027 927: Bianbian, expecting a response, realized that neither the previous System Daddy nor the invisible uncle was paying attention to her. So the little girl thought for a moment and spoke earnestly again: "I have a broom. As long as Uncle Zhu Yuan runs over, I can sweep him with it, and he won't be able to get through. I won't be in danger, and Uncle Zhu Yuan won't need to leave either."

The more she thought about it, the better it seemed.

"Once Uncle Zhu Yuan finishes eating Mianmian, I can bring him more so he won't go hungry."

Nong Jiusi glanced at Bianbian. The little one seemed to want to give Zhu Yuan food just as she had given Lu Yu, perhaps without even understanding the meaning behind her actions. Whether it was Lu Yu or Zhu Yuan, after turning into zombies, they remained her grandfather and Uncle Zhu Yuan to Bianbian, despite their monstrous forms. Since Grandpa and Uncle were hungry, she naturally brought them food. She certainly knew that monsters ate people, but she also believed they did so only because they were starving; once full, they would stop eating humans. Nong Jiusi was asking the system for a solution.

System: [You get what you pay for. If you choose a 100-coin broom, you must accept the service that comes with it. One broom sweeping Zhu Yuan out of this area is already worth the price.]

It sounds as if she's complaining about why he didn't spend 10,000 star coins to unlock the "One-Finger Strike"

feature.

"Does this broom have a 'sweep back' effect on all zombies?"

[Warning! For an item costing 100 star coins, don't expect it to last long. It only works on Zhu Yuan within three hours; once the time limit expires, it's no different from an ordinary broom.]

"Why didn't you mention this warning earlier?"

The system thought to itself that it hadn't known before either, so naturally, it remained silent.

Nong Jiusi asked again, "A broom counts as a weapon, right? Since there's no purchase channel available in the mall, why could it be bought through your selection?"

System: … Because I felt like it! It took so much effort to code a payment channel that deviated from the original rules, yet Nong Jiusi chose a broom. If it had been the naive and sweet Xiu Jin, he would have instantly picked the One-Yang Finger technique without a second thought. —The system still considered Nong Jiusi to be stingy. Yes, although the Dragon Clan is immensely wealthy, they are essentially misers, stingy to a fault. Seeing that the system remained silent, Nong Jiusi asked again, "Or perhaps brooms and the One-Finger Thrust technique are actually available in the shop, but I cannot purchase them right now because I lack sufficient intimacy points?"

The system had firmly decided to say nothing; speaking too much only invites mistakes. If this dragon happened to notice something amiss, it would be far from ideal. Nong Jiusi furrowed his brow slightly. He looked at the zombie that dared not approach because of the broom, yet was unwilling to leave voluntarily due to its craving for Bianbian. The broom's effect lasted only three hours; if Zhu Yuan wasn't swept out of this area within that time, once the broom's power faded, Zhu Yuan's presence would become completely uncontrollable. —Judging by the ferocity with which it just charged at Little One, it wouldn't rest until it had devoured her. In the weapons column, everything except the laser gun was grayed out. Yet the laser gun was so heavy that Bianbian couldn't even lift it, let alone fire it. In that case.. Nong Jiusi narrowed his eyes slightly and walked toward Zhu Yuan's direction.

"…"

If the system had a face, it would surely be green with shock at this moment. It popped up a bold, massive screen:

[Hitting me is one thing, but you cannot hit Zhu Yuan! If the system malfunctions again, it will crash. Multiple crashes in a short period will render the system unmaintainable, leading to unpredictable consequences. In severe cases, game data will collapse, and Bianbian will die!]

Afraid that wasn't enough, the system flashed another message in red:

[STOP!!!]

Nong Jiusi came to a halt. After weighing the situation for a moment, he withdrew his gaze from the zombie in the iron barrel and turned around, preparing to lead Bianbian back. But just as he turned, the scene before him suddenly vanished; he found himself standing in his own sparkling bedroom as the game automatically logged him out.

"…"

Logged out again? Nong Jiusi instinctively attempted to log in again. After a few seconds, a line of text appeared:

[Poor network connection. Login failed. Please try again later.]

He clicked twice in succession, only to receive the same prompt each time. Nong Jiusi's expression remained unchanged, yet a section of the floor beneath his feet quietly cracked open. Then, he abandoned the idea of logging back into the game and sought other distractions instead.

　　*

Bianbian, clutching her little broom, waited for either System Daddy or Uncle Invisible to respond. However, after waiting for quite some time, she heard no voice from System Daddy, nor did any objects float up around her.

"Uncle, are you still there?"

Zhu Yuan responded to her, still staring fixedly at Bianbian, emitting low, guttural

"heh-heh"

sounds from his mouth as if ready to charge at any moment. Bianbian pressed her lips together, realizing that Uncle Invisible had left. Clutching her little teddy bear tightly in one arm and gripping her small broom firmly in the other hand, she looked straight at Zhu Yuan with eyes as clear as a young deer's, telling herself not to be afraid.

"Daddy System, are you there?" Bianbian called out again.

Now that Uncle Invisible was gone, she could summon the Daddy System who had been secretly talking to her. System Dad made no sound either; just like Uncle Kanbujian, he must have left too. Bianbian's bright eyes suddenly dimmed.

"Uncle Zhu Yuan, I'm going back now."

