HAGLTP Chapter 4

After a few breaths, Mr. A let out a low chuckle: “Hehehe…, you’re quite perceptive.”

Xiao Lu remained noncommittal. He felt this was a deliberate flaw left in the other’s words, possibly intended to test whether he had the ability to detect it.

If he couldn’t, perhaps the other party’s purpose would change, such as eliminating a disobedient lamb.

An old fox.

Xiao Lu subtly increased the distance between them: “Now, can you tell me what you intend to do? I imagine your time isn’t very abundant.”

Mr. A seemed to be observing him, the oppressive atmosphere he had deliberately cultivated dissipating, returning to the refined air he had initially presented.

But Xiao Lu didn’t relax. Both the previous aggressive approach and the current gentle elegance might just be the old fox’s acting.

“Cooperation.” This time, Mr. A’s reply was unusually straightforward.

“With a cannon fodder?” Mr. A’s straightforwardness left Xiao Lu somewhat unsure of his intentions.

Someone who could move freely through worlds and conceal themselves from the main system, what could they possibly need to cooperate with cannon fodder for?

Mr. A’s tone was gentle, as if guiding him: “Ordinary cannon fodder can’t control the subsystem. How did you do it?”

Xiao Lu remained vigilant, but a calm smile played on his lips: “That’s my secret. What about you? What is your identity? And how did you conceal yourself from the system?”

“That’s my secret too.” Mr. A mirrored Xiao Lu’s response.

Xiao Lu inwardly cursed the shameless old fox.

“We both have our secrets. How about a cooperation where we don’t pry into each other’s affairs? I’ll provide assistance in each world, allowing you to experience the plot in your preferred way, and you’ll obtain certain items for me.” Mr. A proposed.

Xiao Lu’s heart stirred. He didn’t want to be cannon fodder as the system dictated, but he lacked the protagonist’s halo. Perhaps a collaborator would be a good choice.

This cooperative approach also suited him. He didn’t want to reveal his situation to someone of unknown background, especially since he wasn’t even clear about his own situation.

“What do you need?” Xiao Lu asked.

“This world’s final boss—Duan Kai’s Star Mark Crystal.” Mr. A said.

Those infected by starlight, whether they survived the consciousness impact to become ability users or were consumed by starlight to become Altered, would develop markings called Star Marks. Separating the Star Marks from their host creates Star Mark Crystals.

In other words, to obtain Duan Kai’s Star Mark Crystal, Xiao Lu had to defeat the big boss.

Generally, this kind of task is exclusive to the protagonist.

Xiao Lu laughed. Stealing the protagonist’s mission, interesting.

“Mr. A thinks highly of me.” Xiao Lu said.

“I merely trust my judgment.” Mr. A said calmly, “Your answer?”

Xiao Lu looked at the blank mask before him, not in a hurry to respond: “Your sincerity?”

“Indeed, I should demonstrate my sincerity first.” A hint of amusement was in Mr. A’s voice. He extended a hand towards Xiao Lu’s forehead: “I can resolve that little thing that’s been troubling you.”

Xiao Lu understood he was referring to System 10000.

He stared at the blank mask for three seconds, and the mist controlling the light sphere slowly dissipated.

The next instant, the light sphere detached from Xiao Lu’s consciousness, as if drawn by some force, steadily flying towards Mr. A, finally settling in his palm.

Mr. A closed his hand.

Without any visible movement, the light of System 10000 in his hand grew dimmer. When he reopened his palm, it had become a translucent little ball, looking soft and bouncy, like a mochi dumpling.

“Now it’s yours.” Mr. A released his hand.

The mochi dumpling floated up and down in the air, like a toddler taking its first steps, stumbling towards Xiao Lu.

“Beep, detected, master.”

“Requesting…naming…”

Before Xiao Lu could think of a name, the mochi dumpling plopped onto the ground.

It seemed to want to fly again, but after several futile attempts, it lay limply on its side, like a turtle flipped onto its back, completely devoid of its previous cold and ruthless demeanor.

“…” This unlucky thing might have gone stupid, Xiao Lu couldn’t help but think.

“Ahem.” Mr. A cleared his throat, as if sensing Xiao Lu’s thoughts.

He was also somewhat surprised: “I only removed the main system’s forced commands from it. It shouldn’t have affected its personality.”

“Then this is…?” Xiao Lu looked at the mochi dumpling still doing its awkward push-ups on the ground.

After a moment, Mr. A came to a heavy conclusion: “Each subsystem has its original personality, so now…it’s most likely its true nature.”

Xiao Lu: “…”

Doesn’t this mean this thing was originally a simpleton?

Mr. A added: “Even like this, it can be your personal assistant and provide false feedback to the main system.”

“Beep, naming—beep, naming—” The mochi dumpling persistently requested a name.

