Hearing the system's arrogant declaration, Xuan Ming paused in clapping.
Zhuang Li's tone remained as lazy and casual as ever: "Oh, really? But I'm not worried at all, System. If you can escape now, it's still not too late. I'll give you a chance."
The system was annoyed by his arrogant attitude and snorted coldly: "Host, I also gave you a chance, but you didn't know how to cherish it."
As soon as it finished speaking, a sharp buzzing sounded in Zhuang Li's head, and the pitch kept rising. This buzzing sound was like the circuit feedback generated between the microphone and the speaker, but it was sharper and more unbearable than that.
Xuan Ming could intercept the conversation between the system and Zhuang Li, so he could naturally hear this humming sound. As an indirect victim, he quickly held his forehead and clenched his teeth to prevent himself from crying out in pain.
Zhuang Li, who was enduring this scream directly with his skull, just closed his eyes and waited quietly.
If his slender fingertips had not stopped turning the ballpoint pen and instead tightly grasped the pen shaft, Xuan Ming would have almost thought that he had no feeling.
Seeing that Zhuang Li neither rolled around in dissatisfaction nor wailed for mercy, the system felt very unfulfilled.
It further threatened: "Host, whether you like it or not, I have forcibly bound you. Oh, there is one more thing I forgot to tell you. After the binding, if you fail to complete the task, I can wipe you out."
The screaming in his head was fading away, and Zhuang Li began to slowly and skillfully turn the ballpoint pen again. He was indifferent to the so-called erasure.
Xuan Ming suddenly remembered that An Baoer's system had also mentioned something like "annihilation." If these systems came from a higher dimension, then they did have the ability to destroy a life.
Xuan Ming's hands, resting on his knees, clenched into fists, his worried gaze flickering towards the curly-haired young man beside him. He knew his behavior was suspicious, but he couldn't help himself.
The system still didn't get the expected response, so it couldn't help but raise its voice: "Host, do you hear what I said?"
Zhuang Li lazily raised his eyelids, but his tone was full of provocation: "Eliminate me? Then try it."
The system was completely enraged and shouted, "Host, your emotional intelligence is truly very low. You can't even judge the situation with the most basic understanding. As your system, I have a responsibility to teach you a lesson."
As soon as it finished speaking, a crackling sound of electric current surging sounded in Zhuang Li's mind.
Xuan Ming didn't know what the system was doing, but he could infer what the curly-haired young man had experienced from his reaction.
The young man dropped his pen and pressed his hands hard against the table, as if trying to suppress something. Blue veins gushed out from the backs of his fair hands, their rapid flow causing them to throb slightly, a sign of extreme pain.
The system is destroying young people's bodies!
This realization made Xuan Ming forget to hide his abnormality. He immediately wanted to send the young man to the hospital, but suddenly found that his legs were in plaster and he couldn't even stand up.
He immediately took out his cell phone and sent a text message to the bodyguard standing outside the meeting room. Just as he typed the three words "Come in", he heard the curly-haired young man laughing softly in his mind.
His hands rested beneath Xuan Ming's eyes, their dark veins hidden beneath his fair skin, like mist stained with rain, or white jade soaked in blood, a breathtaking beauty. Yet, it was these hands that revealed the young man's pain.
But his laughter was so relaxed and comfortable, without any hint of showing off. As he laughed, he took a short breath, and it seemed as if he was not enduring pain, but rather enjoying pleasure.
Xuan Ming was stunned for a moment, then goose bumps broke out all over his body. He had a hunch that this laughter was strange, but he couldn't put his finger on what was wrong.
He began to feel restless and even forgot to send the text message to summon the bodyguard.
The system asked angrily, "What are you laughing at?"
"Ha~ha..." Zhuang Li laughed intermittently, beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his pale skin was dyed a layer of crimson without knowing when, and even the corners of his narrow eyes were brewing with a hint of red.
Xuan Ming took one look and quickly averted his gaze. His Adam's apple rolled, and his mouth suddenly felt dry. He untied his silver-gray tie and unbuttoned two shirt buttons before his breathing eased.
Judging from the young man's reaction, he did not seem to be defeated in the confrontation.
The system continued to shout, "Host, are you enjoying the electric shock? Don't try to hide your pain with laughter. It's not too late to beg for mercy. I'm telling you, not only can I shock your body, I can also wipe out your soul. You'd better listen to me."
"You're sure you want to shock my body?" Zhuang Li supported himself on the table with both hands and curled his lips silently. "If it were a real shock, my skin would have burn marks."
He curled his fingertips.
