Mature

【Host……】

A plaintive whisper rang out beside Qu Shiyao's bed.

Having just gone through the emotional module cleansing and restoration process, I feel like I've had a long and oppressive dream.

In its dreams, its recent hosts all warned it not to let the mission takers linger in the world of the book after the mission was successfully completed.

The tragic end of its previous host, with blood splattered all over the ward, chilled its core program.

Qu Shiyao frowned in her sleep, feeling as if she had fallen into a strange music box.

Someone kept humming a sinister, off-key chant in her ear.

And the voice grew closer and closer, more and more mournful...

This terrified her. She clenched her fists, wanting nothing more than to give that singing guy a good whack.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes!

In the darkness, the system emitted a faint, dim light, almost touching the tip of her nose.

Qu Shiyao: "..." Is that the system singing the soul-summoning song?

Her brain went blank for a second.

System: [...] The system was momentarily stunned. It hadn't expected that its host would be woken up so easily this time.

The person who was usually impossible to wake up in the morning, despite all the methods it used, actually opened his eyes this time?

Seeing Qu Shiyao's eyes quickly shift from confusion to danger, the system hurriedly explained:

[Host! I called you because I have something important to say! Very important! Can you listen to me for just one sentence? Just one sentence!]

"Just say it!" Qu Shiyao's voice was filled with a strong sense of morning grumpiness and murderous intent as her gaze swept over the system's almost non-existent neck.

"You'd better be convincing enough, otherwise..." The underlying threat was obvious.

The system shuddered in fright, its brain racing, rapidly compressing all the information into a single sentence:

[While I was organizing the information on the previous hosts, I discovered that they all advised against leaving anything in the world of the book, especially since the previous host had an accident. I was very worried about you, so I came to find you!]

It spoke in one breath without any pause, and even proudly flashed its light after it finished.

As expected of it, it summarizes all the key points in one sentence—so concise!

The oppressive atmosphere around Qu Shiyao intensified, and the resentment almost materialized:

"So, you think that just because you don't need to breathe, don't use punctuation, and mutter a long string of words like chanting a mantra, it counts as a sentence?"

"Isn't that right?" the system complained, feeling wronged. "The message was clearly delivered, and it really was just one sentence!"

"What do you think?" Qu Shiyao's voice sounded particularly eerie in the darkness, so chilling that even the system, which had felt wronged, shivered uncontrollably.

[I was wrong! But host! The key point is what I just said! What should we do?] The system quickly steered the conversation back on track.

"What? What to do? Just deal with it." Qu Shiyao adjusted her posture, yawned widely, and didn't care at all.

"Didn't I already say I'd go back once the mission was complete? Do you think I'd be trapped in this little world?"

【It's different! This time it's really different!】The system was so anxious seeing her so nonchalant that it raised its voice.

"What's different?" Qu Shiyao raised her eyebrows, seeing the system's paranoid behavior, she thought it had some inside information.

Hmm... well... it's just different!

The system stammered, unable to describe the panic or the warnings left by other hosts in detail, and could only stubbornly repeat them.

Seeing it like this, Qu Shiyao's curiosity was piqued:

"Do you have the authority to send me the information and files of the worlds where those previous hosts were located?"

The system hesitated for a moment: "[This requires submitting an application report to the main system space...]"

"Let's wait until the application is approved!" Qu Shiyao pulled the blanket over her head, her good sleep was ruined, and all she wanted to do now was go to sleep.

However… the system was still hesitant.

Qu Shiyao's head was throbbing from the noise. She felt that this damn system was probably retaliating against her for bullying her, but its emotional fluctuations were indeed unusually intense.

In order to get a good night's sleep, she decided to change the subject.

"Speaking of which, didn't you report Si Cheng's rebirth a while ago? It's been almost two weeks, why is there still no follow-up?" Qu Shiyao asked casually.

【Huh?】The system's thoughts were suddenly interrupted, and the previous worry was instantly replaced by a new question.

It quickly checked the records.

[Oh right... We usually get a preliminary response within a week at the latest, so why this time...]

It checked the status and suddenly exclaimed in surprise: "My direct supervisor has escalated this issue to a higher-level management team?!"

These words successfully focused Qu Shiyao's attention.

Compared to the system's vague and uncertain concerns, the reborn CEO beside me is clearly more worthy of attention.

"A higher level? Is there an explanation?" She looked intently at the system.

The system projected the feedback information, reading aloud: [Cause code: Unknown. Further confirmation is needed regarding the correlation with the abnormal server fluctuations.]

It read the words over and over again, becoming completely dazed.

[Host, what... what does this mean?]

It's that kind of vague and confusing reply again.

Qu Shiyao frowned. Compared to this puzzle that was currently unsolvable, she felt that the system's previous warning actually had a higher chance of success.

Her intuition told her that there was definitely something wrong with Si Cheng's rebirth, but she had no clue what was going on at the moment.

On the other hand, her novel's rating has been stuck at 9.2 for some time, and its actual number of favorites has just exceeded 30,000. Both of these figures are related to her life and death and the success or failure of her mission.

But in any case, it's too early to think about these things now; the most important thing right now is to sleep!

Without hesitation, Qu Shiyao closed her eyes and her breathing quickly became even and long—she had fallen asleep instantly!

The system was still muttering: "[This approval process is taking too long. Maybe I should ask my colleagues privately if any of them have experienced a rebirth, and find out what's going on...]"

[Host, what do you think of this method...?] It excitedly turned its head and found that its host had already fallen asleep!

There was nothing the system could do but encourage itself: "I'm a mature system now capable of making independent decisions! This little thing is no problem for me!"

