Chapter 11

“People are never satisfied with their current situation.

When you’re in school, you envy the adults who are already out working, thinking they have the ability to earn money, are no longer constrained, and can go wherever they want. So you look forward to growing up fast!

But when you actually leave campus and truly enter society, becoming a cog in the machine with no control over your own fate, you start to miss those school days immensely, fantasizing that you could wake up and be back in the classroom!

Different stages bring different forms of discontent. Everyone envies each other like this, forever unsatisfied with the present, forever complaining, forever coveting what others have…”

……

“What’s wrong with this essay?”

Zhang Zhiwen, the Head Teacher of Class 10, Grade 2, had come to find Cai Qing. He originally wanted to discuss swapping evening self-study classes next week. He happened to arrive while she was grading exams.

Before he could even say what he came for, Cai Qing instead took an exam paper from her drawer and handed it to him, emphasizing specifically that he should read the essay section first.

Zhang Zhiwen took the paper from Cai Qing with a puzzled expression. Skimming the opening of the essay, he couldn’t see anything wrong. The handwriting was decent enough.

“Look at the essay prompt again.”

Cai Qing prompted.

Zhang Zhiwen looked at the essay prompt.

Like most assigned-topic essays, it started with a short introductory passage. It said something about always longing to grow up as a child, and after growing up, longing for success. People grow through expectation, grow up within expectation…

Finally, the prompt requirements were to read the above material and then write an article, combining life experiences and personal reflections.

“……”

After reading the prompt and then looking at the essay again, it was as if Zhang Zhiwen suddenly realized something. He quickly flipped the exam paper in his hand over. The name written in that column was indeed Li Zhuo.

“He completely missed the point.”

Cai Qing took a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, shook one out, lit it, and gave Zhang Zhiwen a look. The latter shook his head, saying he had already quit.

“Asked to write on the topic of ‘Expectation,’ he twisted ‘Expectation’ into a kind of insatiable greed, dissatisfaction…”

Cai Qing tapped her cigarette ash into the ceramic ashtray beside the desk. “This was from his first monthly exam, the month he just transferred here. I talked to him about it once afterward, but it didn’t seem like he really took it in.”

Actually, aside from missing the topic, the other aspects of this essay weren’t problematic. The opening stated the conclusion, the middle expanded with narrative accounts, and the ending echoed the beginning, throwing in some relevant famous quotes to tie it all together.

But missing the topic itself revealed many issues. Especially for a child this age, in the prime of youthful vigor, they should be the least pessimistic.

If even “Expectation” wasn’t allowed to exist, then how tragically sad must living be?

A quick glance made it obvious this kid had psychological issues. As the Head Teacher of a “problem child,” Zhang Zhiwen thought even more about it.

Firstly, this kid’s family was quite wealthy. Secondly, he was withdrawn and introverted. Who knew when something might happen? Then his own responsibility would be huge.

Unlike Zhang Zhiwen, who wore a deeply furrowed brow, Cai Qing, the Subject Teacher, was much more relaxed. Grading homework, she even found time to gossip. “What’s Mo Liang been up to lately?”

“Seems like he cooks for Li Zhuo every day?” Zhang Zhiwen thought for a moment, then added, “According to those delivery workers, his demands for fruit and vegetable quality are extremely high. If there’s even the slightest bruise or mark, he won’t take it…”

Cai Qing’s face was full of speechlessness and incomprehension. In the end, she just squeezed out one line. “Where did he even pop up from?”

Mo Liang’s origins were mysterious, and his spending was excessively lavish. So far, aside from knowing a name, all other information remained a thick fog.

“Forget it… Can’t figure him out.”

Still, they had deduced one piece of information from his actions: he was well-intentioned toward Li Zhuo. Those previously imagined scenarios of wealthy family grudges or silent, unseen revenge could likely all be completely discarded.

