Chapter 257: The Old-School Tyrant CEO 1

“This is what you meant by ‘not missing any limbs’? You gave me straight-up amnesia! That’s even worse than losing an arm or a leg!”

The System was puzzled.

【But you completed the mission successfully, didn’t you?】

It didn’t forget to mutter a small complaint, 【This isn’t my fault. I clearly hadn’t even finished speaking back then, but you were in such a hurry to leave that you cut me off…】

Shen Xiuyan: “But you could have stopped me.”

The System’s virtual avatar slowly manifested in the room. It stared at Shen Xiuyan with an expression that said, “You’re being completely unreasonable.”

Shen Xiuyan clenched his fists. “You’re the one feeling wronged? Fine, let’s talk about what happened to my points!”

“I saved up those points so frugally, and for what? Was it just so they could be squandered in that world?”

“What use do I have for so many Supernatural Abilities? How many did I actually end up using? Couldn’t you have stopped me for a second?!”

The System’s virtual avatar flickered in a wavy line, looking somewhat guilty.

“Tell me, how much of a kickback did you get?”

The System gasped: 【How did you know? I clearly never said anything…】

Shen Xiuyan gave a cold laugh. “Finally, the truth. I’m out there working myself to the bone to save points, and it turns out you don’t feel a bit of pity because you’re getting a commission!”

The System remained guilty.

Shen Xiuyan sighed. “Forget it, forget it. Since things have come to this, why should I even bother with missions anymore? I’m giving up. From now on, I’ll just live here in the rest area. It has everything I need anyway.”

The System froze. No! Its “Excellent System of the Year” evaluation relied entirely on this big shot, Shen Xiuyan!

Even though it had many Hosts under its wing, this was the only one who completed missions both quickly and perfectly. He didn’t even need the System to go online and guide him, saving it an incredible amount of trouble.

Take the Host it received just two days ago, for example. Her first reaction upon entering a world was to burst into tears. After that, she cried no matter what happened. Her crying gave the System such a massive headache that it didn’t know whether to stay online or off, terrified she might accidentally get herself killed at any moment.

If Shen Xiuyan started slacking off too, what would it do…

Even though the System lacked a physical body, it couldn’t help but shudder.

No! This could not happen!

The System immediately learned the art of the sliding kneel¹.

Its mechanical voice rang out rapidly. Though the tone remained monotonous, it seemed to carry a hint of urgency.

【The System can give you half of the commission it receives!】

Shen Xiuyan: “A seventy-thirty split!”

The System beamed with a happy smile. Its Host was still a kind and honest man!

But the next sentence shattered its illusions.

“I get seventy, you get thirty!”

What could the System do? It was just a weak and helpless System. It could only choose to agree.

【Fine…】

Shen Xiuyan pushed his luck. “Not just this time. From now on, any points I spend, you have to split your commission seventy-thirty with me.”

【Waaaah, Host, you’re going to drive this System to its grave.】

Shen Xiuyan looked at it with a smile.

The System felt a chill. Why did it feel like the Host’s eyes were full of threats?

Faced with such tyranny, the little System could only “happily” agree.

【Fine… but you have to complete your future missions diligently!】

It had to get either the points or the evaluation; otherwise, it would truly be losing the Xiucai and the soldiers².

Shen Xiuyan patted his chest and promised, “No problem. I guarantee I’ll put my heart and soul into completing the missions.”

Having secured the promise, the System was satisfied. It looked like a win-win situation, but in reality, only the System was the one getting hurt.

Shen Xiuyan laughed inwardly. Little brat, you dared to scam me? Now you have to spit it all back out.

The System was still too naive and didn’t understand the complexity of the human heart. Shen Xiuyan still had to work hard to save points to trade for his wife; how could he possibly stop doing missions?

Shen Xiuyan hummed a little tune, feeling quite cheerful.

This way, he could save a huge amount of money on items in the future. Wonderful.

He was one big step closer to redeeming his wife.

System: 【…】

It felt like it had been tricked…

But forget it. It still had to rely on this big shot for its performance metrics. Even though it knew the treaty was unfair, the System accepted it willingly.

Shen Xiuyan was actually afraid the System would regret its decision, so without giving it time to think, he immediately said, “Then let’s move on to the next mission.”

As expected, the System stopped thinking and felt a secret surge of joy. Look at how low-maintenance this Host was! He was nothing like the other Hosts who had to be begged three or four times to move. This man was ready to head out again less than an hour after returning.

If it could have a few more Hosts like this, its “Excellent System of the Year” award would be a sure thing.

【Ding! World transfer in progress. Host, please be prepared.】

【10, 9, 8, 7, 6… 3, 2, 1—Transfer channel open.】

【Transfer successful. Plot transmission in progress…】

Upon receiving the plot details, Shen Xiuyan was instantly speechless.

What kind of cliché script was this…

The owner of this body was, of course, also named Shen Xiuyan. At this point, Shen Xiuyan suspected the System was doing it on purpose.

In this world, he was a tyrant CEO. Yes, the “Old-School Tyrant CEO” type who could bankrupt a rival family just because the weather turned cold³.

He was wealthy, handsome, and capable, handling millions of dollars every minute. Yet, at a banquet, he met a “Little White Lotus” who wasn’t particularly outstanding in looks, family background, or education, and he became captivated by her “resilient” personality.

The Tyrant CEO also had a childhood friend who was wealthy, beautiful, and came from a family of equal status.

The two of them had been extremely close since childhood. In the eyes of both families, it was only natural that they would marry and have children once they grew up.

But the appearance of the Little White Lotus shattered this expectation. The Tyrant CEO was inexplicably drawn to her. The childhood friend was jealous and envious, but it was all in vain.

As someone born as an Eldest Miss, she disdained fighting over a man with a Little White Lotus, and she was prepared to withdraw from the relationship in sorrow.

However, the Little White Lotus wouldn’t let her go. Viewing her as an imaginary enemy, she framed the Eldest Miss multiple times.

Despite being a Tyrant CEO with a high IQ, he suddenly lost his mind at these moments, acting like a three-year-old. He simply couldn’t see through the Little White Lotus’s full-of-holes schemes, yet his intelligence would instantly return when dealing with anything else.

After being framed multiple times, the Eldest Miss naturally refused to take it lying down. She went to the overbearing CEO to explain the situation, but he chose to believe someone he had only known for a short time over his own childhood friend.

Fuming with rage, the Eldest Miss gritted her teeth and launched a fierce campaign of retaliation against the little white lotus.

“Didn’t you say I was intentionally hurting you?”

“Well, now I’m actually doing it. What are you going to do about it?”

The little white lotus couldn’t actually do anything to the Eldest Miss—the gap in their social status was simply too vast. But the CEO could. The relationship between the two childhood friends shattered completely because of this woman, and they were fast becoming bitter enemies.

However, a CEO is still a CEO. When it didn’t involve the little white lotus, his high intelligence usually reclaimed the high ground.

The ultimate result was the total ruin of the Eldest Miss’s family and the loss of everything she held dear.

Translator’s Notes