Seized by the System

After Fang Ning walked into the lift, the family of three also entered. The man pressed the “18” button.

As the door closed, the family stopped quarreling.

In the lift, on both walls of the carriage, slogans written in large letters were rotated.

“We must be friendly and harmonious. Let’s create a beautiful new home together.”

“We must possess strength and courage. Let’s face a new era together.”

The screen later broadcasted animations that were advertising something or another.

“Steps of operating a spiritually-controlled mech: you must possess guts, an eye for detail, and thick skin. Do not be afraid of trial and error. Only with repeated trials can you grasp the technical skills in the new era as soon as possible.”

“Learn to operate a spiritually-controlled mech, and you can walk out of the building and face a new era.”

“Use the management chip in your body for maximized efficiency in the new era! Cultivation, work, romance… 24-hour guidance guaranteed to help you adapt to the new era with ease!”

Fang Ning glanced towards the man. He was hanging his head, misery evident on his face. Inadvertently, Fang Ning felt sympathy towards him.

It was as Sir System said. If the System did not exist, and with his personality and career background, his life now would be alike with the man’s.

He read the slogans displayed in the lift for a while, and he had a question. If everyone had a supplement like that management chip to help, why was the man still that inept?

He was invisible, though, and he did not feel it appropriate to ask.

The lift went up, opened its doors on a new floor, and in walked another two people.

They pressed the “13” button, stood in a corner, starting to discuss a topic with fervor.

“Brother Meng, how’s using that cultivation guide going for you? I’m doing quite well. I’ve used it for a month, and now I’m on the precipice of the beginner level. If I had this management chip earlier, then I wouldn’t only discover the secrets to cultivation by now,” a young man said.

“You’re not bad, but it also depends on one’s potential. Ascending into the beginner stage is easier if you have potential; if not, everything is futile even if you have the guide walking you through every single step. The beginner tutorial of the Nine Transformation Golden Core Technique has been divided into 100 stages by the chip. I’ve cultivated the 80th stage just now,” the other young man said with a hint of glee.

“You’re Brother Meng after all. I’m only on the 73rd stage. You’re so much stronger than me.”

“Nah, nah, I just spent the time you used to woo girls on cultivation. Speaking of, this technique has been out for a long time, and many people have succeeded in cultivating it. If not for the chip injection, we uneducated guys would’ve no hope of entering the beginner level.”

The two young men exchanged platitudes while the man’s head drooped even lower.

The lift arrived at the 13th floor soon, and the two men left with linked arms.

Only the family of three left in the lift.

“Look at them! You’ve shown no progress since the fifth stage! How many centuries would you need to succeed?” the woman suddenly scolded him.

“That’s still better than you. You can’t even finish the first stage!” the man suddenly exploded, after seemingly holding in his emotions for too long.

“You! How dare you yell at me?” The woman grappled at him.

Witnessing the situation, Fang Ning hid in a corner by instinct, completely forgetting that the other three in the lift could not see an inch of him and thus harm him.

“First warning: Fighting in the lift is prohibited!” In a sudden, a mechanical voice, all dignified and terrifying, sounded from the woman’s body.

A full-bodied tremble rippled through the woman as if she had been electrocuted. She glared at the man and stopped her actions.

“Wait till we get home!” she said hatefully.

“Second warning: Domestic violence is prohibited. Rule-breakers will undergo discipline conditioning!”

The man looked at the woman with delight.

“Hmph, if it was before, I would’ve clawed your face off!” The woman did not let the issue pass. “What a man you are, still relying on this rubbish chip instead of standing up for yourself! Aren’t you embarrassed by yourself?”

Third warning: Passive-aggressive verbal attacks at the management chip system is prohibited.”

“You have already been issued three warnings in a day. Please go to the 108th floor in 24 hours for conditioning. In the case of tardiness, your body will be forcibly seized by the system!”

The man did not speak. The girl, who was inconspicuous till then, grabbed his hand suddenly. “Daddy, daddy, please pray for mercy for mummy, ask Brother Chip not to arrest her again.”

“I don’t care, let her learn a few more lessons!” The man turned his face towards the back.

The woman could only look at his turned back as she gritted her teeth. Back then, she would have given the man a good slap, but now with the chip injected into her body, she could not carry out actions like that, or she could be electrocuted…

“Big brother, big brother, help, ask daddy to help mummy.” The girl suddenly spoke, facing a corner of the elevator.

The man and woman jumped in shock, and they looked towards the corner. It was empty, seeming to have nothing there.

Then, they scrutinized the corner carefully. The air was rippling minutely as if there was really something standing there.

“Big Brother Chip, quick, help, it’s haunted!” The woman cowed behind the man and screamed.

“Calm down, calm down. The Web is connecting. A scan of the near surroundings is commenced.”

“A registered friendly cultivation powerhouse is discovered. Communication is in progress. Please do not commit any overzealous behavior.”

Droplets of sweat formed on Fang Ning’s forehead. Was his invisibility really that fallible? Even the Chinese Web could see through his disguise.

The little girl really was someone special, though, being able to spot a flaw in his disguise.

If he were another man, he would have thought of accepting her as his disciple.

What kind of person was Fang Ning, though?

Even someone with an AA grade in cultivation potential was turned away with impatience; how possibly could he consider accepting a disciple when he came upon a child with some innate talent?

A mechanical voice, one that only he alone could hear, sounded in his ear.

“The Respected Venerable Dragon God, I, Manager 1134344432, pay my respects to you.”

Fang Ning broadcasted his reply with telepathy, as he did not know where this manager was.

“Hello. I apologize, I only wanted to observe the social life here in-depth and understand the new lifestyle of the civilians.”

“Sure. Venerable Dragon God, you have S level clearance in this building. Should you have any needs, please contact us at any time. We will fulfill all of your reasonable demands,” the manager replied, deferential.

“Mm. You can leave now. I’ll only be here briefly.”

“No problem. I wish you a great time.”

In the midst of that exchange, the elevator arrived at the 18th floor.

They immediately exited the elevator. The man’s footsteps hesitated before the woman pulled him out of there.

The management chips spoke again.

“Communication complete. Please stay calm. There is no danger. Also, please obey the confidential agreement and do not relay the events of today to other people.”

The man halted in his steps and looked at the slowly closing door.

A voice in his subconscious told him that he had missed an astronomically important chance.

“Look at you, slacking off at your training so much that a little girl could see through your disguise! You really humiliated me,” Sir System snarked at him.

“I’m so, so sorry,” Fang Ning retaliated. He later handed his body to the system and dived in the system space in search of the Heavenly Book.

“Heavenly Book, baby, how many people are connected to your system mission module?” Fang Ning asked.

“For your information, Master, there are now 1342342 players connected, mostly made up of Morality City’s citizens. Some of them are the employees of the Justice League and their family.” Heavenly Book flew in the air, fluttering its pages.

“What’s in the start-up fund in which Sir System gave you?’

“There’s nothing much apart from some spells that help with the cultivation process. They’re not bad. The Concentration Ability is one of the most valuable; cultivating it can improve one’s concentration, memory, the ability of comprehension… It has an invaluable purpose in the cultivation of abilities that are more profound. Till now, there are 3000 people that have obtained the incantation through completing missions. The spreading and outside discussion of this ability is prohibited; it can only be obtained through the system’s mission stages.”

“Mm. Add that man from just now into the system space too, connect him to the mission module and assign a series of missions to him. Give him this ability as a reward.”

“I understand, Master.”

“You’re so damn soft-hearted,” Sir System ridiculed him.

“That’s none of your business.”