CH 39

Chapter 39: It’s a Bug

“95!” Even though the system’s voice was mechanical, you could still hear its good mood.

In these three days, this new host’s affection level for the simple strategy had already reached 95. Even though Jian Yi had a high opinion of Jiang Shi from the beginning, it was not easy to reach such a high level in such a short period of time.

In its program, an affection value of 80 or less was relatively easy to achieve, meaning that the host’s target had the desire to fall in love or even have sexual desire. However, going beyond 80 meant that the host was being courted, and reaching over 95 meant that the host had a special position in the target’s heart. Even if there were any dangers, the target would be willing to die for the host.

Although it may be hard to believe, it has happened before. Humans are creatures easily driven by emotions, and the system’s previous host was experienced and had methods to achieve this. For example, they directly broke the target’s hands and feet, gouged out their eyes, and then disguised themselves as their benefactor, never leaving their side. Within a week, the target’s affection had reached 99, and when there was only one point left, the host decisively left, leaving the target in darkness for several days before returning to them in their final moments. The system had witnessed how the target’s affection level went from the bottom to the top in just one second.

Later on, the host had been discovered by the system’s superior due to their outstanding performance, and became its colleague. Now they had even been promoted and left the system far behind.

Therefore, the system decided that once this world’s mission was completed, it would immediately erase the current host’s consciousness. Who would like someone who used to be beneath them to climb up and even step on their head? Jiang Shi’s methods were different from the system’s previous host, but their achievements were equally impressive. The system wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

Jiang Shi, of course, had no idea what the system was thinking. When he heard Jian Yi’s affection for him had reached 95, his heart couldn’t help but tremble. Then he heard the system’s mocking laughter: “What? Feeling guilty now?”

Jiang Shi pursed his lips and replied, “I’m still not used to using others.”

The system sneered again, “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

At the next moment, Jiang Shi’s phone rang.

Jiang Jie, who was beside Jiang Shi, caught a glimpse of the note on his phone, and the three words “Dr. Jian” stood out.

Meanwhile, Bian Yi was at home looking at a maze on his tablet. The maze was located on one of Kou Li’s laboratory floors, which was currently empty and reserved as a space for future large instruments or a collective laboratory. Now, Kou Li had arranged for people to set up a paper maze in the reserved space.

This was where Bian Yi was going to take Jiang Shi this afternoon.

During these three days, Kou Li had already sewn up a large hole in the “net,” and there was only a very small one left that could trap the system for more than 48 hours.

Bian Yi was not sure how Kou Li calculated the time, but he believed in his ability.

So, the two of them had discussed with Dr. Jian and decided to take Jiang Shi to the laboratory today to catch the system.

Time was running out, and it was all because Dr. Jian was too crazy. Bian Yi only just found out that Dr. Jian’s favorability towards Jiang Shi had already exceeded 90.

A value of 90 was very dangerous. As long as Dr. Jian had physical contact with Jiang Shi, the system could steal energy from him. This was the conclusion that Bian Yi had repeatedly recalled and analyzed based on the situation of the strategists during the previous lifetime.

Although Bian Yi did not understand how Dr. Jian controlled his favorability towards Jiang Shi, judging from the malice of the system, it would not only make the target lose their talent like it did in the past.

It would definitely seek revenge on the host who resisted it and the target who humiliated it.

Soon, Hua Shu informed Bian Yi that the guests had arrived.

Bian Yi put away his tablet and went to greet Dr. Jian and Jiang Shi.

Jiang Shi’s manager followed closely behind him, seeming very uneasy about Dr. Jian, and came along to make sure her artist was not being kidnapped.

After seeing Bian Yi, she breathed a sigh of relief and came over to greet him.

Since it wasn’t a business meeting, Jiang Jie didn’t stay with Bian Yi for long and left. Before leaving, she asked Bian Yi to give her a message when Jiang Shi left.

Bian Yi agreed.

