For the first time in the current world, Jiang Li almost jumped from fright when a mechanical voice suddenly rang in his head with a child-like pitch. It happened a few minutes after he got into his own room. Before heading to sleep, as a habit, he exercised a bit before resting for some time and then headed for the bathroom to freshen up. With a change of clothes in his hands and a navy blue bath towel draped across his right shoulder, he was about to take a shower when the words echoed in his brain and ears.
"Host, a special announcement commencing..."
Creepy and weird. Those were what he thought upon hearing it, especially since he knew it was the system"s voice, yet it didn"t seem like the system because it never used such a flat mechanical tone when talking to him. The disturbing part was how it was like a five year old child talking like a grandpa, tone unspeakably monotonous.
"Host is given the choice to save the announcement and replay it at a later time..." It began.
With a scowl on his face, Jiang Li looked around to double-check whether there was somebody eavesdropping or watching him from some unknown corner. He was not truly worried that someone would hear the weird being inside his brain. Only, he remembered exclaiming a bit loudly a while ago due to being taken aback.
"... It"s supposed to be muted... So if there are emergency situations or if it has something it badly wanted to say, it will be able to supersede my request or command?"
Meanwhile, the voice continued, "The system, at this point, considers the host as a qualified one...."
"Commencing explanation for the series of transmigrations and missions... Host is advised to attentively listen and only ask questions once the explanation is over..."
Jiang Li was feeling puzzled in his heart, but he didn"t let it stop him from taking a bath. The sight turned a bit strange though due to this. A teenage boy naked under the shower was sometimes motionless while in the middle of was.h.i.+ng his hair or running the soap all over his body. At times he would frown and then look as if he was very angry. If somebody else was around, given his unusual richness in facial expressions amidst the bath, he would definitely be taken for somebody needing some professional help.
By the time he had dried his hair and body and changed into his sleepwear, thirty minutes already pa.s.sed. The boy threw his body on the bed and then closed his eyes, talking to the weirdly acting system for clarifications.
"In the previous world, I raised this issue to you and refuse to say a thing. Answer me now. Are there any other transmigrators beside me?"
The mechanical voice echoed. "... No."
"Do they all have systems too?" He absent-mindedly asked, thinking he received a yes response. Only a moment later did he realize the system answered the opposite. Surprise got written all over his face. He opened his eyes and then sat up, confusion showing in his eyes as he frowned.
"Wait, you answered no? Then you mean I"m the only world-hopper in the entire multiverse?"
The system"s reply sounded so simple. "In this multiverse, yes." But it contorted Jiang Li"s face.
If he was the only one, why the heck was it name 025? Doesn"t it know its name was misleading and could make people think there were other systems too? Oh. wait, maybe there were people like him too, but in another universe, or whatever it was.
Jiang Li shook his head in disbelief, not knowing whether to feel flattered about his t.i.tle, sole world-hopper of this multiverse. What was definite though was that he was quite overwhelmed. After all, there was also the other information shared with him.
Before, the system explained that the first world is a trial world. Now it added that the next three worlds after the trial world made up the tutorial phase... The tutorial phase would be ending soon since he was already in the third tutorial world. The next mission locations would be worlds that wouldn"t easily deviate from the plot. There were many other stuff mentioned. But all he remembered were these important ones, and how the future villainess would be people that wouldn"t be easily led around or wrestle away from their fates.
Speaking of the villainess...
Jiang Li thought for a moment then asked, "System, if I"m truly the only transmigrator in this world and the previous ones, then what is the matter with Ye Xinya, Jiang Ying Yue, Na Yu, and Zhu Li? If you"re planning to tell me nonsense, forget it now. You can"t fool me if you want to say they are not the same person. Their habits and personalities might differ depending on the backgrounds and upbringings, but there are many other aspects that are similar. It"s not only the face. So what is she?"
To be honest, for a moment, even though he was quite sure he did not make a mistake about them being the same girl, he still got scared of the possibility that that the person he found every world was not her. It was a hateful feeling. But in a world where the wrong things always happened more than the right ones, it was not easy not to be swayed by doubts and fears. The feelings doubled for Jiang Li since he had been to four worlds with her.
"If the system contradicted me, what then?" Did he wrong Na Yu then?
He fell silent, anxiously waiting for the reply. Unfortunately, nothing came to him. That mechanical voice went back to normal, with the system crying and saying nonsensical stuff to him about his initial motivation and real missions.
"It refused to tell about her again?" When the realization dawned to him, he gritted his teeth and subconsciously stared daggers at the ceiling as he imagined it to be the system.
After some time, he thought, "Good, silence means yes."
In annoyance, he muted the system again.
When he fell asleep, all he was thinking was that Ye Xinya was indeed Jiang Ying Yue. However, for some reason, the system was not allowed to speak about her, otherwise, why would it always evade his questions regarding her. It gave him the notion that there was something in her true ident.i.ty. What could it be?
She was not a world-hopper or a transmigrator but she was in every mission world.
She was always in danger of getting killed directly or indirectly by the leads or the plot, whether as a villainess or any other role. He knew he had only four worlds as references but since he met Jiang Ying Yue, this had been in his mind.
Was he merely thinking too much about it, especially the last one?
If he was, then good. He was okay with treating her as a world-hopper soulmate inseparable from him and not stress over the missions and the system"s behaviors. Otherwise, it meant there was really more to his missions, the system, and the girl who always appeared wherever he went.