CHAPTER 65

Finally, 001, who has enough energy, looks at the row of one hundred percent Blackening Value behind the villainess and feels her pupils tremble.

What's going on? The Redemption Value is already 100%, so shouldn't the Blackening Value be 0%?

001 feels a cold sweat forming as she stares at the one hundred percent value. She involuntarily recalls the fear of being controlled by the villainess.

This novel world, for which it is responsible, experienced a bug a long time ago— the villainess in the book developed self-awareness due to their strong obsession, causing the world's timeline to collapse and restart. After the restart, the completely corrupted villainess destroyed this world.

As a system, 001 cannot enter the world and change its development trajectory.

However, although the restart is a predetermined fact, as the system responsible for this small world, it has ten opportunities to rewind. After this rewind, there are nine opportunities left. It can find a host to complete the mission and change the ending of "Villainess Destroys the World." But if all the opportunities are used up, the world will be completely destroyed, and it will also be annihilated along with the destroyed world.

Initially, the several hosts that 001 found were ruthless individuals who, without a second thought, attempted to kill Li Jia upon arrival, but they were all killed by her without exception.

The timeline collapsed.

Then came a few hosts who wanted to redeem the villainess, but for some reason, Li Jia saw through all of them.

"Your acting skills are really terrible. The fear and disgust in your eyes are about to overflow. At least act more convincingly," Li Jia said with a smile as she swiftly struck with her knife.

The timeline collapsed once again.

The timeline collapsed again and again, and 001 rewound the timeline repeatedly.

By the time it realized it, 001 had only one opportunity left to rewind.

In theory, with only one chance remaining, it should choose the last host more seriously and carefully. However, when it recalls the fragmented missions completed by the previous hosts, which were already in a sorry state, it thinks it would be better to destroy everything. So, it takes the form of a cat and basks lazily in the sun in that world where it frequently seeks hosts to bind with, thinking it might as well sleep until death since there aren't many good days left.

But unexpectedly, even while taking a nap, it gets hit by a car. The person responsible for the accident quickly runs away. 001 thinks it's fortunate that it isn't a real cat, otherwise, it would have lost its life. It plans to find a place without anyone to erase the data of its injuries. However, before it can move to a corner, it feels itself being carefully picked up and then brought to a pet hospital by the person.

It listens to the conversations of those people and learns that the woman who brought it to the pet hospital is named Ye and is a doctor at a nearby hospital.

Its injuries are treated, and Ye takes care of it meticulously. So, 001, who was once a lazy cat basking in the sun outside, now sleeps in this woman's home.

In the end, the world cannot be saved. Sleeping here is more comfortable than sleeping outside. It hopes that the day it dies together with the complete collapse of the small world, the woman named Ye Chengxing won't be too heartbroken.

But 001 didn't expect that it wouldn't be the first to die, but rather the other person.

After learning the news of Ye Chengxing's sudden death due to a consecutive surgery, 001, in its system form, rushed into the hospital.

It looked at the surgical lead apron that she was wearing until her death and thought about how fragile... yet great human life is.

If this were before the world went awry, it would definitely have the power to save her, but now it's not far from death itself.

However, it's not completely hopeless, at least there's one thing it can do.

That means binding Ye Chengxing as its host to carry out the mission across world lines. By doing so, she wouldn't have to die.

001 recalled the tragic outcomes of the previous hosts it bound and couldn't help but mutter to itself, "Am I helping you or harming you? But if it's you, maybe this mission can really be accomplished."

It took her to the small world and watched as she opened her eyes again.

The system shouldn't have much emotional fluctuations, but at this moment, 001 suddenly felt as if it had come alive along with her. It makes an effort to make its electronic voice sound warm and friendly, and even because of nervousness, it stuttered for a moment—

"Hello, host... please allow me to introduce myself belatedly. I am System 001, your accompanying system for this journey. "

.......

Ye Chengxing is unaware that at this moment, the system is suspecting its own existence due to the villainess's 100% Blackening Value.

She has had a premonition about the completion of the mission for some time now, to the point that the premonition has become a real feeling in this instant of finally arriving.