However, Jiang Jie did not know that shortly after she left, Bian Yi and his group left as well.

Bian Yi said to Jiang Shi, “My kid’s birthday is coming up, you’ve met him before on E Island. We’ve prepared a surprise for him. Since you’re here today, can you help me see if there’s anything else that needs to be done?”

Jiang Shi did not refuse and went with Bian Yi to the surprise location mentioned by him.

On the way there, the system was somewhat uneasy.

However, Bian Yi’s invitation and approach were not sudden, as Jiang Shi had already “sought his help”.

The system remained vigilant throughout the journey.

Eventually, the car stopped in front of a building with a strong artistic sense. Led by Bian Yi, Jiang Shi entered the building with Jian Yi.

Bian Yi said, “This is one of my lover’s industries. They seem to be on vacation today – they had just finished a project earlier, so it seems a bit deserted.”

Jian Yi responded, “It’s a workplace for the R&D department. Is the gift for Xiao Shu placed here? What kind of model is it?”

Bian Yi nodded and took out the access card, opening the laboratory door.

As soon as they entered, Jiang Shi was attracted by the sense of technology in the building, especially the holographic floating screen in the lobby.

As far as he knew, no one was officially using this technology in the market yet.

He had been looking forward to playing holographic games for a long time.

Jiang Shi was happy because of the screen, but then the system sneered at him, “What’s there to look forward to? When you have enough points, you can buy it directly in the store. The game is not limited in time, it is permanent, and you can play it however you want.”

Jiang Shi lost interest immediately.

The system sneered again.

The three of them arrived at the elevator, and Jian Yi pressed the button. The elevator stopped on the first floor and waited for Jian Yi and Jiang Shi to enter before Bian Yi got in.

After they entered, Bian Yi pressed the floor button.

Because all the employees were on vacation here, the elevator didn’t stop on the way, and they arrived quickly.

When the elevator door opened, they were greeted by an even stronger sense of technology. In Jiang Shi’s eyes, the entire corridor had a cold and hard metal feel of some science fiction movie’s laboratory.

Laboratory? The system caught the word and became even more vigilant.

However, Bian Yi had already opened the door of this level with his access card.

The scene inside was seen clearly by Jiang Shi’s eyes.

It was a deck of cards, 1.5*2m in size, with cartoon and anime patterns on each card.

The stabbing pain in Jiang Shi’s mind only lasted for a short time, and his steps, which had been uncontrollably retreating, also stopped in place.

He asked the system in annoyance, “What are you doing?!”

The system remained silent and examined each card inside the door through his eyes.

“Is this still a model? Each card is bigger than several small trees.” Jian Yi walked forward and looked at the closest card to the door. There was a complex pattern on the corner of the card, like a mysterious icon in a fairy tale.

“Of course,” Bian Yi walked into the first path of the card maze, “the space here is too limited. I want to build another one outside.”

After he finished speaking, he touched a card face and added softly, “I haven’t celebrated Xiao Shu’s birthday for a long time. I want our whole family to play together.”

Jiang Shi looked at Bian Yi’s appearance and thought of his previous disappearance.

He considered, “But, I also think Dr. Jian is right. This card is too big. Will it be too difficult for children to play in this kind of maze?”

Unexpectedly, Jian Yi and Bian Yi both laughed.

Jiang Shi didn’t understand what they were laughing at.

Jian Yi explained to him, “Their family has a ‘little monster’!”

Bian Yi glared angrily at Jian Yi, “You’re the monster!”

“Okay, okay, I was wrong. He is very smart, very smart!” Jian Yi slapped himself on the mouth. After Bian Yi walked into the maze, he whispered to Jiang Shi, “Actually, their Xiao Shu is a genius, the kind of genius that even the geniuses in variety shows can’t imagine.”

Jiang Shi recalled the appearance of the child he had seen on E Island. It seemed that there was not much difference between them and ordinary children, except that they looked better.

