Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

Pei Du easily pulled out the Rubik's Cube from before, flipped it with his fingertips, scrambled all the colors, and then threw it to Sheng Shixian three times.

“The rules are the same as before. You have three hours,” Pei Du said briefly. “But this time you’re not allowed to cheat. You have to restore it yourself. There are cameras all over here, and I can see what you do.”

The Rubik's Cubes were piled on Sheng Shixian's lap. Sheng Shixian picked one up and hesitated, "A reward?"

“There will be a reward.” Pei Du’s gaze deliberately lingered on Sheng Shixian’s wrist. He smiled. “Only if you can do it.”

Sheng Shixian successfully received the wrong suggestion. He rubbed his thumb against the iron chain on his handcuffs. The surface was smooth, and the silvery-white color made it look even colder.

He hummed.

Seeing this, Pei Du turned around, placed the square clock he had used for the countdown on the wooden cabinet, and still looked very easy to talk to: "I'm upstairs, just keep an eye on the time."

Sheng Shixian grabbed the Rubik's Cube, saw the time changing on the cube, and began to turn it.

Pei Du sent a message to the people at the laboratory. He didn't leave immediately, but instead watched Sheng Shixian downstairs for a few minutes.

At first, Sheng Shixian was very good at pretending. Under Pei Du's gaze, he twisted the Rubik's Cube in a very serious manner, without making any unusual moves.

Pei Dujing watched his movements, then shifted her gaze to the sky: "Trying to survive, are you coming to the lab with me today? Maybe we'll even see your great-grandmother."

"What do you mean, 'great-grandmother'?! I don't have a great-grandmother!" The creature, barely able to survive, spun around in the air holding the blue sign several times, protesting, "That's just a headlight, you're mistaken!"

"Alright then." Pei Du didn't object, giving Gou Qie a chance to save face. "So, are you going or not?"

Gouqi Tusheng hesitated for a moment: "You don't need me to watch over Sheng Shixian anymore?"

Pei Du said, "No need. His leg injury hasn't healed, and his hands are locked up, so he can't run away. Besides, I have security cameras at home, and I'm keeping an eye on him remotely, so you don't need to worry about it."

"Hmm..." After pondering for a while, he crawled into Pei Du's hoodie hoodie. "If anything happens, you'll die before me."

Pei Du paused, his finger hovering over his phone. "...What do you mean?"

The man, barely able to survive, mumbled, "My system is of low level, has few points, and a poor defense system. If I were to encounter another system, I might be killed."

Pei Du asked, puzzled, "You're all systems, can't you get along peacefully?"

"Two tigers cannot share one mountain. How can our faction be subordinate to another faction?!"

Pei Du was speechless. He calmly stated the facts: "That white ball is twice the size of you."

To live a life of ignominy: "..."

"Even the light is brighter than you."

To live a life of ignominy: "..."

"You can't beat it."

The creature, barely clinging to life, concealed all its light, its entire sphere darkening to almost transparent: "So what? If you work harder and complete more tasks, my score will increase, and then I won't have to fear it anymore! You have to strive!"

Pei Du: "..."

He took a sip of water and said, "I'll try my best."

The man, barely surviving, mumbled two "hmm" sounds from inside his hat: "Come on, come on, you can do it! I'm counting on you!"

Pei Du was speechless. With its cowardly nature, how dare it claim that two tigers cannot share one mountain? It's not even a tiger; at best, it's just a talking machine.

It's safer for it to stay put.

Time passed by, and Pei Du, having calculated the time, packed his things and prepared to leave.

Before leaving, he went to a cubicle on the first floor and stuffed all the rotten rose bouquets into a resealable plastic bag. A faint scent of roses roses rose up, but Pei Du wore a mask to reduce the impact of the fragrance.

Only after everything was over did Pei Du return to the place where he started, and he drew the curtains and locked the door in the same order as before.

While Sheng Shixian was still solving the Rubik's Cube, Pei Du took advantage of his inattention and found a secluded spot through the back door to leave.

He had absolutely no intention of removing Sheng Shixian's handcuffs. This guy was already scratching the bed at night even before the handcuffs were removed; if they were, he'd probably be even harder to control.

There are many rewards, but the one that isn't unlocking the handcuffs is missing.

Pei Du felt no guilt whatsoever. He went to get his car and drove away from the villa, following the designated route.

Sheng Shixian was still at home. His usual cane lay tossed against the wall, a faint fragrance lingering in the air. The scent had been subtle at first, but had completely dissipated with the wind, leaving no trace.

Pei Du took the roses away.

Sheng Shixian continued to turn the Rubik's Cube. He had been turning it for more than ten minutes and had only managed to turn one side of the same color.

He moved his fingertips slowly, and the second hand on the clock in front of him moved forward rapidly. He lifted his eyelids, and after the second hand had gone around once more, he heard the sound of the back door closing slightly.

Sheng Shixian paused for a second or two. There were at least six cameras in the hall where he was. He paused for a second or two and then continued to spin the cube in his hand.

The colors on the Rubik's Cube were chaotic—red, yellow, blue, green, white, and so on—intertwined, making his vision blurry.

"Mr. Sheng, what do you think of that project in the east of the city? It seems to be causing some trouble..."

“City A has been in a bit of a mess lately. Those mutated strains infected with the virus must have been shot down, right? Mr. Sheng, we need to be careful.”

……

"He's infected! What can he possibly do?! Get rid of him immediately!"

"...He ran away, damn it! Where did he run to? Notify the military to shoot him and let them handle it... What are you saying? I don't have a son like that."

"Brother, run! I'll get you out of here. But... don't ever come back."

All sorts of bizarre and fantastical scenes filled Sheng Shixian's eyes. He gripped the Rubik's Cube tightly in his hand, his brows furrowed, and his head throbbed with a dull pain amidst the increasingly intense gunfire.

Several different faces flashed past him quickly: rage, shock, sadness... Their expressions were rich, and their pupils were filled with the deformed appearance of Sheng Shixian after his mutation.

"President Sheng..."

"Envy of the prosperous times..."

Sheng Shixian staggered to his feet, glanced at the camera pointing at him, put the Rubik's Cube aside, and picked up his cane.

Pei Du installed a dozen or even twenty cameras in this villa, including in the bathroom.

The newly installed camera was mainly pointed at the bathtub, while the rest of the area was only partially covered, so it wasn't without blind spots. At least according to Sheng Shixian's observation, the toilet area was outside Pei Du's surveillance range.

Sheng Shixian dragged the iron chain into the bathroom. He turned on the tap and washed his face with cold water to calm his chaotic and disordered mind.

"Drip-drip-"

Suddenly, a beeping sound like an alarm clock rang out from the sink. Sheng Shixian tensed up, gripped the iron chain in his hand, and immediately looked up to the side.

There was a smartwatch on the shelf. It had a gold casing, and when a call came in, the entire screen emitted pink bubbles.