Chapter 55: We’re the OwnerTranslator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The System stood by the two chickens pecking at each other, guarding the place against any intruders as it controlled Fang Ning’s body to stand at the side.
Putting Fang Ning aside, it was almost surprising how the Stygian Snake wasn’t afraid of Vigilante A, who was watching them on the sidelines.
Vigilante A nodded as he watched on. Even though both of them behaved like chickens, at least Chicken Fang Ning had a better presentation than his opponent. Under the System’s training and guidance, each pounce and retreat he made has its own meaning, and has characteristics of both attack and defense.
In contrast, that Stygian Snake was not up to par. It fought like some local mobster, relying entirely on its instincts to drag the fight longer.
Sadly, Fang Ning’s training time was too short for him to have a significant rise in power. His abilities were still too weak, and after half an hour, Fang Ning still couldn’t defeat him. Instead, his opponent was able to escape the Ultis he used, and he nearly got backstabbed during the process.
As the Stygian Snake was catching its breath, Fang Ning took a few steps back to increase the distance between them.
He had wasted too much time when he couldn’t capture the snake quickly. Thus, he decided to stop using violence, and prepared himself to chase the Stygian Snake away with his skills in sarcasm and insults. After all, he still had many games he intended to cover. Half an hour had gone by, and Fang Ning had already used all of his skills in the fight. There was no point in continuing the fight any longer – he had no intention to spend the entire night fighting, or else he would have no time to play anymore! It was Monday tomorrow, and he would have to go to work in the morning.
Hence, Fang Ning opened his mouth and said, “Your martial arts is decent, but sadly you’re under the command of others. You’re just like a dog, and there’s no delight in killing you. I have other matters to handle today, so I’ll let you live! Leave immediately!”
Sir System the Naive blinked dumbly at that statement. What matters did the Host have? He was just playing in the System Cyber Cafe just before this, no? It took a look at the time, and quickly cursed, “F*ck, it’s only been half an hour! There aren’t any other ways to explain it, The Host’s mind was once again on the unfinished games he had in the System Cyber Cafe.”
There was no way the Stygian Snake was retreating. It hadn’t completed its mission; it hadn’t found out whether Vigilante A was a True Dragon or not. Instead, it wasted half an hour fighting with a white snake. If it returned like this, the la.s.sie was probably going to torture it with another incantation.
Thus, the Stygian Snake immediately retorted, “The audacity! You’re nowhere better than I am. Look at you, you’re just a pet! You’re forced to cultivate every day, and you probably couldn’t even make time for a nap! What actual matters could you possibly have?”
There was no way Fang Ning would let this misunderstanding slide. He immediately reb.u.t.ted, “Haha, I am no pet! The one standing guard is just my slave! He’ll handle all the problems while I enjoy my freedom. It’s just that our work has been pretty hectic lately, and I needed to punch card when I work. I still can play my games and read my novels after work! My life is much better than the dog you are, receiving commands and working for someone else!
The Stygian Snake’s face morphed into one of jealousy and hatred, but it still hard headedly continued, “That’s impossible! It’s impossible for that to even happen in this world! He was so much stronger than my owner, but you’re just as weak as I am. How could you be his owner? How would you be able to enjoy your freedom? I don’t believe any of that! Well, unless you could tell me the latest chapter of that hit novel ‘x.x.xXX’, and what it’s about.”
Fang Ning replied, “I never expected you to share the same interests as me. That novel recently updated to Chapter 223, and was detailing the war scene for the Battle of the Triads. That stupid author once again told us that he needed a day off because his second uncle was admitted to the hospital. I’m thinking of actually doing some fieldwork, and if he was lying, I’ll lock him up and force him to update. Based on my calculations, all of the members in his nuclear and extended family have been admitted to the hospital within one year. What else could you say now? This was the latest notification from this morning!”
It was as if the Stygian Snake had been hit by 10,000 Crit Points. It never took even half a step back when it fought Fang Ning for half an hour, and remained energetic throughout. However, its head hung low as it backed himself up into the walls of the alleyway, looking utterly defeated.
Then, the Stygian Snake bellowed to the sky, “F*ck everything in existence! Both of us are as weak as chickens, but you’re the owner while I became as lowly as a dog! What mistake have I, Long Fan, made that has brought me this disastrous fate?”
‘This dude was easy to trick.’ Fang Ning thought. ‘We did not lie to him, though; Sir System is not a human, and it couldn’t care less about the technicalities of owner and slaves.’
Still, that piqued his interest in the dude’s somber past. “Here, let’s talk about your unlucky past for all of our amus.e.m.e.nt. Maybe we could even let the slave come and help you out, so I can also prove to you that I’m not boasting.”
Initially, the Stygian Snake nearly coughed up blood, but hope blossomed in its chest after it heard the words of the man. It immediately answered, “My name is Long Fan. I used to be just another man that obediently played games in his house, but I was suddenly intruded by a Snake Demon’s spiritual sense during its descent. Thankfully, I’ve ama.s.sed impressive knowledge after reading numerous novels over the years, and I’ve buried it up by digging a ma.s.sive hole in my mind. I stopped thinking about it, until one day when it crawled out from my mind as I was driving a cab. It caused me to drive into the drain, and when I regained consciousness, I found out that the Snake Demon who temporarily s.n.a.t.c.hed my body was committing evil deeds. It actually intended to eat my comatose pa.s.senger!”