Xuan Ming's attention was immediately attracted by these slender, jade-white fingers with a hint of pink on the tips.
Zhuang Li pressed his fingertips and continued, "But there's not a single scratch on my skin. What does this mean?"
Here it comes, the feeling of being humiliated comes again! The system gritted its teeth in hatred.
Zhuang Li chuckled and said, "This shows that the pain of the electric shock is just an illusion. It can neither destroy my brain nor harm my body."
The crackling sound of the electric current still echoed in the young man's mind, but Xuan Ming's heart slowly settled. It was just an illusion, and he trusted the young man's judgment unconditionally.
"Is it an illusion? Why are you still in so much pain?" the system asked unwillingly.
"Would you like me to explain the exact mechanism? You used a tiny electrical current to strengthen the connection between my nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex. If these two brain regions are overloaded, they will produce intense pain. This pain is just a signal, not an actual lesion, and it doesn't harm my body at all."
After saying these words, Zhuang Li lowered his head, searching for something.
Xuan Ming immediately bent down and helped him pick up the ballpoint pen.
He whispered a thank you, but didn't even look at Xuan Ming. At the end, he started spinning his pen again, no longer paying attention to the system in his brain and the pain in his body.
The system was extremely frustrated and said in a deep voice: "So what if it's an illusion? Your pain is real. I don't believe you can bear it!"
It strengthens the connection between the two brain areas, increasing the pain sensation.
This time, the ballpoint pen on Zhuang Li's fingertips did not fall, but the sweat beads on his forehead became more dense.
Xuan Ming frowned and looked over. Although he couldn't empathize with the young man, he could clearly see the system's strong desire for revenge from the increasing sound of the current. It was trying to use cruel means to force this man to submit.
Huge anger filled Xuan Ming's heart.
Zhuang Li, however, panted and chuckled softly, "Is this all you can do, System?"
The light blue ballpoint pen spun and jumped on his fingertips like a blooming flower, which showed his calmness and composure, and also showed that he was confident of winning.
Xuan Ming simply couldn't take his eyes off the young man.
The system continuously stimulates Zhuang Li's nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex.
The sizzling sound representing endless pain kept ringing in Zhuang Li's mind and Xuan Ming's ears.
A few minutes later, Xuan Ming held his sweaty forehead, took out his phone, and prepared to send a message to his bodyguard again. As a bystander, he could no longer bear it.
Zhuang Li gently put down his ballpoint pen and laughed wantonly, "Why is the pain of the electric shock getting weaker and weaker? System, could it be that your conscience has gotten the better of you?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the disturbing crackling sound completely disappeared.
The system snorted coldly, "Is today's lesson profound enough? Do your missions obediently from now on, or I'll kill you!"
Xuan Ming put down his phone and breathed a sigh of relief. If the young man chose to compromise and accept the mission, he would understand, even cooperate. Having participated in the entire confrontation between the young man and the system, it was difficult for him to harbor any ill feelings towards the other party.
Zhuang Li was extremely stubborn. He shook his head and chuckled, "Then you might as well kill me now."
Xuan Ming, who was completely ignored by the young man, felt very complicated.
The system gnashed its teeth and said, "Host, do you believe I will really kill you?"
Zhuang Li leaned back in his chair, crossed his long legs, and replied lazily, "I don't believe it."
"Alright, alright, I'll wipe you out right now!" After a familiar hissing sound, the system's explosive voice returned to its original inorganic metallic tone: "The erasure process has been initiated. In ten seconds, the host's soul will disappear forever. Ten, nine..."
Time passed quickly, Xuan Ming clenched his fists tightly, but he could do nothing. He really wanted to agree on behalf of the young man.
Zhuang Li shuffled his toes and sighed in his mind, "Stop bluffing, System. You no longer have the power to harm me. Your intelligence surpasses that of humans, but you're still a machine at heart. What's the core of a machine?"
The system just counts down and looks extremely cold.
Zhuang Li smiled nonchalantly, "The core of a machine is power. Without power, you can't do anything. Now, let me analyze how much power you have left."
The system's countdown sound suddenly trembled, like a disc being scratched by fingertips.
Zhuang Li raised his thin lips and analyzed slowly, "When you set out, your energy was full, that is, 100%. To enter three-dimensional space from a higher dimension, you need to break through the dimensional wall, which must have consumed a lot of energy. I guess it's at least 60%. Because for any technological civilization, traveling through time and space is not an easy task."
