VAP - Chapter 42
Chapter 42: The Supreme Sage Hopelessly Obsessed with Beauty (1)
“Are you sure you want to abandon the final mission?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sure you want to forfeit the 8000 points from the final mission and the overall main quest bonus?”
“Yes.”
“Customer service reminder: Abandoning the mission will not only result in zero points but will also cause your system level to drop. Are you sure you want to abandon it?”
“...Confirmed.”
“Then, the request is approved. System 0996 has confirmed the abandonment of the mission chain in 161 Silver Galaxy Small World. System rating has been lowered to B-rank. You will now be recalled to the Main God Space. Please prepare.”
“Recall initiated.”
“Recall progress at one hundred percent. No data residue confirmed. The channel to 161 Silver Galaxy Small World has been closed, coordinates deleted.”
Qi Jiu sat alone on the sofa. For once, she wasn't leaning against the backrest; her long, elegant spine was perfectly straight.
It was late at night. Only a single floor lamp was lit in the living room. Its soft, warm orange glow cast light on Qi Jiu's lowered face, creating deep shadows that obscured her expression.
A cold that the light could not dispel once again enveloped the room, just as it had for many years past.
Suddenly, Qi Jiu reached out and turned off the lamp.
In the thick darkness, she gently stroked the two soft strands of hair entwined in her hand. She had cut them herself. Yue Du's hair, which could no longer grow, was now missing a lock.
Yue Du had been helpless at the time, but she had let her do it anyway.
And now…
Qi Jiu's eyelashes lowered as she tightened her grip on the knot of hair.
In the end, she was still unwilling to accept it. So what if there were many other “selves”? She herself was still sitting here, all alone.
Different bodies, one heart. What damn use was “different bodies, one heart” if their senses weren't shared!
“I will be with her,” Qi Jiu said softly, closing her eyes.
This was a command that transcended constraints. The world barrier let out an unwilling cry.
“You can't stop me anyway, so why ask for trouble? Would it be fun if I accidentally destroyed you?”
…That seemed right?
In the unseen realm, a certain existence pondered for a moment, found the logic sound, and hastily released the restriction.
With the obstacle gone, Qi Jiu repeated, word by word, slowly and deliberately: “I will be with her.”
The next moment, the slender figure in the darkness began to dissipate, along with the knot of hair entwined between her fingers.
The Main God Space was a domain independent of all small worlds, floating in the void.
Few systems understood the full layout of the Main God Space, as many areas were strictly off-limits restricted zones. Only the residential area, the public activity area, the training area, and the main hall where the customer service staff were located… or rather, the administration hall, were open to ordinary systems.
Naturally, the main hall was considered the center of the Main God Space—after all, the name itself suggested it.
But a very small number of systems were clear-headed enough to realize: the administration hall was just an administration hall.
As for the true center of the Main God Space, that was naturally where the Main God resided.
The Main God's office was located in the deepest part of the restricted zone. It was surprisingly simple, not particularly spacious or grand, but by no means cramped or stuffy.
At this moment, the Main God was in the office.
Of course, the Main God was always in the office. As a transcendent being, it didn't need rest anyway.
The Main God, who spent all day in the office, looked like an ordinary white-collar office worker, wearing a pair of black-framed glasses of unknown purpose, with dead-fish eyes and a deadpan face. Perhaps the only difference was the lack of dark circles under its eyes…
The Main God, who worked “legal” overtime, had a daily routine: staring at the light-brain screen in front of it to analyze small world data, periodically listening to reports from the customer service staff below, and relaying messages for its superior.
Yes, the Main God also had a superior.
And this workaholic boss was now standing behind it, asking with a heavy atmosphere, “—That system abandoned the mission?”
The Main God said slowly, “Yes, 0996 has returned to the Main God Space.”
The boss was very angry. This anger caused ripples to form on the barriers of the entire Main God Space, but fortunately, He quickly reined it in.
“You said before that she could guarantee completion, but the fact is she abandoned it herself?”
The Main God pushed up its glasses. “But I also said that I couldn't guarantee she would act as expected. The law of causality is ineffective on her, as you know.”
The boss was silent for a moment. “And you can't observe the internal developments of the small world either?”
“Correct. I have already tried, but I regret to inform you: it's impossible,” the Main God said. “With Her there, it's definitely impossible.”
The boss said no more, probably seething with anger.
The Main God asked, “Do you require me to make adjustments?”
“Of course,” the boss said coldly. “Just assign her missions like a normal system. Don't make it too obvious. Since we can't monitor the inside of the small world, just ask her directly. Eliminate as many uncontrollable factors as possible.”
After speaking, He seemed to be giving Himself a pep talk. “It's fine. The method doesn't matter. Getting Her to successfully destroy even one world is a victory!”
The Main God: “Understood.”
The boss turned to leave. “Is there anything else? If not, I'm heading back. I have other small worlds to attend to.”
“Actually, yes. It's a personal matter of mine.”
“Oh. Go ahead.”
