C22 I Am the System

"Amazing!"

Xia Liang couldn't help but grin as he tore a palm-sized piece of necrotic skin from his stomach and flung it to the floor, feeling an odd sense of relief wash over him.

The floor was littered with curled-up chunks of dead skin he had just peeled from his body.

Earlier, he had been engulfed in flames from an attack by a muscular man, leaving him hairless and his skin cracked and blistered.

Now, the pain from the burns was gone, mysteriously healed, revealing fresh, soft skin where the old had been stripped away.

Even his singed hair and eyebrows had regrown.

But his body was still covered with a layer of dead skin—black, wrinkled, and repulsively uncomfortable.

After a thorough cleaning in the bathroom, he managed to scrub off all the filth and come out clean.

Reflecting on it, the whole ordeal seemed like a dream.

Yet, the pieces of dead skin soaking at his feet were a grim reminder of the reality—that he had narrowly escaped death.

"Why didn't I burn to death? And... why did I lose control of my body?"

Standing before the bathroom mirror, Xia Liang touched his chest, feeling a mix of fear and confusion.

Once he settled down, he carefully recalled the sensation of something emanating from within him, like a mysterious, fantastical mist...

"Could it be that I've awakened a superpower?" Xia Liang, who kept up with various news and rumors, was familiar with stories of metahuman awakenings.

"There's no mistake, I must have awakened a supernatural power! Otherwise, I'd be damned to eating shit." Clenching his fists, Xia Liang felt a powerful energy coursing through him, and he couldn't contain his excitement.

"Really?"

Out of nowhere, a skeptical voice echoed in his head.

"Who's there?" Startled, Xia Liang spun around, scanning the bathroom, but found no one.

"You said you'd eat shit if it wasn't for an awakening of a supernatural power, right?"

The voice in his mind teased him once more.

"Who's there? Are you using your supernatural powers to mess with me?" Xia Liang instinctively grabbed the soap next to him, ready for anything.

He faintly recalled that there were meta-humans capable of communicating telepathically with others.

"Me?"

The voice paused, taken aback, before responding directly to Xia Liang:

"I am your system, the most formidable meta-human system there is."

"Huh?" Xia Liang was utterly bewildered.

He grasped the words spoken by the "system," yet they didn't fully make sense to him. The term "system" was one he knew well, typically in reference to computer and software systems. In this context, it likely referred to the pivotal element in a particular genre of fantasy novels known as "system stories."

An enigmatic object with an origin shrouded in mystery, boasting functions so powerful they defied Earth Civilization's capabilities, and by sheer chance, becoming the protagonist's miraculous tool.

Any protagonist endowed with such a "system" would effortlessly soar to success, becoming a CEO, marrying a wealthy beauty, and ultimately reaching the pinnacle of life.

While Xia Liang had read such stories with envy and desire, he never truly believed in the existence of "systems."

It was simply unscientific!

"What are you 'huh'-ing about? Supernatural powers defy common sense, and you're questioning your good fortune in earning the system's approval?" The voice in his mind derided him.

"But..."

Xia Liang's mind flashed back to the moment he was nearly consumed by flames, recalling a faint voice that seemed to have uttered the word "binding."

At the time, teetering on the edge of life and death, he hadn't paid it any mind. But now, the memory was clear.

"Is it really true? And did you save me?" Xia Liang asked, his face a picture of incredulity.

"Of course it's true. Without my intervention, you'd be nothing but a roasted chicken, a heap of ash by now. Awakening to supernatural power? Please. Even if you did awaken to such power, do you honestly think a novice like you could defeat that man?"

The self-proclaimed system challenged Xia Liang.

"Well..."

Xia Liang pondered. It did make sense. He remembered reading that newly awakened meta-humans, considered Subpar Meta-humans, needed time to grow and strengthen.

And the burly man wielding fire, who seemed to have narrowly been bested by his father, must possess the might of an Ultimate Power Wielder.

The gap between a Subpar Meta-human and an Ultimate Power Wielder is akin to that of an ant and an elephant.

"Are you actually the system?" Xia Liang, having pieced everything together, couldn't help but question once more.

"Guaranteed genuine."

"So, what kind of system are you, exactly? What functions do you offer? And where's my newbie reward?" Xia Liang decided to tentatively trust the entity.

"After all, it saved me, and it hasn't yet asked me to sell my soul or betray my country, so I might as well wait and see how things unfold." Doubt still lingered in his mind.

"And what if it turns out to be real? If a flying superman exists, what's to say other impossibilities aren't real?" A sense of eager anticipation grew within him.

