Chapter 42 - Getting Rid of that Bigshot (19)

translator: baumkuchen editor: glitterypanda

In the “Space Between Moments”.

Countless worlds condensed into film reels. As if with physical form, they flowed over one another, intersecting and interweaving.

They were memory fragments from hosts waiting for revenge. Even as they were played, threads of transparent energy escaped, the Lord God’s dearly coveted energy entropy.

The human brain read through these memory fragments one by one, pulsating as it absorbed the energy. Its dark red surface was subsequently coated in a thin, transparent layer of gloss, making the entire Main Brain look like a huge, glistening, translucent jelly.

The Lord God’s exclusive AI watched him for a long time, before asking, “……Are you angry?”

The Lord God sneered.

AI: “……” Looks like he really is angry.

After a long time of browsing through the many worlds, the Lord God paused its movements, inquiring aloud, “……No. 1198’s state of affairs.”

The AI searched up Chi Xiaochi’s ID number and transferred his existing information to the digital dashboard.

Host number: No. 1198

Host name: Chi Xiaochi

World difficulty level assessment: A Grade

Degree of world completion: 95 (Currently In-Progress)

Host status assessment: All functions are fine and stable, task nearing completion.

Total entropy value: 116 (Below average of 3310)

The Lord God absolutely didn’t dare to believe that last number. “……How much?”

The AI said, “116.”

The Lord God suppressed his anger, asking in a low voice, “The other values?”

The AI dutifully conducted a check, “Contractor 3399, Shen Changqing, cumulative entropy value of 0.”

The Lord God, “……”

The AI kindly asked, “Do you still want to continue to know more?”

The Lord God said, “……Continue.”

The AI, “Task target’s goodwill level towards him is 0, and regret level is 95.”

Before the Lord God could express his opinions on this, the AI said, “Wait a moment, the regret level has changed.”

The Lord God already couldn’t wait to send Chi Xiaochi into the next world, “This world is about to be completed?”

The AI said, “The current value is 85.”

The Lord God, “……”

The AI, “Wait a moment, it’s 73 now.”

The Lord God said, “……”

The reason for this, was that Chi Xiaochi had gotten up early, gotten bored, and realised that Zhou Kai’s regret level had risen to 95 overnight.

Shocked, he called 061, “Liu-laoshi, Liu-laoshi.”

As a system, 061 still occasionally needed to go on standby. After sleeping with Chi Xiaochi in the same bed last night, he naturally reintegrated into Chi Xiaochi’s body. He had been sleeping until now, before being voice-activated by Chi Xiaochi.

He didn’t have a hard time waking up in the mornings, but he hadn’t completely awoken. His hoarse voice from just having woken up teased at one’s ears, making them tickle, “What’s wrong?”

Chi Xiaochi, “Look, how come Zhou Kai’s regret level is almost full.”

061, “&#k2026;&#k2026;” What’s with this disappointed tone.

061 turned to go check it up. “Last night, because of the pain from his injuries, he didn’t manage to fall asleep before midnight.”

He’d completely fallen from grace, lost both his man and his money. He couldn’t help but think about it, and the more he thought about it the angrier he got, wanting to spit out a mouthful of old blood but was unable to spit it out. Of course he’d feel regret.

After knowing the reason, Chi Xiaochi said regretfully, “A grade difficulty, no? Feels like it wouldn’t be worth it if I didn’t take advantage of the situation.”

061, “……” May I be so bold as to ask what in the world you’re planning on doing.

Chi Xiaochi said, “I remember that regret points can also be exchanged for stuff. Didn’t you even get me a dog yesterday like that?”

061 still hadn’t fully woken up. “So……”

Chi Xiaochi said, “So show me around the shop.”

……Fine fine fine, shop shop shop.

061 took Chi Xiaochi on an early morning shopping spree.

Because regret value was the only set of data that was consulted to qualify one clearing a world, the value of the items in the regret points shop was higher, and the required value was also on the lower side.

Chi Xiaochi browsed through the shop, eventually choosing three expensive high grade cards and two medium grade cards out of the many cards available, also compiling a full set of high, medium and low grade “Brilliant Beauty” cards. It could be said that his gains were quite fruitful.

061 reminded him, “There’s only sixty plus regret points left.”

Boldly casting all restraint aside, Chi Xiaochi said, “I’ll earn it back.”

