Chapter 70: With a reward of one hundred billion, do I still need to make a wish? ...
"Traveling around China?!"
When they heard Ling Shu's decision during dinner, the Sheng family was somewhat surprised.
Sheng Zhujun reacted the most, jumping up from her seat and eagerly agreeing: "Ahhh! I want to go too!"
Sheng Yunqi, who was standing next to him, promptly poured cold water on the situation: "You have twelve meetings, three negotiations, and two speeches in the coming week."
Sheng Zhujun's joyful expression froze instantly, and she was completely taken aback.
Damn it, when will this beastly life ever end!
She turned to glare at Sheng Yunqi with exasperation: "Brother, this is where you're wrong. We're all children of the Sheng family. Shouldn't you share some of the burden with your poor sister?!"
Sheng Yunqi's expression grew even more serious: "I have five meetings tomorrow, and I also have to accompany Ruomeng to her prenatal checkup. How about we switch?"
Sheng Zhujun promptly sat back down: "It's not worth it, thank you."
As for Qin Hong, she won't be able to play any more games. She's about to go on a business trip to the United States, which will probably last at least three months.
Su Ruomeng is experiencing severe pregnancy symptoms and lately doesn't even want to leave the house, let alone go out for fun.
The whole family sat together, but they couldn't even muster a third person to go out and have fun.
Sheng Zhujun leaned against Ling Shu with an unusually melancholy expression: "Shushu, have fun, have fun without worry, have a good time, make sure I get my share too. By the way, have you decided where you want to go?"
Ling Shu smiled: "We might go to the beach first."
Sheng Zhujun said "Oh", looked up at Butler Wang, and waved her hand weakly: "Uncle Wang, we have many houses by the sea. List them out and let Shushu choose one."
Butler Wang nodded, then produced an iPad from who-knows-where and presented it to Ling Shu like a treasure: "Miss Ling, please take a look. Do you prefer the sea to the north or the sea to the south? Do you prefer a 270-degree sea view room on a cliff, or a sea view from the 99th floor, or a seaside hot spring villa with a private beach right outside your door? If none of these satisfy you, we also have three islands to choose from. Each island has beaches, coral reefs, and lagoons..."
Ling Shu was completely dumbfounded.
She swallowed hard: "These... all belong to the Sheng family?"
"Mmm."
Unable to go out and have fun, Sheng Zhujun replied with little interest, "My second brother only has two hobbies: investing and buying houses everywhere. He's the one who bought all of these."
After a pause, Sheng Zhujun added, "But he was so focused on buying that he didn't have time to live in any of the houses. I estimate he's never even been to at least two-thirds of them."
"ha."
Ling Shu took the iPad and began selecting items with great interest.
The more I choose, the more conflicted I get; every choice is so interesting.
She couldn't help but tease Sheng Yun Shen: "Your taste is indeed excellent, especially with these islands, I like them all. Now I can't choose, should I go to this one or this one?"
Sheng Yun Shen chuckled: "Why don't we all go?"
In fact, he had never been to any of them.
"First, go to the largest island, Glass Island. This island is connected to the mainland by a bridge, making transportation convenient, and the beaches are very clean. After you've had your fill of Glass Island, you can go to Star Island. Don't be fooled by how small and far Star Island is; you need to take a seaplane to get there. The coral reefs and lagoons around it are absolutely stunning, in no way inferior to the Maldives."
"After we've had our fill of fun on Star Island, let's go to North Island together. There's a natural hot spring on North Island that I didn't let them develop, so you can experience soaking in a wild hot spring."
Ling Shu thought his itinerary was very reasonable.
"Okay, it's decided then."
Liuli Island, Xing Island, Beidao Island, beaches, coral reefs, lagoons, hot springs...
Vacation mode officially activated!
-
Having not had the magical experience of "going out to play" for several years, Ling Shu was in high spirits today and kept discussing the specific strategies for going out with Sheng Yunshen. The two chatted until very late before falling asleep.
After she fell into a deep sleep, Sheng Yun Shen whispered in his mind, "Reset to zero."
"Reset" was the code name for that mechanical male voice.
With that call, Sheng Yunshen's consciousness rapidly withdrew, returning once more to that vast and boundless world.
Zero transformed into a ball of light, replacing the original Doomsday Clock, hovering in front of his consciousness, flickering with a chaotic and disordered halo.
