Chapter 68 – I Hear I’m a Battle G.o.d (5)
While 061 was still stuck in a stunned daze, Chi Xiaochi took it in stride and immediately began chatting with Ji Zuoshan.
Who would have thought that despite Ji Zuoshan’s cold and aloof face, seemingly detached from the seven human emotions, when he spoke, he had the dazed air of someone abnormally malleable.
Chi Xiaochi asked him, “How come you can talk?”
Ji Zuoshan, “……Am I not supposed to?”
After that, he stopped speaking, trying to pretend that he had never appeared.
Chi Xiaochi barked out a laugh, “This is great, I’ve got one more person to chat with. Come out, quick, come out.”
Ji Zuoshan’s chat bubble popped up once more. “I’m not very good at holding conversations.”
Chi Xiaochi didn’t at all mind. “I’m good at it.”
Ji Zuoshan rarely spoke so much with other people, so he was unavoidably nervous. “Then, then let’s talk.”
Chi Xiaochi got straight to the point, asking, “Do you know why you died before?”
061, “……” Chi Xiaochi, even the heavens would be talked to death by you, you know.
But Ji Zuoshan didn’t get angry.
His temperament had long been honed by Zhan Yanchao. Even if worse words entered his ears, he wouldn’t be affected at all. Furthermore, what Chi Xiaochi was asking about was something that had truly happened.
He said, “Because I shouldn’t have trusted Zhan Yanchao so much.”
He had reflected on his mistakes tens of thousands of times in his heart. Speaking them out now, although he was a little ashamed, he felt as if a weight had been lifted off his chest.
Chi Xiaochi said, “Wrong. Your death, was because you didn’t have the strength to nuke the Zergs out of orbit.”
Ji Zuoshan, “……”
061, “……”
Chi Xiaochi drawled, “Was it Zhan Yanchao who killed you?”
Ji Zuoshan replied honestly, “No.” It was a mechanical Zerg that had been air dropped down from the sky.
Chi Xiaochi then asked, “When those Alphas were having their way with you, why was Zhan Yanchao not there?”
Ji Zuoshan’s eyes widened slightly. “The Zerg invaded, he…… went off to investigate.”
Chi Xiaochi asked, “Your dream was to live a good life together with your younger siblings. Let me ask you, while the Zerg still exist, can you live a good life?”
Ji Zuoshan clenched his teeth slightly. “No.”
Chi Xiaochi said, “Do you want to live a good life this time around?”
Ji Zuoshan, “Yes.”
Chi Xiaochi, “Do you want to be an Alpha?”
These words directly poked Ji Zuoshan’s sore spot. “Yes!”
Chi Xiaochi, “Then work together with me, alright?”
Ji Zuoshan’s tone was filled with undisguisable excitement, “Okay!”
061, “……” The words themselves were good, but why was it that it sounded so much like an MLM drawing in an innocent youth.
After the MLM recruitment, Chi Xiaochi gave a proper self-introduction, “My name is Chi Xiaochi.”
Ji Zuoshan said obediently, “Mister Chi.”
Chi Xiaochi, “Do you have anything you want to ask me?”
Since signing the contract with the Lord G.o.d, Ji Zuoshan had been waiting in the darkness for a very long time. It was only until someone took over his body that he could once more open his eyes and see the light of day again.
……He was still a Beta, he hadn’t regressed.
Even though he wasn’t in control of his body, to him, this reality was already far too wonderful. Although there were still some things that needed to be urgently dealt with, he first had to express his grat.i.tude to Chi Xiaochi.
So he said, “Your singing, it sounds good.”
061, “……” The words themselves were good, but as a person, one shouldn’t forget their conscience.
Chi Xiaochi just smiled, not speaking any longer.
He furrowed his eyebrows slightly, pretending to slowly come to. The voice that came out of his dry and hoa.r.s.e throat was a little rough, “Miss Rosie.”
Rosie was currently sitting next to him. Seeing him come to, she inwardly let out a sigh of relief. “How are you feeling?”
He shook his head and moistened his throat to make his voice sound a little clearer, “My younger siblings……”
Ji Zuoshan’s eyes were watery from his high fever. His expression was gentle, and he looked a little ill at ease, but his att.i.tude didn’t seem too humble.
……She’d already helped him a bit, she might as well help him to the end.
But Rosie wasn’t purely a kind person. She wanted to know if the person before her was worth saving.
So she asked, “How is your fever? Is your mind clear?”
Ji Zuoshan looked at her. Although his eyes were bloodshot, his mind was obviously very clear.
She asked, “Will you go back to the Zhan family?”
Ji Zuoshan just shook his head.
