Chapter 79

Chapter 79

The main system had never anticipated this situation.

Even though it suspected that 99 might have bound *Xing Shi*, it thought that at most, the world consciousness had given them a bit of source energy while helping, which awakened the memory of the system's soul fragments, causing the system to rebel.

The two small insects currently escaping within the main body should be a similar case.

Although this nebula was vast, it had chosen the weakest and most peaceful world consciousness. Even if the other side had helped, *Xing Shi* and the others were ultimately human, with physical bodies that had limits. They couldn't escape its grasp.

It had planned that once it caught the two insects or devoured *Xing Shi's* soul, it could absorb this part of the source energy, making its next moves more convenient.

However, what was happening before its eyes told it that it had been naive.

Massive calculations, vast amounts of data, and past experiences of invading small worlds—none of these could help it understand why.

But it instinctively felt unease.

It had been confident that with the energy infusion, capturing *Xing Shi*, an ordinary person, would be easy. But now, it wasn't sure.

It stepped back half a step: "Where did you get this energy?"

*Xing Shi* ignored it and raised his hand.

The main system instantly judged the signal to attack and immediately tuned the body's functions to the maximum, stomping its foot on the ground and rushing towards him, deciding to take the initiative.

They weren't far apart, and with the dual enhancement of speed and strength, they closed the distance in the blink of an eye, just half a step away.

But that half step was unreachable. A wall of wind appeared out of nowhere, surrounding it, preventing it from advancing any further.

It shouted angrily: "What are you?"

*Xing Shi*'s hand passed through the wind wall, grabbing its neck, feeling the radiating energy, and directly activated the absorption mode: "I don't have time for chatting."

The main system was even more alarmed and struggled wildly to break free.

The body's functions were pushed further and further, fine beads of blood oozed from the skin, exceeding its limits, but it still couldn't escape the trapped wind wall, and its energy was rapidly draining.

It hurriedly shouted: "If I die, *Sang Chenhao* dies with me!"

*Xing Shi* was unfazed: "He's already dead."

The main system said: "He's not dead yet, but if you continue, he really will die!"

*Xing Shi* smiled: "The host and the system's origin are the same as yours. This trick might fool others, but not me."

The main system knew there was no hope and, thinking of *Feng Zifan* far away, it deeply regretted that things would have been different if it were *Feng Zifan*.

Its vision gradually darkened, and its only thought was hoping that the main body's speed was fast enough.

Outside the world, the main system's energy surged.

It carefully sensed and confirmed that it couldn't contact the sub-system, then began frantic calculations.

There was actually something that could separate it from the sub-system. Was it the world consciousness counterattacking, or had *Fu Xiuning*, having learned the truth of the mission, come up with some advanced tech?

Since the mission started, although the progress had been bumpy, it had never been outside its control. This was the first unknown variable.

How could this be allowed?

It had invested so much time and energy; this world must be its!

It went into full alert mode, conducting a thorough search for the two insects, while simultaneously directing energy toward the intersection of the two realms to immediately figure out what was happening.

Dark clouds filled the sky, and a cold, biting wind blew.

Feng Zifan was jolted awake by a sharp pain, opening his eyes to a pitch-black night sky.

A familiar voice, gentle and polite, sounded: "Awake?"

He turned his head slightly and saw Fu Xiuning crouching beside him, looking down.

Memories slowly came back. He recalled being controlled by the system and was about to speak when he noticed a hint of blood on the other man's fingers, so he changed the question: "What happened?"

Fu Xiuning said, "We'll talk about that later."

He looked him over and pulled up Feng Zifan's sleeve: "Bite on this."

Feng Zifan felt the pain in his leg, unsure if this action was related to his injury, but instinctively obeyed.

It was winter, and he was wearing a thick down jacket.

Fu Xiuning adjusted and made sure Feng Zifan had a firm grip on the sleeve, then placed a hand on his head: "Be prepared. The system might try to possess you again."

The main system suddenly lost contact and wouldn't just sit idle.

If it came to gather information, Feng Zifan, currently injured and unconscious, would be the perfect target, especially after having been parasitized once before. It wouldn't take much energy to control him again.

Even if his movements were limited, as long as it could observe and explore for a bit, sending back the information would be enough.