Its voice remained as emotionless as ever: "Have you thought it through? Do you want to accept the reward or not?"
Seemingly afraid that Sheng Yun Shen would try to negotiate with it again, Gui Ling immediately added, "My patience is limited, and I will not give you any more time."
Sheng Yun Shen smiled slightly, not frightened by its words.
"At this point, are you still trying to trick me? Zero, if I refuse your reward, I'm afraid you won't be able to explain yourself to the mainframe, will you?"
As non-human program code, its intention to return to zero is all too easy to understand. After a few brief probes, Sheng Yun Shen had already figured out all of its bottom lines.
Given its aversion to him, it initially refused the reward and could have simply left. However, contrary to its usual behavior, it patiently listened to his charade and even helped him implant the memories of the apocalypse into all the Zhao family members in order to prove its strength.
There's definitely something fishy about someone being so easy to talk to.
It's likely that the mastermind gave it a strict order to deliver this "reward".
Zero paused for two seconds: "...Cunning humans, I really despise them."
It was accepted by default.
Not only did it tacitly agree, it even tried to persuade him, "Look, what a powerful person the Disruptor is. She should be shining brightly in the post-apocalyptic world and making a great contribution to saving all mankind. If you selfishly leave her here, she can only be an idle rich housewife, taking care of her comatose husband and living an empty life."
Is this really what you want?
"Once the troublemakers are gone, you too can awaken and reclaim your 'throne.' Sheng Yun Shen, dare you say that deep down, you feel no stirrings of desire?"
"With the scientific methods available in this world, it is absolutely impossible for you to regain consciousness. If you give up this time, you will be stuck in a vegetative state forever."
Gui Ling's words carried a deliberate threat, but Sheng Yun Shen remained completely unmoved, calmly replying, "I refuse."
"reject……"
Gui Ling paused for two seconds, seemingly unable to believe what he had just heard.
It suddenly raised its voice, its tone distorted with urgency and anger, "Sheng Yun Shen, you're a madman! Do you know what you've refused?"
Sheng Yun Shen chuckled: "If the reward is unreasonable, of course I have the right to refuse it."
Zero broke down: "How could there be such a fool as you among humanity, willing to sacrifice the chance to stand up again just to keep the troublemaker. You clearly know she doesn't belong to this world, Sheng Yun Shen. You've only been together for three short months, yet you're willing to make such a huge sacrifice for her?"
Sheng Yun Shen did not answer his question, his tone indifferent: "You wouldn't understand. In short, I give up, please leave."
From the very beginning, he never considered accepting this condition.
Gui Ling remained silent for a few seconds, then said curtly, "I can give you some more time to think it over—"
"Reset to zero".
Sheng Yun Shen interrupted it, "Just tell me, what are the two reward options the mainframe gave us?"
It suddenly realized what was happening, its voice abruptly stopping, replaced by rage: "Cunning human, you tricked me!"
Sheng Yun Shen laughed again.
Yes, he was bluffing. He just felt that since the mastermind said it was going to give a "reward," there should at least be some sincerity, right? If it only brought a solution that he could never accept, how could it be worthy of being called a reward?
It has to be said that zeroing out is incredibly easy to scam.
"Tell me, what are the two options? Tell me both, and maybe I'll choose one."
Zero, furious, exclaimed, "Cunning humans! Despicable humans! I cannot understand why the mainframe admires you!"
After hurling insults, it still gave in, replying in a flat tone, "Two options: First, you recover your health and stand up again. The price is to send the troublemaker back to its original timeline."
"The second option... you can choose to give up and transfer the reward to the disruptor. The trade-off is that the disruptor can freely choose the reward."
Sheng Yun was deep in thought.
There's no need to bring up the first option again; he would never accept it.
The second option feels a bit strange. It's fine for him to transfer the reward to Ling Shu, but Ling Shu can freely choose the reward, so why is it described as a "cost"?
Zero's next words answered his doubts: "As long as it's within the mainframe's authority, it can make it happen for the disruptor. This includes sending her back to her original timeline, creating a unique and perfect man for her, or even granting her the most prestigious status..."
"The troublemaker is only staying with you now because she has no other choice. If you transfer the reward to her, perhaps she will fulfill her deepest desire and leave you without hesitation."
