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

Feng Jue’s voice was fierce, her hand gestures dramatic.

If 03, still floating in its original spot, had been thrown out, it would have been thrown out.

Feng Jue, her hand frozen mid-air, stared.

A bubble with an ellipsis floated above 03’s head, perfectly matching the scene.

“…You!” Feng Jue roared, her voice even fiercer as she shot to her feet with a swish.

03 glanced at the window, then at Feng Jue, and understood.

It obediently drifted out the window. The silver data blob barely brushed the window frame as it crossed the room’s boundary, when a gust of wind slammed the window shut behind it with a bang.

“Host, are you going to sleep?” 03 asked politely. “I won’t disturb you while you’re sleeping.”

The room was silent, no reply.

Two options floated before 03: Default and Deny. They flashed left-right-left-right to an urgent rhythm, and finally the Deny light lit up. 03 made its choice.

If I go back in now, I’ll probably be thrown off the mountain.

03, which hadn’t made a single bit of progress on its first mission, felt utterly lost.

The night stretched endlessly, the bright moon illuminating a thousand miles.

The mountains and rivers were draped in moonlight, tranquil and serene.

Unable to resist, 03 drifted onto the roof, nestling in the hollows between the golden-red tiles, basking in the lunar glow alongside all living things in the mountains. Amidst the vast palace complex, it resembled a careless streak of moonlight, nearly invisible against the silvery-white expanse.

Inside the chamber, Feng Jue reclined on the soft couch. Her phoenix eyes glanced at the tightly shut windows with a grave expression.

“This thing’s origins are murky, and I foolishly trusted it. Was it because it seemed harmless?” Feng Jue pondered inwardly. Her fingers traced the embroidered patterns on her lapels, her eyes deep in contemplation.

Verifying its authenticity wouldn’t be difficult. Xue Bufan’s crippling was real; even the Lianshan Sect’s Medical Cultivators had been unable to diagnose his condition. Waiting for news of Xue Bufan’s condition would confirm 03’s claims.

But to believe this world was a book—that she was merely a minor character in a story meant for amusement, waiting to be humiliated by the protagonist—as 03 put it—Feng Jue couldn’t help but scoff. A dangerous glint flashed in her eyes.

If 03’s words were true, and Xue Bufan was the world’s protagonist, wasn’t the best way to escape her fate entangled with his simply to kill him outright?

Now that Xue Bufan was dead, what difference did it make whether someone was a protagonist or a supporting character?

Feng Jue raised her hand.

Her fair skin, as smooth as jade, framed slender fingers. A strand of golden-red flame surged from her palm, transforming into a long whip that she gripped in her hand. The crimson whip flickered with magma-like heat, swallowing the falling light.

Staring at her lifebound magical artifact, Feng Jue suddenly snapped back to reality, realizing her thoughts had been led astray by 03. She couldn’t help but frown.

Xue Bufan and his ilk had never mattered to her; Lanyang Palace’s affairs had always been paramount. The Lianshan Sect had been in decline for centuries. Shortly after Xue Bufan’s birth, the Xue family had approached Lanyang Palace, citing a marriage pact made a century prior by her grandmother and the Xue matriarch.

Now that the pact was broken, she had finally shed a troublesome burden.

“Trouble…” Feng Jue muttered, suddenly glancing up at the roof and shaking her head.

Another major problem had arrived!

Enough. What can dispel worries? Only cultivation.

Her mother had once told her that before absolute power, everything is dust. Rather than fret, one should focus on self-improvement. Only when everyone is forced to bow in fear will one truly possess absolute freedom.

Feng Jue calmed down, put away her lifebound magical artifact, and turned to enter her meditation chamber.

The sun rose in the east, its rays igniting the clouds in a vibrant display of fiery hues.

03 stared blankly at the rising sun.

It had been holed up among the roof tiles for two days, now entering its third day of confinement.