But he didn’t really understand what a genius beyond the imagination of ordinary geniuses should look like, as Jian Yi had described.

There was a maze on the card, and Jian Yi sent a picture of it to Jiang Shi. Even with the picture, Jiang Shi quickly got lost in the maze of the cards. Fortunately, they were all on the same level and could hear each other when they spoke.

Jiang Shi felt a little embarrassed and said, “I seem to be lost.”

He heard Jian Yi’s low laughter and his voice. “Jiang Shi, this card can actually be moved. You see, there are icons in the upper right corner of each card face, some of which are incomplete. There is an inverted triangle symbol in the upper left corner of the card face. If you click on the symbol, the card will be selected, and then click on another card, and the two cards will be able to exchange positions. Completing the icons may open up the blocked path ahead.”

Jiang Shi tried the two cards in front of him and they could indeed be exchanged. However, because the icons did not match, the two cards returned to their original positions.

It was really interesting.

After spending some time opening up the path he was on, Jiang Shi’s curiosity was piqued.

Jian Yi was already standing at the exit and shouted loudly, “I’m waiting for you at the exit.”

Then he lowered his head and looked at the tablet in his hand, which still showed the card maze, but it was not a flat image, but a monitoring screen of the maze in front of him.

He didn’t do anything, as if he was just checking the playability of the maze, and muttered to himself, “Hmm… it seems that the conversion between cards is not smooth enough. We also need to set keys below, otherwise how can Xiao Shu press them?”

As Jian Yi spoke, he sat down on the floor and started writing and drawing on the tablet.

Jiang Shi wasn’t in a hurry, as he could hear Jian Yi’s voice. However, the system felt that something was not right and urged him to hurry up. It was afraid that Jian Yi at the exit would do something, so it scanned the card and told Jiang Shi the answer.

Jiang Shi’s game enjoyment was ruined, and he used the answer given by the system to open up one path after another.

Then he met Jian Yi, who was on the card.

Jian Yi didn’t seem surprised to see him. He had a smile on his face, and his affection level increased by 3 according to the system announcement.

3, that means it’s 98.

Jian Yi walked towards Jiang Shi.

Jiang Shi bit his lip and retreated in a panic.

98 was too high and too dangerous to approach.

“Don’t come any closer!!”

However, his thoughts were so clear at this moment that it surprised him that the system did not make a sound.

In the moment he was stunned, Jian Yi grabbed him.

He smiled at him and held a small syringe in his hand, the liquid inside of which had already been injected into his body.

Jiang Shi’s vision began to blur in a very short amount of time.

He saw Jian Yi talking to him in a daze, his mouth seemed to be saying, “Don’t be afraid.”

Bian Yi stood up and pressed a button on the console that had risen behind him.

The cards in the room quickly disappeared, revealing the person in the center, with Jian Yi having just removed the syringe.

After the cards were completely retracted, a space in the center of the room rose, larger than an elevator, with a stretcher inside.

Jian Yi carried Jiang Shi and placed him on the stretcher, and Bian Yi stepped in as well.

The space descended a few levels and finally stopped in Kou Li’s laboratory.

Bian Yi saw Kou Li, and several machines in the laboratory were running, making a slight noise.

They pushed Jiang Shi to one of the machines, and Kou Li put a device on Jiang Shi’s head. After about three minutes, the computer connected to the other end of the device made a sound, and he removed the device.

Jian Yi pushed Jiang Shi to another machine and scanned his whole body, waiting for the test results.

After another minute, Jiang Shi saw a holographic screen light up in the laboratory in the lobby.

The screen displayed a creature in 360 degrees.

This creature was completely transparent, with a transparent shell on its back and dozens of tentacles.

At this point, the three people who had not spoken at all during the process of catching it all thought at once:

-So it’s just a bug.

I personally would not be thrilled to find out that a creature with tentacles was lurking about in my brain tbh.