The air froze for a moment.
System: “Host, you’re too direct. Calling him that now is too early!”
Who goes straight to calling someone “husband”?
What difference is there from a rogue?
Chi Yu spoke earnestly: “Anyway, I’m here to win him over. Are you still arguing with me about the timing of this nickname? Is that meaningful?”
System: “…”
That’s quite reasonable.
It had nothing to say.
Probably because he had just awakened, Shen Yanzhou was somewhat confused and instinctively asked: “Who is ‘husband’?”
Chi Yu spoke seriously while fabricating nonsense: “This is a colloquial term from my hometown. Generally, young men around your age, with looks like yours, are all called ‘husband.’”
“And girls like me are all called ‘wife.’ From now on, you can call me ‘wife.’”
System: “Host, you’re really capable of spinning tales.”
Chi Yu: “Average, average, third in the world. Keep it low-key.”
“…”
While chatting nonsense with the system, she deftly untied the ropes binding Shen Yanzhou.
Probably having sobered up, Shen Yanzhou no longer showed the earlier confusion and watched her warily.
Chi Yu reached out, trying to pull him up.
Shen Yanzhou avoided her touch, his expression icy to the extreme.
Chi Yu clicked her tongue: “System, I still prefer his innocent, naive look from earlier.”
System: “Then you shouldn’t hope for that. His personality isn’t like that.”
In the original book’s setting, Shen Yanzhou’s parents died early. The villagers said he had caused his parents’ deaths, so they didn’t treat him well, calling him a plague god.
Growing up in such an environment led Shen Yanzhou to develop a solitary personality, not interacting with outsiders.
Chi Yu understood: So he’s a child lacking love since childhood. No wonder he was very guarded upon first seeing her.
“I’m Chi Yu. I came to save you. Don’t be afraid.”
Her gaze sincere, she reached out again.
Shen Yanzhou remained silent, but perhaps seeing that she truly had no intention of harming him, his eyes softened somewhat.
Then, hesitantly, he grasped her hand.
[Target character’s Favorability Level +1, gained 1 reward point. Host, keep up the effort.]
Hearing the system announcement, though only one reward point was added, Chi Yu still blossomed with joy, looking at Shen Yanzhou with gentle eyes: “So obedient.”
Speaking, she also shielded him behind her, while she herself guarded against the Great Demon fighting with the Cultivator outside.
The battle outside was intense, yet she still had the mood to chat with the system.
Chi Yu: “System, this mission isn’t hard at all.”
Just holding hands raised the Favorability Level by one point.
Pure, young boys are easy to win over.
System: “If this mission were so easy to do, the previous systems and hosts wouldn’t have ended tragically.”
“What do you mean?”
The system spoke of the past.
The Time-Space Management Bureau dispatched many Task Executors and systems here to carry out missions.
Initially, their progress was also smooth.
But just as the mission was about to be completed, Shen Yanzhou suddenly fell into demonhood, and the Favorability Level reset entirely.
Mission failed, the system exploded instantly, and Shen Yanzhou, fallen into demonhood, killed the Task Executor and slaughtered the world.
“The Management Bureau thought the Mission Progress and Favorability Level detectors were faulty and increased the monitoring intensity on Shen Yanzhou, but nothing was wrong.”
Machines don’t lie.
Everything seemed normal, yet the mission failed.
The Management Bureau, helpless, could only send more people, trying to break the curse.
“The five Task Executors before you all failed. I advise you not to rejoice too early.”
Chi Yu: “…”
Sure enough, ten billion isn’t that easy to earn.
Shen Yanzhou lowered his head, listening to the conversation between the System and Chi Yu. The vigilance and panic in his eyes vanished completely, replaced by mockery and scorn.
He had known for a long time that he was the male lead of a poorly concluded novel.
His life was nothing more than a setting under the author’s pen.
Because of this, he held no attachment to this false world and was utterly world-weary.
But soon, an otherworldly visitor arrived here.
Shen Yanzhou could hear her conversations with the System.
He knew that everything she did was merely to complete her tasks.
Later, he discovered he could freely manipulate the Favorability Level.
When his Cultivation Base surpassed that of the Task Executor, he could even block the System’s detection. So, he simply played along with her act.
