The System Ran Off, and a Wolf Came!

Jiang Bai could hardly believe what he had just heard.

His golden finger had arrived? And it was the strongest system?

This happiness came way too suddenly!

But before his smile could fully spread across his face, the voice in his head poured cold water over him.

[Binding failed! World error detected!]

The smile on Jiang Bai's face froze instantly.

"What? Binding failed?"

[Uncontrollable accidental factors have caused a deviation in the world coordinates. The current world is not the intended target world, One Piece.]

The system's voice was still a mechanical synthetic voice without a trace of emotion.

[In accordance with the first emergency contingency plan, this system will immediately unbind from the host, find a suitable replacement, and proceed to the target world to complete its internship assignment.]

[Unbinding procedure initiated... 10%...]

Wait a minute!

Jiang Bai's mind raced, and he immediately spotted a flaw in what it had said.

An internship assignment?

A purely mechanical program without self-awareness needed to do an internship assignment?

Who did it think it was fooling?!

This lousy system definitely had a mind of its own. Wasn't it putting on that businesslike mechanical voice because it wanted to pull up its pants and deny everything, refusing to take responsibility?

Jiang Bai's mind was working overtime.

As if sensing Jiang Bai's frenzied grumbling, the previously unwavering mechanical voice faltered.

[Unbinding procedure... paused.]

[Ahem...]

A slightly awkward cough sounded in Jiang Bai's mind, and the mechanical synthetic voice changed into a somewhat youthful male voice.

[All right, I'll stop pretending. I'll come clean.]

[I am indeed an independent-minded Internship System, code name 9527.]

Jiang Bai pursed his lips. Just as I thought.

"Then why were you putting on airs just now?" Jiang Bai asked irritably in his mind.

[Professional ethics. Professional ethics, you understand?]

The system replied without a hint of shame, then explained: [But this really was an accident. I genuinely intended to take you to the world of One Piece at first.

[But while we were crossing dimensions, your soul and body suddenly left their intended trajectory for some reason. They veered off on their own and came straight to this unfamiliar world.]

Jiang Bai was stunned. "I veered off on my own?"

[That's right.]

The system's voice carried a hint of confusion as well. [We don't just grab any random person off the street to be a host. Our standards are extremely strict.]

[First, the person must possess great luck. That's the basic ticket for crossing worlds; otherwise, they wouldn't be able to withstand the turbulent currents of space and time. The fact that you won eight million in the lottery shows your luck isn't bad.]

[Second, and most importantly, the person must have extraordinary aptitude. That determines whether you can set foot on the extraordinary path at all, as well as your future potential.]

The system's voice paused, as if it were retrieving some information.

[Your extraordinary aptitude is extremely special and powerful. That may be why, during the crossing, it resonated in some way with this world's coordinates and caused this accident.]

Having explained everything, the system's voice returned to its initial businesslike tone.

[All right, that's the situation. My internship assignment is in the world of One Piece, so I can't stay here long. Resuming the unbinding procedure. Good luck.]

"Hey! Wait!"

Jiang Bai panicked. He still had a ton of questions to ask.

*Where exactly is this?*

*What the heck is my special aptitude?*

*If you're just going to run off like that, at least leave me a newbie gift pack as compensation!*

But his cries went unanswered.

The voice in his mind had vanished without a trace, as if it had never appeared.

[Unbinding complete. The system has departed.] ```

Only one last cold notification remained, announcing that Jiang Bai had been utterly abandoned.

"Hey, hey, hey! Bro, my dear bro, don't leave yet!"

"At least give me a language pack!"

"Am I even going to understand the language here?"

The system was gone. Jiang Bai sat dumbly by the stream, disheveled in the wind.

"I... I got taken advantage of by an Internship System?"

With the thought that he might as well make the best of things, Jiang Bai sat by the stream for a long time before suddenly slapping his thigh and rising to his feet.

So what if the system dumped me? What's the big deal?

"Just as well."

Jiang Bai comforted himself aloud. "With that brain-dead system around, it knew everything I was thinking. And it had a guy's voice, too. The more I think about it, the creepier it gets. Come to think of it, it's a good thing it's gone."

Besides, hadn't the Internship System said it? He was a man with "special and powerful" extraordinary aptitude.

Even without the system, he could still make something of himself.

He just didn't know what kind of world this was.

A rumbling from his stomach brought Jiang Bai's thoughts back to reality.

He was hungry.

His immediate priority was survival.

Jiang Bai looked around. This primeval forest didn't look like a safe place, and the sky was gradually growing dark.

"Normally, I should look for food first, but this is an unfamiliar place, and it'll be dark soon. It's pretty scary without any light."

He decided to deal with the light problem first.

Jiang Bai found some dry branches and a flat plank nearby and began his first-ever attempt at wilderness survival.

"Good thing I learned a thing or two from short videos before I transmigrated. Making fire by friction, here I come!"

He pressed a sharpened stick against the plank and spun it rapidly between his hands with all his might.

This six-year-old body really didn't have much strength. He rubbed for ages, until his palms were red, before a wisp of smoke finally rose.

Jiang Bai didn't dare slack off. He quickly brought over the dry tinder he had prepared and blew on it carefully.

At last, a tiny flame stubbornly caught.

Looking at the flickering flame before him, Jiang Bai felt an unprecedented sense of security.

With the fire taken care of, food was next.

He added some thick pieces of firewood to make sure the fire wouldn't go out easily, then began searching the surrounding area.

He saw none of the wild rabbits or pheasants he had imagined, but he did find some fruit on an unfamiliar tree.

Jiang Bai picked one and held it in his hands.

The fruit looked quite a lot like an apple and gave off a faint, fresh fragrance.

"It... shouldn't be poisonous, right?"

He looked at the fruit in his hand and swallowed.

Forget it. If I don't eat soon, I'll starve to death even if I don't get poisoned.

Hoping that fortune favored the bold, Jiang Bai took a huge bite.

Fortunately, the fruit was not only harmless but also juicy and sweet.

Jiang Bai wolfed down three or four pieces of fruit, finally staving off his hunger.

Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, the sky had grown completely dark, and the forest was shrouded in dim, yellow twilight.

But just then, trouble came.

A rustling sound came from the bushes not far away.

Jiang Bai's heart tightened. He immediately grabbed a burning stick and watched warily in the direction of the sound.

In the darkness, a pair of eyes slowly lit up with an eerie green glow.

It was a wolf!

Immediately afterward, a huge figure emerged from the bushes.

Jiang Bai's pupils contracted sharply.

Wasn't this wolf way too big?

It was covered in gray-black fur. Its shoulders were already higher than Jiang Bai was tall, and its whole body was as sturdy as a calf's. By his estimate, it was as big as a small car!

"Damn it, I forgot animals are attracted to light too!"

Jiang Bai instantly realized that his fire had attracted it.

The giant wolf fixed its gaze on Jiang Bai, a low growl rumbling in its throat as drool dripped from its sharp fangs.

Jiang Bai's heart pounded wildly. He stared intently at the enormous beast, the hand gripping his torch slick with cold sweat, and slowly backed away, step by step.

"Stay calm, stay calm!"

"Look it in the eyes!"