In just 120 seconds, Shang Yechu's heart was pounding and his head was throbbing, as if someone had put an iron hoop around his skull and was tightening it.
The physical pain was far more pronounced than the mental anguish. Shang Yechu didn't feel particularly agitated; instead, she felt more anxious and had a headache. Far from being able to empathize with Xiao Yue, she felt she should go to sleep.
"Is this self-harming method of getting into character the true essence of Method acting?"
Shang Yechu was taken aback.
103 said coldly, "Although you may not care, I still have to state that the exchange ratio between weight and health value for overall physical improvement is 1:1; but if we're talking about a specific organ, the exchange ratio is 1:100. If you make yourself deaf, you'll have to eat 100 kilograms of food without sleep to repair... and treat it."
Shang Yechu didn't speak; instead, she fell into a strange silence.
103 continued, "Although I have no hope, I would like to ask, is it because you think what I said makes sense that you are not answering me?"
Shang Yechu suddenly slammed her fist down: "How could I have forgotten about you!"
103: "?"
Shang Yechu ripped off her headphones, tossed them aside, sat down cross-legged, and said, "You can talk, but can't you sing?"
Almost instantly, 103 understood Shang Yechu's meaning: "You want me to simulate the 'mute woman' in your mind?"
“That’s right.” Shang Yechu’s eyes lit up. “The soundproofing here is terrible, and the music plays on repeat all day, disturbing the neighbors. Before I even feel anything mentally, my ears start to hurt. But if it were you, both of those problems would be solved!”
103 refused without hesitation, saying, "I'm only responsible for the weight exchange; the rest is not within my scope of duties."
Shang Yechu patiently explained, "Only I can hear your voice. Even if it plays on repeat for a hundred years, it won't bother anyone. Your voice is directly injected into my mind, without going through my ears. Even if it's played at a hundred decibels, it won't have any effect on my physical health."
"No." 103's tone left no room for argument. "This is a matter of work principle."
Machines are different from humans. Human principles are flexible and changeable, but the principles of machines are engraved in data and are unshakable.
"Then why did you create a virtual account for me before?"
“If your scheme against Yang Huanyi is exposed, your entire career will be over. I'm only covering for you because of the security required for the mission. But if you don't take on this role in 'The Mute Woman,' it won't have much of an impact, and you won't be blacklisted.”
He is completely unresponsive to reason.
Shang Yechu had no choice but to give up on persuasion and started to take a more practical approach: "How about I exchange my weight for the amount of time you play music in my head?"
103 paused for a moment.
103 retrieved Shang Yechu's numerical panel and displayed it in front of Shang Yechu.
Name: Shang Yechu
Age: 20
Weight: 49kg
Height: 169cm
IQ: 140
Beauty rating: 90
Health value: 81
Combat strength: 80
Temperament: 60
...
...
The numerical panel was actually very long, with numerous and complex entries. Shang Yechu carefully read through it several times and found that some values were completely useless, such as "humor value" and "horror value." If an actor's performance was designed to make the audience laugh or terrify, their acting range would be severely limited, something Shang Yechu hadn't even considered. Other values were long strings of obscure symbols that Shang Yechu couldn't understand at all. When he asked 103, they simply said it was a language unique to the system and useless to humans.
The business is still in its early stages; trying to do too much at once will only lead to failure. Shang Yechu usually only focuses on the first few stats. It's been a long time since he's thoroughly reviewed this panel.
103 quickly slid down the panel, a flurry of data and light streams flashed by, and after a long slide, the panel stopped at the last column.
Last column:
[Other: 0]
"Others?" Shang Yechu read the two words aloud.
“This section is exclusively for human mission takers,” 103 explained. “Humans are always troublesome, and there are always many unexpected situations that even the system cannot precisely categorize within a certain range. All tricky and unmanageable situations are classified as ‘other’.”
To put it bluntly, it's just a fallback option.
"If I exchange this 'other value', can you play music in my head?" Shang Yechu immediately understood what 103 meant.
103 wasn't sure either: "Weight can only be converted into your own value... but I'm currently inside your body, so I can also be considered part of your 'self,' so it's really hard to say. You can try converting one kilogram first."
Shang Yechu exchanged one kilogram of his own money.
103 quickly made some adjustments and after a while said, "Okay. One point of 'Other Values' can be exchanged for 12 hours of music playback time. Once it's used up, it's gone."
It sounds like some kind of unique music player that charges by the second, or perhaps a personal, exclusive version.
Shang Yechu immediately made a decision: "Alright, start playing it now. Don't stop unless I tell you to."
"Just those noisy tracks from your playlist?" 103 confirmed. "How many decibels?"
Shang Yechu was about to say yes, but then she picked up her phone and carefully looked at the script.
“No, no music.” Shang Yechu shook her head. “The mute woman’s singing is far less rich than music. The more monotonous and boring it is, the better.”
Shang Yechu opened a video website, browsed around, and captured a few crow calls from a short video about birds.
"This is it," Shang Yechu decided. "These bird calls will be played on a loop until I say stop."
"As for the volume, an old lady can't sing at the top of her lungs all day long. It's fine to keep it a little lower than the normal volume of a person's speech."
After confirming 103, he quickly recorded the crows' cries in the video and began playing them in Shang Yechu's mind.
"Gah—Gah—Gah—"
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