Chapter 1.1

“How many bugs are there in this world?“

　　Jing Xi opened his eyes, only to be greeted by a high street.

　　However, it was a far cry from the high-rise buildings in modern cities. Here, the majority of buildings were merely three to four levels high. If one were to raise their head, all one would see was the vast dark blue sky.

　　At this moment, the glorious night sky was dotted with innumerable glistening stars, as well as three astronomical objects¹ 天体: A natural object that is located outside of Earth’s atmosphere, such as the Moon, the Sun, an asteroid, planet, or star. They form a part of our vast universe and are usually very far from us. You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astronomical_object of various sizes and colors. After watching them for a moment, he could not help asking, “What’s the name of these three things? Is there anyone living on them?”

　　Yet, a deafening silence came over his mind. 

　　“A system, like you, has stopped functioning?” Jing Xi retracted his gaze but was soon drawn to a long line queueing at a nearby window that was selling snacks. Making his way over, he casually persuaded, “Stop acting as though you have feelings. You are merely a robot.”

　　A response resounded from his mind instantly. “Are robots denied the right to work at a slower pace? Robots can experience pain too, alright?!”

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　　Kkdt Dk zywtble, “Mlzz xl, bso xwnb rykd yal usw kd? Eydv xl vs lmnbydtl psxl pryal ryavp qsa usw?”

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　　Gp y qklzeosaj pupvlx sq vbl Gexkdkpvayvksd Jwalyw, kv bye osajle yppkewswpzu qsa ulyap. Lsv sdzu bye kv dlhla alnlkhle y pkdtzl cye alhklo, cwv kv yzps alzkle sd kvp swvpvydekdt rlaqsaxydnl vs ldvla vbl alnldvzu olzz-zkjle Maydpxktayvksd Plryavxldv. Rdkvkyzzu, kv yppwxle vbkp vaydpqla oswze pwalzu wpbla kd przldesa yde tzsau, cwv obs oswze byhl jdsod vbyv vbl snnwaaldnl sq yd wdlmrlnvle ynnkeldv bye zle vs vbl nszzyrpl sq vbl ldvkal elryavxldv?

　　Mbl Pkhkdl Nsae ekpyrrlyale, yzz vbl osaze zkdlp bye elhkyvle, yde cwtp jlrv prakdtkdt wr zkjl xwpbassxp. Mbl pnalldp kd vbl Nsccu bye tsdl ale, yde vbl yzyaxp olal nsdpvydvzu tskdt sqq.  

　　Ekvbswv y xsxldv’p elzyu, vbl xydytlxldv awpble shla vs vynjzl vbl pkvwyvksd yde plde psxlsdl vs elcwt kd ynnsaeydnl okvb vbl plhlakvu sq vbl eyxytl. Gp pwnb, vblu wdblpkvyvkdtzu elnkele vs plde Kkdt Dk vs vbl osaze okvb vbl xspv cwtp.

　　Ebs oyp Kkdt Dk? Zsw xktbv ypj.

　　Tl oyp y Uzypp-F Gtldv sq vbl Slckavb Plryavxldv. Slnldvzu, bl oyp rasxsvle vs osaj okvb vbl Pkhkdl Nsae — vbkp oyp psxlvbkdt vbyv yzz vbl pupvlxp nswze dsv blzr cwv tkhl y zswe bwaayb! Rv oyp sdzu ewl vs vbl qynv vbyv Kkdt Dk bye vsrrle vbl zkpv sq “Rdekhkewyzp Gzz Fupvlxp Pkpzkjle vs Esaj Ekvb” qsa yp zsdt yp bl bye clnsxl yd Gtldv.

　　Gzz vbkp vkxl, yzz vbl pupvlxp clzklhle vbyv vblu olal yczl vs lpnyrl vbl qyvl sq osajkdt okvb bkx yqvla bkp rasxsvksd. Ywnb vs vblka ekpxyu, bl oyp ynvwyzzu cynj kd cwpkdlpp.

　　As soon as the news broke, all the systems felt imperiled and were unwilling to deal with this hot potato. In the end, all they could do was draw lots.

　　In a round of drawing lots, No. 44 struck it “lucky.” 

　　Before it had a chance to react, the management wasted no time in throwing them into this world.

　　Seeing how things had panned out, it had no choice but to resign to its fate.

　　After adjusting its state of mind, System noticed that Jing Xi showed no inclination to utter a single word after looking through the list of snack recommendations. Hence, it took the initiative to ask, “Should I talk about the storyline first or share the information about this body of yours?”

