The Joy of Becoming a Father

"Father..."

Wu Wei had a dream.

In the dream, he heard someone call him "Father."

Wu Wei found it strange. He'd been single for so many years and didn't even have a girlfriend, so how had he suddenly ended up with a daughter?

Huh, why was it a daughter?

That question brought Wu Wei "awake."

He saw a blood-red scene.

Wu Wei shook his head, and his biology knowledge told him that he was inside someone's body.

What he saw were the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, blood vessels, blood, and all sorts of other things...

Among them was a large, transparent bubble.

Inside the bubble was a blurry object, but it wasn't shaped like a person.

Wu Wei's eyes widened.

How could he be having such a strange dream?

Yes, he knew he was dreaming. This kind of dream was generally called a lucid dream.

The human brain could control the dream's setting, clearly recognize that it was dreaming, and retain the ability to think and remember as it did while awake. Some people could even make the sensations in their dreams feel no different from reality.

That was exactly what was happening to Wu Wei now.

"Father."

Wu Wei heard that call again.

He couldn't stay calm.

Wu Wei walked up to the bubble, but still couldn't make out what was inside.

"Are you the one calling me?"

"Yes, Father."

"What's going on? Who are you?"

Wu Wei wasn't frightened, but it was impossible not to be surprised.

After sneaking onto the Dark Web, Wu Wei had gained a deeper understanding of the world and learned about things most ordinary people didn't know.

But even on the Dark Web, he'd never heard of anything like this happening.

"Father, you're an Awakened One, and I'm the ability you awakened. But I'm still very weak, and I need your help to grow.

"Defeating Li Long allowed Father to awaken your ability, and it also helped me begin to grow. As long as Father gathers ten people like Li Long and subdues them, I'll be able to emerge completely. A friendly tip: if you can kill them, I'll grow even faster."

Wu Wei's brain stalled.

"I understand every word you've said, but I don't understand them when you put them together."

"Father, there are many destabilizing factors in the world, and my job is to eliminate them, so the world can keep running stably. Once I successfully emerge, I'll be their natural enemy."

"...??? What are you going to use to eliminate them?"

"Because you, Father, programmed me to do that. My innate skill is Light of 404. It annihilates everything disharmonious. Wherever my light shines, the world will surely become prosperous, democratic, civilized, harmonious, free, equal, just, law-abiding, patriotic, dedicated, honest, and friendly."

Wu Wei: "Your will to survive is intense~ But when did I become so awesome?"

"This is your innate ability, set by your own will. You've forgotten? You've had plenty of ideas like this."

Wu Wei was taken aback.

It was true. After seeing the Dark Web, Wu Wei had learned about all sorts of remarkable people and strange occurrences, and discovered another fascinating world.

At the same time, he'd also felt a deep sense of danger.

Compared to those people, ordinary people really were too fragile.

No matter how clever he was, what could he do against overwhelming force?

So Wu Wei had thought that it would be great if he could have a superpower too.

What he'd imagined back then was a superpower capable of suppressing all supernatural abilities, one that could subdue every disharmonious factor and keep the world running in a stable, orderly fashion.

But it had only been an idea. Wu Wei had never expected that he'd somehow actually created something like this.

"So you appeared because of Li Long?"

"Yes, Father. I need disharmonious factors to grow, and Li Long was one of them. The more of them you subdue, the faster I'll grow. Once I emerge, I'll help Father save the world."

Wu Wei wanted to make it clear that he had no intention of saving the world.

Still, this daughter who'd suddenly appeared seemed to be incredibly powerful.

An Awakened One?

He hadn't expected that the talent evolution he'd seen on the Dark Web not long ago would happen to him.

"What abilities do you have now?"

"Father, I need you to subdue ten disharmonious things before I can be born and truly become useful."

"What counts as subduing a disharmonious thing? Does defeating Li Long's scheme this time count? If so, that seems pretty easy."

"No, Father. You have to completely subdue them, leaving them unable to fight back, or kill them. Only then will it count as a successful experience point."

"What about Li Long? I don't think I killed him completely."

"Um, Father, my delivery progress is already at 1/10, which means Li Long is definitely done for."

Wu Wei froze.

Was Li Long really that unlucky? Had one shot done the trick?

That couldn't be right, could it?

At this point, Wu Wei still didn't know the truth about Qian Ruoyun.

Most of his attention was still focused on this inexplicable daughter.

"What... exactly are you?"

"I'm whatever Father says I am." The daughter was clearly very obedient.

Wu Wei, the "fallback" who was still a virgin but had already become a father, found himself at a loss for words.

"What do you mean by being born?"

"Father created me, and I was nurtured by your heart and soul. Of course that makes me your daughter. But I'm not human. Once I'm born, I'll probably only exist as electronic data in your brain, like an engine system in a car."

"A system?" Wu Wei frowned.

"Thank you, Father, for giving me a name."

Wu Wei: "...I didn't give you a name."

"Didn't you? But I think 'System' really suits my role. You can call me the Harmony System or the 404 System. They sound so nice." His daughter sounded delighted.

Wu Wei's face was full of question marks.

What was so nice about them?

Was there something wrong with his taste?

Still, the Harmony System? The 404 System? Now that she mentioned it, those names did suit her.

"If you like those names, you can use them. But I'll still give you a human name. My name is Wu Wei, so you'll have to take my surname too. I'll call you Wu Xie."

"All right, Father."

At that moment, no one yet realized that the Lord of Systems and his first system—the most powerful system in the future, the River Crab Divine Beast—had officially come online that day, opening a new chapter in the universe.

Of course, those who had read Liangxin Jiang's previous book, Anti-Routine Quick Transmigration, were the exception. They already knew. If you haven't read it, you can check it out—it's an absolutely great book, sincerely recommended.