"I am the supreme meta-human system, tasked with guiding you from a Muggle to the planet's most formidable meta-human. Regarding your beginner's reward..."

The system hesitated briefly, then continued with a tone of regret:

"Upon system integration, you should have been granted one hundred points at no cost..."

"Should have?" Xia Liang felt a twinge of anxiety, sensing trouble ahead.

"But..."

Predictably, the system's following words sent a chill through Xia Liang's spine.

"Since you faced a mortal threat just now, I initiated the top-tier emergency response, consuming 300 points. Then, healing your burns cost another 37 points. You're now at a deficit of 237 points, rendering you unable to redeem any items or participate in any draws."

"Negative?" Xia Liang was stunned.

"Correct, negative 237 points. If you don't zero out your balance within a month, the system will uninstall," the system stated matter-of-factly.

"Uninstall? Does that mean I'll..." Xia Liang gulped.

"No worries. Upon uninstallation, only your memories will be wiped clean," the system reassured Xia Liang.

"Great, just say it's a memory wipe, why don't you?" Xia Liang nearly leapt with fright.

"Let's put it more delicately," the system suggested, not contradicting Xia Liang.

"Good heavens, this isn't some lucky charm system, it's practically a death knell!" The excitement on Xia Liang's face dissolved into dismay.

"However..." Xia Liang rubbed his face, regaining his composure. "I owe him my life, so there's no sense in talking about losses. The mission has to be completed within a month, no matter what."

"So, system, what should I do to earn points?" Xia Liang's voice steadied, his emotions now in check.

...

While Xia Liang conversed with the system, more than five thousand kilometers away, Yao Xi furrowed her brow at the message on her phone.

"Significant Soul Power fluctuations detected in Inont City, with evidence of a meta-human battle. One severely injured individual found, identified as King Xiaoshan, an unregistered Subpar Meta-human. Investigation ongoing..."

Yao Xi felt an urge to use a dimension door to return to Inont City instantly.

Ultimate Power Wielders were rare globally, and their sudden appearance in the unremarkable Inont City was alarming. Xia Liang immediately sprang to mind as possibly involved.

Yet, with a critically important mission at hand, he couldn't afford any rash actions.

After a moment's thought, he swiftly responded, "Dispatch someone to Xia Quanhai's son, Xia Liang's, current residence to ensure the person under protection is safe. Execute immediately."

Message sent, he pocketed his phone and closed his eyes, steadying his emotions.

"Boss, is something wrong?"

A Psionic Police officer inquired.

"Nothing. Keep surveillance and stay alert for Soul Power fluctuations."

Yao Xi shook her head, her gaze fixed on a small cabin nestled in the forest ahead.

This was near a small town in Europe. A week prior, the local police station had received a distress call. But by the time the police arrived at the caller's home, the individual had vanished, leaving no trace of struggle—a baffling mystery.

Later, in the attic of the cabin, they discovered a petrified young girl.

She appeared deeply traumatized and only after much coaxing did she hesitantly reveal that her father had been devoured by a "giant octopus."

It seemed like a trivial incident at first—a peculiar missing person case, at most. But Yao Xi's European friend caught a whiff of something amiss and promptly alerted Yao Xi.

With the ability to use a dimension door and appear anywhere on Earth in the blink of an eye, Yao Xi wasted no time in heading to the scene. After a thorough investigation, he was shaken to discover a possible link to the very thing he had been tirelessly searching for.

Now, Yao Xi and his three trusted companions were staked out in a nondescript car, common across Oshela, lying in wait for their target.

One companion, a master of disguise, used his power to mask their presence. Another, adept at environmental insight, had the ability to peer through nearly any barrier—perfect for covert surveillance.

The final member of the group was a woman shrouded in dark mist, a stranger to the two who had accompanied Yao Xi before.

"She's a European meta-human assisting us," was all the explanation Yao Xi offered.

"Is it him?"

Yao Xi felt a surge of excitement and, through a subtle ripple of Soul Power undetectable to his companions, he reached out to the enshrouded woman.

"Based on the residual Soul Power at the scene, it's likely him—or at least he's involved," she responded with equal secrecy.

"After five years, he's finally slipped up." Yao Xi's grip tightened, his eyes a mix of tension and eager anticipation.

Capturing that thing here could mean averting a Cataclysmic disaster threatening Earth.

"Something's happening."

Wu Yuan, attuned to the Soul Power and thermal readings within a three-kilometer radius, alerted Xia Liang in a hushed tone.

"Let's hope luck is on our side today!"

Yao Xi clenched his fists and took a deep breath, ready for what was to come.