At that moment, Jiang Nian looked like a kitten being held by the scruff of its neck, his face a perfect picture of stunned disbelief and terror.
Of course, he had worn that expression so often today that, under normal circumstances, it should hardly have been worth mentioning.
But after being hit with several pieces of information this explosive in rapid succession, the shock and bewilderment he felt now were on an entirely different level from before.
He first tried to sort things out in his head, then stammered, “The Jiang family was wiped out by President Pei?”
There was nothing particularly secret about this. After all, apart from Jiang Xun, there was practically no one present who truly felt heartbroken over the Jiang family’s downfall.
Most of Jiang Xun’s children had not even been born at the time. Even though the Jiang family was their father’s clan, at most they could sigh over its fate. As for genuine sorrow or hatred, that was impossible.
And the only person who actually cared—Jiang Xun—well, there was no need to bring him up. No one had ever cared about Jiang Xun’s opinion anyway.
Thus, the three of them nodded, each wearing a different expression. Just then, Jiang Yi came over as well.
She was holding a thick stack of papers. Upon seeing what was going on, she simply stuffed one of them into Jiang Nian’s hands.
Jiang Nian was still bewildered when she said, “Here! This is the first issue of the Jianghu Weekly. Back then, it was called the Jianghu Monthly.”
Jiang Nian accepted it blankly. The headline on the front page was a detailed account of the reason behind the Jiang family’s destruction. It also revealed the decades-long, earth-shattering conspiracy orchestrated by the Burning Heaven Sect.
As mentioned before, although Jiang Nian practiced martial arts, he had never been involved in the martial world. His mother had long since lost contact with people from the jianghu as well.
He knew very little about the affairs of the martial world, let alone these old scandals from more than a decade ago.
Jiang Nian’s emotions surged as he read, and he kept gasping in amazement. The sheer amount of information in the article, the tangled web of relationships, and the bizarre role played by the Pei family were all astonishing beyond words.
Once he finished reading, he understood the basic outline. First, the Pei, Jiang, and Cao families had joined forces to destroy the Han family. Then the Pei family had produced a bizarre father who valued righteousness above family and wiped out his own clan. Afterward, he had turned himself in and, while he was at it, kicked the Jiang and Cao families down as well.
Based on the report, Jiang Nian understood the matter in a fairly straightforward way. That had one advantage, at least: he was less likely to be distracted by all the twists and turns buried beneath the overwhelming amount of information.
So Jiang Nian asked with a baffled expression, “If the Han family was also destroyed by the Pei family, and the Jiang family was destroyed by President Pei, and now Mr. Han is with President Pei while Dad is also with President Pei… does that mean President Pei is taking advantage of families with no heirs?”
The smiles on the three adults’ faces froze.
Even Pei Liang’s thick skin could not withstand the child’s bright, questioning gaze. Put that way, it really did sound a little suspicious. For a moment, Pei Liang even wondered whether he had somehow become the world’s biggest scumbag.
Probably seeing how awkward the atmosphere had become, Jiang Nian considerately changed the subject.
He asked again, “Then what’s the story with the elder of the Burning Heaven Sect? My mother seems to have had a former husband who was surnamed Hu.”
Before Jiang Xun and the others could answer, Jiang Yi suddenly realized something.
“Oh! So it was you!”
As she spoke, she handed him another newspaper. “Here. This is the first issue of the Jianghu Gossip Gazette. It was originally published as a supplement to the Jianghu Monthly. It explained all the gossip that wasn’t suitable for discussion in respectable circles.”
“For example, in the incident where the Wangqiu Sect was brought down, there was one crucial detail that was only mentioned in passing: ‘Based on information provided by Jiang Xun.’ The Gossip Gazette explained the source of that information in detail, along with Elder Hu’s spectacular reaction after learning that his wife had cheated on him. The description was so vivid, it was practically like being there.”
“So you’re the son Madam Hu had after cheating on Elder Hu? A pleasure to meet you!”
Jiang Nian took the newspaper as though it were a red-hot iron, and every hair on his body stood on end.
It turned out he had not simply been born into some random city as an inconspicuous nobody whom no one would ever know unless he went looking for his father. He had not merely been one ordinary child among Jiang Xun’s many offspring.
