Chapter 11

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Lin Kecheng nearly lost control of his expression.
He forced himself to stay calm. “It’s probably because of the last incident. Maybe the police said something to him, but we can definitely clear our names. Once the investigation results come out, this score will go up sooner or later. When he realizes it was a misunderstanding, it’ll increase even more.”
His system echoed in agreement, though it was actually panicking inside.
Lin Kecheng didn’t know that many hosts had tried to win over Fu Xiuning before becoming optimistic, but the system did.
Fu Xiuning’s favorability only fluctuated noticeably in the first year or two; afterward, the changes became smaller and smaller, as if he was gradually losing human emotions. Some hosts were still at -5 when they were eliminated.
This showed that Fu Xiuning wouldn’t deduct points just over a little suspicion.
The system worried that after Fu Xiuning left the student council, his former subordinates gradually became strangers in his eyes, which explained why he reverted to the initial value of -5.
If that were the case, the host would have to enter Fu Xiuning’s company to find a chance to regain those points.
At the same time, Xing Shi was also talking with his system.
The system said, “Why are you probing him? If you know he might be a host, we just need to be careful going forward. What if he suspects you because of your sudden probing?”
Xing Shi replied, “I’m just curious.”
The system warned, “But it’s risky.”
Xing Shi saw Lin Kecheng approaching and unbuckled his seatbelt. “I know what I’m doing.”
Before Xing Shi opened the door, Fu Xiuning asked, “Where are you going to eat?”
Lin Kecheng happened to overhear and answered proactively, “Cultural Plaza.”
He briefly composed himself and explained, “The junior has training tonight. It’s convenient because it’s close by.”
Fu Xiuning nodded. “Get in.”
Lin Kecheng smiled and thanked him, opening the car door.
Fu Xiuning’s company was in the same direction as the plaza, so he planned to give them a ride.
Once inside, Fu Xiuning took the opportunity to ask about the progress of the Shao Jianbai incident, hoping to explain a few things and regain favorability points.
Fu Xiuning said, “The family lawyer is handling it. I haven’t asked.”
A slight curve appeared on his lips, and his comforting tone was just like that day: “Intentional injury is definitely a crime. Given his personality, don’t take it to heart.”
Lin Kecheng’s smile instantly froze.
The system screamed internally—so the deduction wasn’t related to that incident!
Both the host and system were stunned. Lin Kecheng forced out a response and started figuring out with the system where that one lost point came from.
Xing Shi glanced at the driver.
A few days ago, Fu Xiuning clearly suspected Lin Kecheng was behind the incident. Now, his soothing words sounded convincing.
But judging from what he knew, Fu Xiuning was so used to constant troubles that it was no wonder he generally rated people at -5.
After five years of being besieged, Fu Xiuning remained refined and calm, even driving around the culprit who had recently schemed against him—truly a composed gentleman turned twisted mastermind.
Fu Xiuning looked ahead at the road, hearing two conversations simultaneously.
When Lin Kecheng first saw his profile, he chose to first become useful to him before slowly building other feelings.
Now it was clear the student council’s shelf life was up. Lin Kecheng cursed under his breath and resignedly discussed how to get into Fu Xiuning’s company as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Xing Shi’s system was still trying to persuade its host to give up the idea, which was where Fu Xiuning’s attention was mainly focused.
He revealed Lin Kecheng’s matters because Lin Kecheng was always scheming, and he wanted Xing Shi to be cautious.
To him, Lin Kecheng was just a distraction like the other hosts. But Xing Shi was different; he had too many exceptions, so nothing could go wrong before he was fully understood.
Perhaps because of this, upon learning Xing Shi would confront Lin Kecheng, Fu Xiuning disliked Lin Kecheng even more. Maybe it was because Lin Kecheng had never made money for him and only caused trouble, making him expendable.
System 99 failed to convince Xing Shi.
It sighed while searching for more data: “You should consider the worst-case scenario before acting. What if he gets suspicious? How will you handle that?”
Xing Shi said, “I’ll just admit it. You have to take responsibility for your actions.”
System: “?”
Fu Xiuning: “…”

