Chapter 4: Yaoxing Academy 4 Part 1

The early autumn sunlight sprinkled down, casting a serene and peaceful glow over Yaoxing Academy.

In the Senior Year Class 1 classroom, the physics teacher lectured on the final major question of the exam paper. Most students wore blank expressions, while only a few followed the train of thought and scribbled furiously.

In the corner by the window, two heads—one golden and one red—lay sprawled across desks, one in front of the other.

Lin Yule hugged his textbook as he slept soundly, a suspicious wet stain blooming on the brand-new cover. He had just returned from the Sea Island, and his biological clock apparently had not adjusted yet.

Xun Ji kept his eyes closed but felt no trace of sleepiness at all—only because—

【System repair failed.】

【Host…】 The System sounded pitiful. 【The System tried to repair it again, but the original text still couldn’t be unlocked. The Protagonist Blackening Value still can’t be viewed, and the OOC Penalty Function still can’t be activated…】

“Wait, the OOC Penalty Function can’t be activated?” Xun Ji finally mustered a bit of energy. “Does that mean I don’t have to act like the School Bully anymore?”

The System hurriedly shook its head: 【No, Host. Due to the energy field influence from the other system, although these functions are temporarily unusable, they might recover at any moment. It’s not recommended for the Host to go OOC, or else…】

“Then we’ll talk about it when it recovers.” Xun Ji straightened up, stretched lazily, flipped over the blank paper on his desk, and doodled idly on the final major question.

Sleeping with his head down like that had actually been quite tiring.

【Host, is this the time to be doing problems?】 The System looked distressed. 【That other Tasker might be caring for the Protagonist, helping the Protagonist, and redeeming the Protagonist right now. The Blackening Value that the Host worked so hard to raise might be plummeting as we speak!】

Xun Ji: “It wasn’t that hard.”

The System advised earnestly: 【In any case, the situation is extremely dire. The Host must stay with the Protagonist at all times and be vigilant against the evil redeemer appearing by his side!】

“No matter how you look at it, we’re the evil side, right?” Xun Ji finished writing, tossed his pen aside, and found high school physics truly boring.

【I don’t know which step went wrong,】 the System complained. 【Logically, it’s impossible for two systems to exist in a Small World at the same time.】

Xun Ji pondered for a moment before asking the System, “Can’t the Redemption System and I just coexist peacefully? The Protagonist Blackening Value doesn’t affect my Tasks anyway. I can just focus on earning Points, right?”

The System shook its head repeatedly: 【The Points obtainable from a Small World are limited. Daily Tasks cap at ten thousand Points, and Key Plot Point Tasks are rare, only appearing in events that significantly impact the Protagonist. Therefore, it’s impossible for the Host to farm a hundred thousand Points in one Small World. To leave this Small World and proceed to other Small Worlds for Tasks, the Protagonist Blackening Value must reach 100%. If the Host fails to achieve this before the original book’s content concludes, the Task will be deemed a failure, and the Host will be completely erased.】

In other words, if he wanted to live, Lu Zhou had to blacken.

Couldn’t being a good person and survival really coexist? Xun Ji sighed, then thought of another question.

“Since you can sense that system, can it sense you too?”

The System seemed to realize something and perked up: 【Yes! The energy field influence is mutual—it’s lost some functions too!】

“Original text locked? Can’t view Blackening Value? Or OOC Penalty disabled?”

The System paused: 【None of those. Its functions are all normal.】

Xun Ji was speechless: “Then what’s its flaw?”

The System spoke with pride: 【Its intelligent service has been disabled!】

“What’s intelligent service?”

【That’s me!】 The System exaggeratedly beeped twice, “Didi.”

【That dumb system can only use Task-related functions now, but without an intelligent agent to communicate with its Host!】

Xun Ji: “…”

That wasn’t a flaw—it was an advantage. However…

Xun Ji suddenly thought of something. “Doesn’t that mean its Host… the other Tasker doesn’t know we exist?”

Xun Ji had learned of the other Tasker through the intelligent agent’s reminder, but the Redemption System was merely a pure Task system without dialogue capability. In the opponent’s eyes, Xun Ji was just a villain causing the Protagonist to blacken—a mere NPC following the original plot.

【Exactly! That’s our advantage.】 The System said, 【So Host, our top priority is to find that Tasker and stop him from approaching the Protagonist!】

“Ding-a-ling—”

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. This was the last period before lunch break. Many students bolted out of the classroom toward the Cafeteria the moment the bell sounded, instantly emptying half the room.

To be honest, the existence of the other Tasker did give Xun Ji a bit of pressure, but—

“I’m hungry. Let’s eat first.”

Nothing was more important than filling his stomach.

Xun Ji headed out of the classroom, with Lin Yule, who had just woken up, trailing groggily behind him like a little tail.

However, just as he stepped out, someone blocked his path.

The person stood ramrod straight, his thin back held taut, his pale neck upright—like a tender bamboo shoot that had just sprouted from the muddy ground after rain—silently poking at the entrance of Senior Year Class 1.

Lu Zhou had actually come to block him at the classroom door.

Xun Ji sighed inwardly. He wondered how high the Protagonist Blackening Value was now. After his own father stole the money and the School Bully smashed the jade, it had probably risen to at least 60%.

“Young Master Xun.” Lu Zhou called out softly, his dark eyes hidden under slightly long bangs, his expression unreadable.

See? He’s holding a grudge. Alarms blared in Xun Ji’s mind. The boy who once found calling him Young Master Xun humiliating now took the initiative.