On the contrary, his background had been known from the moment he was born. It had even been given several full-length articles in the gossip pages, where people had gleefully dissected every detail.
Jiang Nian skimmed through the paper at lightning speed. If the contents had not been so closely related to his own origins, he might even have exclaimed over how thrilling and scandalous they were.
Fortunately, the newspaper had shown some restraint. Perhaps to protect the lives of him and his widowed mother, it had not revealed Madam Hu’s specific identity.
The place where they lived was also far from the county near the former Wangqiu Sect. They had moved there before Jiang Nian was born and had lived in obscurity ever since. Over the years, Jiang Nian had never been harassed or pointed at by anyone.
In that respect, the Moon-Slash Company, which had exploited the jianghu gossip to the fullest, could still be considered to have a conscience.
Jiang Nian then flipped through several more issues of the Gossip Gazette.
Good heavens. During its early days, the paper had basically survived on gossip about his father’s romantic exploits and the tangled love triangle between the Pei, Han, and Jiang families.
Interwoven among those stories were side plots involving the Divine Constable of the Six Doors, the Thief Saint, and Jiangnan’s Male Flower King. The writing was so salacious and the relationships so chaotically entangled that anyone would have been enthralled.
After reading through those old issues, Jiang Nian finally understood why the paper was forbidden to minors. It was simply too destructive to a child’s ability to develop a healthy sense of morality.
Especially after reading about his father’s romantic history. Anyone could tell from the identities of his children that Jiang Xun must have been extraordinarily promiscuous back then, with remarkably unconventional tastes.
But when Jiang Nian discovered that his father had apparently been involved with nearly every female elder in the household, his vision went dark and his mind reeled.
This was no good. Jiang Nian decided that, although all of this was astonishing, it ultimately had nothing to do with him. He should not let himself become so distracted by it.
He could only blame Jiang Yi for dumping so many newspapers on him all at once. What child had ever encountered such an onslaught?
At last, Jiang Nian steadied himself and asked Jiang Xun, “I just want to know one thing. Did you approach my mother because of a mission?”
Jiang Xun nodded without hesitation. “Yes!”
Damn it. That was even worse than having an affair. At least cheating would have been something he chose to do willingly. But what exactly did that make Jiang Nian—a product of a mission he had never been meant to be part of?
Jiang Nian’s eyes instantly filled with tears. With a loud sob, he turned and ran out.
Jiang Xun looked completely baffled. How could a child this fragile and shy possibly be his? Not even at sixteen—he had never been so pure-hearted at the age of six.
When he turned back, he saw Pei Liang staring at him displeasedly.
“What? You made the child cry and you’re not even embarrassed?”
Jiang Xun’s heart gave a little jolt. It seemed that Pei Liang was more pleased with that child than he had ever been with anyone before.
That made sense, too. The boy looked the most like him. In terms of appearance, he was easily among the top three of Jiang Xun’s children.
And he was the complete opposite of Jiang Xun himself. Having such a contrast right in front of Pei Liang would only make the stimulation more intense, wouldn’t it?
By now, Jiang Xun was utterly obsessed with figuring out how to seduce Pei Liang.
The moment he heard those words, he immediately chased after Jiang Nian.
Jiang Nian had not run very far. The area outside the main entrance was a busy street, and he did not want to see anyone at the moment. So he went around to the other side and ran straight toward the lake on the hotel’s private grounds.
Tears streamed down his face as he ran, making him look utterly pitiful.
At that moment, Jiang Nian even began to wonder why he had come here in the first place.
Other people had every right to come looking for their fathers. Did he?
He did not even know whether his father had wanted him to be born.
He was kicking stones by the lakeside when he suddenly sensed another presence nearby.
Jiang Nian hurriedly looked up, only to see his own father standing on a tree branch, slowly descending.
His white robes fluttered in the wind, and his bearing was breathtaking. No wonder so many women had willingly slept with him back then. Even now, if he felt like it, he could probably father another whole batch of children sixteen years from now and fill the place with little tadpoles searching for their dad.
