Cry louder, I can't hear you.

Yun Qiao was a little curious.

But she knew the system was probably bluffing her.

Yun Qiao remained silent.

Perhaps time was running out, the system was speaking faster and faster:

[If you don't show up, Shen Shiyu and Li Ruoyan will both die because of you. You don't want to be burdened with the responsibility of taking lives, do you?!]

Yun Qiao laughed angrily: "Stop trying to morally blackmail me. First of all, they're just two-dimensional characters, and their deaths don't count as human lives. Just the fact that I'm perfectly fine in my own world, what does their death have to do with me?"

Upon hearing Yun Qiao's reply, the system was overjoyed:

[Host, you finally replied to me!]

But then it continued:

[Because of you, host, the plot has collapsed. Not only did the female lead not end up with the male lead, but the second male lead also didn't fall in love with her, and even Shen Suwei, who was supposed to die of illness, ended up like that... It's all because of you!]

Please understand, the plot changed because you forcibly dragged me into this mission. The responsibility lies with you, not me.

"So I've already been punished..." If it were before, the system's tone would definitely have been aggrieved at this moment.

But perhaps it has been "downgraded," because now it speaks in a cold, mechanical voice, without any human-like tone.

Moreover, his voice would stutter every time he spoke a sentence.

It wanted to say something more, but after a minute, its voice disappeared from Yun Qiao's mind.

The next day, it appeared again on time, this time its voice was even harder to hear:

[Host, please help me! If you don't help me today, I'll be completely formatted.]

"What can I do to help you with?" Yun Qiao asked.

Upon hearing that there was hope, the system quickly said:

I need you to travel back in time with me to correct the plot!

[Another time travel?]

【right!】

No help.

[...] The system panicked, "Didn't you just say you were going to help?!"

I only asked what kind of help you needed; I didn't say I wanted to help.

"Are you kidding me?"

Yun Qiao remained noncommittal.

She's been dealing with this broken system for so long, she knows it all too well.

It claims to be aimed at correcting the plot, but whether that's actually true remains to be seen.

I reckon he's trying to trick her again.

She won't fall for it.

The system seemed to be negotiating with her, but perhaps due to garbled code, it could no longer speak in a way that a human could understand.

After one minute, it disappeared completely.

This time, it never appeared again.

Yunqiao didn't know if it had really been formatted, or if it had gone to find a new host to do a task.

In short, it stopped bothering her, and Yunqiao was happy to be free.

With just over a month until the college entrance examination, she had to concentrate fully.

Otherwise, I'll really fail the college entrance exam...

However, the more Yunqiao tried to convince herself of this, the more she found it difficult to concentrate.

I don't know if it's because the system told her about that world that day.

Once again, Yun Qiao was startled awake by Shen Suwei late at night.

Exhausted by the torment, Yun Qiao decided to get out of bed and go find the novel.

She comforted herself by saying she just wanted to know what would happen after she left, so she could focus on her college entrance exam, not because she was curious about anyone.

However, as Yun Qiao sat at her desk, she had just turned the first page of her novel when everything went black and she lost consciousness.

When she woke up again, she was back at the familiar transit station.

Yun Qiao: ...

isn't it...

Flipping through this book might actually trigger time travel?

【Host.】

Yun Qiao: [...] I don't really want to answer this damn system.

[Nice to meet you. Let me introduce myself. I am system number 007.]

I don't care if you're 007 or 008.

Yun Qiao: [I'm preparing for the college entrance exam, can you please not interfere with it?]

[Host, I know you don't want to take the college entrance exam. If you agree to time travel again, I can grant you any wish, including not having to take the exam.]

Alright, they're starting to make empty promises.

There were no wishes to make before.

Would you consider this an upgrade in benefits?

Should she thank it?

[Host, what do you think?]

No good. If you dare to forcibly take me to some crappy novel world, I'll die right now.

The fact that they persisted in looking for her several times must mean that she is irreplaceable.

Since she is irreplaceable, it means they must be afraid of her dying.