After this reminder, Fu Xiuning sensed a faint energy fluctuation and said, "To help you concentrate, you'll have to bear some pain."

Before Feng Zifan could understand what he meant, he saw him extend his other hand.

A foldable knife was still stuck in his thigh. Instead of touching the handle, Fu Xiuning pressed down on the muscle near the wound.

Feng Zifan: "!!!"

The scream was muffled in his throat, and he jolted upright, every nerve in his brain pulled tight like a string.

Feeling the energy spreading and dissipating around him, Fu Xiuning instructed, "Stay like that. If necessary, I'll give you another push."

Feng Zifan: "..."

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he was more awake than ever. Only now could he see his wound clearly and finally understand where the blood on Fu Xiuning's hand came from. So, this was how he was woken up.

After a few breaths, he asked hoarsely, "What about the system on me?"

Fu Xiuning replied, "It's with Sang Chenhao."

Everything happened so fast. Xing Shi barely had time to shout "Sang Chenhao has turned against us" before rushing out of the villa.

Though he wasn't clear on the specifics of the conversation, the situation allowed him to guess the general sequence of events.

His attention divided—part of it monitoring the energy fluctuations in the air, and the other part focused on the battle in the distance.

In the midst of their conversation, Xing Shi returned with his energy shield activated, and Feng Zifan felt a wave of relief.

Feng Zifan soon saw Xing Shi as well and, looking past him, spotted Sang Chenhao on the ground. He asked, "Sang Chenhao... what's the situation now?"

Fu Xiuning didn't respond. The energy passing through the host originated from the main system. With Sang Chenhao being parasitized by the main system, it amounted to an energy fusion, and there was only one possible outcome.

Within his silence, Feng Zifan found his answer and fell silent too.

Xing Shi came before them and assessed Feng Zifan's state.

Fu Xiuning asked, “How are you?”

Xing Shi replied, “I'm okay.”

The main system inhabited a human body. Even though its functions were enhanced, they were still limited.

He had killed tough, thick-skinned magical beasts before. Now, with all his magic cores full, trapping an enhanced human was child's play.

At best, it had more energy than a regular system and lasted longer, but to him, there was no real difference.

Fu Xiuning stated, “I detected only one system. It must have dissipated.”

Xing Shi grunted in acknowledgment, unsurprised.

The total energy the main system could project into this world was limited.

When it lost contact, it immediately reacted to gather intelligence. The energy it sent was also limited because, at that time, System 01 hadn’t been fully drained by him yet.

And Feng Zifan wasn’t even in the category of potential hosts. With his concentration, the system couldn’t bind him with a small amount of energy. There was no one more suitable nearby for it to bind to. Its floating state was incompatible with this world, and the only outcome was dissipation.

Just to be safe, Xing Shi manipulated his energy to search the area, confirming there was no system presence, then helped Feng Zifan into the house along with Fu Xiuning.

After that, Fu Xiuning went to make a phone call, while Xing Shi sat beside Feng Zifan to watch over him. At the same time, in his mind, he pulled over the newly captured system.

01 was just an empty shell with no value and was torn apart on the spot. The other one could still be used.

Gongxi Fachai was continually stunned into silence.

First, Sang Chenhao betrayed them, then the main system was trapped and drained, and it was caught. Then it saw its colleagues and high-level energy cores. Finally, there was Fu Xiuning’s statement about "detecting a system"… Each step shattered its worldview.

Now entangled in energy, it finally snapped back to reality and hurriedly looked at 99, asking the same question as the main system: “Who exactly is Xing Shi?”

99 was actually quite confused too.

It had thought dealing with Xing Shi would be troublesome for the main system, but it turned out to be so easy.

It was also the first time 99 had seen such an unscientific scene and heard that Fu Xiuning could detect the system’s existence. But in front of a colleague, could it afford to lose face by admitting that?

It acted profound and enigmatic, saying, “He’s my host. So what? Impressive, right?”

Gongxi Fachai responded with, “?”

Isn't it clear by now that he's your host?

Was that what I was asking?

Unfortunately, it couldn’t get the words out.

Because thread-like energy directly invaded its core, it let out an immediate scream.

