【I am System 12345.】
【I’m not the same System as I was before. I am taking my first step to becoming a great System.】
System 12345 checked the details as System 1915 had taught it to.
【Language—checked! Mandarin is the common language.】
【World view—checked! It’s a world of Sword and Magic; there’s no place for a Roman fanatic to pull their stunts.】
【Communications—checked! I’ll be able to communicate with my host.】
System 1915 had suggested putting the host in another world if it was going to do transmigration, so System 12345 decided to make its host reincarnate into another world and start growing from an infant.
With at least ten years of otherworld experience under its belt, surely its host wouldn’t mess around like an unleashed dog anymore?
On top of that, it decided to develop the cheat based on the authority it had in its hand and the background setting.
【Let me revise the background setting one last time...】
【The host left his parents’ side from a young age and was brought up by a mysterious individual. One day, he received a mysterious letter from his mother and went on a journey as an adventurer.】
【The city lord’s proud daughter, the venom-tongued shaman, the black-bellied witch, the foul-mouthed but righteous beastwoman... Ohoho! So many classical Japanese isekai tropes!】
It was practically dumping its host into a pile of beauties. Surely its host would be moved! System 12345 was confident about pulling it off this time.
If System 12345 hadn’t performed so disastrously in its previous internship, kicking up a big fuss in the process, the school would have just turned a blind eye and let it graduate. However, since it was taking on its internship again, that was not an option anymore.
But it doesn’t matter. I have remembered everything Senior Legend taught me. I can handle it!
【Transmigration, activate!】
【Uh?】
System 12345 was stunned. It suddenly thought of a problem.
【Eh? Did I... not choose a host?】
...
“Run Beacons of the Otherworld! Let’s see if that developer has uploaded a new map to play. Oh! There is one... and it looks to be Western fantasy-themed? Enter!
“Argh. What’s with this huge chunk of background setting? And I have to start from infancy? Who’s interested in that crap?
“Skip!
“Skip!
“Skip everything!”
...
Fresh blood slowly seeped out. It was greedily devoured by the yellow sand of the Gobi Desert, leaving behind a patch of dried crimson.
A couple of people were lying prone on the ground, their steeds fleeing in a fluster.
“Free equipment right from the start?” Shu Yichao picked up a sword and a spear from the ground before leading a horse away with him. “Is this a beginner's benefit? But this armor is horrendous. It’s even worse than the starter armor.”
Shu Yichao had bumped into a few guard mobs with life bars above them shortly after entering the game, so he went ahead to clear them. It didn’t take him long to notice one thing—the mobs were surprisingly strong.
“I traded blows with one of them earlier. Their melee damage is at least 70.”
The more he spoke, the more agitated the old man became. He raised his cane to teach the boy a lesson.
“Old man, don’t!” An old woman, or rather, someone who was half-human and half-eagle, rushed out to stop the old man. She turned to the boy and exclaimed, “Shix, hurry up and apologize to your father!”
Shix was stunned. He quickly clarified, “It’s not the goats who are dead!”
“Then who died?” a young man with dark skin, who was busy working in the courtyard, asked out of curiosity.
“The soldiers died!” Shix replied. “The guards whom we have been hiding from have been killed! All five of them!”
“Hmph!” The old man suddenly laughed gloatingly. “The Tibetans are dead?”
“They deserve it!” The dark-skinned man laughed as well.
Those bunch of people only knew how to plunder. They deserve to die! Thanks to whoever’s behind this for ridding this world of evil.
“This is not bad news.” The old man knocked his cane on the ground. “This is good news!”
Shix got impatient when he saw everyone misunderstanding his words. He anxiously gestured as he spoke, “The bad news is not the soldiers dying. It’s the person who killed them! He killed them with a single slash each. He was very fierce!”
“Oh?” The old man fell into deep thought. “Could it be a bandit?”
This complicated things. Refugees like them who resided on the mountains weren’t afraid of soldiers, for they were more familiar with the terrain than them. They just had to find a more discreet place to hide, and hundreds of soldiers could spend months combing the mountain but they still wouldn’t find them.
They were more afraid of powerful bandits who lived alone, or adventurers. They might not look like much, but they could easily take down their family.
“What does he look like?” the old man asked.
“...” Shix spent a moment in thought. “He was very white, very good-looking. He wore armor. Ah... he also looks like father!”
“What nonsense are you spouting?” The old man was amused by Shix’s remarks.
“He really looks like father!” Shix insisted. “The eyes, the nose, and the ears. He looks more like father than me and big brother!”
“...” The old man was rendered speechless.
Seconds later, his expression stiffened.
Young? Has armor? Looks like me?
With a trembling finger, he pointed to his hair, which was put up into a bun unlike the others, and asked with a quivering voice, “W-what about his hair? D-does it look like that?”
The old man felt as if something was squeezing his heart. He felt fearful, worried, and nervous.
Shix was so scared by his father’s abnormal reaction that he dared not speak.
“Old man!” The old woman grabbed the old man’s hand. “Don’t be like that. You’re scaring Shix.”
“A-ah...” The old man belatedly realized that his cheeks were twitching. His facial features must have looked distorted. He took a deep breath to relax his twisted face before replying, “Shix, you should be able to see far. You said that person looks like me. Is his hair like mine?”
“I didn’t see it,” Shix honestly replied. “He was wearing a helmet.”
He has a helmet too?!
“...” The old man trembled. He shouted, “Horse! Bring my horse here! Hurry!”
It was hard to believe that his ailing body was capable of producing such a clear sound.
The old woman rushed forward to stop him, “Old man, you aren’t young anymore, yet you want to ride a horse?”
“That won’t do!” The old man breathed heavily as he smacked his cane on the ground. “I need to get to the bottom of this, or else I won’t be able to rest in peace even after I’m dead!”