She noticed that 001 became silent after mentioning the villainess's Blackening Value, but she didn't pay too much attention to it. After all, according to the system's previous statement, the Redemption Value is already one hundred percent, so the Blackening Value should mostly be zero. Even if it's not cleared, it shouldn't be able to rise any higher.

The mission is completed...

However, there are still some questions in her heart that she wants to confirm with the system, but Ye Chengxing thinks it's not convenient in the current environment.

She hid her emotions well and spoke in her usual tone. Smiling at Li Jia's gaze, and said, "Let's go there and take a look."

After all, she doesn't know when the next time she'll be with Li Jia is, or there might not even be a next time.

Li Jia's gaze remains on her, and upon hearing her words, the Omega's lips curve up. "Sure."

.......

The night grew deeper.

Stars shine in the night sky, casting a silvery glow like water and reflecting shimmering brilliance on the ground.

The business hours of the food street are also coming to an end.

Although most of this area consists of food-related shops, there are also other types. When Ye Chengxing was renovating the food street, many people contacted her expressing their desire to rent a shop there. The types of shops were diverse, and she thought it would be good to have some variety to increase the content and make it more enriching. So, she rented out some of the spaces.

Now, Ye Chengxing looks at a shop not far away with the name "Jiàn Zì Rú Wù"  [Reading a letter is like meeting a person.] displayed. Something stirred in her mind, and she said, "Xiaoli, shall we go check out that stall together? What do you think?"

Li Jia raised her gaze and followed Ye Chengxing's words, seeing that behind the shop name, there is a brief line of text — [Do you have anything you want to say to someone? Write it down, and we will deliver it to the recipient three months later.]

She naturally had no objections to this, but...

"Who are you planning to write to, Sister?" Li Jia asked with a smile.

This stall is completely empty compared to the other bustling stalls. It's deserted to an excessive extent. It's understandable since the messages written here will only be delivered three months later, it's quite unappealing.

The owner of the stall was about to close when unexpectedly, at this moment, a customer arrived. This brought great joy and hope to the somewhat dejected owner. Welcoming them, the owner enthusiastically arranged the items and began explaining them one by one.

When Li Jia asked this question, Ye Chengxing paused for a moment and then looked at her with a twinkle in her eyes, saying, "It's a secret."

Having said that, she followed the stall owner's instructions and took the items, starting to write.

After receiving Ye Chengxing's answer, Li Jia's movements paused slightly.

Reading a letter is like meeting a person, delivered three months later...

If she didn't know about Ye Chengxing's situation, she would think it was just an impulsive decision. But now that she knew, every action and gesture of hers seemed to carry a different meaning.

Is she already planning to leave? Is she preparing for what comes after she leaves?

Li Jia quietly watcheD Ye Chengxing's figure as she wrote on the paper. A few loose strands of the Alpha's long hair fell with her writing posture. Li Jia furrowed her brows, her lips curved with a gentle smile. Her expression didn't seem like someone writing a message but more like she's writing a love letter to someone dear to her heart.

She wrote a lot. Was there something she wanted to say to someone? Wen Qingxi? Xi Yue? Or the others she knew?

Would there be... something left for her?

How much would be left for her?

In an instant, numerous speculations and thoughts pass through her mind. Realizing what she was thinking, she couldn't help but curve her lips in a self-deprecating smile.

Whether or not those letters were meant for her didn't matter, after all, she wouldn't let Ye Chengxing leave her side.

Yet, even with that thought, her heart couldn't help but hold onto a few secret hopes.

Perhaps Ye Chengxing didn't have any intention of leaving at all.

If she wasn't leaving, she could take her time, slow down a bit more.

The nighttime breeze at this time had become slightly chilly. Ye Chengxing was afraid that Li Jia would freeze if they continued waiting, so after writing a few more messages, she put down the pen.

Ye Chengxing's gaze fell upon the papers.

Before picking up the pen, she thought there would be many unfinished words she wanted to say, but when she actually writes them down, she felt a bit hesitant.

