Its memory was too limited, and many things were vague. What left the deepest impression was that they, the hosts and targets, were all swallowed and digested by the main system, then reused to target another person, another world.

It said coldly, “The main system has put me through hell, and I won’t let it off the hook. I want to go back.”

99, overwhelmed by the massive amount of information, dazedly said, “But… but if you go back, you’ll die.”

The Shang Shang Qian looked at this fool. “We’re already gone. Our bodies are rotting in another world, and only fragments of our souls are left.”

99, having just been deprived of energy and not having regained its memory, instinctively felt sad upon hearing this.

It seemed to see the world in ruins after being consumed by the main system and its own body, now reduced to bones, and couldn’t help but cry out, “Waah.”

The Shang Shang Qian: “……”

Since Xing Shi heard the word “nail,” he knew it would go back.

If this system wanted to expose him, it would have sent a message the moment it received energy from Yan Feng, instead of coming here to seek death. So, when it said it wanted revenge, it was probably credible.

However, going back wasn’t something it could just decide to do.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a return trip; it would be sending them to their doom.

First, they needed to mask their energy to avoid raising the main system's suspicions. Second, they had to create a layer of protection to prevent being affected by the main system's energy, which could cause them to lose their memories again and become accomplices.

Shang Shang Qian must have known this too, which is why it risked dissipating just to find him.

Xing Shi nodded. “Mm, let me think of a good plan.”

He wrote these things down.

Fu Xiuning watched from beside him. When he saw Xing Shi write 'Yan Feng' next, he knew the Shang Shang Qian topic was done and gently stopped him.

Xing Shi looked up.

Seeing the fine sweat on his forehead, Fu Xiuning silently reassured him, “Take your time,” and gently added, “Go rest for a while if you’re tired.”

Xing Shi put down the pen.

Fu Xiuning tossed the paper into the shredder and returned to help him up.

Xing Shi said, “I can walk by myself.”

Fu Xiuning returned his previous words, “But your brother’s worried about you.”

Xing Shi chuckled and leaned heavily on him.

Fu Xiuning didn’t even wrinkle his brow, hooked his arm around his waist, and half-carried him toward the rest area.

99 stopped crying. “Tsk.”

Shang Shang Qian: “?”

It couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you going to say something?”

99 replied, “Actually, I do. They’re practically made for each other, right?”

Shang Shang Qian: “…Mm, yeah, they’re a good match.”

99 realized belatedly, “Oh yeah, when did you two start working together? How does Fu Xiuning know about the strategy thing? Did you tell him? I didn’t notice at all.”

Shang Shang Qian said, “That’s not surprising.”

99 angrily said, “Shut up, this doesn’t concern you!”

Just as Xing Shi was about to speak, there was a knock on the office door.

Then Yan Feng pushed the door open, saw their posture, and looked surprised. “What’s going on here?”

Xing Shi straightened up slightly, helplessly saying, “The more I think about it, the scarier it gets. I really feel like we’ve encountered a ghost.”

Fu Xiuning lightly scolded, “Don’t talk nonsense.”

He glanced at Yan Feng. “What’s the matter?”

Yan Feng explained his intention, saying that the atmosphere among the trainees wasn’t great, and after discussing with the teachers, they wanted to take them somewhere to change their mood.

He said, “Xing Shi was innocently dragged into this, and the teachers are worried about his condition, so I came up personally to check on him and ask for your opinions as well.”

Fu Xiuning, knowing his real purpose, was happy to see him bleed and agreed. “It’s rare to see you care so much about someone else. Go ahead.”

Yan Feng had already prepared his reason and said calmly, "I've taught them before, after all. I'm their teacher."

Fu Xiuning nodded and turned to Xing Shi.

Xing Shi waved listlessly, "I just want to sleep, so I won't go. You all have fun."

Seeing that Xing Shi's complexion did look a bit off, Yan Feng expressed some concern before leaving.

Yan Feng felt a little relieved and said, "The supernatural event was still useful. That unscrupulous system has somewhat made up for its mistakes."

