Lu pointed towards the void, and a ghostly green mist began to gather in that direction, forming a vortex. At the center of the vortex, a pitch-black passage appeared, its destination indiscernible from the outside.
The deity led the way into the passage, and Mo Yi followed closely behind without hesitation.
The glutinous rice dumpling Ivan lingered outside the passage for a moment, reluctant to enter, but ultimately decided to grit his teeth and follow in the footsteps of his black-hearted boss.
Ivan silently shed tears: The life of a worker is truly hard.
A transparent thread appeared in Lu’s hand; this was the main system’s tendril connected to “Xiao Lu.” Every performer had such a thing on them, allowing the main system to control the performers while also enabling it to trace the main system’s location in return.
Sensing the power on the tendril, Lu found the direction to move forward in the pitch darkness.
The main system world, piled up like insect eggs, reappeared. Compared to his memories, it looked even more bloated, with more worlds bound beneath each small world, over half of which had already lost their vitality.
“What do you plan to do?” Mo Yi asked.
“Since it craves the power of rules, we will reverse the rules it has set and restore each world to its original state.”
“1, 2, 3, … 503 … 1021 …” Ivan felt dizzy counting before him; so many worlds—could this be the workload he would soon face?
His black-hearted boss was truly inhumane!
Oh, wait, he wasn’t human to begin with. Thinking this way made Ivan feel even more despair.
While Ivan was secretly grumbling, he suddenly felt a chill all over. Although theoretically, he shouldn’t be able to feel cold or heat at this moment.
Ivan stiffly redirected his attention back to his black-hearted boss.
Then he unsurprisingly discovered that those deep green eyes were fixed on him, as if looking at a pig that had been well-fed during the New Year.
Lu smiled.
Ivan shivered.
“Ugh…” He felt like he had really turned into a plate of snacks.
After teasing the silly little system for a while, Lu withdrew his gaze: “We don’t need to reverse the rules of all the worlds, just focus on those key worlds.”
Ivan was confused.
Mo Yi understood immediately: “Each quick-wear fan world corresponds to an original work. Their power of rules is inherently stronger than that of the quick-wear small worlds. Once the rules are restored, they can even absorb the power of the main system in return.”
Lu nodded; indeed, his servant was smarter. How could the quality difference be so vast among worlds produced by the main system?
“Ivan, help me choose one… hmm?”
His dark fingertip glided through the void, finally landing on one of the worlds.
“Let’s start from here.”
Ivan: “…”
Didn’t you say to let me lead the way? Why did you decide on your own, boss?
The boss, who had regained his memories, was really too willful.
·
The sky was clear for miles, a sunny afternoon.
Lu and Mo Yi sat leisurely in a café at the street corner. Each had a cup of coffee in front of them, and Lu had an additional slice of beautiful red velvet cake.
Entering the main system’s territory and appearing as a deity would be too ostentatious.
At this moment, the deity had disguised himself as a human, with black hair and black eyes, his emerald gaze dulled to resemble that of a delicate and handsome eighteen-year-old boy.
Both were dressed in casual attire, blending seamlessly into the crowd.
Mo Yi picked up his coffee and took a sip: “This is our first time drinking coffee face to face.”
“Because the last time we came here, there were no coffee shops open,” Lu said, taking a big spoonful of the soft red velvet cake.
Originally, Lu wanted Ivan to choose a world with stronger rule power as their first stop. But while browsing the original worlds, he discovered a familiar one.
The first world he awakened in as “Xiao Lu.”
At that time, this world had not enjoyed peace for long before it quickly fell into alienation, filled with an atmosphere of tension and fear.
Now that he had entered in his true form, he could read the original plot line of this world.
It turned out to be a story completely unrelated to extraterrestrial beings, set in the entertainment industry.
The protagonist was not some Xiao Keyang, but Ye Qi.
In the plot altered by the system, Ye Qi was completely ruined.
Ye Qi was already an award-winning actor at the start of the story, but he was framed and fell into a scandal, nearly cutting off all his paths forward. However, he did not succumb to oppression, exploring the path of directing on his own, eventually becoming a world-renowned director.
The identity he had previously used, “Xiao Lu,” was not an ordinary cannon fodder.
His original name was Ning Si Liu, another protagonist of this book.
Ning Si Liu came from a musical family, with extraordinary musical talent from a young age, and was always immersed in music. Later, he met Ye Qi through a collaboration on “Double-Sided Mirror.” They admired each other, supported one another during their lows, and stood by each other in times of crisis, eventually becoming a couple.
Xiao Keyang was merely a minor antagonist in the plot, created to bring difficulties to the two.
In order to steal the power of rules from this world, the main system twisted the protagonists’ plot, turning the originally favored child into a mere executioner hiding in the shadows, a stepping stone for the chosen protagonist.
Due to the distortion of rules, the self-protection of this world became weak, and a star that was merely passing by chose this place as its landing spot.
The beginning of all changes was now.
Six-year-old Ning Si Liu accidentally went missing; he would encounter human trafficking, escape using his wits, but then lose his memory due to a fever, and soon be sent to an orphanage by a passerby, where he would be discovered by Xiao Yimei, who wanted to exploit the adoption subsidy.
As Lu finished the last bite of red velvet cake, the person they were waiting for appeared.
Six-year-old Ning Si Liu had short arms and legs, a neat haircut, and was dressed in a well-designed light blue children’s outfit, clearly a child cherished by his family.
He gazed with curious big eyes at a balloon vendor, oblivious to the absence of his family, lost in a world of colorful balloons.
