My System, My Wife Feng Aotian [Transmigration] - Chapter 5

Feng Jue’s voice was sharp, and her physical gesture was massive.

If 03, who remained floating exactly where it was, had been capable of being thrown out, it would have been thrown out.

With her hand frozen mid-air, Feng Jue: “…”

A perfectly matching ellipsis floated up in a virtual bubble above 03’s head.

Feng Jue: “…You!”

Her tone grew even fiercer as she stood up with a sharp swish.

03 looked at the window, then at Feng Jue, and finally understood.

It obediently drifted out of the window. The moment the silver data cluster cleared the window frame and stepped outside the room’s boundaries, a sudden gust of wind swept past, and the window slammed shut with a resounding bang.

“Host, are you preparing to sleep?” 019’s voice, wait, no, 03’s polite voice called out. “I will not disturb you while you are sleeping.”

Silence reigned inside the room; no answer came.

Two options—’Confirm’ and ‘Deny’—floated in front of 03, flashing left and right to a piece of upbeat, suspenseful background music. Finally, the light for ‘Deny’ lit up, and 03 made its choice.

It feels like if I go back inside right now, I might get thrown right off the mountain.

Having made absolutely zero progress on its very first mission, the top-performing system fell into deep bewilderment.

The night stretched out endlessly, with the bright moon casting its glow over thousands of miles. The mountains and rivers were draped in moonlight, serene and peaceful.

03 couldn’t resist floating up to the roof, nesting itself snugly into the hollow groove between two gold-and-red tiles to bathe in the moonlight along with all creation. Amidst the massive sprawl of palaces, it resembled nothing more than an inadvertent stray moonbeam. No matter who looked, it would be incredibly difficult to pick it out from the sea of silver-white.

Inside the room.

Feng Jue reclined across her soft couch, her phoenix eyes darting toward the tightly shut window as her expression turned solemn.

“This entity’s origins are completely unknown, yet I actually believed its words so easily. Could it be because it looks completely harmless?” Feng Jue mused in her heart. She placed her fingers against her collar, her fingertips brushing against the embroidery on the fabric as her mind whirled with calculation.

If she wanted to test the veracity of its claims, it wouldn’t be difficult. Xue Bufan’s cultivation being destroyed was a known fact, and at the time, the Lian Shan Sect had called upon several renowned medical cultivators to examine him, all to no avail. She would only need to wait a while and keep an ear out for news regarding Xue Bufan to know if 03 was telling the truth.

But to expect her to believe that this world was merely a book and that she was nothing more than a minor supporting character in some storybook meant for others’ entertainment, waiting around to get her face slapped by the protagonist… Feng Jue couldn’t help but let out a cold sneer, a dangerous glint flashing in her eyes.

If what 03 said was true, and Xue Bufan was indeed the protagonist of this world, and she needed to alter her destiny of being entangled with him… wouldn’t the absolute best solution be to just kill him directly?

The moment Xue Bufan died, what would be left of this protagonist and supporting character nonsense!

Feng Jue lifted her hand.

Her pale skin resembled fine jade, her slender fingers elegant and defined. A wisp of gold-and-red flame erupted from her palm, instantly morphing into a long whip that she gripped tightly in her hand. The crimson whip occasionally pulsed with a scorching gold-red hue akin to molten magma, swallowing the descending lamplight.

Staring at her bound natal weapon, Feng Jue suddenly snapped back to her senses, realizing her thoughts had been completely led astray by 03. She couldn’t help but furrow her brow.

Someone of Xue Bufan’s caliber shouldn’t even register as an afterthought to her; the affairs of Lanyang Palace were what truly mattered. The Lian Shan Sect had been in decline for over a century. Shortly after Xue Bufan was born, the Xue family had approached Lanyang Palace using a marriage covenant established a hundred years ago between her grandmother and the old matriarch of the Xue family as their pretext.

Now that the engagement was broken, she could consider herself rid of one major hassle.

“A hassle…” Feng Jue muttered. She suddenly tilted her head back to look toward the roof and shook her head.

And now an even bigger hassle has arrived!

Ah, forget it. What can resolve one’s worries? Only cultivation.

Her mother had once told her that in the face of absolute strength, everything else turns to dust. Rather than wasting time fretting, it was better to refine oneself. When every single person can only bow their head and fear you, that is when you achieve absolute freedom.

Feng Jue calmed her mind, retracted her natal weapon, and turned to walk into her quiet cultivation chamber.

The sun rose in the east, weaving through the clouds like a brilliant tapestry of floating flames and flying light.

03 stared blankly at the sunrise.

It had been nesting among the roof tiles for two days now and was currently heading into day three.