~

The scene of the conversation in the office was relayed to Mo Liang in real-time by the System. It advised: 【I think you should take note of your current identity’s information…】

Standing on the corridor walkway, Mo Liang ignored the background information the System kept repeating, his full attention fixed on the direction of a certain classroom.

A distance that might be completely unclear to others was practically close at hand for Mo Liang. If he wanted to, he could almost see the dense, interlaced capillaries beneath Li Zhuo’s skin and the clear patterns of his pupils in those amber-colored eyes.

The System spoke up beside him to remind:

【From the looks of it, the Mission Target is very unsociable. This isn’t good. Host, please guide him as soon as possible…】

Mo Liang was unconcerned:

【What’s not good about it? My child only needs me. That’s enough. I will give him all my love, several times more than the total mass of the entire universe combined…】

The System:

【………】

~

In the empty, echoing classroom of Class 10, only Li Zhuo sat in his seat, organizing the notes from the previous period.

The corridor outside the classroom was crammed with a row of students craning their necks and poking their heads to look downstairs. Almost every floor had this same situation.

The most lively place was naturally the playground.

It was said that two classes having P.E. got into a fight during free activity period. The cause seemed to be a minor grudge from before, which later escalated into physical scuffles, and then somehow inexplicably turned into a brawl between the two classes.

Several deans and the supervising teachers of each class had already gone down, but no matter what, they just couldn’t pull them apart.

This incident was far too juicy.

Halfway through the previous politics class, many were distracted by the commotion outside, their minds wandering as they kept sneaking glances out. When class ended, they practically surged out impatiently.

By the time the break ended and the warning bell had been ringing for a good while, the students outside reluctantly returned to the classroom.

Before the teacher arrived, the class was still abuzz, noisily discussing the earlier incident. As the intelligence guru, Deng Yuliang was naturally surrounded by the front and back rows of his desk, endlessly questioned.

Even some classmates from other groups had deliberately run over to hear the gossip. Li Zhuo, right next to him, seemed completely uninterested, just doing his own thing. Midway through, as if sensing something, he glanced out the window.

Oh, a bird fluttered past.

Perhaps to deal with the two classes’ mass brawl, the subject teacher arrived at the classroom much later than usual. The moment the teacher entered, their face was dark, and they erupted in a huge fit of anger.

That class period was also fraught with complications.

So when that class finally ended, the teacher had just stepped out the door when Deng Yuliang immediately began complaining impatiently: “You know why he missed his class last month? Because his wife is divorcing him.”

The classmates in the front and back rows immediately pressed for more upon hearing this.

“How do you know that?”

“I knew it, he was acting like he swallowed a stick of dynamite…”

As Deng Yuliang shared the gossip he knew, out of the corner of his eye, he glanced again at Li Zhuo, who showed little reaction.

That guy, seriously. It’s like there’s nothing that interests him.

~

Familiar spot, familiar figure, familiar gaze. Today, Mo Liang was once again silently “accompanying” his child from a place where his child couldn’t see him.

【You’re truly the most dedicated Host I’ve ever seen. The Hosts I met before almost all needed more rewards offered before they would proactively do missions…】

Since Mo Liang hadn’t configured the System’s appearance, it remained a small ball of light only Mo Liang could see.

In other worlds, it needed to fulfill its role as a guiding system, moving the Host step-by-step to complete missions. But this Host didn’t need its guidance at all.

It floated in mid-air, wavering ceaselessly.

【Host, may I ask a question?】

【My database doesn’t contain much information on the later stages of the Pollution Era. The information on individuals who successfully survived is extremely scarce. You’re the first one I’ve ever bound to…】

【I asked around before from other, higher-ranking systems. I heard that you all are very averse to entering Primitive Small Worlds. Why is that?】

Mo Liang continued browsing the data scrolling rapidly across his retina. Too lazy to answer, he directly tossed the System a very small compressed packet.

