Chapter 63: A Conversation Among the Stars (Main Story End)

Watching Wang Yunzhi collapse weakly to the ground, his final traces quickly consumed by the flames, Lin Yuetian took one last sweeping glance at the remaining players joyfully playing as human torches. The ones still online mostly appeared overexcited, jumping around in the fire. Finding a corner for himself, Lin Yuetian pulled out a damp towel, pre-packed in a preservation bag, and covered his nose and mouth, waiting for the mission to conclude.

As the number of still-moving fire people dwindled and the last player finally lost all their health and logged out, the system’s voice finally rang out:

“Tenth world, all missions completed.”

The entire world began to collapse before Lin Yuetian’s eyes.

Something about him must have changed—this was the first time he truly felt the process of exiting a world. The scorching heat of the burning room abruptly vanished, and he seemed to fall into an invisible ocean composed of liquid-like nothingness. The icy sensation engulfed his nose and mouth, overtaking all five senses, as though the fundamental truths of the universe were pouring into his pores and unfolding before him. The sheer overload of information made Lin Yuetian briefly lose consciousness, much like the first time he had received the original body’s memories in one overwhelming flood.

When he could make sense of his surroundings again, he found himself floating in a vast sea of stars.

“I thought you’d be a bit more excited, big guy,” the system said.

Lin Yuetian quickly noticed something different—this time, the system’s voice was not coming from inside his mind but from behind him. Turning around, he found that movement in this space felt bizarre, like stepping on a mass of non-Newtonian fluid, requiring careful control.

Not far behind him stood an adult man, tall—almost taller than Lin Yuetian himself—with a somewhat handsome appearance, but an expression that was both reluctant and slightly embarrassed.

The system sounded irritated: “According to protocol, after you pass the interview, I have to first appear in a form resembling your species to build rapport—what’s with that look? Is it that weird?”

“It’s fine,” Lin Yuetian answered honestly, “but it is a little unsettling. Can you return to your original state? …Also, does this mean I passed the interview and got the job?”

“Yep, congratulations, you’re officially hired.” The system smirked. “You’re reliable enough, after all.”

As he spoke, the humanoid form abruptly transformed into a swirling mass of indescribable data streams. On closer inspection, these strings of code were written in no language comprehensible to humans and radiated an unsettling sense of aliveness. The glowing data resembled a meteor shower, or a swarm of fireflies, hovering around Lin Yuetian’s head before finally settling onto his forehead and disappearing.

“I’m back, baby!” the system’s voice rang out in his mind again.

“Welcome back,” Lin Yuetian clapped his hands. “So, what kind of work am I supposed to do now?”

“Oh, right, let me explain!” The system hurriedly said. “Do you know why we recruit top professionals from various fields to complete ten worlds’ worth of missions fulfilling original bodies’ wishes?—Wait, you don’t know.”

“Did you just answer your own question?” Lin Yuetian raised an eyebrow.

The system ignored him. “I come from the Multiverse Management Center, responsible for maintaining stability across different worlds. In some incomplete, flawed, or unbalanced worlds, a single individual’s overwhelming resentment can sometimes destabilize the entire world. That’s where we come in—we dispatch contract workers… Actually, we sign official agreements, but the first time we met, you cut me off before I could explain, saying you didn’t want to return to your original world as long as you had control over your exits. I consulted the parent company, and they approved, so we skipped that process and signed a different kind of contract instead… Anyway, we send people like you into these worlds to resolve lingering wishes and collect dispersed energy to keep these worlds stable. For the contractors’ well-being, we even categorize worlds based on the original body’s sexual orientation, making role-playing easier…”

The system suddenly paused. “…Wait. That means you should be into men, right?”

Lin Yuetian countered, “Do I not look like someone who likes men?”

The system hesitated. “Honestly, your main issue is that you don’t look like you like humans in general.”

Lin Yuetian replied gently, “That sounds like bias to me.”

The system promptly filtered out his response. “Anyway, I’m technically not a ‘system’ per se. I’m a neural-wave-based lifeform from the multiverse, part of a diverse species capable of interfacing with the parent company’s network. A lot of my kind work at the Multiverse Management Center. But since explaining our nature confused too many contractors, we just started calling ourselves ‘systems’ instead.”

“So you have a name?” Lin Yuetian asked, intrigued.

“Yes, I’m called ‘Ankora.’ Uh, if that’s too awkward or weird to say, you can just keep calling me ‘system.'”

