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"I was just joking, just teasing you guys." With the farce over, Qu Shiyao finally gave an official explanation in a nonchalant manner.
Although Jin Yuxi was "invited" aside by bodyguard Tan Zhendong, her eyes were still fixed on Qu Shiyao, fearing that this ancestor might say something shocking again.
"Is it really just a joke?" Lin Weiwei asked skeptically, her gaze shifting back and forth between Qu Shiyao and Jin Yuxi.
"Of course." Qu Shiyao shrugged, glancing at Lin Weiwei with a slightly teasing tone.
"Senior Lin, if we really had some shady relationship, things wouldn't be so simple. I might even drag you into it. After all, we're good colleagues. I'll enjoy the good times, and you'll take the bad ones!"
Lin Weiwei thought the first half of his statement made some sense, but when she heard the second half, her face immediately darkened, and she gritted her teeth and said, "Whether you have good fortune or bad luck, you should bear it yourself!"
"Sigh~ I'm so sad~ So many years of colleagues, just like that, gone~"
Qu Shiyao sighed, grabbed a tissue from the table, and pretended to wipe away non-existent tears.
Lin Weiwei was disgusted by Qu Shiyao's pretentious behavior, but she knew that getting entangled with Qu Shiyao would only make things worse, so she simply turned her head away and ignored her.
Who knows if continuing this conversation will lead to speculation that she and Qu Shiyao have some kind of unusual fetish?
Seeing that the commotion had subsided, the others returned to their workstations and sat down.
"By the way, what news did you say you found out?" Qu Shiyao sat down and then remembered that the system seemed to have just returned to report.
The system, having just finished processing the chaos, quickly replied:
[It's news about rebirth! Didn't I say last night I'd look into similar cases? I checked the recorded cases of rebirth in various novel worlds over the past fifty years, and there are five in total!]
Its voice carried a hint of anticipation.
Qu Shiyao didn't look at it, but simply nodded: "Hmm, what exactly is the situation?"
System: [...] So love really does disappear, doesn't it? Not a single word of praise is given!
But it's alright! It was prepared!
[Host, you don't know! These five cases were incredibly difficult to investigate! I didn't even have time to rest and recharge all night, contacting colleagues everywhere, and finally managed to gather all the information. I rushed over to tell you as soon as possible...]
It began to describe at length how it had "poured its heart and soul into it" and "worked day and night without rest."
Qu Shiyao couldn't help but chuckle, and in the end, she indulged its little wish, feigning surprise as she played along:
"Really? You found such hard-to-find information? Our system is amazing! You didn't get any rest that night, are you very tired? Do you want to go recharge?"
[Oh, it's not that amazing~] The system was flattered by the praise. [Compared to other systems, these things are hard to obtain, but what can I do? I'm A06! Call me Sixth Brother!]
After boasting for a while, it finally returned to the main topic, satisfied:
[Alright, let's get down to business. These five cases are all a bit different, so I'll give a brief overview. Which one would you like to learn more about, and I'll elaborate.]
The system's tone became serious:
[The first case takes place in a post-apocalyptic world. The mission taker transmigrates into the body of a female supporting character, while the reborn individual in the story is a major villain from the original novel.]
[The key point is that this villain's rebirth occurred before the mission taker transmigrated into the book! His rebirth accelerated the process of the apocalypse.] The system emphasized this point.
It briefly summarizes the results:
The mission takers discovered this reborn individual later in the story, through subtle clues and discrepancies with the original narrative, while investigating the truth behind the apocalypse. Of course, the villain was ultimately defeated by the combined efforts of the original male and female protagonists.
"Reborn before the plot begins... immediately accelerating the overall process... and still ending up being wiped out by the protagonist group." Qu Shiyao pondered, feeling something was off.
"What conclusion did they reach after reporting to their superiors?"
The official response they received was: the world in the book has unusual rules; it is not a purely original world, but rather a derivative work.
The system read the screenshot sent by its colleague aloud word for word and provided a helpful explanation.
[The original novel was incredibly popular, spawning numerous derivative works. One of these was about a reader who fell in love with the villain's good looks and wrote a reincarnation story for him, and the unfortunate character was unfortunately transported into this derivative world.]
Although the villain ultimately died, the world's foundation changed, causing her mission to fail. As compensation, she was reassigned to another world. The system sighed as it finished speaking.
Fortunately, this novel is an old work, and there are few derivative works.
However, to be fair, her own host always does whatever she wants and never follows the plot. It was only recently, because a reincarnated person appeared, that she reluctantly went to look at the original work.
"The second case." Qu Shiyao finished asking what she wanted to know and signaled the system to continue.
[The second case is a pure romance novel world with an insectoid background. The mission taker is a full-time player...] The system flipped through the information for the second case.
"Full-time worker? Am I a part-time worker?" Qu Shiyao raised an eyebrow, hearing this term for the first time.
"Full-time users refer to human spirits who choose to remain within the mission world system, specifically to complete various missions issued by the main space," the system explained.
[Typically, after successfully completing their first mission, newcomers choose to sign a ten-year contract to become full-time. After the ten-year term, if they don't want to continue, they can choose to retire in a world they prefer.]