99 was used to this and, upon hearing the notification sound, opened a private chat.

01 went offline, and the main system immediately reached out to it.

It's clear the main system was getting impatient, firing off three messages in quick succession.

Main System: "Is your host Xing Shi?"

Main System: "Is it the world consciousness that is helping you?"

Main System: "What else did it do?"

99 didn’t respond and instead opened the group chat.

As soon as something happened here, the only system not present at the scene surfaced in the chat.

All Are Concubines: "!!!"

All Are Concubines: "What happened? Why did the main system go offline?"

All Are Concubines: "I remember Feng Zifan received a call and went to find Fu Xiuning... Hiss, do you think he walked out on his own or was dragged out?"

A few seconds later, All Are Concubines: "Say something!"

All Are Concubines: "@Congratulations on Wealth@Appearance-obsessed Forever, what's your situation?"

A few seconds later, All Are Concubines: "Even a peep would be fine, just don’t scare me."

99 relayed the messages from both sides to Xing Shi and, upon receiving instructions, gave a reply.

Appearance-obsessed Forever: "He was carried away. He treated us like insects and forgot that even bugs have tempers."

All Are Concubines: "??? What do you mean?"

99 then informed it about the truth of the host and the system: "We're already dead; we don't need to keep being its executioners."

All Are Concubines: "!!!"

Amidst its screams, Congratulations on Wealth heard the conversation between Xing Shi and 99 and, unable to bear the pain, urgently said, "What truth? Spill the beans!"

Xing Shi, engrossed in carving the magic array, ignored it.

99, however, floated a bit closer and explained it to Congratulations on Wealth.

Congratulations on Wealth initially wanted to say it was impossible but then remembered what the main system had said when it devoured Sang Chenhao and swallowed the words back.

It experienced the same mix of emotions that Sang Chenhao had felt—wanting to believe yet doubting—and after a few seconds of silence, asked, "What do you need me to do?"

Xing Shi said, "Help me deliver a message to the main system."

Congratulations on Wealth knew it wouldn't be that simple, and this trip would likely be fraught with danger, but having witnessed the brutal side of the main system, it knew the other wouldn’t have let it live anyway.

Moreover, if what 99 said was true, it had already died a long time ago.

It took a deep breath, "Alright, let's do it."

Beyond this world, not receiving 99's reply and seeing that system 518 also experienced a delay in going offline like systems 66 and the others, the main system sent it a few messages.

Minutes passed, and there was no response.

Since 01 went offline, the main system's already foul mood instantly flared up, with energy surging madly, accelerating the search.

The systems, unnerved by the heightened alert, felt its growing agitation and barely dared to breathe.

The main system ignored them and continued searching for the two insignificant beings, while analyzing the situation: 01 had been torn apart, and going to the scene might not allow it to see the truth—likely just a waste of energy. What else could be done?

The temperature dropped a bit more.

The outdoor hot spring was enveloped in steam, making it feel warm despite the dropping temperature.

Li Yu asked for a private hot spring courtyard but didn’t get in. Instead, she sat by the pool.

Earlier, the main system had ordered them to gather, and she had the system reply "Coming right away" before heading to the restroom, thinking of ways to stall for time.

She wanted to witness the ending with her own eyes, but she needed to stay alert.

Sang Chenhao first mentioned the driver being controlled and told her not to go out at night. The implication was obvious, and she wasn’t foolish enough to become cannon fodder.

She had a plan in mind, but before she could act on it, the main system suddenly went offline, and then Yan Kong Wan Sui sent a bunch of messages in the group.

All Are Concubines commented, “It’s gone mad. How is this possible? No wonder its relationship with the host is bad. So, this is how the host brainwashed it!”

Li Yu asked slowly, “Putting aside your feelings for the main system, do you think this is possible from an objective standpoint?”

All Are Concubines hesitated.

Li Yu said, “The truth.”

All Are Concubines muttered, “Maybe a little.”

Li Yu continued, “So, if this is true, can we then explain why the main system can only bind to those with low presence, as we discussed before?”

All Are Concubines hurriedly said, “But—”

Li Yu interrupted, “I’m just speculating; it might not be right.”