“System 10000…let’s call it Ivan.” Xiao Lu named it casually.

“Ivan, at your service.” Ivan finally gave up its struggle with flight. It rolled smoothly on the ground, finally settling obediently beside Xiao Lu.

Xiao Lu looked at the quiet Ivan, feeling it wasn’t so bad. At least he no longer needed to expend a lot of energy suppressing the system, allowing him to confront the starlight freely.

He didn’t believe he couldn’t handle a mere cosmic parasite.

Xiao Lu turned his gaze to Mr. A: “Happy cooperation.”

“Happy cooperation. As for other assistance…” Mr. A’s figure gradually faded.

“You’ll find out then…”

With his words dissipating, Xiao Lu was once again alone in the room.

“Tsk, an old fox who only speaks half the truth.” Xiao Lu chuckled at the empty wall.

He and Mr. A both held secrets, how long this cooperation would last was unknown, but for now, it was beneficial to him.

Time resumed its flow.

The surrounding noise returned, and the starlight’s assault in his mind was equally relentless, surging again to completely devour his consciousness.

Xiao Lu grinned, his eyes like those of a predatory beast.

Your turn.

The night-shrouded slums were like an ugly, deformed beast, parasitic on the corner of Yao City.

A man in uniform hid in the shadows of a street corner, opening his communicator: “I’ve tracked Altered 001’s phone signal to the slums. There’s severe signal interference here, unable to pinpoint the exact location. Should I proceed with the investigation?”

“He actually went to the slums…” The communicator hesitated.

“Return first. The situation there is complex, and they’re very hostile towards our people.”

“What about Altered 001?”

“A new team will handle him.”

Late night.

Xiao Keyang, wearing dark sunglasses and a mask, drove towards the low-key private Yao Xin Hospital.

A short while ago, he suddenly felt his heart beating irregularly, but with the ghostwriting scandal just breaking, and it being only a minor discomfort, Xiao Keyang thought he was just upset by Xiao Lu and didn’t want to go to the doctor.

But at night, his heartbeat grew increasingly rapid, and his body temperature began to rise, forcing him to secretly cover his face and set out under the cover of night.

This hospital had good relations with Yao City’s elite, valuing patient privacy, making it the only place Xiao Keyang felt comfortable with.

But before his car reached the hospital, the usually quiet road was packed with vehicles.

Xiao Keyang checked the time—23:43. Why were there so many cars at this hour?

The sheer number of cars blocked the road, and many anxious patients simply got out and walked forward, those unable to walk being slowly helped forward by others.

With a casual glance, Xiao Keyang saw many familiar faces: Linda, the famous literary singer he’d met on a program, Ye Song, the lead singer of a rock band, Lu Guangya, a singer who had been famous for 20 years…and among them seemed to be some figures from Yao City’s political circles.

What was going on tonight? Did his troubles upset half of Yao City’s bigwigs?

Even with his unwavering confidence in his charm, Xiao Keyang didn’t believe he could influence so many big shots.

A sense of unease crept into his heart.

Suddenly, Ye Song, a 30-year-old who frequently worked out, collapsed. His eyes were bloodshot, and his muscles were uncontrollably twitching.

“Ye Song—”

“What happened to him!!!?”

“Doctor!! Doctor!”

Soon, someone from the hospital came out with a stretcher to carry him in. But those who witnessed the scene were all shocked.

Something was wrong, something was very wrong tonight.

Xiao Keyang reached up to touch his burning temperature. He suspected a virus might have broken out in Yao City.

In the crowd, a boy in a baseball cap kept checking the time.

Because of Xiao Lu’s disruptive actions, the protagonist lost the opportunity to enhance his golden finger, causing him to miss the chance to cling to the protagonist’s thigh from the start.

Now he was a little anxious. If the protagonist went to the hospital at this time, he would miss meeting his life mentor. If this continued, it would be difficult to predict how the subsequent Altered plot would unfold.

But Xiao Keyang was the protagonist, shrouded in the protagonist’s halo, so nothing would go wrong no matter what.

The boy in the baseball cap decided to follow the protagonist from now on, finding the best opportunity to approach him. He just wanted to safely cling to the protagonist’s thigh, not foolishly oppose him.

Unlike Xiao Lu, who had already made an enemy of the protagonist. Xiao Keyang would definitely not let him go.

Oh, no, Xiao Lu also had dangerous starlight on him. How could a cannon fodder without the protagonist’s halo survive such a deadly thing?

Just wait and see, that guy will definitely die a miserable death.

Xiao Lu sat by the bed with his eyes closed.

The starlight’s consciousness assault was still as violent as a tidal wave, but Xiao Lu was no longer the traveler about to drown.