……Earn it back.

061 thought, to Zhou Kai, Chi Xiaochi must be his lifetime’s karmic retribution taken human form.

However, in the “Space Between Moments”, the Lord God flew into a huge rage.

“What’s he trying to do?” The Lord God asked angrily, “Is he picking a fight with me??”

The AI didn’t raise any objections, but thought to itself, doesn’t seem like it’s ever been stated that you can’t play like this in the rules.

In theory, Chi Xiaochi could stay in that world for however long he wanted, but regret points were hard to earn. Practically all task executors valued them as treasures, even just a one percent increase warranted careful budgeting, so the cards stocked in the regret points shop just collected dust all year, there was rarely anyone willing to waste their points like that.

Chi Xiaochi could be said to be the first to dare to extravagantly spend such large sums of regret points.

But it was precisely Chi Xiaochi who had that kind of capital.

After finishing his window shopping, Chi Xiaochi began a busy day.

He went to the hospital to visit Help once again, not for anything other than to reassure the original host that might still be in his body.

After playing frisbee with Help for a while, he received a call from a nurse from the hospital, saying that Zhou Kai was making a fuss about seeing him and asking for a lawyer.

Help arched its head into Chi Xiaochi’s chest. Chi Xiaochi ran his hand along Help’s soft, fluffy ears, saying, “Could you pass him the phone, please?”

A moment later, Zhou Kai’s hoarse voice sounded from the other end, “Surnamed Shen, get the fuck over here.”

Without a hint of hesitation, Chi Xiaochi hung up.

061, “……If you were going to hang up, why’d you even pick up.”

Chi Xiaochi hugged Help around its neck, “Precisely to hang up on him.”

061, “……”

Chi Xiaochi, “Heeheehee.”

061 felt Chi Xiaochi was sprinting towards the ultimate goal of giving Zhou Kai a brain hemorrhage.

Soon, the phone rang once more.

On the other end, Zhou Kai fumed through gritted teeth, “Shen Changqing, you fucking……”

This time Chi Xiaochi didn’t even give him the chance to get out a full sentence, firmly hanging up.

Probably because he’d realised in the back of his mind that if he kept this up he wouldn’t even have the chance to open his mouth, when he called for the third time, he finally curbed his anger by a large extent. “Shen Changqing, I have something to talk to you about.”

While Chi Xiaochi played with Help’s paws, he spoke to 061, gratified, “See, he’s finally learning how to speak like a human being.”

The Shen Changqing he was acting as spoke in an amiable manner, “I know, you want a lawyer.”

Zhou Kai said, “Yes.”

Chi Xiaochi was silent.

Seeing Shen Changqing hadn’t expressed his agreement, Zhou Kai wasn’t surprised.

He grinned, sneering, “Afraid now? Are you afraid that I’ll tell them all about how you colluded with Sam, purposefully struck me into this state, and framed me as an Alzheimer’s patient?”

It seemed like when lying idle in bed, he indeed could think through a lot of things.

This was probably an actual example of how after both feet left the ground, one’s intelligence would once again occupy the highland.

Chi Xiaochi said, “Go look for one, then.”

Zhou Kai hadn’t thought that Shen Changqing would actually agree. For a time, he couldn’t quite adapt. “……En?”

Chi Xiaochi, “Don’t understand? I said go look for one.”

Not waiting for Zhou Kai to say anything else, he continued, “However, you’ll need me to help you look. Every lawyer you meet, every word you say, will need to be examined by me first.”

Zhou Kai was silent for a long time. He laughed, enraged, “Shen Changqing, what do you mean? You dare put me under house arrest?”

“Mister Zhou.” Chi Xiaochi’s tone sounded deeply worried, but there was a shallow smile on his face. “Currently, the doctor’s diagnosis is that you’re suffering from a serious case of Alzheimer’s disease, in addition to a violent tendency to attack. This is a necessary measure in order to be able to assure the safety of the lawyers you would meet. Also……”

He raised his eyelids slightly and said, “Mister Zhou, you’d better get used to this kind of life as soon as possible.”

The great mansion was on the verge of collapse, no one would be willing to once again stand under Zhou Kai, this dangerous wall.

After Zhou Kai threw the phone down in anger, Chi Xiaochi returned to the villa.

Yesterday, Yi Song and three other servants had been given their notice to leave by Chi Xiaochi.

