Chapter 380 – Earthquake in Dongqing (12)
Jiang Pengji smirked, her lips curling in mockery, “I haven’t finished my words yet. You’re really lacking in manners.”
The System fell silent. Was it just going to wait around for its demise?
If I were in my prime, I wouldn’t fear her. As if anyone’s mental domain wasn’t a perfect 3S.
In a battle of mental domains, it would be a disaster for anyone involved.
But right now, this “self” had no chance against Jiang Pengji.
“Tsk, why bother?” Jiang Pengji said disdainfully, intertwining her fingers once more, exuding confidence with a tactful manner, “I’ve retreated time and again, but you just keep making reckless moves. This time, you’ve really crossed my bottom line.”
The System remained speechless, trying to break free from the mental confinement, but Jiang Pengji wasn’t giving her the chance.
After several attempts that resulted in no damage to the confinement but an enormous energy drain, the System simply gave up, coldly questioning Jiang Pengji, “Was this all deliberate from the start? Have you been playing with me for all these years?”
“You think you can blame society when you’re stupid and have low IQ?” Jiang Pengji rolled her eyes dismissively, “If only you had discussed the exchange rate with me this time, staying within my acceptable limits, I wouldn’t have had to make it personal.”
The System was like a sheep, consistently shearing a bit of wool every now and then, endlessly producing.
It might be a bit foolish, but at least this kind of foolish enemy was easier to deal with in the open than one lurking in the shadows.
“When did you start doubting me?”
The System had always known Jiang Pengji had a bad relationship with it, even doubting it multiple times, but it didn’t care.
Having gone through so many hosts, it had seen all sorts of personalities. Many had initially been suspicious and defensive, just like Jiang Pengji. But as time passed, which host didn’t end up trusting it completely?
Thus, with so many past hosts as lessons, the System slightly adjusted its strategy with Jiang Pengji.
To put it plainly, when the enemy advanced, I would advance; when the enemy retreated, I would retreat, maintaining a middle distance and letting time wear down the estrangement.
But this tried-and-true tactic did not work on her.
Only now did it understand that the People had never trusted it at all, even watching its dramatic performance as if it were a show!
“From the moment you forced me to be reborn, I’ve despised others making decisions for me without consulting me.”
“I gave you a new life,” the System protested.
Ungrateful.
“And you think you’re someone special? Who gave you the right to bestow favors? Who’d be grateful?”
Jiang Pengji didn’t even bother to lift her eyelids.
It was like tossing a winner of modern-day life, a world billionaire, into a historical era lacking everything.
Not holding a grudge was already generous, yet hoping someone would be grateful? If they didn’t feel thankful or trust you, they were just an ingrate? What a ridiculous expectation!
“Although you’re a system with an ego as big as a house, ambitious and greedy, I have to admit you’re somewhat useful.” Jiang Pengji remarked, “If not for your dedicated assistance, my mental domain wouldn’t have recovered this quickly… So to prove I’m not an ‘ingrate,’ I’ll take care of you, don’t worry.”
If the System’s expression could materialize, it would surely be pale with rage.
“You can kill me, but you can’t humiliate me! If you don’t, I’ll make you pay it back!”
As a System, its dignity and pride could not tolerate being trampled by lowly humans.
“I’m a girl, not a coward. Only a fool would kill you! You think my IQ is as low as yours?”
The System almost choked.
It couldn’t self-destruct, because in Jiang Pengji’s mental domain, she was essentially God.
It also couldn’t escape; in this mental confrontation, it was no match for her, unable to break free from the mental confinement… it was just a sob story.
Jiang Pengji chuckled, humming a light tune as she reopened the System interface.
To someone who used to be the Federation’s military leader, this manual operation was a piece of cake.
All this time, she had been dialoguing with her own virtual consciousness.
Strictly speaking, the so-called “System” was actually a “virtual entity” composed of self-virtual consciousness and mechanical base data.
The mechanical base data was the cold “body,” while the self-virtual consciousness endowed that data with awareness.
The former was data-based, while the latter was data-generated awareness sprouting from the former; together, they formed a “virtual entity.”
In Jiang Pengji’s time, interstellar science was highly advanced, and the Federation’s mainframe was the first “virtual entity.”
As a weighty speaker, the General wouldn’t just skim through confidential documents without reason.
With a gentle swipe of her fingers, a very simple operation interface popped up.
If the virtual mall the System previously showed her was a giant interstellar supermarket, what she was looking at now was more like a school’s little shop.
Not only had the items changed, but also the prices and exchange data.
The interface data the System had shown her were tampered with; while there were tens of thousands of rice types in the simulation, in reality, there was only one page, and the prices were incredibly cheap. Even accounting for “interdimensional transport costs,” they were still cheaper than the fancy rice in the livestream.
“Tsk tsk tsk… one thousand points for a hundred pounds of food? Why don’t you just fly?”
Even crooks wouldn’t be this ruthless.
Jiang Pengji browsed through the System’s content in disgust, her mind engaged in complex calculations and deductions.
She raised her hand to search for medicinal herbs, finding over a hundred varieties, all low in age, average in quality, and common species.
As for those thousand-year-old ginseng, ganoderma, or ice mountain snow lotuses… not a trace in sight.
She then searched the “Qin, Qi, Shu, and Hua” skill books the System had enthusiastically recommended before; their prices had dropped tenfold. Each one had an additional lengthy manual in the introduction page, making Jiang Pengji’s stomach turn, nearly causing her to vomit.
Qin Art (Entry-level) cost 100,000 popularity points.
Note: This skill has been refined by the 3rd host XXX, the 5th host YYY, the 6th host ZZZ… to reach entry-level proficiency. Purchasing the skill book will grant you spirit fragments from several predecessors for fast learning and mastery.
The preceding bits were nonsense; it was the last sentence that sent shivers down her spine.
“System, you really treat your previous hosts well. While alive, you exploited and used them as free labor, only to reclaim their souls for recycling, producing these so-called fast-learning skill books… Truly making use of everything!”
Just after she had crossed over, struggling with traditional brush writing, the System recommended her this skill book.
Back then, she didn’t trust the System, finding this “fast-learning” stuff uninteresting, so she refused.
Looking back now, she realized that refusal was too wise.
The so-called fast-learning skill books were just a forced absorption of who knows how many mixed souls, achieving quick results.
These soul fragments were all from the System’s previous hosts, under the System’s control.
If she had used it before, mingling such fragments in her soul would have meant she’d never be rid of the System in this lifetime.