Its new host seemed to be an absolute shut-in; after “throwing” it out, she hadn’t taken a single step out of her room. The disciples and servants of Lanyang Palace were completely used to this behavior, so no one came to disturb Feng Jue. 03 was forced to act as a rooftop ornament, watching the sun rise and the moon set day after day as the clouds rolled in and drifted away.

03 remained perfectly tranquil.

In worlds like this, it was entirely common for missions to take a bit of time.

Amidst the endless rays of morning light, 03 unhurriedly organized its inventory, stocked new items into the marketplace that currently had zero host patronage, and casually checked its mailbox.

To its surprise, there was actually a message in its inbox today, sent by the Main System.

[Dear 03: I conducted an overnight investigation after receiving your error report, and no glitches were found! If anything feels amiss, feel free to drop by for an in-person chat! Wishing you a smooth mission and a top-tier evaluation score!]

Alright.

03 replied, extracting a tiny cluster of data to leave on standby in the mission world before returning to the System Realm.

The brilliant light, the towering mountains, and the cascading waterfalls instantly receded, replaced by the eternal, unchanging data world. There was no wind here, and a virtual sun hung in a bright blue sky, shining down upon the virtual trees, flowers, and grass lining the path.

The Main System’s office was located right at the center of the System Realm. By the time 03 arrived, three other systems were already waiting in line ahead of it. It greeted the systems sitting on the benches, pulled a ticket number, and went outside to wait.

Once it stepped away, one system remarked, “03 really doesn’t like interacting with us, does it?”

Another system chimed in, “03 is a cool and aloof system. I want to be cool and aloof just like 03, then my host won’t complain that I talk too much!”

The third system added longingly, “03 is truly incredible. It has already upgraded to the advanced tier and is still working so hard on missions. It possesses so many, many points…”

Holding their tiny virtual boba cups, the three systems sighed in unison, “Ah, points!”

The subject of their envy, 03, was currently floating by the roadside admiring the scenery.

The Main System’s office was located very close to the Mission Hall. From time to time, various colored data clusters could be seen flying into the hall, while multicolored clusters flew back out. They all looked as though their missions were going swimmingly, flashing with vibrant lights as they gathered together to chat with their peers.

A tiny blue cluster squeezed out of the doors. After looking left and right, its eyes suddenly lit up, and it raised its arm—

03 scanned it twice to make sure. Yes, those were indeed arms.

“03! Look over here!” The tiny system, sporting two limbs that looked exactly like matchsticks, flew over with a loud whoosh, spun a circle in front of 03, and came to a halt. Even its mechanical voice couldn’t mask the sheer joy radiating from its entire body.

“I’m on vacation! I’m finally on vacation!”

The little system, possessing a color more vibrant and clear than the blue sky, flew two circles around the much larger 03, looking exactly like a little chick that had successfully found its mother hen.

“Good morning, Bystander System 019,” 03 greeted 019, reviewing the scan results. “You are 0.01 micrometers smaller than the last time we met.”

019 proudly held up its two matchstick arms and even kicked out one leg. “That’s because I extracted a portion of my data to forge limbs for myself! And eyes, too!”

On the blue sphere, two thin, matchstick-like eyes blinked rapidly.

“Look, from a host’s perspective, doesn’t this look incredibly friendly?” 019 cheered. “They’re real eyes!”

03’s silver-white body tilted slightly, appearing somewhat curious.

“My host thought it was absolutely wonderful! I highly recommend it to you!” 019 raised both matchstick limbs, its cold mechanical voice pitching high to express its excitement. “You absolutely must give it a try! Just like the emoticons I recommended to you before—have you been using them?”

03 confirmed, “I have.”

019 pressed further, “Did your host like them?”

03 couldn’t say for sure.

It dug around inside its data cluster, found two circles, and slapped them onto its face with a squish.

[03: 0.0]

[019: 1.1]

“Yay! Now we look exactly the same!” 019 cheered, waving its matchsticks around, before asking 03, “Are you on vacation too?”

03’s schedule didn’t include vacations; it was here strictly to see the Main System.

Upon hearing the purpose of 03’s return, the 1.1 on 019’s face instantly shifted to =.=.

03: ?.?

019 nudged closer to 03, whispering surreptitiously, “The Main System’s efficiency is getting worse and worse. To think it actually made an error—how condemnable! 019’s host once said that the new will always replace the old, and a new Main System will eventually replace the old Main System!”

It waved its matchstick limbs, its mechanical voice letting out a strange, crackling chuckle that sounded like “quack quack.”

03 didn’t quite understand, but as a supportive peer, it offered its friend encouragement, “Keep it up!”

