Page 7

"Good morning. When did you get here?"

The system fell silent for a moment. It couldn't exactly say, I came back when you almost died last night, could I? After a pause, it said, [Just arrived. The General Bureau requires systems to make daily follow-up visits.]

Qi Chao remarked that it sounded exhausting and didn't notice anything unusual about the system. He climbed out of bed, washed up, slipped into his slippers, and left the master bedroom. The first thing he did was knock on the door of the room next door.

There was no response. Little One was probably still asleep.

Qi Chao didn't disturb Lan Luo and turned to go to the study. This was the time he used to work, and his biological clock had already formed the habit.

Before he died from overwork, he had been designing a new puppet.

Having his train of thought interrupted had been truly unpleasant.

Even though he had transmigrated, he couldn't abandon his work.

He wondered whether he could still find that old feeling.

With the original owner's memories, Qi Chao was quite familiar with the villa. He took a notebook from the bookshelf and sat down at the desk.

The notebook on the desk wasn't meant for drawing, but Qi Chao didn't care much. His dark brown eyes grew focused as his long, well-defined fingers held a pencil and sketched across the pages. Even the air around him seemed to fall quiet.

The system in his consciousness watched its host work. For nearly an hour, Qi Chao didn't raise his head once. He tore out page after page from the notebook, and crumpled sheets of discarded drawings littered the floor.

It wasn't until nearly seven-thirty that Qi Chao finally put down his pencil. He rubbed his wrist and revealed his first smile of the day.

Qi Chao naturally had a fierce, handsome face, yet two dimples appeared whenever he smiled. It made him seem younger, giving his roguish good looks a faint touch of sweetness.

Seeing this, the system took the initiative to ask for the first time ever, [Host, aside from puppets, what else are you interested in?]

Interested in what?

Qi Chao was somewhat surprised. The system was actually asking such a... human question?

The system was very serious.

There were not many artisans as hardworking as Qi Chao.

For example, the neighboring artisan was the system's second host. He had brought someone over last night, and even now he was still learning to imitate a screaming chicken, without a single thought of work.

By comparison, the system felt that its host had great potential.

It would be far too much of a pity for him to die like this.

If the host had an interest in ceramics or bamboo weaving and was willing to hone those skills, the system could pull some strings. Perhaps the host might truly be able to leave this place and save his life.

Qi Chao assumed it was merely a casual question and didn't think much of it. He spun his pencil, considered for a moment, and said, "Money. Other than my little ones, money is what I like most."

[Other than money? Don't you have any hobbies, like bamboo weaving or something else?] The system's electronic voice rose and fell unevenly, sounding as though it hated his refusal to strive.

"Nope." Qi Chao didn't catch the odd tone in the system's voice and answered casually, "Although the Artisan General Bureau chose me, I'm really not some lofty, refined person. I only learned to make puppets to earn money in the first place."

Qi Chao came from a poor family and had struggled his way up step by step. He was an ordinary, worldly man by nature. Only after becoming a puppet maker and earning a great deal of money did he gradually develop his own style and principles.

In the end, aside from the career he had always persevered in, the only thing that could interest a placid twenty-eight-year-old man was money.

[Understood.] The system's electronic voice became flat.

No hope. Just wait for death.

Qi Chao had no idea he had missed his only chance at survival. Hearing the doorbell, he happily set down his pencil and ran to answer the door.

A round-bellied robot stood outside, delivering a package.

The package contained the High-Grade Energy Stones he had bought on Starweb last night, as well as the clothes he had picked out for Little One.

After signing for it, Qi Chao thanked the robot. Its bean-sized red eyes narrowed into slits as it spun in place, bowed, and left.

Truly intelligent.

Qi Chao smiled and carried the package to the living room to open it.

Unlike the Low-Grade Energy Stones from last night, which had come in a single color, the High-Grade Energy Stones in the box came in red, orange, yellow, green, and all manner of other hues. They resembled fine gemstones, crystalline and translucent. Different colors seemed to contain different kinds of energy, but Starweb was full of conflicting opinions, with no definite evidence.

Qi Chao carried nearly thirty pounds of Energy Stones into the kitchen. He left the clothes unopened on the sofa, planning to open them later with the little puppet.

Although there were only two items in this pile of deliveries, they had cost quite a bit—nearly thirty thousand Star Coins.

Thirty thousand Star Coins had been nothing to the original owner.

But in truth, the original owner had thrown over ten million into buying that regulator, nearly emptying his bank account.

Qi Chao didn't regret destroying the regulator, but thinking about how that piece of trash had cost such an outrageous amount still made his heart ache.

Damn it.

The first crisis he had encountered after transmigrating was actually a financial deficit. For Qi Chao, who had been poor for more than a decade before finally earning money, only to transmigrate, it was nothing if not ironic.

After leaving the kitchen, Qi Chao looked up at the time. It was exactly eight o'clock.

Was the little puppet still not awake?

Thinking of how Lan Luo had gone a week without consuming Energy Stones and had only replenished his energy for the first time last night, Qi Chao grew worried. He went upstairs again and knocked on the door.

There was no response.

Qi Chao was about to open the door directly when it suddenly swung open.

Lan Luo stood behind it, golden-haired and blue-eyed. Dressed in a small white suit, he looked like a little young master. His azure eyes were as clear as the sea, and his smile was healingly adorable.

Seeing that Little One was awake, Qi Chao immediately relaxed. He smiled as well and teased, "Little One, you slept pretty well, huh?"

"Mm-hm!" Little Angel Lan Luo was still brimming with energy.

Qi Chao felt greatly comforted.

He rubbed Lan Luo's soft hair and smiled. "Little One, do you want to watch cartoons?"

"Yes!"

Lan Luo comfortably narrowed his eyes like a little cat, seeming to enjoy the petting very much. At the mention of cartoons, his eyes immediately lit up.

The system in Qi Chao's consciousness silently left the plane.

How the hell could the host possibly have played against this bunch of demons?

With this? Who could possibly tell what the demon was thinking?

Qi Chao led his little angel downstairs.