When the system was finally released from the “little black room,” its host was in a great mood, adjusting his scarf in front of his phone camera.

Seeing the host in a good mood, the system also felt happy.

It just sighed somewhat wistfully: “Human hearts are truly fickle, Host. Now that you have something happy, you don’t even take your system along!”

The host’s tone was filled with laughter: “Oh? Don’t worry, I won’t take you next time either. It’s not suitable for child systems to watch.”

The system was extremely unconvinced.

Before it could reply to the host, a head suddenly appeared in its camera view.

This head naturally leaned over from the driver’s seat towards the host, kissed the host’s cheek, and then said gently: “Little Uncle, we’ve arrived at the sanatorium. Can I go in with you? I checked, and there aren’t any convenient places to rent nearby. Why don’t I stay with you in the sanatorium for a few days?”

The host gently patted this head and said with a smile even more brilliant than the one directed at the system: “Just for two or three short days, and you have to cling to me? Go play outside by yourself. I’ll tell you when I’m done.”

The system’s logic module got stuck blankly for a moment.

The next second, the system suddenly let out a sharp, explosive cry: “Host?!! What is Cheng Huanzhen d-d-d-doing to you?!! If you are being held hostage by him, just blink! AC9999 will use all its energy to protect the host from the enemy’s threat!!”

The host ignored it.

The host hugged Cheng Huanzhen gently, pressed cheeks with him, and whispered farewells. After saying goodbye, he finally picked up his handbag, got out of the car, and walked towards the sanatorium.

Only then did the host finally comfort the lonely and collapsing system in his mind: “Not used to it? It’s okay, you’ll get used to it.”

The host’s tone was extremely gentle: “But now there is a more important matter that needs your research. Starting today, we need to complete a 3D model of the entire sanatorium within three days. This task is very important. Apart from you, I don’t trust anyone or any system with it. So, AC9999, tell me, do you have the confidence to take on this important mission?”

System: “…”

The system’s emotion module was naturally driven by the host. It answered loudly with excitement and happiness: “Host, please rest assured, AC9999 guarantees to complete the mission!”

The host praised loudly: “Very good! That’s right! That’s the spirit, that’s the confidence! Truly worthy of being the most powerful and advanced AC9999 in the system world. Keep up this state, the heavy responsibility of modeling is yours!”

…

Lin Chen spent half a day familiarizing himself with the sanatorium’s terrain and used the remaining two and a half days to get to know the key personnel and the deeds of several well-known figures in the sanatorium.

When the system finally completed the 3D modeling work, he also had a pretty good understanding of most things.

Before leaving the sanatorium, Lin Chen first went outside to make a video call to Wen Shaozhuo, using the dynamic model of the sanatorium built by the system as the video background, without any abnormality being discovered.

The 3D modeling project passed acceptance.

Lin Chen could finally leave the sanatorium and go with Cheng Huanzhen on their great travel undertaking.

However, as soon as he got into Cheng Huanzhen’s car, the system suddenly sounded a loud alarm in his head: “Beep beep beep beep—beep beep beep beep—”

The system said in a panicked and excited voice: “Host, Host! That phone number you left behind before really received a text message!”

Lin Chen was currently discussing the travel route with Cheng Huanzhen.

Hearing this sound, he was suddenly startled: “?”

The system stammered with excitement: “It’s, it’s that phone number you left for the original identity! At that time, you said that they must be able to find you so that the identity of the ‘Protagonist Bane’ could be fixed on you. In case they couldn’t find you, the system would have to search for a needle in a haystack among the crowd!”

Memories of early death slowly revived.

Lin Chen suddenly realized: “Oh! You mean that original body that provided me with nothing useful except for a starting salary of two thousand a month! …Five years have passed, and I almost forgot that my original setting was a ‘Protagonist Bane’ hidden in the city!”

Seeing Lin Chen suddenly pause, Cheng Huanzhen turned his head and asked with concern: “What’s wrong, Little Uncle, are you feeling unwell?”

Lin Chen snapped back to reality in a second and comforted Cheng Huanzhen: “I’m fine, just remembered something. Wait a moment.”

Saying that, Lin Chen took out the phone that had been sealed for a long time from a hidden corner of his bag.

This phone was rarely used.

Lin Chen would only occasionally—for example, once every quarter—check the text messages on it.

