The boundless darkness poured down, and Hua Xian’s five senses gradually began to fade.
She heard—
“Hua Xian, no matter where you run, to the ends of the earth, I will find you!”
Although the voice was faint, the fury contained within was immense, causing Hua Xian to involuntarily shiver.
It sounded somewhat familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere, but she couldn’t quite recall the specifics.
This was mainly due to having completed too many missions, constantly making enemies. She had countless adversaries across the three thousand worlds, so she couldn’t match the voice to a person immediately.
Having done many guilt-inducing things in her life, she was naturally afraid of a midnight knock, so Hua Xian felt genuinely uneasy. Fortunately, the Quick Transmigration Administration’s protection mechanism for its employees was very thorough; she wasn’t worried that her enemies would actually track her down.
The moment this thought emerged, her mind felt as if it had been struck by something, an episode of dull pain rising, and her head suddenly became dizzy. At the same time, that voice went from distant to near, and the final word sounded as if it were right next to her ear.
“I found you~”
Her consciousness plunged into an abyss and continued to fall. Her mind was filled with a tumultuous clamor of human voices, as if she were in a busy market surrounded by many people.
Hua Xian closed her eyes in agony.
This was far more painful than just fighting her enemy directly.
Suddenly, the speed of the descent accelerated. After a bout of piercing tinnitus, a white flash appeared before her eyes, and Hua Xian regained her vision.
The lighting was a bit dim, but it was countless times brighter than the deep darkness from before. Out of the caution of a Task Taker, she subtly surveyed her surroundings. She didn’t know until she looked, and when she did, she was startled.
Aside from the familiar furnishings in the room, there was another, more difficult issue—
Her movements were restricted.
Normally, such a small trick wouldn’t even register for her, but perhaps due to the influence of the prior darkness, she couldn’t exert any strength at the moment, and even speaking was difficult.
Hua Xian shifted her beautiful eyes, observing the room again while her brain worked furiously. Then, the intensity of her struggle became weaker and weaker until she eventually gave up and lay still.
The opponent’s method was extremely skillful; they must be a repeat offender. The more she struggled, the tighter the knot around her hands became. Pain was already starting to radiate from her wrists, so to avoid further suffering, it was better to be compliant.
Since the other party had only tied her up, it meant they didn’t intend to kill her, and thus, terms could be negotiated.
Moreover, she refused to believe that those old fogeys in the Administration would just watch her be murdered.
Although dying in a small world wouldn’t result in her actual death, the number of deaths would be recorded and would indirectly affect her innate talents. How could those crafty old fellows bear to let her “lose health”?
Thinking this, Hua Xian instantly relaxed. She tried to use her innate talent to capture the residual images in the room, hoping to find out who was behind her capture. However, before her thoughts could be fully released, they were canceled out by an invisible barrier. She couldn’t detect anything at all.
Well played! They came prepared, even knowing how to counteract her talent.
Hua Xian slightly raised an eyebrow. Just as she was about to pull back her thoughts, she heard the sound of a door opening. Her thoughts, which she hadn’t managed to retract in time, collided with a mass of black mist. Her mind instantly felt like it was exploding, and the pain made her involuntarily groan.
The person didn’t enter immediately, but leaned against the door, watching her. Their beautiful phoenix-like eyes concealed malice and cold severity, yet a slight arc curved on their lips.
“Are you surprised to see me, older sister?”
Hua Xian’s head was throbbing. After finally regaining consciousness, her head began to buzz again when she clearly saw the person leaning against the door.
At the same time, a clear voice mixed with a mechanical sound rang out.
[Congratulations, Host, for starting a new mission. I am your exclusive System, Little Nine. This mission is different from previous ones. You are already aware of the world view and the plot, so I won’t waste any time. I wish you a pleasant mission. Goodbye.]
“Wait!” Hua Xian grabbed the System that was trying to slip away, asking, confused, “Didn’t I already complete this part of the mission? Why am I back here?”
Others might have the possibility of repeating the same mission, but she absolutely would not.
Her innate talent was the rarest in the Quick Transmigration Administration; the entire Administration couldn’t find more than a few like her. Those old things wished they could ride her like a donkey, forcing her to rack up achievements, so there was no way they would let her do a repeat mission.
Little Nine paused, then tentatively asked, [Host, haven’t you noticed something wrong?]
“What’s wrong?” Hua Xian muttered softly. A flash of inspiration struck her mind, and she looked sideways at the black mist surrounding Chi Meng, her brow instantly furrowing deeper.
When she had fled before, Chi Meng’s Blackening Value had not yet reached the point of taking a solid form. But now, that thick mist was truly frightening to look at.
Hua Xian pursed her lips, her expression extremely grave.
[Host, you’ve grasped the key to the problem!] Little Nine offered a compliment, then cleared its throat: [Actually, this mission wasn’t assigned to you by the Administration. Instead, because the Villain you had previously ‘captured’ had an excessively high Blackening Value, forming a consciousness capable of resisting the rules, you were pulled in by her.]
“I was pulled in by Chi Meng?” Hua Xian’s expression changed several times, but she ultimately couldn’t hide her shock.
A Task Taker being pulled into a small world by a character from that world was simply unheard of!
If she hadn’t experienced this herself, Hua Xian definitely wouldn’t have believed it.
Setting aside the fact that the small world is bound by the Quick Transmigration Administration’s rules, the mere fact that Chi Meng could pull her into the small world was an utterly absurd matter.
Chi Meng isn’t the protagonist, so how could she have such power?
[Emmm…] Little Nine carefully chose its words, and only spoke meekly after a long while: [It is said that your follow-up work was not done well, which led to the chaos in the small world…]
Sensing the coldness emanating from Hua Xian, Little Nine wisely shut up, trying hard to make itself as inconspicuous as the air.
