VAP - Chapter 8
Chapter 8: The Sleeping Beauty Whose Words Are Law (7)
Who was Xing Qingcang?
According to that story outline, he was the protagonist of this world, destined to grow into a great leader who would defeat the evil forces, guide the espers to create a bright future, and leave his name in the annals of history.
The evil forces opposing him included:
Hardline politicians who hadn't evolved Esper Abilities and resented those who had; unlawful espers who used their powers to commit crimes and create chaos; cannon fodder jealous of the protagonist's abilities and looking to cause trouble; and the final villain who sought to destroy the world—the girl with an antisocial personality, Qi Jiu.
The villainous girl's bound system, Yue Du, sighed.
He was a very typical protagonist on a growth arc.
In truth, the system's built-in data on Xing Qingcang wasn't any more detailed than Qi Jiu's had been, consisting of only a simple summary of his life experiences.
This information was useless for now, but Yue Du had done her homework during the days she spent lazing around with her host, searching online for every piece of information she could find.
Xing Qingcang, a native of S City, Z Province, was twenty-eight years old this year and worked as a professor in the physics department at the province's top university.
Professor Xing was knowledgeable and well-read, with a deep family background in learning. His father ran a martial arts hall, and his mother was a renowned teacher, which had cultivated his gentle, scholarly, and graceful image.
He had extremely high academic achievements, was a rising star in the world of physics, a role model for the youth of today…
In truth, there was no need to understand the long paragraphs of official praise that followed; knowing his identity was enough.
Yes, a university physics professor.
Yue Du silently turned her head to look at her host, a salted-fish high school student who, on a daily basis, only knew how to sleep and couldn't even be bothered to go to and from school.
Seriously? Making Qi Jiu a student of a physics professor.
Was this a welfare program for the villain or an attempt to strangle her in the cradle?!
"I think… this mission might be a little difficult." Yue Du took a quiet, deep breath, trying to organize her words. "But I believe that with unremitting effort, we will definitely complete the mission successfully and get the points—"
"Not going." Qi Jiu cut her off crisply.
Yue Du said in shock, "You're not going?"
Qi Jiu, lying on the snow-white marble steps, lazily rolled over and repeated, "I'm not going."
Those three words were like three heavy hammers, striking accurately against the system's data with a thump, thump, thump.
This was a big problem.
Yue Du had previously considered what to do if Qi Jiu was unwilling to do missions. After all, given her level of laziness, it wouldn't be strange if one day she was sleeping so comfortably she didn't even want to wake up, let alone refuse a mission.
At the time, Yue Du had thought she'd cross that bridge when she came to it, and that when the time came, she might be able to use her natural advantages as a system in the digital age to help.
After all, the great outbreak of Esper Abilities hadn't happened yet. Humanity relied on technology, but this world's technology was, in the end, still at a low level. In terms of network technology, it could be completely crushed by Yue Du.
As long as Yue Du wanted to, she could do many things—otherwise, why would people say hackers are omnipotent?
But even the most elite hacker couldn't just conjure a student for Xing Qingcang out of thin air!
Professor Xing was devoted to his academic pursuits and only took on one or two students. Other than that, he taught a course at Z University, explaining the mysteries of physics to the undergraduates.
This put the system in a difficult position. Was she supposed to directly add Qi Jiu's name to the Z University freshman list, or did she just have to attend one lecture at Z University?
No matter how she thought about it, it couldn't be that simple. How could a 500-point mission be completed just by the system manipulating some data?
And looking at the mission description, which required them to go to S City first, trying to bluff her way through would most likely not work…
Suddenly, Yue Du's train of thought froze.
No matter how comprehensively she planned, it was all useless. The prerequisite for everything was that Qi Jiu had to be willing to go to S City first!
At this moment, Qi Jiu was lying slightly on her side. She lay on the snow-white stone steps, her lines serene and beautiful, her eyes lightly closed. She looked just like a large, lazy, and contented cat stretching in the sun.
Yue Du sighed deeply and tried to tempt her, "This is for 500 points."
"I know, but points are useless to me." Qi Jiu couldn't even be bothered to open her eyes.
Yue Du retorted, "How are they useless? The real you is lying on a soft bed bought with points, your belly is full of food bought with points… and the puppet talisman will lose its effect in three days."
Qi Jiu gave a perfunctory "mhm," and it was unclear if she had even heard.
"Based on the rate of losing one point per day, we don't have nearly enough points." Yue Du continued her analysis. "If you want to maintain your current quality of life, doing missions is unavoidable. If we skip the first one, who knows if the next ones will be even more troublesome?"
"They'll definitely be more troublesome!" she answered her own question.
Qi Jiu placed her fair arm across her eyes and said, "Mhm, mhm."
Yue Du: "…You're not actually listening to me at all, are you."
System 0996 was filled with helplessness.
"Even if we don't do the mission, it's just leaving the province. It's a three-hour flight. Let me worry about the rest, okay?"
Qi Jiu turned her head, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. "Why are you so eager?"
"I want a physical body," Yue Du said sincerely. "Besides, you're my first host, and this is my first job. Please try to understand the feelings of a fledgling little system."
Qi Jiu said softly, "Liar."
Yue Du's expression didn't change. "What's there to lie about? Watching you eat, drink, and sleep every day, I'm quite envious too."
After that sentence, neither of them spoke, and an abrupt, blank silence fell.
Then, the arm blocking Qi Jiu's eyes moved up slightly, revealing her deep black pupils. They were finally no longer half-lidded but wide open, a glimmer of a half-smile dancing within them.
"Fine, let's assume you want a body."
She said slowly, "Didn't you say you were a professionally trained system with a proper background? Are you that eager to experience the human way of life? Or are you just in a hurry to move out of my body?"
Yue Du met her gaze. Those eyes were too black, with almost no light visible, making them seem cold and deep.
Usually, they were lazily half-lidded, concealing much of their aggressiveness. Only now did they finally reveal their truly intimidating appearance.
After a long moment, Yue Du said calmly, "I have my reasons, but I can't tell you. Do you accept that explanation?"
Qi Jiu smiled and lowered her eyes again. "I accept."
The conversation just now was like a small interlude; neither of them brought it up again.
"Really, you win." Yue Du blinked, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. "So, shall we go to S City?"
Qi Jiu coolly put her arm back. "Not going."
Yue Du: "…"
It seemed they were back to square one.
Just as Yue Du was wondering whether she should resort to forceful measures, Qi Jiu suddenly added, "Unless you promise me one thing."
A sudden turn of events. Yue Du responded eagerly, "What is it?"
Qi Jiu said, "We'll talk after you've bought a body."
Yue Du asked suspiciously, "What are you planning? Our system services do not include the option of selling one's body."
"Dirty-minded. What kind of person do you take me for," Qi Jiu sneered. "Just say whether you agree or not."
Right now, Yue Du just wanted to get past this hurdle, so she agreed without hesitation. "I promise."
Only then was Qi Jiu satisfied. "Alright, then let's not delay. First, help me request leave from school and buy the plane tickets. I'll go when I wake up."
Yue Du breathed a sigh of relief. Then she considered when her ladyship would finally wake up… and silently booked a flight for eighteen hours later.
Let her sleep her fill.
Author's Notes
Yue Du (wary): Our systems don't sell their bodies.
Qi Jiu: Dirty-minded, what are you thinking.
After getting a physical body.
Qi Jiu: …I think systems should have a service to help hosts resolve their needs?
Yue Du: Dirty-minded, what are you thinking!
Qi Jiu: The other way around works too. The host can provide similar services for the system.
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