The Great Villain System

There was nothing on the rope, but it was impossibly heavy.

Faced with something so unnatural, Zhang Ruobing froze. "What... what is that?"

A chill shot up Chen Feng's spine. He knew exactly what it was.

The invisible Water Ghost that had killed everyone in the Internet Cafe!

Chen Feng turned and shouted at Zhang Ruobing, "Shoot! Shoot the rope! Don't let it climb up! Hurry!"

Zhang Ruobing had no idea what he meant. "What?"

Chen Feng was frantic. "There's no time to explain! The Water Ghost! It's coming up! Do you understand?"

Zhang Ruobing tried to calm him down. "Don't get worked up. Tell me slowly."

Slowly, my ass.

Some people couldn't be saved. Seeing that she still wasn't listening, Chen Feng turned and ran. He had no intention of dying with this fool.

Almost the instant Chen Feng left, the rope in Zhang Ruobing's hands went light, and a bone-deep chill surged toward her.

Was the rain so heavy that her soaked clothes had made her body temperature drop?

Before Zhang Ruobing could figure it out, a pair of invisible hands—soaking wet, unnaturally slick, and immensely strong—clamped around her throat.

Could this be... the Water Ghost her mentor had told her about?

"Ah!"

She barely had time to cry out.

Crack! The immense force crushed Zhang Ruobing's throat, and she collapsed to the ground.

Just then, a police car came roaring toward them!

After leaving, Chen Feng hadn't driven away. He had turned the car around and aimed it at Zhang Ruobing.

The most terrifying thing about the Water Ghost was its Invisibility. You couldn't tell where its attacks would come from, so you couldn't defend yourself. But Zhang Ruobing was the only person outside the car, and Chen Feng was certain the monster would attack her.

The moment it struck would also be the moment it revealed its position!

Eliminating the Water Ghost would earn him three System Points. Round that up, and it was practically three lives.

Fortune favored the bold.

The engine roared as Chen Feng floored the accelerator and drove straight at the patch of air radiating cold.

Bang!

Blood splashed across the windshield, and a huge dent caved in the hood!

Chen Feng pitched forward, and the airbag burst out into his face, leaving him dizzy.

Shit! I forgot my seat belt.

Safety first, no matter where you're going. Drive carelessly, and your family will be left in tears...

It took Chen Feng a while to recover.

Was it dead?

Chen Feng called up the system. When he saw that the task to eliminate the Water Ghost was still gray and incomplete, his heart sank.

That didn't kill it? Then I'm screwed.

Chen Feng shivered.

It wasn't because the air conditioning was too cold. That thing had gotten inside.

The sound of the car window shattering had barely reached Chen Feng's ears when a pair of large hands seized his throat.

These hands are so slippery. Is that oil?

They say Water Ghosts can float. So they swim using oil, like ducks?

Chen Feng lost consciousness amid those wandering thoughts.

He was back in front of the same Internet Cafe, facing the same Landlady.

He Ting bent down. "Handsome, you don't look well. You'd better find somewhere to shelter before it rains."

Chen Feng opened his eyes and rolled his neck.

Compared with the Water Ghost's three-hundred-and-sixty-degree neck twist, the Landlady's way of killing him had hurt a lot less.

"No thanks. I like getting caught in a little rain."

Chen Feng waved goodbye to He Ting, then called up his system.

Just as he had expected.

His Save-Load Count was down to six.

He had died on the first day three times in a row. This Otherworld was seriously strange. No wonder so many of his predecessors had fallen here.

The Great Benefactor System was gone.

To his delight, though, its quests had remained.

[Quest One: Destroy the Happiness Internet Cafe]

[Quest Two: Eliminate the Water Ghost]

Then it was time to choose one of three boxes again.

Besides the DS-01-DER and LS-02-SHSG boxes he hadn't chosen last time, the box in the first position was now labeled TY-03-SLD. It said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Great rivers form from small streams."

By now, Chen Feng had more or less figured it out.

Each time he loaded a save and was reborn, he could choose a new system, while anything left by his previous system would remain.

As for which box to choose...

Chen Feng asked the system what the identifiers meant.

The answer was that the first abbreviation indicated where the system came from. DS meant City World system, LS meant history system, and TY meant sports system.

City World, history, and sports?

Chen Feng couldn't help complaining, "Those all sound like trash. If only there were an XH Xuanhuan system or an XX cultivation system. Hell, I'd even settle for an LY paranormal system."

The second identifier represented the system's type.

01 was a pure Quest System, which issued quests to users so they could earn System Points, like the Great Benefactor System.

02 was a pure exchange system, which provided a system store where users could trade Points for goods, like the common post-apocalyptic supply exchange systems.

03 was a hybrid system with special functions that didn't fall under 01 or 02, like Chen Feng's own Save-Load System.

The final identifier was an abbreviation of the system's name.

"I don't have any Points right now, so the LS-02-SHSG box is definitely out."

"Should I take a chance on the 03 box? Forget it. That box comes from sports. If it turns out to be a system that just makes me better at basketball or soccer, it'll be a waste."

"I'd better stick with a Quest System for now and build up some Points."

After thinking it over, Chen Feng chose DS-01-DER.

[Ding! Congratulations! You have successfully activated the Great Villain System.]

[This system will help you earn large amounts of System Points, grow rapidly, and fulfill your grand dream of ruling the world.]

[Quest discovered!]

[The young girl Zhong Jielian doesn't want to go to school. To scare her parents, she is standing on Cihang Bridge and pretending she will jump into the river.]

[Quest objective: Since she's asking for death, let her die.]

[Quest reward: 1 System Point.]

Zhong Jielian?

The girl who had threatened to jump off the bridge?

Chen Feng's eyes lit up. He liked this quest, though the reward was a little stingy. Honestly, after seeing that girl's vile actions get Old Li killed last time, he would have wanted to kill her even without a reward.

"Officer, I'm from out of town... I'm just looking for something to eat."

Using the same excuse, Chen Feng got into Old Li's car.

Next, the radio should go off.

Chen Feng wondered whether he should smash the radio first. If they never received the call, they wouldn't have to rescue the girl or face that terrifying Water Ghost.

But after thinking it over, he decided that wasn't safe enough.

If the radio broke, someone could call their phones.

Besides, just as a clever child wouldn't throw a tantrum when their parents weren't around, Zhong Jielian wouldn't jump if no one came to rescue her. According to the quest prompt, she was standing on the bridge because she didn't want school to start, not because she actually wanted to die. Chen Feng's quest would fail.

So he had to go.

Old Li had just put down the radio when Chen Feng said, "I'm not hungry. Officer Li, you go take care of your work."

"Huh?"

Old Li stared at him. He hadn't said a word yet. How had this kid answered him already?

Zhang Ruobing asked, "Mentor, what happened?"

Old Li said, "Someone's threatening to jump off Cihang Bridge again."

Chen Feng feigned surprise. "Cihang Bridge? But there's a Water Ghost under there."

How did he know about the Water Ghost?

Old Li gave him a puzzled look. Hadn't this kid said he was from out of town? How did he know so much about Cihang City's ghost stories? And besides, "A young man like you believes in ghosts and gods?"

Zhang Ruobing scoffed. "Have you ever seen a ghost? You're just making things up."

I've not only seen one, I've been killed by one.

Chen Feng borrowed Old Li's own words. "Hmph. When it comes to ghosts and gods, it's better to believe they exist than to assume they don't. Here, let me tell you a story about a Water Ghost."

Old Li began to question his own reality. "Those are all my lines."