Chapter 161

Chapter 161

Bai Xingshu ultimately skipped the question and directly asked the system, *[What happens if I don’t complete the mission?]*

Bai Xingshu saw himself as someone who kept his promises. Since he had promised the original owner of this body, he naturally wanted to fulfill the task properly.

However, if forced to choose between two options, as a survivor from the apocalypse with flexible morals, Bai Xingshu was by no means a saint who believed in keeping promises no matter what.

Of course, Bai Xingshu would also consider his own interests.

At this, the system nearly choked up.

But this time, the system surprisingly didn’t scream. Instead, it flatly told Bai Xingshu, *[Then I’ll send you back to your original world and find someone else to complete the mission.]*

Then, the system made sure to stress to Bai Xingshu, *[You'll seriously die.]*

This, of course, didn’t mean the system would eliminate Bai Xingshu.

Rather, when the system brought Bai Xingshu over, his health readings showed that he truly didn’t have much time left.

Alone in the wilderness, severely injured, Bai Xingshu wasn't getting rescued.

At the time, Bai Xingshu had only pretended to be weak to get in one last attack—it wasn’t that his body was actually fine.

After all, the system saw right through any act.

All the data it collected was the real deal.

At this, Bai Xingshu was surprised. *[You can actually do something like that?]*

Given how much he had tormented the system, only to have it just take it with some whining, Bai Xingshu really thought the system had no choice but to accept its fate.

The system sniffled quietly.

With all this back-and-forth, if it had any other option, it certainly wouldn’t do this.

Not because the system was that attached to Bai Xingshu.

But because when it first brought Bai Xingshu over, the sheer weight of his soul—laden with supernatural abilities—had really stuck with it.

As Bai Xingshu kept using and refilling his abilities in this world, his supernatural energy stores had only grown larger.

It was even scarier now than when he first arrived!!

Abandoning Bai Xingshu now would be way worse than just taking a huge loss for the system.

And that wasn’t all.

The system would then have to find another Bai Xingshu to complete the mission.

Would the next one be better than the current one? Absolutely not!

At this point, the system wanted nothing to do with another Bai Xingshu!!

However, the system wasn’t about to say that to Bai Xingshu.

Even the system wasn’t dumb enough to show all its cards to its host.

So it silently pulled out the fine print in its programming and shoved them at Bai Xingshu.

In black and white, all the tasks the system needed to perform were clearly written in its unmodifiable core sector.

Bai Xingshu read it carefully and was surprised to find that it was indeed as the system had said. What shocked him even more was that there were no penalty clauses for the host written in it.

Did that mean the chosen person could simply refuse to do the task?

Bai Xingshu thought so and naturally asked the system the same question.

This wasn’t something the system couldn’t disclose. It answered honestly: [The more powerful the ability, the greater the restrictions must be. Otherwise, all worlds would fall into chaos.]

Though the system seemed to be bullied by Bai Xingshu like a helpless chicken, its ability to travel between worlds and transport souls was actually terrifying.

[And it’s not like there are no restrictions on the host at all.]

[All the hosts we select are on the brink of death. If they fail to complete the task and obtain the reward that can save their lives, returning them would be a death sentence.]

Bai Xingshu pondered all the information the system had revealed and finally fully understood his current situation.

[Will you continue with the task?] The system issued its final confirmation to Bai Xingshu.

[Of course!] Bai Xingshu replied without a hint of hesitation.

This time, he clearly sensed a surge of murderous intent within him when the system mentioned replacing him with another ‘Bai Xingshu’ to complete the task.

The thought of someone else taking his place in this dorm, living alongside Shen Geng day and night, filled him with uncontrollable rage.

Bai Xingshu loved everything about this peaceful world—every day seemed sunny and optimistic. But in the end, he was still a hardened survivor from the apocalypse.

If his limits were pushed, Bai Xingshu had his own brutal side.

It was also at this moment, as he once again felt the darkness within himself, that Bai Xingshu finally confirmed his feelings for Shen Geng.

Ah, so this was what liking someone felt like.

[I don’t think I’ll ever like anyone else.] Bai Xingshu declared flatly.

Hadn’t Cheng Yunxi been good?

Hadn’t Song Xiyan been good?

Hadn’t Luo Yu been good?

Hadn’t all those elite Alphas he had interacted with before been worthy?

No, they were.

They were all likable, but Bai Xingshu had never felt his heart race for any of them.

So many outstanding individuals had failed to move him. If Bai Xingshu had never liked anyone before, he might have continued trying. But now that his heart had found "the one," further attempts were clearly meaningless.

No point wasting more time. All Bai Xingshu wanted now was to finish the task as soon as possible, boot this meddlesome system, and then…

Stand tall before Shen Geng and declare his intentions to court him!

Bai Xingshu was a man of action. He patted the system: [Start gathering information on those possible allies among the elite Alphas in the school.]

[The end of the semester is coming up, and the long vacation is ideal for meeting and negotiating with the most suitable candidates.] Bai Xingshu quickly mapped out his strategy.

Instantly, the typically idle system snapped to attention and responded: [Yes!]

At this moment, it realized that uncovering the truth about Bai Xingshu's feelings for Shen Geng was spot-on!

Without this approach, it would have had to wait at least another half a year!!

After revising his plans, Bai Xingshu felt way more comfortable.

Compared to those airy-fairy emotional stuff, tangible goals achieved through his own efforts were totally his jam!

Bai Xingshu was totally rejuvenated, as if he had come back to life.