Hua Xian looked at Chi Meng again. Just by looking at the dense black mist, she knew how high her Blackening Value had soared.
Hua Xian closed her eyes; she really did not want to face this.
Chi Meng had been patiently waiting for Hua Xian’s answer. When she saw her close her eyes, her gaze stiffened, and the smile on the corner of her mouth also faded.
“What? Is older sister so unwilling to see me?”
Chi Meng walked to the edge of the bed and sat down, reaching out to stroke Hua Xian’s leg, but her eyes were fixed straight on her, without a trace of warmth.
“But what can be done? Older sister can’t escape now.”
Her hand moved inch by inch upwards, giving Hua Xian goosebumps all over. She opened her eyes, looked at the person with the sinister gaze before her, and desperately tried to figure out what to say to prevent Chi Meng’s Blackening Value from rising further.
Due to her innate talent, Hua Xian was naturally incompatible with darkness. She had already been injured by Chi Meng just now. If Chi Meng were to blacken any further, she estimated she might not even see tomorrow’s sun.
In fact, being this close, the black mist around Chi Meng was already making her uncomfortable, but she didn’t show it. Her expression was normal, and her eyes even carried a hint of concern.
“Mengmeng, are you alright?”
Chi Meng froze for a moment, then curled one corner of her lip, her expression utterly mocking.
“What’s wrong with me? You should worry about yourself first.”
Chi Meng was sparing with her words, seemingly unwilling to talk more with Hua Xian, focusing instead on the task at hand.
As Chi Meng drew nearer, Hua Xian’s discomfort intensified. Her temples felt like they were being pricked with needles, her stomach churned violently, and even the air in her lungs began to thin…
Hua Xian tried hard to stay conscious but still couldn’t withstand the encroachment of the darkness. Her head tilted, and she fainted.
Chi Meng’s movements stopped. The coldness and mockery in her eyes receded slightly, replaced by resentment and pain.
“Why… why do you still ask me if I’m alright, without even batting an eye, after you lied to me?”
Chi Meng tightened the grip of the hand placed on Hua Xian’s thigh. As her eyes shifted, the compressed smile on her lips reappeared.
It was chilling and gloomy.
If Hua Xian were awake at that moment, her scalp would surely be tingling.
…
The light shone on her, a warm sensation. Hua Xian comfortably turned over, but was restrained halfway through the turn.
She slowly opened her eyes and saw two slender iron chains, which rattled slightly and made a faint sound due to her recent movement.
The sound wasn’t harsh; it was even somewhat crisp and pleasant.
Perhaps Chi Meng heard the movement, as she pushed the door open and entered, still with a sinister and indifferent expression.
Before she fainted, Hua Xian had prayed in her heart that everything was a dream, but clearly, her wish had not come true.
Since this small world is not bound by the rules, there must be no discernible pattern to follow. To successfully leave, she can only comply with Chi Meng’s wishes. She only hoped that the condition for leaving was not to eliminate Chi Meng’s Blackening Value again, or else it would take forever to get rid of such a high value.
[Host is truly brilliant; you’ve even guessed the condition for leaving the small world!]
Little Nine’s childlike voice sounded particularly jarring at this moment. Hua Xian was briefly silent, then asked, “Is there no other way?”
Hua Xian didn’t even dare to lift her head, afraid of seeing the dense black mist around Chi Meng and then losing the courage to live.
[Because this world is sustained by Chi Meng’s Blackening Value, there is no other way besides that. Oh, right, you could also choose to commit suicide, but it’s uncertain if you’ll be pulled back in after you kill yourself, so Little Nine doesn’t recommend trying that method.]
Hua Xian: I thank you for your ‘help’!
I only want to leave the small world, but you want me to die.
Hua Xian knew the System was unreliable and decided to rely on herself.
“Mengmeng, why don’t you untie your older sister first? We can talk things over properly.”
Chi Meng tilted her head and looked at Hua Xian, a slight curve on her lips: “Untie you, so you can abandon me again and fly off with someone else? Older sister, do you think I’m too stupid, or are you too confident, believing I’ll still be as obedient to you as I was before?”
‘It’s not because of that; I just want to lie down a little more comfortably.’
Hua Xian didn’t say this out loud, because she knew Chi Meng wouldn’t believe it. She was inherently an extremely insecure person, and after the incident where she ran away, Chi Meng’s trust in her must be zero.
No, judging by the current situation, it should be a negative number.
How exactly could she reduce her Blackening Value? Hua Xian thought for a moment, then hesitated before speaking—
“Mengmeng, I can explain everything; I had my reasons.” Hua Xian spoke sincerely: “I love you so much, how could I bear to leave you?”
This had been a tried-and-true method before; as long as she said the word “love,” Chi Meng would be receptive. But this time, the situation was completely different.
The moment Hua Xian’s words fell, Chi Meng abruptly leaned over and choked her neck, her expression extremely sinister, her eyes bloodshot.
“Shut up! You are not allowed to say you love me! You are unworthy!”
Hua Xian struggled to breathe while being choked, painfully gasping for air. But what made her feel worse was that the black mist surrounding Chi Meng seemed to grow even denser.
[Following the Host’s ‘capture’ attempt, Chi Meng’s Blackening Value has increased by two hundred. The current total Blackening Value is one thousand two hundred.] Little Nine chimed in with a reminder.
Even it probably couldn’t bear to watch Hua Xian’s anti-capturing strategy anymore.
Hua Xian: …The maximum Blackening Value wasn’t supposed to be one hundred?!
Heaven wants me dead; Heaven wants me dead!