Jiang Xun looked at him. As a scumbag who had somehow retained his enduring charm, his secret was simple: he was shamelessly, openly scummy.
Most people, after hearing the accusations of countless children years later, would feel at least somewhat guilty or uneasy. They would probably avoid looking directly into those clear, innocent eyes.
But Jiang Xun did not.
Back then, he had used that charm on women. Now, he turned those deep, affectionate eyes on his own child.
It was as though Jiang Nian were a long-awaited treasure. Jiang Xun had said that he knew all about his existence. And even though Jiang Nian knew that the so-called yearly support, the endless living expenses, and the cost of maintaining their comfortable surroundings had all been paid through the company’s accounts, meaning Jiang Xun had not needed to lift a finger himself—
Emotionally, Jiang Nian still could not help thinking that perhaps his biological father really did care about him.
Jiang Xun gave a soft laugh. “You ran off before I’d even finished talking. Honestly, you…”
That final “you…” was delivered with both indulgence and helplessness. Who could withstand that tone if they had come seeking their own father with hopeful admiration?
Even though Jiang Nian had learned in the past day or two exactly what kind of scumbag this man was, his little face still flushed, and he could not stop a trace of delight from rising in his heart.
But he still stubbornly said aloud, “Why did you come looking for me? I’m just someone who doesn’t matter anyway.”
“How could that be?” Jiang Xun replied. “Your mother is special to me.”
Jiang Nian looked confused. Then he heard his father continue in a distant, melancholy tone, “It’s true that when I first approached your mother, I had ulterior motives. And it’s also true that I obtained an important clue from her.”
“Those clues completed the most crucial part of that person’s scheme. After that, the Wangqiu Sect was wiped out, the Fentian Sect’s decades-long conspiracy came to an end, and my Jiang family lost its reason to exist. We were eliminated along with them.”
“To be fair, the fundamental cause was still karma. The Jiang family had slaughtered entire households, and in the end, several branches of the bloodline remained. The innocent members of the family were able to survive. Though they were demoted to slave status, the Pei family took them in and settled them somewhere safe. They no longer had the wealth and prestige they once enjoyed, but at least they kept their lives, found work that allowed them to survive, and did not fall into a life of humiliation and abuse.”
“But even so, it’s difficult not to feel some resentment. If this incident had never happened, would the Jiang family…”
Jiang Nian could not help being drawn into his father’s sorrow. Indeed, who could bear the knowledge that their own efforts had helped send their family toward ruin?
Even without that evidence, the Jiang family would at most have lingered on for a little longer. But the fact that he himself had played a part in it was what made the matter most unbearable.
The Jiang family might have been thoroughly evil, but to his father, it was still the family that had raised him. Jiang Xun might have been suffering even more than he was.
Thus, much of the anger in Jiang Nian’s heart dispersed, replaced by a helpless uncertainty.
Children were simply too young and innocent. If Pei Liang or Han Weiliu had been there, they would have understood what this man was plotting from his very first sentence.
This was the first step: ease the child’s resentment and pent-up frustration. The man was an expert at playing the victim, making people pity him. He had no shame whatsoever.
He was willing to use the tactic on women—and on his own son as well.
Sure enough, Jiang Nian fell completely into the trap. Following Jiang Xun’s words, he asked awkwardly, “Th-then… do you regret being with my mother?”
Jiang Xun shook his head instead, his eyes shining with a saintly compassion, as though he were offering salvation to all the suffering souls in the world.
“Not at all. My relationship with your mother may have begun as part of a mission, but my admiration for her and the affection I felt at the time were genuine.”
“Your mother was an extraordinary woman. If I had never lured her into this, she would never have taken a wrong step in her entire life. Even now, she would still be a chaste and virtuous Madam Hu.”
“Alas! When all is said and done, I was the one who ruined her.”
Every word seemed to emphasize his own responsibility, yet after hearing him, Jiang Nian found that he could no longer bring himself to blame his father.
Because his attention had been caught by the words “Madam Hu.”
From there, he inevitably began imagining an alternative reality.
If—if his mother had never become involved with his biological father, if she had continued living as Madam Hu, if she had never given birth to him—
What kind of life would she be living now?
