Seized by the System

Fang Ning started firing up his imagination to tackle the difficulty posed by the System.

Now that Fang Ning thought about it, the System’s culinary skills were extraordinary. Its cooking was hard to forget, which was no wonder why the restaurant had managed to attract so many customers in such a short time.

However, nothing stood out in its cooking process. The ingredients used were of average quality, and although its culinary skills were amazing and it was a master at adjusting the heat to boot, there were not special skills, and master chefs could easily replicate what it did.

Ultimately, it came down to the System’s extraordinary grasp on seasoning and spices. Its combinations were godlike, and its grasp on it made it such that adding a tad more would be too much, but adding a tad less would be too little.

This was something that could not be controlled by a mere human being, as there was no possible way for a master chef to be as precise with seasoning as the System. Although it was indeed Wuxia-based, it was still a system, and precision came easy to it.

With this, Fang Ning had a new idea in mind.

“Oh System, I’ve seen through your skills. Your cooking is remarkable due to your precise grasp of seasoning and spices. Although it depends a lot on using them accurately at the right timing, a bit of difference in heat doesn’t matter. Why don’t you whip up a few different seasonings and then we can hire a few chefs to learn how to use them properly. Although their cooking won’t be able to compare to yours, it doesn’t have to, as long as it is better than our competitors.”

Once Fang Ning was done, the System answered almost immediately.

“You should’ve mentioned this earlier. The time taken these past two weeks will be deducted out of your Relief Time.”

“Yes, whatever you say is my command.”

Fang Ning thought to himself, “If it weren’t for me observing your cooking these past couple of weeks, who would’ve figured out that it was due to your grasp on seasoning? You stupid System, why don’t you know how to accumulate experience yourself?”

“It’s up to you to cut my Relief Time. I already have an Internet café anyways, although I can only download novels and video games during Relief Time, it’s more than enough to satisfy me.”

“Up till now, there hadn’t been an issue that I’ve needed to use my Relief Time on. Although there has been an issue on my mind since the System appeared, the chance to address it still hasn’t appeared yet.”

Under Fang Ning’s guidance, the System quickly cooked up various types of seasonings. It then hired a few average chefs to cook with them as a trial. After realizing that the outcomes were good, although they weren’t better than the originals, the food made was still indeed better than their competitors.

From then onwards, the System’s extraordinary cooking could only be enjoyed by Fang Ning alone while all the rest would have to settle for bootleg versions of the food. Fang Ning and the System both expressed agreement to the plan, and it was another win-win situation under the belt.

However, the very first batch of customers that had tasted the System’s food was angry beyond relief. Some even as far as to badmouth Fang Ning’s restaurant on social networking sites, saying that the restaurant had fallen steeply in quality.

Newer customers couldn’t taste any difference, though…

Fang Ning, however, had never thought that Zhao Ying would be an exception.

After the both of them had distributed the money earned these past few weeks between themselves, their pockets were extremely thick, and it was obvious enough to anyone that they no longer had to worry about money. Now, the couple of them had moved out of their rented house to rent apartments nearer to the restaurant, where they could enjoy lives away from disturbance.

However, once the food in the restaurant had been switched out with the bootleg versions and Zhao Ying had realized that she would not be able to eat delicacies, she had resorted to constantly leaving her new home to taking advantage of Fang Ning’s cooking at his own home.

If it weren’t for the System insisting that females and males should be distanced from each other and rejected her requests of co-habitation (Fang Ning himself was against the System’s decision, however), they probably would have continued staying together.

Despite so, Zhao Ying had stopped renting her new home, because of the good food and other unknown reasons, and had instead moved to the apartment right opposite Fang Ning’s.

Fang Ning was a lazy person that viewed play above all else in life, and his immunity towards beauty was quite bad too. All in all, Fang Ning was a man riddled with shortcomings.

Fang Ning had but one strong point, and that was that he was a grateful person. Zhao Ying was still someone he knew, first and foremost, although she liked flirting with rich men, she had a good heart to her and was responsible to her job as well, and she was beautiful to boot. So, Fang Ning didn’t have it in him to actually kick her away each time.