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The system’s data nearly glitched. “Huh? What are you thinking?”
Xing Shi answered without hesitation, “I’m straightforward.”
The system didn’t believe him and guessed, “You want to ally with him?”
Xing Shi responded with an “Oh.” “So we can team up?”
System: “You can, but I don’t recommend it. There’s only one grand prize, and hosts are competitors. If the alliance breaks, he might eliminate you first.”
Xing Shi was calm. “No worries. I might deal with him before the alliance ends.”
System: “…”
Who just said straightforward?
It was speechless. “The system isn’t stupid. For your safety and interests, we sign contracts. During the alliance, neither party can harm the other. If one breaks the contract, the other can report it to the main system. After forming an alliance, a friend tab appears, so you can message and share locations anytime.”
Xing Shi said, “Phones can do that too.”
System: “Ours has no risk of leaks, and you don’t have to send messages yourself. Just say the word, and I’ll send it.”
Xing Shi asked, “How do you sign the contract?”
System: “Hosts shake hands to confirm cooperation, and then we sign the contract.”
Xing Shi’s heart stirred, guessing energy would flow during the handshake.
He wanted to reveal his identity to Lin Kecheng for other reasons but unexpectedly found this interesting.
He asked, “Is there a time limit? What if I want to ally just for one day?”
System: “That’s fine.”
Xing Shi was pleased. “Not bad. Have you found the data?”
System: “Found it... Are you really going to ally?”
Xing Shi: “Yeah, I’ll try two days first.”
System: “???”
Fu Xiuning slowly stopped at a red light, glancing at the passenger beside him.
He knew Xing Shi was up to something again and wanted to follow to listen, but with him there, the two couldn’t talk freely.
So he calmly listened to both sides and drove to Cultural Plaza.
Lin Kecheng failed to persuade Fu Xiuning to eat with them and regretfully led Xing Shi into the mall.
The two had already decided what to eat and headed straight to the upstairs restaurant.
After Lin Kecheng ordered, Xing Shi downloaded an app based on system clues, opened a related novel, found the corresponding spot, and pressed the reading function.
A cold male voice instantly sounded.
“Host, your mission is about to fail!”
Lin Kecheng was drinking water and suddenly choked, turning his head and coughing violently.
He hurried to catch his breath and heard the following lines, realizing it was from the novel. He looked at Xing Shi. “You…”
Xing Shi frantically tapped the screen, turned off the sound, and looked up. “Sorry, senior, I pressed the wrong button. Did I scare you?”
Lin Kecheng grabbed a tissue to wipe his mouth, forcing a laugh. “Yeah, sudden voice startled me. Are you reading novels?”
Xing Shi nodded. “My roommate recommended it, said it’s good. It’s my first time reading online novels. It’s quite interesting, about a protagonist bound to a system traveling through different worlds.”
He sighed enviously, “I wish I had such a powerful system. But it’s just a thought. How could that happen?”
A flash of pride crossed Lin Kecheng’s eyes as he smiled, “Yeah.”
Xing Shi noticed his reaction and guessed he was probably a host. He called the system: “He doesn’t seem to know there are other hosts.”
System agreed, “Yeah, he doesn’t suspect you at all. Still want to ally?”
Xing Shi: “Of course.”
He gave Lin Kecheng a charming smile and lowered his voice, “Just teasing you, senior. I suspected you were a host and wanted to test, because I am one too.”
Lin Kecheng, thinking he was special: “???”

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The already suspicious system: “…”
Xing Shi asked, “Do you suspect anyone else, senior?”
Destined child Lin Kecheng was shocked, frantically calling the system while asking, “Others?”
Xing Shi said, “Yeah, there are six of us in this batch.”
Lin Kecheng: “!!!”
Xing Shi propped his chin with both hands. “I’m from another world. Senior, are you a traveler or a native?”
Lin Kecheng’s worldview shattered. “...Traveler?”
Xing Shi hesitated, “Senior, you... don’t know anything, do you?”
Lin Kecheng was hit where it hurt and completely lost his defenses.
His system panicked, apologizing and soothing him while glancing at the other person, thinking, What kind of reckless guy is this!
Xing Shi continued, “It doesn’t matter.”
He lamented, “The important thing is Fu Xiuning is hard to deal with. His scores change a few points at a time. I’ve been here over twenty days and still haven’t broken 10. You arrived earlier, so you must be way higher, right?”
One person, one system, who only gained one point in half a year then reset to zero: “???!!!”
Lin Kecheng’s system was utterly defeated and opened the group chat to mock.
The gods fed the hosts: [A certain newbie is almost breaking 10 but pretends to be -5. Impressive.]
A sentence that shook the world.
Everyone worked hard, gaining points bit by bit. How can you show off like this!
They all tagged Yan Kong Wansui madly.
System 99 said nothing, waiting to see its host’s next move.
Xing Shi got to the point: “I’m a bit slow. Doing missions alone is exhausting. How about we ally? Senior, you lead me.”
Lin Kecheng and his system were stunned at the same time.
They had already planned to make good use of Xing Shi in the car. Now that they knew he was a host, it was even easier.
Lin Kecheng quickly learned about alliance details from the system and immediately agreed, “Sure.”
Xing Shi asked, “How many points do you have?”
Lin Kecheng calmly replied, “That’s confidential. I can’t say before we ally. Let’s exchange screenshots after signing.”
Xing Shi thought for a moment under Lin Kecheng’s nervous gaze and compromised, “Okay, let’s try a week first and see if we get along.”
Lin Kecheng wanted to commit for three months but didn’t insist when Xing Shi disagreed, deciding to persuade him within the week.
Xing Shi reached out his hand, secretly switching to his old magic absorption mode.
Their hands clasped, and he clearly felt energy flow, immediately attempting to absorb it.
Just before they parted, a tiny energy stream entered his mind and vanished.
Though he couldn’t tell where it went, it was absorbable.
If he could convince Lin Kecheng to extend the cooperation after a week, he could keep benefiting!
He was instantly delighted.
Lin Kecheng and his system, holding onto their “-5” to achieve a small victory, also felt very happy.
They looked at the new friend tab and simultaneously sent screenshots of their favorability scores, eagerly glancing at each other’s results.
The image opened, showing a number: -8.
One person, one system: “…………”