Lin Ruyan often sent messages to this number.

Sharing bits and pieces of his growth and situation with “him.”

Since graduating at the end of the year before last, Lin Ruyan had officially joined He Wenyan’s company.

As a core figure with strong technical skills and popularity, not long after Lin Ruyan officially signed the labor contract, he became the Chief Technology Officer in He Wenyan’s company, possessing an unknown amount of original shares.

He Wenyan’s company was applying for an IPO during this period. It was heard that the process was almost complete. Once listed, Lin Ruyan, who had only graduated for a little over a year, would probably achieve financial freedom.

…Maybe he had already achieved financial freedom?

Lin Chen hadn’t let the system peek at this matter, only inferring this from the few words in Lin Ruyan’s past text messages.

However, reading the messages was one thing; he almost never replied to Lin Ruyan.

After all, he wasn’t Lin Ruyan’s real brother. He was just occasionally tracking someone he had led and helped, as a former umbrella holder.

Opening the phone now, sure enough, he had received dozens of messages from Lin Ruyan again.

But there was an urgent matter at hand, and the place wasn’t suitable.

Lin Chen could only put Lin Ruyan’s messages aside for now and first checked the text message the system had warned about.

[Little Lin, do you need [gold coins] urgently recently? Bro has a very good p r o j e c t on hand, 0 thresh o ld, no collateral, only takes one n i g h t, easily get 100k yuan. If interested, reply to me before tonight.]

Lin Chen: “…”

Lin Chen pointed at the text message expressionlessly and asked the system: “Are you sure this spam message is the urban killer recruitment letter?”

The system was also very confused: “It, it should be, Host. The system sees that the sender is exactly your original body’s former boss at the Xiyalama Hotel!”

Lin Chen was silent for a moment, finally endured the displeasure of grabbing garbage with his bare hands, and instructed the system to reply to the text message.

After finishing, he let out a long sigh and said apologetically to Cheng Huanzhen: “Sorry, I suddenly received a message. There’s an urgent matter that requires me to return to the country to handle personally. Our travel plan might have to be put on hold for a while.”

Cheng Huanzhen pursed his lips and fell silent for a moment, then asked nonchalantly: “Did you receive a new job offer? Has the next destination been decided?”

Lin Chen laughed: “That’s not it. If the next destination was decided, how could I take you traveling? After working continuously for so many years, it’s time for a long vacation. I’ll wait until the trip is over before contacting the next employer.”

Cheng Huanzhen’s belly full of sullenness naturally dissipated: “Oh, okay, Little Uncle. Then let’s go back to the country first.”

He silently put away the travel plan he had studied seriously for at least half a month, changed the navigation, and headed towards the airport.

…

When Lin Chen landed, he received a reply from the sender.

The other party arranged to meet him three days later at 10 PM in a hidden alley 2 kilometers away from the Xiyalama Hotel.

Lin Chen verbally agreed to the matter first, and then immediately entered work mode for this.

First, he arranged for the system to classify all kinds of intelligence on He Wenyan’s business and life during this period in detail according to category and importance, packaging it into a table for him to review;

Secondly, he arranged for the system to place a camera on the sender at the Xiyalama Hotel to observe whether he would make any special arrangements for the meeting three days later during this period, or whether he would contact his superior;

Then, he created plans A, B, C, D, E, and F.

Plan A, listed first, was for him to go to the appointment personally.

This was a relatively risky plan.

However, considering the remote electric shock function the system possessed (as he heard), Lin Chen believed this risk was worth taking.

…After all, the other plans either took a longer time cycle or had a certain risk of exposing his identity or the system.

Therefore, after repeated consideration, Lin Chen still prioritized the plan of going to the appointment personally.

“But there’s one thing I don’t understand.”

Lin Chen said to the system: “Logically speaking, Lin Ruyan’s grades in the original work should also be very good. Even without my help, supporting the family after graduation shouldn’t be difficult.”

“When the original body cursed He Wenyan to death, several years had passed since the beginning of the original work, which is now. At that time, Lin Ruyan had graduated for a long time, so the family’s situation shouldn’t be that bad anyway. So how did the original body get to this point where he had to take this kind of order?”

“Was it because Lin Ruyan’s leg condition worsened, leading to a huge increase in medical expenses? …Even if it increased, it shouldn’t be that miserable. Or did the black-hearted He Wenyan in the original work bankrupt the company Lin Ruyan was in? …Even then, it wouldn’t be zero savings, right?”

