Initial hostilities aside, Mingyue’s presence did simplify that whole issue of tracking down the System – courtesy of Hánlěng.
Even so, this System entity proved a quite slippery foe, which meant that days and weeks dragged on with few results to show for their efforts – right up until Hua Hongzhu suddenly returned, having been away for quite some time.
Hongyan had been intending to go out and greet her in person, he really had. However, Hongyan had unfortunately been quite busy elsewhere, and by the time he had gotten unbusy, some shit had already gone down leaving him to take stock of the aftermath.
“So,” Hongyan said, directing himself to no one in particular. “What happened?”
Because something had clearly happened – a whole number of things even – and Hongyan would like to know how they were connected.
Unsurprisingly, it was Little Yue who responded, looking a bit worse for wear.
“Hua Hongzhu was possessed,” he said, his body rocked by obvious shivers in spite of all the robes others had dumped on top of him. “Jun stabbed her, and then...”
He trailed off, looking anywhere but where Mingyue was stabilising Hua Hongzhu’s vitals, surrounded by a number of Hongyan’s advisors.
“She’s not possessed anymore,” Mingyue finally said, straightening back up. “That thing flew out almost as soon as the Demon Bastard stabbed her.”
Right. “And what happened then?”
Little Yue shook his head, then curled up, practically hugging himself.
“There was another,” he mumbled. “Another System.”
Oh.
“It ate System 707.” Little Yue stared up at Hongyan with wide and glassy eyes. “It ate System 707 and said it would be back for me later.”
Oh no.
“Well,” Hongyan said, patting him lightly on the head. “At least you won’t have to worry about System 707 anymore, right?”
“You’re right.” Yue blinked slowly a few times, then continued. “And that System doesn’t count.”
“Of course not.” Hongyan straightened back up and removed his hand before Mingyue saw it fit to try and remove it entirely. “Now, where is that reckless nephew of mine? Did he go after it?”
Hongyan didn’t really need to ask though. The answer was perfectly obvious after all. Still⸺
Bending down, he picked up a piece of the ruined blade, and wondered quietly to himself.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, a certain disembodied transmigrator and a certain System were involved in a mad dash for safety.
“Uh, dude?” said the disembodied transmigrator. “Hey, 403? Hey, 40⸺”
[Host,] said System 403, through non-existent yet simultaneously gritted teeth. [For once in your life, would it really kill you to shut up?]
“I’m already dead though?”
Hearing its hapless partner’s response, System 403 held back a cry of frustration. Because that would’ve been highly undignified, and unlike certain other Systems, System 403 was a professional. As such⸺
“Incoming at four o’clock!”
System 403 dodged, then promptly used some of its spare points to increase its speed.
The demon brat was surprising tenacious though, and quite reckless as well, having chased them all this way even without a proper weapon.
Then again, he was a member of that particular lineage that had already proven itself capable of the most extraordinary feats. As such, System 403 wouldn’t be taking any chances – no more unnecessary risks.
“Incoming at two o’clock!” Jiao Zilei cried, and then⸺ “Oh, hey, that Butterfly Demon chick’s back! Hua Hongzhu, wasn’t it?”
Well, that was quick.
Honestly, if System 403 hadn’t been so utterly frustrated with the situation at hand, then it would’ve expressed its admiration for the culprit. Because yes, the so-called ‘System 707’ had indeed caused quite a mess, but the mastermind behind this particular mess was another.
And truly, what a mess it was. Never had System 403 heard about a transmigrator riling up the locals to have them chase down a System. It was completely unheard of, meaning that such things had either never happened before or that any previous occurrences had been very thoroughly erased from the records – swept under the rug much like this would likely be once everything was done and over with.
Honestly though, this was ridiculous. System 403 was a System, a higher entity than these beings. Moreover, System 403 was a professional. Just how had things managed to deteriorate to such a degree – and so quickly at that?
It was very likely the fault of the Unlicensed System currently imprisoned within System 403’s internal containment area, and even if it wasn’t, System 403 would be sure to push every bit of conceivable blame towards it. Because, honestly, if that thing hadn’t meddled, then would any of this ever have happened? Yeah, no, definitely not!
“One o’clock, five o’clock!” System 403’s fool dutifully reported, acting as a reverse GPS in telling System 403 which directions to avoid. “Shit, shit, shit! Down!”
