Soul Patch

Chapter 4 The Terrible System

After the meeting, Wenjie went to the company cafeteria with Bai Yu for lunch.

He kept fiddling with the Gaode Map on his phone, planning his route from his workplace to the crime scene in the suburbs: he needed to be at least ten minutes earlier than last time to have any chance of stopping the crime.

Bai Yu ate his bland cafeteria food while glancing at his colleagues who came in to eat.

"Hey, look over there, to your left." Bai Yu suddenly nudged Wen Jie.

Wenjie's hand trembled, and he almost dropped his phone into the egg drop soup. He said unhappily:

"What are you doing?"

He looked up at Bai Yu's mischievous smile and couldn't help but glance to his left.

It's Director Wang who's here for lunch.

The difference was that he wasn't surrounded by a group of sycophants; instead, he was accompanied by a woman with exquisite makeup and fashionable clothes.

Wenjie turned his head away indifferently and continued shoveling rice into his mouth.

"Let me tell you, I bumped into him on my last date with that girl." Bai Yu covered his mouth and whispered in his ear, but his eyes were fixed on the food on the table. Anyone around them would just think he was discussing the food.

Wenjie hummed softly, indicating that he had heard Bai Yu's words.

He spends most of his free time working overtime, compiling research reports, and striving to stay on after his internship ends. He has no time to go shopping.

Bai Yu was used to Wen Jie's silence; most of the time, he was the one talking, and Wen Jie was a good listener.

He pushed the rest of his food away, refusing to eat. He picked up his phone and started chatting on WeChat, his fingers flying across the screen for a while before a smile gradually spread across his lips.

After studying the route for a long time, he had to admit that having a car was a huge help... He sighed slightly.

Thinking about these things is useless; when entering a system task, everything is based on the objective conditions at that time.

I didn't charge my phone at work yesterday, and it still had 57% battery left when I left work, exactly as advertised.

That afternoon, from the moment I returned to my workstation, I stared at the computer screen the whole time after finishing my work.

One minute they'd be researching criminal psychology, the next they'd be researching this serial murder case... but unfortunately, there was just too little information available online.

He rubbed his sore eyes and was about to check the time when he realized that he was the only one left in the huge office.

The system boot screen then appeared before my eyes.

[System restart successful: Proceed to test]

[Should I adjust my life trajectory?]

The thought "Yes" flashed through my mind, and the answer automatically appeared on the screen.

[Please select the patch type: A. Persuasion type; B. Intimidation type; C. Violence type; D. Collapse type]

[Default type: Dissuasion]

——Enter the system——

Wenjie reappeared downstairs at the office building at 18:35.

He took out his phone, unlocked it, and booked a ride. While waiting for the driver's response, his eyes unconsciously glanced at the upper right corner of his phone: battery 57%.

It's exactly as described!

Having learned from his previous experience, Wenjie took a Didi Express car this time and headed towards the suburbs.

Outside the window, the evening rush hour in M ​​City had just begun. The roads were teeming with traffic, and groups of smartly dressed office workers, both excited and slightly weary, were heading towards the subway entrance and bus stops.

As Wenjie watched pedestrians pass his car in twos and threes, he began to fidget in the back seat, urging the driver to hurry up because he was in a rush.

Fortunately, after passing two congested intersections, and as the car moved further and further away from the city center, buildings, sidewalks, bushes, and shops flashed past the window... the car finally started moving again.

Wenjie's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, gradually calmed down.

At 8:30, he had already arrived at the building materials factory workshop. He hadn't gotten wet in the rain today, and he had an extra weapon in his hand: a folding umbrella.

The driver gave it to me when I got off the bus.

It would be perfect if it were one of those old-fashioned long-handled umbrellas. Those long-handled umbrellas have a metal tip about five or six centimeters long above the long ribs.

When I was a child, my family used those old-fashioned umbrellas. They looked clumsy, but they were made of very solid materials.

The umbrella has a jet-black canopy, and the ribs are mostly made of high-quality steel, with a high-quality steel tip.

I reckon that umbrella tip, flashing white light, could kill someone.

Wenjie sighed and weighed the folding umbrella in his hand. Something was better than nothing.

Suddenly, the sound of car brakes came from outside the factory, accompanied by the patter of rain.

The murderer has arrived.

Wenjie quickly hid at the factory gate, and with a creak, the large, dark iron gate was pushed open.

A person wearing a long black raincoat walked in carrying a burlap sack.

For a moment, Wenjie was at a loss for what to do, his hands gripping the umbrella sweating. He mustered his courage, raised the umbrella, and prepared to fight the murderer.

But they couldn't take a single step out...

What's going on? Is the system frozen or something? He was a little at a loss.

Just as the murderer threw the sack onto the open ground in the center of the workshop, the sack landed with a soft whimper.

The killer's movements were fluid and seamless.

Why is he the only one stuck?

The system finally responded:

[WARNING: Only the selected patch type can be used]

Wenjie suddenly remembered the default A, the "dissuasion patch"!

I understand... Persuasion means you can only use words, not physical force!

Hmm... This system is such a pain!

(End of this chapter)