“I spent a lot of effort to regain control over my body, thus saving the pa.s.senger’s life. However, a la.s.sie pa.s.sing by the scene killed me as I was still in the form of a snake, and the scene itself was too misleading to allow me any chance of explanation. I only have a piece of my soul left, and that la.s.sie used some unknown spell to tangle the Snake Demon’s soul into mine. I then became this Stygian Snake, and since then, I was tasked to be her specialized investigator. She’ll instruct me to explore every tunnel and every dangerous situation we come across!”
Fang Ning sympathized with the snake’s experiences. However, in hindsight, something felt off. “Is that so? If I’m not mistaken, your master is the teenage girl that was eating behind us in the shop, right? She doesn’t seem to be a bad person, though; wouldn’t she release you after you explained to her?”
Blood once again flew from the Stygian Snakes mouth. “If she was willing to listen, is there even a need for me to come out and fight you with my life? She a.s.sumed all of my words as lies of the demon, and since my soul was tangled up with the Snake Demon’s, her conviction only became stronger when she noticed the occasional slip of snake in me.”
There would be no happiness in the world if there’s nothing to compare it to. What a poor guy! It seemed that he had gotten the good end of the stick for himself, and even though Sir System has been fairly strict these few days, the System was just seizing his body. It still fully respected and feared Fang Ning’s self-awareness, in fear that it will cause it to break. He was still living the good life, as the only thing that tired him out was his work in cultivation. Still, in this era where the future consistently darkened, it would already be great if he could avoid falling into the same fate as this poor guy himself.
Fang Ning was immensely satisfied with his surrounding after he heard what the snake said. “Ah, Comrade Xiao Hei, life is still good. You need to look to the future! At least you still have a piece of your soul, right? It’s just that you’ve switched up the way you live. Maybe you can’t play your games anymore, but you can still read novels, right? Wait. Souls?”
Something leaped into Fang Ning’s mind and he immediately spoke to Sir System via telepath. “I know why the two Giant Rat Demons committed suicide!”
Initially, the System planned to disconnect the Internet for a week as punishment after Fang Ning returns to the System Cyber Cafe. He was wasting the chance for practical lessons! The System was on standby and on guard while Fang Ning was in the match.
It never expected the Host to stop fighting halfway, and even chatted to the tiny Stygian Snake about novels and what not. At this rate, the Host was blatantly ignoring its existence. It did not have much to say about the owner and slave issue, though; that stuff wouldn’t increase his rate of survival anyways.
When it heard the Host’s words, it immediately decided to take action after it listened to the Host’s proposition.
The System asked, “Why?”
Fang Ning answered, “I remember you said that the spirit of the three Bai Sisters were no more after you killed the three Giant Rat Sisters, right? You even said that their bodies could not offer much use.”
The System agreed, “Right. The True Dragon Form was too powerful, and as the vitality is just recovering, their soul wouldn’t strong at all. If I hadn’t deliberately controlled it and killed them directly using the True Dragon Form, of course, their spirit will be no more.”
“It’s correct, then,” Fang Ning nodded, “No wonder the Rat Couple would commit suicide early into the battle. This explanation could finally explain all of the problems in the scenario. They didn’t want to die from your True Dragon Form in an effort to preserve their spirit. Out of the 3 Giant Rat Sisters, two of them died too quickly, and when the last one was fighting with the Snake Demon, it was ambushed by us. All three of their souls perished completely.”
The System finally understood, “Oh, so we shouldn’t simply use the True Dragon Form now. We would face difficulties in farming monsters if they start committing suicide whenever they see us.”
Fang Ning continued the conversation. “The transformation into the True Dragon Form causes too much of a ruckus. Unless we can pre-plan an ambush, we will need to need to use it as our last resort.”
The System answered, “Forget it. Since we finally understood the reason, it’ll be easier for us to plan a solution. Ambushes should not be used frequently as it harms our Chivalrous Virtue.”
Since the Host has made its contribution, Sir System decided to be a generous soul and let him off the hook despite his tardiness in the battle.
Then, Fang Ning once again said, “Right, could you help me check the color of this small Stygian Snake? Can you see its sin?”
Fang Ning was not so disconnected with the society that he would believe whatever he was told. If that was the case, he would’ve fallen into many traps long ago! According to the snake, they should show some spots of white on the display of the System Map. In contrast, if the snake was lying, then there would be red in its spot.
The System’s reply was quick. “He’s a yellow with a hint of white. There’s not a shade of red anywhere. He is probably a snake of justice.”
Fang Ning was speechless. “Even if that sounded odd, well, at least we’re not being lied to.”
Then, Fang Ning spoke to the Stygian Snake once again.
Fang Ning started, “Alright, my slave has confirmed that you indeed are sinless. It seems that you are indeed wronged.”
Tears flooded the Stygian Snake’s eyes as it nodded its head aggressively, “Thank you, hero, thank you so much. Though, could you please follow me so you could clarify that to my owner?”
Fang Ning considered that. It was rare for him to find another novel enthusiast, and it only needed a word from him. Besides, this Stygian Snake was the investigator of the Truth Department, and it was entirely possible that it knew some confidential information that might be of use to him in the future.
“Alright, I’ll let my slave handle this; his name was more well known than mine in this world. I’ll pa.s.s you his QQ ID 1 so we can keep in contact after this.”
After Fang Ning finished his sentence, he jumped right back into the System Cyber Cafe to continue his building his dreams. Sir System would be able to handle menial tasks like this just fine.