Backstage at the racecourse, news of Shen Yuhuai’s participation in the friendship race rippled through the entire arena. It was said that the commander had personally approved the request, meaning that for the first time in years, tens of thousands of spectators would witness Shen Yuhuai’s equestrian prowess.
Years ago, when he was still a young officer, Shen Yuhuai had competed in the Alliance horse racing tournament. Back then, the competition was divided into horse handling and horse racing. Competing as a representative of the Falcon Theater, he had swept two gold medals. Although it was only an internal friendly race, Shen Yuhuai had been at the peak of his glory then. In the era of the Great Star Age, people no longer believed in virtual idols; only those with the true strength to protect the public deserved their adulation.
It had taken Shen Yuhuai only a few years to rise from a small officer in the Falcon Theater to a theater general. In those few years, he had accumulated countless military merits with almost no defeats. One could imagine how idolized he was within the Alliance. That was why, the moment pollutants were detected in his body, the Alliance’s first thought was to suppress the news. An undefeated star general becoming an Unfortunate One and being unable to return to the battlefield would have been devastating news to the public.
Fortunately, Shen Yuhuai’s case was unique. Whether it was his iron willpower or because he had been infected by a virus unseen before, his mental state remained stable most of the time. To test his infection levels, the Alliance Medical Center had even subjected him to relentless mental stress. Every test concluded the same thing: extreme stability.
The mental stability test was a common way to evaluate the mental strength of Alliance soldiers. A normal person’s stability fluctuated, and occasional instability was normal. The Alliance required every soldier on the front lines to maintain mental strength between stable and highly stable. Extremely stable was a state more extreme than highly stable, implying that the person possessed an exceptionally calm mind, superhuman willpower, and superior judgment. It also meant that the person was actually very far from going insane or monsterizing into an Unfortunate One.
The evaluation system had a long history, was scientifically rigorous, and held high authority. This was why Shen Yuhuai had been permitted to move about under the supervision of Special Task Force members. In fact, since the first test that detected pollutants, his stability had hovered between highly stable and extremely stable. He rarely even felt highly stable, as extreme stability was his norm. It was precisely because of this that he had achieved such glorious military merits at such a young age.
The Special Task Force members guarding Bai Xinjian’s box momentarily lost consciousness when the monster surged, but they quickly recovered and reported the situation to their superiors. Given the special circumstances, they received an immediate reply: follow Shen Yuhuai closely and remain on standby. With the order received, the members quickly left the box to follow Shen Yuhuai, who had already headed backstage.
“Jianjian, if a family member is participating, we have the credentials to go backstage and watch at close range.”
0048 prompted Bai Xinjian to look at the instructions on the two entry tickets he had placed to the side. “I remember a similar plot occurring in the original book. It should be a key story node. We should be fine if we follow the original script. Do you want to go take a look?”
Since the box was empty anyway, Bai Xinjian stretched and stood up. “Let us go take a look then. It would be best if we could finish the mission early.”
After all, constantly dancing between a monster and a fickle man like Gu Yue was exhausting. Fortunately, there was plenty of material to collect in this world, otherwise, even he, the most excellent worker, might have given up.
The friendship race began after two professional and one amateur race, so there was not long to wait. Bai Xinjian arrived at the backstage area closest to the track, showed his ticket to the staff, and identified himself.
“It is Mr. Bai,” the staff member said respectfully. “The commander has approved General Shen’s request to participate. The first friendship race begins in an hour. Please follow me.”
The staff member led Bai Xinjian around the backstage area and guided him to a seat with a sweeping view at the finish line.
“Please do not wander around once the race begins,” the staff member reminded Bai Xinjian. “But after the race, when the participants reach the finish line, you may come forward to greet them or celebrate with the participants, like that.”
The staff member pointed to the side. The first professional race was coming to a close; at the finish line, a professional athlete dismounted and flew toward the spectator stands to embrace the young girl waiting there.
“Oh, how sweet!” 0048 sighed. “I used to love those love-story couples too. Later, I consumed too many story types, like those with betrayals, and saw too many scumbags, so I stopped looking forward to love. As professional systems, we should focus entirely on performance.”
Bai Xinjian asked, “If you get good performance, what rewards do you get?”
“That is…” 0048 became alert. “That is not something you should ask; it is better not to know.”
Bai Xinjian nodded. It was a secret workers were not entitled to know. “Understood.”
In the original plot, the protagonist Jiang Sui participated in the horse race, and naturally, his followers were present. Gu Yue also came, but he did not invite Bai Yu; Bai Yu had bought his own ticket. Seeing Gu Yue’s gaze lingering on Jiang Sui, Bai Yu became jealous and took the opportunity while Gu Yue was in the restroom to follow him backstage and intentionally seduce him.
