CH 3

Before evening fell, the information Wei Sushen had wanted arrived.

In the study, Arthur stood facing Wei Sushen, unsure why the boss didn’t go and handle the Fang family but rather investigated the factory first.

Originally the factory in the western suburbs was a large cotton mill. After it closed down, it was rented out at a low cost to make blankets. The ownership changed hands several times but the business never flourished. That lasted up until a few years ago, when the bus line that had used to pass by changed its route and the factory was completely abandoned.

A place like that had many rumors, among them there was no lack of supernatural stories.

Wei Sushen skimmed through the thick pile of documents until at last he focused his sight on a report.

The content was simple, only a few sentences. A man named Chen had killed himself in the factory because of debt collectors.

Wei Sushen pointed to the headline and Arthur immediately understood. Taking a photo of the article he sent it to the company for them to gather information about the man named Chen as quickly as possible.

About five minutes later, the new material was sent to Arthur’s cell.

“This is quite lengthy, should I sort through it first before giving it to you?”

Wei Sushen shook his head, simply asking a few questions: “How were his looks?”

Arthur stuffed down his surprise: “They were pretty good. The man was quite handsome, he was called the prettiest student on his university campus.”

Wei Sushen: “What about unfortunate life experiences?”

Arthur flipped through and said, “illegitimate child[B1] .”

Wei Sushen’s eyes [B2] flashed: “Any aspirations[B3] ?”

Arthur: “He was determined to go all out for his career. It’s a shame he offended a big boss and was later blacklisted[B4] . Furthermore, as a fresh face in the business world even if he had some of the skills, it’s hard to avoid being crushed [B5] in the industry.”

Wei Sushen rubbed his temple with a hand: “I see.”

Arthur asked: “About the boss from the Fang family…”

Wei Sushen’s gaze was ice cold: “First give out the news that I’m still alive. Then see what their reaction is.”

Arthur packed up the information and left, and Wei Sushen stood comfortably by the window for a long time.

Suddenly a voice sounded in his mind: [The host has exceeded the limit of his free time today. Please return to the system in a timely manner.]

Wei Sushen’s expression changed a few times and he walked to his room.

Fang Shan was sitting on a stool by the door smiling. His smile [B6] was very charming and it was very easy for people to let down their guards whenever he did so.

“Everyone needs to have their own space,” for the first time in his twenty-seven years of life, Wei Sushen tried to reason things out with another person. “This isn’t like raising a dog, there’s no need to accompany the host everyday like you’re taking them for a walk.”

Fang Shan knit his brow: “I don't raise them, I support them…pah. All the hosts bound with me reach the pinnacle of life with my leadership, no exceptions.”

Wei Sushen snorted, wanting to tell him that this time his host had died before he could even get to him. “How long were you drunk for?”

The man named Chen had killed himself as early as a year ago.

Fang Shan scratched his chin: “I don’t really remember.”

Yet again he lamented over the harmful properties of alcohol.

“Say,” Wei Sushen said tactfully, “if you found you got the wrong host, or maybe the real host has already kicked the bucket, what would you do in that situation?”

Fang Shan stared blankly, at a loss for words: “There’s [B7] no if-then statement like that in my world.”

Wei Sushen opened a bottle of red wine with a malicious smile. “It’s only a reasonable speculation.”

“Then I’ll take you along to jump in the Chang [B8] Jiang river and let it wash away my sinful soul.”

The hand pouring the wine at that moment went rigid: “Why are you dragging me along?”

“First rate company on the way to the Huang [B9] Quan.[B10] ”

Wei Sushen’s eyes darkened suddenly and he said “If you jump into the river, will you die?”

Fang Shan shook his head: “Of course not. At most, water will get into my brain and cause information loss, or amnesia, if you’re looking at it in a conventional way.”

Wei Sushen said in a low voice: “Since that’s the case, what point is there to jump in the river?”

“In losing my memory I forget the painful past, and can make a fresh start.” Fang Shan felt tired. “I just told you, I would use the river to wash my sinful soul. All of it is explained so clearly. Why do I have to go through it once again.”

“……”

Fang Shan shook his head: “Let it be. You’re a newbie, I’ll teach it to you slowly.”

No matter how stupid the host he chose was, he had to spoil them.

Clatter

Cracks appeared along the surface of the bottle of wine, the red juices flowing along the fingers to drip down to the ground.