To begin with, that man surnamed Hu had committed numerous grave crimes and had been executed. As an elder of the Wangqiu Sect and a member of Sect Leader Wang’s faction, he had been thoroughly corrupt and evil. There was no chance he could have escaped judgment.
Once the man surnamed Hu died, his mother would have become a widow without children of her own. Her family had long since passed away, and she would probably have had to live by the goodwill of Elder Hu’s legitimate children.
And that was the best-case scenario.
Those legitimate children were about the same age as his mother and had no affection for her. How could they possibly treat her well? Giving her a bowl of rice might already have counted as extraordinary kindness. If they were more ruthless, they could seize her property and drive her out. His mother, a helpless woman without a family to rely on, might well have ended up wandering the streets with her wet nurse and grandmother.
Instead, because she had him, the moment Elder Hu was arrested, Zhanyue Corporation had arranged for her to live somewhere safe in order to protect Jiang Xun’s child and an important witness.
They had not only provided long-term financial support but had also gone to considerable lengths to ensure a stable environment for him as he grew up.
Jiang Nian had not understood it when he was young, but now that he was older, he naturally remembered how well he and his mother had adapted when they had moved to an unfamiliar place as a single mother and child.
Why had the neighbors been so friendly? Why had their lives been so peaceful and comfortable? When he was little, some children from official families had mocked him for not having a father. The very next day, their parents had dragged them over to apologize.
Looking back on all of it, how could his mother, a helpless woman, have managed such things on her own?
It could be said that he and his mother had spent all those years living comfortably and securely under someone’s protection. Now that he had traced everything back to its source, there was no way he could honestly say that he wished they had never become entangled with one another.
Because if that relationship, impure motives and all, had never happened, his mother’s life now would probably have been unbearably bleak. Jiang Nian did not even dare imagine what that would have looked like.
His mother must have understood this as well. That was why, before sending him to look for his father, she had told him not to ask too many questions. Perhaps she already knew why his biological father had approached her.
But no matter how malicious his intentions had appeared to outsiders, the result was that his mother had been rescued from an inescapable mire by that very relationship.
Once he thought of this, nearly all of Jiang Nian’s anger vanished. If he could go back and choose for himself, then—
Well, he would still choose to let things remain as they were.
This was Jiang Xun’s second step: if you were dissatisfied with the present, then let you see what the original course of events would have been without the scumbag things he had done.
He did not even need to say another word. In his son’s eyes, his scummy behavior had already been rationalized.
And from now on, Jiang Nian would no longer keep harping on the issue.
His cunning was truly astonishing. Even Pei Liang could not hold a candle to him.
Jiang Xun gently patted his head again and said with a smile, “Don’t question whether you have a place in this world. You are very important.”
“Back then, your mother was married to that old man surnamed Hu, a May-December marriage with no children. Though their life was fairly comfortable, there was no hope for the future. She spent her days sighing gloomily, always frowning with worry. But after you came along, she became an entirely different person. I could feel it.”
Jiang Nian’s eyes lit up. “You already knew I existed before you left?”
Jiang Xun smiled. “Of course. I even knew the day your mother discovered she was pregnant. She looked as though she had been given a new lease on life. She tried to hide it from me, but I could tell.”
“Your mother may well have had feelings for me, but I was secondary. No matter what I did, I couldn’t make her stop frowning with worry. Only your arrival managed that. I knew then that what your mother truly needed wasn’t comfort from a man, but the consolation of having a child.”
Jiang Nian wasn’t an idiot. How could he fail to understand what his father meant?
Indeed, in his memories, his mother had never seemed depressed or burdened by sorrow. On the contrary, she had always been cheerful and optimistic, as had his wet nurse, Grandma. They were both always smiling and treated others kindly. Otherwise, Jiang Nian would never have grown up so innocent and cheerful.
From time to time, however, they would tell him about how difficult life had once been, never hiding the hope his birth had brought to the two of them.
Combined with his father’s recollections, Jiang Nian naturally understood. At the time, his mother had probably viewed his father as a way to conceive a child, without ever intending to stay with him for the long term.
