Chapter 30: That Unlucky Star Pirate Part 1

During the judgment of death and transmission back to the System Space, Wei Tingxia clearly felt a fluctuation unlike any before coming from afar.

He landed in an exceptionally pure white space. Fluctuations from countless worlds gathered toward the center from all directions. Wei Tingxia had just detached from the task world, when his senses were at their most sensitive; he nearly collapsed upon landing, retching on the ground with dizziness and blurred vision.

This was not his host space. Damn System 0188 had brought him where?

Before Wei Tingxia could figure it out, an even gentler but more expansive fluctuation suddenly approached, and at the same time, an exceptionally familiar voice rang in his ear.

[Let me handle it.]

Wei Tingxia felt a finger press against his temple, and instantly, the detachment reaction vanished completely. His vision cleared, and he saw clearly who stood beside him.

That person was himself, or rather, it had a face identical to his own. But unlike Wei Tingxia’s bright black eyes, this existence’s eye sockets held a clear, unblemished white.

Wei Tingxia half-knelt on the ground, narrowed his eyes, and his voice grew cold. “Main System.”

Unlike those hosts who spent their lives in the System Space and remained nameless, Wei Tingxia had topped the points leaderboard for centuries and had naturally met this leader who controlled the space.

However, in the previous centuries, the Main System had avoided him, rejecting Wei Tingxia’s meeting requests several times. He had not expected it to take the initiative to see him now.

The Main System said, [I know you have many dissatisfactions and doubts, so I came to see you.]

It had unrestrictedly copied all of Wei Tingxia’s data, even the arc of its raised lips identical to the original. When two completely identical people stood face-to-face, that inhuman quality became immediately apparent.

Wei Tingxia’s brows furrowed involuntarily. “What do you want?”

Main System: [I want to apologize.]

“For what? For throwing an old employee who submitted a retirement application eight hundred years ago back into a task world? Then I do deserve an apology.” Wei Tingxia did not hesitate, his words laced with sarcasm. “I thought the labor protection regulations here would be more comprehensive!”

As his words fell, System 0188, finally realizing what had happened, began to scream, but the Main System’s smile did not change.

[A mouth as sharp as they say.] It evaluated, its translucent white eye sockets showing no emotional fluctuation.

Wei Tingxia belatedly realized he really should not speak to the big boss like that.

“Sorry,” he apologized obediently. “This is actually… a good suggestion for improvement.”

[Thank you. I’ll note it down.]

The Main System nodded symbolically and took two steps back, increasing the distance between it and Wei Tingxia.

[I apologize for rehiring you without permission, but I must also state in advance that I do not plan to change the order,] it continued. [So you must continue working until all worlds are stabilized.]

There could not have been anything worse under the heavens.

Wei Tingxia’s vision went black, and he felt he was about to faint.

“I don’t want to go,” he tried to struggle. “Can’t you find someone else?”

The Main System shook its head. [I’m afraid this task can only be handled by you.]

Wei Tingxia felt even dizzier. Stabilizing one world had taken his entire life and his death; only after Yan Xinfeng breathed his last in his arms did the world truly stabilize. Wei Tingxia did not dare imagine how many centuries later his next retirement would be.

But before he could break down and cry, Wei Tingxia struggled out of his confusion and daze to clarity, knowing the Main System had not come to see him just to deliver this bad news.

He asked directly, “Then what can you give me?”

The Main System’s smile deepened, its translucent white eye sockets reflecting a fleeting image of Wei Tingxia. It said, [How about I make a deal with you?]

Wei Tingxia remained highly vigilant, fearing it was another shady contract. “What deal?”

[This accident has put me in a difficult position too, but I know it’s no host’s fault. Making you come back to work, I really feel quite guilty—]

[Your entire career has been spent frantically executing tasks, even creating passing methods never seen before you, which I greatly admire. But I also understand that every decision you made in the task worlds was for one purpose…]

The answer preceded the question. Just like in the previous world, had Wei Tingxia really believed Father Yan’s clumsy lie about the marriage alliance?

Not necessarily, but Wei Tingxia had needed an excuse to detach from the world. He forced himself to believe in Yan Xinfeng’s betrayal and left without hesitation.

Because compared to staying there, he had more important things to accomplish.

The Main System paused for two seconds, then said slowly, [So if you can successfully complete the upcoming tasks, then as thanks, I will approve your application. How’s that?]

As its words fell, Wei Tingxia jerked his head up. “What application?”

[The origin world application,] the Main System said. [I specially approve your return, and you can bring one person back.]

Returning to task worlds might be terrible, but compared to an application rejected for eight hundred years, being rehired was a minor issue.

Wei Tingxia could hear his heart pounding wildly.

“Deal!”

Returning to his own host space, Wei Tingxia collapsed onto the sofa and let out a long breath.

The rehire was confirmed, and System 0188 was bound to him again for the long term. Wei Tingxia could see the grape-like blue glow drifting in the corner of the living room. He blinked, his body too heavy to move an inch.

But the autonomously equipped space housekeeper brought a small white medicine bottle to Wei Tingxia’s side.

