novelIf You Could Attain Immortality and Live as a Shut-In Forever, Why Settle for Less?
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Chapter 73: If You Could Attain Immortality and Live as a Shut-In Forever, Why Settle for Less?
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Everybody shared glances among each other, but nobody dared rush towards the food. They were afraid that it was another mirage, created by the monster.
However, the mist-like monster expressed shock at the food that had fallen from the sky, "How can that be?! I've already sealed all the entrances to this space, that's not possible!"
Not long after the food had fallen, Fatso Liu couldn't resist the temptation any longer and immediately rushed to eat one of the pastries and finish a bottle of water. After a while, he remained unaffected, which allowed everyone to confirm that there was no problem with the food and drinks.
If the System actually appeared before them right now, Old Man Zhao and Fatso Liu would be the first to come forward to vouch for the safety of the food, what with Vigilante A's reputation in Qi City and all. However, the System was busy training, so it just didn't have the time to appear and explain so much. Besides, the food would definitely be eaten by someone, since they were all starving...
After Fatso Liu had tried the food, everybody else realized that it really was pastries that had dropped from the heavens above...
"But there's only so much food and water. How are we going to divide it among ourselves?" voiced someone from among the crowd. Hearing this, everyone shared glances among each other once again, their shared dilemma's impact showing on their faces.
At this moment, the mist-like monster, who was looking for the source of the food but to no avail, immediately laughed at the sight of the food."Why, the strongest among you should decide that of course! Haha, have a go at each other, and the winner will not only get all the food to themselves, they might even find new food..."
Everyone's faces immediately fell. Not long after, thump after thump could be heard as mineral water bottles, instant noodles, ham and even chicken started falling from the sky...
Everyone's faces showed happiness beyond compare. They shared glances among themselves and immediately moved to pick up the food...
'To achieve what had just happened, somebody among this bunch of normal people must definitely have to have the miracle superpower "Wish"', thought Instructor Xu, who was leaning against a rock. His gaze swept across the people present, but he couldn't locate anyone that had awakened that rare superpower. He wasn't shocked however, since he wasn't a personnel member in charge of investigation.
Although he was as hungry as the rest, he didn't move towards the food like everyone else. Instead, he was still submerged in his thoughts, 'Was I wrong all this time and were the old men really right?'
After everyone else had divided the food into their respective piles, they very quickly realized that most of the food that had fallen from the skies had "Manufactured by Qi City's XX Food Factory" written on them.
However, this wasn't all that weird, since the System has always prioritized efficiency over everything else, so all the food it had threw out was cheap food from supermarkets that it had been storing since long ago. It would only make sense that all the food was produced locally in Qi City. It would never give up the higher quality ingredients and the pre-prepared meals to these people...
As for the mist-like monster who was trying to sow discord in between everyone, it was incredibly angry at the current developments, "How is that possible? Where is all that food appearing from? I refuse to believe that it will just keep falling from the sky!"
Hearing the monster's statement, a few heavyweights that were led by Fatso Liu immediately abandoned their frivolous idea of eating the food at one go. Everybody gathered the food into a single place and prepared to divide it up equally among themselves.
As expected, the food really did stop falling after a while. The amount that had now was just barely enough for them to last a day.
The mist-like monster once again grew pleased, "I knew that there wasn't going to be an infinite amount of the food. You lot can only last an extra day..."
The second day, food started falling from the sky again.
The mist-like monster was speechless.
The third day, the mist-like monster no longer appeared when the food started falling. Everybody soon realized that whatever the monster said, the direct opposite would happen instead...
On this day as well, a spunky and seemingly still quite healthy old man about 70-years-old gingerly approached Instructor Xu, who was still leaning against the rock. Instructor Xu had not eaten any food for two whole days, so the old man handed over some grilled chicken and two bottles of water.
The pair shared a few words over a period of time before Instructor Xu silently took the food from the old man to eat.
At the same time, Fang Ning realized that the System was entirely concentrated on taking over his body to train his abilities and skills, which meant that it didn't have the time to care for Fang Ning right now.