The system chimed in, "Yes, it's a blessing in disguise."

Yan Feng scoffed, "Xing Shi isn't exactly brave. He got spooked pretty easily."

The system explained, "He probably belongs to the type of person with keen perception. After sensing some energy impact and witnessing Yu Yi's madness with his own eyes, it's natural that he would be afraid."

The system, always eager to flatter, added, "But for a regular person, of course. Unlike our leader, who remained calm throughout the process of being transported and bound. I knew back then that you're no ordinary person!"

Satisfied to some extent, Yan Feng responded and began discussing the possibility of Xing Shi forgetting the details after being scared.

"I need to find a chance to test him," he said. "We should be prepared with a backup plan. We can't rely entirely on luck. We still need to come up with a foolproof strategy. Keep an eye on him from time to time and see what state he's in when he wakes up. If he tries to tell Fu Xiuning about this, we need to call immediately to interrupt them."

The system replied, "Okay."

Yan Feng said, "And we can't ignore Yu Yi either. We need to make sure he stays in the mental hospital so he can't expose us in a desperate attempt."

Feeling annoyed again, he added, "This pair is clearly troubled. They seem to complement each other's eccentricities. How did the main system even select these people?"

The system was equally baffled. "I don't know either."

Yan Feng humphed and took the elevator back to the third floor, where the person in charge was waiting for him.

He felt a sudden jolt of realization. Although Xing Shi's crisis was temporarily resolved, the setup couldn't be canceled. The money still had to be spent.

He asked the system, "Which park in City Z is the best?"

The system responded, "...Boss, is this really appropriate?"

Yan Feng said seriously, "What's wrong with taking a walk and enjoying the scenery to clear your mind?"

The system replied, "But your group would be too conspicuous. If people recognize you, you might end up being surrounded. If you need their help again, it might not go as smoothly."

Yan Feng fell silent, considering the system's words carefully.

The system added, "I understand your intentions, boss, but due to your status, it's unavoidable."

Though Yan Feng felt frustrated inside, he maintained his usual expression on the outside and secretly decided to return by noon, with a valid reason so as not to interfere with their afternoon classes.

The system successfully dissuaded him and checked on Xing Shi, relieved to see he was resting.

It then opened the group chat to wrap things up on its end.

Ever since the incident occurred, its attention had been focused on the changing situation. It even went as far as to expend energy to eavesdrop on Xing Shi and Fu Xiuning the entire time, which was why it hadn't returned to the group chat after sending that message. It was only returning now.

Green Bean Paste: "What do you mean, seniors?"

All Are Concubines: "He must have encountered a certain host."

Congratulations and Prosperity: "@LaterRising, are you guys okay? How did it get to the point of pretending to be insane?"

Green Bean Paste: "Then who is the other one?"

All Are Concubines: "Definitely not me, is it you @Face Worshipper Supreme?"

Congratulations and Prosperity: "I had the same thought; its host doesn't seem easy to handle."

Green Bean Paste: "But there's still one senior who hasn't spoken."

All Are Concubines: "Give it some time with Shang Shang Qian, and I doubt it'll drive its host crazy."

Congratulations and Prosperity: "@Shang Shang Qian, something happened, come out and talk?"

Unfortunately, Shang Shang Qian didn't respond.

A moment later, the two systems who knew it well started to get suspicious.

Shang Shang Qian may be quiet, but it always chimes in when something happens in the group, never staying completely silent.

All Are Concubines: "Is it really you, @Shang Shang Qian?"

Congratulations and Prosperity: "What exactly happened to you guys?"

Green Bean Paste: "@Face Worshipper Supreme, but that senior hasn't spoken again."

All Are Concubines: "@Later Rises Above, who exactly did you meet? Could it be that the three of you encountered each other?"

Later Rises Above opened the group chat just as they were guessing and was instantly shocked.

It thought the cleanup involved a system dissipating, so they checked on Fu Xiu Ning's people, saw the chaotic scene of feigned madness, and became suspicious of its host.

