Chapter 2

The perspective of the data clip was Yu Mu's. By the end, Yu Mu's mental state was clearly abnormal, so the scenes were only fragmented. Yu Mu went mad from fright later.

The youth who called himself "Yàn Zhú mò" never appeared again. Yu Mu was admitted to the hospital. He was restless all day, crying one moment and laughing the next, grabbing people to say that the Yan Family were murderers, Father Yan, Mother Yan, and Yàn Xī were all murderers.

Sometimes, the subject of "murderer" would shift to "Xu Family" or "all of you"; other times, it would become "teacher". No one understood his ravings. One night, Yu Mu was found in an icy puddle, frozen stiff.

...The data clip ended here. The System floated over and switched off the projection. "Host."

Mù Yú put down his coffee cup, nodded, and picked up the cane placed beside him. To enhance immersion, this kind of consciousness transfer is accompanied by a certain degree of shared emotion. In the last few scenes, the pervasive, intense cold was exceptionally real, chilling with ice shards, as if it could freeze a person solid in an instant.

Fourteen-year-old Yàn Sǔn slept in such a cold cage. Or perhaps, this suffocating cold, like a shadow, had always been present, for fourteen years. Mù Yú poured out the coffee that had formed a thin layer of frost.

He washed the cup, took some more coffee beans, and put them into the coffee machine. "Host," the System said, "According to the data, Yàn Zhú mò is Yàn Sǔn. He—" Mù Yú nodded.

The System was stunned. "You know?" In fact, even Yu Mu, who had been driven mad by Yàn Zhú mò, hadn't figured this out.

Was Yàn Zhú mò really Yàn Sǔn? If so, how did the Yàn Sǔn back then survive? What had Yàn Sǔn experienced over the past decade?

How did he learn to speak and write? How did he gain the strength to start this revenge? Besides these, there were still many doubts—what was the entanglement between the Xu Family and the Yan Family?

Why would they give their own son as compensation? Why did the Yan Family target a child so meticulously? What secrets lay beneath those grand pronouncements?

Mù Yú's current identity was Yu Mu. The data provided by headquarters was limited and did not offer any information beyond his perspective. Mù Yú leaned against the counter.

The water boiled and steamed, producing thick white mist. He didn't answer the System's question but asked another: "Why is Yàn Sǔn the villain?" The System paused and searched the data.

"...He lost control." If it had simply stopped at this point, letting those who deserved to pay the price pay it, Yàn Zhú mò would not have been defined as a villain and become the mission target of World S03. ...But it was hard to say whether Yu Mu's death was the end of a long revenge or its beginning.

If Yàn Zhú mò was indeed Yàn Sǔn, then he had never received any positive guidance in his life, nor had he ever received any positive feedback. "Yàn Sǔn is a germaphobe," the System said. "In his logic, things that are not clean must be cleaned up."

No one taught him that such reasoning was wrong. In the Yan Family, if he didn't wash himself clean enough, Yàn Xī would stuff him into the fireplace. Yàn Sǔn himself was treated as "unclean," personally cleaned up by his adoptive parents, his biological parents, and everyone who thought he didn't deserve to live.

The completely out-of-control Yàn Sǔn, or "Yàn Zhú mò," then hid in an unseen abyss, like stagnant water in a deep pool, yet stirring up countless turbulent waves. ... The coffee was ready, its aroma wafting.

Mù Yú, holding the coffee, sat back down in front of the sofa and flipped through the data the System had sent him page by page. The System floated over. "Host...

are we still going to run him over?" The data clip clearly implied that Yàn Zhú mò would find Yu Mu during his participation in a variety show and abduct and imprison him. During the imprisonment, Yàn Zhú mò used certain methods to destroy Yu Mu's psychological defenses, driving him mad.

They would be participating in the variety show in three days, the timing matching perfectly. If the plan remained unchanged, starting now, the System would allocate all its computing power to a real-world simulation, preparing for a realistic and absurd car accident. "Run him over," Mù Yú said.

"Gently." The System responded, diving into the real-world simulation. In the virtual space, two high-end cars appeared, poised for confrontation.

Mù Yú opened the recording from Yu Mu's perspective and rewatched the clip from beginning to end. After organizing the key characters and plot, Mù Yú created several mind maps, but they weren't very successful, failing to yield the desired results. The System's side was quite lively; mechanical sounds poured out amidst the screeching brakes, shouts, curses, and clattering noises.

"Host, what are you doing?" Theoretically, the System and the Host's consciousness sea are bound together, and its operation consumes the Host's mental energy and brainpower. While the car crash simulation game was already energy-intensive, whatever Mù Yú was thinking about was also quite complex and mentally taxing.