Lu wiped his mouth and commented, “Silly.”
Mo Yi affirmed, “Just like Ivan.”
Lu glanced at the glutinous rice dumpling floating clumsily in the void; it did indeed resemble him.
Ivan: “…?”
Why was this black-hearted servant putting him down? Was it to amuse his master?
It wasn’t until he was suddenly bumped into by someone nearby that Ning Si Liu snapped back to reality. He looked around, unable to find his familiar family, wandering alone in an unfamiliar environment, making the young child appear somewhat panicked.
In a corner, a pair of malicious eyes were fixated on the solitary child.
Yet he remained completely unaware.
Surrounded by towering adults, little Ning Si Liu felt uneasy and instinctively moved towards a quieter place.
He remembered the phone number his parents had taught him, hoping to find a kind passerby to call them, and then obediently wait in place.
“Little brother, why are you here all alone? Are you looking for your mommy and daddy?” A middle-aged woman suddenly appeared before him, forcing a friendly smile on her waxy yellow face.
The bright sunlight illuminated her face, making the bright spots brighter and the dark spots darker, accentuating the deep lines etched on her face.
She looked a bit like an old monster from the television.
Ning Si Liu was startled and momentarily speechless.
The middle-aged woman softened her voice: “Don’t be afraid, little brother. Auntie is a good person. Do you remember your home phone number? Auntie can help you call, okay?”
Hearing the response his parents had taught him, little Ning Si Liu hesitated and nodded.
Seeing him nod, the middle-aged woman took out her phone from her pocket, fiddled with it for a moment, then frowned: “I’m sorry, little brother, but Auntie’s phone is out of battery.”
Ning Si Liu looked at her, his eyes filled with confusion.
His parents hadn’t taught him what to do in this situation.
The middle-aged woman continued, “It’s not safe for you to be alone on the street; it’s easy to encounter bad people. How about this, Auntie’s house is just down that street. I can take you home to call, okay?”
She pointed to an entrance of the street: “It’s right there; it won’t take five minutes to walk. You can stay at Auntie’s house, eat some candy, and wait for your mommy and daddy to come pick you up.”
“Auntie’s house is easy to find; your mommy and daddy will definitely find you right away.”
Under the middle-aged woman’s step-by-step coaxing, Ning Si Liu took her hand and slowly walked towards the street entrance.
“Wait.” Suddenly, someone called out to them from behind.
The middle-aged woman turned around to find a young man in his twenties and an eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy. Both had striking appearances, easily noticeable even in a crowd.
At this moment, both were staring at her and the child she was holding.
She tightened her grip on Ning Si Liu, her face still smiling kindly: “Do you two need something?”
The young man smiled at her: “Do you know this child? After all… you two don’t look alike at all.”
The middle-aged woman’s smile remained unchanged: “Of course, I’m his aunt, so I wouldn’t look like him. His parents will come to pick him up soon.”
She kindly looked down at Ning Si Liu: “Isn’t that right?”
At the same time, she subtly mouthed to Ning Si Liu: bad person.
She wanted this innocent child to instinctively be wary of the two young men.
Before she could say anything further, the boy stepped forward and grabbed her wrist. The boy was exquisitely beautiful, but he had an unexpected strength, as if he were about to crush her bones.
“What are you doing? Attacking someone in broad daylight!” The middle-aged woman decided to play the victim first.
The boy was not swayed by this; he raised his chin, looking at her arrogantly: “You say you’re his aunt, then tell me, what is his name?”
“This…” The middle-aged woman was momentarily at a loss for words.
As a human trafficker, why would she need to know the child’s name so clearly?
The boy’s gaze shifted to the somewhat timid child: “Are you going to follow this unknown woman to her house, or do you want to stand here while I call the police? I won’t take you anywhere.”
Ning Si Liu looked at the woman with flickering eyes, then at the boy who was openly meeting his gaze.
The boy looked more trustworthy.
Ah, no, he seemed more reliable. After all, his parents had said that in times of trouble, he should find a police officer. This brother mentioned the police, so he must be a good person, right?
He let go of the middle-aged woman’s hand, which had loosened due to the pain, and ran to Lu’s side like a young beast seeking shelter.
Lu revealed a provocative smile: “Auntie, would you like to wait for the police with us?”
The middle-aged woman shook off his hand and hurriedly ran towards the street corner.
Lu did not chase after her; he turned to Mo Yi, who nodded at him, indicating that the camera crew was ready, and this human trafficker would not escape. The police could even follow this person to clarify the entire trafficking chain.
During the wait for the police to arrive, Ning Si Liu clutched Lu’s clothing hem. Even though he was still confused, he understood that he had likely been saved by the handsome brother in front of him.
He thought the handsome brother was amazing.
Unfortunately, the handsome brother was too engrossed in his game to pay attention to the adoring little human cub.
Redirecting the plot back on track was a long-term project; learning to balance work and rest was the sustainable work model.
In short, it was about slacking off. This behavior was truly a crystallization of human wisdom.
“Brother, where do you go to school?”
“I’ve never been to school.”
“Brother, your clothes are so pretty; where did you buy them?”
“My servant prepared them.”
“Brother, do you like eating little doll cakes?”
“I don’t eat people, and I don’t eat little cubs either.”
Little Ning Si Liu: “…”
Faced with these off-script responses, the human cub, who had grown up in pampering, experienced for the first time what it felt like to be brushed off.
Although the deity was speaking the truth.