The new host seemed to be a shut-in, never leaving their room after “throwing” 03 out. Lanyang Palace had grown accustomed to this, and no one disturbed Feng Jue. Forced to remain on the rooftop as mere decoration, 03 spent each day watching the sun rise and set, the moon wax and wane, and the clouds gather and disperse.

03 remained calm.

In this kind of world, prolonged missions were commonplace.

Amidst the ten thousand rays of dawn, 03 methodically organized its backpack, restocked the unvisited Shop, and checked its mailbox.

Surprisingly, today’s mailbox contained a message from the Main System:

[Dear 03:]

[After receiving your error report, I conducted an overnight investigation but found no issues! If you encounter any problems, feel free to request a face-to-face meeting with me! Wishing you a successful mission and excellent evaluations!]

Best regards,

Main System

Understood.

03 replied, leaving a small data cluster behind to maintain presence in the Mission World, then returned to the System Realm.

The dazzling light, towering mountains, and cascading waterfalls vanished instantly. They were replaced by the unchanging sea of data that was the System Realm. Here, there was no wind; a virtual sun hung in the azure sky, illuminating the simulated trees and flowers lining the paths.

The Main System’s office was located at the heart of the System Realm. When 03 arrived, three Systems were already queued ahead. It greeted the Systems seated on the benches, took a number, and waited outside.

After it left, one of the Systems remarked, “03 doesn’t like to interact with us, does it?”

Another System said, “03 is so aloof. If I could be as aloof as 03, my Host wouldn’t complain about me talking too much!”

A third System chimed in, “03 is amazing! Even after upgrading to Advanced status, it’s still diligently completing missions. It has so many, many points…”

The three Systems, each holding a small milk tea cup, sighed in unison, “Points…”

Meanwhile, the object of their admiration, 03, floated by the roadside, enjoying the scenery.

The Main System’s office was right next to the Mission Hall. Data orbs of various colors frequently flew in and out. They seemed to be completing their missions smoothly, glowing brightly as they gathered to chat with their companions.

A small blue orb squeezed out of the door, looked around, and its eyes lit up. It raised its arm—

03 scanned twice to confirm: yes, it was definitely an arm.

“03! I’m here!” The little System, holding two twig-like arms, whizzed over to 03, circled once, and stopped. Even its robotic voice couldn’t mask the sheer joy radiating from its entire being. “It’s a holiday! I’m on holiday!”

A small system, its color brighter than the blue sky, circled around the much larger 03 twice, like a chick who had found its mother.

“Good morning, Generic System 019,” 03 greeted, glancing at the scan results. “You’ve shrunk another $0.01$ micrometers since we last met.”

019 proudly raised its two matchstick-like arms, even balancing on one foot. “Because I extracted some data and crafted limbs for myself! And eyes!”

On the blue orb, two long, matchstick-like eyes blinked rapidly.

“See? From the host’s perspective, aren’t they quite… relatable?” 019 said. “They’re eyes, you know!”

The silver-white orb tilted slightly, seeming genuinely curious.

“My host absolutely loves them! You have to try them!” 019 raised its matchstick arms, its cold, mechanical voice rising in excitement, as if that could convey its enthusiasm. “You have to try them! Just like the emoticons I recommended before—did you use those?”

03 confirmed, “I did.”

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

03 wasn’t sure.

It found two circles in the data cluster and stuck them onto its face with a plop.

03: 0.0

019: 1.1

“Yay! Now we look the same!” 019 cheered, holding up a toothpick. “Are you off work too?”

03’s schedule had no breaks; it was here to see the Main System.

Hearing 03’s purpose, the 1.1 on 019’s face immediately turned into.

03: ? ?

019 sidled up to 03 and whispered slyly, “The Main System’s efficiency is getting worse. It’s even making mistakes now! Let’s condemn it! My Host once said that new things will always replace old things, and a new Main System will replace the old one too!”

It raised the toothpick and emitted a mechanical, creaky laugh.