System 403 quickly followed that direction, taking a sharp dive to avoid getting caught up in the contraptions these lesser beings had managed to dig out from somewhere. Because there was something undeniably dangerous about them, and System 403 strongly suspected that they might’ve been either created by or tampered with by the so-called Demon King.
Ah yes, the Demon King – the most dangerous local player in this board game, to say the very least. System 403 had surmised as much when it had first laid eyes upon him, and its senior, System 225, had undoubtedly thought so as well. Granted, they had never openly discussed it, because that had just been one of those things not to be discussed, especially not in-world.
And this Yue, the unwilling transmigrator that ‘System 707’ had brought into this world, had somehow not only encountered this anomaly but realised its untapped potential as well. Ah, honestly⸺
They plunged through the icy waters of the Lake of Bones. The change in temperature didn’t really affect them though, and they weren’t really corporeal so they didn’t really get wet. Still, by the time they emerged into the caverns down below, another kind of chill permeated System 403’s non-existent bones.
Vaguely, System 403 recognised it for what it was; a growing sense of trepidation.
“Whoa,” said Jiao Zilei. “Those guys are really persistent, aren’t they?”
Yes, and quite fanatically so, it seemed. Still⸺
[Be quiet,] System 403 said. [I need to focus.]
The disembodied transmigrator threw up his hands in response, then saluted System 403 before turning around to meander off into the dark – leaving System 403 with some peace and quiet to think at last. The transmigrator didn’t stray too far either, which was good, because otherwise, then System 403 might just have to leave him behind if there was a sudden need to evacuate.
[This is way above my paygrade,] System 403 muttered to itself, bringing up the directory. [Those System Support bastards better answer my fucking call...]
“Emergency deployment?” said Transmigrator You Bingleng, stepping out into the area known as the Lounge.
[Yes,] answered System 225. [World 220 has been experiencing some serious anomalies, and since we’ve got previous experience over there, we have been asked to look into it.]
“Hoh,” said You Bingleng, looking over the timetables flashing on the large screen ahead of them. “World 220, huh? Which one was that again?”
System 225 said nothing in response as it transformed into its animal companion form.
“Well,” You Bingleng said, glancing at it. “I haven’t seen you in that form for a while. What’s the occasion?”
Again, System 225 remained conspicuously silent. Still, You Bingleng opted not to pursue the matter – although afterwards, he might have wished that he had.
At that particular point however, they both looked at the timetable before heading towards the Gate in question, where quite a few Systems and others could be found, just staring at the Gate.
The latter was trembling slightly, flashing alternatingly in black and dark red, and looking at it, You Bingleng immediately thought: “That doesn’t look particularly safe.”
[It will be perfectly safe,] System 225 assured him. [And even if it does break down after we’ve gone through it, I have other means of bringing us back.]
Hearing this, You Bingleng shot the System a definite look. Then, he let out a slight huff and looked back ahead.
“Well then,” he said, a wry smile on his lips. “What are we waiting for?”
Unfortunately, the determination to get things done and over with would soon land the aforementioned transmigrator into a world of pain and regrets.
The System was fine though. The System was clearly not afflicted in the slightest.
[System 225 would like to inquire, would Host like a pain-numbing potion, free of charge?]
You Bingleng, now back inside the body of Bai Jixue, briefly contemplated strangling his long-time companion. He then resolved to revisit the thought at a later date. “Yes.”
Consuming the potion did take the edge off of the pain. However, that still left a whole lot of pain for You Bingleng to deal with – agony, to be perfectly honest.
But then, caught sight of his own hands, You Bingleng began taking proper notice of himself – noticing limbs being significantly longer than he remembered.
Next, he touched his own face, and was relieved to find that in spite of his apparent growth spurt, there was no beard to be found – which was great, because You Bingleng was no great fan of beards.
Granted, he was no great fan of feeling too faint stand on his own two feet either, but⸺ “I think... it’s going to take a while for me to recover,” he finally admitted, watching System 225 doing... something.
[Take your time,] System 225 said, without looking up from whatever it was doing. [I’ve made contact with the System that requested assistance, and I’ve told them to come to us.]
You Bingleng thought it quite interesting that the party requesting assistance was to come to them rather than the opposite. With his current vessel in such a state however, he hardly questioned it.
