Chapter 11: An unfortunate accident (1)
While waiting at a red light due to heavy traffic, Zhang Wei grew bored and began humming a tune. Lost in thought about the "golden finger" system in his mind, he was startled when a mechanical female voice suddenly called out to him.
[Yes, host!]
He was taken aback and his eyes widened in shock. However, before he could inquire further, the cars behind him started honking since the signal had turned green.
Quickly, he stepped on the accelerator, and the black BMW took off with blazing speed. Normally, the pedestrians would have started cursing him for blocking the traffic, but since he was in a luxury car, they refrained from doing so. It made him ponder about the hypocritical standards of society, where money can bring fear upon others.
'Hey, wait a minute! Didn't you say I needed to complete the mission before a system was assigned to me?' Zhang Wei asked while driving.
[The host is right, all the system features are still locked, and the system will be fully functional once the host accomplishes the assigned mission.] replied the mechanical voice.
"Okay, got it," Zhang Wei nodded in understanding, "Then show me the progress."
[Sure thing, host.] responded the voice.
After carefully considering the mission, Zhang Wei began to feel doubtful. 'I don't need to kill Hao Yue?' he asked, his surprise evident.
Having misunderstood the mission at first, he was now able to see that nowhere did it say he needed to kill her.
[No, Host! The requirement is simply that you must deal with Hao Yue, and there is no compulsion to kill her. However, there are no restrictions on the methods that the Host can use to deal with her.] the system confirmed.
Zhang Wei grew skeptical upon hearing this. Should he still kill Hao Yue? But then he thought about the unborn child in her womb and realized that it would be best not to kill her. After all, the woman was frantic at the mere mention of abortion, and he wasn't particularly interested in her either.
Thinking about the situation, Zhang Wei couldn't help but laugh. "Here I am, thinking about killing a human being as if slicing vegetables, haha..."
[Is the Host alright?] the system asked, a hint of concern in its voice.
Zhang Wei was surprised by the system's sentient-like behavior, causing his eyebrows to rise in surprise.
"Can you feel?" he asked.
[The system feels emotionally hurt, host... Were you doubting my capabilities?] the system replied, sounding over-emotional, which made Zhang Wei cringe.
However, since the system was intelligent unlike the humans around him, he decided to pass the time by asking it some nonsense.
'Hey, system, what do you think... in this world, is it better to be strong or weak?'
The system took its time to respond like a real human.
[Strong is always better, host! In the face of absolute power, no schemes will work!]
Zhang Wei nodded in agreement, but there was more to it than appeared, as if not conceived by the system's answer, he added, 'I wonder about that...'
[Host, do you not agree?] the system asked.
'No, I completely agree...' Zhang Wei never denied it, but there was still more to it than met the eye.
"But imagine a ten-year-old child working as a laborer on a construction site. Despite the harsh treatment from the supervisor, the boy appears to be resilient and doesn't cry. However, this only encourages the supervisor to continue beating him whenever he makes a mistake."
"Even the other workers, though aware of the boy's mistreatment, turn a blind eye and offer no help."
"But if the boy were weaker and more vulnerable, and cried when beaten, the other workers might intervene and stop the supervisor out of pity."
"This is a common occurrence all over the world, where the weak are protected while the strong are constantly oppressed by society."
"So, what do you think now, System? Is it still better to be strong or remain weak?"
"What's the point of being strong if society only uses its power to oppress us while protecting the weak? It's as if strength is only a curse that makes us a target for the unjust and the powerful."
'Even if a small boy is being raped and he is weak and cries, there is a higher chance that the rapist will pity him, and in the best-case scenario, spare him out of pity. But if he is strong and determined, then the rapist would want to break the determination in his eyes through intense torture.'
' The strong one is always beaten, while the weak ones are cared for...'
[Host, the system has no answer to this. The system can only help the host become the most powerful person in the world. But if the host desires to remain weak, it won't intervene with the host's choices.] the system replied.
Zhang Wei laughed. 'Remain weak? How can I remain weak when I have to crush that lady police officer's ego?'
He was referring to Leng Yan. Zhang Wei had already decided to teach her a lesson the next time they meet.
Leng Yan wasn't an arrogant woman, but her ego was quite big. Zhang Wei, being someone with an even bigger ego, couldn't allow someone to hurt his fragile yet big ego.
[Host, were you the small boy in the story?] the system asked.
Zhang Wei couldn't help but smile at the system's sudden question. 'No,' he replied briefly.
The small, innocent boy was no more.
He was dead...
Now, there was only Zhang Wei...
He was no longer someone who could be stepped on by others.
Zhang Wei didn't care about life and death.
The human inside him had died long ago.
If anyone dared to offend him now, he wouldn't hesitate to take them down with him.
Even before death, he wouldn't forget to drag them off the cliff.
With the addition of the system, the chains binding the demon inside him were beginning to loosen.
Soon, the world would witness the birth of a monster.
A monster they had created...
Blame the society, not the monster.
Monsters are never born, only created...
The hypocritical society we live in is responsible for creating monsters like Zhang Wei.
It's surprising how society makes them like this, and then pastes a label of 'monster' above their heads.
Is 'monster' really a word?
Does good or evil truly exist?
Or are these just words created by a hypocritical society on the false pretext of heaven and hell to hide its shortcomings?
To hide the outcomes of its own failures under labels such as 'murderer' and 'serial killers'?
Society always takes credit for its good products, but what happens when it comes to their bad products?