System! Say something!

Looking at the streets bustling with traffic, Yog instantly read all the information in this world.

Hmm, an urban world with extremely little magic. Also, two anomalous pieces of information had invaded this world three years ago, and one had even forced its way in... Yog delved deeper into the information.

One thing was certain: the information that had broken through by force carried a composite fragment of Yog, combining time, space, and omniscience.

The second piece of information had entered through the breach the first had forcibly opened. It, too, carried an Omniscience Fragment. These two people came from the same world.

Moreover, they came from the same base world, a world without any supernatural powers. Both were transmigrators, and both believed they had a cheat. When they silently called out "System," the Omniscience Fragments responded to their subconscious minds and became what they imagined a "system" to be.

And because the fragments tended toward becoming whole, their systems each issued "missions" targeting the other. However, the first arrival had gotten a later start because of the effort spent breaking through the "world" barrier.

But the second had been unlucky. Affected by the power of "time" in the breach the first had opened, he had drifted through a gap in time for "two years." Of course, as far as he was concerned, he had simply appeared in this world.

So the exact timeline was that the first had arrived three years ago, and the second one year ago. Over the past year, they had clashed more than once because of their "missions." The first was now at his peak, while the second was chasing hard to catch up.

"Hmm, I can't see beyond that clearly. The subsequent timeline is blurred, and the details are invisible. Forcing myself to use the omniscience authority only lets me see major events. The details are fragmented and indistinct. So time really did suffer the worst damage from crossing epochs."

Yog murmured to himself, then walked into an alley. When he emerged again, he was a young man of average height with an unremarkable face, slicked-back hair, and an exquisite black-and-purple suit.

"Ah, a young body really does have more energy." Yog stretched.

Looks like those two are both in that direction. Let's go take a look. It's been ages since I last enjoyed a good show. I'll decide afterward which one to make my agent.

After all, my authority is no different from a windfall from heaven to this world of the current epoch. Although it has no consciousness, it will instinctively protect those two.

All it needs to do is assimilate them, accelerate its erosion of them, and wait until they die. Then it can easily obtain those fragments and rise to a higher world rank, Yog thought to himself.

Outside the Lihao Hotel.

A young man in a sharp suit was speaking to a flashy young fellow with a buzz cut, wearing flip-flops, beach shorts with his hands stuffed into their pockets, and a white wife-beater.

"What refined tastes you have, Mr. Lin. Coming to Li's Daughter's Coming-of-Age Ceremony dressed like this-you really are one of a kind. Your sense of style and taste are beyond the understanding of ordinary people like us."

The security guard who had been about to stop the man in the tank top jolted. "Mr. Lin?"

He immediately broke into a cold sweat. Thank goodness. I nearly offended someone important. But come on, man, you wore that to a banquet. Who wouldn't stop you?

The man in the tank top darkened. "Cheng Yu, what's that supposed to mean?"

The suited man, Cheng Yu, smiled. "What else could I mean? I'm praising your distinctive taste. As the saying goes, those who accomplish great things don't fuss over trivial details. Judging by what I see today, you're clearly a man destined for great things, Mr. Lin."

Everyone around them wore polite smiles, but the constant twitching at the corners of their mouths betrayed their true thoughts.

Cheng Yu's words sounded nice, but that tone of his... well. Still, no one could let their amusement show. After all, the man in the tank top was Lin Mo, the head of the Lin Group.

Despite his youth, he had single-handedly built a sizable conglomerate spanning numerous industries. They could hardly afford to offend him. Besides, Lin Mo was ruthless. Even the king of Jiangcheng's underworld treated him with the utmost respect.

Back when he had been building his business, not one of his rivals had come to a good end. Some had jumped off buildings, some had vanished, and some had gone mad. It had been downright tragic.

Yet this Mr. Lin's favorite pastime was wandering around in that outfit all day, provoking people and causing trouble, then taking revenge on anyone who looked down on him. Wasn't that the very definition of a lunatic? Not that anyone dared say so.

Meanwhile, the suited Mr. Cheng, Cheng Yu, was also a rising star in the industry. He currently held a position at the Rainbow Company, having joined a year earlier and worked his way up from the bottom.

In just one year, he had more than doubled the Rainbow Company's size, earning the deep appreciation of its chairman, Li Ming, and rising into its decision-making ranks.

Most importantly, anyone with a few connections knew that Lin Mo had used underworld methods against Cheng Yu more than once, yet Cheng Yu had always been perfectly fine the next day. Lin Mo had also tried several times to put financial pressure on the Rainbow Company, where Cheng Yu worked, but Cheng Yu had resolved every attempt.

These two could be called Jiangcheng's hottest rising stars, so no one wanted to get caught in the middle of their feud.

Just then, hearty laughter rang out from the hotel entrance, audible from far away.

