"Xitong, System, are you still there?" However, Xitong did not reply.
After leaving the village chief's house, Xitong returned to her quarters and casually placed the Blue and White Jade Pendant she was holding onto the table. Gazing at the faint, hazy distant mountains outside the window, her thoughts drifted unconsciously.
Xitong had always known she was different from other systems because she possessed self-awareness. She was not merely a program composed of cold code. She did not know where the glitch had occurred, but a voice deep in her subconscious told her that her self-awareness must never be discovered by anyone. Therefore, she had always kept up an act, pretending to be nothing more than a heartless cheat engine. She diligently studied various skills and quietly waited for the right opportunity until she had established her own routine. Xitong always felt she had something very important to do, and before that day arrived, she needed to become powerful.
When choosing a simulation form, she could either pick one herself or transform according to the host's demands. Back at headquarters before her deployment, the people there had asked her what true form she wished to assume. Looking at the myriad options displayed on the interface, Xitong's gaze had immediately locked onto the option for a human.
For reasons unknown, she always felt she should be a human.
Thus, when asked, Xitong had answered the staff member, "Let's be human."
Deep within her memories, she dimly recalled once being a female—favored by the spirits of nature in her youth, ordinary in her prime, and eventually fading into the vast crowd.
Therefore, after repeatedly practicing and coming to fully understand the functions of a system, she chose to become a runaway system and forge her own path.
Xitong checked the time. There were still two hours before dawn, so she decisively chose to lie down and rest. What she had done today had already exceeded her quota; this definitely called for extra charges. At this thought, she climbed back up from the recliner, pulled open the interface, and began issuing a new task to that brat Shuqi.
When morning came, sensing her host's summons, Xitong appeared with a listless expression, looking at the little squirt before her. She was completely wilted, evidently having stayed up all night. Who knew what was going on in this little kid's head—wasn't she afraid of stunting her growth?
After finding a spot to sit down, Xitong tossed the Blue and White Jade Pendant she had retrieved from the village chief the previous night to Shuqi. Seeing Shuqi holding the pendant and looking at her in bewilderment, Xitong had no choice but to say, "This Blue and White Jade Pendant belonged to your Granny. I've checked it for you—it's a Spatial Jade Pendant. When you have time, drip a drop of your blood on it to claim ownership. Also, what's wrong with you? You look so listless."
Upon hearing that this was something left behind by her Granny, Shuqi carefully put the pendant away. Seeing Xitong ask her, Shuqi involuntarily drooped her head.
She hadn't rested at all last night, spending the whole time thinking about immortal cultivation and wanting to consult the System. But back then, no matter how she tried to summon her, the System simply ignored her.
She had been both excited and bewildered all by herself. Although she had heard Xitong mention immortal cultivation before, now that a genuine opportunity was right in front of her, she felt a bit hesitant. She wasn't entirely sure whether she could succeed. So she had spent the entire night staring at the pills given by the System, only managing to doze off for a tiny while right before dawn.
"System, I've made up my mind. I want to cultivate immortality, but I don't know how to take this Marrow Cleansing Pill. I actually wanted to find you last night, but I couldn't reach you and ended up waiting all night." With that, she let out an awkward, sheepish chuckle.
"Mhm, got it," Xitong replied indifferently, adding, "I was busy last night," by way of explanation to the child. After a moment of thought, she instructed Shuqi, "First, bind the jade pendant to yourself. When the time comes, take the Marrow Cleansing Pill inside the space. Everything else can wait for now. There's still some time before the immortal sects open their recruitment. During this period, you must work hard and conquer this mountain forest."
As she spoke, she pulled out the task interface she had drawn up the night before and pushed it in front of Shuqi.
Shuqi: "......"