The System peeked out, glancing secretly. The mind map was covered with names, tangled together like a ball of yarn that a cat had clawed. Fearing it might accidentally fry the Host's CPU, the System, worriedly floating out of the consciousness sea, transformed itself into an ice pack.

"I want to hire a teacher for him," Mù Yú said thankfully, placing the ice pack on his forehead. "I couldn't find a suitable person." The System was scalded, letting out a burst of steam with a sizzle.

"..." "Host." The System, "Are you trying to change Yàn Sǔn's destiny?"

It knew Mù Yú had traveled through many worlds, but the System hadn't expected a task-taker to so proficiently list so many names from the current world's top one hundred richest people on their first day in the assessment world. The System flipped over, emptying the water from its horn. "Are these people...

your friends?" "People who owe me money," Mù Yú said, tapping a stack of papers with his pen. "My friends are over there."

The System: "..." Mù Yú sighed and removed the mind map in front of him. Each time he was pulled into the final assessment, the original host's identity was different.

As long as he kept a low profile, he didn't need to worry too much about being recognized by old acquaintances. ...But he also had to be cautious enough to avoid that tiny possibility. At such a critical juncture, he absolutely couldn't have anyone chasing him for money.

"It's not about changing destiny," Mù Yú said. "It's too late." It was already at the stage of the variety show; everything that was meant to happen had happened.

Forcibly intervening now, trying to change something, would be too difficult and too painful. Yàn Sǔn's past experiences hadn't changed, his childhood trauma and youthful despair hadn't changed, and the death at fourteen hadn't changed. At this point, asking Yàn Sǔn to let go of his hatred, discard the past, forcibly correct a destiny already riddled with holes, and force out a Happy Ending...

Mù Yú couldn't do such a thing. Mù Yú just wanted to find someone for Yàn Sǔn to talk to. Someone who, after his forced logout, could erase the traces left by Yu Mu, and at least find a new teacher who wouldn't cause Yàn Sǔn so much pain.

In Yàn Sǔn's life, his parents were completely absent, making the role of a "teacher" even more important and special. So important that fourteen-year-old Yàn Sǔn, knowing his death date, ran away from the Yan Family to meet Yu Mu. So important that only after Yu Mu's death did Yàn Zhú mò completely lose control, ceasing to be a "good child."

... Three days passed in a flash. Mù Yú drove to the variety show recording site at the appointed time.

Along the way, the System made him practice at least thirty-six simulated scenarios of forcibly logging out immediately after a collision. The System was very responsible: "If you use automatic driving, it won't be considered your full responsibility." If it wasn't his full responsibility, Mù Yú wouldn't have to pay the two hundred million.

Even if he successfully logged out, he would still be brought back as an elite task-taker for exceeding his deposit limit. The System had spent three days creating a comprehensive plan. It was enthusiastically reporting to Mù Yú various schemes for scenarios where Yàn Zhú mò might be driving a motorcycle, electric bike, bicycle, or scooter, when it suddenly noticed something was wrong: "Host...

Where's your car?" "Parked outside," Mù Yú said. "Cars aren't allowed in here."

The System: "?" Mù Yú was guided by program staff into a high-tech room and lay down in a sleep pod. He chatted briefly with the staff, closed his eyes, gathered his thoughts, and communicated with the System: "They said Yu Mu's persona was that of being impoverished and penniless, living paycheck to paycheck."

The System still remembered: "...Yes, the data shows it was like that." It was just that Mù Yú himself was so wealthy; this innate aura of "when will I ever finish spending my money" completely overwhelmed Yu Mu's original persona, and the System had forgotten to mention it. The System became a little nervous: "Host, is there a problem?"

Mù Yú said, "A little." He flipped through the data: "This says that when participating in the variety show ten years later, Yu Mu had already made a comeback and was doing well." "The data...

must be wrong?" The System hesitated. "Sometimes, the information in the data is affected by the perspective and has certain deviations."

Mù Yú paused for a moment, not answering immediately. He closed his eyes. The System couldn't see the situation outside and was a bit nervous.

"Host?" Mù Yú opened his eyes. The environment around him had changed.

He had arrived at the preparation area for the variety show, with many staff members busy moving around. In the lounge, several couples, who were clearly married, were standing or sitting, speaking quietly amongst themselves. Mù Yú was good at recognizing people and immediately identified two of the couples as Yàn Sǔn's adoptive parents and biological parents.

The System: "..." Mù Yú gestured in his mind: "Compared to the data clip, Yàn Sǔn's adoptive parents look younger." "..."

The System glitched inexplicably: "The data... the data isn't quite accurate, is it?" Mù Yú looked at the surveillance camera not far away.

