Feng Yongrui did not know how long he was asleep. When his eyes fluttered open, he found himself in a white space filled with nothingness. It took a while for him to recover as his mind grew clearer.
Wasn't he on the way to help Chen Longfei, the villain, defeat the Cloud Realm?
Why was he suddenly here??
Feng Yongrui looked around and instinctively called for the System.
"System!"
Feng Yongrui waited for two seconds, but he did not hear a reply.
Feng Yongrui's heart grew restless and pressed down the uneasy feeling that emerged in his heart.
"System!" he called out again.
"...Host," he heard a childlike voice behind him and turned around.
Behind him, there was a small mouse with white fur, covered in black splotches here and there.
Feng Yongrui's first instinct was to run away. Why was there a mouse in this whitish space?!
"...Host," the System's voice resounded again in Feng Yongrui's ears. Only this time... he saw the mouse moving its mouth, as if it was talking. A wild guess filled Feng Yongrui's mind and he looked at the mouse tentatively.
"...System, is that you?"
The mouse glared at him rather resentfully. "Yes, this is me, Host."
Feng Yongrui digested the information for two seconds before he burst into laughter. The System had turned into a mouse! Hahahaha!
Feng Yongrui was originally just chuckling a little bit, but when he saw the System's -- no, the mouse's aggrieved and annoyed expression, he couldn't help bursting into a guffaw.
Feng Yongrui was laughing so much that he felt tears at the corner of his eyes, and he quickly wiped them away. When Feng Yongrui finally calmed down, he sat on the white ground, face to face with the scowling System-mouse.
"System, what happened to you?" Feng Yongrui asked, trying to sound concerned.
The System threw a glare at him and reluctantly replied in a childlike, aggrieved, voice.
"I reported to the higher ups about the problem," the System grumbled.
"Yeah, and then?"
"...They were furious," the System continued.
Feng Yongrui shrugged. If he was the System's higher ups, he would've been angry as well.
"So, they gave me a punishment, ahem, and turned me into this... vile creature..." the System explained.
Feng Yongrui nodded his head in understanding. So that's how it was...
"Pfft... Hahaha~" Feng Yongrui couldn't help laughing again, making the System angry.
"Hmph! Host, if you keep laughing, I won't tell you anything anymore," it threatened.
However, seeing the mouse in front of him attempt to cross its front paws in an intimidating manner, Feng Yongrui couldn't help chuckling again.
"System... this is retribution," Feng Yongrui chortled and wheezed. Perhaps this was the best day of his life, hahaha.
Seeing Feng Yongrui's smiling face that looked like he could fly to the moon at any moment, the mouse's black eyes were filled with chagrin. However, the System - mouse calmed down and sneered.
So what if Feng Yongrui was laughing? He wouldn't be laughing any minute now!
Feng Yongrui barely calmed down and looked bemusedly at the mouse in front of him. Trying to suppress his laughter, Feng Yongrui directed his thoughts in another direction.
"System, what happened to that world? Will the villain end up ruling the world? What about my main mission in that world? Will I still get rewarded with points?" Feng Yongrui asked.
The System rolled its eyes. "You're finally thinking properly. Let me tell you, the world that we just left was chaotic, and the higher ups had to make some drastic decisions..."
"As for your salary... At first they didn't want to reward you at all," the System snickered. "In fact, the higher ups wanted to deduct your points as well."
Feng Yongrui was indignant. "Why?? I'm the victim here! The one who messed up and ruined everything was you!"
"Well, the higher ups have their own way of thinking, so how can I understand their motives?" the System said, lazily rolling its eyes.
"Anyway, I managed to convince them not to deduct your salary," the System said.
Feng Yongrui breathed a sigh of relief.
"Not only that, I told the higher ups that you worked really hard for this world, and besides, you did your best to fulfill the mission, so they gave you 50,000 points for your hard work."
Feng Yongrui felt overjoyed and almost hugged the System to express his thanks.
After completing the Daily Missions in the Phantom realm, Feng Yongrui's points had accumulated and he had 58,023 points. Now, added with the 50,000 points from the System, he had 108,023 points.