Being unable to resist it any longer, Fang Ning decided to loaf on his job and surf the Internet for a bit. When he realized that he couldn't go online, he booted up the Mod of a stand-alone game called "Mount & Blade" to play instead.
Right as Fang Ning was engrossed in the game and was busy challenging a hundred enemies at the same time, the mist-like monster that had disappeared for a half a day suddenly appeared in front of everyone again. It then spoke up.
"Haha, just because I was at my wit's end with you lot, that doesn't mean you should be pleased about it. I'll let you lot go this time, but it would be important to remember that I've already left my mark on all of you!"
"I already know that someone among you can wish for food to appear out of thin air so nobody staves to death. I won't be so stupid as to continue this battle of attrition with you lot. But one day, I'll retrieve your lives one by one. I hope you spend the rest of your lives in fear, hahahahaha..."
Hearing the monster's words, everyone first felt happiness wash over them, before their faces paled. Even Instructor Xu's eyebrows met tightly in the middle. A brief moment later, one of the elders placated everyone, "Don't be afraid. The opposite of what it says usually happens after it is done speaking, I'm sure it'll be no different this time."
After hearing where the situation was headed, Fang Ning immediately put down his game and shouted, "Sir System, your calculations were wrong. That monster is planning on ousting everyone from here and closing the server. I'm not sure we can stay for half a year anymore."
Reality wasn't a game, so the monster wasn't some pre-programmed NPCs or bit-part player. It would of course readjust its strategy and recalculate its success rate so that it can determine whether or not it should stay and fight or flee for its life.
It's not like it had any mission to succeed. It was nothing but a cruel and murderous monster. Just like the System, it was at the top of its food chain.
The System then said, "It can't kick us out, so let me lock it up first."
Fang Ning watched as Vigilante A emerged from the shadows. However, Vigilante A took on its Flame Dragon appearance immediately upon emergence.
The Flame Dragon's open jaw immediately rushed towards the mist-like monster.
"How did the Dragon from the East enter here?!" The mist-like monster was shocked, but still managed to evade in time.
Not only was it not inhibited by the True Dragon's Celestial Aura, it could even use its abilities! Fang Ning watched as the Flame Dragon's open jaw brushed past the mist-like monster before the mist-like monster fled far away.
Fang Ning was worried that another incident would happen again."Can we land an attack on it by using an attack with splash damage? You know what; let's just use the Flame Dragon's Howl that you mentioned before. Let's use an attack with a wide area of effect so that we can kill it immediately and bring it down."
The System was a professional in battle, so it didn't listen to Fang Ning's orders. It was still hung up on the training it had done in half a year, so it didn't want to recklessly waste a gift sent from the heavens.
From what Fang Ning could see on the System Map, the Monster was freely moving around within this space. Other than the fact that it couldn't go underground, the entire open air was its playground and it didn't remain in any one place for too long, either. Under these circumstances, how was the System going to catch it?
Then, the Flame Dragon's jaw went wide once again before started sucking in a deep breath...
"What a strong wind, what is that Flame Dragon trying to do?" Everybody below them watched what was unfolding intently; the mist-like monster had just started acting cool not too long ago before an impatient Flame Dragon had appeared to want to swallow it in a single bite. It really was true that whatever the monster said, the exact opposite would happen instead...
However, that didn't actually happen. Despite so, from the looks of things now, the Flame Dragon could probably swallow a small village at this rate...
"Separate into two groups and form a circle around these rocks with your hands connected!" The same old man that had placated everyone started shouting orders as he noticed the air flow above them had started picking up in speed. It was obvious a strong gale was brewing.
The old man's guess was right indeed. A brief moment later, a giant tornado started growing in the monster's space. The eye of the tornado was the dragon's open jaw, and it was expanding outward rapidly.
They were thankful that the tornado seemed to be actively avoiding them. Although they felt a slight pull, they could still ensure nobody would go flying away into the tornado by holding on to each other tightly.