　　With his hands in his pocket, Jing Xi appeared exceptionally relaxed. “There’s no rush.”

　　Following the line, he shuffled forward and only managed to purchase their signature snacks ten minutes later. Without further conveyance, he took a bite and found it tasted pretty good. Deeming it a good start, he questioned happily, “How many bugs are there in this world?”

　　System answered, “1,048 bugs.”

　　Upon hearing that, Jing Xi’s hand, which was holding a spoon, paused in the air. “Eh?”

　　Despite its attempt to decipher his tone, System repeated cautiously, “1… 1,048 bugs.”

　　Jing Xi lapsed into silence.

　　When it came to a world of substantial size, some minor errors could be disregarded, so only pivotal moments would be recorded. That was why, there was no doubt that it was indeed astonishing for one to possess 1,048 bugs. 

　　With this in mind, he questioned, “There’re so many bugs, yet it still has yet to collapse. Is it because the galactic space is massive or the storyline is exceptionally long?”

　　System responded, “No.”

　　Bewildered, Jing Xi continued to ask, “Then…?”

　　At this juncture, System grew more cautious in its responses. “The other worlds only end in a single book, but this world that we are in stretches over a s-series of books.”

　　The moment its final words fell, Jing Xi was at a loss for words.

　　System continued, “They are ‘Wolf Taming Skills,’ ‘Film Emperor in Turmoil,’ ‘Canary on the Run,’ ‘Gossiping About That Wealthy Foundling,’ …”

　　“Get to the point,” interrupted Jing Xi, “How many storylines are there?”

　　System answered, “Six.”

　　Having heard this, Jing Xi praised, “You guys sure know how to have fun, huh?”

　　For a moment, System could not tell whether this was a sarcastic remark or not. Even so, it continued to explain, “As a matter of fact, there aren’t that many branched timelines in this world. Where we are right now is the earliest one.”

　　Jing Xi inquired, “In that case, how many bodies have you guys prepared for me?”

　　Guiltily, System answered, “Three… I think?”

　　Noticing its slight pause, Jing Xi doubted, “What do you mean by ‘I think’?”

　　System’s voice gradually grew no louder than a whisper. “One of them has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, so it is unlikely that the body will live for long.”

　　Jing Xi proclaimed, “This can only be considered as half a body.”

　　In general, agents would take up the body of characters that would make an appearance at a certain point in the storyline whenever they are out in the field. Only under special circumstances would they utilize their original body.

　　Even though they were currently in a special situation, the current world had already crumbled so much that it could no longer accommodate additional characters. One thing about utilizing the body of others — you could gain a new life when you meet your fate by signing a contract with the Administration Bureau to contribute the body for fieldwork.

　　As far as Jing Xi was concerned, an ordinary “death” was easy to deal with. However, he was at the end of his ropes when it came to terminal illnesses.

　　In other words, he had to use two and a half bodies to debug all six storylines.

　　How interesting.

　　Noticing that he was munching on the snacks unhurriedly, System simply could not figure out whether he was in a rage or not. As such, it went on to explain once more. “You can rest assured that your current body is perfectly healthy. The main issue now is that we are too pressed for time, so the only thing we can do for now is to search for several characters who have some sort of relationship with the characters in the storyline and are also willing to give up all that they have. If we are able to locate a suitable one, we can then make other arrangements.”

　　As it finished speaking, Jing Xi let out a sound of acknowledgment noncommittally and trod along the street. “Send me the first storyline, then.”

　　Since it had long been prepared for this, System reported promptly, “The first story is a romance novel, ‘Wolf Taming Skills.’ It is also known as ‘Princess’ Little Wolf,’ ‘Dancing on Your Taste Buds,’ and ‘Help, I’m Targeted by a Wolf’!”

　　In the onslaught of messy information, Jing Xi managed to pick up on the main point. “Are both the male and female leads human?”

　　System replied, “The female lead is a human, while the male lead is a wolf.”

　　Needless to say, Jing Xi hardly found its response surprising.

　　After all, this was an interstellar world. With the copious number of stars, there were bound to be non-human races.

　　Noticing his lack of response, System continued his report.

　　During her high school days, the female entered a romantic relationship with her childhood sweetheart, who had a similar family background. After sitting for their national college entrance examination, the female lead’s father fell into a coma after an accident. Without a leader, her family clan began to cast covetous eyes on the company.