Chapter 6: Now I Get It

Chapter 6: Now I Get It

“What, are there words on the stairs you gotta kneel to see?”

Qin Xu snapped impatiently. Song Shimu shifted slightly, and a sharp, bone-deep pain immediately shot through his left leg.

Song Shimu gasped sharply, held out his arm toward Qin Xu, saying, “Give me a hand.”

“I don’t help people who bite the hand that feeds them,” Qin Xu retorted, crossing his arms and coldly observing Song Shimu’s awkward state.

Left with no choice, Song Shimu gritted his teeth, propped himself up with the crutch, and struggled to his feet.

Then he began to hobble slowly upstairs.

Qin Xu watched him until he reached the second floor before returning to the living room. He used his phone and sent Aunt Sun a message to prepare dinner.

“001, what’s the situation now? Can I leave or not?” Song Shimu sat on the bed, waiting for the pain in his leg to subside as he questioned the system.

“You can’t leave for now,” 001 replied.

“Why?”

“Usually, in cases like this, the program might have determined that you’re better suited to complete the task. There’s also another possibility… but the odds of that happening are one in ten million.”

“…” Song Shimu was exasperated. He thought that once the main system arrived, he’d be able to leave, but this was the result? Could it really be a moronic system?

“So now my only option is to complete the task?”

“Yes.”

“I’d rather just wait to die,” Song Shimu refused to accept the protagonist’s 007 work schedule.

“Actually, there is one way to leave early—by dying within the plot. That would allow you to leave directly, but breaking the protagonist's plot armor is generally harder than following the plot.”

“You mean if someone in the plot tries to harm me, I should just go along with it and let them kill me?”

“Yes.”

Song Shimu slowly lay back on the bed, sighed deeply, and said, “Painlessly inheriting a balance of thirty million would actually be pretty great.”

“…” 001 was about to say something else when a sudden knock sounded at the door.

*Knock knock—*

Then came the sound of the door opening. Song Shimu turned his head to look and saw Qin Xu standing there, holding a medical kit.

“This is a medical kit. Use it as you see fit. Come down to eat after you’re done,” Qin Xu said expressionlessly as he entered the room, walked to the desk to place the medical kit, and then headed back out.

He didn’t so much as glance at Song Shimu the entire time. Song Shimu propped himself up on his elbows and called out to stop him, “Wait.”

Qin Xu halted.

“My leg still hurts quite a bit. Could you put the medical kit next to me? Thanks.” Song Shimu smiled ingratiatingly, his eyes narrowing like a cunning fox.

Qin Xu’s gaze dropped downward. On Song Shimu’s knee, there was a noticeable dark red stain on his pants—it looked like he was bleeding.

Deciding to just help a disabled person, Qin Xu turned around, picked up the medical kit, placed it beside Song Shimu, and then left the room without looking back.

Song Shimu thanked his retreating back, opened the medical kit, and found it well-stocked with various household medicines, though it seemed a few items were missing from the disinfection section.

Only a bottle of hydrogen peroxide remained.

Tch.

No wonder he was being so nice.

As Song Shimu slowly rolled up his pant leg, he suddenly remembered the broadcast from when the 073 system first appeared. “073, did you upgrade?”

“…” No system responded.

Song Shimu called out again, “073?”

001 said, “Speak.”

With 001 speaking up, 073 couldn’t play dumb any longer and timidly replied, “Here… The punishment program has been upgraded and reinstalled.”

“In what ways?”

“The accuracy of selecting punishment targets has been improved, and the intensity of the punishment has been increased,” 073 answered truthfully.

Song Shimu nodded, thinking to himself that 001 had come prepared.

But judging from what happened on the stairs earlier, where Qin Xu got electrocuted again, he could guess that the results of this update might still be the same.

“Give me a punishment.”

001 warned, “The punishment intensity is much higher now. At a level humans can endure, you’d be electrocuted unconscious.”

“That’d be just perfect for lying down and sleeping,” Song Shimu said.

