When the Villainous Boss Acts as the Protagonist (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 4

Chu Sicheng could bet on the skull’s tongue that the rank of the male on that test report would definitely not be an S.

After all, the opponent had just been puffing black smoke and laughing eerily. Since the opponent had postured to such an extent, they were clearly going to force a turnaround for Philo, even if it meant being stubborn.

Sure enough, while the crowd of Zerg was excited beyond measure, each crane-necking in anticipation to welcome an S-rank male, a once-in-a-century occurrence they had only seen in textbooks, the answer they received was:

“It is, F.”

“What?!”

A simple letter, yet it felt like a bucket of ice water pouring over the heads of the crowd, leaving them dazed and unable to believe their ears for a moment.

How could it be an F?

With such powerful pheromones, even if it were not an S, it should at least be an A-rank!

It could be said that every Zerg in the tribunal hall found this result unacceptable.

Except for one.

That was Philo.

Only he, upon hearing that celestial “F,” suddenly straightened his back, the smile at the corners of his mouth completely uncontrollable.

He knew it. How could the protagonist undergo a second evolution so quickly?

{I trust you will not disappoint me next.} The cold long tongue wound around Philo’s neck and came before his eyes. The swirling black mist around it felt like resentful ghosts, spraying toward Philo while simultaneously sending chills through him.

{Of, of course.}

At this moment, Philo no longer dared to put on a superior front before the skull.

Many people tend to become exceptionally dependent on and trusting of the lifesaver who reaches out to them after they have taken a fall.

In fact, it is not just humans; this is a common trait among all living creatures in the world.

But thanks to this “illness,” the game becomes much more interesting.

The skull sensed the expanding, delicious negative emotions around it. Its empty black holes stared greedily at the male currently at the center of public opinion. Wisps of black smoke fell from its tongue, as if it could not wait to swallow the other party whole.

{Now, the rest is up to you.}

The skull chuckled low again, then slowly faded from view under Chu Sicheng’s watch.

Subsequently, the judge, who was supposed to have raised his gavel to finalize Philo’s guilt, completely forgot his angry speech from moments ago under the impact of the test report. The gavel in his hand indeed moved lower and lower, but in the end, it did not land on the base to deliver a sentence. Instead, the judge placed it gently on the table.

After all, for the Empire, giving up an A-rank male for an S-rank was acceptable.

But if this S-rank male was actually just an F, then the matter required careful reconsideration.

There was no helping it; this was the cruel hierarchy of the Zerg.

Before an S-rank male, they could say every male was a precious treasure of the Zerg race.

But before an F-rank, they could also say that in the Zerg Empire, hierarchy stood above all else.

Seeing the situation at the trial about to undergo a new reversal, the system following Chu Sicheng was nearly frantic with worry. {Host, what do we do now?!}

{Find a system like that one, one that talks less and gets things done.}

{…}

Meaning it talked too much and was useless.

The system felt a bit aggrieved, but thinking it over, it really had no ground for rebuttal.

Thus, to prevent Chu Sicheng from disliking it further, the system did not dare to be noisy in his ear.

But that did not mean Chu Sicheng’s ears would be at peace.

Because the moment the system shut up, Philo, with the permission of the master-of-face-changing judge, walked over to Chu Sicheng to “apologize.”

“Dear Excellency Ryan, look at how things have reached this point. It really is hard to settle. How about this? Regarding the previous misunderstanding where I accidentally framed you, I apologize. I will also provide compensation for what you have experienced during this time. The compensation level will definitely follow D-rank, no, C-rank. What do you think?”

“If that is still not enough, B-rank is not out of the question. Anyway.”

The male before him looked sincere but was actually gloating as he provoked Chu Sicheng:

“I will definitely take responsibility for this matter to the end. As for the rest, you see how it is now. We are both males, so why make things difficult for each other?”

“Moreover, are you not sitting here perfectly fine? For this trial, can we all just prioritize harmony?”

Saying this, Philo leaned in slightly toward Chu Sicheng, his voice audible only to the two of them:

“Excellency Ryan, do not forget. Although I plotted against you before, you plotted back today. So, let us consider us even.”

But even if the other party did not agree, there was nothing they could do. The punishment certainly would not fall on his head today. This way, the Protagonist-Shou would still be his!

Thinking of Friedrich, whom he still had hidden in his palace, the corners of Philo’s mouth curled up a bit more. Believing he already had the Protagonist-Shou in his pocket, he looked down on Chu Sicheng with a charitable air:

“If it is really not enough, I can help find you a few wealthy female attendants. That should do it, right?”