Sheng Yunshen suddenly realized.
So the so-called "price" was aimed at him.
In the eyes of the mastermind, giving Ling Shu an uncontrollable wish was the "price" he had to bear.
Without a moment's hesitation, he replied, "Okay, I choose option two."
Before Gui Ling could finish speaking with great enthusiasm, he was interrupted by Sheng Yun Shen's reply.
Its voice trembled slightly, "Are you sure? Are you really not going to reconsider? Sheng Yun Shen, aren't humans the most selfish species? Why are you being so foolish?"
Is it stupid?
Sheng Yunshen didn't think so.
His voice held a relieved smile. "Please convey my gratitude to the mastermind."
Although he didn't know the true purpose behind the Mastermind's reward, Sheng Yun Shen was very happy to receive it.
This time, he finally had the chance to do something for Ling Shu.
"Are you sure? Even if she might choose to leave you, you're still going to give her this incredibly precious opportunity?"
I'm genuinely a bit confused about going back to zero this time.
"You will regret it. After she leaves you and you lose everything, Sheng Yun Shen, you will definitely regret it."
"Since you insist on doing things your own way, fine, then I will grant your wish and give this reward to Ling Shu."
The sound of returning to zero faded away, and the world gradually disappeared before Sheng Yunshen's eyes.
"The day you regret it, I will definitely come back and laugh at your stupidity."
-
The next morning, Ling Shu got up and immediately began packing her things with great enthusiasm.
With Butler Wang's help, she didn't need to worry too much; she just needed to bring the things she was interested in.
“The caregivers Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi need to come along, along with a monitor and commonly used medications, an electric wheelchair, and a manual wheelchair, just in case.”
"Bring all his usual clothes, and um, take a few extra sheets too."
She was standing outside the ward, telling the maid what she needed to bring.
Actually, Ling Shu didn't have much to bring; it was mostly Sheng Yun Shen's things.
Just as she finished speaking, Chen Zui came up from downstairs and looked at Ling Shu earnestly: "Sister Ling, please take me with you. I can protect you."
Previously, when Old Zhao led mercenaries to attack the Sheng family, Chen Zui wanted to stay on the ground to help Ling Shu, but Ling Shu did not give him the chance.
Now that Ling Shu is going out to play, Chen Zui feels she has to keep up.
Ling Shu glanced at his face, smiled, and agreed, "Okay, let's go together."
She tilted her head, a hint of slyness in her eyes. "But I've also invited Mengxing to play with me. If you're going to come along, you're not allowed to argue with Mengxing again."
Chen Zui pursed her lips: "..."
What's going on? Guan Mengxing is going too?!
The thought of that impulsive and loud woman gave him a headache.
However, for Ling Shu's sake, he could tolerate anything.
"Okay, Sister Ling, I promise to stay far away from her and not argue with her."
There's no need to do that.
Before she could say another word, Chen Zui had already turned and left, going downstairs to pack her things.
She stared at the stairwell and sighed wistfully.
"Dog, you hate Guan Mengxing now, right? Right?"
Upon hearing Guan Mengxing's name, Chen Zui's face instantly darkened by two shades.
This is absolutely awful!
Sheng Yunshen sighed, "I think so. However, let's give them some more chances. If their relationship still can't improve this time, then let's give up."
Ling Shu also sighed.
Love is truly a mysterious thing. Two people who were so in love in the original book can now dislike each other and even find it annoying to hear each other's names.
"Yes, this is the last chance."
The apocalypse didn't come, but it changed many people's fates. Whether Guan Mengxing and Shen Zui are still destined to be together is probably up to fate.
Just as I was feeling down, my phone rang; someone was calling.
Ling Shu stared at Li Yin's name on the screen, slightly taken aback.
After parting ways at the Zhao family a few days ago, Li Yin did not contact her. Even when the news of the attack on the Sheng family spread, he did not call her immediately.
She answered the phone: "Li Yin?"
“Ling Shu…”
On the other end of the phone, Li Yin stood by the window. Hearing her voice, he couldn't help but smile slightly. "I heard you're planning to go on a trip. I recently bought a nice seaside estate. You could... take Sheng Yun Shen with you to try it out."
Ling Shu smiled and politely declined, "The itinerary is already arranged; we'll be visiting several islands. Thank you for your kind offer."