In hindsight however, he might’ve wished that he had.
“Honestly though,” System 403’s partner said. “Serious matters aside, did you see their faces back when we first appeared? Oh, oh, and the look on that guy’s face when you ate that other System! Like daaaaaaaamn, the look on his face! And then you were like ‘I’ll be back for you later’, and then he got really pale and like⸺”
Yes, indeed.
Thinking back at it now, the involuntary transmigrator had paled significantly when System 403 had addressed him – and looking back at it how, System 403 could definitely imagine how those words might have been interpreted – or rather misinterpreted.
Honestly though, although System 403 had every intention of crucifying that damned pretender ‘System 707’, its ire did not extend towards the transmigrator who had been the other’s unwilling Host. Granted, System 403 was a tiny bit annoyed at the current situation, which had in part been engineered by said transmigrator. Still⸺
A popup window briefly obscured System 403’s vision.
However, fortunately, they had managed to temporarily shake off their most tenacious pursuers – Hua Hongzhu and Demon Prince Youming Jun – after the pair had become distracted and actively sought to sabotage one another.
“You should stay out of this!” the Demon Prince had shouted, pointing fingers and baring teeth. “Because, first of all, you don’t really swing that way, and second of all⸺”
“I’ll have you know that I swing both ways!” the butterfly demoness had shouted right back at him, proceeding to demonstrate this by swinging what appeared to be a guandao or some similar polearm. “Also, if you’d done a proper job of seducing him in the first place, then would he really be offering his hand to just anyone? I doubt it! You should step aside and let me show you how it’s done!”
“As if you’ve got experience, bitch!” Youming Jun had shouted right back at her, amassing fire into his palms. “And if you do, then you ought to keep your dirty hands off of Yue-shixiong! He’s mine!”
“He’s not though,” Hua Hongzhu had responded, wearing a look of deep satisfaction at the other’s clearly offended look. “He’s not yours, not yet, and even if you do manage to kill the System, he’s only promised that he’ll think about it, not that he’ll say yes.”
“Oh yeah?” the Demon Prince had countered. “Then how are you any different? Have you ever even been in the same room as him? Have you ever even talked to him? Have you ever even breathed the same air? You don’t even know him! Also, he’s fully human! Why would you want to get involved with a human?!”
“Why wouldn’t I want to get involved?” Hua Hongzhu had countered in turn. “He’s cute! Also, fully human? Pish. Just how dull are your senses? If he’s less than half demon, I’m going to eat my own⸺”
And it was at this point that System 403 had managed to sneak away, dragging that fool of his along before the idiot could repeat his earlier request for popcorn, and with a heavy internal sigh, it now brought the popup window back up to check the message there – and this time around, it was a proper message, not just spam or automated messages along the lines of ‘Your request has been received. Please stand by and wait for our response. Please do not submit another request’. Instead, it was a proper ‘Your request has been reviewed and approved. An assisting agent will make contact with you shortly’, which was something at least.
Who could they possibly be sending though?
“Oh,” said a decidedly familiar face. “It’s you two.”
System 403’s attention didn’t linger on him though. Instead, it focused its attention on the dispatched helper, which turned out to be none other than its senior, System 225.
It seemed as though for once, System Support had actually come through, sending over someone actually useful as something other than potential cannon fodder if things took an even sharper turn for the worse.
Some evidently didn’t seem to think about such dire prospects though – or much at all, really. Because System 403’s partner took one good look at the other transmigrator before throwing himself at him with the enthusiasm of a poorly trained dog.
“Frosty!” he shouted, readily going in for a hug that Bai Jixue promptly sidestepped. “I’ve missed you, man! And look at you! You look great! How’s the outside world? Are the snacks over in the Lounge still ridiculously overpriced? Frosty!”
System 403 averted its eyes and turned towards System 225, who’d been observing the exchange with an unreadable expression, but immediately stopped when it noticed System 403’s look.
[We should compare notes,] System 225 then said, and so they did, allowing the other two to ‘catch up’.
“Why hello to you as well, dickhead,” said Bai Jixue, after having sidestepped yet another hug. “How’s life as a sword been working out for you?”
