Save That Miserable Protagonist - Chapter 2

Lu Xun had never been this pathetic in his entire life. He had dropped to his knees without warning in front of a person he viewed as a mere plaything.

His heart thudded wildly. Beyond the physical pain, Lu Xun felt an overwhelming surge of fury. Glaring deathly at Pei Tingsong, Lu Xun’s beautiful peach blossom eyes were filled with icy shards and heavy malice. Noticing the other man’s instinctive half-step backward, Lu Xun slowly stood up.

His knees still felt weak and tender from the sharp pain. Lu Xun took a deep breath, unhurriedly straightening his disheveled bathrobe. Then, he lifted his gaze to Pei Tingsong and suddenly let out a very soft, faint laugh.

The laughter was light and cold, carrying a heavy, almost tangible threat. “What kind of trick did you use? Hmm?”

His voice was as gentle as a lover’s whisper, yet it caused Pei Tingsong to retreat another half-step. Confusion outweighed fear in his eyes. Pei Tingsong was stunned by the sudden accusation. “What?”

“Still acting?”

Taking a step forward to close the distance until they were inches apart, Lu Xun reached out with cold fingertips and pinched Pei Tingsong’s chin. His warm, smooth thumb traced Pei Tingsong’s lips suggestively until the pale skin flushed red. Only then did Lu Xun let out a low chuckle. His gaze was cold and sharp, like a technician inspecting a malfunctioning toy that needed repair.

“You might not be clear on who I am, or the consequences of provoking me.” At this, Lu Xun leaned in slightly, whispering into Pei Tingsong’s ear with a tone that bordered on a sigh. “But I advise you to think carefully. In the entire city of Jiangcheng, no one has ever dared to play these petty games in front of me, Lu Xun.”

The proximity was suffocating. Lu Xun’s warm breath brushed against Pei Tingsong’s ear, sending a shiver through him. Pei Tingsong could even feel the lingering moisture from the other man’s bath and that aggressive, warm aura.

“Now, tell me,” Lu Xun’s grip tightened until Pei Tingsong was forced to tilt his head back, exposing the vulnerable line of his neck. “What exactly did you just do?”

His chin throbbed with pain. Humiliation and anger surged anew as Pei Tingsong struggled to break free. “I have no idea what you are talking about! You are the one who suddenly—”

[Warning! Warning! Host detected threatening the mission target, causing Hatred Points to climb again. Host, please watch your words and actions!]

A cold, emotionless mechanical voice suddenly exploded in Lu Xun’s mind. His body stiffened instantly, and his fingers instinctively loosened their grip on Pei Tingsong. Seizing the moment of Lu Xun’s distraction, Pei Tingsong violently brushed the hand away and scrambled back two steps. He glared at Lu Xun with guarded fury.

Lu Xun had no mood to care about Pei Tingsong’s movements. His entire attention was fixed on that mechanical voice. That voice again! Every time, the timing was perfect, occurring precisely when he was about to do something to Pei Tingsong. Once is an accident, but twice is definitely not a coincidence.

His expression turned extremely grim. His gaze swept over Pei Tingsong with uncertainty before looking around the empty room. This feeling of losing control made his heart race. He had led a smooth, successful life and had never encountered anything this eerie.

As Lu Xun remained lost in suspicion, the mechanical voice spoke again.

[Hello, Host. I am Interstellar Salvation System 888. My mission is to bind with the core figure of the causal chain, reverse the protagonist’s tragic fate, and ensure the world’s protagonist moves toward their own bright future!]

“What the hell are you?”

As the sentence ended, Lu Xun watched a winged, ice-blue sphere the size of a palm materialize in mid-air. The sphere then opened its mouth to speak.

[I am not a thing; I am Interstellar Salvation System 888. I exist within the Host’s consciousness. You do not need to speak aloud to communicate with me.]

Faced with a scene that defied his understanding, Lu Xun glanced tentatively at Pei Tingsong. The man was still staring at him warily. He really could not see this ball.

His suspicion shifted into bewilderment. Lu Xun stared at the sphere and then waved a hand toward Pei Tingsong. “Go take your shower first.”

His intention was simply to dismiss Pei Tingsong so he could study this sphere. Pei Tingsong did not know Lu Xun’s intent. Upon hearing those words, his face went through a kaleidoscope of emotions before settling into a mix of flushed red and pale white.

Lu Xun did not realize that in Pei Tingsong’s mind, he had already been executed a thousand times over. Even if he knew, he would not care. Only after hearing the bathroom door click shut did Lu Xun look at the sphere and ask coldly, “What exactly are you?”

[Host, as I said, I am Interstellar Salvation System 888. My mission in binding with you is to save Pei Tingsong.]

At this, 888 fluttered its wings and began a detailed introduction.

[Every world is a book, and every book has a protagonist. However, some protagonists are meant to have beautiful lives but encounter certain scumbags, falling into a mire from which they can never escape. 888’s duty is to bind a Host to save these “Beautiful, Strong, and Pitiful” protagonists.]

Hearing this, Lu Xun laughed out of sheer anger. “So, you are saying Pei Tingsong is the protagonist of this book, and I am the scumbag who humiliates and ruins him?”

As a sphere, 888 could not comprehend the threat or interrogation in Lu Xun’s voice, so it simply bobbed up and down in a nod.

[Yes.]

Though there was more than one scumbag, Lu Xun was the catalyst for everything, so 888 answered without a hint of hesitation. Lu Xun nearly choked on his own rage. Taking a deep breath and running a hand through his damp hair, he pressed on. “But according to you, if I am the one who ruins him, why make me save him?”

