When Shuo Heng opened his eyes again, he was quite puzzled by the situation before him.
Is this… what the Underworld looks like?
He clearly remembered collapsing on the cold operating room floor due to cardiac arrest after a sixteen-hour surgery.
After that fall, he never woke up again.
So he must have died?
But Shuo Heng, who always believed in science, never imagined that after his death, he would actually see the legendary ‘Underworld’.
However, this ‘Underworld’ was utterly dark as far as the eye could see, without a single ray of light.
According to the process, he should drink a bowl of Meng Po Soup, then cross the Bridge of Helplessness to reincarnate, right?
But where exactly was this ‘Bridge of Helplessness’? He truly couldn't see.
“Is anyone there?” Shuo Heng thought for a moment, deciding that reincarnating quickly was better than standing here foolishly. “Or… are there any ghosts? Please, could you point the way?”
“Ding.”
A sudden chime rang in Shuo Heng’s ear. He abruptly turned his head towards the sound and saw a glowing orb floating behind him.
Shuo Heng was silent for a moment: “What is this little thing?”
“Ding, System 004, at your service.”
The glowing orb trembled up and down, then spoke in Shuo Heng’s mind with a fluent mechanical voice.
“Hello, Lord.”
Shuo Heng wasn't someone who had never read novels; when bored, reading some imaginative novels was quite interesting. The key issue was—Shuo Heng had never imagined this scene would happen to him.
It was quite amusing.
“Come, let’s chat, little System. What’s your background?”
“￥%#* System 004, under the jurisdiction of the Main System. After binding with the Lord, we will work together to complete missions and maintain world stability.”
Shuo Heng listened to the string of garbled code at the beginning, raising an eyebrow: “Say that again, what Main System?”
“Lord, your current permissions are insufficient; what you hear can only be garbled code.”
Shuo Heng didn't press the issue: “Alright. So, you mean I’ll be working for your Main System with you from now on?”
“Yes, Lord.”
“Why choose me?”
Facing this question, 004 revealed everything it knew.
“The Main System stipulated before recruiting mission personnel that the mission personnel’s Aptitude must reach a certain score or higher to be selected.
Lord, your Aptitude test report is ninety-nine points, which has already surpassed approximately one hundred percent of mission personnel.”
“Approximately one hundred percent?” Shuo Heng pondered for a moment, thinking it was probably because someone else had the same score as him. “Alright, then tell me, what are the benefits of being a mission personnel?”
004 immediately reeled off the benefits.
“You can own a permanent fixed property within the Main System’s jurisdiction, and you get a holiday after completing each mission.
You will possess an extremely long lifespan.
You can also possess many abilities that surpass those of ordinary people.”
“Abilities that surpass ordinary people, you mean?”
“For example, the mission location you are about to go to, a great Cultivation world where everyone can Cultivate.
All your gains in this world can be extracted to your original body using the electronic currency obtained after completing the final mission.
In other words, even if you leave that world, you can always possess power and resources far beyond Mortals.”
“That is quite appealing,” Shuo Heng chuckled.
He was a person who went with the flow, or rather, compared to a stable life, he preferred to seek out a bit of excitement.
A great Cultivation world, it sounded very exciting.
“What happens if the mission fails?”
“Because it is the Lord’s first mission, even if the mission fails, there will be no punishment.”
004 diligently answered the question.
“So, after the second mission, there will be punishment if I fail?” Shuo Heng stroked his chin, actually finding this Main System quite humane, considering it gave him, a newcomer, a welfare package.
“Does the Lord have any other questions?”
Shuo Heng smiled and raised his hand to pinch the glowing orb in front of him, secretly sighing in his heart that it felt quite good, then teased: “Can I unbind?”
“…”
004 had clearly never encountered such a question.
“Sorry, Lord, the binding is a one-sided lock, unless your Soul perishes or you are dismissed from your mission personnel duties by the Main System.”
Shuo Heng raised an eyebrow, clearly not thinking he could actually unbind.