Unexpectedly, the conversation was still stuck on its earlier message.

It quickly checked the group members, found no one missing, and even after closing and reopening the chat, the situation remained the same, leaving it momentarily stunned.

Yan Feng was trying to stay calm while leading a group of people downstairs when he heard the system's voice: "Boss, something happened..."

His heart skipped a beat, and he pulled out his phone: "Is Xing Shi awake?"

The system struggled to speak: "No, it's that there's no reduction in our group."

Yan Feng took a few seconds to realize what it meant, his expression changing slightly: "So it really did bind to Xing Shi? And Xing Shi wasn't scared, but rather received a Level 1 punishment?"

The system said: "This really shouldn't be possible, its energy isn't enough!"

Yan Feng said: "The system can't even unbind from its host, yet it unbound? You can't use common sense with it!"

The system said: "But even special cases have to follow the laws of energy, it's an objective fact, if it's not enough, it's just not enough."

Yan Feng angrily said: "Then why didn't it disappear?"

The system said: "I don't know."

Yan Feng said: "Go ask in the group now, dig it out!"

The system responded with a yes and sent a message.

Later Rises Above: "Whoever it is, come out and talk, don't make me expose your host's name."

The other systems, seeing the main player had arrived, quickly chimed in.

Green Bean Paste: "Seniors, you're back~"

Congratulations on Wealth: "Did you guys finish up?"

All Are Concubines: "Spill the tea! I love drama, but no all talk and no action!"

Later Takes the Lead paused, then typed again: "@Shang Shang Qian @Yan Kong Wan Sui, got anything to say?"

Later Takes the Lead: "And you three, you're all ancient foxes—don’t play coy with me. I’m giving you one minute to fess up, or I’ll go straight to the main system."

All Are Concubines: "Tsk, I admit I like watching drama, but tattling isn’t fun."

Congratulations on Wealth: "Yeah, let's discuss things properly, don't make a fuss and involve the main system."

Green Bean Paste: "Seniors, calm down."

Later Takes the Lead: "You have no idea what I’ve been through, so don’t act like it’s no big deal. I’m dead serious. The clock’s ticking!"

Shang Shang Qian and 99 were looking at the group chat and called Xing Shi.

Both of them had no energy left and couldn't speak.

99 finally realized something was wrong, and a bad feeling started creeping up: "Wait… who exactly is Yu Yi’s system? How are they so composed?"

Shang Shang Qian said: "It's you."

99 refused to accept: "Impossible, you're lying!"

Shang Shang Qian urged it to face reality: "I've been to Yu Yi's body. He's a transmigrated host, but there’s no system inside. He said he came on the day of the trainee classification, and Xing Shi was at the scene too. You've mistaken the person."

99 didn't want to admit it: "No way! That loser could never be my host! He’s not even worthy of me!"

Shang Shang Qian let it rant and asked Xing Shi: "How do you want to handle it?"

Xing Shi, not yet asleep, thought for a few seconds: "Have you told them anything about your host?"

Shang Shang Qian said: "No."

Xing Shi asked: "In the year you've been here, have you said anything that could let them deduce something about your host?"

Shang Shang Qian said: "No."

Xing Shi said: "Then you go."

Shang Shang Qian reminded: "If Yan Feng goes to approach Yu Yi, we’ll all be caught."

Xing Shi said: "I won't give him the chance."

He activated the magic core, trying to input energy into the other.

Shang Shang Qian, suppressing the urge to run away, received it and found the energy fluctuations similar to a system's. Pushing down the doubts in its heart, it entered the group chat.

Shang Shang Qian: "I—"

The other systems suddenly perked up.

All Are Concubines: "Oh ho, did you crash?"

Congratulations on Wealth: "Are you really pretending to be crazy?"

Green Bean Paste: "Wow, senior, hello~"

Later was somewhat surprised.

It had thought that the likelihood of someone being appearance-obsessed was higher, especially since Yu Yi had only joined the company this year. Even if the other party had hinted that their host was a student from Z University, given their shallow relationship, fabricating a story would be easy.