Rosie’s heart settled slightly. She continued to ask further, “Why? This probably isn’t the first time Zhan Yanchao’s done this to you, why is it that you couldn’t take it any longer this time?”
She didn’t want herself to become, as Mister Zhan had said, a tool for Ji Zuoshan to use to peeve Zhan Yanchao, and even less did she want Ji Zuoshan to be a fool willing to be abused by others.
If the person she saved was this kind of trash, she didn’t need to help him fetch his siblings or whatever. After helping him get better, she’d just throw him out again. After all, some people were just naturally lowly and born in need of a beating. She didn’t need to waste her compa.s.sion on those kinds of people.
Ji Zuoshan was stunned for a moment. As he opened his mouth, the corners of his lips curved upwards, but a film of water spread over his eyes.
He didn’t let the tears drip down. As he bowed his head, in his eyes were seven parts silent endurance, and the remaining three parts was a desolation he couldn’t keep from flowing out. “……He once promised me, he wouldn’t make me a human sacrifice, he would let me become the strongest Alpha.”
Rosie was astounded.
Combining this with what Zhan Yanchao had loudly announced in the living room just now, Rosie understood now.
……It was because Zhan Yanchao had promised to let him become an Alpha and also took care of his siblings, that Ji Zuoshan let him do as he wished.
But clearly, from how Zhan Yanchao had brazenly bellowed out “Ji Zuoshan is my Omega”, he completely hadn’t taken his earlier promise to heart, or might even have been lying to Ji Zuoshan.
Rosie was much more at ease now. She propped up her jaw with one hand and stared at Ji Zuoshan with her azure, cat-like eyes, a little ruminative. “You’ve got lofty ambitions. But becoming the strongest Alpha…… isn’t that a little too lofty?”
She thought that Ji Zuoshan would argue with her, unwilling to yield, like most people of their age and enumerate on his own outstanding points, but Ji Zuoshan’s response was mild. After giving her the address to his younger siblings’ home, he then gently and respectfully said a “thank you Miss Rosie” before closing his eyes once more.
Rosie stared, stunned, at Ji Zuoshan’s face for a moment and laughed softly.
A few days ago, her hitting on Ji Zuoshan was because she’d taken a liking to his handsome face.
It had to be said, this cool temperament of Ji Zuoshan’s was full of an abnormally alluring air, which made others especially want to strip off his clothes and see how he looked like with his face flushed and sweaty and his Adam’s apple rolling.
However, what she actually wanted to see now was where Ji Zuoshan’s confidence stemmed from.
After all, she’d learned not long ago, that when you talked about the current strongest Alpha in school, everyone would say it was the second young master of the Zhan family, Zhan Yanchao.
As for Ji Zuoshan’s name, it was listed in the middle of the ranks, utterly unremarkable.
After “Ji Zuoshan” closed his eyes, Chi Xiaochi came online once more.
There was sincere surprise in Ji Zuoshan’s voice, “……Thank you for remembering my younger siblings.”
Chi Xiaochi said, “From now on, if you have any requests, just voice them, don’t bother beating around the bush with me. If not for the fact that this body of yours was still dizzy when you left the Zhan home and needed to slowly wake up for it to be natural, I would have long since brought it up with Rosie.”
To the side, 061 comforted Ji Zuoshan, “Xiaochi’s acting is very good, you don’t have to worry.”
Ji Zuoshan was a little pleasantly surprised, as well as a little shy.
He’d just seen Chi Xiaochi’s performance in the rearview mirror.
He’d never thought that this would be how he’d look with a little self-confidence.
He found it very novel, and really liked this appearance of his. Silently, he made up his mind to learn more from Mister Chi in the future.
“You praised my singing,” Chi Xiaochi said, sounding very pleased, “I’m doing what I ought to. No one’s ever praised me like this.”
061, “……”
Ji Zuoshan said, “It really does sound very good. I’ve never heard that song you were singing before, can you sing it again?”
Before 061’s “don’t” could leave his mouth, Chi Xiaochi’s voice gave a direct hit to his soul.
Only after Ji Zuoshan sang along for a verse did 061 realise why the boy was able to praise Chi Xiaochi so sincerely.
……Starting from the baseline of the point upto which Chi Xiaochi’s singing had run off tune, Ji Zuoshan had run at least another 100 metre sprint.
Chi Xiaochi praised him, “So smart, you picked it up instantly.”
Ji Zuoshan was a little embarra.s.sed. “En.”
Chi Xiaochi said, “Do you know what we call this in the world I come from?”
061 thought, it should be tone deaf, probably.
Chi Xiaochi said smugly, “Soulmates.”
