Lin Kecheng almost lost control of his expression.
He tried to stay composed: “It must be because of what happened last time. The police might have said something to him, but we can definitely distance ourselves from it. Once the investigation results come out, the score will rise again. When he realizes he misunderstood me, it’ll increase even more.”
His system echoed his optimism, but deep down, it was panicking.
Unlike Lin Kecheng, it knew the truth. Many hosts had initially been optimistic because they thought they were making progress with Fu Xiuning, only to realize how wrong they were.
Fu Xiuning’s favorability points only fluctuated significantly in the first year or two of the mission. Over time, they became lower and lower, as if he were gradually losing his ability to feel human emotions. Some hosts had even remained at -5 favorability when they were ultimately “removed.”
This pattern indicated that Fu Xiuning wouldn’t deduct points based on suspicion alone. If anything, it feared that Fu Xiuning’s departure from the Student Union had caused his previous subordinates to become irrelevant in his eyes, resulting in a reset to the default -5.
If this was true, Lin Kecheng’s only chance to recover his favorability was to join Fu Xiuning’s company.
At the same time, Xingshi and his system were also having a conversation.
The system protested, “Why are you trying to test him? If you suspect he’s a host, shouldn’t you be more careful? What if he starts suspecting you too?”
Xingshi replied nonchalantly, “I’m curious.”
The system tried to reason with him: “But there are risks.”
Xingshi saw Lin Kecheng approaching and unbuckled his seatbelt. “I know.”
Before he opened the door, Fu Xiuning asked, “Where are you going to eat?”
Lin Kecheng overheard and quickly answered, “Cultural Plaza.”
He composed himself and explained, “My junior has training tonight, so this location is closer and more convenient.”
Fu Xiuning nodded. “Get in the car.”
Lin Kecheng smiled and thanked him before opening the car door.
Since the Cultural Plaza was in the same direction as his company, Fu Xiuning decided to give them a ride.
Once inside, Lin Kecheng tried to salvage the situation by bringing up the progress of the Shao Jianbai incident, hoping to clarify things and recover some points.
Fu Xiuning responded, “The family lawyer is handling it. I haven’t asked.”
His tone was calm, and his expression remained reassuring, the same as it had been before. “He’ll definitely be sentenced for intentional injury. That’s just his personality. Don’t take it to heart.”
Lin Kecheng’s smile froze.
The system screamed internally. The point deduction had nothing to do with this incident!
As one person and one system fell into despair, Lin Kecheng forced himself to reply politely while frantically discussing with his system how and why the 1 point had been lost.
Meanwhile, Xingshi glanced at the driver.
Fu Xiuning’s earlier attitude clearly showed he suspected Lin Kecheng had orchestrated the incident. But now, he was calmly appeasing everyone, as if it didn’t matter.
After reading through the information, Xingshi concluded that Fu Xiuning had encountered too many similar situations and had become desensitized. No wonder his default attitude toward people was -5.
After enduring five years of constant attacks, Fu Xiuning remained as gentle and polite as ever. Here he was, driving someone who had plotted against him, calm and composed—a wealthy young noble turned into a calculating, twisted boss.
Fu Xiuning focused on the road ahead, while listening to two conversations simultaneously.
On one side, Lin Kecheng and his system were discussing how to make themselves useful to Fu Xiuning again and how to join his company as quickly as possible. They had concluded that the Student Union was no longer a viable platform.
On the other side, Xingshi’s system was still trying to persuade its host to abandon the idea of testing Lin Kecheng. Fu Xiuning paid closer attention to this conversation.
The reason he had revealed Lin Kecheng’s schemes was to warn Xingshi. Lin Kecheng was just another source of amusement, like the other hosts. But Xingshi was different—there were too many anomalies surrounding him, and Fu Xiuning couldn’t afford for anything to happen before he figured them out.
Perhaps because of this, Fu Xiuning found himself disliking Lin Kecheng more when he learned that Xingshi planned to confront him. It might also be because Lin Kecheng, who had never contributed anything meaningful and only caused trouble, seemed increasingly dispensable.
System 99 failed to dissuade Xingshi.
It sighed while pulling up the requested information. “You need to consider the worst-case scenario before doing this. What if he starts suspecting you? How will you handle it?”
Xingshi replied casually, “I’ll just admit it. You should be brave enough to take responsibility for your actions.”
System: “?”
Fu Xiuning: “…”
The system’s data almost froze. “What? What are you thinking?”
Xingshi replied calmly, “I’m an open-minded person.”
The system didn’t believe him. “Do you want to form an alliance with him?”
Xingshi tilted his head thoughtfully. “Is that an option?”
The system hesitated. “It’s possible, but I wouldn’t recommend it. There’s only one grand prize. Hosts are in a competitive relationship. If the alliance ends, he might target you first.”
Xingshi shrugged. “That’s fine. I might target him first before the alliance ends.”
System: “…”
Who just said they were open-minded?
The system sighed. “The system isn’t stupid. To ensure the safety and interests of the host, alliances require a contract. Neither party can harm the other during the alliance period. If one party violates the contract, the other can report them to the main system. Once the alliance is formed, a ‘friend’ bar will appear on the interface, allowing both parties to communicate and share locations in real-time.”
Xingshi raised an eyebrow. “You can just use a phone for that.”
The system explained, “This method eliminates the risk of leaks. You don’t have to send messages yourself. Just tell me, and I’ll handle it.”
Xingshi asked, “How do you sign the contract?”
The system replied, “The hosts shake hands as a gesture of agreement, and the contract is signed automatically.”
Xingshi’s interest was piqued. He suspected there might be an energy flow involved during the handshake.
He had initially planned to test Lin Kecheng to confirm his identity as a host, but now he saw an additional opportunity.