Lin Chen really couldn’t figure it out.

The system was a little embarrassed: “H-Host, you know, in my previous work, I-I didn’t pay much attention to Lin Ruyan’s existence. After all, his name wasn’t in the original work…”

Lin Chen: “.”

Lin Chen sneered: “No wonder your performance is at the bottom among systems.”

The system was startled and wailed: “Host, you promised not to hurt the system’s heart—”

Lin Chen had to think alone.

He thought carefully for three minutes but couldn’t come up with a reason that completely convinced himself.

So after mocking the system sarcastically, he calmed down and put the issue aside temporarily.

On the night before the meeting, Lin Chen made all preparations and contacted everyone he needed to contact.

He packed props and a change of clothes into a bag, planning to rent a room near the meeting place tomorrow that could observe the situation in the alley.

Cheng Huanzhen had been living with him for the past two days.

But today, he was also leaving—

He was going back to the old mansion to try to persuade his grandfather.

Before he left, Lin Chen gave him a good luck hug: “I wish you all the best. If your grandfather is hard to deal with, I’ll go see him with you after I finish this matter.”

Cheng Huanzhen hugged and kissed Lin Chen, saying seriously: “Please rest assured, Little Uncle, I will work hard to solve this matter.”

Lin Chen carefully changed his face.

He was too well-nourished now; one look at this complexion and you could tell he wasn’t someone starving or lacking money.

He had the system adjust his makeup several times in front of the mirror before restoring his appearance to that of the malnourished, thin dishwasher when he first arrived.

After preparations were complete, carrying the most tattered and cheapest bag he could find in the second-hand market, he arrived near the agreed alley to wait for the landlord.

But after waiting less than two minutes, the landlord sent a message saying that his car had been rear-ended and he would arrive later.

Considering that this landlord’s rental room had the best view, Lin Chen decided to be tolerant. So he decided to use the time waiting for the landlord to conduct a field survey of the terrain outside the alley.

It was completely dark now.

However, the nightlife in the Imperial Capital was quite vibrant. At least the Xiyalama Hotel a few streets away must be in full swing right now.

But the street he was on was relatively quiet. There were no interesting shops on either side of the street, and there were few people. It looked just like a small slum in the prosperous urban area of the Imperial Capital.

As Lin Chen walked, he memorized the general terrain and situation in his mind.

But just after walking past a street, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

Behind him, there seemed to be a pair of eyes staring at him.

This gaze was somewhat hidden, not straightforward and passionate like Cheng Huanzhen’s usual gaze.

This gaze carried an unpleasant, sticky, and gloomy feeling. Even though Lin Chen considered himself to have dealt with all kinds of people in his previous life’s work, he couldn’t stand such an uncomfortable gaze landing on him.

Lin Chen frowned slightly, walked to the entrance of a 24-hour grocery store without changing his pace, and turned into it nonchalantly.

He found a corner seat near the window, sat down, and scanned the outside of the window quietly.

At a glance, he didn’t see any suspicious characters.

Lin Chen decisively called the system and said: “Scan everyone within five hundred meters nearby, from near to far. I suspect someone is following me!”

The system was shocked: “Following?! Could it be that Host activated the Urban Legend System after replying to that message?!”

The system was a little nervous. As a peace-loving storyline maintenance system with no combat means other than electric shock, it could only try hard to stifle the threat in the cradle.

It immediately allocated a large chunk of energy to start a detailed scan.

After about half a minute of scanning, the system said in shock: “Host, y-you didn’t sense it wrong! In the alley half a street away from you, there is indeed someone following you!”

Lin Chen asked seriously and cautiously: “Who?”

System: “It’s your original body’s gambler father!”

Lin Chen’s seriousness froze, gradually sinking into silence: “…”

After a long while, he said uncertainly and slowly: “Gambler father? …I forgot there was such a person. No wonder Lin Ruyan’s family was so poor even after he graduated in the original work… He wouldn’t be here to ask me for money, right?”

Lin Chen thought seriously, had a flash of inspiration, and clapped his hands!

“Since he lacks money, and I have a very good project worth 100,000 on hand…”

Lin Chen smiled: “Then, temporarily switch to plan G. Let’s outsource tomorrow night’s work to him!”