061, “……” My son.
Ji Zuoshan was curious. “What are soulmates?”
Chi Xiaochi asked enthusiastically, “Have you heard of Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi?”
As a spectator to their singing, 061 wished he had never heard of it.
Ji Zuoshan had been reborn, and had fulfilled his wish, managing to leave the Zhan Yanchao who had stifled him. His heart at ease, he simply p.r.i.c.ked up his ears and listened to Chi Xiaochi talk nonsense about this and that.
It was like Chi Xiaochi was raising a little seal who only knew how to clap. He would clap his flippers together, unimaginably obedient.
Seeing this, 061’s heart was warm, but also a little uneasy.
Rosie’s home didn’t have a decent guest room to spare at the moment, so they could only pack up the storage room in the attic for Ji Zuoshan to stay in temporarily.
The attic was very big and could hold six to seven beds. Having seen Zhan Yanchao’s craziness today, Rosie planned to bring over the children living in the suburbs that night.
After Ji Zuoshan took some good medicine and settled down, 061 read Chi Xiaochi a bit of 《One Hundred Years of Solitude》.
Chi Xiaochi, unable to stand up to the spiritual pollution of the constantly repeating names, fell asleep only a short while after.
After reading the first chapter, 061 put down the book.
Ji Zuoshan actually wanted to hear more. “……After that?”
061 said quietly, “Shh.”
Chi Xiaochi was a light sleeper and had also been beaten today. Even though 061 had kept him from feeling the pain, seeing how pale his face was, 061 couldn’t feel at ease at all. He just hoped for Chi Xiaochi to be able to sleep a little better.
Xiao Ji caught on very quickly and stopped talking.
061 sent himself back to the Lord G.o.d’s s.p.a.ce.
Upon noticing the bug that was Ji Zuoshan, 061’s first reaction was to want to report it to the higher ups so as to avoid any errors that might affect Chi Xiaochi’s task progress from occurring.
But after taking just a few more steps towards the “s.p.a.ce Between Moments”, he stopped in his tracks.
The cause of this bug of Ji Zuoshan being able to speak wasn’t hard to understand after a bit of thought.
The energy in his body was naturally a level above that of ordinary people, and his spiritual energy was even more abnormally powerful. The Lord G.o.d’s restraints couldn’t stop him in any way.
And 061 realised something else.
……If it could be said that in Dong Ge’s world, the signals he’d received weren’t necessarily from Dong Ge, then Ji Zuoshan opening his mouth and speaking basically confirmed all of Chi Xiaochi’s speculation.
——While the host was boarding, the original owners did not leave the body.
So before, why did the Lord G.o.d request that all hosts die before leaving the body? Why did he not inform the systems of this in the relevant contracts?
After the hosts departed through death, then, as for those original owners left in their own now-dead bodies, where could they go?
061 felt cold all over.
At that moment, System 131 pa.s.sed by and greeted, “061, you’re back.”
061 came back to himself, nodding and replying, “En.”
131 was a gla.s.ses-wearing babyface, forever with an expression that was worrying for the country and worrying for the people, a well-renowned pessimist amongst the systems. Seeing 061’s expression, he asked, “What’s wrong? Did something happen to Chi Xiaochi?”
061 smiled. “No, he’s doing very well. I came to download a few books for him.”
It was precisely because Chi Xiaochi was currently doing very well that he couldn’t make any trouble for him.
Chi Xiaochi had a sharp mind but he didn’t question Ji Zuoshan’s existence, because in his mind, he was clear on the fact that there was something fishy here. Once he poked it, once he asked, and broke through that invisible barrier, he would inevitably attract trouble to himself.
Since he didn’t bring it up, he probably had a corresponding tacit understanding.
However, the evidence proving that the original hosts still remained in their bodies should be preserved. If in the future, a supervisory body came by, he definitely had to take out this evidence and ask about this matter.
At this very moment, in the “s.p.a.ce Between Moments”, the dark red main brain was slowly, pulsing happily.
His exclusive AI said, “061’s back.”
The Lord G.o.d asked, “What did he come back for?”
His AI replied, “He came to find 023, saying that he wanted to find some books for host no. 1198.”
The Lord G.o.d didn’t think any more of it. He asked his AI, “Have you picked up any life activity signals from 061 in world 198?”
World 198, was the world Chi Xiaochi was currently in.
His AI replied, “Not yet.”
The Lord G.o.d sneered.
He was really looking forward to 061’s appearance.
After all, as long as he stayed by Chi Xiaochi’s side, Chi Xiaochi’s entropy value would skyrocket, just like with Dong Feihong from the last world.