Her many expressions of gratitude in life had actually been directed toward Zhan Yue Corporation. It seemed his mother had understood everything from the beginning.
Jiang Nian immediately lost the courage to feel even the slightest bit resentful.
Looking at it that way, although his father had acted with ulterior motives, it was actually Jiang Nian and his mother who had gotten the better deal.
His father had wanted the secret that would bring down the Wangqiu Sect. His mother, meanwhile, had borrowed his seed to have a child and secure herself a support in life.
Jiang Nian felt guilty. He had the distinct feeling that he had gotten a bargain and was still complaining about it.
After that, he obediently followed Jiang Xun back to the hotel, no longer daring to act difficult.
When they returned to the lobby, President Pei was watching him with a smile. Jiang Nian blushed slightly and murmured, “I’m sorry for losing my composure just now.”
President Pei was gentle and considerate toward him. “It’s fine. Your father was the one who couldn’t keep his mouth shut.”
She shot his father a glance, and her attitude toward him was considerably less pleasant. “Did you explain everything to the child?”
“I did.” Jiang Xun smiled. “He’s already come around. Your mother and I parted on good terms, each getting what we wanted. I wanted information, and she wanted a child—”
Before Jiang Xun could finish, his daughter Jiang Yi suddenly asked, “Speaking of which, I’ve been investigating what happened back then, and there’s something I’ve been wondering about. Since you’re here, Father, could you clear it up for me?”
“How did you know Madam Hu wanted to borrow seed to have a child? With your outwardly considerate but inwardly cold and hypocritical personality, you don’t seem like the sort of person who would genuinely consider a woman’s long-term needs.”
If he had been capable of that, he wouldn’t have ended up with children scattered everywhere today. If President Pei hadn’t been there to clean up after him, quite a few of the children present might have been ostracized or lived miserable lives because their father had failed to take responsibility when they were young. In that case, the children coming to find him might not have been a peaceful gathering of “tadpoles looking for their daddy,” but an armed raid on his doorstep.
His own daughter’s words did not embarrass Jiang Xun in the slightest. Instead, he thought this daughter was clever and perceptive. She was beautiful too, unlike those who had inherited their mothers’ dull intelligence. She had inherited quite a bit of his own cleverness.
For that reason, although this daughter had always looked down on him and mostly spoke to expose his faults, Jiang Xun actually liked her best out of all his children.
At her question, he replied, “Of course I knew. In fact, I was the one who came up with the plan. I found a way to plant the idea indirectly with her wet nurse, and then had the wet nurse personally persuade her.”
“Otherwise, how could it have been so easy?”
Jiang Nian felt all the guilt and emotion he had just experienced go straight down the drain.
So this whole thing had been your scheme after all?
At that moment, Han Weiliu gave a cold laugh and said to Jiang Yi, “You don’t need to ask your father about anything. Just assume the worst of him. You’ll never be wrong.”
Jiang Yi nodded solemnly, taking the advice to heart.
President Pei smiled and asked her, “How is your research going? Do you want to become a journalist in the future?”
Jiang Yi nodded. She was particularly obedient and admiring toward President Pei. “Yes!”
Then she asked in confusion, “But why did Father go after San Nian just now? I remember that when Yinian, Sisi, and Liubuhui ran off in anger before, you didn’t go after them.”
Jiang Xun didn’t seem bothered in the slightest. “Those three aren’t good-looking, and their personalities aren’t likable either.”
Of course, “not good-looking” was based solely on Jiang Xun’s standards for his children. In reality, they were all rare beauties by ordinary standards.
Jiang Nian had thought this meant he was especially favored. Even if it was only because of his superficial appearance, he still felt a little better.
But Jiang Yi understood immediately. “I see. You think San Nian will increase your competitiveness.”
Jiang Nian was stunned. “Wh-What competitiveness?”
Han Weiliu let out a scornful laugh. “Just a defeated loser making a desperate struggle.”
Hearing that, Jiang Xun lost all the cleverness he normally displayed around women and children. He gave a cold laugh. “Keep pretending you don’t care. Being stubborn is about the only thing you’re good at.”
“You must be getting anxious watching the Jiang family grow stronger, aren’t you?”
