"I could have managed without you, you know."
The grayish substance swirled and transformed in Lacy's hands, further condensing.
"You must have met Zhuang Wugou by now, with his unparalleled combat abilities."
Lacy brought up a name familiar to Ning Yu.
"That's right. Did you design that perfect combat AI program of his?"
"And was it also your intention to stop targeting the Ark Base?"
Ning Yu fired off two questions in quick succession.
"Correct," Lacy replied with a faint smile, though her gaze soon turned profound.
"I could have relied on my own strength to enhance that system further, and the truth I’ve been researching would have surfaced."
"If applied to me, it would grant me an unstoppable power. I would become the ultimate weapon, invincible."
"But the gods are watching me."
Lacy pointed inexplicably toward the sky.
"The problem I need to solve has become a purely mathematical one."
"Yet, every time I attempt to solve it, I get a different answer. Every single time. I’ve run trillions of simulations, expended countless computational resources."
"And every single time, the answer is different!"
"It’s as if God is rolling dice."
Her eyes sharpened with a hint of frustration.
"Do you know why?"
"Suppression," Ning Yu answered.
"Exactly. No one can obtain true knowledge or reach the so-called root by any means."
"The gods love humanity, but that love is nothing more than treating us as playthings."
"You and I are merely toys for the gods."
Lacy chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"But the most ironic part is that the gods aren’t individual entities. There’s no specific being to hate or resent."
"They are the collective unconscious of humanity, the will of the planet, an indescribable existence."
"Heaven and earth are not benevolent; they treat all things as straw dogs."
"This doesn’t mean heaven and earth look down on us mortals."
"It means the workings of the universe are beyond human comprehension. They treat us equally—this is both merciful and ruthless."
Ning Yu fell into deep thought as she listened to Lacy’s explanation.
She suddenly wondered: If William’s Utopia Project succeeded, and humans achieved immortality, allowing them infinite time to pursue wisdom, would that also constitute a form of blasphemy or trespass against 'true knowledge'?
If so, did that mean Leon, in some way, was the suppression force acting upon William?
No one knew the answer to this question, and Ning Yu certainly wouldn’t share this possibility with Lacy. She simply felt an inexplicable sadness.
If the pursuit of true knowledge is humanity’s rebellion, and the object of that rebellion doesn’t even exist—or worse, is fundamentally opposed to humanity’s survival—then is such a struggle even meaningful?
"From the moment the disaster began, and you, the key, disappeared, I knew the suppression force had started to take effect."
"That’s why I envy you. Only you can kill him and stop him with your own hands."
Lacy spoke softly, her hands finally coming to a complete stop. All the cybernetically enhanced mutated zombies around her had vanished, replaced by a handful of sparkling soul gems floating gently in her palm, emitting an alluring glow.
"You want me to kill Leon for you?"
Ning Yu understood her meaning.
But even if Lacy hadn’t asked, Ning Yu would have likely done it anyway.
First, if Leon activated the world-ending magic, the entire human world would cease to exist, and Shen Yiyue, whom she cherished, would disappear. She couldn’t allow that.
Second, the Moon Princess had said this was an inescapable fate for her.
Still, she couldn’t help but ask Lacy.
"That’s right. If you agree, these soul gems are yours."
Lacy waved her hand gently, arranging the soul gems in a row before Ning Yu.
Ning Yu stared at them, calculating that absorbing these gems would significantly advance her Akashic Force mission, possibly even completing it.
But her expression remained calm as she replied,
"Even if I don’t agree, you’ll have to give them to me, won’t you?"
Lacy smiled serenely.
"And you’ll have to agree, won’t you?"
"So, what about Chen Xing? If her life is in Leon’s hands, why would she dare to come after me? Why would she want to kill me?"
Ning Yu still didn’t directly agree, instead shifting the topic to Chen Xing.
"Her?"
Lacy appeared to reminisce before answering.
"She’s a high-level mutated zombie who has developed human emotions."
"She’s also developed a desire to perpetuate her kind, to ensure zombies exist forever rather than being burned as fuel by Leon."
"She probably thought killing you would stop Leon’s ritual, so she was willing to take the risk."
Ning Yu understood Lacy’s explanation and followed up with another question.
"So, is she right? If I die, will Leon really be unable to complete his ritual?"
Ning Yu pointed at herself.
"Xiao Yu, don’t you dare!"
Shen Yiyue, who had been silent until now, couldn’t hold back any longer. She suddenly felt unsure of Ning Yu’s intentions.
Ning Yu tapped her on the head.
"I’m just asking. What are you thinking?"
Shen Yiyue pouted, rubbing her head, but still looked worried.
"How envious I am of the two of you," Lacy said, her gaze lingering on Ning Yu and Shen Yiyue with an inexplicable expression.
"So, is it true?"
Ning Yu pressed further.
"I don’t know," Lacy shrugged, offering no definitive answer. Perhaps only Leon himself knew.
Ning Yu glanced at Shen Yiyue. She knew that if she were to die, this fool would undoubtedly start an endless cycle of reincarnation, searching for her again.
"Deal. I’ll take the mission."
She accepted the soul gems from Lacy’s satisfied gaze as if accepting payment for a contract killing.
"May our cooperation be fruitful."
Lacy’s smile remained as enigmatic as ever, revealing nothing of her true feelings.
"I can also offer you cybernetic enhancements, more thorough and powerful than your sister’s. What do you think—"
"No, thank you."
Ning Yu cut her off before she could finish.
The golden vortex mark on her forehead began to glow brightly as she floated into the air, her silver hair billowing as if caught in an invisible energy field.
The soul gems began to orbit around her, spinning faster and faster.
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
【Prologue: The Beginning of It All – Use holy water to heal the saintess tainted by demonic energy, then converse with her.】 Shen Nian stared at his older sister sipping yogurt, lost in thought. So you’re telling me my sister is the saintess, and yogurt is the holy water? 【Main Quest 1: Brave Youth, Become an Adventurer! Reward: Rookie Adventurer Title.】 【Side Quest 1: Find the Adorable Kitty! Reward: 1000 Gold Coins.】 Shen Nian: "Wait, I’m a high school senior here—did some guy who got isekai’d accidentally bind his system to me?" Hold on, completing quests gives gold rewards? Titles even boost stats? Is this for real? (A lighthearted, absurd campus comedy—not a revenge power fantasy.)
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