“…”

001 commanded, “Electrocute him!”

073 didn’t dare resist and immediately administered the punishment.

At that moment, Song Shimu was holding a cotton swab soaked in hydrogen peroxide, disinfecting his wound.

As the cotton swab touched the wound, Song Shimu’s face contorted in pain. “Sss—!”

001’s voice carried a hint of triumph. “I told you the electric current has been increased. Even if you weren’t the host before and couldn’t be punished, this upgrade has fixed that issue. You’ll definitely feel the pain now.”

“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts—!”

When Song Shimu had fallen, his knee had hit two steps before he stopped. The center of the wound was bloody red, surrounded by a ring of blue and purple. It was already painful, and now, with the added sting of the hydrogen peroxide, he felt like breaking into a breakdance on the spot!

But since his leg was injured, he had no choice but to endure it.

It hurts! It hurts so much!

“…It’s already stopped,” 073 said weakly.

“It hurts, it hurts, it hurts—” Song Shimu continued to cry out in pain while efficiently disinfecting the wound.

001, realizing Song Shimu was only in pain from the wound: “…”

“I remember there’s a pill in the store that can block pain for a short time,” 073 also noticed that his host wasn’t in pain from the electrocution but from applying the hydrogen peroxide.

“Get me some.”

"Okay." 073 went to the store to look for the medicine, and he was shocked by the price. "How is the Pain Blocker Pill 2000 points now?! Wasn't it 20 before???"

001 stayed silent, pretending not to know.

"How many points do I have?"

"100 points. That's the initial amount every host receives, but this Pain Blocker Pill originally only cost 20 points...!"

After saying this, 073 realized the culprit was right beside him!

Song Shimu also guessed it was 001's doing, but it didn't matter—a small wound wasn't enough to take him down.

Though Song Shimu thought this way, 073 felt pity and, gritting his teeth, begged the Main System.

"Main~ Sys~tem~, can you change the price? Pleeease~~~" 073 whined in a pitiful tone.

Song Shimu raised an eyebrow, surprised that 073 would plead for him.

"Simple. Trade it with your salary." 001 got goosebumps from 073's whining tone, also surprised that 073 would plead for its host after only a week together.

"...Can I trade something else~? Main~ Sys~tem~~~" 073 continued its pleading onslaught.

001 was getting annoyed and said impatiently, "Who taught you to beg like this?"

"033. He whines at 024 like this, and 024 agrees to everything."

"...So you learned from their flirting as a couple?"

"…………Main System~~~" 073 didn't care—as long as it worked, it didn't matter if it was a proper or underhanded method.

"What do you want to trade?" 001 said stiffly.

"A day off! Is~ that~ al~right~~~?"

"You want it all without giving anything. You think too highly of yourself."

"Then two days, Main System~~~"

"Heh."

"Five days! Just five days, no more!" 073 bargained.

001, displeased with the tone, said, "Is that how you ask?"

"Five days~~, Main~ Sys~tem~~~"

"Alright," 001 finally agreed to change the price but then heard Song Shimu say, "I’m done. Don’t bother."

001: "………"

073, grossed out by its own whining: "Blergh………"

001: "……………"

After applying the medicine, Song Shimu wrapped his knee and was about to go downstairs to eat when he heard a knock.

This time, the person outside didn’t open the door directly. A woman’s voice came from behind the door, "Young Master, I’ve brought your dinner. May I come in?"

Song Shimu raised an eyebrow and called out, "Please come in."

It was Aunt Sun, the family’s full-time cook, whose cooking was top-notch. During his hospital stay, the meals Tan Manjin and Qin Song brought were all made by Aunt Sun. Song Shimu felt his palate had been spoiled.

"Young Master, I took it upon myself to bring the food up since your leg seems inconvenient. How is your leg now? Does it hurt?" Aunt Sun placed the dishes on the bedside table.