Han Weiliu frowned. “Only a shameless bastard like you could say something like that. President Pei has raised your children for more than a decade, and you actually have the nerve to use them for your own purposes.”
Jiang Xun wore an expression that said, What are you going to do about it? “So what? You’re only relying on that disguise of yours. You even shamelessly disguised yourself as me to squeeze me out of the competition.”
“It’s a pity that even if you can copy my appearance, you can’t reproduce my tenderness or my technique. Go on, let her try the genuine article.”
Han Weiliu looked at him as though he were an idiot. “Did a donkey chew through half your brain, or have you gone completely insane fantasizing about things?”
Jiang Xun had brought this up solely to provoke him. “She’s been firmly under your control all these years. It’s my turn to make a comeback.”
“Fine. If I, Jiang Xun, can’t compete with you alone, I’ll produce an entire crowd of competitors. Isn’t that what you’re relying on—strength in numbers?”
As he spoke, he pulled Jiang Nian over. “Look at us, father and son, with the same appearance yet an almost time-transcending contrast, each possessing a different kind of charm. The two of us joining forces—how could we possibly lose to you?”
Jiang Nian’s scalp went numb. He understood every single word his father had said. So why did putting them together make him want to die of embarrassment?
He turned to Jiang Yi for help, only to find her eyes shining with excitement. She looked as though she was one moment away from waving a flag and shouting, “Fight! Fight!”
Jiang Nian looked back at his biological father.
He had been wrong. He really should never have entertained even the slightest fantasy about this scumbag.
As expected, he’d better just go home!
*
Pei Liang felt quite good when she left the martial-arts world.
It was ancient China as well, but anywhere Newton’s laws didn’t apply was still somewhat more convenient than a typical ancient setting.
In terms of everyday life, it had actually been more comfortable than the first ancient world.
After all, during her time in the second world, she had spent a great deal of time studying industrial inventions in preparation for future ancient-world missions. She could practically be considered half an expert.
That said, it had genuinely been exhausting. So when Pei Liang opened her eyes and found herself in surroundings that clearly belonged to modern society, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief.
At least she wouldn’t have to spend too much time improving her quality of life.
But the next second, she realized she had been overthinking it.
While she had received the original host’s memories, the plot itself had not been transferred to her.
Pei Liang raised an eyebrow and asked, “What’s going on? We could let it slide when the plot was missing in the previous world, but now you can just refuse to provide it altogether?”
She might not care about the plot, but no one was allowed to casually dock what belonged to her.
The system replied, “This world is too special. It’s not that there’s no plot information, but that there’s too much of it. We were afraid it would confuse you.”
“Oh? How so?”
“This means that this world has more than one female lead.”
Naturally, the settings of these worlds were all based on romance novels, so the perspective was centered on the heroine. The same had been true of the previous three worlds.
But if there was more than one heroine, with each one being the protagonist of her own novel, then confusion really would be inevitable.
The logic was sound enough, but Pei Liang was not someone who could be fooled so easily.
She smiled. “So I’ve been targeted?”
The system fell silent for a moment. It wasn’t surprised that she had figured it out.
In truth, Pei Liang was simply too conspicuous. From the very first world, the way she handled her missions had been completely different from everyone else.
Most people followed the plot and took the heroine’s path, leaving the heroine nowhere to go. The smarter ones would also go with the flow, building up their own strength so that they could remain competitive even after breaking free from the plot.
But Pei Liang? Good grief. She had directly treated the instances as games for raising her pretty boys, completely violating the original purpose of the game.
As far as completing the missions was concerned, there was nothing technically wrong with that.
However, she had indeed been targeted in the third world. They had given her an incomplete plot with crucial clues missing, while leaving behind content that was highly misleading.
Originally, Han Weiliu was Situ Zhuo. The revelation that the upright gentleman seeking revenge and the bloodthirsty madman of the Demon Sect were the same person had almost been saved for the very end. In the early stages of the plot, there had not only been no foreshadowing of this, but all kinds of distractions had been deliberately inserted.
The crucial truth about Xia Yunsha’s identity had been omitted as well, as had the revelation that the seemingly insignificant Wangqiu Sect was actually the final mastermind.