The system did not understand complex human emotions either, so it swayed side to side. [888 does not understand, but according to the Main System’s algorithm, the Host is the person Pei Tingsong cares about most.]

“Heh.”

Lifting his eyelids to cast a cold glance at the floating system, Lu Xun rejected it without hesitation. “I do not care about your algorithms. I cannot do this. Go back to wherever you came from.”

Having said that, Lu Xun took a sip of the wine on the table. As the cold liquid slid into his stomach, he seemed to regain his sense of dominance. “I am sorry you made a trip for nothing, but I am used to being the one pampered. I really cannot do the saving others thing.”

888 was not surprised. Before binding, it had investigated Lu Xun’s character. To be honest, 888 did not have high hopes for him, but he was the one chosen by the Main System, so it had to persevere. A crackle of electricity hissed in the air. Accompanied by the static, 888’s emotionless voice rang out.

[According to calculations, if the Host refuses the mission, both the Host and the mission target will fall to your deaths from the roof of your apartment three years from now. Mortality rate is 100 percent.]

888 added, [The protagonist has a tragic background. Due to the Host’s casual interest, he became trapped in rumors of being a kept man. Later, his grandmother, his only family, passed away, and the protagonist fell into the hands of an even more despicable scumbag. He was kept in chains for two full years before finding a chance to escape. After driving a car to kill the man who imprisoned him, the protagonist dragged the Host off a building. His life ended at age 24. Yet, the protagonist was the first student from his village to get into a prestigious university. If not for these events, he would have had a bright and glorious future.]

Hearing these things, Lu Xun took a deep breath to suppress a wave of discomfort. His face returned to its usual arrogant, annoyed mask. “So? Just because of some unverified future, you want me to save him? His tragedy is his own; what does it have to do with me?”

[Because the Host is the cause of it all.]

The silent electricity crackled with a veiled threat. Lu Xun was fuming. A sense of being forcibly framed and pure indignation surged within him.

“Let’s get one thing straight. If you had not suddenly appeared, I would have reached a friendly agreement with him. I would have signed a contract! Black and white, money for goods! I could give him in one day what he could not earn in a year! By following me, he could immediately escape his fate. Does that not count as salvation? Since you know the future, you should also know that I, Lu Xun, have never mistreated anyone around me.”

[Using your high and mighty, unequal agreement?]

Lu Xun bristled at the system’s remark. He flicked a non-existent speck of dust off his robe and smiled gently. “What do you mean by an unequal agreement? He provides his body, I provide money. We both get what we need. Is that not perfect?”

[If the protagonist felt the same way, why would he drag you off a building?]

Lu Xun’s face turned green, but he still refused to yield. Firstly, he did not know if this mysterious ball was telling the truth. Even if it were, Lu Xun could not stand being threatened. If the future was already known, he was confident he could avoid it.

He scoffed, refusing heartlessly. “I do not know why he would be so ungrateful. But regardless of what you say, I will not agree. Do I look like the type to save people? I am not, and I have no interest in other people’s fates. I hate trouble most of all. Whether he lives or dies is none of my business.”

[Once a mission is bound, it cannot be undone.]

The system’s voice remained steady, but the glowing electricity carried an undeniable threat.

“I am still not doing it.” Lu Xun turned away, wanting a cigarette to calm down. He did not want to look at this tactless ball for another second.

[If the Host persists in refusal, the system will initiate Deep Perception Mode.]

“What?” Lu Xun blinked.

The next second, his world changed completely. The luxury carpet beneath his feet vanished, replaced by a hundred-meter drop. Cold rain pelted his face. Pei Tingsong’s calm, emotionless eyes were inches from his.

“What are you doing? Let go!”

Lu Xun’s words were swallowed by the howling wind. His body plunged downward. The sensation of weightlessness nearly made him faint. Then, crash!

Explosive, bone-shattering pain erupted through his entire body. Blood pooled around him. Darkness and cold instantly swallowed his mind. Just as his consciousness was about to fade entirely, the scene reset. He was standing by the balcony again. Pei Tingsong stood nearby, staring straight at him.

Lu Xun swallowed hard. The memory of the fall flashed before his eyes. His face turned ghostly pale, devoid of all color. He doubled over, gagging as he shouted, “Stop! Stop it! I agree!”

Lu Xun was afraid of death, more than anyone. He possessed wealth, status, and a life that others could not earn in several lifetimes. He could not, and would not, allow his life to end in such a ridiculous and painful way.

As the words left his mouth, his vision went black. When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the hotel suite. With a click, the bathroom door opened. Pei Tingsong emerged, shrouded in a mist of steam.

The moment Lu Xun saw him, the heavy threat of death reappeared. His knees buckled, and he nearly fell again. Grabbing the back of the sofa, his fingers shook uncontrollably.

Gasping for air, Lu Xun felt as though his heart were being squeezed. Even breathing felt painful, echoing the sensation of the fall. He looked at Pei Tingsong with unprecedented shock and disbelief. He had even forgotten his anger for a moment. His mind was filled with one massive question: Why?

Even if he, Lu Xun, was not a good person, he believed he was never stingy with those who followed him. While together, he satisfied them materially. When parting, he gave ample compensation. He could not imagine how poorly he must have treated Pei Tingsong, or what atrocious thing he could have done, to make this man hate him so much that he would rather go to hell just to take Lu Xun with him.

It defied logic!

Staring blankly at Pei Tingsong, Lu Xun’s gaze was incredibly complex. There was boiling rage, lingering terror, and the irritation of being forcibly bound by the system. But mostly, it was pure bewilderment.

After a long silence, having finally steadied his emotions, Lu Xun looked at Pei Tingsong and asked, “You hate me?”