Confidential details like the specific location of his clan had already been stripped away. What remained was nothing more than harmless common knowledge:

The civilization Mo Liang belonged to was initially a low-level civilization. Only after a long, long time did it gradually develop into the Prosperity Era. At that time, fields like biotechnology, military, and culture reached their peak, and the entire civilization basked in unprecedented glory…

No one expected that after a brief carnival, what awaited them was a massive catastrophe—the Pollution Era.

99% of life forms afflicted by genetic pollution damage died. The remaining 1% survived stubbornly in a state utterly changed beyond recognition, evolving again and again in the harsh environment, gradually becoming an indescribable form.

No facial features, no limbs. Communication relied entirely on consciousness. Their forms could change at will, swelling rapidly or flowing smoothly into a narrow crack in the ground.

Thus, the Pollution Civilization was born.

…

Having dismissed the System, Mo Liang continued multitasking: observing all of Li Zhuo’s data while simultaneously learning more key knowledge points from the strategy guide.

Actually, there were many possible theories regarding their origin. One theory held that their ancestors, long, long ago, were also Primitive Humans.

But this theory held little meaning. After all, even if that were once true, they had now, one by one, all transformed into an alien species completely different from humans.

Through Li Zhuo’s breathing rate, blood pressure, heartbeat, and muscle activity, Mo Liang could determine whether his current sleep state was light sleep or deep sleep.

Mo Liang left a new time record in his log: He fell asleep earlier today than yesterday.

At that moment, the System, having finished reading, appeared again. The light emitted by the ball of light flickered weakly then strongly. Its tone, which should have been monotonous, seemed to carry emotion.

【So that’s it! So that’s it!】

【…The unknown virus that broke out on a large scale not only disassembled and recombined biological cell structures at the molecular level but also attacked the nervous system…】

【No wonder you’re unwilling to come to Primitive Worlds…】

【With your nervous systems restructured, you can communicate efficiently with your kin through consciousness. But upon arriving in a Primitive World, this link is forcibly severed, leading to unpredictable mental disorders…】

【The air composition and electromagnetic fields here cause you discomfort. Pure water and food also destroy your unique digestive and immune systems. All pure substances are unabsorbable to you…】

【No wonder most of your kin would rather go to a rapidly developing Prosperity Era or the devastated Wasteland Era than the cleanest Primitive World…】

【No wonder you need something to isolate the outside world…】

The System’s ball of light dimmed slightly. It flew around Mo Liang, perplexed.

【Then why did you…】

【I remember you were the one who proactively came to me to take this mission. Honestly, the Rescue series has never been as popular as the other series. The points I can offer are very few…】

【This isn’t some high-dimensional world. The Host can’t use the mission as an excuse to earn extra on the side. You even have to subsidize the Mission Target. So it’s been hard to find someone…】

Mo Liang’s eyes remained open the whole time. If he hadn’t been concealing his form, others might have noticed the countless abnormalities beneath his seemingly normal exterior.

【I felt terrible when I saw the mission plot description. Especially at the end, when he died silently in the river, I sensed a very familiar aura…】

【So I came.】

【Did I mention it?】

【I once had a child.】

The wavering frequency of the ball of light halted. It seemed to say something, yet seemed to say nothing at all.

【Oh, it’s true I am incapable of procreation. But who says lacking that ability means I can’t have a child that belongs to me?】

【Although I no longer remember that child’s name, or his face, or how I met him, or how I lost him, I always remember one thing. Something I absolutely cannot forget…】

【I must find him. Even if my entire consciousness dissipates because of it, even if I completely die, I must find him…】

The System, after all, was just a string of code. There were far too many things it didn’t understand. In its database, the vast majority of life forms cared more about themselves.

【Is he even more important than yourself?】

Mo Liang’s mouth split open, revealing a dense array of coldly gleaming teeth. A smile that wasn’t quite a smile. A light bordering on fanaticism coalesced and took shape in his eyes.

Then he spoke, using very standard Primitive Human Common Tongue.

“He is my child. Of course, he is more important than me. Please do not ask such foolish questions again. I will not answer a second time.”