But this should be enough.

After paying the star coins to the stall owner and providing information about the recipient, Ye Chengxing walked over and took Li Jia's hand. "I'm done writing. Let's go back."

Snowflakes began to fall from the sky, and Li Jia felt the warmth transmitted through their touching skin, subtly tightening her grip without making a sound.

......

Returning home naturally meant that Li Jia would let Ye Chengxing stay with her for a few days at her own home.

When Ye Chengxing previously mentioned staying for only a few days, it was just a casually mentioned short timeframe. But now, it seems that regardless of whether a timeframe is set or not, she won't stay for a long time.

As usual, after bidding each other goodnight, Ye Chengxing entered her own room and closed the door.

Although the conversation with the system took place in her mind and couldn't be heard by anyone else, from an outsider's perspective, her expression appeared no different from being lost in thought. Just to be safe, it would be better to have the conversation with the system when she was alone.

"001, are you there?" Ye Chengxing hesitated for a moment, unsure how to call the system out. After all, her contact with the system had not been frequent. Even after spending such a long time in this world, she had only heard its voice during the initial mission and today after the mission was successfully completed.

001 responded quickly, "I'm here, host."

It was not just Ye Chengxing who had something to ask 001, now, 001 also had a lot to say to Ye Chengxing—

For example, now that the mission is successful, host, please hurry and leave this world.

Due to insufficient energy, the entire system entered passive hibernation mode since the start of this mission. However, based on the previous mission summaries, it eliminated the factors that would lead to the villaness's blackening and found that there are no longer any factors in this timeline that could cause the villaness's blackening

In any case, the current situation is that the villaness's blackening value is still at 100%, at least according to the values that can be seen and displayed on its end. 001 speculates that the actual corruption value has long exceeded 100%.

Recalling the miserable fates of the previous hosts, 001 felt both anxious and worried. If it could forcibly send people back, it would have already sent Ye Chengxing back to her original world.

Unfortunately, it couldn't reveal that the villaness's blackening value was still at 100%. Perhaps this was the reason for the mission's success. It noticed that the relationship between Ye Chengxing and Li Jia was different from the relationships between other hosts and their counterparts that it had observed during previous missions.

But in the past, there were hosts who, upon learning that the blackening value was still at 100%, became excessively fearful, only to be discovered by Li Jia and subsequently killed by the smiling villainess on the spot.

So, after thinking through all of this, 001 vaguely opened its mouth and said, "The mission is completed, host. You should return home soon. And because you have performed exceptionally well in completing the mission, I can grant you one wish."

"Whether it's becoming the world's richest person, becoming a winner in life, or gaining the love of countless people as an idol... Whatever wish it is, I can help you fulfill it."

As 001 spoke, it started feeling confident. If it were the previous hosts it had bonded with, they would probably go crazy with joy upon hearing that their wishes could be granted and immediately start telling it what their wishes are.

Ye Chengxing didn't expect there would be a reward for completing the mission. She paused for a moment and then asked, "Can you create a pathway between this world and the world I came from? So that even after I return home, I can still come back through that pathway if I want to?"

Create... create a pathway?

001 never expected that Ye Chengxing's wish would be this. Its confident expression gradually froze, and involuntarily, it coughed and said, "Ahem, this wish... I'm really sorry, but it's beyond my abilities. Host, you can choose another wish."

Ye Chengxing didn't have high expectations for this. Upon hearing the words, she nodded and reassured 001, "It's okay, I was just asking. 001 is still impressive, not incompetent."

Upon hearing that she was not only not angry but also comforting it, 001's electronic data suddenly felt a bit embarrassed.

Since the wish to create a pathway couldn't be fulfilled, Ye Chengxing thought for a moment based on what 001 had said earlier and asked, "So, do I have to go back home?"

Although she had already made up her mind, she still wanted to know the answer to this question.

Regarding this question asked by Ye Chengxing, 001 can answer. Its tone is very certain, "Of course, because 'Cannon Fodder Ye Chengxing' cannot survive until the end, if the host doesn't want to leave and wants to forcefully stay in this world, the longer you stay here, the weaker your body will become. So, in the end, you have no choice but to leave."

