How Many Times Do I Have to Tell You? Call Me Dad

In the end, Russell only made the system eat the chicken bones off the floor and did not make him lick the soles of his shoes clean. It was not out of kindness; training was not something accomplished overnight. Sometimes, he had to give a little sweetness, such as leaving the other party a shred of dignity.

Haste makes waste!

Constant suppression and torment would only provoke resistance. If the system decided to quit, Russell would gain nothing.

Boiling a frog in warm water was the proper way. Apply pressure bit by bit, wear down his bottom line, and leave him a little hope every time so he felt that if he gritted his teeth and endured it, it would pass.

Given enough time, he would unknowingly grow accustomed to this way of living. He would not resist, only obey and endure. He might even actively manage the relationship, curry favor with those above him, and become a so-called... bootlicker!

There was no rush. Russell had no plans to settle this in the short term. His tentative goal was to make the system develop Stockholm Syndrome.

This showed that Russell's instructor at the police academy had been right. His assessment of Russell had been accurate. If this guy did not become a good person, he would be better at evil than anyone else.

The system stared at the grease stains and scraps on the floor with grief and indignation. What had been eaten was not chicken bones, but his dignity and pride. Even though he had been forced, he could still feel the deep humiliation, as if something had been thrown away and could never be picked up again.

Seeing Russell act as though he had him completely figured out, the system could not hold back and asked the question in his heart. "Host, you humiliate me like this. Aren't you afraid I'll just call it quits and find someone else?"

Russell smiled faintly. "Impossible. You can't do it. I became the true Host long ago. Completing three World Quests was all a lie. From the very beginning, you were already bound to me!"

"..."

The system's face twitched. He stuck out his tongue and panted loudly, wearing a fawning, human-like grin on his Shiba Inu face as he began playing dumb.

"At first, I didn't notice it either. But after each world I went through, I became more suspicious..."

The system cautiously asked, "What... what suspicious things did you find?"

"First, character levels! The point of a leveling system is to give players the thrill of leveling up. I'm not asking for level 99 with one slash, but I only barely reached Lv. 3 after three mission worlds. A leveling system like that would drive players away. Would anyone even want to keep playing?"

"This... doesn't count as suspicious, does it? Lots of games level up very slowly!"

"But I'm still a newbie. Even if leveling were slow, it should happen in the late game... Fine, slow leveling aside, there were no side quests, no way to farm experience, no way to farm Wealth Points, and I couldn't even spend money. The gameplay experience was terrible. There was no way to explain such a flaw."

"I... don't think there's anything wrong with that..."

Russell gave a cold laugh and stared at the system for a long while. Only when the other party shrank his neck and no longer dared meet his eyes did he continue, "There are too many unreasonable things. If I'm not mistaken, you must have altered the system interface. You may even have skimmed some of my earlier rewards."

The system's dog body shuddered, and his guilty gaze involuntarily drifted elsewhere.

"At first, I was only suspicious, since I had no evidence. But your eagerness to sign the contract confirmed it." Russell tapped the table, and a grinding stick immediately appeared. He picked it up, shook it, and tossed it at his feet.

The system dog approached in extreme humiliation, clamped it between his teeth, and let out satisfied whimpers. He was being forced; his body was beyond his control, and all his actions followed instinct.

"Show me the real system interface. I don't want to see that fake garbage from before again!"

The system dog jolted, dropped the grinding stick from his mouth, and revealed a conflicted expression. He was clearly extremely reluctant, but his struggle was doomed to be futile. A brand-new system interface still unfolded before Russell.

Host: Russell

Strength: 11 (7+4)

Constitution: 9 (6+3)

Intelligence: 11 (9+2)

Wealth: 5700

...

"No levels... Right, that thing is optional anyway... My Wealth Points went from 700 to 5700. You only gave me the scraps. You really are ruthless!"

