When she opened her eyes again, Ai Cao was back in the familiar system space.
The system space remained calm and peaceful, with only a spindle-shaped structure, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, located in the center of the space.
Unlike before, numerous coded tendrils emitting a soft glow extend from both its top and bottom. These "tentacles" broaden the boundaries of the spindle, making it resemble a radiant tree.
Ai Cao checked her clothes. Just like in the previous world, the clothes she wore when she left had been replaced by a simple long-sleeved shirt and trousers.
She touched the pendant around her neck, still warm to the touch; and below it, a somewhat familiar tooth.
The teeth look like... a puppy's teeth.
It wasn't a tooth that was forcefully knocked out, but rather a baby tooth that the puppy had naturally shed as it grew up. This baby tooth was white and smooth, like jade.
—Just like that fluffy little dog she had seen before.
The mugwort gazed at it thoughtfully.
She couldn't remember when Songtang had given her that baby tooth.
After all, when she left, the puppy had already finished losing its baby teeth, and Songtang shouldn't have any other puppy teeth.
She now has two "gifts" around her neck.
The belated system announcement finally sounded.
Its voice was somewhat grave: "The gift package sent by the central platform this time has not yet arrived."
Ai Cao chuckled and asked, "When did your central platform ever catch up?"
The system paused twice.
It quickly noticed the new pendant around Artemisia's neck. The white light emanating from the spindle body flickered, as if it were difficult to look directly at this fact.
It shrieked and asked, "Why are you smuggling things here again!"
Ai Cao retorted, "How can you say I smuggled myself in? There's absolutely nothing wrong with your system space!"
Artemisia continued to pressure the system: "I brought the pendant in last time, so isn't it normal to bring a little more this time?"
The system went silent.
The light emanating from the spindle body dimmed slightly.
Ai Cao asked, "Did you go ask Zhongtai again?"
The system exclaimed in horror, "How did you know?"
Ai Cao remained silent for a while. She could easily guess that the system always seemed clueless about important issues and would consult the central platform for every problem it encountered.
The system paused for a moment before saying, "The platform said they just finished fixing a few serious bugs and don't have time to deal with minor issues that don't affect operation."
Ai Cao said, "I've been curious about this for a while. You're already a fully operational system, how come you don't even have this kind of routine maintenance?"
The system's voice trembled with tears. It sobbed, "Because I lack luck... a system without luck is, for the central platform, just..."
"But this is the third world already," Ai Cao said slowly. "I know how many male supporting characters I'll kill in each world. If that many aren't enough, then... you won't be relying on me alone, will you?"
She gazed calmly at the radiant spindle-shaped body.
Then this spindle...
It went dark.
The light source in the very center of the system space disappeared.
Darkness drifted lightly down upon the mugwort.
She asked, "System?"
There was no response from the system.
Artemisia frowned.
She looked up at the sky. The area had previously been filled with the soft light emanating from the system, which had obscured the sky itself.
She was always chatting with the system and never looked up at the sky. Normally, the sky and the ground should be the same—but they aren't.
Once the sky loses its shroud and reflection, it reveals its true form.
There are stars in the sky.
Apart from the exceptionally bright star located in the center, almost directly above the head of the mugwort, and the three smaller stars surrounding it, there are only scattered, dim stars.
The starlight gently fell and sprinkled on the mugwort.
Ai Cao touched the pendant around her neck. The pendant radiated warmth on her neck, but when she actually held it in her hand, she only felt a chill.
Ai Cao tried calling out "System" twice more in her mind, but there was no response.
With her mental strength, she naturally couldn't see the scene before her.
From the pendant around her neck, thick black ink swelled up. They danced around the pendant, welcoming a ball of light that had been painstakingly squeezed out and shimmered with silver light.
After the silver light burst forth, they all circled around the mugwort. They spun faster and faster, forming a chaotic halo around her.
Then, they shot into the sky.
They blended into the brightest star.
After a moment, a pure white and soft light, completely different from their chaotic glow, descended from that star.
It landed on the dull spindle.
Although it was only a tiny glimmer of light, it fell on the spindle, causing it to shimmer and slowly brighten from its dim state.
"Artemisia? Artemisia?" the system's voice sounded hoarsely. "Are you connected? What's the signal like?"
The mugwort looked up at the sky.
As the system returned, the sky gradually dimmed, returning to a calm, unnoticed state.
In this system space, only the light belonging to the system remains.
Ai Cao said, "The signal is bad, but we've connected."
The system breathed a sigh of relief and said, "The middleware just told me that another serious bug has appeared, and we just finished fixing it... How can a serious bug affect a small system like mine...?"
Ai Cao smiled but didn't say anything.
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