"I also look younger than in the data clip." He was using Yu Mu's body, and he hadn't paid much attention to it in the hotel. Now, he looked not forty, but only in his early twenties.

The System: "The data, the data isn't quite accurate, is it?" After all, the data clip was from Yu Mu's perspective. Perhaps Yu Mu saw people that way, making everyone look twenty years older.

These were minor issues. They were here to find Yàn Zhú mò. Although cars weren't allowed at the shooting venue, as long as Mù Yú was determined, he could immediately buy a car from the mall after finding the villain and have it teleported over, crashing out in an absurd and flashy OOC manner.

As for how to clean up the mess and fill in the logic within the world... that wouldn't be their concern. Mù Yú gave a noncommittal response, borrowed a venue map from a staff member, went around to the children's waiting area, and watched the children chasing and playing in the game area.

"Host!" The System, focused on the villain location detector, exclaimed excitedly, "The villain is less than ten meters away! Nine meters!

9.5 meters! 8.7, 6 meters... Host, can you lure him over?"

Mù Yú asked, "Do you have lollipops?" "Yes!" The System didn't have time to be distracted and bought one from the mall without looking back.

"He's getting closer! Ahhh, he's so close! Six, five, four, three, two, one, zero meters—Host, let him hit us!"

The System's cheers and horn blares received no response. After a two-second pause, it switched back to the main perspective: "Host?" Mù Yú propped himself up with one hand, seemingly having fallen, holding a soft white ball in the other.

"I was hit." The System: "?" The white ball moved twice under Mù Yú's arm and then lifted its head.

It was a small child. He looked soft and fluffy, no older than five, dressed in a pure white down jacket, like a snowball. ...

The System finally saw clearly. Mù Yú had fallen next to a rocking horse. There were a few boys shoving each other, playing boisterously as if no one else were around.

The little snowball's white down jacket had a few finger and palm prints on it, clearly from being pushed off the rocking horse. The rocking horse was about half the height of an adult. If Mù Yú hadn't caught him, the child would likely have fallen quite hard.

Mù Yú praised the System, "Your plan was very thorough, and the impact was solid." The System: "??" Mù Yú: "Let's try again."

The System: "???" Mù Yú took out a lollipop and lowered his head to tempt the little snowball. "One more hit."

He instructed the System, "Get ready this time. You can buy a severe congenital heart disease card. I'll fall to the ground as soon as he hits me."

"Wait a minute... Host." The System felt that Mù Yú's calmness had exceeded the situation itself, and cold sweat broke out.

"Is this the villain?" If the little white ball in front of them was the villain they were looking for... then there might be some very serious problems with the timeline of this world entry.

The final assessment required surviving the villain. To ensure the difficulty, the candidate would be placed in the villain's most frenzied, most unscrupulous, and high-risk stage. Whether it was Yàn Sǔn or Yàn Zhú mò, their most frenzied and unscrupulous age would certainly not be five years old.

A five-year-old villain, no matter how evil, would not have the ability to dismember the candidate. At most, they would ride a small tricycle, cruelly and coldly attack Mù Yú's knees, and relentlessly run over Mù Yú's ten toes. Mù Yú held the lollipop and looked at the little snowball in his arms.

The little snowball's eyes were large and dark, with a small mole at the corner of his eye and exceptionally long eyelashes. Perhaps finally understanding Mù Yú's intention, the little guy hugged Mù Yú, lowered his head, and gently rested his small head against Mù Yú's chest. A gentle force, like breaking out of a shell.

The System: "..." Mù Yú: "..." Mù Yú: "Ah."

The System hadn't cooperated properly again and was frantically apologizing while holding the not-yet-activated heart disease card. "Ahhh, Host QAQ!" "Six sets a day, twice per set.

We'll try again at noon." Mù Yú said, "We'll use it next time." The System: "QAQ?"

Mù Yú pressed his chest and, holding the little snowball in one arm, stood up. He asked the System, "Does raising a child really cost a lot of money?" The System had almost forgotten about this.

Recalling the definition of a "four-legged money-consuming beast," it hesitated. "It should be..." "That's good," Mù Yú said.

The five-year-old child was still thirteen years away from the age when he could get a driver's license. The original plan of "causing a car accident and paying a sky-high compensation" was undoubtedly no longer suitable. Although the timeline had a problem, the villain, Yàn Sǔn, was inseparable from this matter.

Until he was successfully hit out of the world by the villain, Yàn Sǔn should be responsible for this. Mù Yú modified the plan and informed the System in advance: "I'll raise him." The System: "Ah?"

Mù Yú: "I'm going to spend two hundred million on him."