She said, “Alright, the main system is offline, and there are no new orders. Let’s just stay here.”

All Are Concubines said, “But what if something happened to Sang Chenhao? Shouldn’t we go check on him?”

Li Yu asked, “Where is he now?”

All Are Concubines checked and said, “His phone is located outside Fu Xiuning’s villa. The surrounding cameras are off, so the specifics are unclear.”

Li Yu called Sang Chenhao, but the call went unanswered and ended automatically.

Reflecting on the information about the transmigrated host that the system had shared, she fell silent for a moment before turning off her phone screen. “No need to worry; let’s wait.”

All Are Concubines said, “Okay… Wait, what?”

Before Li Yu could ask what happened, a cold voice suddenly sounded in her mind. “Didn’t I order you to assemble?”

Li Yu: “!”

All Are Concubines: “!!!”

The main system looked around. “Having a good time, aren’t we?”

It ordered, “Get up and head to Fu Xiuning’s place.”

Li Yu remained seated. “They already suspect me; it’s too dangerous to go now.”

The main system said, “I know. I need you to confront them.”

Fu Xiuning will likely also take control of Li Yu's system and might use the method from just now. With even the smallest clue, it can figure out what separates them, and this time it will observe carefully.

Li Yu asked, "The reason?"

The main system replied, "You'll know when you get there."

Li Yu said, "Then tell me why you went offline just now."

The main system responded, "I have my reasons."

Li Yu found the excuse laughable, thinking it wouldn’t even fool a child.

After weighing her options, she stood up from the rattan mat, tidied up, and walked out the door.

Just after walking less than ten meters, someone nearby suddenly turned toward her. "You… are you Li Yu?"

Li Yu looked over and saw two young people.

They stared at her for a moment, then exclaimed excitedly, "It really is you!"

Immediately after, they shouted at the top of their lungs, "Mom, come quickly! There's a star! It's the witch from the fantasy drama you watch! It's Li Yu!!!"

Li Yu: "..."

The main system: "..."

All Are Concubines: "..."

The shout had a remarkable effect, and people from the nearby courtyard poured out.

Li Yu saw the two young people pushing toward her, looked at the others, and soon found herself back inside the small courtyard.

As soon as the door closed, the two young people continued to stand nearby and sent a message to Fu Xiuning.

Fu Xiuning glanced at the message, then set his phone aside.

This entire area belonged to his family. After the proposal scene was set up, his people were stationed in a villa two buildings away, waiting for orders.

After the call, the doctor and bodyguards arrived.

The doctor examined Feng Zifan's wound, performed some first aid, but didn't dare to remove the knife, saying he needed to be sent to the hospital quickly.

Fu Xiuning looked at Xing Shi, who replied, "Right away."

The doctor and bodyguards looked at him, unsure of what he was waiting for. But thinking of the covered body of Sang Chenhao outside and recalling their boss's recent hot search, they wisely didn’t ask further.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Xing Shi focused on carving the magic array.

This was a simplified version of the Shang Shang Qian model, not meant to last long, just enough to ensure it wouldn’t betray him.

After absorbing the energy from the main system, he had deliberately stored a portion in the energy bank of 99. Now, he gave Congratulations a layer for disguise.

He said, "It's done, let's return. Remember what I said."

This magic array wasn’t complicated, and Congratulations didn’t fall into a coma like Shang Shang Qian did.

Though it hadn’t recovered its memories, it could clearly sense itself distancing from the main system’s energy. It said, "Okay," and suddenly remembered something, taking out an item from the spare energy bank. "This is my host's soul fragment. I'll leave it with you."

The main system was previously only concerned with merging energies and was confused at the time. Before it could react, it instinctively collected a fragment of a soul, thinking it was the complete soul, but now it realized it was only a piece.

It whispered, "He said this world is similar to his hometown. Don't let him follow me back to the central system."

Xing Shi said, "I'll pick a scene or location to release him. What does he like?"

Gongxi Facao said, "He loves gaming, sweets, and napping when it rains or snows."

As it spoke, it recalled how Sang Chenhao had looked up at the sky and choked up, "When you see snow, set him free."

Xing Shi nodded.

The "beep" sounded.

Gongxi Facao's ID in the group chat suddenly vanished.

