There were five known members in this criminal gang: four whose voices had already been heard, and an unrevealed “boss.”
Since their purpose for kidnapping was money, they definitely wouldn’t execute the hostages for the time being. What would happen after receiving the money was another story, so the boys still needed to rescue themselves.
Seeing that Gu Liang had calmed down a bit, Wei Chen gently nudged Gu Liang’s shoulder with his own and whispered, “See? We’re safe for now. Rest your head on my shoulder for a bit to conserve your energy.”
“I’m right here with you, so don’t be scared. Everything will be fine.”
His attitude was calm, and his eyes were tranquil without a ripple of panic. This kind of composure was contagious.
Gu Liang pursed his lips, struggled inwardly for a brief moment, and finally leaned against him.
The apprehension in his heart dissipated somewhat after feeling the body heat of the person beside him.
Wei Chen had never lied to him, so he trusted Wei Chen implicitly.
While Wei Chen had been unconscious, Gu Liang’s mind had been tightly strung, maintaining the utmost alertness and vigilance.
Having drained so much of his mental energy, he actually drifted off to sleep in such a quiet environment.
As Gu Liang’s breathing gradually became steady and rhythmic, Wei Chen relaxed as well. Because of the injury on the back of his head, he couldn’t lean against the wall, so he rested his head against Gu Liang’s.
He called out in his mind: “2002.”
“Mr. Wei Chen, I am here.”
For some reason, Wei Chen could clearly detect a sense of impatience behind the mechanical voice.
He didn’t pay it much mind and got straight to the point: “You mentioned that I am the protagonist of a live-in son-in-law novel. That means this rebirth of mine is also inside a book, planned out by your organization.”
System 2002 fell silent, and Wei Chen immediately understood: the system had accidentally slip-tongued and exposed vital information, or perhaps it was just inexperienced at its job.
“It doesn’t matter. You just need to tell me whether everything was prearranged from the start, and whether it can be changed.”
Whether his life was a book or not didn’t matter to him; what he cared about more was whether his future was entirely controlled by someone else.
Giving up on trying to hide it, System 2002 answered honestly: “There are several main plot milestones that you must go through. As for the rest, you may manage them as you see fit.”
Wei Chen: “Such as this kidnapping I’m currently going through?”
System 2002: “Yes.”
“So, did you guys also set up some tacky plotline where a female lead comes to rescue me?”
System 2002 didn’t catch his emphasis on “also” and responded candidly, affirming his guess.
Wei Chen asked: “What else am I required to go through?”
“Those are currently locked. You will only be informed when approaching each milestone.”
“The kidnappers knocked me out before you even showed up. You call that ‘approaching’?” Wei Chen was dissatisfied. With such terrible service from System 2002, what good was it even if it were a higher-dimensional entity?
Setting Gu Liang beside him aside for a moment, judging by the system’s respectful attitude, he was bound to be the Son of Fortune in this realm in short, an absolute powerhouse that the system couldn’t afford to offend.
Evidently, System 2002 realized this point as well.
“Mr. Wei Chen, I believe the goal of our cooperation should be a win-win scenario.”
That was a compromise. Wei Chen felt secretly pleased, the corners of his lips curling up subtly.
“Is this your first mission? Your work efficiency is so subpar. No worries, brother will carry you to victory.”
This nonchalant, roguish tone was utterly exasperating; System 2002 felt like clenching its fists.
Wei Chen continued: “I have no interest in your Special Task Bureau or Rebirth Department. As someone who has already died once, I only want to live my current life with clarity. You don’t need to worry about me digging into your organization. In exchange, all you have to do is assist me rather than interfere with me. That is a true win-win.”
Wei Chen: “What do you think, System 2002?”
“I think that sounds great,” System 2002 sneered coldly.
The cold sneer produced by a mechanical voice gave Wei Chen goosebumps.
Nevertheless, having reached a consensus made Wei Chen’s heart feel lighter. “Now that we’re on the same page, untie the rope for me so I can be more comfortable. We’re already inside the plot anyway, aren’t we?”
“I cannot directly interfere with the plot. However, you may exchange the merit points accumulated over your past lives for Interstellar Coins, which can then be used to purchase items from the System Mall to achieve your goals. In the future, you can also find rare items in the real world to convert into Interstellar Coins.”
As System 2002 finished speaking, a glowing screen appeared in Wei Chen’s mind, displaying an overwhelming array of goods.
In the upper right corner were two small display panels: one showed Merit: 30,000, and the other showed Interstellar Coins: 0.
“One Merit point equals 100 million Interstellar Coins. You are extremely wealthy.”
Maintaining precepts leads to concentration, which constitutes true merit. Having three thousand merit points was already immense; Wei Chen having thirty thousand meant he must have been a heroic savior of great virtue over dozens of past lives.
However, the past lives had already borne their fruits, so there was no need to dwell on them. As for the lingering remnants of the past, before reaching distant future milestones, he naturally chose to use them to make his present life more comfortable.
He generously exchanged for 1 trillion Interstellar Coins right away and began selecting the items he wanted.
The first page only contained simple daily necessities cups, water bottles, towels, and the like—which were very cheap, costing only one or two Interstellar Coins. Yet when he tried to turn to the next page, he couldn’t operate it at all.
“What’s going on?” Wei Chen felt dissatisfied again.
System 2002: “The System Mall has just launched, and many features are incomplete. The subsequent pages remain locked and will open in a few years.”
Wei Chen: “…”
Wei Chen gritted his teeth: “Fine. Redeem a small razor blade for me first.”
System 2002: “Sold by the box only.”
“Do I look like I can open a box right now?”
System 2002: “Understood. We will unlock a Spatial Storage skill from your Protagonist Aura for 100 million Interstellar Coins to store the remaining blades inside. Do you have any objections?”