Who could have expected that Pei Liang would immediately drag the culprit into the light? Over the course of three years, she had kept the hidden boss under her thumb. She had seen through the greatest identity secret in the entire martial world at a glance.
She had even resolved the crisis between the Demon Sect and the orthodox martial world without spilling a drop of blood, while simultaneously thwarting the decades-long scheme of the Burning Heaven Sect.
In the end, she had gone on to develop industry in the martial-arts world, combining martial arts with science. After several decades of development, by the time she left, the romantic turn of events was so outrageous that even a game wouldn’t have dared to write it that way.
As a result, her score had been exceptionally high.
That world had originally been an extremely difficult one precisely because of the missing plot. Several outstanding hosts had met their downfall there.
Most of them had trusted the plot’s misleading guidance too much. They failed to discover that the Wangqiu Sect was the mastermind behind everything, and remained completely unaware that Han Weiliu and Situ Zhuo were the same person. Thinking themselves clever, they ended up being toyed with in the palm of his hand.
In the end, they believed they had successfully completed their conquest, only to fall into total ruin.
Yet all those deadly traps and immense difficulties had seemed to have no effect whatsoever on Pei Liang. They had failed to serve their intended purpose, and had received none of the respect they deserved.
Her performance had been too conspicuous and too far outside the norm. Some people had taken notice of her, while others wanted to “set things right” and force her back onto the proper path.
Thus, after going through an instance of such difficulty, she should originally have been granted a relatively easy world in which to rest according to the rules. Instead, things had become even more challenging.
Although Pei Liang had silenced the system, how could it fail to value such a powerful and generous player?
And seeing how generously Pei Liang spent money on her pretty boys, it couldn’t help feeling envious.
After working so hard, all it earned was barely enough to drink watery gruel. It hated that it was merely a system instead of one of the male protagonists in an instance.
It wanted to live off a rich woman too. Sob!
So it ingratiatingly said, “Since you’ve figured it out, that’s all well and good. But don’t worry. Everything follows the rules. Since the difficulty has been increased, the reward will naturally be increased as well.”
“I’ve already fought to get you some concessions. If you succeed in this world, you’ll receive triple the points. And the previous world was already double difficulty. Some people still wanted to gloss over that, but after my vigorous protests, I managed to secure you an additional benefit. Guess what it is?”
Pei Liang found it amusing. The system was no longer as useless as it had been at the beginning. If it could remain this sensible, perhaps she could consider turning off Do Not Disturb mode once in a while.
She asked, “What benefit?”
“Although there are no plot clues this time, you can receive one hint. This is an apocalyptic instance, and you also have one chance to draw a prize. If you happen to draw an ability, then together with the ability the original host was destined to awaken, you might end up with two abilities!”
Pei Liang nodded. “That’s quite generous. Let me see the prize wheel.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a wheel appeared in front of her. It was divided into twelve sections.
“Mm! There is a chance you could draw an ability, though it’s only one in twelve.”
The system sounded a little sheepish. Although there were several good things on the wheel, most of the options were not particularly wonderful.
The most outrageous options included one coat, one dagger, one life buoy, or one lighter—survival tools that, judging from the current scene, she could immediately obtain for herself anyway.
But Pei Liang was genuinely thoughtful. “Everything on this wheel is useful, right?”
“Of course!”
“Then it seems this ship is going to sink.”
“How did you know—”
The system cried out instinctively, then hurriedly shut its mouth.
Fortunately, Pei Liang did not mock it. She merely murmured, “It can’t sink. I don’t like soaking in water.”
She nodded. “Thank you for arranging this lottery. The information I received was very useful—arguably even more valuable than the lottery itself. I’m satisfied.”
“All right. Let’s draw.”
The system didn’t dare ask, and it didn’t dare say anything either. In any case, some higher-up behind it looked as though they were about to die of rage.
The wheel spun for a while before stopping at Pei Liang’s signal.
The system cried out delightedly, “As expected of a woman blessed with the Golden Rule. Your luck is incredible!”
Among so many useless options, there were actually only two and a half that were truly useful. One was a free ability, another was half of her internal energy from the previous life, and the last was Han Weiliu’s disguise technique.