Feng Yongrui looked at his profile page.
Name: Feng Yongrui
Points: 108,023
Lucky Draws: 3
Skills: Invisibility (amateur); Shapeshifting (professional); not being very smart (professional)
Feng Yongrui looked at the last skill and felt his mouth run dry. ...The System was really a vengeful one. Thankfully, his profile page wasn't as messy as the one he had previously seen.
Feng Yongrui still remembered that the System once displayed his handsomeness index as 0... That was really heartbreaking.
Feng Yongrui cleared away his messy thoughts and turned back to the System.
"Hey, thanks," he muttered awkwardly. Although Feng Yongrui felt like his System was often mean and stupid, he was really grateful that the System convinced the higher ups not to take away his points...
"Haha, don't thank me yet," the System spoke dryly. "The higher ups still gave you some points, but that doesn't mean you're getting away scot-free."
Feng Yongrui sighed and nodded. "Alright, tell me what my punishment is."
"It should be punishments, with an 's'," the System said. "You've got more than one punishment."
"For starters, you will be confined to this white space for an indefinite amount of time, where you will be trained until you reach the physical requirements that the higher ups have decided."
Feng Yongrui furrowed his brows but did not say anything.
"Secondly, in the next world, you won't be able to buy anything from the System Mall. This means you cannot participate in any lucky draws, buy any skills, or buy any items to use."
"However, the skills that you bought from the System Mall, the Invisibility one and the Shapeshifting one, will still be available. You will also be able to complete Daily Missions if you want to."
Feng Yongrui nodded his head in understanding. Not being able to buy anything from the System Mall was indeed tricky. This meant that if there was a difficult situation, he couldn't turn to the System Mall for help. He had to rely on himself.
Thankfully, he could still use the Invisibility and Shapeshifting skills.
"Next, when you complete the main mission in the next world," the System continued, "You will have to follow the directions from the System."
Feng Yongrui raised his eyebrows. Follow directions from the System? Wasn't the System the troublemaker here? Why did he have to listen to it?
The System saw Feng Yongrui's obviously displeased look and grumbled under its breath.
"Hey, you don't have to worry," the System said. "Those directions won't be given by me, it'll be given by the higher ups..."
Feng Yongrui quickly breathed a sigh of relief. If the System was the one giving him directions, wouldn't he fail his task miserably?
"Anyway, you'll see it later. For now, you'll have to focus on your first punishment. Here are the requirements from the higher ups," the System waved its right paw and a paper flew into Feng Yongrui's hands.
Feng Yongrui read the contents, which were surprisingly simple.
1. Swing a sword 100,000 times.
2. Hit the target (with a bow and arrow) 10,000 times.
"Huh, I thought it would be something more complicated," Feng Yongrui said, feeling slightly relieved.
"There is no time limit, right? So I can take my time doing this," Feng Yongrui muttered.
"Well, you can take your time," the System said. "But do you want to stay here forever?"
"Well, no," Feng Yongrui agreed. He turned to the System and wanted to say something, but his words were caught in his throat.
The System - mouse was holding a piece of paper in its paws, reading the words very carefully. At a glance, Feng Yongrui could see the first few words at the top of the page.
"Punishments List For Me -- 1. Run 1,000 laps on a mice wheel every day. 2. Eat dinner leftovers every day... etc, etc..."
Feng Yongrui didn't know whether to laugh or cry. So, apparently, the System was also given a set of punishments? Not only was the System forced to become a mouse, it was also given a long list of punishments... For some reason, Feng Yongrui felt quite satisfied.
Anyway, from the looks of it, the System's punishments were worse than his. This should be considered a good thing.
Feng Yongrui put down his paper and waked closer to the System - mouse, who was busy reading the paper.
"System, you've explained a lot of things to me, but you still haven't explained what the outcome of the last world," Feng Yongrui said.
"What will happen with the Phantom Realm and the Cloud Realm?"
***
Feng Yongrui: The System is so nice, he made sure that the higher ups didn't deduct my points~~
System: How can I let the higher ups deduct his points? If he has not points then he won't be able to spend money....