“You…” Her voice was squeezed through her teeth.
“Can’t they see you?”
The monkey was stunned: “What?”
“You’re a system, aren’t you only supposed to be visible to me?”
Sparkle pointed at her phone screen.
“How did they film you?
How did they manage to film you?
How could anyone else see you?”
The monkey scratched its head, looking very innocent: “What’s so fresh about that?
Who told you that others couldn’t see me?”
Sparkle’s brain went “buzz.”
“I always thought…” Her voice was airy.
“That only I could see you…”
“Not at all.”
The monkey spread its little paws.
“I have always been here, anyone can see me.
Look, so many people were staring at me on the street yesterday.
Did you think they were looking at you?
Some were indeed looking at you, but some were also looking at me.
A real monkey squatting on a human’s shoulder—that is much rarer than white hair and red eyes.”
Sparkle opened her mouth.
“You never asked me if I could be seen,” the monkey continued, “and I never said I couldn’t be seen.
So that’s that, isn’t it?”
Sparkle felt something buzzing in her brain.
She lowered her head and looked at her phone again.
Third on the trending list.
The comment section was filled with curses.
Her address had been doxxed.
“I…” Sparkle’s voice trembled.
“I thought…
that only I could see you…
Aren’t you systems supposed to be…
hidden…?”
“Who told you that?” The monkey tilted its head.
“I am what you call a realistic system; I don’t play pretend.
If I’m here, I’m here; if I’m not, I’m not.
I never turn invisible.”
Sparkle took two steps back.
Then another two steps back.
Then she plopped down on the bed.
Her brain had completely crashed.
Doxxed.
Address exposed.
Everyone can see the monkey.
The video of her beating the monkey is circulating all over the internet.
The comment section is full of people cursing her.
The police…
might already be on their way…
“Oh, right,” the monkey suddenly spoke again, its tone light and airy.
“Let me see this—hmm, ‘Beating protected animals, according to the relevant provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act, intentional injury to key protected wild animals shall be punished by fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years or criminal detention, and a fine…’ Ouch, five years?
That much?”
Sparkle threw a pillow at it.
This time, it hit the monkey’s face precisely.
“Ouch!”
The monkey fell backward, waving its paws around.
“Why are you hitting me!
You’re the one who shook me!”
Sparkle held her head, her eyes wide open through her fingers, muttering: “It’s over, it’s over, it’s over, it’s over…”
Her brain was running at high speed.
But her thoughts were like a tornado, spinning rapidly, just not knowing where to go.
Call the police?
Right, call the police.
She had been doxxed; the first thing to do is call the police.
That’s what a normal person would do.
She grabbed her phone, just about to tap the dial interface—
She hesitated.
What would she say if she called the police?
“Hello, Officer, I’ve been doxxed, someone posted my address online”?
Then the police would ask: “Why were you doxxed?”
Answer: “Because I beat a monkey in the street.”
Police: “…”
Police: “Well, come on over then.”
Sparkle’s hand froze in mid-air.
Beating a protected animal is illegal and causes social impact.
If she called the police, wouldn’t that be walking right into the trap?
She didn’t want to get arrested just one week after arriving in this world.
She didn’t want to enjoy a few months of prison life.
She didn’t want to achieve enlightenment in prison!
The monkey climbed up from the floor, rubbing its face, and leaned in to look: “What’s wrong?
Not calling the police anymore?”
Sparkle ignored it.
The monkey continued: “Hey, think about it.
If you go in, do they provide meals?
If they do, can I go with you?
I haven’t seen what it’s like inside yet.
I hear the conditions inside are pretty good now—there’s TV, books, and you can learn skills.
Maybe after a few months, you’ll come out having learned a trade, like knitting sweaters—”
“Smack!”
Another pillow.
The monkey fell to the ground again.
Sparkle held her head, curled up on the bed, her white hair disheveled, her red eyes full of panic.
The face paint on her face had completely smeared overnight; the red heart and diamond had blurred into two red marks, making her look like she had just been crying.
Just then.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
The door rang.
Sparkle stopped moving.
She slowly raised her head and looked toward the door.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
The knocking continued.
She walked barefoot, step by step, to the door and leaned toward the peephole.
Two people were standing outside the door.
Dark blue uniforms.
Visored caps.
Faces full of righteousness.
Police officers.
Sparkle took a silent step back.
Her mouth agape, her expression like she was performing a silent play—eyes wide open, mouth opening and closing, opening and closing, hands raising and dropping, raising and dropping, her whole body twisting silently in place, yet she couldn’t make a sound.
It was over.
They really came.
She turned around abruptly, her gaze sweeping across the room—
Sixth floor, jumping would mean death.
Wardrobe?
Hide inside?
The police would definitely search it.
Under the bed?
She couldn’t fit.
Her gaze locked on the corner of the wall.
The monkey was squatting there, rubbing its head, looking bewildered.
Sparkle rushed over, grabbed it, and lowered her voice: “What do I do, what do I do, what do I do!
The police are here!
They’re definitely here to deal with me!
Am I actually going to end up in prison?!”
The monkey blinked: “Prison?
Isn’t that pretty good?
An abstinence-themed girl, how popular.”
Sparkle’s blood pressure skyrocketed to 180.
“I respect your ancestors!!!”
She squeezed these words through her teeth.
“Think of a solution, fast!
I don’t want to get arrested!”
“Knock, knock, knock.”
The knocking sounded again, a bit heavier than before.
Sparkle stiffened, staring at that door, as if it would be pushed open in the next second.
“Is anyone home?
Please open the door.”
Sparkle was so anxious she spun in place, the ends of her white hair whipping around.
The monkey finally recovered, watching Sparkle’s state, and spoke slowly: “Hey, that…
system.”
Sparkle paused.
System!
Right!
System!
She immediately closed her eyes and frantically called out to that flashy panel in her heart.
A flash before her eyes.
[Streaming Fuli]
[Host: Sparkle]
[Follower Count: 15842 / 10000] (It went up again)
[elation points: 2350]
[Task Status: Current task (Reach 10,000 followers) completed, submit?]
[After submission, system functions will be fully unlocked]
Sparkle didn’t even think about it and clicked [Submit].
“Ding—”
A crisp notification sound.
[Task submitted successfully!]
[Congratulations to the Host for completing the novice task!]
[System functions fully unlocked!]
[Reward received: Inherit 90% of “Sparkle”‘s abilities—including combat techniques, agility, and partial Path powers.
Note: Since the Host is not the real “Sparkle,” some abilities may have deviations, please use with caution.]
[Enabled function: World Teleportation—The world is full of fascinating sights, I can go wherever I want.
Currently available worlds: Random / Anchor World (Not locked).]
[Enabled function: Shop—Use elation points to exchange for various props, abilities, costumes, etc.]
[Enabled function: Task System—Daily/Weekly/Monthly tasks to obtain extra elation points.]
[Enabled function: Pet Interaction—Your pet can now…
uh, anyway, it could already talk, so let’s just leave it at that.]
“Ding-ding-dong-dong,” a series of notification sounds exploded in her mind like firecrackers.
Sparkle widened her eyes, her gaze locked on that line of text—
[World Teleportation]