001 didn't finish its sentence, but Ye Chengxing understood what it meant.

—She can stay here, but her body will become weaker as time passes. This weakness has no limits. Two or three days or even a week should be okay, nothing will happen, but if she continues like this until her body completely collapses, then the ultimate result will be death.

That's why 001 said, "In the end, you have no choice but to leave."

"I understand, thank you for your answer, 001."

From the fact that 001 couldn't fulfill the previous wish and asked her to choose another one, along with the explanation of this matter, Ye Chengxing can now roughly sense which wishes 001 cannot fulfill.

After thinking for a while, Ye Chengxing told 001 her new wish.

001 remained silent for a long time after hearing it. "You are truly the strangest host I have ever encountered. But thinking about it, it's probably because of this that you were able to complete the mission."

Ye Chengxing maintained a smile on her lips as she listened to 001's mutterings. "So, can this wish be granted?"

Another moment of silence follows.

001 looked at her smiling eyes and finally agreed, 

"Yes, I promise you."

.......

Although she had decided to leave, she couldn't leave immediately. There were still some things she needed to take care of in this world before leaving.

Ye Chengxing secretly transferred everything under her name to Li Jia's name. Then, she carefully thought about whether there were any recipes she hasn't written down but remembers. After organizing them, she sent them to Xi Yue and the others along with some additional instructions. She also uploaded a copy on the Star Network.

In reality, she didn't have many people she knew in this world, and there weren't many things related to her. She finished organizing all these matters in less than a day.

The last remaining thing is to bid a proper farewell to Li Jia.

To say what truly made Ye Chengxing feel reluctant and unable to let go in this world, it was none other than Li Jia.

Being together is fate, parting is eternal farewell. After she leaves, she probably won't be able to come back. Ye Chengxing thought about how she hadn't had the chance to celebrate Li Jia's birthday for the new year yet, so she prepared all the birthday gifts she had planned for Li Jia for the next ten years.

Ye Chengxing signed a contract with an intelligent AI company, so the robot would automatically deliver the gifts at the appropriate time.

...I wonder if some of the gifts will become outdated in a few years.

Ye Chengxing shook her head with a smile and wrote another letter to put inside Li Jia's nineteenth birthday gift.

On Li Jia's nineteenth birthday, it will probably coincide with the end of the college entrance examination. As an older sister, she won't have the opportunity to say it to her face anymore, so she decided to include it in the letter.

Preparing all of this took another two days.

Ye Chengxing checked her physical condition and didn't feel any obvious weakness yet.

But she knew this was definitely a slow process.

In the past few days, it gad been snowing almost every day. By the day Ye Chengxing was ready to leave for real, it was already heavily snowing.

When Ye Chengxing thought about bidding a true farewell to Li Jia later, her heart felt a bit sad.

She raised her hand and touched her cheek, facing the mirror, trying to restore a relaxed smile to her face.

Unlike the relaxed smile Ye Chengxing displays, 001 genuinely felt relieved.

Over the past few days, it had been watching Ye Chengxing handle things in preparation for her departure, feeling like it was watching someone making promises for the future, inexplicably feeling a sense of anxiety.

001 had also been paying attention to the value of the villain's blackening value.

It has always been 100%, without any changes at all.

This 100% blackening value frightens 001, like watching a timed bomb that is about to explode without knowing when. Fortunately, nothing significant had happened in these few days.

Could it be that the blackening value of the villainess is fixed at 100% and couldn't be changed?

In any case, the redemption value is also 100%, and Ye Chengxing is about to leave. There shouldn't be any more unexpected events, right...

Ye Chengxing observed her expression in the mirror again, making sure that her sadness wasn't obvious, then she picked up the neatly packed light yellow bouquet of roses and knocked on Li Jia's door.

With a light sound, the door opened.

Ye Chengxing had been busy with those matters over the past few days and hadn't spent much time with Li Jia. She originally thought Li Jia would stick to her and follow her around, so she even prepared an excuse. However, it seemed like Li Jia had been busy these few days as well.

