Xing Shi wiped his hair dry and walked into the living room.
He played with his phone for a while. When he saw Fu Xiuning coming out, he asked, “What do you think of my little brother?”
Fu Xiuning sat down next to him. The emotion in his eyes had already settled, and he returned to his usual gentle demeanor. “He looks fine.”
Xing Shi understood—judging from Fu Xiuning’s words, Chai Xiaoyu was a native.
He wasn’t exactly happy about this revelation, but it wouldn’t change his stance or make him go easy.
Crossing his legs, he looked at Fu Xiuning. “If he asks me to go out and have fun in the next few days, I’ll make time to accompany him.”
Fu Xiuning, remembering Xing Shi’s stance earlier, responded with a soft “hmm.”
Xing Shi didn’t want to dwell on the subject any longer, so he ended the topic and leaned forward slightly to chat with him about something else.
Fu Xiuning quickly caught on that he didn’t want to overthink things, and the light in his eyes brightened just a little. He noticed a drop of water sliding down from Xing Shi’s hair, tracing along his ear and neck. He instinctively reached out and wiped it away.
Xing Shi’s back tensed slightly, and he abruptly stopped talking.
Fu Xiuning lowered his gaze and met his eyes. They were very close, their breaths intertwined.
The best fortune coldly announced: “91.”
99 and the latecomer, who had been watching closely, instantly turned to look at it.
The latecomer protested, “What are you doing?! I finally got to witness this scene!”
99 added, “Yeah, it’ll drop later!”
Shang Shang Qian remained indifferent. “Just giving a reminder.”
Xing Shi, hearing the alert, was immediately pulled out of the moment and leaned back slightly to create some distance.
Fu Xiuning, who could only hear 99’s voice but could guess the situation, composed himself and withdrew his hand.
Xing Shi adjusted his mood and began thinking of ways to lower the favorability score.
He sang three songs in a row, but the score didn’t budge at all. He then sincerely suggested, “Brother, let’s go buy a little sheep. I’ll take you for a ride.”
Fu Xiuning knew there was no better option at the moment. He stayed silent for a few seconds before compromising, “Okay.”
【Didi】
[Current Favorability Value: 90]
Xing Shi’s eyes lit up. “Let’s go now. A nighttime ride sounds fun, and I’ll take you to the company tomorrow morning.”
Fu Xiuning stared at him silently.
Xing Shi looked back at him expectantly.
Fu Xiuning stood up from the sofa, his expression gentle. “Okay.”
【Didi】
[Current Favorability Value: 89]
Three systems: “…”
The latecomer was shocked. “It… works that well?”
99 guessed, “Maybe he wants to maintain his dignity as the older—uh, brother.”
Xing Shi couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
He had eaten, showered, and was ready to give in for the night.
Seeing that the score had dropped, he playfully suggested, “How about I wait at home while you go buy it yourself and ride back?”
Fu Xiuning knew he didn’t really want to go and simply sat back down.
This time, he didn’t reach out casually, worried that he might lose control of his favorability again.
Instead, he picked up the book beside him and lowered his gaze to read.
Xing Shi quietly observed this familiar scene, and his emotions fully settled.
Sensing Xing Shi’s gaze, Fu Xiuning closed his book and gently asked, “Do you want to watch a movie?”
Xing Shi had no objections. “Sure. What do you want to watch?”
Fu Xiuning checked his phone and picked a well-reviewed movie.
The living room lights were turned off, leaving only the glow from the TV screen.
The two sat side by side, quietly watching the film.
The movie lasted two hours. After it ended, Xing Shi said goodnight to Fu Xiuning and returned to his room. Lying on his bed, he started carving a magic circle for Shang Shang Qian.
The best fortune trembled slightly, floating there without a word.
99 and the latecomer observed for a long time. Seeing that it remained silent, 99 glanced meaningfully at the latecomer.
The latecomer, feeling both humiliated and pressured, grumbled, “It’s really uncomfortable!”
99 commented, “But it’s fine.”
The latecomer snapped, “That’s because it’s not happening to you! You’ll understand when it’s your turn!”
99, knowing its own limits, imagined the situation and immediately shut up in fear.
Having had prior experience, Xing Shi executed the carving process much more smoothly this time. He continued until he was nearly exhausted before finally retracting his energy.
The best fortune trembled again, quivered slightly, and soon stabilized.