In a breath, Fang Shan vanished from his chair and appeared beside Wei Sushen. “How can you so careless?”

Saying that, he took the wine bottle away from Wei Sushen, holding it away as he checked whether his hand was injured or not. “A big old man like you, and I still worry when you pour something.”

Wei Sushen felt there was a need to make another appointment with Doctor Joseph. At the moment if he had to choose whether he was mentally ill or Fang Shan was a system, he would go with the former.

……

There were many stars in the night sky.

Fang Shan sat cross-legged on the edge of the bay window, raising his head to the sky. “The universe is awfully mysterious.”

Wei Sushen was sitting straight and facing his computer. Hearing this sentence, he asked out of the blue, “Do you understand the entire universe?”

Fang Shan shook his head. “One year I drank too much wine and wandered around the universe for a long time. I journeyed past many planets, however their place in the cosmos is just at the tip of the iceberg.”

“……drank too much wine?”

Fang Shan hid the embarrassment in his eyes. “It’s a hobby I’ve had my whole life. I hope you can understand and forgive me.”

It was then Wei Sushen realized there was not even a drop left in the wine bottle Fang Shan had taken away. Surprisingly he hadn’t seen when he had drank it.

Wei Sushen suddenly had a bad premonition. He set aside his work to go inspect the liquor cabinet.

The row of wine bottles looked fine on the outside, but looking in them…they were all empty.

“Fang! Shan!”

“Call me 666!”

“……”

In the next room over, Wei Supei woke up to the noise of the two brawling. He turned over, wrinkling his nose and complained: “There’s too much movement. Dage doesn’t even know any basic restraint[B11] .”

The next day, Wei Sushen had more bruises on corner of his eyes and Fang Shan kept kneading his lower back incessantly.

“You almost beat all my parts loose,” he said.

While both parties held back from going all out, they still were intent on giving the other person a harsh beating.

Fang Shan then caught a glimpse of the chocolate liqueurs on the living room table. His eyes lit up and he rushed over to scarf them down.

Wei Sushen had completely abandoned the plan to tell him the original host has already passed. He wasn’t sure whether Fang Shan will still jump into the river with him. The drunk Fang Shan certainly would have done so.

The little fatty was unsure whether or not he was still subject to Fang Shan’s provocation. He didn’t eat a bite of meat that morning, the whole time glaring at him with accusing eyes.

Taking a harsh bit out of his mantou[B12] , he made up his mind to rat Fang Shan out to his parents when they returned from their business trip.

With Wei Sushen around, the little fatty didn’t dare to be too impudent. After eating he ran back to his room to complete his thesis.

Waiting until Wei Sushen was almost done eating, Fang Shan’s gaze changed unexpectedly.

“The novice experience period has passed. I will release the mission before twelve o’clock.”

Most likely it was the script that Fang Shan had previously chosen, so Wei Sushen didn’t take it too seriously.

As if he saw his attitude, Fang Shan’s tone became strict: “The benefits achieved from completing these missions are greater than you can imagine.”

Wei Sushen stopped moving his chopsticks. “Tell me.”

Fang Shan: The host can collect coolness points and face value to exchange, and experience a different world.”

Wei Sushen became a little more interested: “Tell me the specifics.”

Fang Shan: “If you dream of going back to ancient times, that’s not a problem. It’s only natural, the ancient times are very far away from now. Redeeming the points can be very scary. In short, you can go to different worlds and live different lives. If you’re lucky, you can even bring back one or two items to equip. I once had a host who brought back a pill from a cultivation world.”

Wei Sushen: “Is it possible to achieve immortality?”

Fang Shan shook his head. “After returning back to this world, he didn’t take my advice and immediately ate it, making his body explode and die.”

“……”

Fang Shan: “This is just an example, which is why luck is important. The pill he brough back could help ordinary cultivators break through foundation building stage, however in this world, if it’s swallowed by a mortal body that hasn’t gone through any cultivation, the person inevitably explodes.” He chose that example as a way to tell Wei Sushen to think twice

before he acted.

“There was another host who had both brains and luck,” Fang Shan continued, “She thought about the situation and brought back a pill to maintain youthful appearances. Later she entered the entertainment scene and became known as the ageless goddess.”

Wei Sushen wasn’t too interested in those things, but there was some longing for the mythical world that Fang Shan had mentioned.

