Chapter 1: Waiting to Die Part 2

【System: …】

【System: Ahem, it’s like this! As this world’s villain, you have your destiny. Dying and becoming a Vengeful Ghost is your destiny, and being destroyed in the end is also your destiny! Overturning fate is no easy task… and that is precisely the meaning of my existence! I exist to help you. With my help, you can definitely change your fate! You won’t have to walk the original path again!】

So his life was merely a pre-designed script, difficult to change. In that case…

Xu Deng thought it over. There was still a long time before the main plot began. Even if he really followed the book’s plot, he would have plenty of time to do as he pleased. That didn’t seem so bad.

Why should he change his fate?

Xu Deng said listlessly, “Oh.”

System: …

【System, racking its brains to persuade him: Host, actually, being a good person and living a different kind of life would be quite nice! You won’t die at eighteen. You can keep going to school, fall in love and get married later, have family and friends who love you, be with the person you like, and live a simple, happy, joyful life… But if you become a ghost, you’ll lose all of that. Don’t you want to live like that?】

A simple, happy, joyful, ordinary life.

Xu Deng let out a low laugh.

He wasn’t very interested, but there was no harm in asking.

Xu Deng: “Then what do you think I should do?”

【System, excitedly: I have a “Good Person Card” here. The card shows the Points you currently have. You just need to do good deeds and win others’ gratitude and affection to turn the number on the card positive. Then you can reverse your destined fate and live the ordinary, happy, joyful life of a normal person!】

[T/N: In Chinese internet slang, “receiving a Good Person Card” (好人卡) is the equivalent of being “friendzoned”.]

As the System spoke, a transparent floating card appeared before Xu Deng. It shimmered with silver light and bore only two simple lines of text.

The first line: “Good Person Card”

The second line: -1856497

Xu Deng fell silent.

Xu Deng: “I have two questions.”

【System, eager to please: Ask away! I’ll tell you everything I know and leave nothing out!】

Xu Deng: “I may walk the path of a villain in the future, but at least up to this moment, I’ve never done anything bad. Why is the number negative 1.85 million?”

【System, clearing its throat: It’s like this. Although you haven’t done anything bad yet, if you aren’t corrected, you’ll become a villain in the future. This is the total value of your entire life in this world—a total number materialized by the world’s will based on your existence.】

Xu Deng reluctantly accepted this explanation and asked, “How do I increase the Points?”

【System: Just do good deeds! For example, helping an old lady cross the street earns 1 Point. Taking care of children at an orphanage earns 1 Point. Returning lost money—10,000 yuan—earns 1 Point. Standing up for someone against injustice earns 5 Points. Saving a life earns 10 Points…】

Xu Deng cut the System off. “I get it.”

【System: There are still many ways to earn Points! I can explain them all to you one by one. Don’t you want to know?】

Xu Deng said expressionlessly, “No.”

System: QAQ!

If he wanted to live the ordinary, happy life of a normal person, he would need to help old ladies cross the street about 1.85 million times, take care of children at an orphanage about 1.85 million times, return lost money totaling about 18.5 billion, stand up against injustice about 370,000 times, or save lives about 185,000 times…

He might as well wait to die.

Xu Deng spread out the math test again and ignored the System’s chatter. The numbers and formulas before him slowly calmed his mind.

Everything today was simply too absurd.

He had only had a ridiculous dream, and now some being calling itself a System had given him a “Good Person Card” at negative 1.85 million and told him he had to do good deeds to avoid his fated death…

And that thing had the nerve to call itself a Villain Salvation System? To claim it was here to help him?

Xu Deng was beginning to suspect the System’s true intentions.

But he didn’t care much either.

If this was all a prank, he could ignore it. If it was real, then it was no big deal.

To him, it was simple: if living an ordinary, happy life required such a huge price, what was the point?

The worst outcome was nothing more than becoming a great villain feared by the world.

The System chattered on, trying to persuade its host for a full hour, but the host remained unmoved. He quickly finished the math test and started on the English one. The System nearly suffered a heart attack and finally fell silent.

It wasn’t until midnight that Xu Deng put down his pen and organized the finished tests. Only then did he remember the sulking System.

No matter what the future held, at this moment Xu Deng was still just an ordinary student. Thinking about how long he had left the System hanging, he finally felt a little guilty. Whatever the System’s true purpose was, and however much of what it said was true or false, it did seem to genuinely want to help him. Had he been too harsh?

But when he recalled that hour of endless chatter, Xu Deng pressed his forehead. Forget it. It was late, and he should sleep.

He had to get up early tomorrow.

………………

The alarm went off at six on the dot.

Xu Deng opened his eyes, lay there staring blankly for a while, then got up to wash.

When he had changed his shoes and was about to leave, he instinctively glanced toward the second floor. All the doors were tightly shut. In the empty, cold house, he was the only one there…

Xu Deng paused for a moment, then looked away.