99 and the latecomer rushed over and eagerly asked, “How is it?”
The best fortune calmly replied, “Not bad.”
99 and the latecomer looked at it in awe, thinking, You’re a true warrior!
Xing Shi gestured for them to quiet down, rolled over, and fell into a deep sleep.
—
The next day, his schedule remained as usual, balancing between school and company training. Before he realized it, evening had arrived.
Since Xing Shi didn’t have any evening elective classes, he stayed at the company for training. Fu Xiuning didn’t go home after work but accompanied him to a restaurant for dinner.
Halfway through their meal, a small commotion arose in the restaurant, followed by some noise from the dining area outside.
Then, Fu Xiuning’s phone suddenly rang. The caller ID showed that it was Yan Feng’s agent.
He immediately guessed what had happened and answered the call.
Yan Feng had passed away.
The news quickly exploded across the internet, dominating the trending topics.
After being in a coma for more than half a month, he never woke up and passed away in his sleep.
Fans wept openly, while major bloggers expressed their condolences and disseminated information on preventing cerebral hemorrhages.
At the same time, several systems caught wind of the news and reopened their chat group.
Seeing that the latecomer’s username was still there, they all fell silent.
A system cannot survive long after being separated from its host. If Yan Feng had been a host, whether a native or a transmigrator, his system would have inevitably gone offline upon his death. That was common sense.
However, after patiently waiting for half an hour, the latecomer’s name still hadn’t disappeared. Finally, they couldn’t hold back anymore.
You Are All Concubines: [@Later, are you still active?]
Green Bean Soup: [So the senior’s host wasn’t Yan Feng? 🤣]
Gong Xi Fa Cai: [Hey, can’t you guys be a little more sincere?]
Hearing the discussion, 99 and the latecomer braced themselves as more messages flooded in.
Latecomer: [Tsk, I didn’t expect to be exposed so soon.]
You Are All Concubines: [You’ve been silent ever since Yan Feng got into trouble. Were you just throwing smoke bombs at us?]
Latecomer: [Of course. What do you think? Did you all really believe he was my host?]
Gong Xi Fa Cai: [To be honest, I was kind of worried about it.]
Green Bean Soup: [Me too! You seniors are so sneaky.]
Latecomer: [Hahaha, sorry to make you all worry for nothing. My host is perfectly fine~]
You Are All Concubines: [Oh, what’s the point of playing these little tricks? You’re destined to be carried away anyway.]
Latecomer: [Impossible. Just look at my ID—if anyone is going to disappear, it’ll be you.]
Gong Xi Fa Cai: [Hey, don’t fight.]
You Are All Concubines: [Let’s not argue. It’s pointless. Time will reveal everything.]
Gong Xi Fa Cai: [@Shang Shang Qian, so last time when you mentioned pretending to be crazy, you weren’t talking about Yu Yi? What was that about? Why did you make it sound so serious?]
The best fortune remained silent.
You Are All Concubines and Gong Xi Fa Cai glanced at its username and felt a little disappointed.
Shang Shang Qian was too composed and always managed to hit the nail on the head. They all knew it was difficult to deal with, and they had long wanted to uncover its host.
Unfortunately, it was tight-lipped and rarely talked about its host. The only time it had admitted to having one was with Yu Shu, but after Yu Shu’s death, that was proven false.
The last time Latecomer had been involved, they had been hopeful.
Yan Feng didn’t seem like a typical host, but his background matched, and his personality had changed. Meanwhile, Yu Yi’s identity and behavior closely resembled those of a host, and his madness fit the profile. Based on their reasoning, Latecomer’s host should have been Yan Feng, while Shang Shang Qian’s host should have been Yu Yi.
Although Shang Shang Qian never confirmed this, and Latecomer had even “frankly admitted” to being Yan Feng’s system, they had all still believed this theory was likely correct.
When they found out they had been right about Yu Yi, they had felt reassured.
But now, with today’s revelation that Yan Feng was not Latecomer’s host, their previous speculation fell apart.
You Are All Concubines: [The only person who suddenly went crazy around Fu Xiuning recently was Yu Yi, and the timeline matches. I don’t think that’s a coincidence. Could it be that you two noticed Yu Yi was about to lose it and deliberately misled us to shift our attention onto him? What was the purpose? Or… is @Shang Shang Qian’s host really Yu Yi, and @Latecomer’s host actually someone else present at the scene—Xing Shi?]
