Chapter 1: First Encounter

June 24, 2006.

Late at night.

Moonlight shone through the old windows, faintly illuminating the entire main room.

A chubby figure knelt listlessly on a straw cushion. In front of the cushion was an old sideboard, and above the sideboard hung a tattered scroll painting of the God of Longevity.

On either side of the painting was a couplet: "Good fortune fills the world as the lucky star appears," and "Peace and wealth grace a clean home," with the horizontal scroll reading, "The Lucky Star Shines Brightly."

At this moment, the chubby figure knelt on the cushion. Just as her eyelids were about to droop, she seemed to remember something and suddenly snapped back to attention. Unfortunately, her focus lasted less than two minutes before she returned to her previous lethargic state.

There were no more voices coming from the west room, and the east room was filled with the snoring of her grandparents, which allowed Tan You to finally relax completely. She shifted off the cushion and sat on the floor with no regard for her posture, rubbing her bruised knees with alternating hands.

"It’s definitely going to hurt for a few days," she muttered, blowing on her knees. Being severely nearsighted, she couldn't tell if her knees looked any different than usual.

Just as Tan You’s mind drifted, a milky-white, nearly transparent ball of light suddenly appeared before her. It asked a question in an ultra-soft voice; seemingly aware of Tan You’s poor eyesight, it hovered almost face-to-face with her.

"Are you willing to bind with the system?" Tan You could still see clearly within ten meters. She didn't feel any fear, but instead leaned back slightly: "Too close."

The ball of light retreated as requested. Tan You stared at the little light orb, her eyes full of curiosity, and replied in an equally soft voice: "Bind?"

She had asked it as a question, but because she always spoke in the same monotone, it sounded like an agreement. Soon, a small milky-white sphere emerged from the light orb. The sphere shifted in the air, eventually transforming into a ring-like object that hovered in front of Tan You.

Tan You’s eyes went cross-eyed as she stared fixedly at the ring, which resembled a band. The little light orb reminded her: "Host, please check your base stats and complete your first mission as soon as possible."

Tan You followed the instructions like a puppet: "Check base stats."

As soon as she spoke, a screen appeared before her eyes. On the left was an image of Tan You herself, and on the right was a series of values.

The system’s voice remained unchanged: "Host, your initial stats are very low."

Tan You instinctively retorted: "Low initial stats mean I have a lot of room for improvement. That’s what teachers always tell their students to encourage them."

She didn't say anything else, instead focusing on the list of base stats on the right.

Appearance: 50 Mental Power: 50 Intelligence: 60 Physique: 40 Charm: 20

All values are on a scale of 100, and the system reserves the right of final interpretation.

After quickly reading through the numbers, Tan You felt a bit dejected: "My stats really are quite low."

The system remained calm: "With the system's help, the host will grow and become very outstanding."

Tan You ignored the appearance column and stared at intelligence: "System, is my intelligence really that low? Only 60?"

System: "It has already reached the passing mark; most ordinary people have similar values. Besides, intelligence is not impossible to improve..."

Before it could finish, it saw Tan You’s eyes light up like lightbulbs. She was genuinely excited: "It can really be improved? How?"

For the first time, the system stuttered: "The system... the system cannot do that right now."

Tan You’s shoulders slumped. She asked in an ultra-soft voice: "Fine, how can I increase my intelligence stat?"

"Host, you don't have to speak out loud," the system reminded her. "After signing the contract, as long as you think about what you want to say, the system can hear it."

"Really?" Tan You tentatively asked in her mind: "System, can you really hear me?"

"Mm-hmm, I can hear you." The system bobbed up and down, as if nodding.

Tan You relaxed completely: "That’s good. Now I can talk to you all the time, that’s great."

"System, let’s talk about intelligence. How can I gain intelligence?"

The system perked up: "The system has a Wish Pool containing missions. Host, you will gain energy by completing missions. However, the amount of energy depends on your completion rate; the higher the completion rate, the more energy the system receives."

"The system also has a Grand Prize Wheel. Draws consume energy points, and various base stats can be drawn at random."

Tan You was immediately tempted by the "big pie" the system had drawn for her. Complete missions to get energy points, then draw prizes—if she could improve her intelligence, would she find her science subjects less of a struggle?

"How do I do the missions?" Tan You asked after a moment of silence. "How do I go about them? I can't leave home; everyone is here."

"During the mission, time in the host's world stops, and it will resume normally once the host returns." The system's voice sounded cold, yet for some reason, Tan You felt that this thing calling itself a system was just like a child.

Tan You didn't understand this at the time; she was still listening to the system explain how to complete missions.

As soon as Tan You inquired about this, the system subconsciously grew excited. It only fluctuated for a split second, so Tan You naturally didn't notice.

The moment Tan You asked that question, she heard a "Ding-dong": Host has triggered a mission. Mission requirement: Host must complete the first mission within three days. Mission reward: One primary Grand Prize Wheel draw. Mission failure: The system will unbind from the host, and the host will perish.

Tan You was puzzled: "Perish... what does that mean?"

"It means to disappear, to cease to exist—death," the system said coldly and ruthlessly. Tan You froze for a moment but didn't say anything else.

After Tan You finished reading the mission interface, it shifted, and a small pool appeared in the center. At the bottom of the pool were scattered small balls of various colors, all looking ethereal and illusory.

Next to the pool was a circular button. Tan You pressed it, and the little light orbs in the Wish Pool suddenly began to spin at high speed. They went faster and faster, making Tan You’s eyes blur.

"System, are there so many missions in the Wish Pool? If I do them all, can I get a lot of energy points? Can I draw many times?"

She was desperate to increase her intelligence now; as for the beauty stat, Tan You ignored it entirely.

"These are all primary missions," the system said patiently. "After the system upgrades, one intermediate mission will be worth ten primary missions, and of course, the rewards will be even more generous."

Tan You wasn't one to aim too high: "But my stats are too low. I’d better finish what I can do first. System, are the primary missions difficult?"

"The mission is out," the system said. A small ball was spat out from the entrance in front of the button: "Please check the mission content. Reminder: Please complete the first mission within three days."

Shi Yun has started a new book, please support it, everyone! Please add to your library and recommend, thank you all!

(End of chapter)