"After arriving in the three-dimensional space, you need to find a suitable mission target. During this search, you must scan all time periods in this world and select the strongest of the lucky individuals who emerged from all of them. From the origin of humanity to its extinction, I conservatively estimate that it was at least five million years."
Zhuang Li waved his fair palm. "You'll have to scan and test each one of them for five million years. The energy consumption will be at least 10%, at most 20%. I'll give you 10% for now."
The system stopped counting down unconsciously and silently held on to its energy reservoir.
Xuan Ming was fascinated by what he heard.
Zhuang Li continued, "To find a suitable target, you'll need to enter their era, which consumes a certain amount of energy. I'd guess about 5%."
"At this point, your energy is already well below safe levels, and you must find a host to help you approach your mission objective."
Zhuang Li extended his slender index finger and gently traced the work card on his chest: "You can't choose the host at will, because being too far away will not be conducive to your completion of the mission. So you will float in the air and slowly search for the right person."
"Don't forget, you're a four-dimensional creature. In three-dimensional space, you'll be squeezed by the dimensional wall and malfunction. Therefore, you must erect a plasma wall, or force field, to protect yourself. Supporting the force field consumes a tremendous amount of energy. So, how much of the remaining 25% did you use? 20%?"
The system hissed in alarm.
Zhuang Li curled his lips and smiled. "It seems I guessed right. So, before you bind to me, you only have 5% of your energy left. If you want to enter my brain, you must first break through my protective mechanism."
Zhuang Li pointed between his eyebrows and sighed, "Although your technological level is high, the human brain is also a place of wonder. The emergence of consciousness first allowed this place to enter the four-dimensional realm. To protect this wonder, the human brain has produced a protective membrane similar to a plasma wall. This protective membrane is called the blood-brain barrier. It can prevent harmful substances in the blood from entering the brain. Therefore, blood imaging technology cannot be performed in the human brain."
"Because of the blood-brain barrier, humans know less about their own brains than we do about the Earth itself. I suppose you must have expended some energy breaking through this barrier. I'd guess about 1%?"
The crackling sound from the system suddenly became louder, then immediately suppressed, as if trying to cover up something.
Xuan Ming frequently looked at the young man beside him with amazement, but unfortunately the other party didn't notice him at all.
"After entering my brain, you had to bind to me. You didn't need to expend any energy during this process, because if I agreed, you would naturally merge into my consciousness and lie dormant in my brain. But I disagreed, so you forced the binding."
Zhuang Li rubbed his solar plexus, his expression slightly weary. "I admit, being forcibly bound isn't pleasant, but you must be in more pain than I am, right? Because you must adjust your brain waves to be exactly the same as mine in order to successfully integrate into my consciousness. And I'm sure you've just experienced how powerful my consciousness is."
The system made a sound and then quickly shut up.
Xuan Ming almost laughed out loud. The system, so arrogant just a moment ago, now acted like a beaten, incapable puppy.
"How much energy did you consume by forcibly integrating into my consciousness? 3%?" Zhuang Li shook his head and sighed, "And the remaining 1% was wasted by your several electric shocks."
Zhuang Li spread his hands, raised his eyebrows, and smiled like a fox: "That's why I said I'm not worried about your forced binding. What can you use to wipe me out now?"
"Of course, I have considered whether your Lord God would install a program for you to automatically replenish your energy, giving you the ability to strike back. But the first time you communicated with me, you exposed your greatest weakness."
The system asked with a sad face: "What did I say wrong?"
Xuan Ming also pricked up his ears and listened.
Zhuang Li replied, "You used the word 'activate'. This indicates that before you met me, you were in standby mode. What's the purpose of standby? To save energy. Why save energy? Because you're running out of energy. In this world, you can't replenish your energy automatically. You can only wait for the host to save you."
The system whimpered.
Xuan Ming let out a long sigh. 310's IQ is truly extraordinary!
Zhuang Li nodded between his eyebrows and pronounced his sentence, "So you see, my brain isn't your comfort zone, but a prison. Once you're inside, you can't get out. I gave you a chance to escape, but you didn't know how to cherish it."
Remembering the warning the host had issued before binding, the system cried out.
Xuan Ming almost burst out laughing in front of all the shareholders. Fortunately, he covered his mouth in time and turned the laughter into a cough.
Qiao Yanan stopped speaking at the podium, looking worried.
Zhuang Li, however, didn't even glance at the "sickly" man sitting next to him. He simply declared in his mind, "Cherish this peaceful time now, system. Sooner or later, I will tear you apart with my own hands."
Xuan Ming stretched out his hand and clapped slowly.
Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful!
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