Chapter 786 --786

Chapter 786: Chapter-786

The notice stated that several systems had been killed, while multiple hosts had gone missing. Among them were two particularly famous hosts whose sudden disappearance had caused considerable turmoil within the system headquarters.

All systems had been instructed to return immediately and participate in an emergency briefing regarding the incident.

Heena read the notice once more before handing it back.

"Oh, that’s all? Go ahead, then. It’s not a big deal."

The system turned to stare at her.

"...Host?"

Heena had already begun settling back against her pillow.

"What?"

"Did you just say it’s not a big deal?"

"Yes."

"But... but the notice says that systems have been killed!"

Heena paused.

Then she looked at him again.

"Yes. I read that part."

The system’s little face paled.

"S-systems can die? What about their hosts? Do the hosts die too?"

Heena considered the question for a moment.

"They might be lost somewhere, or something else might have happened. We don’t know the details yet."

She yawned.

"Anyway, go to headquarters and find out what’s going on. There’s no point in sitting here worrying about things we don’t understand."

The system froze.

Not a big deal?

How could she say something like that so casually?

Several systems had apparently been killed, famous hosts had disappeared, and the entire headquarters was calling everyone back for an emergency briefing!

Yet his host was treating it like someone had misplaced a few household items.

"Host!" he exclaimed, his voice trembling. "How can you say that it’s not a big deal?"

Heena looked at him for a moment.

Then, with an almost affectionate sigh, she reached out and lightly tapped his nose.

"You fool. Hosts die once or twice all the time. It’s not the end of the world."

The system stared at her.

Heena continued in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.

"When a host dies, the system can simply be assigned another host. There are plenty of souls who want to live, and the headquarters can find suitable candidates with strong life forces. Those souls are brought in, trained, and eventually sent out to complete missions."

She shrugged.

"From the headquarters’ perspective, losing a host isn’t necessarily a world-ending disaster. It’s unfortunate, of course, but they have ways of dealing with it."

The system’s expression grew increasingly complicated.

Heena glanced at the notice again.

"Besides, I suspect this alert is mainly because systems have been killed. That’s a different matter altogether."

The system went completely still.

After a moment, he whispered, "But... how can a system die?"

Heena didn’t answer immediately.

For a brief instant, an image flashed through her mind.

A lifeless system lay in her clenched fist.

She remembered walking toward headquarters with that dead system in her hand, her expression frighteningly blank. Her body had been disabled, and every step had required an effort she could barely afford. Yet she had kept walking, refusing to let go of what remained.

The memory appeared and vanished in the space of a heartbeat.

Heena closed her eyes tightly.

When she opened them again, her expression had returned to normal.

"Maybe it’s a malfunction. Or perhaps something else happened. We won’t know until you go back and investigate."

She looked at the system, who was still staring at her with wide eyes.

"So go and see what happened."

But the little fellow didn’t move.

Instead, he looked at her with an expression that was almost pitiful.

"Host..."

"What now?"

"What about you?"

Heena blinked.

"What about me?"

"If I leave, how will you manage without me?" His voice grew smaller. "You know how frightening it is to be stuck in a world without your system!"

This time, Heena didn’t immediately respond.

Because, unfortunately, he was right.

A system wasn’t merely a companion who provided missions, displayed information, and occasionally annoyed its host to death.

It was also the host’s connection to the world they had originally come from.

Without a system, a host could become trapped in a mission world, with no reliable way to return home.

In a sense, the system was like a key to one’s own home. No matter how far a host traveled or how many worlds they visited, that connection was what allowed them to find their way back.

And that wasn’t its only function.

Systems also provided their hosts with protective shields. Even after a system temporarily left, some protection would remain, but the shield would be weaker without the system actively supporting it.

In other words, leaving a host alone wasn’t an entirely harmless decision.

Heena sighed.

"Well, that’s true."

The system’s eyes brightened slightly, and he immediately leaned toward her.

"Right? So, Host, shouldn’t I—"

"But that doesn’t mean you can ignore an emergency summons."

His expression fell.

Heena rubbed her forehead.

"Listen, little fellow. If something has happened at headquarters, you need to go and find out what it is. If systems are being killed and hosts are disappearing, then this isn’t something you should casually brush aside."

She paused, her gaze settling on him.

"Besides, you might be able to find out what happened and come back with some useful information."

The system lowered his head.

"But what if something happens to you while I’m gone?"

Heena stared at him for a moment before reaching out and patting his head.

"I’ll be fine."

Then she added, with a faintly amused smile, "After all, if I can survive dealing with you every day, how difficult can a few days without you be?"

"Host!"

The system nearly burst into tears.

Heena chuckled before settling back into bed.

"All right, all right. I’m joking. Just go and see what the mess is about. If there’s something important, tell me when you return."

The system remained silent for a long moment.

Finally, he nodded reluctantly.

"...Okay."

Heena pulled the blanket over herself and closed her eyes.

"Good. Now let me sleep. I’m exhausted."

The system sat beside her, looking down at the emergency notice once more.

The red light had finally stopped flashing, but the message remained.

Several systems dead.

Multiple hosts missing.

Two famous hosts among the disappeared.

For the first time since arriving in this world, the little system felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold night air.

Heena, meanwhile, lay quietly beneath her blanket.

Her eyes remained closed, but the memory that had flashed through her mind refused to disappear completely.

A dead system.

A disabled body.

A journey to headquarters.

Her fingers curled slightly beneath the blanket.

Malfunction?

She had said it to reassure the little fellow, but she wasn’t entirely convinced herself.

After all, she knew better than most that systems weren’t supposed to die so easily.

And if several had died at once, there was a possibility that something far more dangerous than a simple malfunction had occurred.

Heena slowly opened her eyes and glanced at the system sitting beside her.

For now, she would let him go.

But when he returned, she intended to find out exactly what had happened at headquarters.

Because if there was one thing she had learned from traveling through countless worlds, it was this:

When something that should be impossible suddenly becomes possible, the wisest thing to do is find out why.