What exactly was he hoping for?

His father and older brother were busy with work and mostly didn’t come home. Even when they did… they were always in a hurry.

Though they lived under the same roof, the time they spent together and the words they exchanged could be counted on one hand.

Xu Deng thought about it. Actually, he had originally wanted to tell his father something. The teacher had said there would be a parent-teacher meeting next month. But now it seemed unnecessary—his father had never attended one. Why bother?

Though yesterday’s dream had already faded, the contents of the book remained firmly engraved in his mind, reminding him of everything that had happened yesterday.

There was less than three months until his eighteenth birthday.

If the System had been telling the truth, and he would die in less than three months, what meaning was there in anything he clung to?

He should have accepted long ago the fact that he was the extra one in this family.

Xu Deng curved his lips. If he could think this through, the System deserved credit.

He pushed the door open and left.

Xu Deng left the villa district and got on the bus. Because his home was far from school, he had to ride for over an hour every morning… He found a corner seat at random and sat down, watching the scenery outside recede swiftly. Gradually, more people boarded. Suddenly the bus jolted, the crowd surged, and someone bumped into Xu Deng. He instinctively turned his head and saw a pregnant woman holding her belly, standing there with difficulty. She lowered her head and murmured an apology.

Xu Deng was silent for a moment, then stood. “I’m getting off soon. You can have my seat, ma’am.”

The pregnant woman gave him a grateful look and sat down.

Xu Deng moved a little toward the door. Suddenly, a ding sounded in his mind.

【+1】

The “Good Person Card” appeared before him again. The glowing number on it changed from -1856497 to -1856496.

Xu Deng: …

The System, silent all night, immediately jumped out.

【System, so excited it was almost choking up: Host, I’m so glad you actually listened! Yesterday I thought you’d given up on being saved! Look—today is the first day, and you’ve already earned 1 Point. This is a great start! A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. As long as we don’t give up and don’t lose heart, we’re sure to succeed and live a happy, joyful life from then on!】

Xu Deng said expressionlessly, “No need.”

He didn’t want the System to misunderstand, and he even felt the urge to sit back down.

【System, choking on its words for a moment, but still urging: Host, you have to believe in me! I’m a professional System! With my help, you can definitely reverse your fate!】

Xu Deng remained indifferent. He really had to admire the System. Say what you would, it was at least dedicated. Yesterday it had looked utterly crushed, yet today it was back at full health and ready to chatter again…

Xu Deng lowered his eyes listlessly. He suspected the System’s true purpose was to annoy him to death.

If he kept letting the System go on like this, Xu Deng thought he might turn villain ahead of schedule.

Xu Deng: “Have you ever heard a saying?”

【System, curious: What saying?】

Xu Deng said coolly, “Good people don’t live long; scourges last a thousand years.”

【System: …】

Xu Deng added tactfully, “I’m not dissatisfied with my current situation, and I don’t have many expectations for the future. So… I don’t really need anyone’s help. Do you understand what I mean?”

The implication was: You should leave.

【System burst into tears with a wail: Host, you’re abandoning me!】

Listening to the wailing in his mind, Xu Deng was silent for a moment, then still hardened his heart and nodded.

【System, sobbing: But I can’t leave! I can’t go back until I complete my mission. And—and… and I don’t want to leave you either! I really do sincerely want to help you! Wuwuwu, why won’t you have me?!】

Xu Deng: “…”

The System cried the entire way, utterly baffled and aggrieved by being rejected. It had come to its host with tremendous enthusiasm, wholeheartedly intending to guide him onto the right path and change his fate. Why had things started so badly? A Golden Finger like itself was actually being rejected! This made no scientific sense!

Did the host really not want to change a life of being hated, feared, and finally killed?!

“Green Vine High School Station. Passengers arriving at this station, please take your belongings and exit through the rear door.”

Xu Deng stepped off the bus and let out a breath.

He pressed his forehead. If he let the System wallow in grief, he wouldn’t have a moment of peace all day. Since he couldn’t get rid of it for now, he might as well find a way to soothe it. Future matters could wait.

Xu Deng’s voice softened a little. “All right, all right. I understand your good intentions. But you should know that if you want me to do as you say, you should at least offer something… hmm, more feasible. Do you understand?”

Xu Deng coaxed patiently, “Only unscrupulous bosses spend every day making empty promises. Think carefully about what use you actually have, and then we can discuss everything else.”

The System immediately fell quiet and sank into thought.

After a day and night of crushing defeat, the System had realized that the so-called ordinary, happy life was not enough to move its host, and the fate of death did not frighten him either. Compared with those distant, unreachable things, it needed to offer something more practical to motivate its host to be a good person!

【System: I understand!】

The System’s fighting spirit blazed anew.

It would definitely become its host’s good assistant and help him reach the pinnacle of life!