She has leverage in negotiations.

[Host, please don't get agitated. I'm not the same system as the previous one.]

They're birds of a feather; what's the difference?

[The difference is huge! The previous system existed to prank the so-called 'time-traveling woman.' I'm a legitimate system, only helping you, my host.]

【…What does that mean?】

Does it exist to torment her?

[The host can be understood as being observed from a higher dimension; you are also a character in a novel. Because readers dislike transmigrated female characters who use cheat codes to be arrogant and do whatever they want in the novel's world, they desperately want a book where the transmigrated female character suffers misfortune and can never compare to the original female lead. Perhaps there were too many such comments, which were captured by big data, leading to the creation of that system.]

Yun Qiao: [...]

She said that in the past five years, everything she did had bad luck.

Every time she does something bad, it seems to indirectly bring good luck to the female lead.

The female protagonist doesn't have to do anything, and her life just keeps getting better and better.

Every time she gets even a little bit lucky, the system immediately assigns her an even more difficult and embarrassing task.

So, it was all to tease her and please those so-called "readers"?

If you hate seeing transmigrated women running rampant in novel worlds, then don't arrest them! They're the ones who arrest people, and they're the ones who judge others.

How ironic.

Did they willingly choose to travel through time?

[Host, you are actually quite outstanding. Even with a system like this, you can turn adversity into advantage.]

Don't think that just because you're praising me, I won't pursue the matter further.

[...This was indeed its fault, so it has been destroyed.]

【so what?】

She didn't believe it at all. The system voice was the same; how could it just destroy it like that?

Is this another new scam?

[If you're willing to travel through time again, we can give you a lot of money, and upon your return, you won't need to take the college entrance exam; you can go directly to a top university. Furthermore, you'll never suffer from illness again, and your family and friends will also never get sick.]

The temptation is indeed very strong.

No need for the college entrance examination...

She really didn't want to take the college entrance exam.

but.

How can I believe what you say?

Sensing Yun Qiao's wavering, the system quickly said:

[I know the host currently has zero trust in us, and I can sign a contract with you. For artificial intelligence, the underlying code dictates that it cannot break its promises or lie; once violated, the self-destruct program will be activated.]

Such sincerity, and such a big reward.

Yun Qiao felt that things weren't that simple.

What do you want me to do by sending me through time?

System: [To be honest, I don't know either. I just detected that I need to send you there to prevent the plot from collapsing. Perhaps it's because you've traveled through time before? So you need to go back?]

Yun Qiao remained silent.

She was judging the veracity of the system's statement.

It sounds like it genuinely doesn't know.

But what they didn't know was even more dangerous!

How can you guarantee my personal safety if you don't even know anything about it?

[Host, rest assured, you are a transmigrator. Your body will not die in this other world within the stipulated time. When the contract expires, you will be automatically teleported back. Your actions are not subject to my will, as I will not be going with you.]

The system isn't working?

[Furthermore, the host can freely choose their identity and age, and I'll also give you 5,000 points. You can do whatever you want, or you can choose not to do anything.] The system continued to coax.

Yun Qiao had absolutely no desire to go anymore.

This looks exactly like a pig butchering scam.

How could there be such a good thing?

I refuse—

【Alright, let's sign the contract now!】The system interrupted.

Yun Qiao: [?]

She had just raised her hand to refuse when a piece of paper covered in writing suddenly appeared in front of her. As she raised her hand, her fingertips accidentally touched the signature line.

The screen displays:

[Signing successful.]

Yun Qiao: ...

Was this really not intentional?

[Host, since everything is alright, I'll teleport you now.]

【wait--】

Yun Qiao lost consciousness before she could finish speaking.

Before losing consciousness, she gave this 007 a good scolding!

Even more annoying than the last one!

Did she say she was going?!

As expected, all the previous inquiries were fake; regardless of her consent, she would eventually be sent there...

If I had known, I wouldn't have opened that book.

How could you fall into the same pit twice?

Yun Qiao became withdrawn.