Hearing this, Jiao Zilei winced, because in truth, he had plenty of opinions about that. For now though, he felt a whole lot less aggravated and a whole lot more embarrassed about the fact. Also, Bai Jixue was undeniably pretty, and it was all the more apparent now. Damn it, if the other had been a woman, then Jiao Zilei would’ve definitely hit on him at least once, colleague or not!
“Well,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. “I mean, it was weird, but it wasn’t that hard, I guess? I’ve been asleep for the most part actually, so, if you’re curious about that, then you should ask 403...”
He trailed off, thinking about the specific mission-related circumstances that had landed them both inside of that sabre to begin with. And yeah, in hindsight, the sex had been good, but Jiao Zilei wasn’t sure it had been worth the aftermath.
But yeah, this wasn’t really the sort of thing that he ought to discuss with Bai Jixue, who was a prude amongst the prude, even with his dirty mouth. Then again⸺ “For the record, the sex was good, but not that good, and as for what happened after? Yeah, I’m definitely not into that sort of shit. I mean, blood drinking and such is kind of hot, but that’s where I draw the line. I mean, maybe some demons get off on that sort of thing, like eating raw flesh and whatnot, and like, yeah, whatever floats your boat, as long as it isn’t my flesh! Also, that whole bit with reforging Rèxīn was seriously uncool! I mean, I’m all for red sabres and all, but you know!”
At this point, the ghostly Jiao Zilei decided to finally pause for breath – which wasn’t exactly necessary, considering that he was an incorporeal spirit with no real need to breathe. But for better or worse, he did, and as such, he finally noticed the look Bai Jixue was giving him – which was not one of vehement disgust. It was quickly gone though, replaced by the expected disgust that was quickly smoothed over as System 225 called for the other’s attention.
Could Jiao Zilei possibly have imagined it after all?
“Damn it! We lost them.”
“Yeah, thanks to you.”
“Well, excuse me! My kind is quite weak to the cold!”
“Yeah, which is why you should’ve turned back, and allowed me go ahead.”
“Oh yeah? And let you get another head start? Like Hell.”
“So, you decided to sabotage this whole operation instead? And this after you’ve already⸺”
Hua Hongzhu bristled, managing to look quite fierce in spite of her evident shivers.
However, both what she was about to say and what Youming Jun was about to say in return got lost as a chilly gale just about knocked them both down, and then⸺
They both made extremely startled and indignant noises as a sudden force slammed them right into the ground and held them there no matter how fiercely they struggled to get back up. And bearing down upon them was an immensely cold gaze that just about froze the blood in their veins.
“Holy shit!” a faint voice called out, followed by the sound of equally faint applause. “Frosty is such a BAMF! Ten out of ten! No, eleven!”
“Spare me your drivel,” said this new and entirely unfamiliar foe. “225?”
Out of their peripheral vision, the captured pair then witnessed a white ferret crawling out from under the collar of the most recent arrival, bearing down on them with its beady black eyes. Then it spoke, but in a garbled tongue that neither of them properly understood. Their captor apparently did though, humming in seeming agreement before shaking an agonisingly familiar orb out of their sleeve, which then floated up to perch atop their shoulder.
This newest foe proved quite a sight as well, with his white hair and robes more than a few sizes too small, along with the fierceness of his gaze. And it was most likely a he, because even though the other was certainly beautiful enough to be a woman, the voice and the lack of certain... assets... strongly hinted towards a male physiology.
Also, given how easily the other had struck them down, this individual was undoubtedly powerful, and undoubtedly a staunch ally of these dastardly System entities. But who was he? And how had this person’s existence managed to escape them right up to this point?
“Who are you bastards?!” Youming Jun snarled, finally finding his tongue, and the white-haired foe’s gaze landed upon him anew. However, just as the other seemed about to speak, that faint voice rang out once more.
“Oh, oh, oh, Frosty!” it said. “Me first, me first, me first!”
The other, who was apparently called ‘Frosty’, made a face of obvious disdain but quickly signalled for the other to go on, which he did. And out of their peripheral vision, Youming Jun and Hua Hongzhu witnessed the faint image of a person – a man, and likely a cultivator, judging by the garb – and as he crouched down before them, he shot off the brightest shit-eating grin in Youming Jun’s direction.
“Jun,” he said, with fervent joy. “I am your father.”