His unintentional actions that had led to an unexpected success had been a big help to the Lord G.o.d, and had let the Lord G.o.d finally figure out Chi Xiaochi’s weakness.
Even though in the agreement that they’d signed on, 061 had persisted in wanting to be able to choose his own ident.i.ty, and the Lord G.o.d had given him this right, as long as 061 took a human form in world 198, everything would fall into place easily.
In a world with an A-rank difficulty, the hosts would constantly be in danger of losing their lives. Even though the Lord G.o.d had started out as an AI, data, and didn’t really understand the human heart, he had read a lot of books on psychology and knew about the existence of the “suspension bridge effect”. He believed that if 061 constantly stayed by Chi Xiaochi’s side, it was impossible for Chi Xiaochi, who would be saved by him over and over again, to not be moved.
What’s more, in this world that he had carefully picked out, there was the option of “pregnancy”.
Even Alphas could get pregnant, it just wasn’t as easy for them to conceive as it was for Omegas.
If Chi Xiaochi developed feelings with 061 for a while, and had children with him, for the sake of their children, even he would choose to stay in that world.
No one could escape his control. No one should become his mistake.
Ji Zuoshan’s body had a very good foundation. After taking some medicine, in less than half a day, his fever had already subsided.
His younger siblings had all been brought to the attic by Rosie and were living together with Ji Zuoshan. And Rosie’s family’s villa was huge, even though there were housekeepers and servants, the were always lacking help, so they each got themselves a job.
As for Zhan Yanchao, he still hadn’t placed his attention onto Ji Zuoshan’s younger siblings, and with how he was stomping around in fury, restless with rage at home, they wouldn’t bring it up for the time being.
When Rosie came to see Ji Zuoshan the next day only to find that he had already recovered completely and the scars on his body had already faded by quite a lot, she couldn’t help but be surprised.
His healing speed was very fast, which was a result of the naturally strong energy in his body.
……But over the course of one night, shouldn’t at least some of the red marks on his body have remained?
As Rosie pondered over this, she led Ji Zuoshan to the training room.
She was about 1.75 metres tall and wore a long, dark blue dress that contrasted well with her snow-white skin. This was originally a very elegant colour, but a bit of its dignified air was taken away by her slender waist and shapely chest, lending it a few brushstrokes of s.e.xiness.
She said, “My family doesn’t raise human sacrifices. Since you decided to leave the Zhan family and I brought you here, you’re going to be my sparring partner and go to school with me. When I take back the contract you signed with Zhan Yanchao, you’ll become my person.”
Ji Zuoshan valued his words like gold. “En.”
Rosie’s home’s training room was huge, with every facility one could think of available, but what caught Ji Zuoshan’s interest more was an even bigger area adjacent to the training room.
He asked, “What’s that?”
Rosie unlocked the training room with the iris scanner, then pulled Ji Zuoshan over to register his iris information as well. She said frankly, “Laboratory.”
As Ji Zuoshan stared into the scanner, he was slightly surprised. “En?”
“My dream is to become a scientist,” Rosie said, “But combat power is more respected on this planet, and only those who become Alphas can enjoy the top resources.”
As she spoke, Rosie pushed open the door to the training room. “So, for the sake of my dreams, I have to become an Alpha.”
The girl led Ji Zuoshan into the training room. She walked over to a two metre tall mecha covered in a white cloth, pointed at it, and said, “I can’t prepare a specialised mecha for you like Zhan Yanchao did. There’s only one extra training mecha in my home, you can use it first.”
Seemingly feeling like this kind of treatment wasn’t very much like what one would give “the strongest Alpha”, Rosie looked back at him and smiled. “But my family has specialised in technology for many generations. Our AI designing level is first-cla.s.s. Yesterday, I already entered your data into this mecha. From today onwards, it’s yours. Don’t let me down. Mister Strongest Alpha.”
In the “s.p.a.ce Between Moments”.
The AI suddenly reacted, “061’s life signal has been detected!”
The Lord G.o.d couldn’t wait. “Where? Who is he?”
……Who had he chosen?
His AI directly projected the image of 061’s avatar onto the digital screen.
As soon as the Lord G.o.d cast his eyes upon it, he abruptly stopped. Next, a nameless anger erupted, almost blowing up the digital screen.
The white cloth slofwly fell to the ground.
The indicator lights of the human shaped mecha with a dark blue, metallic sheen lit up. After the brief moment that it took for the data bridge to connect, Chi Xiaochi’s figure was reflected in its eyes.
It went down on one knee towards Chi Xiaochi, and said in a gentle, mechanical voice, “h.e.l.lo, my master.”