NOVEL NEXT Chapter 7: The Useless fw System
Yan Rouwan spent a happy night in the prison, accompanied by a cat.
On the other hand, Sang Zhe went back home and slept soundly, waking up refreshed for work the next day.
However, when he entered the prison to switch shifts, he immediately sensed something was off.
… What happened?
Everyone around had a terrible expression.
And there’s Tang Yubbing.
Why is she here so early in the morning to inspect the prison?
This woman is so lazy that she usually wouldn’t get out of bed until noon.
But her subordinates have to work from nine to five, needing to clock in and out!
No sleeping in at all.
“Sis Yubbing, why are you up so early today?”
“Nothing wrong with you?” Tang Yubbing eyed him up and down, and seeing him unscathed, let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good, you’re lucky.”
“What’s going on, anyway?” Sang Zhe was growing more perplexed.
“Last night, many employees of the Punishment Department were attacked, with over ten casualties.”
Tang Yubbing seemed a bit irritable too, her beautiful eyes frowning in annoyance. “These damned righteous dogs, only know how to use sneak attacks.”
… Isn’t that what you guys do, too? You have the gall to criticize others?
Sang Zhe silently thought.
Of course, he didn’t dare voice it. That would get him a pay cut.
“Did you notice anything unusual last night? Or hear any noises?”
Sang Zhe suddenly lowered his head and fell silent.
“… Sang Zhe?”
“Ah, nothing.” Sang Zhe put on a smile, “I went to bed early last night. Didn’t hear anything.”
“Maybe my life is worthless, so no one bothered to attack me.”
Tang Yubbing gave him a complicated look.
“Anyway, be careful over the next few days.”
“If you’re worried, I can arrange some capable female cultivators to be your bodyguards,” she instructed. “You are precious to the Punishment Department, don’t let anything happen to you.”
“No need.”
Sang Zhe thought for a moment, grinning, “I already have a maid. That’s enough.”
“Oh, I remember. It’s that female cultivator from the sect you saved before, right?”
Tang Yubbing looked doubtful. “I remember she was only at the Foundation Establishment level, right?”
“Can she protect you?”
Sang Zhe didn’t respond.
He quietly glanced at his toes and after a moment, smiled shyly.
“I believe in her.”
——
——
Saying that was one thing.
But Sang Zhe himself was pretty scared of dying.
As soon as he heard so many from the Punishment Department had been brutally attacked, a chill ran down his spine.
He had finally scraped together a stable job.
With no worries about food, and a beauty by his side.
He couldn’t die.
So during work hours, Sang Zhe called upon the system.
“System, find me something useful for self-preservation that I can exchange!”
【商城搜索：保命。内容如下——】
Looking at the myriad of elixirs, martial arts techniques, and magical artifacts, Sang Zhe examined them one by one, occasionally nodding seriously.
“Alright. Very good.”
But he couldn’t afford any of them.
For crying out loud!
Why is everything that can save your life so expensive!?
Sang Zhe felt disheartened.
He considered himself to be quite frugal.
As long as he could buy things with his salary, he would never waste his system points.
But previously, to save Zhang Xiaoying, he had exchanged for some life-saving elixirs.
Though they weren’t high-grade, they had consumed almost all the points he had saved over the years.
Now he only had a pitiful amount left.
Of course.
The main reason was this damn system.
It was practically useless.
To this day, Sang Zhe still couldn’t figure out what the heck this system was for.
In other novels, systems either give the protagonist a bunch of cheat codes to dominate the world, or they offer tasks to encourage self-reliance and productivity.
But Sang Zhe’s system was weird.
To put it simply, it was a complete slacker.
When he first arrived in this world, the system briefly stated it was a system.
And that was it.
No tutorial, no user manual, no starter packs.
Nothing at all.
He had to piece together everything about the system over the years.
It was less of a system and more like a search engine or Siri from his previous life.
You ask it something, it answers.
Don’t ask, and it ignores you.
The funniest thing? It couldn’t even issue proper tasks.
You ask it where the tasks are, and it would just tell you it doesn’t know.
“What do you mean by no tasks? How do I exchange stuff through the system then?”
【Use points to exchange】
“But where do I get points?”
【Sign in or do tasks】
“Where to do tasks?”
【Don’t know】
“If you don’t know, how do I exchange?”
【Use points to exchange】
“I have no points!”
【DO! TASKS!】
……
Just like that.
A pure waste of space.
After the dream of being invincible with the system shattered, Sang Zhe gradually got used to treating this useless system as mere decoration.
Though it couldn’t make him invincible, having it as a Siri-like assistant was still pretty convenient.
At least it helped him quantify the favorability and progress of the fairies, saving a chunk of work in the process.
And also.
Whenever he felt helpless against those stubborn fairies.
The system always managed to come up with a few alternative strategies.
Though they all sounded strange, they were genuinely useful.
Including the current strategy for Yan Rouwan.
Speaking of Yan Rouwan, Sang Zhe asked, “System, when would be a good time to start the next plan?”
【Wait until Yan Rouwan’s preference for the black cat reaches eighty percent.】
“How much is it now?”
【Forty-five percent.】
So it’s only a few days away. No rush.
Thinking this, Sang Zhe yawned and lay down on the table.
