Chapter 297 The Diligent Emperor Used as Cannon Fodder (Part 22) Lin Youxiang...
Lin You has always been kind to people and rarely gets along with anyone, but from the very beginning, she felt a little awkward around this palace and never had a deep relationship with him.
You should know that even Xiao You, that chatterbox who sends messages to curry favor every day, Lin You would still remember to give him a fruit basket. She has absolutely no good feelings towards the palace.
In retrospect, some things were destined from the start. Of all the cheat codes her mission subjects tried, only "The Emperor's Favored Concubine" didn't continue to follow her after she left.
Was it that the palace was unaware that Chu Nanfeng's suggestion would earn more points, or was it that he considered himself superior and simply enjoyed turning those women into perfect playthings, then sending them to a man in exchange for energy?
Lin You frowned in disgust and sent the organized information to A Piao. After all, he had acted as the agent of Xiao Tiandao for a period of time and had dealt with many demons and ghosts. He was more adept at handling such treacherous matters of human nature.
Originally, the evidence needed to be examined, but because of the palace's self-exposure, he was simply imprisoned. They will wait to find out exactly what he did before making a final judgment.
Upon learning that his signal had been intercepted by Lin You, Gong Ting struggled in disbelief. Before he could say anything more, the administrator placed a restriction on him, sealing all his abilities, and threw him into a cell.
After the administrators went to investigate other matters in the palace, only the three people who were originally working in the palace remained, while Linlin was in charge of the main operations.
Linlin and Lin You hadn't exchanged many words, but they got along very well. After all, Lin You had gotten a lot of good things through him, and he had made a fortune through Lin You. They were each other's benefactors, so it was always comfortable for them to get along.
As for the palace's setup, Rinrin, who worked in the next-door position and had often helped him with his shifts, had no problem handling it:
“Youyou, although those two subsystems can be destroyed by the device here, it will cause some impact on the small world. If it is not difficult to operate, we should try to consume their energy before capturing them.”
Unlike the time when the palace did nothing and even hindered everything, with logistical support, Lin You's task became much easier.
There's no need to run around anymore to monitor the two subsystems. The areas that the subsystems can monitor are clearly marked, and the dialogue, tasks, and energy between the subsystems and the host are all clearly marked.
It's like when you're playing a game and a previously pitch-black, fog-covered dungeon suddenly has a high-definition map unlocked—it couldn't be more convenient.
After this period of time, with Murong Yu cooperating with the two hosts to complete tasks and exploit resources, Subsystem One still has 59 units of energy remaining, and Subsystem Two has 52 units of energy remaining.
These energies may seem easy to clear, but they actually become more difficult as you progress, as the subsystems also have intelligence.
Once their bottom line is crossed, and they no longer have a clear understanding of when they can reclaim their energy, they will not rashly allow themselves to freeze.
Therefore, Murong Yu suggested that Lin You cooperate with him to do something big, so that the two evil beings would think they could make a lot of money and be willing to invest.
In the days leading up to the start of the plan, Murong Yu also had to work with Lin You to smooth things over after what had happened in the palace.
Soon after, Consort Zhou, who entered the palace with Nangong Rou, was playing the zither in a pavilion when the Emperor happened to pass by and overheard her.
Murong Yu exclaimed in admiration at the heavenly music, then accompanied Consort Zhou to play the zither and chat about love. That very night, he summoned her to his bedchamber.
When Nangong Rou went to do her mission the next day, Murong Yu's attitude returned to what it had been before, as if the ambiguity of that day had never existed.
Although the rewards given to Nangong Rou were not reduced, each time she was given the same two bolts of silk and a set of jewelry.
Consort Zhou was different. The Emperor would reward her with a delicious snack, break off a beautiful red maple branch for her when he saw one in the Imperial Garden, and even personally paint a "Beauty Portrait".
Murong Yu's entire demeanor revealed one thing: he had fallen for someone else. Although he did not stop Nangong Rou from getting close to him, his mind was clearly on another woman.
Such things are not uncommon for emperors. After all, the harem consists of the emperor's women, and he can go to whichever concubine he likes.
In particular, the Empress already had a son who was being taught by the Emperor. Although no Crown Prince had been appointed yet, the Emperor had repeatedly hinted that the appointment of the Crown Prince would only be made when the eldest prince came of age.
The Empress also felt that she was getting old and didn't care which one the Emperor favored, as long as he was a law-abiding person.
She had no objections, and the other concubines dared not have any either. The entire harem reacted indifferently to Consort Zhou's favor, with only Subsystem Number One breaking through the defenses.
Nangong Rou expressed her utter incomprehension at its envy of the gifts bestowed upon it by Consort Zhou. "Those things are neither edible nor drinkable, and all together they are not worth as much as a bolt of cloth I received. What is there to envy?"
Nangong Rou played with the newly acquired headdress; its style and design were exactly the same as all the ones she had received in the past few days.