“If the plan succeeds, if the future proceeds on the track you desire…” The Main God paused. “It's nothing, really. I will congratulate you.”
The boss said thoughtfully, “I believe that day is not far off.”
“I look forward to it as well,” the Main God said calmly.
At this moment, no system knew what had transpired in the Main God's office, just as no one knew that the Main God had a boss.
Inside the main hall.
“Hey, have you heard? This new batch of systems is something else. There's an arrogant one who chose to refuse the final mission in her very first world.”
“...It was a new system with an initial S-rank rating. Dropped two ranks in one go. Looks like the Main System is pretty unhappy.”
“Something like that happened? Doesn't that mean she got ejected right after entering the small world?”
“Not exactly. I heard the final mission for her small world was issued at the very end. She probably finished all the preceding tasks, so when you think about it, it wasn't a total loss.”
“What a waste of the bonus points from a chain mission!”
In the main hall of the space, the systems waiting in line to handle various matters had nothing better to do, so they gathered to chat idly.
—Inevitably, the conversation turned to the most recent rebellious system.
Regardless of whether they were human now, they had all been human once, and where there are people, there is gossip. Without a doubt, Yue Du was the new darling of the Main God Space's gossip mill.
Yue Du, who was also waiting in line: “…” Sigh.
There was nothing to be done about it. The flow of time was different between the Main God Space and the small worlds. She had spent four years in the small world, but upon returning to the Main God Space, only four days had passed.
The legend of the rookie System 0996, who started with an S-rank and passed the final assessment with an A+ in just seven days, was still making the rounds when she returned with a plummeted rating after voluntarily refusing a mission…
It wasn't every year you saw such a rebellious system. Wasn't she the perfect topic of conversation?
Yue Du shook her head. Just then, the system in front of her finished its business and moved aside.
“Hello, 0996,” said Parrot Customer Service K. “How may I help you?”
Yue Du nodded. “I'd like to ask, can a system revisit a small world they've been to before?”
Customer Service K squawked like a normal parrot and said apologetically, “I'm afraid not. The channel has closed automatically, and the coordinates have been deleted from the database. It's no longer possible to travel there.”
Yue Du frowned. “But I didn't complete the final mission. Logically, that small world should still be in an open state.”
Customer Service K: “Let me check.”
It quickly looked up. “The coordinates for 161 Silver Galaxy Small World have been deleted. It cannot be located.”
Yue Du: “Is that so… I understand. Thank you.”
In fact, it had been mentioned during system training that systems were not allowed to return to small worlds where they had completed missions. She had thought an unfinished world might be an exception, but it turned out that wasn't the case.
She couldn't quite describe the feeling. It was as if a piece of her had broken off, leaving an empty void.
But that was all.
Yue Du took a light breath and closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, her gaze was placid. “I'm applying to enter the next small world to carry out a mission.”
“But my records show you just returned yesterday. Don't you need to rest for another couple of days? The public activity area recently launched some very interesting new programs. You could give them a try,” Customer Service K recommended.
Yue Du said calmly, “No, thank you. I want to start the next world's mission as soon as possible.”
“Alright, please wait a moment… Refresh complete. Mission world confirmed: Ayers Small World. Please, 0996, receive the world information.”
A few seconds later, the mission briefing was transmitted to Yue Du's database.
Yue Du didn't plan to open the file just yet. She smiled. “Thank you.”
Customer Service K said, “Please prepare to depart for the Ayers Small Wor—”
Its mechanical voice stopped abruptly. Its gaze froze, only returning to normal a moment later.
“New notification received. To promote harmonious communication among group members, a cross-world group chat function will be launched.” Customer Service K: “This function will be fully updated in seven hours.”
All the other customer service staff said the same thing at the same time. The overlapping mechanical voices were orderly, yet somewhat strange.
Yue Du paused her steps.
Customer Service K said, “It's alright. The function will be automatically installed into your program after the update is complete. There's no need to worry about it.”
Yue Du asked, “Cross-world group chat?”
“Yes. For example, you are a member of the Villain Awakening Project Group. After the function goes live, you'll be able to chat with other group members from within a small world. If you have any questions, you can discuss and resolve them together.”
It sounded like a good feature, as the other systems were clearly very happy, as if they couldn't wait to start chatting across worlds.
Yue Du suddenly remembered that she hadn't met the other members of her group yet.
Customer Service K stated, “That's nothing to worry about. According to our records, the other systems participating in the Villain Awakening Project are still carrying out missions within their small worlds. You'll be able to chat directly once the new function is online.”
Yue Du smiled but said nothing.
When the designated time arrived, the channel from the Main God Space to the small world opened on its own.
Just like last time, Yue Du slowly stepped into the pool, sinking into the void. She had assumed that this time, too, she would appear in the small world as an invisible data form, but—
On a simple, small wooden bed, Yue Du opened her eyes.
She sat up, a little dazed. The slight sense of weight from a physical form made Yue Du realize she had a body.
She subconsciously looked down.
Yue Du: “…”
Her eyes must be playing tricks on her.
What was the deal with this lacy maid outfit—???
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