Seized by the System

Fang Ning did not have many strong-suits but he did do a lot of random reading and was prone to coming up with unconventional ideas.

At that exact moment, he came up with the idea of shutting up Sir System indefinitely by demanding payment from the System and at the same time, enjoy a permanent income.

“How old are you today?” Fang Ning’s question took Sir System by surprise.

“Oh, it sounds like you are thinking about a daily wage. At least the previous host had some conscience in this matter. Let me calculate it for you. I was born in the year 2017 on the Seventh Lunar Month, which is August 28th. That was also the day I took over you. Today is March 22nd, 2019. So, the total comes to… 571 days.” Sir System realized as he calculated the days without a second missing.

“Shouldn’t you be paying me rent by now? It’s long overdue, even if you were planning to make yearly payments,” said Fang Ning solemnly.

“What? What rent?” Sir System could not believe his ears. Was this lazy bum of a host demanding rent from it?

“You’ve been living in my body for 571 days! Shouldn’t you be paying rent for every single day you are here? If you were an evil system, there won’t be anything much I can do. But a hero would never stay in someone’s house without showing some sort of appreciation, right?” Fang Ning carefully worded his argument.

“…” Sir System was speechless.

Fang Ning felt proud at that moment as he understood something about the System. Sir System was unable to move away.

The System was tied to the host, and that was it.

If a tenant found the house rental too expensive, they have the choice of moving out, which the System was unable to do…

As a hero, the System had an obligation to fairness and justice, which did not allow it to stay like a freeloader. The only way was to pay rent with labor.

The price for rental would depend on the homeowners… Conscience.

This is because there was only one owner.

“Too bad, I’m still too lazy. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to benefit so much from me,” Fang Ning shook his head.

“It’s not wise to be too reliant on others. You’re already a rich man, so let’s not be too calculative over the matter of rent, Mr. Multi-Millionaire Host. I promise not to mention my System Fee anymore,” replied Sir System in a small voice.

“Hmph, I’ll let you off this time since you’re being so honest,” Fang Ning relented.

He was very aware that without the help of Sir System, or if it decided to relax on the job, Fang Ning would just end up being a nobody.

“Mr. Multi-Millionaire Host, you do indeed have a conscience. I’ll be off to work then. Have fun…” Sir System departed with haste.

“Erm, it’s actually not so nice of me if I become the laziest host in history, isn’t it?” said Fang Ning in a faze.

Fang Ning then turned on his computer and started reading the latest novel available online.

…

A few days later, in the Sahara Desert.

The sun was shining down on a nameless lake as vapors rose due to the heat.

A muscular dark-skinned man was rowing a canoe with difficulty on the lake.

He would sometimes bend over the canoe to look into the water as if inspecting the growth progress of fish fry released into the lake days ago.

It was obvious that he was not used to the job as the black-stoned necklace around his neck fell into the lake…

He anxiously placed the oars down as he attempted to fish the necklace out from the water… Unfortunately, the lake was too deep. How was he able to fish it out?

He was prepared to jump into the lake, but a deep voice called out from within the waters.

“Young Fisherman, did you drop this gold necklace, this silver necklace or this stone necklace?”

The voice belonged to a middle-aged man with white sideburns, who appeared from the vapors.

He held a glittering golf necklace on his right hand, while his left hand grasped both the silver and black-stoned necklace.

The dark-skinned man spotted his back-stoned necklace but did not reply and instead, sized up this middle-aged man who suddenly appeared.

His eyes betrayed his greed as he suddenly picked up the oars in an attempt to viciously attack this man of trickery.

“What the…” cursed Xie Dong as he dodged the first attack and retreated into an exquisite little house beneath him.

The moment he entered the house, it immediately disappeared deep into the lake.

“%XX…NLM…” the dark-skinned man cursed loudly toward the lake.

Angrily, he continued hitting the lake’s surface with the oars.

“Bam!” Huge waves appeared on the lake following the noise.