“None.” Wei Chen felt System 2002 was finally doing something helpful. After thinking for a moment, he added: “By the way, heal the injury on my head too. If there’s a spatial skill, there should be a rapid self-healing skill as well.”
“We can only unlock rapid self-healing skills for injuries that cause maiming or life-threatening danger. Your current injury happens to meet the criteria, and it has now been activated for you. The total cost is 200,000,001 Interstellar Coins. Thank you for your business, and welcome to shop with us again.”
Instantly, a tiny razor blade appeared in Wei Chen’s palm, and the pain at the back of his head vanished. It itched for a brief moment before rapidly forming a scab a truly miraculous effect.
Using the blade, he slowly sawed at the ropes behind his back while taking care not to cut his own hand or wake Gu Liang up.
The reason Wei Chen hadn’t asked System 2002 about the book where Gu Liang was the main character was that he deduced it was a world glitch. Glitches required repairs, and the turbulence caused by repairs might trigger a system reset, which wouldn’t benefit him or Gu Liang.
After six years together, in Wei Chen’s eyes, Gu Liang was no longer just a fictional character in a book; he was a living, breathing, real person.
Wei Chen viewed Gu Liang almost like a son, watching him grow from learning to speak to learning to walk, from constant crying to liking to smile and play pranks. They shared deep, genuine feelings.
Furthermore, their world was unlike sci-fi or fantasy realms there were no unexpected, life-threatening magical dangers lurking around. Therefore, even if the world glitched, Wei Chen wasn’t worried it would heavily impact Gu Liang’s future.
Even if it did, Wei Chen believed that since he was a protagonist himself, he would surely possess the ability to protect him down the line.
In short, he liked this little kid Gu Liang, and he loved his current family and friends. He didn’t want anything to go wrong with his current life.
He stretched his neck and leaned back slightly. The person leaning against him immediately opened his eyes and sat upright.
Gu Liang had been startled in a dream and called out his name weakly.
“Hmm? Had a nightmare?”
Wei Chen relaxed a bit and applied more force with his hand.
Gu Liang opened his mouth, wanting to say yes, but looking around at their surroundings, he felt nothing could be worse than their current reality.
Dreams were fake, but the trouble he and Wei Chen were in was the real crisis.
Noticing what was on his mind, Wei Chen nudged Gu Liang’s foot with his own, reassuring him: “It’s fine, we’ll get out of here very soon.”
He had an idea. Although the system couldn’t give him spoilers, he could deduce things himself: as long as he waited until the female lead from his book appeared, this plot point should be considered complete.
In the book where Gu Liang was the protagonist, Gu Liang was saved on the very same day. The young female lead had noticed a few kidnappers carrying a burlap sack, felt something was off, and decided to tell her father. Upon learning this, her father called the police, and eventually, the police teamed up with influential family forces to wipe out the kidnappers in one fell swoop.
Wei Chen reasoned that even though the book centered on Gu Liang didn’t mention himself being kidnapped alongside him, since the plot had taken place, he should be rescued at the same time.
It was just that the storylines were overlapping now, so he wasn’t entirely sure how the rescue would unfold.
“Ah Chen, it’s so dark here.” Gu Liang leaned in close.
Caught off guard by the gentle bump, the razor blade slid across Wei Chen’s palm, leaving a bloody gash.
He didn’t make a sound and continued sawing at the rope, which was almost severed.
Having received no response, Gu Liang called out again: “Ah Chen?”
“Nonsense. It’s night, and the lights aren’t on, so of course it’s dark.”
Hearing Wei Chen talk with his usual arrogant, energetic tone, Gu Liang immediately felt at ease.
Gu Liang: “I’m so hungry… When do you think we’ll be saved?”
“Hang in there a little longer. When I say soon, I mean soon.”
The blade provided by the system was quite effective; a single piece managed to saw through the thick hemp rope.
Finally freed, Wei Chen quickly used his uninjured hand to cover Gu Liang’s mouth, whispering: “Don’t scream, and don’t ask anything yet. I’ll untie you now.”
There was no sound from outside; the kidnappers had likely fallen asleep.
Gu Liang let out a muffled “Mm,” signaling for him to let go.
Outside, the sun had set and the moon had risen, but the curtains blocked the moonlight. The room was pitch-black as ink, making it impossible to see anything regardless of how good one’s eyesight was.
Wei Chen could only rely on touch to slowly untie Gu Liang’s ropes.
Children from families like theirs had naturally learned self-rescue tactics, but these kidnappers seemed to have undergone professional training too the knots were tied in such a complex and tight manner that Gu Liang wouldn’t have been able to untie them himself even while conscious.
“Listen to me later, got it? Don’t be afraid, I’ll protect you.”
Wei Chen remembered that in the book, Gu Liang’s head had been cracked open and he was half-dead, so the kidnappers never stepped foot into this room again. Thus, Wei Chen untied the knots calmly, completely unconcerned about being discovered.
“I’ll protect you too.”
“Yeah, I know.” Wei Chen humored him, “I trust that you can protect me too.”
Gu Liang was moved. Seeing how manly Wei Chen was, he reflected deeply on himself: “Wei Chen, I’m not scared anymore. If we make it out alive this time, we’ll be best brothers for life. I’ll never snitch on you to Grandpa Wei again!”
As soon as he finished speaking, his ropes fell loose, and he immediately clung to Wei Chen. He even began reciting brotherhood lines he had picked up from Wei Chen’s father, though he forgot the actual lyrics, mumbling: “Good brothers for life, walking together forever!”
Wei Chen didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. As he felt around to check if Gu Liang was hurt anywhere, he teased him: “Well then, thank you very much.”