Li Jia's gaze swept over the yellow roses Ye Chengxing held in her arms, her face displaying a gentle and innocent smile. "You're holding flowers. Is there something important you want to tell me, sister?"

She turned to the side. "Come in and let's talk."

Ye Chengxing hesitated for a moment. She had originally planned to speak at the door, but upon hearing Li Jia's invitation, she entered her room. "Yes, there is something very important I need to tell you."

As she entered, Li Jia closed the door.

At that moment, something caught 001's attention in Ye Chengxing's mind.

At first, it looked at Li Jia in disbelief, but then it realized.

...Danger.

After realizing what had happened, 001 almost lost control and shouted in Ye Chengxing's mind, "Host, don't say anything, we need to hurry—"

Ye Chengxing heard 001's urgent voice in her mind, but the electronic sound was abruptly cut off, gradually fading away, becoming indistinct and inaudible until it fell completely silent.

Was 001 urging her to hurry?

Ye Chengxing thought for a moment, and indeed, since the day she completed her mission until now, she had spent quite a long time dealing with things before she could leave. It was understandable that 001 was urging her.

During this moment of contemplation, Li Jia had already walked up to her.

The snow outside the window was falling heavier.

Li Jia looked at her with unblinking eyes.

According to the system, the existence of the mission and the system itself should not be revealed, but Ye Chengxing felt somewhat nervous about the words she was about to say to Li Jia.

She had never imagined that one day she would confess these things to Li Jia.

"Actually, I'm not from this world," Ye Chengxing spoke slowly, her pace unhurried and gentle. "I ended up in this world by accident... But thinking about it, time has passed quickly."

At this point, Ye Chengxing paused for two seconds.

She took a deep breath, pushing back the uncomfortable and melancholic emotions that had welled up within her.

Ye Chengxing looked up at Li Jia again, handed her the bouquet of flowers, curved her lips, and bid farewell to this villain she had personally healed with the softest and most dignified smile. "Li Jia, you now have everything and can start a new life. It is also time for me to leave."

She spoke the farewell words almost in one breath, and for a moment, she even hesitated to face Li Jia's reaction.

The pale yellow roses bloomed quietly and beautifully.

But just as Ye Chengxing averted her gaze, she was caught off guard by the sudden release of the Omega pheromones, as intense as the snow outside.

Unlike any previous time, it carried anger and pain.

Under the pervasive scent of white peaches in the room, the suppressed estrus period that Alpha had temporarily held back was once again stirred up.

The bouquet of roses fell to the ground.

And because the suppressant was not used in sufficient dosage last time, when the susceptible period reoccurred, apart from the extreme discomfort, the body could not help but be filled with waves of pain.

Ye Chengxing let out a muffled groan and instinctively tried to retreat in the face of the pheromones with nowhere to hide.

Her wrist was firmly grasped by Li Jia.

The previously intense scent of white peaches, as if sensing that she needed her pheromones, suddenly became entangled and alluring.

Ye Chengxing looked at Li Jia with a somewhat hazy gaze, unable to grasp what exactly was happening.

Wait, wasn't she saying goodbye to Li Jia? Why did everything suddenly...

Her vision started to blur, and the dense waves of pain coursing through her body made it increasingly difficult for her to concentrate. Even her pheromones began to uncontrollably overflow.

The pheromone-blocking patch on the back of the Alpha's neck was peeled off by someone's fingertips and casually tossed aside.

Just like the lone yellow rose that fell to the ground.

She was pushed to the end of the bed, forced to surrender herself into her embrace.

Li Jia's gaze fell upon Ye Chengxing.

The harmless facade that the Omega had put on had long disappeared in an instant.

"My dear sister," their skin touched, she leaned close to Ye Chengxing's ear, her voice low, and all the suppressed sickness and obsession were revealed at this moment, "Didn't you say you wanted to be by my side forever? Now... where are you planning to escape to?"

Have everything? Hah, her delusion had always been hers alone.  

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