Why call it two and a half? Because Pei Liang already knew how to use Han Weiliu’s disguise technique herself.
How could she fail to learn such a useful skill? Of course, she would not shortchange her pretty boy. After learning the technique, she had simply given him even greater benefits in return.
In the end, the pointer at the center of the wheel landed squarely on half of her internal energy from the previous life.
In the long run, gaining another ability might have been the better choice. No matter how skilled one was in martial arts, it was still impossible to defeat machine guns in the apocalypse. Moreover, awakening an ability came with genetic unlocking and a qualitative improvement in physical constitution, so martial arts might become somewhat redundant in the later stages.
But during the early stages of the apocalypse, it was undeniably a very practical advantage.
Pei Liang immediately felt that familiar, abundant internal energy pour into her body. The original host’s body, which she had only just grown accustomed to, became even lighter and more agile.
At that moment, Pei Liang was aboard a luxurious cruise ship, at the scene of a ball. The entire hall was gilded and resplendent, elegant yet extravagantly opulent, while a top-tier violinist played a beautiful melody.
Guests dressed in crisp suits and magnificent evening gowns moved through the hall. Some gathered in groups of three or five, raising their glasses as they chatted; others played leisurely games at the gambling tables.
Everyone aboard the ship was a member of high society, an elite in their respective fields. Naturally, the original host was no exception.
She was a dancer, one of the most outstanding and gifted dancers of her generation, and highly renowned in the industry.
Recently, she and her fiancé had just gotten engaged and were enjoying a romantic cruise together. The original host’s younger sister, Pei Ning, had come along as well.
About ten minutes earlier, her fiancé, Zhong An, had excused himself by claiming that a careless waiter had dirtied the hem of his clothes and that he was going to the restroom to clean it. Pei Ning, meanwhile, had also used “getting some fresh air” as an excuse to leave the hall.
The original host was devoted to dance and had a simple, guileless nature. Pei Liang, however, was different.
From the original host’s memories alone, it was obvious that her fiancé and her younger sister had been having an affair for quite some time. Zhong An came from a prominent family and had been the one to pursue the original host.
With the original host’s beauty and fame, the two had once been considered a perfect match—a celebrated romance between a talented man and a beautiful woman.
Compared to her sister, Pei Ning was far more ordinary. Of course, she was attractive, but beside her sister, whose achievements in her field were renowned throughout the world, she was merely an average person.
The original host had believed that the sisters shared a close bond. Although her younger sister had been domineering and extreme when they were little, she had grown into a well-behaved and sensible young woman.
In Pei Liang’s eyes, however, the girl had merely grown old enough to learn how to conceal her hostility.
The signs had been so obvious, yet the original host had noticed nothing. Such astounding obliviousness was truly rare.
Still, when the two returned at the same time, the expressions on their faces surprised Pei Liang somewhat.
Pei Ning’s expression had turned cold and distant. She was aloof and indifferent toward Zhong An as well. Pei Liang could tell that this was not some womanly game of playing hard to get. Her entire bearing showed that she genuinely wished to sever all ties with him.
Zhong An’s expression, on the other hand, was comparatively normal. His face was gloomy, and from time to time he glanced at Pei Ning with incredulity, as though he could not understand why she would refuse him.
It was only after he approached Pei Liang that he reined himself in somewhat.
Pei Ning picked up a glass of wine from the attendant’s tray and raised it toward Pei Liang and Zhong An.
“Sis, I wish you and Zhong An a hundred years of happiness and a long life together.”
There was unprecedented sincerity in her voice as she said it.
In her previous life, Zhong An had been her sister’s fiancé. Without her sister as a connection, he was a wealthy heir she could never have come into contact with, no matter what.
Vanity and jealousy had made her obsess over Zhong An. But after living a new life, she could only find the man ridiculous. It would be better to return him to her sister.
The man she truly had in her heart now—
Before her thoughts could continue, she heard her sister, Pei Liang, say, “You’re being too polite. This kind of thing is just something the two of us can take turns playing with. Why are you taking it so seriously?”
“……”
“???”