This time, he transformed into a hurricane, directly confronting the starlight, the two clashing fiercely, suddenly stirring up a maelstrom in his consciousness.

The starlight, which had been relentlessly beating Xiao Lu, was suddenly stunned.

Something’s wrong, buddy, how did you suddenly perk up?

But Xiao Lu didn’t give it a chance to react. The emerald green mist in his consciousness rose again, actively pursuing the starlight.

Acutely aware of something amiss, the starlight flashed, attempting to escape the mist’s pursuit.

But this was Xiao Lu’s consciousness world. From the moment it decided to invade, it had completely stepped into Xiao Lu’s exclusive domain.

The starlight fled rapidly in his consciousness, the mist seemingly slow but effortlessly maneuvering, intercepting its path each time. The starlight’s range of movement grew smaller and smaller, about to be enveloped by the mist.

【Wait, do you know the world is about to face a cataclysm?】

The mist’s closing speed slowed slightly.

【You saw that meteor shower, right? That’s the sign of starlight descending upon Earth.】

【The human social order you’re familiar with is about to collapse. All life will enter a new form, and I am the crown prince of starlight, far stronger than those weak things.】

【With my help, you will become the strongest being on this planet, in this era.】

【You will no longer be unknown. The whole world will know your name. And that Xiao Keyang, he’s really too much, right? Then you can easily kill him, or let him suffer a long torment.】

The starlight gradually lured him.

Even among the crown princes, it was the most special one. It could perceive the past of its parasitic target, making it easier to capture the weaknesses of human consciousness and occupy their bodies.

Although it didn’t know what was wrong with this guy, his consciousness was almost devoured, yet he suddenly became unusually difficult to deal with. But it saw “Xiao Lu’s” desire, understanding his need for self-realization.

A pitiful wretch who had been denied and trampled upon his entire life, could such a person refuse the temptation of great power?

The mist surrounding the starlight stopped contracting.

Seeing this, the starlight rejoiced.

Sure enough, humans are low-level beings driven by desire. For their greed, they are willing to take any risk.

Instantly, the starlight’s energy erupted, rushing towards Xiao Lu with even greater force than before. This time, it used all its energy in a desperate attempt to tear through the mist’s barrier and completely occupy this body.

But the surging energy seemed to hit an unyielding wall.

The surrounding mist wasn’t just passively surrounding it. At some point, the mist had become extremely dense. The starlight’s full-force assault not only failed to shake it in the slightest, but under the impact, it was violently thrown back, its light rapidly dimming, looking weak and dying.

That wasn’t the end.

A round, translucent dumpling suddenly fell from the sky, precisely landing where the starlight had fallen.

Compared to the exquisite starlight, Ivan looked white and plump. Its small body suppressed the starlight’s already weakened brightness, like a candle in the wind, about to extinguish.

Moreover, Ivan kept bouncing on it: “Catch it! Catch it! Master, Ivan catch it!”

【…】The starlight felt bitter. Where did this fat thing come from!

“Well done.” Xiao Lu didn’t hesitate to praise his diligently performing servant.

“Heeheehee…” A blush representing happiness rose on Ivan’s mochi-like body.

The mist surged again, Ivan cooperatively stepping aside, leaving the starlight, which was now too weak to move.

The starlight felt itself being swallowed by the mist, unable to escape, unable to flee, the feeling of its consciousness fading filled it with fear. It was the crown prince, how could a crown prince die so easily!

【I, I still know the secrets of the starlight race. I can tell you all the ways to deal with starlight…tell you!】

【I am willing to be your servant!】

Even as a servant, it would definitely be better than that seemingly stupid white dumpling.

Upon hearing its words, the mist’s engulfment didn’t slow down.

Xiao Lu said coldly: “Not interested.”

Sorry, he had read the script and was prepared to tear it up.

Moreover, he already had a better collaborator and a simple but loyal servant, and he didn’t intend to leave this restless fellow in his mind to seek excitement.

【Wait, wait—】

The voice abruptly stopped, from the distant universe, the arrogant and self-important starlight crown prince completely disappeared.

“Goodbye, unlucky cannon fodder crown prince.” Xiao Lu opened his eyes, his eyes clear.

【Author’s Note】

Thank you to the little angels who cast king bombs or poured nutrient solution for me between 2021-11-17 16:35:39~2021-11-18 13:51:50!

Thank you to the little angels who cast landmines: Na Nian Ci Mo, A Happy Alpaca, Li Ming Lie Yan 1 each;

Thank you to the little angels who poured nutrient solution: 19165486 20 bottles; ■——Hong Hei Hei Hong O(∩_∩)O 8 bottles; Li Ming Lie Yan 4 bottles; Today I Found an Internship Unit 2 bottles; A Happy Alpaca 1 bottle;

Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!