After standing for a while longer, the little girl said these words to the bucket-headed zombie and began backing away. Of course, Bianbian didn't turn and flee with her broom clutched tightly; instead, she swept the floor as she walked, while the bucket-headed zombie kept hopping backward like a real zombie. Its limbs were stiff, and with an iron bucket in hand, it looked especially comical when it jumped. However, it was clearly evident that a safe distance now existed between him and Bianbian. The following two days passed peacefully. Bianbian stayed at home the entire time. During this period, she suddenly heard the familiar voice of System Daddy: "Bianbian, the broom can only sweep away Uncle Zhu Yuan for a limited time—three hours. After three hours, the broom becomes ordinary and can no longer stop Uncle Zhu Yuan. Therefore, you must keep the windows tightly closed and prevent Uncle Zhu Yuan from discovering your presence; otherwise, he will fly up and harm you."

After hearing these words, Bianbian didn't fully understand. She wanted to talk with System Daddy a bit longer, but after speaking, System Daddy fell silent. No matter how much Bianbian called out, there was no response. Except for the few days when Zhu Yuan visited, during which Bianbian could communicate normally with people, her only conversational partner at other times was the little bear. Although the Invisible Uncle had helped her greatly and treated her kindly, he never spoke to her. Thus, in Bianbian's heart, the System Daddy who talked to her remained a unique existence—even though it had only just appeared. Fortunately, the System Daddy's words seemed etched into her mind; even if Bianbian didn't fully understand the time limit, she could comprehend the final sentence— So she tightly closed the windows, drew the curtains shut, and turned on the magic orb for light. When hungry, she would cook noodles or eat bread with milk powder; at other times, she obediently played in her room, always finding her own ways to pass the time.

Occasionally, she would suddenly call out, "Uncle, are you here?"

or "System Daddy, are you there?"

… Receiving no response, she would talk to her teddy bear: "I wonder if Uncle Zhu Yuan has finished eating the noodles I gave him."

She could slip food through the hole in the metal wall to Grandpa anytime, but she firmly remembered the system's warning not to open the window to check whether Zhu Yuan was outside; thus, she worried whether Uncle Zhu Yuan had anything to eat. Sometimes, she would hear familiar roars, unable to tell whether they came from Grandpa or Uncle Zhu Yuan. The little girl pricked up her ears and listened for a while before sighing, "If only Uncle Zhu Yuan and Grandpa lived together."

That way, it would be much easier for her to give food to Uncle Zhu Yuan. Nong Jiusi had important matters to attend to over the past couple of days and hadn't logged into the game, though occasionally the image of Little One would flash through his mind. As for Xiu Jin, true to his word, he restrained himself from logging into the game until he could get his hands on the NR device. He spent 100,000 star coins to obtain from the black market boss the time and location of the buyer's transaction on Planet Gly, immediately dispatching Korv to investigate the buyer there. Fortunately, Korv's professional capabilities were more than adequate; after a day and a half, he actually managed to find him.

"Who is it?"

Staring at Korv's projected image before him, Xiu Jin, seated in his corporate office, instantly rose to his feet. Having signed a stack of documents until his head felt heavy and dull, this good news greatly eased his mental strain. But upon seeing Kolff's expression, Xiu Jin's heart sank. Having been by Xiu Jin's side for so long, Kolff knew that what he was about to say would likely send Xiu Jin into a rage. With a faint smile, he spoke as tactfully as possible: "Your Highness, you happen to have heard his name before."

Xiu Jin: "…"

Usually, when Kolff wore such an expression, it meant the situation was already hopeless.

"Don't say anything yet."

He made a stop gesture, took a deep breath, "Let me catch my breath."

A minute later, Xiu Jin sat back down in the chair, picked up the coffee beside him and took a sip, then fixed his doll-like face into an expressionless mask and said, "Alright, tell me. Who is it?"

Korlov slowly uttered a name.

"…Damn!"

Xiu Jin gritted his teeth.

"Why does it have to be him!"

The Imperial Alliance maintained a Famous Figures Ranking, voted upon by the empire's citizens to determine who deserved a place on the list. Regardless of whether one was noble or commoner, anyone with sufficient popular support could make the ranking. The names on the leaderboard are not fixed and change daily. As the wealthiest prince of the royal family, Xiu Jin is one of the celebrities who frequently appears on this list. Citizens of the empire can vote and comment online. Most of the reviews Xiu Jin receives are positive; if any negative feedback appears, he has the backend team managing the celebrity leaderboard quietly delete it. Almost every famous noble in the empire has appeared on the风云榜 (Fengyun Leaderboard) at some point, though rarely. For instance, Nong Jiusi made it onto the list only once—upon discovering that people were voting for and commenting about him, Lord Jiusi nearly tore the entire leaderboard apart.

Naturally, the backend staff never dared to include his name again. …… There is one person whose name appears on this leaderboard even more frequently than Xiu Jin's, often ranking first. It wasn't because he was wealthy, nor because of his handsome appearance, and certainly not due to any high status; he was merely an ordinary human commoner without any noble title. What made him famous was his distinctive style of conduct. He enjoyed kidnapping those who had offended him, then broadcasting their humiliation live across the Star Network—setting up various traps within the livestream rooms to force his captives into undignified situations witnessed by countless viewers. His kidnapped victims ranged from high-ranking officials to nobles of various statuses; after escaping, each desperately tried to capture him, yet without exception, all failed. Even when surrounded and blocked by guards, he still managed to slip away right under their noses, as if by magic.

Until now, he had remained active on the Celebrity Power Rankings; no one knew his real name, only that there was one person you absolutely must never cross. Offending others might grant you a quick death, but offending him… hehe. This celebrity bears a resounding codename—the Magician. ※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※ Nong Jiusi must not be offended, because he cannot be defeated. The Grand Magician must not be offended either, because you will be kidnapped. — Father Xiu: "…"

　　*