He was quite interested in the Main System mentioned by the System in front of him, looking forward to a deeper analysis of what exactly it was in the future.
Moreover, who would want to die if they could live?
It was just working in a different place.
“Ding, Lord, are you ready to connect to the mission world?”
“Yes.”
—
Vanyang Realm, Shuo Family.
As one of the most famous Families in the Vanyang Realm, the Shuo Family recently welcomed a joyous event that brought universal celebration.
The Shuo Family Head’s wife, Crimson Cloud Saintess, was pregnant!
As soon as this news broke, it immediately ignited the fervor in the hearts of the Shuo Family disciples.
The Shuo Family was a Family that highly valued Bloodline.
The status of the main lineage was unquestionable; all descendants of the branch lineages were instilled from a young age with the teaching to always respect and support the main lineage’s designated heir.
And now, the child carried by the Family Head’s wife was very likely to be the future heir of the Shuo Family!
How could the Shuo Family members not be excited?
...
“Madam, you’ve worked hard.”
The tall man gently stroked the beautiful woman's belly with his hand.
Cultivators also carried a child for ten months before giving birth, which was no different from Mortals.
So now, Yan Qing, who had been pregnant for less than three months, hadn’t even started showing, and Shuo Ya was here stroking her belly with a gentle expression, for what reason, she didn't know.
“Husband, you can’t feel anything yet.”
Yan Qing, tickled by his touch, helplessly pressed down on her husband’s hand.
“How can I not feel it? I can already feel this little rascal kicking and squirming inside!”
This was pure nonsense, but Shuo Ya still smiled and stroked her belly again before retracting his hand.
“Madam, you are working hard with this pregnancy. These past few days, I’ve had people bring out all the spiritual treasures that replenish Qi and Spiritual Qi. Eat as much as you like.”
Yan Qing, also known as Crimson Cloud Saintess by the people, nodded with a smile: “Alright, husband, don’t worry, I will ensure our child is born healthy.”
Shuo Ya shook his head: “Madam, you’ve misunderstood. These good things aren’t for that unborn little rascal; they are for you.
The Ninth Ancestor and Tenth Ancestor examined your fetus and said this pregnancy of yours is not simple; the Spiritual Qi and Origin consumed will be much more than for ordinary people. So, don’t indulge him too much; take good care of yourself.”
If there was a difference between a Cultivator’s pregnancy and a Mortal’s fetus, it was probably the difference in the energy absorbed by the fetus.
A Cultivator’s fetus absorbed the mother’s Spiritual Qi and even devoured a small portion of the mother’s Origin, which also resulted in a low birth rate throughout the Cultivation world.
A Mortal’s fetus, on the other hand, only required the nutrients from ordinary food, making childbirth much easier than for Cultivators.
“Don’t worry, I know my limits.” Yan Qing was a very powerful woman; for her, bearing a child was not strenuous, it was Shuo Ya being overly concerned.
However, she also didn't want to reject her husband's concern.
Thus, when Shuo Heng awoke in a state of Chaos, the first thing he heard was the sound of his parents, in this life, showing affection.
At three months, he was at most an embryo that had developed a bit of human form; logically, he shouldn't be able to hear or perceive external things.
However, the existence of 004 helped him avoid this trouble.
At this moment, within his powerful Divine Soul, a light screen was broadcasting the outside situation in real-time.
And a glowing orb was floating beside the light screen.
“Lord, congratulations on your successful reincarnation.”
And a good one at that.
Theoretically, these Systems could only project the Lord’s consciousness into the mission world, but to choose the Family identity for reincarnation was utterly impossible.
In the words of the Main System, everything was full of unknown randomness.
And for their Lord to randomly get such a powerful identity truly surprised it.
Shuo Heng’s consciousness also transformed into a ball of light, floating within his own Divine Soul, currently flying up and down with great interest.
Truth be told, this feeling of having no hands or feet and being completely unburdened was quite fun.
“Ding. Lord, congratulations on receiving a Newbie Task Gift Pack . Would you like to open it immediately?”