“I see. Is there a time limit? Can I form an alliance for just one day?”
The system confirmed, “Yes.”
Xingshi nodded, satisfied. “Not bad. Have you found the information yet?”
The system replied, “I’ve found it… Are you really planning to form an alliance?”
Xingshi confirmed, “Yes. I’ll try it for two days first.”
System: “???”
Fu Xiuning slowly stopped at the red light and glanced at the person sitting next to him.
He could tell that Xingshi was definitely up to something again. While part of him wanted to stay and listen, he knew his presence would prevent the two from speaking freely.
So, he calmly listened to the conversations unfolding in both minds as he drove the car to the Cultural Square.
Lin Kecheng failed to convince Fu Xiuning to have dinner with them and regretfully took Xingshi into the mall.
The two had already discussed their meal choice, so they headed straight to the restaurant upstairs.
After Lin Kecheng finished ordering, Xingshi opened his phone, downloaded a mobile reading app as instructed by the system, located a specific novel, and pressed the reading function.
Suddenly, a cold male voice boomed from the phone:
“Host, your mission is going to fail!”
Lin Kecheng, caught off guard, choked on his water and turned his head, coughing violently.
He took a deep breath, listened to the rest of the sentence, realized it was coming from a novel, and turned to Xingshi: “You…”
Xingshi frantically pressed the screen, turned off the sound, and looked up apologetically. “Sorry, senior, I pressed the wrong button. Did I scare you?”
Lin Kecheng wiped his mouth with a napkin and forced a dry laugh. “Well, it startled me. Are you reading a novel?”
Xingshi nodded. “My roommate recommended it to me, saying it’s really good. This is my first time reading an online novel, and it’s quite interesting. It’s about a protagonist bound to a system, traveling through different worlds.”
He added wistfully, “I wish I had such a powerful system. But that’s just wishful thinking, right? How could something like that exist?”
Lin Kecheng’s eyes flashed with pride, and he smiled. “Yes.”
Xingshi noticed his reaction and estimated that Lin Kecheng was most likely a host. He called out to his own system: “He doesn’t seem to know there are other hosts.”
The system agreed: “Yes, he doesn’t seem suspicious of you at all. Are you still planning to form an alliance?”
Xingshi replied, “Of course.”
He gave Lin Kecheng a friendly smile and lowered his voice. “Let me tease you a little, senior. I suspect you’re a host because I’m one too.”
Lin Kecheng’s eyes widened in shock: “???”
His system, already on edge, froze: “…”
Xingshi continued, “I don’t know where the other hosts are. Senior, do you have any suspects?”
Lin Kecheng, who had always believed he was unique and special, felt his worldview collapse. He frantically called his system. “Are there others?!”
Xingshi leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands. “There are six of us in total.”
Lin Kecheng: “!!!”
Xingshi tilted his head curiously. “I came from another world. Senior, are you also from another world, or are you a native of this one?”
Lin Kecheng, feeling completely unmoored, stammered, “…Travel through time?”
Xingshi gave him a concerned look and hesitated. “Senior… don’t you know anything?”
This comment hit Lin Kecheng right in his insecurities, and his mental defenses completely collapsed.
His system scrambled to apologize and comfort him, while also sneaking glances at Xingshi, wondering what kind of reckless lunatic it had encountered.
Xingshi didn’t let up. “It doesn’t matter.”
He sighed dramatically. “The real issue is that Fu Xiuning is way too hard to deal with. His favorability score only moves by a few points at a time. I’ve been here for two months, and my score hasn’t even broken 10 yet. Senior, you’ve been here longer than me. You must be way ahead, right?”
Lin Kecheng, who had gained only one point in six months and then lost it again: “???!!!”
His system, equally devastated, opened their shared system group chat and immediately started venting.
God Feeds Me: [There’s a new guy here who’s almost breaking level 10, but last time he pretended to be stuck at -5. Amazing!]
The group chat exploded.
Everyone who had been struggling to earn even a single point collectively lost their minds and tagged Long Live Face Control in outrage.
System 99 remained silent, waiting to see what its host would do next.
Xingshi got to the point. “I’m not very smart, and it’s exhausting to handle the mission alone. Why don’t we form an alliance? Senior, can you guide me?”
Both Lin Kecheng and his system were momentarily stunned.
They had just been discussing in the car how to manipulate Xingshi to their advantage. Now that they knew he was a host, things would be even easier.
After a quick explanation from his system about alliance contracts, Lin Kecheng decided on the spot. “Alright.”
Xingshi smiled. “How many points have you earned so far, senior?”
Lin Kecheng, trying to maintain his composure, replied, “That’s confidential. I can’t tell you until we form an alliance. Once we sign the contract, we can exchange screenshots.”
Xingshi considered this under Lin Kecheng’s watchful gaze and finally agreed. “Okay. Let’s try it for a week and see how we get along.”
Lin Kecheng had hoped to sign a three-month contract but decided not to push his luck. He resolved to make Xingshi extend the alliance within the week.
Xingshi extended his hand and secretly activated his ability to absorb magic energy.
As their hands clasped, he immediately felt a flow of energy. He focused on absorbing it and, just before they let go, managed to extract a faint trace of energy that disappeared into his mind.
Although he couldn’t locate where the energy went, it was clear that it could be absorbed.
If he could convince Lin Kecheng to extend their alliance after a week, he could continue to reap the benefits!
He was instantly delighted.
Lin Kecheng and his system, meanwhile, were thrilled to have secured a strong teammate for the price of just -5 favorability points.
They eagerly opened the screenshot of Xingshi’s favorability score, expecting to see a high number.
The image loaded, revealing a single number: -8.
One person and one system: “…”