In the story, Shen Yuhuai also arrived. However, he had snuck out of the classified ward. At that time, Shen Yuhuai had lost part of his sanity. Bai Xinjian remembered that the military department had a mental stability test, and the Shen Yuhuai in the book had results between unstable and collapsing at that moment. That was why the military had never actively released Shen Yuhuai to appear before the public in the book.
But strangely, the Shen Yuhuai in the book had shown no explosive growth in pollutants within his body since the infection. Although the stability tests suggested otherwise, his sanity remained clear. Or rather, he looked clear-headed. No one knew when Shen Yuhuai’s sanity began to collapse; by the time they realized it, he had already evolved into a monster. However, the monster in the book never exceeded a Level V danger rating and could never reach the Level IV required by the system to devour the world.
Bai Xinjian asked 0048, “How can I make Shen Yuhuai monsterize into Level IV?”
If it was only Level V, he could not complete the mission. There was plenty of material collected here, and he was beginning to look forward to the plot and novel experiences of the next story world.
“Perhaps only by stimulating him will it work; at least that is what my newbie task guide says,” 0048 said. “Shen Yuhuai was not someone who cared much about family. He and Bai Yu did not have much of a relationship. The only goal in his life was his career, and he once swore to stand at the very top of the Alliance.”
“Unfortunately, it was all ruined by the virus. Sigh, how should I put it? Heaven is jealous of talent.” 0048 emitted an electronic sigh. “Later, he discovered he had fallen into the mud because of the infection, and when he accidentally stumbled upon you, or rather, his other half cheating, his pride could not take it, and he started going crazy.”
“No matter how stable a mental core is, it cannot escape the virus,” 0048 continued. “Jianjian, you have done very well. I can see that Shen Yuhuai has started to like you a little. I do not know how you did it, but as long as we work harder than the original Bai Yu, double down on stimulating him, and combine that with my secret weapon, I believe we will certainly complete the mission!”
“What is your secret weapon?” Bai Xinjian asked.
The system had a secret weapon? This forced him to put on an expression of curiosity. Since it was a secret weapon, it was definitely worth knowing!
“It is just pollutants. It is your newbie support tool; general employees cannot get it, only newbies!”
A newbie starter pack, then. Bai Xinjian did not find it useful and turned his attention back to the racecourse. In these extraordinary times, the friendship race was kept simple; it was just horse racing. It was a contest of speed and skill, carrying a certain amount of danger. Bai Xinjian noticed that the competitors on the professional track were not wearing any protective gear. He did not know if this was a tradition unique to this world.
It was not until the end of the track, when Shen Yuhuai, Gu Yue, and Jiang Sui appeared on their horses, that Bai Xinjian realized they were not wearing protective gear either, dressed only in simple riding attire. Real hand-to-hand combat, then. Bai Xinjian rubbed his chin. People in this world were quite intense; perhaps because of the Star Age, everyone seemed quite combative.
“Bang.” The sound of a gunshot echoed, and the riders at the end of the track set off together. The spectators erupted into deafening cheers. Bai Xinjian stood up with the crowd, wearing a perfectly timed smile.
Suddenly, a horse’s neigh echoed from the track. It was Gu Yue’s horse that had fallen. Bai Xinjian gasped and moved forward with the families of the other riders. “What happened? Did Captain Gu fall? Is he alright?”
Bai Xinjian looked toward Shen Yuhuai out of the corner of his eye, but his body intentionally turned toward the direction where Gu Yue had fallen. Shen Yuhuai won; he was the first to reach the finish line on his horse.
As expected, the scene of Bai Yu welcoming him at the finish line did not occur. His expression darkened, and the pollutant detector the Special Task Force had forced him to wear on his neck emitted a faint red glow. His right eye quickly turned into a deep, swirling dark blue. He dismounted, tossed the whip aside, and strode toward Bai Xinjian.
The Special Task Force members had observed the change in Shen Yuhuai and, looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy, surrounded him from four directions, their hands resting on their holsters.
“Jianjian, the monster is coming toward you. He seems a bit abnormal. Do you want to hide, or prepare to run?”
“No need,” Bai Xinjian thought while laughing internally, his eyes still fixed on Gu Yue. “The monster looks jealous. This move is working, 0048. You were right; we must stimulate him quickly so I can finish the task and get off work sooner!”
“But Jianjian…” How could it tell its host that it could only stuff censored words into the monster’s mind, and it could not control the monster’s thinking!
Glancing at Shen Yuhuai walking closer and closer, Bai Xinjian began to grow excited. How would the monster treat him this time? It would be best if he bit into his neck with his sharp fangs again. That feeling was too thrilling, so thrilling that he was gradually starting to fall in love with this job.
Come.
Bai Xinjian’s smile became more pronounced; he could almost no longer maintain the fake, worried expression he had deliberately put on.
Come and pierce my artery, and drink my blood!
At the mere thought of that moment, he could hardly wait!