Li Yin lowered his eyes to look at the scenery outside the window, his expression somewhat lonely: "Ling Shu, I want to help you, but it seems like I don't have much of an opportunity."
That night, after hearing that Old Zhao had escaped, he immediately gathered his men, wanting to rush to the Sheng family to protect Ling Shu.
He didn't call Ling Shu, knowing she would definitely refuse.
He also knew that with Ling Shu's abilities, she could definitely handle everything.
But Li Yin still wanted to try, just in case something unexpected happened, just in case Ling Shu suddenly needed help, just in case his preparations came in handy...
But by the time they arrived outside the Sheng family manor, it was all over.
Li Yin stood at the street corner, watching the flashing lights on the police cars at the manor gate, and hesitated to move.
His assistant, standing beside him, asked, "Mr. Li, should we go in and check on the situation?"
Li Yin withdrew his gaze and shook his head: "No..."
He slowly turned around, a sense of indescribable loss and loneliness filling his heart, his voice turning cold and heavy, "...Let's go."
That night, the Li family came in a hurry and left quietly, without disturbing the Sheng family. Ling Shu was completely unaware of this.
Li Yin felt that things between him and Ling Shu had always been like this, always just a little bit off.
He always wanted to do something for her, but he never had the chance.
Ling Shu said, "Li Yin, you don't owe me anything. On the contrary, you've helped me a lot, and you've helped the Sheng family a lot too. Yun Shen and I are very grateful to you."
Li Yin smiled and didn't continue the discussion: "Okay, have fun."
After hanging up the phone, he stood by the window, frozen like a statue, motionless for a long time. After what seemed like an eternity, a low, indistinct murmur finally broke the silence.
"...You like Sheng Yun Shen, why? And...is he really worthy of your affection?"
-
Five days after Ling Shu became Ling Qianyi, Ling Shu and Sheng Yunshen's island trip officially began.
They planned a month-long trip, visiting three islands and staying on each island for about ten days. The first island was called Liuli Island, which has a cross-sea highway. They first flew to Haicheng and then drove there.
Besides Ling Shu and Sheng Yun Shen, Guan Meng Xing and Shen Zui, along with caregivers Xiao Jia and Xiao Yi, also went together.
Early in the morning, Sheng Zhujun stood at the door, reluctantly seeing Ling Shu and the others off, waving goodbye with tears in her eyes: "You must have a great time, including me, have a good time, waaaaah!"
Ling Shu leaned out of the back seat and waved to Sheng Zhujun: "Don't worry, I'll send you the photos."
"Yeah, remember to make my brother look handsome in the photos!"
Sheng Zhujun thought for a moment and then said, "Oh, it's okay, my brother is good-looking, he looks handsome no matter how he's photographed, waaaaaah."
"Okay, okay, I guarantee the photos will be super cool!"
Ling Shu said goodbye to Sheng Zhujun, and the car turned the corner, getting further and further away from the Sheng family manor.
She turned around, looked at Sheng Yun Shen sitting beside her, and smiled as she reached out to trace his eyebrows and eyes. Yun Yun was right; Sheng Yun Shen was handsome no matter how you looked at him, and you would be amazed whenever you saw him.
However, when she caught a glimpse of the two people in front of her, their atmosphere tense, Ling Shu's lips twitched, and her smile faded considerably.
Immersed in driving, Guan Mengxing sat in the passenger seat. The two of them were like two snowmen, radiating a chilling aura, not saying a word, not even glancing at each other.
Ling Shu: "..."
It's suffocating.
She coughed, trying to ease the tension: "Mengxing, you see, Chenzui is still driving pretty well, isn't she?"
They just kept praising it.
Guan Mengxing hummed softly, "Yeah. That's good."
It sounds sarcastic and strange.
Chen Zui responded, "I heard that Miss Guan also has a driver's license, so she must drive quite well."
His tone was stiff and unyielding, not at all like someone being humble.
Guan Mengxing: "Not at all, I'm definitely not as skilled as you."
Chen Zui: "You flatter me, you flatter me. Miss Guan, you don't need to be so modest."
Guan Mengxing: "Ha."
Intoxicated: "Hmph."
Ling Shu: "…………"
The two of them didn't argue, which was quite considerate of her.
