Seeing the prompt from the system, the smile on Ye Cheng's face stiffened, and he looked at the notification before him with some disbelief.
Wait... 'Intelligence +1,' while also being four characters, is clearly not the same as 'Keen Senses,' right?
One, two, three, four... four, three, two, one. Ye Cheng counted back and forth twice—it was four characters both times. What he wanted was indeed four characters, but it shouldn't have been these four characters, 'Keen Senses.'
Ye Cheng: "..."
My freaking god!!!
Ye Cheng visibly reddened at a speed observable to the naked eye. Just as he was about to curse the damn system's ancestors, he suddenly snapped to his senses. Wait... something feels off?
Ye Cheng carefully recalled it. The system's wording just now seemed odd, different from usual?
Mission reward, failure reward... mission reward, refusal reward???
Failure... refusal?
Ye Cheng's pupils contracted. Damn it, playing word games, are you?!!!
Ye Cheng finally realized where the problem lay. Previous tasks were either completed or failed. Completion rewarded items, while failure rewarded being chopped into "minced meat" or pounded into beef balls.
In a sense, those 'failure rewards' were the consequences of not achieving the objective, essentially serving as a warning to Ye Cheng about what would happen upon failure.
They weren't genuine "threats." What's a real threat?
It was like the random "reward" of any virus currently discovered by humanity when he first encountered the young lady. That damn thing was a real threat, like holding a gun to your head and asking if you're happy. Dare I say no?
In other words, failing this mission wouldn't have any consequences. Success meant 'Keen Senses,' and of course, there was an even simpler option: directly refuse, and then... 'Intelligence +1.'
Ye Cheng: "..."
The thought that he seemed to have missed a chance to become a certain curly-haired little old man sticking out his tongue in photos sent a pang of anguish through Ye Cheng's heart. No!!!
My controlled nuclear fusion, my college upgrade exam, my government job...
"This guy really might have something wrong with his brain. What is he doing?"
"Why would the Student Council President and the Shen family's young mistress like such a weird person? Is it because I'm not weird enough that I didn't catch their attention?"
"Oh right, what to eat for lunch later? I heard the second floor has a new dish today, something like stir-fried strawberries with mooncakes. How devilish, I must go try it..."
"So satisfying, I just got elbowed hard a couple of times in the chaos..."
"What's wrong with having something off in the head? Didn't you see how handsome he is? Ah, I really want to keep him. He must have great stamina!"
"Is it my imagination, or is this guy looking in our direction?"
Just as Ye Cheng was still grieving over missing another chance to be a parasite within the system, suddenly, a flood of "muttering" and conversational noises poured into his mind.
Ye Cheng: "???"
Ye Cheng was stunned for a moment, a big question mark appearing over his head. Could it be... Keen Senses?
As if thinking of something, Ye Cheng abruptly looked up, gazing in the direction from which he had heard the voices. As he focused his attention, something miraculous happened.
From Ye Cheng's perspective, everything around him began to zoom in bit by bit, finally locking precisely onto the person who had spoken last. He could even see the pores on their face clearly!
Ye Cheng: "!!!"
Holy crap, is this for real?
Like adjusting a telescope, Ye Cheng briefly tested the zoom-in and zoom-out functions, ultimately reaching a startling conclusion... What's this 'Intelligence +1'? I'm not familiar with it. In our family, 'Keen Senses' is the sweet, soft little cake.
At least in Ye Cheng's view, this thing is way more useful than any 'Intelligence +1'!!!
You could... look through the bottom of the bottle when buying iced tea at a store to check for the "One More Bottle" winning mark, and indulge in unlimited drinks!!!
Thinking about becoming a luxurious rich person in the future, Ye Cheng flushed with excitement, feeling like... well, no, even better than that... Meanwhile, the young lady and the Student Council President were giving him very strange looks, the two seemingly on the same wavelength again.
This guy... is hopeless.
The young lady seemed to remember something and suddenly spoke.
"You said you only like the simple-minded and physically adept type, right?"
The young lady's sentence instantly sucked all the attention back. Ye Cheng lost his title of "the most eye-catching guy in the room," as everyone's focus shifted to the young lady and the Student Council President.
Dongfang Zhixia had an inexplicable sense of foreboding... What is this arrogant guy going to say now?
"When I say simple-minded and physically adept, I'm only referring to him. Others don't count!"
Dongfang Zhixia narrowed her eyes in thought for a moment, then, deciding to go all the way, pointed directly at Ye Cheng with her other free hand, speaking in a very firm tone.
Quietly, Ye Cheng shifted a little, then a little more, then a little more again, successfully moving out of the line pointed by Dongfang Zhixia's finger.
Just to be safe, Ye Cheng also attempted a "stealthy escape," planning to quietly slip away. Hmm, good, yes, just like that... Argue, go ahead and argue. I'm outta here, folks.
Ye Cheng slowly backed away, and then... suddenly felt his hand bump into something rather large and soft.
Huh?
Ye Cheng turned his head to look. Wow, what a huge hamster spirit... Wait, why is this not-so-bright person here?
A strange place, a strange encounter. The little secretary, too afraid to approach Shen Qinghan and hiding secretly, bumped into Ye Cheng, who was trying to stealthily slip away.