Latecomer quickly asked its boss for instructions and then responded:
Latecomer: [Bingo~ You figured it out! My host is Xing Shi. He’s got a great relationship with Fu Xiuning. So, what do you think? Are you scared?]
Green Bean Soup: [There you go again. 😂]
Gong Xi Fa Cai: [Ugh, I’m tired. I can’t keep up with your logic anymore.]
You Are All Concubines: [I’m done guessing. No matter what, you’re going to get carried away sooner or later.]
Latecomer: [No, really, I’m telling the truth this time. ❤️]
You Are All Concubines: [Yeah, sure. 🙄]
Latecomer glanced at the chat messages and asked Xing Shi, “Do you think they’ll try asking Yu Yi directly to confirm everything? If they do, they’ll realize that the best fortune’s host was Yu Shu, and my host was actually Yan Feng. If they find out we’re still online after our hosts died, that’s a huge problem.”
Xing Shi said, “The mental hospital where Yu Yi is staying has strict visitor registration.”
Latecomer had an epiphany.
Visiting Yu Yi without being a relative would immediately raise suspicion and expose them to all the other hosts.
Their relationships in the group were all superficial. The chat had always been filled with half-truths, and everyone was used to navigating through deception. No one would risk exposing themselves just to confirm such a minor detail.
Xing Shi knew how important Yu Yi was, but Fu Xiuning was already aware of the remaining hosts and was keeping a close watch on them.
He added, “Don’t worry. No one can see him that easily.”
Fu Xiuning had just finished a phone call, organizing the response measures for the Yan Feng situation.
He put down his phone and thought about Yu Yi.
Yu Yi’s existence was too unique. If this information got out, Xing Shi would be exposed too.
He looked at Xing Shi and said, “The company will be handling Yan Feng’s funeral. All our artists might return.”
Xing Shi raised an eyebrow. It seemed like he would finally meet the two artist-hosts.
Fu Xiuning asked, “Should we waste one?”
The topic switched so fast that it took Xing Shi a second to catch on. He then asked, “Sure. What about you?”
Fu Xiuning said, “I know what to do.”
The three systems listened in together.
99 was confused. “What do you mean? Are you guys using secret codes again?”
Shang Shang Qian understood immediately and remained calm. Given their situation, one wrong step could doom them. There was no room for leniency.
It pondered for a few seconds, then suddenly let out a hiss.
99 immediately turned to look at it and floated over.
Latecomer, realizing that the vague wording was due to them being in a restaurant, explained, “The last time the word ‘waste’ was used, it meant I was going to absorb Yan Feng’s soul energy.”
99 thought about it and finally understood. “So ‘wasting one’ means letting go of Yu Yi’s energy?”
Latecomer confirmed, “Yeah.”
99 immediately hissed as well. It was obvious that Fu Xiuning intended to finish off Yu Yi. Xing Shi’s unfinished sentence was probably telling him to be careful.
Just as it was about to comment, the chat group notification pinged again. A newcomer had sent a message.
Green Bean Soup: [Since you seniors are free today, I have something to ask. If the host leaves a bad impression on Fu Xiuning, how can I fix it? 😭]
Then, it shared the host’s favorability score.
The other systems clicked on it and saw the number: -8.
Latecomer: [hiss]
You Are All Concubines: [……]
Gong Xi Fa Cai: [Ah, this…]
The Best Fortune: [……]
Green Bean Soup: [Is there still hope for me? 😭]
Gong Xi Fa Cai: [How did this happen? How did it drop to -8?!]
Green Bean Soup: [I don’t know either! Fu Xiuning is impossible to figure out. I just want to know if there’s any way to fix it. 😭]
You Are All Concubines: [You should ask @Long Live Face Control.]
Gong Xi Fa Cai: [Their host used to have a -8 favorability score, but later, it increased a bit.]
Green Bean Soup: [@Long Live Face Control, please help, senior!]
99 relayed the news from the chat group to Xing Shi and asked, “What should I do? Should I make an appearance?”
Xing Shi said calmly, “Don’t bother with it.”
99 hesitated. “Won’t they get suspicious?”
Xing Shi replied, “No matter how suspicious they are, they won’t be able to guess the truth.”
99 continued monitoring the chat.
Gong Xi Fa Cai: [@Long Live Face Control, come out and help the newcomer?]
Latecomer: [Hasn’t shown up for a long time. Fighting with the host again?]
