Xu Chenghao was momentarily stunned upon hearing this. Even though he understood what the other party meant, he still instinctively asked, “What do you mean?”
[Ding—The host has made two consecutive requests: one to change the system mode and another to alter the world within the book. Both are operations with a five-star difficulty rating. If the host has nothing equivalent to offer in exchange, how could System 2333 possibly agree?]
Xu Chenghao composed himself. “What do you want?”
[Ding—What can the host afford to give?]
Xu Chenghao: “I accidentally transmigrated into this book world. Everything here originally belonged to the original Xu Chenghao. I have nothing to offer.”
[Ding—It seems the host has forgotten… You still have your soul.]
“……”
[Ding—Why don’t we make a high-stakes gamble? If the host loses, you will immediately leave this world, and your soul will be handed over to the transmigration system for disposal. If you win, System 2333 knows what you want and has specially prepared a rollback opportunity for you. Note: Certain key plot points will not appear a second time after being experienced. Having a rollback opportunity is your best choice.]
Xu Chenghao: “What’s the gamble?”
[Ding—Of course, it’s about growing chili peppers.]
Xu Chenghao: “……”
[Ding—The host has currently accumulated 11,111 chili peppers. To truly complete the task, you still need 49 million more. Based on the normal progression: at version 6.0, you would get 100,000 chilies; at 7.0, a million; at 8.0, ten million; and at 9.0, the remaining total. Instead of going through the intermediate stages, why don’t we jump straight to version 9.0? As long as you can grow 39 million chili peppers within a month, you win.]
Xu Chenghao: “??? Are you seriously not setting me up for failure?”
[Ding—A high-stakes gamble comes with risks, but the rewards are just as great. Something as precious as a rollback opportunity naturally requires a more difficult challenge.]
Xu Chenghao frowned in thought. This gamble was, at its core, a bet on his life for Jing Yicheng’s life. If he won, both he and Jing Yicheng would survive. If he lost, he would be forced out of the book world, his fate unknown, and Jing Yicheng would likely perish soon after due to irreversible plot points.
After some thought, Xu Chenghao asked, “If I win this gamble, does that mean the chili pepper mission will be completed and you’ll leave?”
[Ding—Strictly speaking, if the host wins, I need to wait until you activate the rollback function before I can fully depart. If that bothers you, I can leave only the rollback function and enter a dormant state. Of course, that’s only if you win.]
Though the gamble was high-risk, the rewards were undeniably tempting.
Xu Chenghao pondered for a moment before asking, “What’s the probability of success?”
[Ding—Based on normal calculations, you have an 80% chance of winning.]
Xu Chenghao: “Since we’re already skipping so many steps, why bother with calculations? How about raising it to 90%?”
[Ding—That’s not possible.]
Xu Chenghao: “Then let’s compromise—88%! It’s a lucky number.”
[…]
Xu Chenghao persisted. “Eighty-eight!!”
[Ding—Does this mean the host is willing to gamble?]
Xu Chenghao: “If it’s 88%, I’ll bet.”
[Ding—Deal. Recording the agreement, please wait.]
Xu Chenghao: “……”
He suddenly felt like he’d been too hasty.
[Ding—Feedback successful. The Little Chili Mission has been automatically updated to version 9.0. Mission requirements: The host must plant 39,000,000 chili peppers within one month of the mission’s activation. Exceeding the time limit will result in failure. (Bonus: One pack of high-grade chili seeds with a 90% success rate.)]
[Ding—The Little Chili System reminds you that as the success rate increases, the chili growth cycle will also extend accordingly. The current cycle is: five days for sprouting, five days for flowering, and five days for fruiting. The host should manage time wisely to ensure timely harvest.]
Xu Chenghao was a little surprised. “You actually gave me a 90% success rate?”
[Ding—Consider it a gesture of goodwill. I hope the host will work hard to complete the mission.]
Xu Chenghao: “…Thanks.”
[Ding—Host, please note: Reasoning and emotional appeals won’t work. If you fail the mission, the consequences will be severe.]
Xu Chenghao: “…”
He immediately took back his gratitude!!
—
Inside the office.
Jing Yicheng noticed that the person in his arms hadn’t moved for a while and thought he had fallen asleep. Carefully, he picked him up and carried him into the lounge, placing him on the bed. However, the person in his arms immediately let out a few uneasy murmurs, gripping his shirt with surprising strength.
Jing Yicheng softened at this display of dependence. Without hesitation, he lay down beside him, wrapping him in a firm embrace—even if he wasn’t sleepy, he would still stay by his side.
Suddenly, Xu Chenghao shot up, moving swiftly to pull a small bag of chili seeds from his pocket. He stared at it for a few seconds in a daze before turning around with burning eyes to look at Jing Yicheng.
“Cheng-ge, do you have farmland?”
Jing Yicheng: “???”
Xu Chenghao pounced on him, acting coquettishly. “Cheng-ge, I need farmland! Farmland where I can plant chilies! A lot, a lot of farmland that can grow chilies!!”
Jing Yicheng pinched his chin and scrutinized him. “Haohao, were you triggered by something?”
Xu Chenghao: “…Are you calling me crazy?”
“I’m worried about you.” Jing Yicheng glanced at the small cloth bag in his hand, his expression turning serious. “Haohao, what exactly do you want to do? What are you hiding from me?”
Xu Chenghao didn’t dare meet Jing Yicheng’s gaze and instead burrowed into his arms, obediently saying, “It’s the secret I mentioned before.”
Jing Yicheng frowned. “Does this secret have something to do with An Rouyu?”
“No.”
“Then why were you so excited just now? And why did you suddenly look so sad and afraid?”
“…”
Xu Chenghao suddenly felt that it was even harder to talk about this than before.
