Chapter Seven: This Time, the Protagonist Truly Gains the System

After a long while, the rift in space gradually healed. Nightshade and the two angels stared blankly ahead, recalling Nightstar, who had just been swept into the rift, as well as the person and the fox who had followed him in. None of them knew what to say, and only then did Nightshade truly realize what had happened.

After a brief silence, Nightshade doubled over in despair, clutching his head and collapsing to the ground, wailing, “This is terrible! I went too far without realizing it! What do I do now? Where’s the time machine? Where’s the space tunnel?!”

“Calm down, calm down! Nightshade, can’t you just break open space and bring him back? If you go after him now, it won’t take much effort to find him,” Tianyu gently patted Nightshade’s back, who was lying on the ground with his head pressed against the earth, and offered this quiet suggestion.

“Great idea! I’ll go right away!” Nightshade had an epiphany and opened a swirling vortex before him, preparing to enter. But just as he did, a small, fair fist shot out of the vortex and struck him right in the eye with stunning precision.

The tremendous force sent him spinning through the air a full 365 degrees before he crashed back down, bounced once, and ended up sprawled motionless on the ground.

“Hey, Ruoxing! Don’t be so harsh on Nightshade! He didn’t mean to do it!” Out of the vortex stepped four young girls, each with a loli-like appearance. Night Snow timidly pleaded for Nightshade with one of them, though she seemed rather afraid of the girl she addressed.

Two of the newcomers were clearly twins, both with delicate, similar features; one wore a single ponytail and looked full of vitality, while the other had cascading, shoulder-length hair and a gentle, sweet smile. The girl Night Snow called Ruoxing calmly withdrew her fist.

“Hmph!” Ruoxing shot Night Snow a cold glare, instantly frightening her into covering her head and pleading, “I’m sorry! I was wrong! Please forgive me!”

“Good, then shut up! He just hurt Xingchen and tried to take her as his disciple! Does he really think we don’t know what he’s up to? I’m definitely going to teach him a lesson so he’ll understand the consequences!” Ruoxing flexed her arms as she approached Nightshade, who was still playing dead.

“Ah! I’m sorry, I won’t do it again, Lady Ruoxing! No matter what, I’m still Xingchen’s brother—please give me some dignity!” Hearing Ruoxing’s murderous footsteps, Nightshade dared not continue his act. He jumped up, begging for mercy, for in front of this person, he wouldn’t dare be arrogant. He’d already been beaten black and blue by her more than once—she was one of the people he feared most.

“Don’t be so fierce, sister. If he hadn’t stirred things up, we might have had to wait years before we could make our entrance!” The gentle girl stopped Ruoxing.

“You’re absolutely right, Ruocheng! I’ll go find Xingchen right away and make amends!” Nightshade said, hurriedly opening another space vortex and using the search for Nightstar as an excuse to escape.

“Come back!” Ruoxing snapped. Nightshade immediately froze and asked in a flattering tone, “Is there anything else, Ruoxing?”

“We’ll find Xingchen ourselves. You don’t need to interfere. From now on, you’ll do exactly as we say. Otherwise, I’ll make you regret your decision!” Ruoxing threatened him with a not-so-innocent smile.

“Yes! I wouldn’t dare argue!” For the sake of his own life, Nightshade agreed without hesitation. Off to the side, Night Snow and Long Xueyi muttered, “Nightshade is really losing face now…”

“So you want me to play the villain?” After a while, Nightshade finally understood the twins’ intentions.

“That’s right! Do you have a problem with that?” Ruoxing glared at him.

“Absolutely not!”

“Good. We’re leaving for now. You’d better behave!” With a final warning, they vanished into the folds of space.

“Whew! That was close—they’re finally gone!” Wiping the cold sweat from his brow, Nightshade let out a sigh of relief, feeling as though he was finally safe.

…

In the pitch-black void, Nightstar and Little White floated quietly. Everything around them was empty, as if nothing existed at all. In his daze, Nightstar thought he heard someone calling him. A pain like his soul being torn apart lanced through his head. Opening his eyes, he found a pair of adorable twins standing before him.

“This is our own private space. Would you like to accept our system? It will absolutely make you invincible, so you can easily flatten whoever provoked you when you return!” The girl with the single ponytail held a softly glowing ball of starlight and spoke to him as soon as he awoke.

“No! I’ll deal with that person myself. I don’t care whether I’m invincible or not. I’m not interested in systems—I just want an ordinary life with my family.” He’d heard stories before about so-called systems, golden cheats that helped protagonists rise to the top, but it never held much appeal for him.

“I remember being swept into a spatial rift, but why is Little White here?” Noticing Little White curled up beside him, Nightstar picked him up with a puzzled expression.

“That’s because after you were drawn in, he and a woman followed after you. He was lucky enough to end up with you, while the other woman seems to have been swept into another world,” Ruocheng explained sweetly, seeing his confusion.

“So C.C. is alright, then? That’s a relief!” Learning that C.C. was unharmed, Nightstar felt a bit more at ease and resolved to bring her back as soon as possible, lest she come to any harm. Given his current strength, it might be a long time before he could cross between worlds unaided.

“I really think you should accept the system. It can help you grow quickly, and your physical condition isn’t great right now. If you rely on yourself, recovery will take a long time! The system also has the power to traverse space, so you can find her sooner. Don’t worry, we mean you no harm—we’re your saviors, yours and the fox’s!” Ruocheng took the opportunity to once again suggest that Nightstar accept the system.

“I accept!” In truth, the moment they mentioned the system could let him cross worlds, Nightstar was already tempted. Hearing they’d saved both him and Little White, he had no further reservations and agreed without even asking what the system might require.

That was just the kind of person he was—he would never allow harm to come to his family and hated being threatened, but these two lolis had treated him kindly and even saved his and Little White’s lives. Such a great favor made him willing to accept any request, so long as it didn’t endanger his loved ones. His logic was simple: you saved my life, so it’s only natural that I help you in return.

“Yay!” The twins cheered and entered the glowing sphere, which then transformed into a stream of light that entered Nightstar’s forehead.