Chapter 180: The System Returns

Chapter 180: Chapter 180: The System Returns

By 3:00 PM, the base chief and the others had returned to the village, fully armed for battle.

Shi Zhile found a secluded spot and used a Wish Drifting Bottle.

"Today’s wish: one Advanced Teleportation Gate."

A golden light flashed, and the wish card vanished, so quickly it was as if it were afraid of getting hit.

But the Teleportation Gate didn’t appear.

She opened her inventory and searched frantically, but couldn’t find it anywhere.

Not finding it was one thing, but when she saw that her stock of Wish Drifting Bottles—which she’d been saving for over a month—had been zeroed out, her pupils contracted and her heart nearly stopped.

"Holy shit! System, you screwed me over! Where are my bottles? What happened to my dozens of Wish Drifting Bottles?"

The sea breeze blew a mouthful of sand at her, but other than that, there was no reply.

Refusing to give up, Shi Zhile called out again, "System? System?"

"..."

"System? You damn System!"

Half an hour later, there was still no response.

Combined with the fact that the Teleportation Gate had yet to appear, a chill crept into Shi Zhile’s heart.

’Did the System get devoured by the game?’

’Or did it take my stuff and run?’

The thought of all those unused Wish Drifting Bottles made her heart ache.

If she had exchanged them for supplies, even at double the value—let alone triple—it would have been enough to last for the better part of her life.

The sun wasn’t as harsh now. With a casual wave of her hand, Shi Zhile collected the nearby weeds into her Breeding Space. The next moment, a familiar yet strange voice spoke.

[Host, I finally got through to you!]

Shi Zhile’s eyebrow twitched.

’Finally?’

"Where did you run off to?"

The cold voice carried a wronged tone. [I was captured!]

[The last time the island was upgraded to become mobile, I used up too much energy. I was planning to hibernate, but somehow I got captured.]

[If that person hadn’t suddenly grown weak today, I never would have had the chance to escape.]

’The person the System is talking about must be Jiang Yuxing. He was the one pretending to be the System when the Space Spring appeared.’

’Suddenly grown weak?’

Shi Zhile thought of the Heroic Spirits. ’Could they have been the ones who beat up Jiang Yuxing?’

Her eyes lit up, and the corners of her mouth curled upward. This thoroughly infuriated the System.

[What are you smiling at? You don’t care about me at all! Why haven’t you asked what I went through after being captured?]

Shi Zhile: "..."

The cold voice paused, then grew even louder.

[You just asked where I ran off to. I was captured for so long, does that mean you didn’t even notice I was missing?]

[I’m so far from my home world, and not only did those aliens steal my energy, but they also implanted me with a chip to control me.]

[I used what little energy I had left to grant your wishes, and you... you didn’t even know I was gone... WAAAHHH!]

The drawn-out sobbing echoed in her head, growing more and more grating to the ear.

Shi Zhile: "..."

She scratched her head, trying to block out the warbling cries, but to no avail.

"System, do you know why I didn’t realize you were gone?"

[*Hic*... What other reason could there be? You just don’t care. You must think I’m useless, but I’m actually really, really useful.]

[Before they captured me, I had plenty of energy. I was just being picky and hadn’t bound myself to a host yet. If I had, as long as she made a wish, not only would I have avoided capture, but I could have counter-killed all of them!]

Shi Zhile asked, "Then why didn’t you bind to a host?"

The voice faltered, then stammered, [I... I just thought you guys were a little weak. Not worthy of me.]

[But... but I’m not wrong! I come from a higher-dimensional world. You people have nothing here. My original plan was to secretly bind someone and spirit them away to other worlds, but then I got caught by the aliens.]

Shi Zhile: "..."

When it didn’t hear a response from Shi Zhile for a long moment, it started crying again.

[WAAAHHH! As long as I get my energy back, I can grant any wish! Really, any wish at all! I’m super strong!]

A glint appeared in Shi Zhile’s eyes.

’Any wish, huh!’

’It might be in a pitiful state, but it totally deserved it.’

"System, I actually knew you were gone. Not only did the aliens capture you, but one of them impersonated you to contact me. He even intentionally fed me false information to try to get me killed."

"I sensed something was wrong, but I was afraid they would hurt you, so I played along, trying to figure out a way to save you without letting on that I knew."

"I also intentionally avoided using the Wish Drifting Bottles. I didn’t want to drain your energy further, so I saved them to leave you with enough power to stay alive."

[Really?]

Shi Zhile nodded sincerely. "Of course, it’s true."

"Do you know why Jiang Yuxing suddenly grew weak? It’s because after I entered the instance, I begged our Huaxia’s Heroic Spirits to save you."

"To drive Jiang Yuxing away, the Heroic Spirits had to use up all of their own energy."

As she spoke, Shi Zhile covered her face and let out a few choked sobs.

It wasn’t a loud wail like the System’s, but her aggrieved expression, as if she were trying to hold back tears, was far more heart-wrenching.

The System’s crying stopped completely. Not only that, but it started comforting Shi Zhile instead.

[Don’t be sad. I’ve absorbed the energy from the Wish Drifting Bottles, so I have enough power now to help the Heroic Spirits.]

Shi Zhile kept her face covered, struggling to keep from smiling.

"But I already made my wish for the day."

[Actually, the daily wish limit is three. I don’t have much energy, so I lied and said it was only one because I was afraid you’d ask for something too big.]

Shi Zhile: "..."

This time, she didn’t have to pretend. She genuinely couldn’t bring herself to smile.

She lowered her hands, her eyelids drooping. "The Teleportation Gate I wished for still hasn’t arrived. Is it because you don’t have enough energy? Are you not powerful enough anymore?"

The System instantly flew into a rage, its voice blasting into her skull. [Who says I’m not powerful enough?! I am! The Teleportation Gate hasn’t appeared yet because the time isn’t right. There’s a delay with wishes!]

[Didn’t you say the Heroic Spirits used up all their energy? To repay my saviors, and to prove to you that I’m more than capable, I’ll grant the Heroic Spirits one wish, free of charge.]

Shi Zhile said, "Is that a good idea? You don’t have much energy to begin with, and you’re so weak right now..."

[I’m not weak! This System is a top-tier Advanced System! Once I contact my superiors and have them disable the chip they implanted, those aliens won’t be able to steal my energy anymore.]

[When that happens, this System will be the most awesome, most incredible, most powerful System there is!]

Shi Zhile: "..."

’I don’t know if any of that is true, but it’s good that the kid is confident. Plus, it’s so gullible.’ Shi Zhile decided to support and encourage it.

"Wow! You’re so powerful! I knew I wasn’t mistaken about you, System. I’ll take you to our Huaxia’s Heroic Spirits right now."

The System feigned composure, but its proud tone was more pronounced than ever. [Hmph. Go on, then! Let them all know how powerful this System is. Tell them they can make their wishes boldly and without worry.]

Shi Zhile was already on the move. She quickly sent a message to Shi Zhiyi to confirm that the Heroic Spirits were still in the village. Then, she took out the off-road vehicle she’d swiped from Debule and sped toward the village.

Ten minutes later, the vehicle came to a smooth stop at the village entrance. The narrow dirt paths inside were impassable for a car.

Shi Zhile got out and put the vehicle away. The moment she stepped into the village, the faint scent of blood drifted out from within.

The deeper she went, the thicker the smell of blood became.