Chapter 115: 115 mission fails and absconds?_1
Wen Jiang and Zero Egg had already begun debating whether the problem lay with the System or the host.
Hua Zhuo slowly recounted what she knew. "There was something unbelievable about her. She was very popular. Nearly every man she came into contact with would fall in love with her, and women would easily feel animosity towards her." Even I was one of them back then.
Wen Jiang mentally countered, "As expected, the System is trash. To think even the Heaven’s Mandate System provides such low-grade props."
Zero Egg mentally retorted, "Nonsense! Our System doesn’t provide such trash. If all women hate her, it proves that the host herself is detestable."
"The situation took a drastic turn after she produced an SSR Card, because something... happened." At this point, Hua Zhuo paused, glossing over the specific details before continuing, "Later, the woman disappeared, and no one knew her whereabouts, until she reappeared recently."
Although Song Ji had assured her that the woman had definitely left Imperial City, this didn’t put Hua Zhuo at ease.
Her hatred for that woman wasn’t without reason. Her own legs had become like this because of that woman. It had even cut off her hopes of advancing to become a UR-Rank Spirit Card Master.
Having heard the full story, Wen Jiang had a rough understanding. It likely involved the usual romantic entanglements, because she sensed the tell-tale signs of some cliché-ridden System as soon as she heard that all men loved this woman.
The things passed down by a System like Zero Egg’s were indeed problematic.
Besides meddling in affairs between men and women, couldn’t there be other ways to earn emotional energy?
"That’s quite strange." Wen Jiang smiled at Hua Zhuo. "I haven’t heard about such a Spirit Card Master at the Guiqing Association, and there’s not even a whisper of information online."
As she reached the main point, Hua Zhuo grew somewhat agitated. "That’s the strangest part! After such a major incident, everyone seemed to have forgotten her, forgotten—forgotten why my own legs were injured! People seemed to only remember that my legs were accidentally hurt, without knowing how the accident happened, and no one pursued it. It was as if most people’s relevant memories had been erased, leaving only a few, including myself and Song Ji, who somehow still remembered."
Realizing something, Hua Zhuo suddenly looked at Wen Jiang and then covered her mouth to cough softly. "Sorry, I got too excited and spoke nonsense." If she spoke of something the public didn’t remember, it would make her sound ridiculous. She had learned her lesson from similar experiences before.
There wasn’t much surprise in Wen Jiang’s eyes; she had already roughly guessed what was going on.
When she had asked Tang Qian earlier, the answers had been very vague. She recalled the Guiqing Association having such a Spirit Card Master, but she didn’t remember many details and had deliberately avoided dwelling on any potential problems.The idea that a Spirit Card Master capable of creating SSR Cards could be forgotten by the public was, in itself, inconceivable.Wen Jiang mentally asked Zero Egg, "Does your System have an item that can reverse memories?"
Zero Egg mentally replied after a pause, "There is, but I don’t have the authority for it currently. It requires a lot of Points."
Wen Jiang mentally speculated to Zero Egg, "So, that woman must have caused some disaster, forcing her to exchange for a memory-erasing item and flee, right? Is that why she hasn’t drawn any SSR Cards all these years? Because she lacks the Points?"
Zero Egg mentally responded, "...That’s not impossible. The power required for that kind of item is quite significant. For a memory-erasing item with such a large scope, all the tasks she completed were probably for nothing."
Wen Jiang mentally asked, "Then how does Hua Zhuo still remember?"
Zero Egg mentally speculated, "It’s quite normal. People who didn’t have close contact with her wouldn’t have a strong impression, making their memories easy to erase. However, the emotional energy from certain individuals provides a lot of Points. Such people would have a very vivid, even intense, impression of the host. Erasing their memories suddenly would be extremely costly, and I guess she couldn’t afford it."
"Heart of the World doesn’t do unprofitable deals," Zero Egg continued. "For erasing memories, if one person costs 10 Points, someone of high quality like Hua Zhuo would be at least 100 Points."
A tenfold increase! How terrifying. Even capitalists would weep at such rates.
For that woman, erasing the public’s memory was more important. If too many people remembered, it would be inconvenient for her to live incognito later.The real question was why she had been in such a hurry to flee. Perhaps Hua Zhuo held the answer.
Wen Jiang only shook her head, looking somewhat disappointedly at Hua Zhuo. "Madam, comparing such a person to me makes me feel offended."
A host who botched her missions and had to flee—was such a person even worthy of being compared to me?
Zero Egg mentally chimed in, "Yeah, how can such trash be compared to you, Host?"
Ever since Wen Jiang started using ’cheats,’ Zero Egg had also become increasingly arrogant. Having witnessed a monster-level host, it naturally looked down on the more conventional types.
It was even in the mood to mentally mock the Heaven’s Mandate System, "This System isn’t all that great either. Its judgment in choosing hosts is terrible. It should be me. I could do its job."
Hua Zhuo: "..."
Where had she offended her?
Wen Jiang clapped her hands suddenly and asked, "Does her name include ’Jian’?"
Hua Zhuo’s expression changed. "How did you know?"
I’ve guessed correctly again.It seemed her premonition was right; her arrival in this world was bound to entangle her significantly with this woman, most likely in a struggle over the System.Nian Jian having fallen into my hands might be a trap intended for that woman.
Wen Jiang lowered her eyes and mentally asked Zero Egg, "What impact does a host’s death have on you Systems?"
Zero Egg mentally exclaimed, "A huge impact! It affects the System’s rating! The higher a System’s rank, the less it can afford to fail. I don’t know the exact reason, but the punishments are probably terrifying, right? That’s why they do everything possible to protect their host."
Zero Egg grew somewhat vigilant, mentally asking, "You look healthy and have a good appetite. You aren’t going to suddenly drop dead, are you?"
Wen Jiang now understood what her entanglement with this woman might be.She might want the other woman to die, and the Heaven’s Mandate System would inevitably try its utmost to protect her.
The punishment for a System failing its mission was likely even more severe than Zero Egg had described.
After lying low for twenty years, even the slowest person would know to prepare an escape route. This woman, under the Heaven’s Mandate System’s protection, must have accumulated numerous trump cards. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dared to reappear in Imperial City.
Just as she was piecing things together, Hua Zhuo was still asking anxiously, "How do you know?"
A dreadful suspicion took root in Hua Zhuo’s mind.For so many years, people around her had only a vague impression of that woman. Even those who met her would quickly forget.If Wen Jiang could bring up ’Jian,’ did it mean she knew the woman? Knew her and remained unaffected by the memory erasure?
Hua Zhuo couldn’t help but feel a growing unease.
When it came to this woman, the only person around her capable of helping was Song Ji. However, because of past grudges, she was unwilling to get entangled with Song Ji any further. It was a deeply troubling dilemma.