『Verifying Host Identity...』
『Host: Lin Qiuyue』
『Retrieving task data...』
『Task Type: Affection Meter』
『Main Task: Increase the target's affection meter to 100 in the time limit. Contract will face dissolution if the task is not completed in the allotted time.』
『Target: Qi Bingwen』
『Time Limit: 8 Months』
『Affection: -30』
Lin Qiuyue was speechless.
Negative thirty? Was her "hearing" that bad? She must have "heard" it wrong, right?
There was no way that automated voice just said negative thirty, it's actually negative thirty affection?!
『Host...』
Her system showed a nervous expression waiting for her response. It was distressed for her, it didn't have the ability to choose tasks for her but it really wanted to. It wanted to shield her from struggles and make her tasks a breeze to get through but only the main system could assign tasks.
Even if this type of task was truly too ruthless to push on a first-time host, it couldn't complain to the main system at all. It could only accept the unfair treatment that the main system dished out and hope that its host would be able to overcome such an obstacle.
It was afraid for its host, it wasn't trying to doubt her capabilities. It had chosen her for a reason, in its eyes, she could do anything but it also knew that the Affection Meter division was one of the most difficult divisions with the highest rates of failure. Even as a newbie system lacking information, it had heard the gossip of other systems, among the countless hosts operating currently, there were only a few in this division because all the rest failed early on and was kicked out unceremoniously.
It didn't want that to happen, it didn't want to leave its host! So it struggled before they came to this world, thinking of a way to make her task easier. That was why it bought a sobering pill on credit and fed it to her while she was sleeping, this was all so its host could avoid the upcoming disaster. It didn't want to cause her panic so it hadn't said anything yet but as time continued passing it couldn't ignore the fact that "it" was about to begin...
It glanced at the door, the gentle rain outside had turned into a storm, thunder boomed in the distance and the rain that poured from the roof sounded like rhymic pounding. It was all very foreboding but its host was still oblivious, it wasn't sure how to break the news to her.
Seeing that she still hadn't responded yet, it couldn't help but say:
『Host, the negative affection is not a typo, the target in this world has no affection for Su Liling, rather it's better to say he only has hostility and hatred towards her.』
"I know, it seems that these tasks will not be so easy after all." Lin Qiuyue finally responded with a sigh, she had hoped that the message had somehow been a typo but that was only wishful thinking. Who said meters had to go from 0 to 100, it seemed they could also go from -100 to 100.
『It's alright, Host! I'm here with you and I'll help you however I can, I won't let you fail!』
Her little system couldn't seem to hold itself back, it had been stressing itself out this entire time so upon hearing her words, it rushed towards her for comfort. The little ball of light proceeded to rub itself on her cheek, Lin Qiuyue was a bit surprised but she didn't reject it. She knew it was hiding something from her, she would be blind to not notice such obvious signs but she didn't expose it right away. It would tell her soon enough so she allowed it to overthink the matter until it was satisfied.
"Thank you, I feel encouraged already," Lin Qiuyue said with a gentle smile as she reached up to her cheek, she used two fingers to squish the head of her little system, it felt nice to the touch, cool and soft. It seemed to emit no heat at all even though it was a source of light which really shouldn't surprise her, systems were unique entities, they were not souls and they didn't come from any of the countless worlds. It should be more surprising that her system had a physical form at all.
As she continued playing with her system, she wondered out loud, "About the target, I scanned through Su Liling's memories again and couldn't find anyone named Qi Bingwen. How did his hatred grow so deep when he has no presence in Su Liling's memories at all? Don't tell me he's one of Su Liling's jilted admirers?"
『Actually, he is in her memo—』
"INTRUDERS! WE'RE BEING ATTACKED!"
"AHHHH! HELP! SAVE ME!!"
"Non-martial artists retreat, run away! Guards this way, protect the young masters!"
Before her system could finish its words, it was interrupted by a loud scream and the sounds of swords clashing outside. The rhymic pouring rain mixed with the frenzied shouts and heavy footsteps, in a moment, the peaceful night scene turned into a bloody battle.
Inside the yet-to-be-disturbed room, Lin Qiuyue pushed herself up from the bed and turned to her system. "...is this somehow related to our task?"
There was no need for it to answer, she could tell that this was what her system was hiding from her. It really took its sweet time, procrastinating until the battle had already begun.
"Aren't you going to tell me what's going on now?"
『Sorry...I didn't want to rush you or cause you panic so I kept it from you, Host...』
The system flew to her side and gave her an apologetic nudge on her hand.
『The target Qi Bingwen is none other than the slave that was raised by the Su Family, he came back with the force he had gathered in his 4 years away. This revenge has been planned for almost a decade, tonight he will slaughter all nine generations of the Su Family, not leaving a single one alive.』
Lin Qiuyue, "..."
She didn't know how to react, each new thing she learned about her task so far was worse than the last.
First that her task revolved around seduction, second that the affection meter didn't even start at 0, third that her allotted time was a pitiful 8 months and now learning that her target was here specifically to kill her entire family.
How long has she been in this body...it shouldn't have been more than an hour, right?
Did the main system have some sort of unspeakable grudge against her?
The system could see her dumbstruck by the news and could only comfort her, it still had a plan to protect its host. No matter how dangerous the world was, it would never let her die early and fail the task.
『Don't worry, Host! I still have a way out of this predicament. That's why I gave you a low-grade sobering pill earlier. Didn't you feel that your body was numb? It was from one of Qi Bingwen's subordinate's skills, he spread a light poisonous mist throughout the entire fu which smelt light and sweet. Since many were sleeping, naturally weaker martial artists had no defense against such a poison. Even Su Liling who could be considered a second-rate warrior was poisoned!』
"It's to weed out the weaker ones for easy picking, what a ruthless bastard. I remember who he is now, Su Liling may have never mistreated him but that didn't mean the rest of her family left him alone. I can see why he came back for revenge."
『Yes! That's why we should leave now, Host. The low-grade sobering pill should have cleared your poison by now. Let's get out of the fu, I know a safe way with few enemies. We can meet Qi Bingwen later and start the task then! We still have a lot of time left, it's better not to risk failing the task now.』
Lin Qiuyue didn't accept her system's words, instead, she stood up from the bed with a smile, stretching her arms and legs to shake off any numbness still seeped in her limbs.
Well, she had enough fun complaining, now it was time to get to business. If the main system thought that this little difficulty spike was going to stop her, it was dead wrong. So what if the task was a bit more demanding, she would expend a bit more effort to complete it.
It was cute how worried her little system was though, it was worthy of her fondness. It was even more thoughtful than she expected, it prepared a sobering pill for her without her asking. If she had no way to expel the poison, she would have had to let herself be killed by a no-name lackey, that would be too pitiful.
If anyone was going to kill her tonight, it could only be Qi Bingwen. "Now then, let's go see this little revenge devil, there's no better time."
『Host! No! Don't go!!』