But this is hardly better than arguing!
In this eerie atmosphere, the group boarded the private plane arranged by Butler Wang and flew towards Haicheng.
On the plane, Sheng Yun lay down, secured with straps to avoid turbulence.
Guan Mengxing leaned on Ling Shu's shoulder, listening to her recount the tense and exciting night of the Zhao family's attack. She clenched her fists excitedly: "Damn it, I wish I could have been there and kicked that old bastard Zhao away!"
He sat opposite her, seemingly asleep with his eyes closed, when he suddenly spoke softly, "He has a gun."
Guan Mengxing glared at him: "Mr. Chen, please note that I just used the word 'want'."
He opened his eyes, his dark pupils devoid of emotion: "Oh."
Guan Mengxing smiled and said, "However, I heard that Mr. Shen was also at the Sheng family's house that night, and he hid the whole time. Was it because he was afraid of guns?"
Chen Zui curled the corners of his lips: "It's fear, not as commendable as Miss Guan's courage."
Guan Mengxing: "Ha."
Intoxicated: "Hmph."
Ling Shu: "………………"
Are you two some kind of duo? Why do you always end everything with "humph" or "ha"?!
She stood up and decided to have a glass of champagne to calm herself down.
Just as Ling Shu sat down at the bar, her vision suddenly blurred.
Her consciousness was extracted, and she found herself in a boundless wasteland, with a ball of light floating in front of her.
The sphere of light emitted a mechanical male voice that sounded profound and unfathomable.
"Hello, disruptor."
Ling Shu: "Huh?"
She reacted quickly, "You're Zero?"
Sheng Yun Shen had described this place to her, and upon seeing the ball of light and hearing its sound, she recognized it immediately.
Gui Ling paused for two seconds, seemingly incredulous: "Sheng Yun Shen told you everything?"
Sheng Yun Shen really dares to say anything, even telling Ling Shu about the reward?
"Ah," Ling Shu said, "He said he should thank you for the Zhao family's matter."
Returning to Zero, he asked again, "What about the reward?"
Ling Shu asked curiously, "What reward?"
Guiling did not answer immediately.
It seems that Sheng Yun Shen only told Ling Shu about its existence and did not mention the two reward schemes.
Since Sheng Yun Shen didn't speak up, it certainly wouldn't speak for him.
It simply said, "To thank you for your efforts in correcting the world line, the mainframe has decided to reward you by allowing you to have one wish granted. Any wish that is within the mainframe's capabilities can be granted."
He paused, a hint of confusion in his voice, "Any wish, including returning to the original world."
It was actually hoping that Ling Shu would make this wish.
If Ling Shu leaves, it really wants to see what Sheng Yun Shen's expression will be.
It's going to be amazing; just thinking about it makes me excited.
"In that world, you have family and friends. Don't you miss them? Don't you want to go back and see them?"
Ling Shu seemed thoughtful: "You don't know my identity. It seems your authority is limited, and you can only handle matters within this world."
She comes from a post-apocalyptic world and has long since lost her family and friends. If Zero knew this, he certainly wouldn't have used these things to tempt her.
"So, if I wanted the end of my world to happen, could you do it?"
Zeroing out: "..."
Humans are so annoying; they found its flaws after only a few words.
"...Sorry, I'm correcting my description; it only applies to the current world."
The so-called "sending her back" is actually just banishing her consciousness from this world, "bounced" back to the world she originally belonged to. Zero's authority is limited to the world Ling Shu originally belonged to, and he cannot perform any operations there.
Ling Shu said with some regret, "Oh, okay."
She then asked, "I hope this world will always be peaceful and tranquil. Can you do that?"
Zeroing out: "…………"
As expected of the woman Sheng Yunshen cares about, she's just as difficult to deal with as he is.
Its tone was firm: "Eternity is an immeasurable unit, one that even the main brain cannot precisely control; I cannot do it."
It tried to guide her: "You need to say a wish that can be definitely fulfilled, such as having a hundred billion, becoming a princess of a certain country, or..."
"You have twenty handsome men who are loyal to you."
"Hmm..."
Ling Shu fell into deep thought.
"If you have a hundred billion, do you still need to make a wish?"
Ling Qianyi expressed his confusion.
Zeroing out: "".
Damn it, I chose the wrong example.
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