Song Shimu felt flattered and waved his hands repeatedly. "Thank you, Aunt Sun. I’m fine—it’s just a minor injury. Sorry to trouble you with bringing the food."

"It’s no trouble," Aunt Sun dismissed it and continued with concern, "Are you sure you’re okay?"

"Really, I’m fine. With a crutch, I can walk as fast as a race walker," Song Shimu exaggerated.

Aunt Sun laughed at his analogy and said, "Don’t overdo it if something’s wrong. Let us know in time so it doesn’t delay your recovery."

"Okay, thank you, Aunt Sun."

"Mm, if there’s anything you’d like to eat, just tell me. My cooking is really good—I made all the meals during your hospital stay. They were delicious, right?"

"Delicious," Song Shimu nodded. Aunt Sun watched him for a moment before leaving the room.

The door clicked shut. Song Shimu’s gaze fell on the food, steam rising off it, the aroma filling the air.

In high school, he had once envied his younger brother for being doted on by their parents, living a life where everything was handed to him. After all, balancing work and school was exhausting.

Especially during his second year of high school, to save enough for living expenses during his senior year and moving costs after the college exams, he woke up at 5 a.m. and slept at 2 a.m. almost every day.

He persisted for a year, and with his previous savings, finally saved enough for his final year expenses and several months' rent after graduation.

Now, this kind of lifestyle was right in front of him—even better than what his brother had—and he felt almost afraid to accept it.

The next noon, Song Shimu woke up and went downstairs to get food. While descending the stairs, he noticed that non-slip mats had been laid on them and couldn’t help but marvel at the speed of the wealthy household.

Qin Xu was still in the living room reading documents, in the same position as the day before.

Hearing the noise, he turned to look at Song Shimu and suddenly waved him over.

Song Shimu, holding his stomach, asked, "Is there any food left?"

Qin Xu slouched back lazily on the sofa. "The early bird catches the worm."

Song Shimu didn’t believe there was no food and turned toward the kitchen, casually adding, "The second mouse gets the cheese."

Qin Xu chuckled and buried himself back in the documents.

After eating his fill in the kitchen, Song Shimu returned to the living room and asked Qin Xu, "What did you need me for?"

Qin Xu handed him two files. "Take a look and choose one."

"What is this?" Song Shimu looked puzzled.

"Project plans the company is about to launch, related to the internet."

Song Shimu paused. "For me to look at? Are you sure?"

Qin Xu said meaningfully, "After all, you are the rightful young master of the Qin family. You’ll be joining Qinfeng in the future."

Song Shimu eyed him suspiciously. Given the villain’s style, it was unlikely he’d show real project proposals to someone not yet in the company, so these two must be rejected drafts.

Thinking this, Song Shimu opened the project proposals without hesitation.

He was relieved that both he and the original body had studied software engineering in university, the original body’s business venture was internet-related, and he himself had worked in a tech company.

With similar professional capabilities, the risk of suspicion is also reduced.

After reading the proposal carefully, Song Shimu thought to himself that it was indeed a reject.

Neither of the two sets was suitable—both had obvious issues, with unrefined and cautious ideas, yet overly ambitious visions.

However, Song Shimu didn’t outright call them rejects. Instead, he factually noted the problems with both proposals and casually suggested directions for improvement.

Qin Xu let up his critical look, said "Got it," and took the documents back.

Song Shimu stared at him. "Aren’t you going to give any feedback?"

"Not bad. As expected of someone who’s started a business before," Qin Xu said with a slight smile.

Song Shimu narrowed his eyes. "I remember Mom mentioned you have a study in your room?"

"You want one too?" Qin Xu asked.

Song Shimu shook his head, propping his chin on his hand, his fox-like eyes twinkling playfully. "I was originally wondering—wouldn't it make more sense to work in the study? Why camp out in the living room all the time?"

"Now I know."

Qin Xu stared at him with a dark, intense stare, saying nothing.

"You were waiting around for me."

"…………"

Song Shimu grinned at Qin Xu. "You put in the effort, bro."