This was the mood suppressant every new host received after completing a task, specifically to alleviate the emotional turbulence from detaching from a world.

Considering Wei Tingxia’s retirement and rehire, the System Space had prepared it for him as well.

Wei Tingxia did not even lift an eyelid.

[Unhappy?] System 0188 asked.

Wei Tingxia propped his legs on the coffee table. “Not bad.”

[You worked for four hundred years, and I submitted applications for you for four hundred years,] System 0188’s blue light flickered steadily. [Now there’s finally a chance to return to the origin world. You should be happy.]

“I am happy,” Wei Tingxia pursed his lips. “Just a bit slow to process it.”

The Main System had truly grasped his weakness and knew Wei Tingxia could not refuse, so from now on, Wei Tingxia had to work for others again.

[I’ve never really understood,] System 0188’s voice carried a hint of confusion. [Who in the origin world is worth such obsession from you?]

Hearing this question, Wei Tingxia shook his head. “I don’t remember.”

With the topic ended, the taut string in his heart seemed to loosen a bit. His body tilted, and he sank completely into the sofa.

“Forgot it all,” he murmured. “Just always felt like I should go back once.”

Something unforgettable must have happened there. Otherwise, he would not miss it so much, nor feel that hidden, lingering pain whenever his thoughts occasionally brushed against that void.

He turned his head toward the blue glow. “You were the one who brought me out of the origin world. Do you remember what happened then?”

[I don’t remember,] System 0188’s blue light remained steady. [You were covered in blood, curled up beside a puddle of filth, delirious, just repeatedly saying you wanted someone to take you away. So I did.]

Wei Tingxia’s past was an unsolvable mystery.

…

After resting until midnight, System 0188 suddenly appeared. [Let me tell you something.]

“What is it?”

[I found another retired and rehired host, and his rehire happened before yours. This System Space collapse should be closely related to him.]

Wei Tingxia set down his game controller and curled up cross-legged in the bed. “Who?”

“Yu Fengchun,” System 0188 said. “Know him?”

“Don’t know him,” Wei Tingxia picked up the game controller again. “I never know anyone with lower points than me.”

And since Wei Tingxia’s points had always ranked first, he knew no one.

System 0188 was not surprised. [Alright, but his system is quite interesting.]

Wei Tingxia focused on his controls. “How so?”

[The System Space has a series of bestsellers, all written by it. It earned a lot of data points.] System 0188 introduced dryly. [I’ve read some. The emotional expression is deeply moving.]

A system that wrote books and made them deeply moving—Wei Tingxia was impressed.

But since he had to leave tomorrow anyway, and he had finally caught a suspect, Wei Tingxia said while pressing the controller, “Help me ask what he did.”

Causing a bug in the System Space was quite a feat.

System 0188 agreed, sent the inquiry, and then left.

Wei Tingxia gamed all night.

…

…

Stellar Calendar Year 763.

Scepter Star.

The heart of the Empire, the imperial residence. With a diameter 1.5 times that of ancient Earth, it orbited in the stellar system with a thirty-hour rotation period and no seasonal changes year-round.

As the Empire’s capital, Scepter Star was also known as the Scepter Seat, for it housed a giant orbital weapon controller that could easily strike and destroy any planet within the Empire’s territory from afar. It was the Empire’s star of power.

Now, the Empire’s actual ruler was elderly, with three sons and one daughter, all adults.

The Second Prince disappeared on the day of his coming-of-age ceremony. The Emperor ordered searches several times but found nothing, and there had been no news since. The Imperial Princess differentiated into an omega and lost her right to inheritance, so all eyes in the court fell on the eldest prince and third prince, who had both successfully differentiated into alphas, with more support for the eldest prince.

Even Eldest Prince Wei Heng believed he was most likely to inherit Father Emperor’s power.

In Ringwild Manor, simulated night was falling.

A maid took newly brewed fine wine from the cabinet, poured it into an exquisite wine pot, then carried the pot to an ivory-white door. After knocking twice, she slowly entered.

In the room, alpha pheromones were faintly visible, not strong but oppressively so. The future heir to the Empire was on a call with someone.

The maid followed her usual protocol: speak nothing, hear nothing. She knelt by the small table, placed the wine and accompaniments, then waited silently.

Even if she did not want to, the breeze still carried part of the conversation into her ears.

“Still not found?” Wei Heng’s brows knitted tightly, clearly very dissatisfied with the person on the other end. “148 hours—they’ve been missing for a full 148 hours! I don’t care if Yan Xinfeng is dead or alive; I just want the other one dead!”

“Yes, we understand…”

The person on the other end was clearly panicked too, explaining nonstop and promising to do their best to search.

Wei Heng was dissatisfied but helpless. Father Emperor’s health worsened by the day, and death could be confirmed at any time; he had to stay on Scepter Star, in other words, he was trapped.

So he took a deep breath and said, “Find him as soon as possible. Absolutely do not let him come to Scepter. If necessary, let him stay there forever!”

As his words fell, sealing the final fate of an innocent life, the maid did not know who Wei Heng was talking about but vaguely sensed that the “he” in his mouth was certainly related to the imperial family.