[Full-time characters have many types of tasks, no longer solely relying on novel ratings and collections.]
Then it pushed up non-existent glasses and added definitively: "Of course, host, you're clearly not the type to stay."
Qu Shiyao remained noncommittal, but her expression suggested that the system had guessed correctly.
[The reborn individual in that world is the protagonist, a young captain in the Ministry of Defense. After being rejected by a straight male mission taker, he was attacked by a starship during combat and was then reborn...] The system narrates in a serious tone.
"He's straight? Then why would he choose a Zerg romance novel???" Qu Shiyao thought this was even more absurd than the case itself. What straight man would actively choose this kind of genre?
"Oh, that's because he has an unreliable system." The system's tone was tinged with schadenfreude.
[That mission taker had been stuck in the ancient world for a while and wanted a change of pace, so he asked his system to find a novel with a space setting. The result was that he was sent into this pure romance novel...]
Qu Shiyao: "...6." She could only silently wish that senior's chrysanthemums well.
After finishing its statement, the system didn't forget to put one down while praising the other: "Host, look! I told you our systems are different! I would never do something to betray you!"
"So what's the reason that the main character was reborn?" Qu Shiyao suppressed her strong urge to gossip and steered the conversation back on track.
[That guy has a special identity; he's a hybrid of Zerg and human. Zerg possess an energy core that can unleash tremendous power.]
As the protagonist, his energy core mutated, granting him the ability to reverse a portion of time, which led to his rebirth.
The system provided a relatively reasonable explanation.
"This reason sounds plausible. What about the other three cases? Are they all similar, with clear reasons and similar explanations after being reported?"
Qu Shiyao felt that listening to each one was a bit time-consuming, and wanted to focus on the key points.
The other two involve a futuristic, high-tech world, falling under the categories of technology and grueling work, and are theoretically plausible. However, the last one is very strange.
The system quickly browsed the last three cases, highlighting the last one.
"What's strange?" Qu Shiyao immediately grasped the key point, leaned forward slightly, and pricked up her ears.
[The case itself seemed perfectly normal, just a standard rebirth novel trope, but the tasker reported an anomaly in the rebirth process, which then reached higher management...]
"Most importantly, that mission failed!" The system's tone was also tinged with confusion.
“Explain this seemingly normal case in detail.” Qu Shiyao keenly sensed that the problem might be hidden beneath this seemingly normal appearance.
The system nodded and retrieved the materials shared by the colleague:
[It's a rebirth novel with a fantasy setting, featuring the realms of immortals, demons, and monsters. The person tasked with this mission is a full-time character, and a highly experienced and influential figure in the entire main space; this is a special mission she has received.]
It paused for a moment.
This mission is classified; all that's known is that it involves destroying something. The protagonist, a powerful figure, transmigrated into the body of a demon's saintess. In the original story, this character was one of the cannon fodder caught in the crossfire of the protagonists' earth-shattering love story…
Qu Shiyao silently complained: It sounds like that "we love each other, but we bring disaster to the three realms" trope again.
[What's special about this original story is that the female lead is reborn! For the sake of peace in the Three Realms, she uses forbidden techniques to change her coveted Jade Purity Body into an ordinary physique, and then goes off to have a peaceful romance with the male lead.]
Qu Shiyao frowned slightly.
It does sound like a very typical reborn female protagonist story, but...
"What did the mission taker do inside? Why did she report this rebirth that seemed to fit the plot?"
She felt she had gotten a little closer, but it wasn't clear yet; she needed more information.
Because of the mission, I don't know exactly what she did. As for why it was reported, my colleague who leaked the information didn't say explicitly; he only hinted that my mission handler should be able to guess some clues.
The system grumbled somewhat disgruntledly, "Honestly, I'm the one who knows you best, the system!"
"I think I'm starting to get a clue."
Qu Shiyao pondered for a moment and asked, "Do you know exactly what the Jade Purity Primordial Body is? Why does it make the Three Realms so envious?"
[The Jade Purity Primordial Body is an extremely rare innate Dao body.] The system was reviewing the novel's setting information.
Those who possess this physique do not need to cultivate deliberately; their strength will naturally increase over time, and they will inevitably become the ruler of a realm. There are even rumors that they may break through the void and pursue ancient divine relics.
"This physique was simply replaced, but who was it given to? And what did the person who obtained this physique do with it?" Qu Shiyao's eyes narrowed, her brain racing.
Unfortunately, she wasn't on that mission, so we can only speculate and can't know the specific details.
The system was still somewhat puzzled: "Host, what does this have to do with the rebirth of our world?"
"Did the first case you mentioned occur before or after the last case? Has the main space investigated what initially caused the incorrect delivery?"
Qu Shiyao did not answer directly, but instead asked a new question in a hurried tone.
Seeing Qu Shiyao's solemn expression, the system realized that things might not be simple and quickly searched for information:
The last case is much earlier than the other four, occurring approximately forty years after the first case, and roughly forty-seven years before our current timeline.
Regarding the cause of the erroneous delivery, the main space has been investigating, but it suddenly stopped three months ago without releasing any results.
Qu Shiyao fell silent.
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