Chapter Ten: The Mission Begins

After Li Wei regained his voice following Li Chuxi’s departure from the music room, he pointed toward the direction she had gone, his voice rising a few decibels. “Xingcan, look at her. Who does she think she is, daring to give you advice? It’s really laughable.”

Silence followed.

A ridiculous thought welled up deep within him. “Xingcan, don’t be foolish. She’s just an amateur; don’t listen to her nonsense.”

Shen Xingcan remained silent.

Li Wei grew a bit impatient.

But before he could do anything, he saw Shen Xingcan suddenly light up with excitement. He quickly moved to the piano, sat down, took a deep breath, and his fingers danced lightly over the keys.

A stream of melodious music slowly flowed out.

Soon, the piece ended, and Li Wei applauded while praising, “Xingcan, this song is absolutely beautiful. I didn’t expect you to have revised it so quickly.”

Earlier, Shen Xingcan had been composing—or more precisely, revising. The current version of the song was markedly different from the one he had been playing just moments ago.

“I didn’t revise it,” Shen Xingcan shook his head. “It was that girl just now. I simply raised the key by two tones as she suggested.”

“How is that possible?” Li Wei could hardly believe it.

“It’s true. I played exactly as she said. I should have asked her name earlier,” Shen Xingcan sighed, a bit frustrated. “Maybe there’ll be a chance to discuss music with her in the future.”

“Don’t get your hopes up,” Li Wei hurried to say. “Who knows if that girl just got lucky by chance!”

Shen Xingcan said no more, but his eyes revealed a quiet determination to find her.

Meanwhile, Li Chuxi, having left the music room, was unaware of all this—and even more so that her casual suggestion had inspired Shen Xingcan to want to discuss music with her.

After wandering through the company, Li Chuxi prepared to leave.

As soon as she stepped out the door, the voice of Zero妖 sounded.

“System task issued: Successfully secured a role in Director Chen’s new film. Reward: 5 points. Do you accept this task?”

Curious, Li Chuxi asked, “Zero妖, if I successfully get a role, does it matter what role it is?”

There was no answer, only Zero妖’s mechanical voice asking again, “Do you accept the task?”

Raising an eyebrow, Li Chuxi finally chose, “I accept the task.”

“Very well, host.”

“Since I’ve accepted the task, can you answer my question?”

“Yes.” Zero妖’s voice returned to normal, free of mechanical monotone. “Host, since the task only specifies securing a role, any role will do.”

“That’s good.”

Suddenly, Zero妖 felt a foreboding sense. “Host, what are you planning? Are you thinking of just grabbing any extra and getting it over with?”

Caught red-handed, Li Chuxi showed no guilt. “Didn’t you say it just has to be a role in Director Chen’s new film? Isn’t an extra still a role?”

Hearing Li Chuxi’s sleight of hand, Zero妖 was frustrated. “Host, can we not exploit loopholes like this?”

“I think it’s fine! You’re too stingy,” Li Chuxi said. “Only five points for a task—I have no motivation at all.”

“These points can be transformed into tangible rewards and redeemed for items,” Zero妖 quickly explained. “Increasing your popularity will also unlock your abilities.”

“Points for redemption?” Li Chuxi seemed intrigued. “Why have I never heard of this?”

“Host, actually… points have always existed, but… but…”

“But what?” Li Chuxi’s tone grew sharper.

“They were used for upgrades!” Zero妖 finally admitted. “But host, I did it for your own good. The more advanced I become, the more help I can provide you!”

“Thanks, but I’m not happy at all,” Li Chuxi couldn’t help but complain. “I feel like I’ve missed out on a lot of good things. Zero妖, don’t you think I deserve an explanation?”