And so... when he took on Luo Yu that evening, his movements were even smoother.

With his world now bright and clear, Bai Xingshu took off the headset. Having fully confirmed his feelings, he found Shen Geng easier on the eyes by the minute.

Whether it was the chiseled features of his face, his perfect posture, or even the fingers writing on the tablet—everything made his eyes stick.

Every damn part of him was just so good-looking!

It was impossible for Shen Geng not to notice Bai Xingshu’s state.

From the moment Bai Xingshu returned to the dorm, Shen Geng noticed that he seemed weirdly cheerful today.

But when Shen Geng asked, the only answer he got was, "It's a secret."

Bai Xingshu didn’t want to elaborate, and Shen Geng didn’t push it.

He respected others’ privacy.

Besides, making Bai Xingshu happy was stupid easy.

Director Liu giving him a piece of candy would get Bai Xingshu hyped. Classmates telling him a joke would do the same.

Just a little bit of joy could quickly get Bai Xingshu hyped.

Over the past year and a half, Shen Geng had seen this many times. But being stared at by Bai Xingshu with such a strange gaze was a first.

Shen Geng lasted a hot minute but eventually couldn’t help giving himself the once-over.

Was there something wrong with him?

Finally, baffled and kinda done, Shen Geng looked at Bai Xingshu and asked, "Do I have something on my face?"

Bai Xingshu, seeing Shen Geng’s confused puppy look, got even more amped. "No!" he said.

"It’s just that I suddenly noticed how long your eyelashes are."

"Your fingers seem all elegant like bamboo."

"And your eyes are so beautiful, like amber."

Propping his chin on his hand, Bai Xingshu went off on this tangent gushing about Shen Geng.

And they were very specific compliments.

Covering every visible detail of Shen Geng’s appearance.

One or two remarks would have been fine—after all, Bai Xingshu always threw around compliments like confetti.

But this kind of praise felt entirely different now.

This was way too detailed. Shen Geng felt as if Bai Xingshu had taken in every detail of him with his eyes, from head to toe.

Shen Geng’s ears instantly turned bright red, and he glared at Bai Xingshu—the clueless jerk.

Does this guy even know what he’s doing?!

"Got nothing better to do?" Shen Geng gritted his teeth.

Bai Xingshu immediately put on a meek face and apologized smoothly, "My bad!"

Of course, Bai Xingshu knew exactly what he was doing—he was doing it on purpose.

With past experiences in mind, Bai Xingshu knew all too well how dense he was about feelings.

From Song Xiyan to Luo Yu.

But what if...

What if Shen Geng liked him, and he, just like with those two, completely failed to notice?

Bai Xingshu convinced himself of what he wanted to believe, and as a man of action, he naturally proceeded to feel Shen Geng out.

The result was loud and clear.

Bai Xingshu distinctly heard the annoyance and pushback in Shen Geng’s words.

He sighed inwardly.

Told you. He knew it. The idea that Shen Geng liked him was completely impossible.

Back then, he hadn’t taken matters of the heart seriously and ended up playing the field. Now, it seemed, he was getting what he deserved.

Recalling those cringey past antics—the ones Shen Geng had always disapproved of—Bai Xingshu sighed again in his heart.

Time to wrap this up.

Bai Xingshu opened his tablet and pulled up all the information he had gathered so far.

Soon, he was in the zone, sorting through data on the elite Alphas one by one.

If he wanted to negotiate and collaborate with them to complete the mission, the most crucial thing was understanding what these elite Alphas desired and whether he could offer it—only then could discussions proceed.

This part of the task was a slog that took serious brainpower.

Yet while Bai Xingshu was fully absorbed, Shen Geng remained a freaking mess.

Shen Geng couldn’t calm down at all.

Every part of his body that Bai Xingshu had described now stuck out in his mind—burning, prickling, impossible to ignore.

Damn Bai Xingshu!!

No way he was getting anything done tonight.

After struggling for a while, Shen Geng called it quits.

He'd had enough.

Might as well turn in early tonight.

With that thought, Shen Geng tidied up the things in his hands, and his gaze inevitably drifted to Bai Xingshu—the root cause of all this.

Shen Geng was also quite accustomed to letting his gaze drift to Bai Xingshu when he had nothing else to do.

Just a casual glance was enough to feel that familiar swell of emotion.

However, at the same time, Shen Geng noticed something off about Bai Xingshu tonight.

Bai Xingshu seemed to be jotting something down again.

This wasn’t his usual study posture.

As someone from the Combat Command Department, Shen Geng easily noticed these things, and Bai Xingshu rarely bothered hiding anything around him anyway.

So when Shen Geng’s gaze shifted, he naturally spotted the student information displayed on Bai Xingshu’s tablet.

Shen Geng was stunned. "What are you writing?"

Bai Xingshu didn’t pause his movements, answering frankly, "I’m compiling info on the elite Alphas in our school."

After all, what he was doing was no real secret to Shen Geng.

As roommates, Bai Xingshu didn’t think he could hide much from Shen Geng anyway, so might as well be straight about it.

Of course, Bai Xingshu’s honesty had its limits.

"Finals are coming up again, and there’s too little time left to stay on campus. I have to work quickly." Bai Xingshu smoothly rolled out his prepared excuse. "Once we start our senior-year internships and enter the military, all actions will have to follow orders—it’ll be very inconvenient then."

Hearing Bai Xingshu’s matter-of-fact words, the restless, feverish feeling on Shen Geng’s body vanished instantly, no shower needed.

Shen Geng replied expressionlessly, "I see."