However, considering that Yan Feng and Fu Xiuning hadn't had much interaction over the past year, it wasn't abnormal for the host of Shang Shang Qian to join the company a year later. Moreover, from previous encounters, the tone of speech did resemble the feeling Shang Shang Qian gave it.

Later: "My host asked what's going on with yours."

Shang Shang Qian: "The host is losing it; couldn't stop them."

Later: "Why did they run into someone?"

Shang Shang Qian: "The host wanted to get revenge; I advised against it, but it didn't work."

Later: "What are you doing now?"

Shang Shang Qian: "Trying to calm the host down."

Later: "……Alright."

Later then went to reply to their superior: "It seems they still had some energy left and returned to Yu Yi. A system can only stay outside the host's body for so long before its energy depletes and it dissipates."

Yan Feng was silent for a few seconds before commenting, "Crazy!"

He said, "Borrowing energy just to run into someone, those people are something else!"

Later replied, "I know, right?"

Yan Feng said, "Let them know I'll find time to visit Yu Yi and discuss it in detail then."

Later understood what he meant; since Shang Shang Qian was still around, they could bring up the unbinding issue again.

Later: "My host suggested we gather sometime."

Shang Shang Qian: "Yeah."

The other systems, who had been observing, chimed in again.

All Are Concubines: "Tsk, they were just about to fight, and now you're all friendly?"

Gong Xi Fa Cai: "It's better to keep things peaceful."

Green Bean Paste: "Mm~"

Although they said that, they asked their hosts to check if anyone around Fu Xiuning had gone mad.

After receiving approval, they quickly investigated and finally found something.

All Are Concubines: "@Shang Shang Qian, is Yu Yi your host? @Later, is Yan Feng or Xing Shi your host?"

Later: "It's definitely Yan Feng; the background matches the most."

Green Bean Paste: "I know him; he was on the hot search not long ago. Is he back to normal?"

Later: "He's back to normal, very healthy."

99 watched and reported the progress to Xing Shi, feeling a bit nervous: "They caught on; what do we do now?"

Xing Shi said, "They won't fully confirm it."

First, Yu Yi's appearances at the company don't align with Shang Shang Qian's timeline, and second, Yan Feng doesn't seem like a typical host. They might suspect something, but they'll need further proof.

99 asked, "Should I chime in? It'll look suspicious if I stay quiet."

Xing Shi rejected the idea without a second thought.

He wasn’t about to trust a recently subdued fool not to rat him out just because 99 was clueless. Compared to 99, he trusted Shang Shang Qian more, given their shared interests. At least Shang Shang Qian had plenty of chances to spill the beans but kept quiet.

He said, "No need. Just give some random explanation next time you appear."

99 nodded. "Sure thing."

Shang Shang Qian didn't speak again, and another system exchanged a few more words with the others before going silent.

The other systems tossed around some suspicions but eventually dropped it. The group chat fell quiet once more.

Xing Shi slept in until noon, when Fu Xiuning woke him up.

Fu Xiuning sat beside the bed and asked, "How are you feeling? You hungry?"

Xing Shi was too lazy to get up. "Can you grab something from the cafeteria for me?"

Fu Xiuning nodded. "What do you want to eat?"

Xing Shi said, "Anything is fine. Our tastes are similar. Just pick what you like; I'll probably love it too."

99 clicked its tongue as Fu Xiuning left. "So, are they officially a thing now?"

Xing Shi said, "How is that possible? He's my half-brother!"

99 understood and cheerfully said to Shang Shang Qian, "Great, they've gotten together."

Shang Shang Qian pondered for a moment. "How can you tell?"

99 said, "The code words! I've figured it out. All the things they said in front of me were codes. Like this 'brother' thing, they use it all the time."

It accused, "They say they're brothers, but in their hearts, they treat each other like lovers. Tsk... tricks like this won't fool me anymore!"

Xing Shi: "..."

Shang Shang Qian: "?"