Soon enough, the tornado filled the entire realm. Dust started flying everywhere as various light objects were sucked towards the dragon's mouth. However, nothing could enter the dragon's mouth, as if it had a filter attached.
On the other hand, the mist-like monster was weakening. As expected, when an attack with a wide area of effect was unleashed, it could no longer evade as it pleased. It couldn't go underground to hide out either.
Unable to withstand the aggressive air flow any longer, the mist-like monster slowly got sucked into the dragon's mouth, before it disappeared entirely with the dragon. All that was left was an awestruck audience.
System Notifications popped up then. [The System has consumed the last Morality Bar and activated Flame Dragon mode. The System used Esoteric Skill "Flame Dragon Devours the Sky"!
The System attacked the Elite Nightmare Demon.
Nightmare Demon's Passive Skill "Space Diversion" was activated, Nightmare Demon successfully resisted True Dragon's Celestial Aura!
Nightmare Demon has escaped.
The System used Esoteric Skill "Dragon's Storm Breath"!
The System has activated Area Attack Mode.
Nightmare Demon's "Space Diversion" target location was attacked and activation has been canceled. Nightmare Demon has been swallowed.
Nightmare Demon has been locked into the System Jail. ]
After reading the notifications, Fang Ning barked a loud laugh. He finally had somebody to keep him company in this small and dark System Space.
However, he would have to wait until the monster had starved to death for any notifications on rewards.
After being upgraded, the "Dragonization Ability" had improved so much in power though. It was no wonder why the System had so much confidence in itself...
After the mist-like monster had been locked into the System Jail, Fang Ning realized that the demon realm still existed. It was obvious that it would only collapse after the demonic power had all been consumed. It would seem that the System's plans would carry on as usual...
However, this meant that he would have to spend half a year in this dark room with no Internet connection...
While Fang Ning lamented his bleak future in the System Cyber Café, he heard a voice speak up.
"Let me go, I know you're there. You're the warden right? If you let me go, I can give you everything your heart desires. Money and riches, mansions and women; whatever the human realm has to offer. I can even offer you eternal youth and longevity..."
Fang Ning expressed his shock, "Sh*t, you demons really do like bewitching humans, huh? You just got locked in there and you're already deluding me?"
"Don't you want all the things I just offered? You look like you have a kidney deficiency; you probably have another one, two hundred years left."
Fang Ning vomited blood. 'My body has been taken over by Sir System. I train every day and I'm as healthy as can be, how can I have a kidney deficiency?'
'I just haven't been going online these past few days, so I'm slightly worn out mentally. It must be showing on my consciousness, but you realized it despite being a demon?'
He immediately laughed in return, "I can live for another one, two hundred years but you'll be in there until you die. You are the first one to be jailed, though. We swallowed a large spider a while back, but it was immediately used to craft equipment. Your execution has been postponed, so enjoy it while it lasts."
"I'll be dying sooner or later anyways, but we both share the same fate. So why are you so pleased about it?"
Fang Ning's heart wavered; the rest didn't matter much since he could obtain them through using the System. However, eternal youth and longevity were both quite alluring offers.
If he could live forever as a shut-in, he wouldn't have to worry about time passing too fast anymore. He used to worry about not having enough time to finish his games and that he would have to sooner or later have to watch other people play while he sat in a wheelchair...
The System was chivalrous so it mentioned before one that it had a way of attaining longevity. However, things like these should always come with an insurance of some kind. It wouldn't hurt to hear what the demon had to say; having more information would be better than having no information.
Of course, if whatever that would be offered went against the System's moral code, then Fang Ning would not accept. Without the System's ability to work hard the entire day, Fang Ning would never be able to attain longevity on his own accord...
After organizing his thoughts, Fang Ning started walking towards the source of the voice. Soon, he arrived at a new building in the System Space.
It was a small hut made entirely of steel plates and it only had a small door on one side. The door had a small window about the size of a fist that allowed people to peer in. Once Fang Ning peeked in through the window, he realized that not only was it empty, it was also narrow and dark. Gosh, the monster was being treated worse than he was...
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