Fang Shan smiled: “A powerful army, a battleground of troupes…if the fate of the host is grand enough, you can experience them all one after the other.”

After that entire little speech, gave him a bit of time to digest all of the news, and Wei Sushen was left in a rare bit of peace and quiet.

That kind of calm silence didn’t stay for long, and a beep sounded in his mind.

[Host: Wei Sushen

Height/Weight: to be updated

Age: 27

Talent: Eating too Little

Task: Teaching and Educating People

Remarks: Although you are still fresh meat today, you can soar into the Ninth Heaven tomorrow!]

Fang Shan: “To be precise, you’re to act as a teacher. The most suitable school for the host has already been chosen. At any time, the host may withdraw the information.”

Closing his eyes, Wei Sushen really could see a little ‘+’ behind the main task interface.

Clicking on it, a new line of messages became shown: Aige [B13] Academy, a ‘notorious’ private academy. It had the most comfortable environment, and the most disobedient students. They included children of high ranked government officials, the rich second-gens, and the small amount who have made names for themselves in the entertainment circles……all of them thought very highly of themselves. With irritable dispositions, a qualified teacher was definitely needed to teach and reform them.

Overlooking the exaggerated description, Wei Sushen asked: “How do you calculate the reward given for completing the mission?”

Fang Shan: “At the end of the term, a thorough assessment will be made involving the academic atmosphere, performance records, and the energy and drive of the students.

Before that happens, the host also needs to pass the teaching qualification exam and get a certificate.” He paused and added: “The higher the rating, the more coolness points and face value will be given.”

Wei Sushen: “If the points are enough, can they be exchanged at any time?”

Fang Shan: “Hosts are encouraged to exchange, and the accumulated points will be reverted back to zero at the end of the year.”

“……”

Wei Sushen still didn’t know much of Aige Academy. Browsing through the information once more, he unexpectedly showed a ‘gentle’ smile: “They don’t like to study and think highly of themselves?”

Fang Shan: “The task is a bit difficult. The host mainly needs to protect themselves and not get bullied by the little brats.”

Wei Sushen nodded his head.

Fang Shan: “Since it’s the host’s first mission, when the host comes across trouble that they can’t solve by themselves, they can request help once. But be warned it will cost 5 coolness points at the end evaluation.”

“No need,” Wei Sushen said. “This mission will be completed very soon.”

Fang Shan: “The host has a lot of confidence.”

“To capture the thief, you must first capture the king,” Wei Sushen said expressionlessly.

“One parent-teacher meeting will be enough.”

The author has something to say:

Did your child fail an exam?

Wei Sushen: It's snowing. Let Zhao Qiansun, Li Zhou, Wu Zheng, and the Wang family all go bankrupt.

The bigshots trembled.

The translator has something to say:

fang shan really having the balls to say all his hosts reach the pinnacle of life with him ahehehe with the stories he tells it doesn't seem so

[B1]My autocorrect says it as childe now and im crying QAQ [B2]Technically 'eyelids jumped/twitched' but my bro wei has been twitchin for the last 3 chapters and he's gonna be twitching for many more lets give him a break haha [B3]Lololol WSS going through the (rather shallow) requirements list that FS told him [B4]It's 'unfortunately he offended a big boss (da laoban) (which I used english because arthur calls wss laoban as a title, wheras the use here is more in passing) and was later suppressed', I chose the use of the word blacklisted, like when you're blacklisten from the industry because it made a bit more sense in english. [B5]Idiom 'toupo-xueliu' (broken head and flowing blood), being beaten down, broken etc. [B6]Technically something like 'his smile was very fitting and whenever he did so it was quite easy for people to let down their vigilance.' [B7]Basically saying that 'hypothetical' question is not a possibility. [B8]More commonly known as the Yangzte River [B9]Huan Quan: yellow springs, or the underworld where people go after death [B10]Lmfaooo fang shan really said 'if I made a mistake like that ima kill myself and im taking you with me' [B11]It's mostly clear but for all you who don't know little bro thinks WSS is fucking FS. [B12]Steamed bun [B13]That's it. That's the pinyin. I know the characters are the same for the name 'agnes' (aigenisi), and there is a saint agnes, so it could very well be 'saint agnes academy'. Mayhaps I'll change it in the future.