Watching her repeatedly push him into dangerous situations based on the System’s instructions, then deliberately pose as a savior and extend a helping hand, Shen Yanzhou feigned gratitude on the surface while feeling nothing but disgust inside.
In the end, he personally ended her life.
After living for a long time, he killed almost everyone in the Cultivation World. With no one left in this realm, he found it unbearably boring and chose to end his own life.
Then he discovered that after death, he would retain his memories and enter a new cycle of reincarnation, only to welcome a new Task Executor.
And such Task Executors, he had killed five of them.
This Chi Yu would be no exception.
All he needed to do was go with the flow and coax her a little, and this fool would offer everything, valuing him more than her own life.
Thinking of this, Shen Yanzhou’s lips curved slightly upward.
He could already imagine her despairing expression in the end.
Chi Yu, completely unaware, exclaimed in shock, “So Shen Yanzhou is second-hand goods, oh no, fifth-hand goods?”
Shen Yanzhou’s smile froze: “…”
He despised Task Executors to the extreme; how could anything happen between them?
The System was furious: “Can’t you think about something serious for once?”
“This is serious.”
Just as Chi Yu was about to explain to the System how serious this issue was, the cave entrance opened.
The Great Demon flashed inside, covered in minor wounds.
Several Cultivators were tied together and thrown aside as reserve food.
Chi Yu: “What the hell?”
Are her teammates that weak?
The System instantly turned serious: “Host, please complete the task [Protect Shen Yanzhou, Slay the Great Demon] to receive a reward of 2 points.”
At the same time, the Great Demon noticed Chi Yu in her bright red wedding dress: “Pure Yin Body…”
Although he had won the battle against the Cultivators, he was injured.
If he killed her and refined her flesh and blood to consume, his injuries would heal completely, and his Cultivation Base could advance further.
With this in mind, he raised his hand and sent a palm strike toward her!
Chi Yu was startled and, quick as lightning, pulled Shen Yanzhou from behind her forward.
Caught off guard, he took the blow head-on and immediately coughed up blood.
Shen Yanzhou: “…”
The intense pain ignited a fierce killing intent within him.
The System screamed: “Host, what have you done?!”
The task was for her to protect Shen Yanzhou!
She pulled him to block the attack—if this doesn’t breed hatred, it’s already a miracle. How is she supposed to win his favor now?
Chi Yu: “Sorry, it was a reflex.”
Though she appeared tough, taking that palm strike would have killed her.
Her survival instinct made her instinctively pull the nearest shield, momentarily forgetting that it was Shen Yanzhou beside her.
The System emphasized repeatedly: “You must protect Shen Yanzhou, got it?! Data shows that if you protect him, his Favorability Level toward you will increase. All previous Hosts did exactly that!”
“Heard it, heard it. Both ears heard it.”
Chi Yu took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and once again shielded the person behind her.
She picked up the knife from the ground and pointed it at the Great Demon: “Fiend, I absolutely will not allow you to touch him!”
The Great Demon sneered: “Stop framing me. I clearly want to target you.”
Chi Yu: “…”
He was already angry about missing Chi Yu earlier, and now his expression turned even colder: “A mere Qi Refining cultivator, and you dare to challenge me?”
Hearing the disdain in his tone, Chi Yu’s rebellious streak instantly flared up.
Even though she trembled under the pressure of the Great Demon’s aura, she stubbornly retorted: “So what if I’m only at Qi Refining? You think I’m afraid of you? Go ahead, try to kill me.”
Her legs might be weak, but her mouth was tough.
The Great Demon flew into a rage: “I’ll grant your wish!”
As he spoke, he channeled his magic, condensing it into flames that shot toward her, intending to refine her on the spot.
Chi Yu instinctively reached out, hoping to grab something to block with, but her hand closed on empty air.
Shen Yanzhou had somehow moved away, keeping his distance from her, and was now coughing up blood in the corner.
No joke—every time the cycle reset, his Cultivation Base would revert to zero.
At the start of this cycle, he hadn’t even begun Qi Refining yet. If she dragged him in to take another hit, he’d really end up killing himself.
Chi Yu didn’t have time to dwell on it. She swiftly rolled to the side.
The fireball grazed past her body, instantly reducing the stones in its path to ashes.
While dodging, Chi Yu negotiated with the System: “System, do you have any cheats? Give me one. I’m going to finish him off.”