As Ye Cheng looked down, the little secretary also looked up. Instinctively, the little secretary prepared to apologize because she seemed to have bumped into someone.
It couldn't be helped. The little secretary was uniquely gifted; the snacks and meat she ate all turned into what the President called "useless fat" in her mouth. The fat all went to where it was supposed to go, making her the enviable "wicked dairy cow" in the words of a certain mixed-race loli.
The little secretary blinked her big, sparkling eyes. Ye Cheng also blinked his own "Kashlan big eyes." The two seemed to sync up, staring wide-eyed at each other.
It took the little secretary a good while to react. Something seemed off. Why does this guy in front of me look so familiar? He resembles a certain rascal... and they're both so good-looking...
Ye Cheng's character model was top-notch. If not for his somewhat inhuman speech and behavior, he'd undoubtedly be the top-ranked school heartthrob, and unshakably so.
Unfortunately, there were no 'ifs.'
Even though Ye Cheng had become so inhuman, there were still plenty of young ladies at school willing to spend money on him, wanting to keep him as a "canary." Even if he did nothing all day, just some kissing and hugging would significantly improve their mood.
That money would absolutely be worth it!!!
But unfortunately, Ye Cheng was already "spoken for." Whether it was the young lady or the council president, either one was enough to make anyone's gaze instantly turn clear and sober.
How infuriating! Why wasn't it me who discovered him first, sob...
With the winner taking all, the young ladies at school who harbored any improper thoughts could only weep silently. There was definitely no chance of getting a piece of that pie, or they'd soon be pounded into beef meatballs by the combined force of the young lady and the council president.
Those two top-tier young ladies were still battling it out for "ownership" of Ye Cheng without a clear victor in sight. For others to step in now would be nothing but offering themselves up as cannon fodder.
Ye Cheng's charm effect was somewhat interfered with in the evening light. The little secretary didn't see clearly, and on top of that, her mind was completely occupied with her own snacks, so she failed to notice the slight increase in his charm stat.
Now... observing at such close range, the little secretary was utterly stunned, staring dumbfounded at Ye Cheng.
He's so good-looking, even more so than that scoundrel... but why does he look so familiar?
Wait, he IS that scoundrel!!!
The little secretary's pretty almond-shaped eyes blinked, her pupils contracting sharply: "Young Mis... mmmph..."
Just as the little secretary was about to call out for her young lady, a certain scoundrel who had run away—Ye Cheng—immediately took action. He covered the little secretary's mouth and began slowly backing away into the crowd.
As for the surrounding onlookers... seeing Ye Cheng's expression that screamed "If you dare say a word, I'll pound you into bear-shaped biscuits," they wisely chose to remain silent.
And so, a large crowd watched as Ye Cheng "kidnapped the little secretary" and made a clean getaway.
The crowd: "..."
This guy... might actually be a genius.
As for the young lady and the council president... they were still going at each other over there, completely unaware that each of their sides was now missing a person.
Ye Cheng: Nice going!!! (Lit: You really did it!!!)
...
lity and could only live as an ordinary mortal. He only wished to live a peaceful life. Yet he didn't know— The dog he adopted, because it ate his food, became a legendary demon king. The kitchen knife he casually forged became a peerless divine weapon, causing numerous experts to fight desperately for it. The young disciple he took in became an immortal lord that led an era, due to cultivating the techniques Ye Feng taught him. Even the skeletons he looked down on the most were ominous demon kings that suppressed countless worlds. Many years later, looking at the void shattered with a punch, Ye Feng murmured to himself: It turns out the peerless kings were myself all along...
. As long as he maintains the villain image and follows the plot to the grand finale, he can obtain generous rewards and return to the real world. So Gu Chen'an entered the role and began to act as a scumbag villain, but who would have expected that the female leads could hear his inner thoughts. Miss Su from the Su family was shocked: "I originally thought Gu Chen'an was a scumbag, but I didn't expect he turned out to be a gentleman! What? You said I have to call off the engagement? I definitely won't, I'll piss you off!" Bai Yuan Tian was dumbfounded: "Young Master Gu is usually unreasonable and a complete brat, but he actually calls me little sweetie in his heart? What, Young Master Gu even said he likes me?" As the female leads' images collapsed more and more, the plot also collapsed with it. Gu Chen'an looked at all this chaos. "Ladies, don't aggro me, if you keep this up the male lead really will stab me, I still need to survive to the grand finale!"
with countless casualties. As a top-tier gamer, Liu Xuan volunteered to join the fight, intending to dominate with his skills, but instead he obtained the hidden class: [Pacifist]. Unable to attack. Unable to use active skills. Fortunately, with each level gained, he acquired a new passive skill. And so, armed with a body full of passives, Liu Xuan slaughtered his way through the battlefield of ten thousand races! [You attacked Liu Xuan] [You gained the debuffs: 'Poison', 'Fear', 'Burning', 'Bleeding', 'Freeze', 'Silence', etc.] [Your attack speed has been reduced by 99%] [Your armor and magic resistance have been reduced by 99%] Warriors of the Ten Thousand Races: How the hell am I supposed to fight this?!
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