…

“Damn it, I was tricked by that Old Man again. I’m only at Bucket-level, how am I supposed to gather information by impersonating the God of the Lake? Does he really think no one here has seen a local before?”

Xie Dong threw the three necklaces aimlessly within the small confinement of the treasure that was the House on the Sea and laid on the bed indignantly.

This was the very house he had occupied while filling up the lake that was full of traps placed by Elder Ancestor Bai. He had stayed a few months back then and was assigned this house again after accepting the current mission.

A despondent Xie Dong heard a sound coming from the lake’s surface.

This little house had a powerful function. It could detect the surrounding movement and alerted whoever was inside.

Otherwise, whoever living inside would have become deaf or blind.

“The owner of the black-stoned necklace has such wanton disregard to attempt attacking an honest person in broad daylight and under the stars! Let me teach you a lesson!”

There was a scream… Followed by the sound of something falling into the water.

“Old Man Ren was right, I am not in any danger. This new place must be one of the locations frequently inspected by the Venerable One.”

Xie Dong quickly moved the house to the surface. He had to express his gratitude immediately. As the Public Relations Team Leader, he had to grab any opportunity to connect with a Powerhouse. Of course, it would be a Righteous Powerhouse and not an evil one.

“Have a safe journey, Venerable One. Thank you for upholding justice. I will keep this black-stoned necklace I found as a reward,” he shouted toward a black dot in the sky as he wriggled his way out of the little house with the necklace in his hand.

He was not worried at all that his words went unheard. The moment he stopped talking, Vigilante A appeared in front of him.

“Hmm, you aren’t too bad,” said Vigilante A as he waved his hand, and the black-stoned necklace disappeared.

It may not be valuable but Sir System would not want to waste anything, even if it was of little value, just like how Mother Nature would not waste any resources.

Xie Dong watched on as Vigilante A left and then turned his sights on the dark-skinned man who was frantically swimming towards the shore at a distance. He shook his head helplessly.

These people were difficult to get along with!

He utilized his evolved ability to communicate the meaning of his words, which was impossible for the other party to misunderstand.

The dark-skinned man had acted that way because he had determined that Xie Dong was only Bucket-Level, which was why he attempted to snatch everything…

He was sure he made the right judgment, especially after hearing the words of the Venerable One.

In this case, there was a high possibility that immigrants of the Upper Realm would make a habit out of plundering, bullying the weak and fearing the strong.

At the thought, he hurried into the house to write his first report.

“Close Encounter with the Black Jade People”

…

Later, millions of miles away at the headquarters of China’s Truth Department.

Ren Ruofeng had suddenly stopped his work and summoned the Jade White Piglet.

It was sleeping soundly as red lights flashed rapidly from its body.

This was a relic he used to obtain information. In many ways, it was far superior to the Nets Above Snares Below.

At the very least, he had yet to witness the piglet fail in receiving messages from a long distance.

“Pig head, wake up, there is work to do.”

“Sigh, you said I could reunite with my wife. But that Big Green Insect needs her for the shop. When am I able to retire and see my wife?” the White Jade Piglet opened its eyes listlessly and replied without much enthusiasm.

“How are we to settle down if our enemies are yet to be destroyed? You were created by the ancestors of the Celestial Swine for a reason – to continue your bloodline. How can you only care about your own family and not look at the bigger picture?” Ren Ruofeng advised earnestly.

“I’ve been giving you so much help and yet I don’t see how it helps my ancestors legacy,” said the White Jade Piglet scornfully.

Ren Ruofeng drew a picture of a huge cookie and said, “You are a really short-sighted pig. The Celestial Swine already has a bloodline. If you help me with stabilizing the world, the Celestial Swine will have a place in it in the future. I will present you with a planet similar to Earth for your population. How does that sound?”

“Well, why didn’t you tell me earlier? In that case, I will give you a hand,” said the White Jade Piglet excitedly.

“Haha, this is a good decision,” Ren Ruofeng was glad about the answer. With the help of the White Jade Piglet, there will be no need to burn midnight oil and compromise his health.