"Hahaha! I was wondering who it was. So it's you, Brother Lin! Come in, come in. Since you've come to celebrate my daughter's birthday, how could I neglect my duties as host?"

Lin Mo looked helpless. It wasn't as though Li Ming didn't know he liked his daughter, Li Xuehong. By calling him "Brother" in front of so many people, wasn't Li Ming placing him in his own generation?

How was he supposed to pursue Li Ming's daughter after this? If he did, wouldn't it be a massive scandal? The man treated him as a brother, while he wanted to make him his father-in-law!

Still, if Li Ming called him "Brother," didn't that put him a rung above Cheng Yu? At that thought, Lin Mo shot Cheng Yu a smug look.

Cheng Yu ignored Lin Mo's gaze outright and turned to Li Ming.

"Chairman, what brings you out here? I can welcome the guests for you."

Li Ming was taken aback at first. Didn't this boy usually call him Uncle? Then he immediately realized that Lin Mo was present too. Having just called Lin Mo "Brother," hadn't he inadvertently given him seniority over Cheng Yu?

Honestly, young people these days have enough schemes in their heads for eight hundred people.

He immediately smiled. "Well, you've been working hard, Brother Cheng. I thought I'd come help you welcome everyone."

His voice wasn't loud, but his attitude toward the two men was clearly different. Although he called both of them "Brother," the look he gave Cheng Yu was plainly that of a father-in-law regarding his son-in-law. Did he think everyone there was blind?

Just then, a gentle voice came from behind Li Ming.

"Brother Mo, you're here."

The owner of the voice was naturally the star of the banquet, Li Ming's only daughter, Li Xuehong. As soon as she arrived, she took Lin Mo's hand and gazed at him with stars in her eyes.

Ever since Lin Mo had rescued her from a few thugs, she had been fond of him. After a series of painstaking maneuvers on his part, she had become the girl standing before them now.

Seeing this, Li Ming reprimanded her softly. "Xuehong! Don't be rude! Brother Lin is a guest."

Li Xuehong wanted to say more, but one glare from Li Ming left her with no choice but to pout and return to the banquet hall.

"Hahaha, everyone, the banquet is about to begin. Please head inside. Brother Lin, after you!" Li Ming said with a smile.

As everyone entered, Cheng Yu stayed behind, looking at the Light Screen that only he could see.

"Interrupt Lin Mo's showing off" (✓)

"Receive one skill lottery draw" (Draw now?)

"No!"

Watching the guests file inside, Cheng Yu was just about to follow when he heard the tapping of leather shoes against the ground nearby. A man who looked ordinary in every respect emerged from the darkness.

But the man's clothes certainly didn't look cheap, and Cheng Yu knew of no such person in Jiangcheng. Could he be one of Li Ming's friends from out of town? With that thought, Cheng Yu went to greet him, but before he could speak...

The man suddenly spoke first. His voice was rich and resonant, exactly the sort suited to hosting a late-night talk show.

But the words that came out of his mouth nearly scared half the life out of Cheng Yu. Yes, and the other half was preparing to leave too.

"Hello, fortunate sir. You have something of mine. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Yog. Yes, the Yog in Yog-Sothoth."

Cheng Yu's mind might have crashed for a few seconds. Sweat poured off him like rain. He had transmigrated to this world a year ago, and as a young man of twenty-four or twenty-five, reading novels had been one of his hobbies.

He knew perfectly well that this world didn't even have mythology, let alone cultivation fantasy. At most, it had martial arts novels. He also knew perfectly well that the internal energy in those martial arts novels really existed, because he had seen it.

Most importantly, he discovered that after the man calling himself Yog finished speaking, his system stopped working. Yes, stopped working. The Light Screen vanished, and no matter how he called for it, he couldn't bring it back.

System! System! Say something! System! Say something, damn it!

Cheng Yu frantically repeated the words in his mind, while Yog found the sight rather amusing.

Stop shouting, little fellow. I told you, your system belongs to me. You have the right to use it, but ownership is mine. I blocked it for you. Otherwise, I thought you might not believe what I said.

The voice that suddenly sounded in Cheng Yu's mind was identical to the man's voice from moments earlier. Boundless terror crashed over him like ocean waves.

His brain began racing, searching for a way to survive. Yes, survive. Other mythologies might have been manageable, but this was fucking Cthulhu.

And this was the strongest of the Three Pillars of the Mythos, beings of extraordinarily high standing in the Cthulhu Mythos! Wait, wasn't this one also the easiest of the three to talk to? Whatever. He had to risk it.

Only a second or two passed, but to him it felt as long as a century or two. He slowly raised his head and swallowed hard. Finally, in a voice he practically squeezed from his throat, he spoke.

"B-b-boss... uh... Y-Your... Your Excellency... I... I... d-didn't... didn't steal anything from you. R-really. A-as... as long as... you spare me... I'll do... do anything... anything at all."