In the past, he always felt that Jing Yicheng was too insecure. If he told him that the ultimate purpose of the system’s chili-planting mission involved leaving this world, Jing Yicheng would definitely become anxious, restless, and even terrified—not because he didn’t trust Xu Chenghao, but because he was too deeply in love to bear any possibility of losing him.
So… if Jing Yicheng knew that he was betting his life for another life and that he might die in the process, he’d probably explode with anger—even if the person he was saving was himself.
“Is it that hard to answer? Just tell me, and I’ll find you farmland. Lots and lots of farmland where you can grow chilies.” A gentle coaxing voice whispered by his ear, the warm breath making Xu Chenghao shudder for a moment. He instinctively tried to evade but was immediately pulled back.
Jing Yicheng locked his arms around Xu Chenghao’s waist and spoke softly, “Haohao doesn’t want farmland?”
Xu Chenghao: “…I do.”
“Then tell me why.”
“The timing is a bit urgent right now. How about I tell you after I finish planting the chilies next month?”
The arms around his waist tightened slightly. Xu Chenghao quickly planted a kiss on Jing Yicheng, coaxing him, “Cheng-ge~~ After I’m done with this chili planting, I’ll tell you everything, I swear.”
Jing Yicheng shut his eyes, trying to suppress his emotions, then gritted his teeth and said, “You really just want to piss me off.”
“My bad.” Xu Chenghao immediately changed the subject. “So, Cheng-ge, time is limited. Let’s hurry up and find farmland. I need to grow tens of millions of chilies this time, which means I need at least a thousand acres of land. There’s no time to waste!”
Jing Yicheng had no choice but to get up and, while Xu Chenghao was busy planting chilies at the chili base, use the time to contact people and find new land for chili cultivation. He avoided remote and unsafe locations, learning from past experiences, and directly called an agricultural research and cultivation base. After explaining his intentions, he quickly finalized a location and took Xu Chenghao there.
The site had a high safety rating and was entirely operated using advanced technology. In terms of professionalism, even Xu Chenghao’s own chili base couldn’t compare, making it the best possible choice.
Xu Chenghao scattered half of the chili seeds from his cloth bag, feeling both anxious and nervous. Quietly, he adjusted the schedule on his phone’s chili tracker to fifteen days later, then left the research base with Jing Yicheng to wait patiently at home.
Jing Yicheng seemed to notice his unease. After some discussion, he connected his phone to the surveillance system monitoring the chili field, so that as long as Xu Chenghao held the phone, he could watch over the planted chilies at any time. This provided some comfort.
The fifteen-day wait felt excruciatingly long in such a situation. Xu Chenghao was tense and restless, constantly sneaking glances at Jing Yicheng’s phone to check on the chilies’ progress.
Eventually, Jing Yicheng’s phone became Xu Chenghao’s personal surveillance device, which he held onto every day as if he couldn’t bear to part with it. Meanwhile, Jing Yicheng ended up using Xu Chenghao’s phone instead. Even his assistant had started calling Xu Chenghao’s phone to reach him—since the two of them were practically glued together all the time.
That day, the assistant dialed Xu Chenghao’s phone as usual. When the call was connected, he tentatively asked, “President Xu?”
Jing Yicheng responded, “It’s me.”
The assistant immediately corrected himself, “Boss.”
“Mm, what is it?”
The assistant reported, “I just wanted to inform you that the police confirmed the kidnappers’ location this morning and are preparing to conduct a raid to rescue the hostage tonight… Zhang Yun has also arrived.”
Jing Yicheng curled his lips. “Since he’s involved, rescuing the person is only a matter of time. Don’t interfere any further. Just stay in contact with the police and preserve all the evidence. Once the kidnappers are caught, file a lawsuit against them… Additionally, I want to know why they targeted Xu Chenghao.”
The assistant immediately understood his meaning. “Once they’re caught, I’ll be sure to ask them properly.”
The last few words were emphasized, which made Jing Yicheng very satisfied. “Notify me when there’s an update.”
“Okay.”
“……”
After hanging up, Jing Yicheng placed his phone back on the desk. As soon as he looked up, he saw Xu Chenghao staring at him intently. Because he had overheard the conversation, his gaze was somewhat fierce, with a hint of barely perceptible grievance.
Xu Chenghao truly rejected the idea of getting involved in this kidnapping case. Call him selfish, call him indifferent, even accuse him of being heartless—it didn’t matter. He still didn’t want Jing Yicheng to take part in these matters or get too close to danger.
He was genuinely afraid that Jing Yicheng’s tragic ending would happen right before his eyes. That was something he absolutely could not handle. So when he heard Jing Yicheng talking on the phone about these matters while monitoring the fields, he felt both angry and wronged, glaring at him in mock fury.
Seeing this, Jing Yicheng immediately raised his hands in surrender and explained, “I’m not getting involved. My assistant just called to report the situation and ask for further instructions. Other than that, I haven’t done anything.”
Xu Chenghao eyed him skeptically. “Really?”
“Absolutely.” Before Xu Chenghao could say more, Jing Yicheng took the initiative to reassure him, “I promise I won’t get involved. I’ll stay by your side. I made you a promise, and I won’t forget it.”
Xu Chenghao stretched out his hand. “Remember what you just said… The price for going back on your word is very expensive.”
Jing Yicheng reached out and interlocked their fingers. “I won’t break my promise.”
The author has something to say:
Some readers seem confused, so here’s an explanation—Haohao isn’t afraid because of the kidnapping case itself. He’s afraid because of the villain’s ultimate fate. What he wants to change is the villain’s death ending.
Ugh, scummy system! ><
Thank You for the new chapter (๑´ლ`๑)ﾌﾌ♡