You Are All Concubines: [@Long Live Face Control, you two should stop hurting each other. If it’s not working out, we can give you some ideas.]
But no matter how much they prodded, there was no response.
It had rarely been active in the chat since coming to this world, and even before that, they had barely interacted. Since they weren’t particularly close, the other systems lost interest and turned their attention to Green Bean Soup, asking what had happened so they could offer some advice.
Green Bean Soup, of course, wouldn’t reveal any details about its host. It simply made up a generic scenario about an unpleasant meeting and received a flood of suggestions. Even though it knew some of the senior systems might have ulterior motives, their advice could still serve as a reference for what to avoid.
After the discussion, the group chat quieted down again.
Yan Feng’s Funeral
Yan Feng’s funeral proceeded swiftly.
A lawyer read out his will, the company managed the entire event, and everything was conducted transparently, leaving no room for speculation.
Moreover, one of June Culture‘s major stakeholders was Qi Changyi, a well-respected figure in the industry. So when conspiracy theories occasionally popped up online suggesting the company had embezzled funds, fans immediately shut them down before the company even had to issue a clarification.
The trainees, many of whom saw Yan Feng as a mentor, attended the funeral, all looking grief-stricken.
Xing Shi accompanied them through the process and then stood by Fu Xiuning’s side.
As June Culture’s boss, Fu Xiuning paid his respects and left soon after. Other artists who weren’t particularly close to Yan Feng did the same. Among them were two artists who had rarely returned to the company—the two remaining hosts.
- Li Yu, a cold and serious woman with sharp words, embodying the queen archetype.
- Sang Chenhao, a handsome man with a kind smile, giving off a gentle demeanor.
Unfortunately, both of them had packed schedules and could only take the day off. After briefly greeting Fu Xiuning and meeting Xing Shi, they left.
Yan Feng’s body was kept for three days before being cremated.
During this time, Xing Shi finished carving the magic circle for Shang Shang Qian. Meanwhile, the fragments of Yan Feng’s soul continued to fade, threatening to dissipate at any moment.
The three systems circled around and examined him, ultimately concluding:
“It seems that a host without a system carrier like us cannot persist.”
Xing Shi had initially planned to wait for Yan Feng to recover his memories and then take him back to test things out. But seeing the current situation, he had no choice but to abandon that idea.
Still, he didn’t feel much regret. After all, he had already learned a lot after capturing Shang Shang Qian.
The Truth About the Systems
From what he had gathered, Shang Shang Qian and Latecomer had followed the main system through multiple worlds, conquering them.
Each world was heavily fortified, making it difficult for external systems to invade and siphon off energy. Initially, the main system could only send hosts and attached systems into the world.
These hosts were like worker ants—some successfully broke through the barriers, while others got lost along the way. This was commonplace, and the system had long since grown used to these occasional losses.
Moreover, external energy couldn’t be too high, or the world itself would reject it. This was why the main system had to limit the number of hosts and systems active in a single world.
For example, Fu Xiuning could only have a maximum of six systems present at once.
Under normal circumstances, as the strategy missions progressed, hosts would exchange favorability points for system store items, establishing energy channels. This allowed the main system to absorb the world’s energy, extend its influence, and manipulate more aspects of the world.
But this world was different.
After five years of attempting to attack Fu Xiuning, not only was there no progress, but the system had lost a significant amount of energy. Now, it was stuck outside the world, watching helplessly.
Thus, having a system successfully return with valuable data was a rare victory, even if it didn’t carry a host’s soul energy. The main system wouldn’t care—it just wanted any information it could get.
The End of Yan Feng
Xing Shi sent a thread of energy toward Yan Feng’s soul fragments, carefully analyzing them. After confirming there was no way to save him, he stood in the crowd, watching as Yan Feng’s ashes were buried, completing the final process.
Then, as he descended the mountain, he gathered the remaining soul fragments and let them scatter into the air, completely dissipating.
99 was somewhat sentimental:
“I wonder which world he came from, what kind of life he lived, whether he was originally a host or someone captured by the system.”
Then it added, somewhat critically,
“I only know that he was a self-centered, overconfident type.”
After a moment of contemplation, it sighed dramatically,
“Rest in peace, former boss. May heaven be filled with work for you.”
Xing Shi: “…”
99: “???”
The Best Fortune: “…”
With Yan Feng gone, life returned to normal.