03 didn’t understand, but it offered its Friend System support. “Good luck!”

It also raised its toothpick.

“I will! Now I have to go work part-time to earn points! Let’s go shopping together when we’re both off work!” 019 waved enthusiastically with the toothpick as it bid farewell. “See you later!”

******

03 waved goodbye to 019 with its matchstick limbs. After the sparkling blue ball of light disappeared, a gentle voice came from behind it, full of admiration: “Newly born systems are truly full of vitality!”

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

Before it stood a large, golden ball of light, shimmering with sunlight.

Suddenly, circles and matchstick limbs like 03’s emerged from the golden ball. The matchsticks raised a virtual panel.

“Is everything really alright, 03? Is something wrong?” the Main System asked gently.

03 replied, “I can’t parasitize within the host’s body, nor can I sense the host’s location. This has never happened before in previous missions.”

The Main System’s panel scrolled through 03’s mission logs. Thick virtual pages rustled and flipped through in the blink of an eye. The Main System patted the closed logbook, its round eyes curving into crescents as it smiled at 03. “Perhaps this is normal?”

“Come to think of it, this is your first mission since being upgraded to an Advanced System, isn’t it?”

03 paused, then suddenly understood.

So this is part of the mission’s difficulty level? If that was the case, it made sense.

“I understand now,” 03 said solemnly. “I will overcome this. Thank you, Main System. There are no further issues now. I will return to continue my mission.”

“Good,” the Main System replied.

“Oh, 03, I have one question,” it suddenly asked. “When you couldn’t find the Host and couldn’t even sense her, how did you feel?”

03 tilted its head back to look at the Main System. The black eye patches on its much smaller Silver Orb looked somewhat bewildered.

“Feel… I didn’t feel anything,” 03 said. “Are you saying I’m too accustomed to the task patterns from the previous level, and I didn’t realize the upgraded task was simply reporting an error? It won’t happen again,” it added earnestly.

“Ah! That’s not what I meant at all,” the Main System said. “But alright. Good luck with the mission. Don’t forget to write your work log.”

03 nodded and prepared to leave again, but the Main System called out to stop it.

“One last thing!”

The Main System guaranteed it was truly the last thing. It raised a matchstick and pulled up the Shop panel to show 03. “You’ve been working for years and haven’t spent a single point, aside from upgrading. Newborn Systems are all working hard to buy snacks and change their voice codes. You’ve earned so many points—why not use them? Why not start by changing your default voice code from when you were born?”

It enthusiastically recommended the Shop’s wide selection of pleasant voices, urging 03 to hurry and buy.

03 fell silent, drifting backward in refusal.

“I don’t want to change it. I need to continue my mission. Goodbye!”

03 transformed into a shooting star and shot toward the Mission Hall. As the silver streak flew past, many Systems looked up and couldn’t help but sigh.

“It’s 03! That incredibly powerful Cheat System!”

The revered 03 dove headfirst into the torrent of data without looking back, its circular eyes opening in the radiant glow.

As the two worlds exchanged places, the sun still rose over the mortal realm.

“019 was right. The Main System is getting stranger and stranger,” 03 mused, gazing at the sunrise.

It even recommended consumption. Why consume? It needed nothing. Like the initial voice code, as long as it worked, that was enough.

03’s circular eyes hardened.

That’s right, it wanted nothing.

It needed nothing.

Just as it was about to enter standby mode, a clear voice suddenly spoke from beside it.

“Have you been here all along?”

The newcomer had raven hair cascading like a waterfall, bright eyes, and a crimson mark between her brows that outshone the rising sun. She was bathed in the rosy glow of dawn, as if enveloped in flames, radiating dazzling brilliance.

“Come here,” Feng Jue commanded, unfurling her palm.

03 stared at its Host, and the silver orb of light within it couldn’t resist brightening. With a whoosh, it flew into Feng Jue’s palm.

Here I am!

Cheat System 03, ready to serve you at any time!

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