Chapter 234 Showdown
He Ling raised her head and looked directly at Jiang Huan, her voice trembling but unusually clear.
"Your Majesty, actually I... I am not from this world."
"I guess...you're not either, are you?"
She paused, looked at Jiang Huan's calm and unwavering eyes, steeled her heart, and continued, "I was forcibly brought here by something called 'System.' It forced me to complete a task: to win over the Emperor, or to put it simply, to make the Emperor fall in love with me."
"If the mission fails, or if the progress is too slow, it will... it will punish me, like today, by creating an accident to eliminate me..."
"Also, the system has a built-in shop where you can redeem items with points. The burn ointment I gave you last time was obtained from the system shop."
He Ling finished speaking in one breath, her heart pounding. She stared nervously at Jiang Huan's face, afraid that she would see doubt or fear on Jiang Huan's face.
However, Jiang Huan's expression did not change.
She remained seated calmly, even picking up her teacup and slowly sipping a mouthful of tea, her voice utterly calm and undisturbed.
"Hmm, and then what?"
It seems that reality is pretty much the same as her analysis.
He Ling: ...
【Hmm? ? ? 】
[Her Majesty's ability to accept new things is simply unmatched by 99% of humans.]
Wasn't she surprised? Wasn't she afraid? Didn't she think I was crazy?
He Ling was completely stunned. The explanation she had prepared was stuck in her throat, and she didn't know how to respond for a moment.
[System, system, am I still stuck in that punishment system? This empress in front of me is a heartless mannequin!]
The system sighed helplessly, mumbled something in its electronic voice, and then casually changed the subject.
"Beep, the host is now in the real world, no doubt about it."
"Based on its reaction, the system suggests immediately requesting cooperation from the target, Jiang Huan."
"Jiang Huan holds a high position and is deeply favored by the Emperor. Her influence can be used to help the host get closer to the target, Huo Lin."
"If Jiang Huan agrees to assist, the system can provide some items from the store as a reward, such as beauty and skin care pills, anti-aging creams, etc."
The system's voice carried a seductive quality, like popping champagne in her head beforehand.
"This way we can complete the mission smoothly, and the host doesn't need to worry about his life being threatened."
He Ling scratched her head as she listened to the system's words.
You have no idea how useless those pills of yours are.
"You expect me to bribe the Empress with something I don't even want?"
"The host should give it a try..."
The system's grandiose scheme was halfway through when Jiang Huan suddenly looked up.
A half-smile played on her lips, her voice icy, but it wasn't directed at He Ling.
"Trying what? Trying to bribe me?"
She scoffed, her tone filled with disdain.
"I don't want your worthless pills. You'd better produce something real."
These words were sharp because she had been unhappy with this lousy system for a long time!
He's always nagging and giving He Ling bad advice, turning their peaceful life into a mess.
Giving it a good scolding is too lenient!
He Ling: !!!
[Your Majesty...who is Your Majesty speaking to?]
[She's talking to me... no, she's talking to the system!]
But how would she know what the system was saying?
He Ling froze instantly, her mind went blank, and her eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
[System! System! Could it be that Her Majesty can hear you?!]
The system was just as shocked as He Ling was; even the electronic voice sounded a bit choppy.
"Buzz... Warning! Unknown energy interference detected. Target Jiang Huan is exhibiting anomalies. Attempting analysis..."
"Analysis failed, energy source unknown, system... *buzz*..."
"Buzz...Warning! Buzz..."
A sharp alarm and electrical noise exploded in He Ling's mind in an instant, creating unprecedented chaos.
[System! Don't crash at this crucial moment!]
He Ling felt her head buzzing, as if she had been stuffed into a broken bellows running at high speed.
Looking at He Ling's horrified expression and listening to the distorted electrical currents in her mind, Jiang Huan's smile deepened.
She slowly stood up, walked to He Ling, and leaned slightly forward, her clear eyes seemingly able to see through people's hearts.
"He Ling, did that AI tell you that it needs favorability points to exchange for things? And your favorability points are very low right now?"
He Ling nodded subconsciously, her eyes filled with confusion.
How does Her Majesty know everything?!
Jiang Huan smiled slightly, extended her slender fingers, and gently touched He Ling's forehead.
“Look me in the eyes.”
He Ling couldn't help but look into Jiang Huan's eyes.
"He Ling, do you believe me?"
Jiang Huan's voice carried a strange magic: "If you believe me, go ask your system how much favorability you have."
He Ling felt a moment of disorientation and subconsciously asked herself.
[System, what is my current favorability rating?]
The system paused for a moment, then emitted a chaotic electrical buzzing: "Beep... Detecting target's favorability..."
Current value: 30
"Warning! Abnormal numerical value! System... *buzz*..."
[30? Are you sure you're not mistaken? When did Huo Lin's favorability towards me become so high?]
He Ling squeezed her face with both hands and screamed silently.
Jiang Huan naturally overheard their conversation and nodded in satisfaction.
"30, not bad."
However, before she could finish speaking, her eyes suddenly turned cold.
"And now?"
He Ling felt a sudden chill creep over her, as if she had been alienated by her closest loved ones.
"Beep! Affection level detected has dropped sharply, current value: 10!"
Seeing He Ling's bewildered expression, Jiang Huan's eyes softened instantly.
"Let's take another look."
"Beep! Affection level has returned to 30."
"..."
The system fell completely silent, with only a faint electrical hum, filled with a sense of powerlessness.
He Ling belatedly realized what was happening and was shocked.
I understand now, I completely understand!
[This favorability rating doesn't belong to the Emperor at all, it's from the Empress!]
Heavens above! Have I really struck gold?!
Jiang Huan smiled, picked up her teacup, and spoke in a calm tone, as if she had just casually demonstrated a little trick.
"See? Without us noticing, its target has already changed."
"The favorability rating that is so important to you is just a number to me. I can make it high or low whenever I want."
Jiang Huan's gaze was fixed on He Ling's face, with a gentle, persuasive smile.
"Now we have leverage in negotiations."
After a long silence, the system's voice slowly broke through, sounding as if it were unwilling.
"Please speak."
"First, I need to know what's in your online store."
He Ling felt a tightness in her heart when she saw Jiang Huan's gaze, and subconsciously urged the system in her mind.
[System! Quick! The Empress wants to know what's in the shop!]
The system remained silent for a few seconds.
"Beep, searching the store database, the basic store is now open. Available items for purchase include: Beauty and Skin Nourishing Pills, White Jade Ice Skin Pills, and Autumn Water Pupil-Clearing Soup..."
Other items require higher scores to unlock.
The system honestly presented a list that sounded rather meager.
Jiang Huan frowned slightly as she listened, looking somewhat disgusted.
It truly lives up to its reputation as a useless system; it's full of pointless stuff.
She shook her head. "I'm not interested in these things. Do you have some hidden treasure that you haven't shown us yet?"
“For example…” Jiang Huan tapped her fingertips lightly on the table, her eyes filled with meaning, “…something edible? Something usable? Something that can improve our lives?”
"Or some rare gadgets that don't exist in this era?"
Her patient and persuasive guidance seemed to be digging a pit for the system.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com