Chai Xiaoyu’s Departure
Chai Xiaoyu spent five days playing around in City Z.
Perhaps influenced by Yan Feng’s sudden death, he didn’t bother Xing Shi much. Instead, he simply sent a farewell message on WeChat before leaving.
Xing Shi wasn’t concerned—he figured Chai Xiaoyu’s next move would likely be finding a job in City Z, so there was no need to dwell on it. Instead, he focused on engraving a magic circle for 99.
99’s Turn for the Magic Circle
99 immediately screamed, “Ahhhhhh!”
Latecomer excitedly came over to watch and teased, “Just bear with it. It’ll pass soon.”
99 whined, “Easy for you to say! You were crying when it was your turn!”
Latecomer scoffed, “Pfft, looking back on it now, it wasn’t even that bad. Hardly hurt at all.”
99: “Liar!”
Fu Xiuning’s Arrangements
While Xing Shi was preparing 99’s formation, Fu Xiuning was making final arrangements for Yu Yi. At the same time, he was reviewing a list of candidates provided by Xing Shi.
This list, compiled by Shang Shang Qian and Latecomer, contained entertainers in the industry who met specific criteria:
- Not particularly famous
- Prone to causing trouble
- Had enough scandals and negative publicity
- Would create controversy the moment they were exposed
Xing Shi asked, “If the other company figures out you’re behind this, will they hold a grudge?”
Fu Xiuning replied calmly, “It’s a competitive business. I’ll give them a justifiable reason.”
Xing Shi raised an eyebrow, “Oh? And what reason is that?”
Fu Xiuning said, “There’s a drinking party the day after tomorrow.”
Xing Shi immediately understood. “Are you sure you don’t need me to go with you?”
Fu Xiuning shook his head. “No, I can handle it.”
Xing Shi warned seriously, “Brother, you must not drink anything of unknown origin.”
Fu Xiuning couldn’t help but ask, “What if I do drink it?”
Xing Shi replied seriously, “Then I’ll have no choice but to visit you in the hospital.”
Fu Xiuning chuckled softly, reached out to ruffle Xing Shi’s hair, and said nothing more.
The Drinking Party
Two days later, Fu Xiuning attended the drinking party.
As planned, a small-time celebrity took the bait and offended him.
Before the other party’s agent even had a chance to apologize, Fu Xiuning stood up and left the venue.
Three days later, the celebrity’s negative scandals exploded across the internet, instantly becoming a hot topic.
Fans were outraged, claiming their worldview had been shattered and cursing him non-stop.
The celebrity had originally planned to use this opportunity to stir up drama and pressure Fu Xiuning, but unfortunately, he never even got the chance to meet him face-to-face. Left with no other choice, he had to return to his company in a panic, seeking help.
As the trending search stayed on the front page for most of the day, a familiar system pinged the chat group.
Latecomer: [“Boss.”]
Xing Shi responded softly, “Let’s go.”
The Latecomer looked at the other two systems and sighed, “Happy times never last long. I’ll miss you guys.”
99 was heartbroken, “Me too!”
The Best Fortune remained its usual cold self, “We’ll see each other again soon.”
The Latecomer smiled, “Alright, I’ll wait for you at the Main System.”
Finally, it turned to Xing Shi.
This time, it didn’t call him ‘Boss’. Instead, it used his name for the first time and said with a genuine smile:
“Xing Shi, I wish you and Fu Xiuning a long and happy life together. And… I hope we never see each other again.”
Xing Shi understood what those words truly meant.
If he and Fu Xiuning failed, they would be devoured by the Main System, and they would meet again—as mere energy.
But if they succeeded, and the Main System collapsed, then the Latecomer would disintegrate along with it.
He nodded, “Hmm. Safe travels. See you later.”
The Latecomer trembled slightly, then waved one last time before vanishing from Xing Shi’s side.
At that moment, 99 and Shang Shang Qian heard the familiar “Ding-Di” notification sound.
They opened the chat group just in time to see the ID “Latecomer” slowly fade out and disappear.
99 cried out, “What do we do now?! Will we ever see it again?”
The Best Fortune answered, “Yes.”
99’s eyes lit up with hope. “Really?”
The Best Fortune continued coldly, “Yes. That is, if Xing Shi can find a way to unbind you, create an opportunity for you to return, and you don’t get lost in the process—then you’ll see each other again.”
99: “…”