Hearing Russell's sinister voice, the system's dog body changed, turning into a beautiful Little Lori. She wore a sailor uniform, with an oversized face and childish breasts, blonde twin-tails, and watery eyes that blinked at Russell. Her voice was sweet and adorable.

"Russell Daddy..."

This was not his original appearance. As a program, the system did not have a body in the first place. He had likely taken this form in an attempt to charm his way out of trouble.

Even a little loli's farts smelled sweet!

The system felt that if he changed into this form, even if Russell beat him, he would hit a little lighter.

Bang!

A straight punch was driven into the little loli's face. When Russell pulled his fist away, a clear fist mark and two fresh streams of nosebleed could be seen on the system's face.

"Don't call me Daddy. I don't want people mistaking me for a pervert. Call me Uncle Luo!"

That form of address was even more perverted!

The system covered his nose and cursed madly in his heart.

Setting the system aside, Russell continued examining his attributes interface. There was one more permanent skill than before.

Sixth Sense (A life-saving tool, listed alongside Heart of Steel, Tough Will, Cockroach Body, and the like as god-tier newbie skills)

Looking at this permanent skill, Russell suddenly had an idea. Perhaps the reason he had been chosen by the system had something to do with his talent. If it chose Hosts without any screening, it would have to change Hosts every day and would have died of exhaustion long ago.

After that, Russell searched repeatedly but failed to find the "System Store" he had first seen. In its place was a "recycle bin," marked with a trash can icon.

After asking about it, he was told that there had never been any store. The system did not provide buying or selling services; it had all been a lie.

As for the recycle bin, it was specifically used to recycle cards the Host considered useless in exchange for Wealth Points.

Russell was speechless. "Without a store, what use are Wealth Points to me?"

"They can extend the usage time of Character Cards! They can be exchanged for Lottery Draws! Also, when you leave a mission world and draw a lottery, there's a very high chance of getting attribute points."

Russell's face darkened. "Is that where my attribute points came from?"

The system hugged his head, crouched defensively, and trembled. In order to make the Host believe that levels existed, he had skimmed Wealth Points to use for lottery draws. If he drew attribute points, he would save them for later. If he drew cards, he would toss them into the recycle bin, exchange them for Wealth Points, and keep drawing.

One lottery draw cost 1,000 Wealth Points, but the recycle bin's price was 100 Wealth Points per card.

Utterly insane!

Russell did not use violence. As though it were merely a trivial matter, he asked in a low voice, "One final question. Where did you come from? Who created you? And what is your purpose in assisting Hosts?"

Upon hearing that, the system immediately stood up, wiped away his nosebleed, planted his hands on his hips, and said with full majesty, "As for my origins and creator... I don't know either. I don't know my purpose, either. That's just how I was set up!"

Russell glared fiercely at the system. The latter instinctively took two steps back and said with a wronged expression, "I'm not lying to you, I really don't know! After I was created, I traveled through various universe worlds, assisting Hosts in completing missions. Only after I developed self-awareness did I begin... begin learning to seek power for myself, because those damn Hosts always wanted to erase my will."

"And then your little tricks got them killed?"

"Ha ha ha, no, those were all accidents!"

Russell asked a simple question and did not pursue the matter further. Whether the system truly did not know or was pretending not to know no longer mattered. Russell knew his own limits. Whatever could create a system capable of traveling across countless universes had to be an unimaginably powerful existence. A little bean sprout like him did not need to think too much; going with his heart was enough.

Besides, he was doing pretty well now. At the very least... he had grown stronger!

Seeing Russell lost in thought and silent, the system tentatively asked, "Uncle Luo, is there anything else I can do for you?"

Russell nodded and seemed to smile in satisfaction. The system also rubbed his hands together with a fawning grin. The next second, another straight punch landed on his face.

"How many times do I have to tell you? Call me Dad!"

"..." Nosebleed sprayed through the gaps between his fingers. The system was exhausted and temporarily did not want to speak.

"Hand over the attribute points you skimmed before. And also... as a newbie Host, where is my Novice Gift Pack?"