Philo believed that under the absolute suppression of rank, the protagonist, even if unwilling, would have to compromise and nod in agreement to his reconciliation.

However:

“And if I say no?”

Chu Sicheng propped up his chin, the corners of his mouth curling slightly. “Sorry, I am quite petty. So as long as I do not plot you to death, this debt will never be settled.”

Besides, he was not the only Bug at this trial who could summon tools.

He tapped his fingertip on the table. Just as Philo was becoming fly-blown with rage at Chu Sicheng’s provocation and was about to continue his harsh words, the doors of the tribunal hall were violently burst open once again.

But unlike the last time where someone entered specifically to give Philo a chance to counter-attack, the Zerg who burst in this time was empty-handed. Wearing a standard military uniform, the Zerg immediately spoke to the highest leader of the Imperial Army at the tribunal, the currently sole Imperial Marshal:

“Marshal! General Saxon has woken up! But his condition is still extremely critical. The military doctor says that now, only an Excellency’s pheromones can soothe him!”

As for the Excellency who could soothe him with pheromones.

Since the military female had burst in here, the answer was naturally self-evident.

In an instant, everyone turned their gaze once more toward the male sitting on the left side of the tribunal, who was currently locking eyes with Philo.

“Tell me, what kind of F-rank male can cross so many ranks to soothe an SS-rank female?”

If you want to use rank to suppress me, then pray your rank stays higher than mine forever.

The beautiful male’s lips curled slightly. Beneath his platinum-blonde hair, his clean and clear eyes shimmered, as if filled with a pool of warm spring water. Yet for some reason, Philo only felt a chill wind wrapping around his neck.

That feeling was even more terrifying than the skull.

{But Host, if you provoke the Bug like this, what if he keeps targeting you later?}

{If I do not provoke him, will he stop targeting me?}

The other party had almost killed him once. He was also very interested in the Bug’s life, so why worry so much? Might as well enjoy himself first.

Chu Sicheng had little interest in Philo targeting him. Right now, he wanted to know how to get the protagonist halo value to 100%.

Because in the Bug Removal Manual provided by the Bureau, it was clearly stated that the mission-taker needs to completely seize the protagonist halo that the Bug absorbed from the protagonist before they can clear the Bug.

But even at Philo’s most disadvantageous moment just now, the protagonist halo value on his mission panel had only risen to 50%.

How was he supposed to get the remaining 50%?

Being a protagonist for the first time, Chu Sicheng felt a rare sense of confusion.

{Host, the remaining 50% is related to the Protagonist-Shou,} the system, finally being useful to Chu Sicheng, spoke up excitedly.

{In tragic novels like this, besides the support of the protagonist halo, the world core also needs the protagonist’s emotions as nourishment.}

After all, in this type of novel, except for the first and last two chapters, the middle plot is entirely about physical and mental abuse. Whether it is the protagonist or the supporting characters, their emotions are never stable.

{…So you mean, if I want to fill the halo value, I need to snatch that Friedrich back from the Bug, and then let him abuse me back and forth?}

If that were the case, he would not mind clearing one more Bug.

Chu Sicheng was expressionless, but in his mind, he had already started planning a thousand ways to kill the Protagonist-Shou.

Scared, the system immediately said:

{No! No, Host! Although it was like that in the original text, because of the Bug, the world plot has been mostly modified. Future developments are in an unknown state, so the rules of being abused are no longer restricted only to you.}

In short, the world core just needs nourishment. As for who provides that nourishment, it does not care.

Then there was no problem. Abusing protagonists was what he was best at.

{But,} the system added, {Host, you are the protagonist now. Would those previous methods be difficult to implement?}

{How is that hard?}

Before the cold gray doors, listening to the poems inside that even the soundproofing layer could not block, Chu Sicheng’s eyelashes drooped slightly. He obediently followed the military female’s request and stepped into the isolation room that was extremely dangerous for most.

He looked incredibly submissive, doing whatever the Zerg outside told him to do.

However, only the system knew that this seemingly innocent and pure male, upon seeing Alex locked to the bed with electronic shackles, his expression pained, struggling until his wrists were worn and bloody, showed no trace of sympathy in his eyes. Instead, there was a flash of pleasure, like a predator catching its prey.

“If I cannot do it myself.”

The system watched as Chu Sicheng reached out, his bandage-wrapped fingers sliding from the female’s forehead all the way to his lips. His fingertip lightly tapped the lips, like a judge’s gavel finalizing fate.

Then, the system heard him say:

“Then find a handy tool. Will that not work?”

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