As for the possibility of his secret being exposed, Fang Ning could only laugh. If he couldn’t even hide it from a harmless female in his life, how would he hide it from strong opponents in the future?

…

A month had since passed, and in that time, Fang Ning had developed his breakfast restaurant into an all-day restaurant. Furthermore, he also now had eight chains city-wide. They’re all located within the busiest sections of the city, and were all led by bosses with respectable backgrounds who had all approached him first for cooperation opportunities. All of their proposals were detailed too, and none felt like they were forcing Fang Ning into a collaboration…

Fang Ning himself hadn’t rejected their proposals either, and now their restaurants had switched to being called “Fang’s Delicious Catering Chain”.

Fang Ning himself didn’t have to do or care for much too now. All he had to do nowadays was supply the System’s seasonings to his restaurants and reap the profit of his sales. His own sales were of course not distributed to anybody.

But this was more than enough. In the first month of business with eight busy chain restaurants, Fang Ning had managed to earn sixteen million… His business partners were happy, his workers were happy, his customers were happy, the System was happy, everybody he could think of was happy…

Within these few days however, no matter how hardworking the System was at serving justice and looting, the best loot it could obtain was merely worth fifty thousand. When further compared with how much time both sides were spending on earning money, it was obvious that the difference between both was enormous.

Fang Ning was not surprised at all, however, as history has always proven that earning money through business and trading was always more efficient than simply looting money.

Although what the System was doing right now could also be counted as some form of business and trading, due to the System’s unwillingness to increase the output of its seasonings, it was hard to earn more money.

Although the System previously worked for two hours every day cooking, nowadays during its break time it would just be cooking up the seasonings for exactly half an hour. It also didn’t help that the System would rather spend time on meditation than earning money.

And with the amount of seasonings the System was cooking now, supplying to eight restaurants is already the limit.

At least Fang Ning was the type to be happy with small fortunes, and the money they were earning each month was more than enough to satisfy his needs.

On top of that, looking at how the System was also unwilling to work harder, it was obvious that the income they were earning now was also more than enough for the System.

As to what the System actually spent the money on, it was all on materials that piled up day after day in the System Space. High quality wood, high quality leather, high quality iron, various types of expensive medicines and herbs…although Fang Ning couldn’t understand why the System was spending money on these things, at least he knew where the money was going.

Besides, the System bought everything legally, so there was no risk of being found out too. Who knows, the world could be changing as they know it, so as a newly-birthed tycoon, there was no harm in stocking up just in case, right?

Adding that onto the arrival of good news, Fang Ning couldn’t care less about the System now.

Due to the fact that they would no longer be exposed as a vigilante, and also that their income was increasing day by day, the System that had seized Fang Ning’s body had silently installed real-time connection in the Internet café situated in the System Space, using its hard-earned experience points.

Nonetheless, the System had warned Fang Ning that this feature consumed experience points, and so it was a big sacrifice for the System…

Fang Ning nodded his head while browsing the Internet, as he knew the System valued the equal distribution of work. He promised the System that he would continue using his imagination to help the System solve all its problems, both big and small.

After managing to bluff the System away, Fang Ning sneakily opened an online video game. As the game booted up, Fang Ning heaved a sigh of relief at the familiar screen.

“I can finally game to my heart’s content. No, no, I can finally draft better plans for the System. Hah, looking for information is so difficult; I even have to go onto foreign websites. At least I can look at how the foreign countries are doing, and maybe I can learn English properly too (which would make it easier for me to play foreign video games),” fibbed Fang Ning after he had accidentally revealed a tad too much.

He silently reminded himself not to speak before thinking. Although it was possible to bluff the System, he shouldn’t be bluffing the System so obviously.

Thankfully, the System was busy catching criminals and hadn’t heard what he had said. If not, Fang Ning would probably have his Internet connection severed. The System was cruel in the sense that it viewed survival as one, and it wasted no time or effort in growing stronger. Whoever that dared to look down on the System would be a fool.