He began his daily routine of slacking off and dozing at work.
——
——
Meanwhile.
At the Water Moon Sect.
On a vast lake, a simple yet stunning fairy palace stood majestically.
This was the headquarters of one of the leaders of the righteous path – the Water Moon Sect.
And at this moment, in the grand hall of the sect leader.
More than ten disciples of the Water Moon Sect, dressed in black martial outfits, were kneeling down on one knee, reporting the events of the previous night in synchronization.
Among them was the black-clad woman who had attacked Sang Zhe last night.
At this moment, she bowed her head and hid among the crowd, silently waiting for her turn.
Meanwhile, on the throne of the hall.
A graceful woman with her hair elegantly tied up and dressed simply, was pouring a drink, quietly listening to their reports.
“Leader, the thief we captured last night revealed before dying that Yan Rouwan is being held by the Demon Cult’s Punishment Department, interrogated by a vicious Demon Cult scoundrel.”
“We intended to take advantage of the chaos in the Demon Cult and launch an attack on the Punishment Department to rescue Yan Rouwan.”
“Unfortunately, at the last moment, the Demon Cult head, Tang Yubbing, arrived. With the home advantage and array enhancement, we dared not engage for long and had to retreat.”
The woman remained silent.
Now it was the turn of the black-clad woman who had attacked Sang Zhe last night.
But she seemed to be lost in thought, hesitating to speak.
“……Shi Qingyan.”
The woman snapped back to reality, quickly lowering her head to plead for forgiveness: “Leader, forgive me!”
“I heard that in this operation, you were the only one who returned empty-handed.”
“Did you encounter someone you couldn’t handle?” The woman’s tone was neutral.
Shi Qingyan hesitated for a moment and finally spoke honestly: “I encountered an old fellow disciple there… Zhang Xiaoying from Qingning Hall.”
The woman’s hand paused for a moment, then calmly replied, “I don’t seem to recall this disciple.”
Shi Qingyan’s beautiful eyes drooped down, explaining softly:
“Zhang Xiaoying tends to be low-key; she’s indeed a bit inconspicuous…”
“She fell into the Demon Cult?”
Under the sect leader’s questioning, Shi Qingyan bit her lip bitterly and said nothing.
“Shi Qingyan, don’t forget.”
The woman responded indifferently, “There’s a clear distinction between righteous and evil. Since she couldn’t resist the temptation and fell into the Demon Cult, she will no longer be associated with us righteous cultivators from now on.”
“Being merciful will only harm you.”
“…Understood.” Shi Qingyan lowered her head silently.
At this moment, a nearby Water Moon Sect disciple spoke up: “Leader, the owner of the residence Shi sister was in charge of is precisely the Demon Cult member responsible for holding Yan Rouwan.”
“This person was once a disciple of the Water Moon Sect, but after killing fellow disciples out of personal grudges, he defected to the Demon Cult.”
“His name is Sang Zhe.”
Only then did the woman finally raise her beautiful eyes slowly.
Her gaze appeared like a lingering mist, faint and ethereal.
“Since that’s the case.”
Her gaze gradually fell upon Shi Qingyan: “I’ll give you another chance.”
“This time, find out Yan Rouwan’s whereabouts and clear your ties.”
“Don’t let me down again.” She gave Shi Qingyan a significant look.
Shi Qingyan immediately bowed her head in promise: “I won’t fail.”
——
——
“… Sigh, ever since Yan Rouwan was captured, we’ve been working ourselves to the bone every day.”
“Yeah, it’s been so many days; Yan Rouwan might have already become a cauldron for the Demon Cult. Bringing her back would only tarnish the sect’s reputation.”
“I really don’t know what the leader is thinking…”
At the hall entrance, a group of disciples dispersed in pairs.
Only Shi Qingyan walked alone, feeling a bit lost.
“Senior Sister Shi, are you thinking of saving Zhang Xiaoying?”
Suddenly, a playful and cute voice rang out.
Shi Qingyan turned around, surprised: “Sister Si Jingzhu? How do you know…”
Behind her, a girl with a short bob and a neat appearance was looking at her with bright eyes, grinning.
“I’ve heard about it. You couldn’t bring yourself to act against Zhang Xiaoying, right?”
“After all,” she said playfully, “I remember you were in charge of Zhang Xiaoying’s group when she entered the sect, right?”
Shi Qingyan remained silent.
She just lowered her head, looking a bit gloomy.
Seeing her quiet, a mischievous glimmer appeared in Si Jingzhu’s eyes, softly saying:
“Senior Sister, if you want to save Zhang Xiaoying… one person isn’t enough, right?”
“How about it, I’ll go with you!”
“Huh?” Shi Qingyan was taken aback, quickly waving her hand, “No way! You’re the leader’s daughter; what if something happens to you—”
“If I don’t say anything, how would my mother know?”
She said with a smile: “Anyway, it’s just about dealing with a fishy traitor, not that dangerous.”
“Once we save Zhang Xiaoying, I can speak up for her in front of my mother, maybe she can escape death and even return to the sect…”
Under the tempting persuasion of this cunning girl.
Shi Qingyan’s beautiful eyes slowly began to waver.
“I… I got it…”