If it were a gift exchanged between lovers, it would definitely seem like a lack of thought, but Nangong Rou always treated it like going to work and getting paid, so she didn't think anything of it. On the contrary, she was happy that it would make things easier to organize and tidy up.
Moreover, she also noticed the abnormality when the subsystem obtained energy before, and roughly understood Murong Yu's hint: everything is as usual.
Seeing her nonchalant attitude, Subsystem Number One became even more vulnerable, but Nangong Rou was always more responsive to gentle persuasion than force. It couldn't threaten her, so it could only give her points and coax her to get closer to the emperor.
When Lin You returned from the military camp outside the city with Murong Yu's token, having already assigned the task, Subsystem Number One was almost completely broken.
Murong Yu started by controlling the energy transfer through Lin Youneng, and then used the subsystem No. 1 to maximize his score. If he spent two energy points on a task, it would return one; if he spent three, it would return two; and sometimes it would even break even.
This kept Subsystem One in a state of constant anxiety, as if Murong Yu would fall in love at any moment, or as if he would fall in love with Consort Zhou at any moment.
It also put some pressure on Subsystem No. 2. Feelings are built up over time. Subsystem No. 1 is already starting to make progress, but its host can't even have daily contact with the emperor.
Just when Subsystem 2 was getting anxious, it suddenly discovered a big secret at the edge of its detectable range.
A spy from an enemy country had infiltrated the capital and, thanks to his extraordinary magic tricks, caught the eye of the Fifth Prince, Murong Ke, who kept him in his residence and even planned to take him to the palace as a gift at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet ten days later.
Subsystem One's energy had been boosted to 49 by Murong Yu, and since it was in the palace, its perception range was not as far as Subsystem Two's, so it was unaware of this matter.
Subsystem No. 2 immediately realized that its opportunity had come. It is easy to feel affection for someone who has saved your life, especially since its host is quite capable.
His biggest problem now is that Li Tianle's official rank is too low; the seventh rank is simply not enough to qualify him for the palace.
This didn't stump it either. Although Li Tianle's soap was only in its early stages, it was already showing promise. After Subsystem No. 2 promised points for writing, Li Tianle finally agreed to present the item ahead of schedule.
Murong Yu cooperated by showing surprise and then asked Li Tianle what reward he wanted.
After their performance, Li Tianle was placed in a position not far from Murong Yu. Subsystem No. 2 was overjoyed and kept shouting that the host was amazing.
Then, when he was about to issue a new mission, Li Tianle, who had already privately chatted with Murong Yu through coded language, refused to help Murong Yu protect himself, citing concerns for his own safety.
After several rounds of back and forth, with the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet drawing ever closer, Subsystem Number Two gritted its teeth and finally agreed to Li Tianle's proposal for life-saving pills.
One Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill cost him five points of energy, and because of Li Tianle's request, the task he issued also gave him 30,000 points.
The reason why Subsystem 2 readily agreed to overdraw its energy was mainly because it received a message from its "master".
After several days of hacking, Xiao You was able to mimic the methods of information transmission in the palace. He sent a message to Subsystem Number Two.
The gist of it is to first criticize it for being too slow in completing tasks, proving that it is indeed inferior to Number One and utterly incompetent.
Besides, it's so useless that keeping it is a waste of energy. If there's no progress in a short time, it should just be destroyed.
Finally, as if reluctantly, he added, "Considering how long I've raised it, let's give it one last chance."
He will change the core settings of System 2, changing the fact that energy can only be obtained through love to that it can be obtained through affection, so that it can achieve results as soon as possible. If too much energy is consumed, he will help replenish it.
Subsystem Two was completely fooled, convinced that as long as Li Tianle took the knife for the emperor, it would definitely gain a large amount of energy.
Moreover, it has no way out; whether to wait for destruction or take a gamble with certainty is almost a no-brainer.
Subsystem No. 1, suffering from information asymmetry, was still urging Nangong Rou to practice her dance diligently, hoping to captivate the emperor with a single, breathtaking performance. As a result, Nangong Rou managed to gain a considerable amount of points from the system.
Initially, the subsystem only carried various cosmetic products, such as "willow-like waist," "eyes like spring water," and "skin as white as ice and bones as jade." After Nangong Rou's illusions about the system shattered, she decided not to touch these things anymore.
The other items were only diet pills, fertility pills, and a dessert skill book. One diet pill would last for ten years, Nangong Rou didn't need the fertility pills, and she didn't need to buy the dessert skill book again.
Because of these reasons, Nangong Rou lost the desire to do tasks. If she didn't need the points, why would she bother doing any tasks?
Subsystem No. 1 tried to persuade them again and again, but finally had no choice but to project the products from the main system's store onto the screen.
Nangong Rou selects and pays points, and it handles the purchases and delivers them to her. The main system's online store has everything, and everything is delivered instantly, making it even more convenient than online shopping in later generations.
This is also the main reason why Nangong Rou has been actively doing tasks recently. However, the downside of this has also become apparent: Nangong Rou is becoming increasingly aggressive in her bargaining when doing tasks.
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