The System didn't say another word.
It directly pasted a long, long list of rewards, yanking it downward with force until it ran out of momentum and still hadn't reached the end—clearly showing just how bountiful this haul was.
The summary line at the very bottom.
Su Ning couldn't be bothered to count the dizzying array of zeroes, and her gaze landed on the number of draws—
Forty-four.
"Why this number? It's so unlucky."
A bit superstitious, the woman frowned, dissatisfaction clear in her voice. One more, or one less, would have been just fine. Back in the modern world, if she spotted an unlucky number on her phone's battery or clock, she'd get flustered and anxious.
If it were exactly 4:44.
No way.
She'd have to close her eyes and go to sleep immediately—Heaven was warning her to cherish her life.
This time, the System surprisingly didn't argue back.
"Exactly right, so this System says Wu Yi was never a good sort. Even when alive he was petty and vindictive, holding grudges over trivial matters for so long, and he even wanted the Host's life, completely disregarding the bigger picture. A cold-blooded traitor born and bred. Now that he's about to die, he still won't stay quiet, deliberately trying to spite Host. I think we shouldn't let him off so easily. Ahem, I've heard you humans have a punishment called death by five horses tearing a body apart—I think that kind of death suits him just fine..."
After saying this, it realized it had gotten a bit too excited and misspoken.
According to its database.
In human terms, this method of death was considered first-class cruelty and rarely used. And this Host of his was always going on about being a good person...
Damn, caught red-handed again.
Sure enough.
Su Ning frowned and spoke up:
"Wrong. Being torn apart by five horses is posthumous dismemberment—it's just humiliation, same nature as desecrating a corpse. It doesn't count as a method of execution."
"Drawing and quartering is what happens while alive."
"You're a System, a digital lifeform—how can you still be so imprecise?"
Su Ning chided playfully.
System: "..."
It still got nitpicked by this garbage Host, but not in the direction it had expected. And wasn't she supposed to be kind, wanting to choose to be a good person?
What kind of good person acts like this!
Su Ning: The Su family's kind.
A good person is the opposite of a bad person. So if you punish bad people, stop them from doing their wicked deeds, and bring satisfaction to everyone—isn't that what makes a good person?
From any angle.
Public justice or private grievance.
Wu Yi had nothing to do with being good. No crime is worse than treason, and being torn apart by five horses—no, drawing and quartering—Su Ning thought it was letting him off easy. A thousand cuts would have been more fitting.
Unfortunately, there's a saying: family shame should not be aired publicly.
For various reasons, just having her learn about this was already the limit of what the Northeast Army could tolerate. Offering suggestions on how to deal with Wu Yi would be crossing the line.
A good person couldn't see it through to the end.
At that thought, Su Ning let out a long sigh, full of regret.
She went back to reviewing the rewards.
Actually, blaming this unlucky number of draws solely on Wu Yi was a bit of a stretch. Taking a closer look, Wu Xuewen had contributed a fair share too, and also Xing Qiu...
Su Ning's heart remained calm and unruffled.
People aren't made of wood or stone—who can truly claim to be a saint? Besides, the System's reward criteria were garbage and bizarre, and that wasn't anything new.
Then there was the reward funding.
Well, adding up all the bits and pieces, it had finally broken sixty billion.
Ignoring the gilded balance number that kept trembling—so undisciplined, as if spending money were that easy, as if hinting at her would do any good—Su Ning thought to herself, already six-tenths of the way to completion.
And this was before the matter had truly blown up.
Needless to say.
Wu Yi, as the main character, had family, friends, and relatives who were mostly plot figures as well.
That would also be a considerable reward.
As she thought this, two dings sounded in her head, and Su Ning looked up—Wu Yi's biological mother, not far away, had gotten the news that fast, which was only to be expected.
But the next plot figure's name made Su Ning raise an eyebrow with interest—
Huo Xiang.
"It's him, huh."
The System clicked its tongue in discontent, muttering, "It's been this long, and the Northeast side still hasn't caught him. He must have escaped. Useless, truly useless. Ah, this System knew it—illegal stowaways bound to such types are unkillable cockroaches. Average at everything, but first-rate when it comes to running away."
"Forget it, forget it."
Su Ning, on the other hand, didn't seem disappointed, offering half-hearted comfort to the System.
She said with a smile:
"No matter how tough a cockroach is, if you can't kill it in one blow, you kill it in two, three, four—eventually, it dies."
"Besides, we didn't come away empty-handed."
Escaping this once.
He must be badly wounded and weakened by now, right?
Su Ning smiled, set the matter aside, and turned eagerly to discuss with the System the spoils they'd squeezed out of Huo Xiang. That was the real prize of this venture.
Penicillin preparation technology!
And also, the large-scale white-feathered chicken farming technique, including site selection, feed ratios, medications, and staff training requirements and plans.
Sure enough, Su Ning thought to herself.
Once again, she was confirmed in her belief that someone above was watching. Doing daily quests could level you up, but you couldn't get key materials—you had to go kill monsters.
And these?
These were the rewards from "killing monsters."
But it still wasn't enough. She wanted more, Su Ning thought greedily, and after a moment's deliberation, she gave her orders.
...
Although war had begun.
For now, this place hadn't yet been touched by the flames of battle. The people passing by wore troubled expressions, but at a glance, the atmosphere was still relatively peaceful.
"Move aside now, move aside."
With the shouting.
A cart piled high with chickens and ducks, feathers flying everywhere, reeking of chicken and duck shit so strong it stung the nose, appeared. People covered their noses and stepped back to the sides, some complaining:
"So stinky—who let them come through this gate?"
"I just made new clothes; if any chicken shit gets on them, who's going to pay for that?"
"Must be country folk."
"Clueless..."
"That's right, look at the stench coming off them—ahh... did one of them crap themselves?"
Hearing these sneering remarks, Huo Xiang's face darkened beyond measure, his nose still catching waves of fresh, fetid air, as if his entire body had been marinated in the stink.
"Bear with it, sir—we're almost there."
The cart driver said in a low voice.
Huo Xiang gritted his teeth and nodded.
He chanted inwardly: he who would achieve great things must endure what others cannot... Even now, he still didn't fully understand what had happened. But compared to Wu Yi, he had more grounding, so he'd acted more decisively.
He took no one, wanted nothing.
And fled alone on foot.
So he'd luckily dodged the initial manhunt, though it had cost him dearly afterward... Huo Xiang's heart ached. After this, at least half of the hidden agents and schemes he'd previously laid down were wasted— and he'd even burned through a significant chunk of his luck points!
Su Ning!
He closed his eyes and smirked coldly.
This woman must be feeling pretty pleased with herself right now. A momentary victory meant nothing—Japan would be the true final winner. She'd dared to ruin their plans, so he'd watch and see what became of Su Ning in the end.
Thinking this, his emotions settled somewhat.
He looked up at the city gate growing closer, and despite himself, a hint of longing appeared on his face.
Almost there.
Once he passed through that gate, he'd be free.
The chicken-and-duck cart was far too smelly, and at the gate there were many people and lots of goods, with complaints and curses filling the air. The driver kept apologizing, "Sorry, sorry, no choice, please make way, thank you kindly."
Finally, they squeezed through an opening.
The driver called out to the donkey and moved forward.
Once through the gate.
Huo Xiang finally raised a smile.
The very next second—
Ahead, a group of men suddenly appeared, dressed in short jackets with shaved heads—the sort who clearly weren't up to any good. They split into two groups: one went up to the city guards, slinging arms around their shoulders, handing them things, and muttering in low voices. The other group parked themselves directly in front of the people trying to leave the city, like a second checkpoint.