“No, I think it sounds nice,” Lin Yuetian said. “There are plenty of ‘systems’ out there, but only one Ankora. From that perspective, calling you Ankora makes sense.”

Ankora cleared its throat. “Well, that was unexpectedly smooth-talking of you… Anyway, after working with you for so long, I’ve realized you’re really not suited for this job.”

“Am I not?” Lin Yuetian feigned surprise.

“Are you seriously asking me that? You know you’re not.” Ankora was exasperated. “Anyway, since you’re so good at this kind of… unique approach, I figured I might as well request a direct promotion for you—to make you an official full-time employee instead of just a contractor. You don’t seem particularly attached to the idea of reincarnating people into peaceful lives anyway.”

Encora said: “Aside from the original host’s lingering emotions of unwillingness, some abnormal energy points can also destabilize a world. These include transmigration, rebirth, the so-called ‘infinite flow’ organized by cosmic evil forces, and those bizarre ‘players’ who arrive in other worlds through games. In fact, dealing with these is the majority of our job. Original hosts who can cause world instability are rare, so contract workers handle them. As for official employees, their responsibility is to eliminate these abnormal points without disrupting the world’s setting—just like what you did in the tenth world.”

Lin Yuetian pondered. “That does sound quite suited to me.”

Encora said proudly, “Of course it is… Anyway, once I submitted the application for both of us, we began the interview process. But we’ve already passed now…”

Lin Yuetian raised an eyebrow. “An application for both of us? What kind of application? A marriage application? Are you secretly in love with me?”

Encora was utterly horrified. “Bro, don’t joke around like that! Your thoughts are jumping way too far ahead! I don’t have any G-rated fetishes, okay?!”

Lin Yuetian remarked, “I think you have quite a big misunderstanding about me. I’m a very gentle, reasonable, and dutiful industry elite. A top-tier assassin. Not a pervert.”

“…Alright, whatever you say.” Encora sighed. “Actually… contract workers aren’t considered official employees either. I wanted to become one too. Originally, after you completed your tenth world mission, I could’ve submitted my application to become a full employee. But you just had to enjoy life in every world, and before we knew it, we’ve been working together for almost a thousand years, just chatting all the time when we had nothing to do. So I figured, since I was going to apply anyway, I might as well request to continue working with you as a team. That’s why I submitted a joint application for both of us.

“So, in the last world, I was actually being interviewed too… My interview requirement was that no matter what you did, I had to narrate in a way that fit the original host’s character, and I couldn’t speak more than five non-narration sentences.”

Lin Yuetian mused, “So, my habit of mentally justifying my actions to you actually helped you, didn’t it?”

Encora looked a little embarrassed. “Yeah, it did.”

Lin Yuetian then asked, “Then why do you always treat me so poorly? You’re not secretly holding a grudge against me, are you?”

Encora: “?? I treat you poorly?! Bro, I practically worship you at this point!”

Lin Yuetian said, “Alright, let’s drop this. So, in the end, we’re still colleagues?”

Encora confirmed, “Yep. Let’s work hard together for financial freedom, alright?”

Lin Yuetian said, “After traveling through so many worlds, I suppose I should, logically speaking, thank you for keeping me company.”

Encora snorted, “Oh? So you actually realize that, huh?”

Lin Yuetian added, “But I think you should be even more grateful for my professional skills. What do you think?”

Encora gritted his teeth. “If I had a physical body, I would really want to beat you up.”

Lin Yuetian smiled. “You wouldn’t be able to beat me.”

Encora changed the topic. “Forget it… Oh, right. Before we officially start work, I found a psychologist for you. The consultation fee is already paid, so don’t waste it. Honestly, Lin Yuetian, if you have issues, you should actively seek treatment instead of avoiding it until it gets out of hand…”

Lin Yuetian said, “I’m not a pervert; I just have weak empathy. Why don’t you believe me? My ability to tell jokes has even improved a lot.”

Encora was curious. “? Really? Then tell me one.”

Lin Yuetian said, “I heard that ‘raising one point in scores can eliminate a thousand people.’ So, as a top-tier assassin, I immediately signed up for the college entrance exam.”

Encora: “…………”

Lin Yuetian said, “See? You didn’t laugh again. You seriously lack a sense of humor. Maybe you should go see a psychologist first?”

Encora deadpanned, “Your cold jokes are so cold, you might have just solved global warming—

Thank you, Fridge Assassin.”

— End of Main Story —