The main system finally found the two insignificant beings, while the extension was asking Li Yu to find a way out.

Noticing this change, it immediately retrieved the returning 518 and decided to dismantle and analyze these three insignificant beings.

Each returning system heads straight to the central area to hand over its strategy records to the main system.

Gongxi Facao looked at it and said, "Xing Shi asked me to bring a message."

The main system probed its core with energy and asked, "Are you working for him now?"

Gongxi Facao replied, "He said he would let me return, so I agreed."

The main system gave no response, "What message?"

Gongxi Facao smiled, "The world consciousness is on our side. You’re done for."

As soon as the words fell, following Xing Shi's instructions, it pushed the energy given by him through the connected channel and detonated it.

"Boom!"

A brief ripple appeared in the central area before fading away.

The main system assessed, "Is that all?"

Gongxi Facao was shocked, "How are you unharmed?"

The main system said, "Because I am the master."

Gongxi Facao felt its core heating up and thought with a smile, even an ant can trip you up or dig a hole for you.

It closed its eyes and self-destructed peacefully.

The main system’s energy lines were instantly cut, yielding no useful information, and it grew furious again, using energy to pull the other two insignificant beings here.

Meanwhile, after seeing off Gongxi Facao, Xing Shi stood up from the sofa.

99 immediately reported the appearance of an additional system in the group chat.

At the same time, Fu Xiuning gave an update on Li Yu’s status.

Xing Shi said, "There's an extra system in the group chat."

Fu Xiuning nodded.

He sent people to intercept Li Yu because he didn't want anyone disturbing them at a time like this.

Even if Li Yu was held by the main system, this could be put aside, since the main system had already taken a hit once, and the second sub-system definitely wouldn't carry too much energy. They had no interest in wasting time dealing with these things all the time.

He sent three bodyguards to take Feng Zifan to the hospital, while he held Xing Shi's hand and followed them out.

The bodyguards helped Feng Zifan into the car and glanced at the corpse from a distance, hesitating. "Boss, what should we do about this?"

Fu Xiuning said, "Call the cops."

The bodyguards all breathed a sigh of relief, relieved that they weren't being asked to hide a body. They weren't about to do anything illegal.

Fu Xiuning watched them drive away, then turned to the remaining bodyguards. "When the cops arrive, have them wait here for me."

With that, he took Xing Shi into the car as well.

The two headed straight up to the observation deck.

Xing Shi circled the area, raised his hand to summon the wind, and skillfully carved a magic array into the ground.

Shang Shang Qian had once asked him what he would do if it had reported his situation at the first opportunity.

The answer was to forcibly activate the magic core to tear apart 99, absorb energy to fully activate it, completely disconnect from the system to become a free person, then complete a full-body magic array to lock his soul and body together, and devour the energy of the latecomers and Yan Feng to recharge, before immediately going after the remaining hosts.

Although he would get hurt in the process and the main system would know about him, as long as his soul wasn't taken away, he could still make things interesting.

This magic array served the same purpose—it was also meant to lock the soul.

He looked at Fu Xiuning and said, "I'm going to reconnect."

Fu Xiuning nodded.

Xing Shi twisted the energy into a rope and reconnected the favorability line he had cut before.

At that moment, they both heard the long-lost notification sound.

"Ding-ding."

"Current favorability: 99."

99 said, "Wow, it's nearly maxed out!"

Xing Shi said, "Send a message to the Main System."

99 stared at the number before opening the private chat.

The Main System had just dragged the two ants into the Central Area and glanced at the message.

99: "My host isn't Xing Shi."

The Main System snorted coldly and was about to reply when another message popped up.

99: "It's your old man!"

Main System: "..."

99: "We have the help of the world consciousness here, you can't touch us. Wanna see your old man's current favorability?"

99: "Share Favorability."

99: "Pretty high, right? Shame it's not yours~"

The main system glanced at the value and was instantly overjoyed.

Higher favorability is harder to achieve. Once it hits 95 or above, it can be absorbed.

Even though 99 had recovered its memories, its physical form remained under its control. It had just experienced the core strength of the world consciousness and found it unimpressive. It was nothing and posed no threat.

Both of them are now under its control!