Chapter 22: Exhausting One’s Life

Chapter 22: Using Up One’s Life

“Are you the serpent of desire? I know you’re a bad guy. Get away, we don’t need you here! Adam, drive him out.”

Before the serpent was chased away, Xiaoling called out, “Great deity, do you remember the wisdom fruit mentioned in the book? You could make a wisdom fruit for him to eat. Don’t worry, Adam has only gained the ability to think; this world is still under your control, and you can still do as you please.”

To be honest, Xiaoling was somewhat tempted, but seeing Adam who looked exactly like Shen Yi, she couldn’t bring herself to trust him. So she said, “Adam, you already have your own room. Go back to your room.”

After Adam withdrew, Xiaoling created an Eve who looked exactly like herself. This servant seemed to put her more at ease.

Eve wasn’t dressed in a turtleneck sweater and overalls but wore a red mermaid dress—the same one Roland wore the first time Xiaoling met her. The high heels seemed to fit Eve perfectly, making her dance joyfully.

Xiaoling scrutinized her from head to toe, enhancing Eve’s figure to be even more perfect and refining her facial features. Seeing Eve was like seeing the best version of herself. “So beautiful, no less than Roland at all.”

Lost in her own world, the early morning sun in Canglan City had already begun to sneak through the car window, shining on Roland’s cheek. Her makeup was long since ruined; eyeliner and eyeshadow were smudged into a blur. In the sunlight, she looked like a black rose just awakening and blossoming, only to be melted away by the light.

Before opening her eyes, Roland heard the sound of a man snoring.

Yu Ren was sound asleep, drooling from the corner of his mouth down to his ear, soaking the seat cushion.

Roland wanted to punch him but was distracted by the camera beside his hand. She quietly took it and checked the photos inside. The first shot was of her sleeping—more precisely, it should have been Li Mengli sleeping.

“Pervert…” Roland flipped through the pictures and found that none of the subjects were celebrities—just ordinary people. Some were crying, some laughing, some sitting alone on the roadside smoking with furrowed brows, and others happily embracing and kissing. Unconsciously, Roland was deeply drawn into these photos.

“No matter what kind of life people live, it’s their own,” she murmured. Honestly, she had experienced every scene in those pictures in various past lives, but it had always felt like reading a book, watching a play, or acting in a drama… Roland had truly lived a hundred lifetimes, yet none genuinely belonged to her.

The photos seemed to awaken a long-forgotten desire within Roland—a strong yearning to have a life of her own, no matter what kind of life, rich or poor, extraordinary or ordinary.

At that moment, a strong vibration snapped Roland back to reality. She realized she was still wearing her earphones and quickly pressed the button to answer.

The AI’s voice was faint, “Ms. Roland, I must contact you urgently. No matter which world you spend time in, my timeline continues to synchronize. According to current database analysis, your chance of saving me within six months has dropped from 0.362% to 0.055%. To ensure our agreement, please take immediate rescue action.”

Roland glanced at Yu Ren, still sound asleep, and lowered her voice instinctively. “Why the sudden drop? I only accidentally fell asleep and haven’t done anything else.”

“Because you did nothing. I have reminded you before that quickly and efficiently completing the task is the only way to see me. Now, I must tell you two things to provide maximum assistance:

First, our secret organization is called The Tower. They sent people to kill Li Mengli because you used her body to murder a Tier One member of The Tower. This undermines the safety and trust of other members and triggers the protection protocol within The Tower. Even though your true self is also a Tier One member, you have no right to kill a peer, especially since Li Mengli is just an ordinary person in this world.

Such acts are strictly forbidden, so The Tower’s enforcers will relentlessly hunt her. I advise you to avoid going home; if you must, please exercise extreme caution.”

Roland listened carefully. She already knew the rule forbidding killing within the same tier at The Tower, but since this wasn’t her true world, she hadn’t cared before. Now it had brought trouble.

“Alright, I understand. May I ask, can I no longer return to my true world through death? I successfully did so by dying in the first few transitions.”

“Your transition system has been upgraded, disallowing that method now. To explain, Ms. Roland, it’s like human video games where lives are limited. In earlier attempts, dying meant you could continue from your last progress, but if you use up all your lives, the game truly ends. You can restart the game, but your life cannot. Do you understand?”

“Oh… I basically get it. Then what did you mean earlier about failing tasks leading to exponential increases in attempts?”

“That was just an example. The reality is far more complex. The system scores your task completion each time—high scores reduce the number of future transitions needed, low scores increase them. You currently have 87 transitions accumulated. I hope you perform well to bring that number down to zero, which is the only way to reach our world. Until then, I won’t disclose the exact method; please understand.”

To complete 87 more transitions, all within six months of real time? Roland felt her scalp tingle; it seemed impossible. She had long planned to abandon this AI, but it still held leverage: it wouldn’t tell her how to reach the mastermind’s world without zeroing her transition count within six months.

Clearly, earning higher scores to reduce transitions was crucial. “What was my score from the last transition? Did the count increase or decrease?”

“Please wait while I retrieve the data.” After a brief pause, the AI continued, “Transition subject: Fang Xiaoling. Task successful. Time spent achieving goals: 223 days. To explain in human terms, out of 100 points, you earned 40. Transition count increased by 3.”

“What?! I already tried so hard! Shen Yi was so difficult from the start, cold as ice. I used every trick I had. Six months is fast enough! If it were just Fang Xiaoling, she'd never be with him in a lifetime!”

“Please don’t get upset. I will find opportunities to coach you on scoring later. Now, there is a more urgent matter: the current task target, Tian Hu, will be imprisoned in three hours. Data analysis shows you will be unable to complete the task for at least five years afterward. Please act promptly.”

“Imprisoned? Why? What did that guy do?” Roland anxiously asked, but the earphone went silent. “Hello? You haven’t finished! Hello!”

She tried to press the button to reconnect the AI but recalled its earlier warning in the forest: “For my safety and to ensure our contract proceeds smoothly, please do not activate the communication system unilaterally.”

“Damn it!” Roland rolled down the window to breathe deeply. Only then did she remember she wasn’t alone in the car. She turned to look at Yu Ren, who was half-eyed, staring straight at her.

“Who are you chattering with? Can’t you let a person sleep?” he muttered, smacking his lips and closing his eyes again.

“Still sleeping!” Roland slapped his face coldly and ordered, “Drive immediately!”

Help me up, I can update even faster!

What? No recommendations? No monthly tickets? No comments?

Then… I guess I’ll just wash up and go to sleep.

(End of chapter)