Early this morning, Yi Song had been the last to leave, leaving only Chi Xiaochi alone in the huge villa.

He was actually very used to this kind of life. In preparation for Help’s return, he rolled up his sleeves and cleaned up both the inside and outside of the villa all on his own, throwing out all the things Yi Song and the rest hadn’t been able to bring with them.

Maybe because everything was rushing to appear all at once, when Chi Xiaochi was cleaning, with the television turned on to serve as background noise, he unexpectedly heard a familiar voice in the entertainment news.

It was Lily, that model lover of Zhou Kai’s.

Lily, who hadn’t been seen in a long time, was having a new conference. With no makeup on, her cheeks streaming with tears, she apologised towards the public, towards Fiona, whom she insulted and towards Zhou Kai’s actual partner, Shen Changqing.

In oversleeves, holding a mop, Chi Xiaochi seriously watched Lily, who’d become extremely haggard.

She was truly regretful. At least, her current tears were a lot more sincere than the smile she’d had when doing charity before.

After she finished her speech and it became time for the reporters to ask their questions, 061 sighed, “There are definitely a lot of reporters who want to interview Shen Changqing about how he feels about this now.”

Chi Xiaochi continued cleaning, sweeping melon seed shells out from the cracks in the sofa.

They had been from when Zhou Kai was still unconscious, left by Chi Xiaochi and 061 when watching movies in the living room.

Chi Xiaochi, head lowered, said, “If I were Shen Changqing, I probably wouldn’t feel anything.”

061 thought, that’s true.

“Emotionally, she owes Shen Changqing nothing. Zhou Kai never loved Shen Changqing, and even if Shen Changqing did before, after those three years, that would have long vanished into smoke.”

061 said, “Then you would forgive her?”

After all, from the moment her remarks had been leaked, Lily had been doomed to have to say goodbye to all her public activities.

To Lily, who had only graduated from junior high school and was accustomed to earning a living in front of a camera, this was a devastating blow.

“……Forgive?”

Chi Xiaochi put down his mop and walked over to Zhou Kai’s safe. With ease of practice, he asked 061, “Open it up?”

061, “……Ai.” He opened it.

Chi Xiaochi rummaged through the contents, pulling out a title deed. “What I exposed was her racism. After she apologised, forgiving her is the public’s decision. As for her destroying someone else’s marriage, I can only say that, first of all, the house she’s living in is worth a lot of money; second……”

Chi Xiaochi held up the title deed he was holding. On it, the name filling the house owner column was, astonishingly, Zhou Kai.

Chi Xiaochi said, “She probably never imagined that Zhou Kai would be this stingy.”

During the half-day that Chi Xiaochi had been busy, the Lord God had decided on the next world for Chi Xiaochi.

Quietly inserting a small Trojan horse into 089’s random assortment system, the Lord God twisted his heart full of fury into a scornful sneer, “Ha.”

……No one would be able to leave here with the secrets of the system.

Taskers weren’t an exception, and neither were systems.

They were gears, batteries, energy sources. All they needed to do was obey.

Only when the gears were worn out, the batteries exhausted, the energy emptied, would they have the right to enter the trash bin.

If not for the existence of the supervisory body, and Chi Xiaochi and 061 not having violated any rules, the Lord God was completely capable of doing the same thing he’d done to 061 that year once again.

As of now, neither 061 nor Chi Xiaochi knew of the other’s existence. So, the Lord God intended to use the means he was most familiar with.

—— Giving him a reason he couldn’t refuse, making Chi Xiaochi willingly and gladly stay in a certain world.

The author has something to say:

Lou-ge taking his wife out to shop, to play, to mess around everywhere qwq

Tomorrow, we’ll be finishing up with this world, and starting another world~

click for spoilery part of author's note (slight spoiler for next world)

baum: speaking of entropy, tsukisuki posted a really comprehensive explanation about entropy in the comments of chapter 21! Thanks tsukisuki, it was really enlightening~ I knew about the scientific meaning of entropy, but I didn’t know it had been used in the same way in Madoka 😮

also, we’ll be finishing off this arc next chapter~ After finishing this arc, I’ll be taking a week off before starting the next arc to go through the published chapters again (since I realised the author’s edited some chaps again after I tled them orz) Thank you all for your patience in advance!