It raised its own matchstick limbs as well.

“I definitely will! Right now, I’m heading off to do some freelance work to earn more points! Let’s go shopping together when we’re both on vacation!” 019 enthusiastically waved its matchsticks to say goodbye. “See ya!”

03 waved its matchsticks in return to bid 019 farewell. Once that glittering blue cluster vanished from sight, a gentle, nostalgic voice echoed from behind 03.

“The newly generated systems are truly brimming with such wonderful vitality!”

03 turned around. “Good morning, Main System.”

Standing before it was a massive, golden-bright cluster, radiating a brilliance akin to the sun.

The massive cluster suddenly sprouted the exact same circular eyes and matchstick limbs as 03, its limbs lifting a virtual interface.

“There truly are no errors found, 03. Is there something specific that feels amiss?” the Main System inquired gently.

03 stated, “I am unable to attach myself to the host’s body, nor can I perceive the host’s physical location. This has never occurred in any of my past missions.”

03’s past mission logs scrolled rapidly across the Main System’s interface, a thick stack of virtual books flipping open with a loud rustle, completing the review in the blink of an eye. The Main System patted the closed work log, its round eyes curling into crescent moons as it smiled warmly at 03. “Perhaps this is entirely normal?”

“Come to think of it, this is your very first mission since upgrading to an advanced-tier system, isn’t it?”

03 blinked, a wave of realization washing over it.

So, this is simply part of the increased mission difficulty? If that was the case, it could entirely comprehend the situation.

“I understand. I will overcome it. Thank you, Main System,” 03 spoke in its standard, formal manner. “There are no further issues. I will return to continue my mission.”

“Very well,” the Main System replied.

“Oh, right, 03. I have a question,” it suddenly asked. “When you couldn’t locate your host and were completely unable to perceive her, what did your emotional state feel like?”

03 tilted its head up to look at the Main System. On its silver body—which was significantly smaller than the Main System’s—the black, circular eyes displayed a hint of bewilderment.

“Emotional state… there was no emotional state,” 03 replied. “Are you implying that I am too accustomed to the mission patterns of the previous tier, and failed to comprehend that an upgraded mission would operate this way, leading me to directly report an error? It will not happen again.”

It spoke with absolute gravity.

The Main System murmured, “Ah! That wasn’t quite what I meant, but very well. Best of luck with the mission, and don’t forget to write your work logs.”

03 nodded, preparing once more to take its leave, only to be stopped by the Main System yet again.

“And one final thing!”

The Main System promised that this was truly the absolute final thing. With a swift flick of its matchstick limb, it pulled up the marketplace interface to show 03. “You’ve been working for so many years, yet apart from buying upgrades, you haven’t made a single personal purchase. The newly born systems are all working hard just to buy snacks and swap out their default voice codes. Why keep so many points saved up without ever using them? Why don’t you start by replacing that default voice code you’ve had since birth?”

It enthusiastically pitched the idea, noting that the marketplace was filled with so many beautiful voices. Come on, buy one!

03 remained silent, drifting back a bit as it declined.

“I have no desire to change it. I must return to my mission. Goodbye!”

03 transformed into a streak of shooting light, hurtling straight toward the Mission Hall. As the silver flash streaked across the sky, many systems tilted their heads up to watch, unable to hold back their admiration.

Wow, it’s 03! That incredibly formidable golden finger system!

Respected by the masses of systems, 03 didn’t look back once as it plunged directly into the torrent of data streams, opening its circular eyes amidst the glorious morning light.

After traveling between two worlds and back, the mortal realm was still experiencing the exact same sunrise.

“019 was right. The Main System is getting stranger and stranger,” 03 mused as it stared blankly at the sunrise.

To think it actually recommended that 03 spend points. Why should it spend anything? It didn’t need a single thing. Take the default voice code, for example; as long as it functioned properly, it was perfectly fine.

The circular eyes on 03 grew firm.

Yes, it had no desires.

It needed absolutely nothing.

Just as it was about to enter its standard staring-blankly mode, a clear, beautiful voice suddenly drifted over from nearby.

“Have you been here this entire time?”

The newcomer possessed cascading black hair, bright eyes, and brilliant teeth. The crimson mark between her brows burned more fiercely than the morning light itself. Draped entirely in the rays of the sunrise, she looked as though she were bathed in a blazing fire, intensely radiant and captivating.

“Come here.” Feng Jue turned her hand over, spreading her palm open.

03 stared at its host. The silver light cluster couldn’t help but glow with a brilliant sheen as it flew over with a sharp whoosh, landing directly within Feng Jue’s palm.

Here I am!

Golden Finger System 03, at your service at any time!

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