Zhou Lu returned to his room and spent roughly three minutes figuring out this so-called system attached to him.
He had to admit that the Demon God this system spoke of—the one who would destroy the world in the future—was very likely him.
The same name, the same background, and the same social circle all made Zhou Lu realize that.
Of course, every single evil deed listed there was absolute slander.
Why the hell would I be bored enough to destroy the world? What grudge does this world even have against me?
Once he confirmed that this system had come to kill him, Zhou Lu's initial joy vanished without a trace.
Did this mean that, in the future, he would provoke some overwhelmingly powerful enemy—an enemy capable of crossing the long river of history and returning to the past to kill him?
He was numb.
Who the hell did I offend? How could I have such a terrifying enemy in the future?
Zhou Lu instinctively wanted to run away. He had no great desires anyway. Hiding in some forgotten nook and living out an ordinary life might not be such a bad choice.
But he was unwilling.
As he stared at the system interface before him, a feeling of reluctance coiled around Zhou Lu's heart.
No one was born to be a salted fish. People only became salted fish when they could see no opportunities in life.
And now, opportunity lay right in front of Zhou Lu. If he still chose to be a salted fish, that would be a little hard to justify.
The future system that wanted to kill him appearing before him meant not only that his future self had provoked a powerful enemy capable of traveling through time and space, but also that his future self had become so powerful that such an enemy had to resort to this method for even a chance to kill him.
With that thought, Zhou Lu opened the system interface.
The first thing he needed to confirm was the boundary of the System Task.
If this system's goal was to kill him, then if he injured himself a little, could he fleece some task rewards from the system?
Unfortunately, this system had no rewards for that sort of task.
It was not because it feared the host colluding with the legendary Demon God to farm rewards, so it had cut off that task chain. Rather, Zhou Lu's fate had been shielded by Endless Rose. The system could not locate Zhou Lu, and naturally could not determine whether a task to kill him had been completed. It could only block Zhou Lu's growth by having the host intervene in events related to him and prevent him from obtaining fortuitous encounters in advance, strangling this future Demon God in the cradle.
The idea was quite good. As long as it ruined every one of your fortuitous encounters, you would lose all chances to grow. Whether it could kill you in the process would no longer matter.
Of course, it did not mind if you found Zhou Lu and killed him. There simply would be no corresponding reward. The subsequent tasks would still trigger according to the established procedure once the host met the requirements.
However...
Endless Rose... he seemed to have just seen that name somewhere.
Judging by its name, it should be a Plant-type Spirit Beast. He wondered when he would be able to encounter it.
Smack!
The sound from nearby interrupted Zhou Lu's thoughts.
Huohuo happily flapped its leaves as it fought a group of bees by the window.
Although Xin'an Beast Taming Academy also had a Combat Department, it was probably most famous for its breeding department. These bees were likely the graduation project of some senior student about to graduate.
Huohuo had already entered the Metamorphosis Stage and become a true Spirit Beast when his father gave it to him. But as a Plant-type Spirit Beast that still could not escape the soil, its combat power was limited, and it fought the bees to a standstill.
Come to think of it, this little fellow seemed to eat meat.
Zhou Lu suddenly remembered that ever since he had contracted Huohuo, there had been far fewer insects in the house.
Huohuo was exceptionally capable at slaughtering young. In no time at all, it had killed every last bee.
It carefully gathered the bee corpses and held them atop its leaves.
This little fellow was pretty smart. It even knew how to make compost by itself.
That was what Zhou Lu thought.
Then he watched Huohuo dump all the insects into the open cup beside it in one go.
That was Zhou Lu's cup.
"..." Zhou Lu fell silent as he watched the scene.
Huohuo had yet to notice that its master's gaze behind it had gradually turned hostile. It leaned closer, imitating its master as it observed the cup's contents with eyes it did not possess.
Apparently dissatisfied by the sight of the bee corpses floating on the water's surface, Huohuo extended a vine and stirred the cup.
"Huo—huo!!!!" Zhou Lu shouted furiously.
Huohuo was clearly startled by Zhou Lu's furious rebuke. Its entire body trembled, nearly shaking all its leaves off.
It turned its "head" around and only then realized that its master had called its name.
Huohuo cheerfully flapped its leaves: Hello, Master!
Zhou Lu's expression darkened. "What are you doing?"
The vine still in the cup stirred rapidly a few more times, and Huohuo proudly raised its head: Helping Master nourish his body!
Zhou Lu could not understand what Huohuo was trying to say, but it looked rather proud of itself.
He was on the verge of breaking down inside.
The main problem was that he had no idea how many times Huohuo had done this already.
He recalled all the times he had drunk from this cup before, then thought of how the number of insects in the house had been steadily decreasing lately...
Water seeped down through the soil. The bee corpses lay scattered across the dirt in the flowerpot, while Huohuo dejectedly prodded the insects with its leaves.
Master doesn't seem to like eating these anymore.
It seemed like he meant for me to eat them...
Huohuo was somewhat confused. How exactly was it supposed to eat these insects?
It lowered its head and looked at its jade-white roots protruding from the soil.
No, eating them like this is far too inelegant!
Evolve! I have to evolve! At the very least, I need to grow a mouth.
Huohuo silently made up its mind.
Meanwhile, Zhou Lu finally remembered where he had seen the name Endless Rose before. It was in the introduction for the current optional tasks provided by the system.
Current Optional Task Two: Obtain Information Related to Endless Rose's Special Evolution First
Task Description: In New Calendar Year 996, Zhou Lu traded for a damaged volume of Ancient Books on Xin'an Beast Taming Academy's internal forum. From it, he obtained the special evolution route of the Dream Rain Flower, allowing his initial Spirit Beast, the Dream Rain Flower, to specially evolve into Endless Rose, which toyed with fate. He subsequently became the Demon God who destroyed the world. Obtain the information first and prevent the birth of Endless Rose.
Task Reward: Any Spirit Beast Evolution Material ×5
Dream Rain Flower... specially evolving into Endless Rose...
Zhou Lu snapped his fingers, and a card appeared in his hand. This was his natal Beast Taming Card. As the most junior Beast Tamer, he only had one Beast Taming Card slot.
And this card was, without a doubt, Huohuo's Beast Taming Card.
****** Name: Dream Rain Flower Attribute: Grass Level: Level 10 Rank: First Rank (Metamorphosis Stage) Skills: Absorption, Transport ******
Transport? When had it learned that?
Yet even with two skills, it was still simple and weak—a weak Plant Beast Taming Card so worthless that even if it were put in a shop and sold for one dollar, no one might care to buy it.
Looking at Huohuo, which was still fiddling with the bee corpses and searching for some part besides its roots that could absorb the insects' nutrients, Zhou Lu doubted the system's authenticity for the first time.
You were telling him that it would evolve into Endless Rose, which toyed with fate, in the future?
New author, new book—please keep reading! This is really important!
Before you continue