It first cleared its throat in a mocking manner, then imitated Qu Shiyao's tone, speaking in an extremely earnest voice:

"Master, I'm counting on you to find out about this! I'm counting on you now!"

Then, it swayed to the other side, switching to an arrogant tone, and raised its noble head:

Alright~ Since you've been so earnest in your request, this system will reluctantly try to find out the information for you within 24 hours~

Within a minute, it asked and answered its own questions, assigned itself tasks, and set a time limit, truly achieving self-production and self-sales.

-----------------

The next morning, Qu Shiyao floated into the company with her eyes barely open, completely absent-minded, as if she were sleepwalking.

Even the exquisite breakfast that Su Wanwan brought, which usually wakes her up instantly, has lost its magic at this moment.

I was woken up by the system in the middle of the night last night, and I didn't sleep well at all for the rest of the night. That resurrection song kept playing in my ears all night.

"What's wrong? Didn't you get enough rest?" Su Wanwan glanced at her listless appearance and felt that Qu Shiyao seemed to have lost all her energy today, far less vibrant than usual.

Before Qu Shiyao could answer, Jin Yuxi leaned over with a sly grin, giving her a knowing look, and teased:

"What else could have happened? It was Qixi Festival last night, a beautiful and peaceful time, so he must have stayed up too late~"

Qu Shiyao's eyes slowly turned to Jin Yuxi, and seeing her lewd smile, she rolled her eyes helplessly.

"Please take all that lewd stuff in your head to the toilet and shake it off before you come back. It's stinking up my brain."

"Huh? Isn't that right?" Jin Yuxi looked her up and down.

"Then why do you look so unsatisfied and listless?"

Qu Shiyao turned to look at Su Wanwan and asked in a serious tone:

"Wanwan, can you even lift her head? I'll kick her, and we'll throw her into the toilet bowl together to wake her up?"

Su Wanwan thought about it seriously for a moment, and then solemnly replied, "I can't lift it, but I can ask Adong to come in and help lift it."

"No, no, no! Grandmas, I was wrong!"

Upon seeing the burly bodyguard at the door seemingly intending to enter, Jin Yuxi instantly sprang up from her chair, slid to her knees, and hugged Qu Shiyao's leg, quickly apologizing:

"It's my fault! I've been single for 26 years! It's because I'm sexually unsatisfied!"

"Yes, it is good to admit one's mistakes and correct them."

Qu Shiyao adopted a compassionate expression, and like the Virgin Mary descending, she gently patted Jin Yuxi's head.

"I forgive you."

"What are you doing?!" Lin Weiwei, who had just returned from a meeting with the client, was greeted with this horrifying scene as soon as she entered the office.

Jin Yuxi knelt on the ground, hugging Qu Shiyao's legs and yelling about unsatisfied desires, while Qu Shiyao stroked Jin Yuxi's head with an extremely strange and loving expression, saying "Forgive me?"

Lin Weiwei suddenly felt she needed to buy some glutinous rice to sprinkle on and ward off evil spirits.

Jin Yuxi calmly stood up, brushed the dust off her skirt, and said to Lin Weiwei without changing her expression:

"It's nothing, Weiwei, don't make a fuss. I'm just expressing my gratitude to Shiyao for her selfless help over the years."

Wang Qian, who had just entered the room, froze on the spot upon hearing this: "?"

Lin Weiwei's voice suddenly rose, her pupils dilating in shock: "You've only known each other for two months! Where did this 'years' come from?!"

She became even more convinced that she needed to immediately order a large bag of glutinous rice online!

"Oh, Vivi, don't worry about the details!"

Jin Yuxi smiled and wanted to step forward and pat Lin Weiwei on the shoulder to comfort her.

Lin Weiwei was so frightened that she took three steps back, crossing her arms in front of her chest as if facing a formidable enemy.

"I'm warning you! Any unusual sexual fetishes should be dealt with privately! Don't do these weird things in the company!"

Wang Qian: "?" Completely out of sorts.

Zhang Li: "?" She had just returned and was completely bewildered, feeling that Lin Weiwei seemed to have misunderstood something terrible.

Su Wanwan: "?" Fetish? What fetish? As a viewer who witnessed the entire farce, she was actually a little confused by Lin Weiwei's train of thought.

Jin Yuxi: "?" She seriously suspected that Lin Weiwei had imagined an extremely outrageous scenario, but she had no evidence.

Jin Yuxi silently turned her head to look at Qu Shiyao, who was watching the drama unfold, and said speechlessly, "Stop watching, she's already started spreading rumors about us out of thin air."

Qu Shiyao readily looked at Lin Weiwei, smiled slightly, and added fuel to the fire:

"Senior Lin, you've misunderstood. Our relationship isn't as simple as it appears on the surface; in fact, it's far more sordid than you imagine right now."

"Ancestor! Shut up!" Jin Yuxi was so frightened that she immediately rushed over and covered Qu Shiyao's mouth.

Lin Weiwei's rumors were at most just suspicions that she had some special hobbies, but Qu Shiyao personally spreading rumors completely changed the nature of the matter!

Sure enough, Lin Weiwei hid even further away, her face clearly saying: Just as I expected! I guessed right!

Wang Qian and Zhang Li, who were initially confused, instinctively took a step back upon seeing this.

Seeing Jin Yuxi practically clinging to Qu Shiyao and desperately trying to cover her mouth, the situation was getting out of control. Su Wanwan had no choice but to shout towards the door:

"Ah Dong! Come in here for a moment and ask Miss Jin to leave."

The scene immediately descended into chaos.

[Host! I'm back! I've found out some information about rebirth!]

The system, which had been missing all morning, returned excitedly, only to suddenly stop responding the next second.

[Wait, wait... what's going on?!]