Defeat the system! Kiss my little monster!

Yu Zhuo hadn't expected He Lan to ask so directly. This dragon's way of speaking and tone were far too blunt, without any concealment or subtlety whatsoever.

“I heard it.” Yu Zhu put down his bowl and spoon, without eating the food on the table. “Not only did I hear it, I also saw… a system?”

He Lan's fingers tightened around the porcelain spoon: "How did you see that? He said I was the only host."

He concealed his emotions well while speaking, but Yu Zhuo still sensed something unusual in his words.

Yu Zhuo tapped his finger on the table and said, "I used to have a system too. It left after the mission was completed, so I can still see the existence of some systems now."

"...You have one too?"

"Yeah, I had a tribulation-crossing system. It said that if I survived the sea, the mission would be completed." Yu Zhuo lied with his eyes wide open. "I should thank you for saving me, which allowed me to indirectly complete the mission."

He Lan listened silently, his expression changing only slightly, his brows furrowed, not indicating whether he believed him or not.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Yu Zhuo looked at him and said, "You speak."

"What is my system like?" He Lan sat up straight and asked, "Appearance. What does it look like?"

After saying that, He Lan seemed to realize something was wrong and added, "I'm sorry, I can't see him, and he has never told me what he looks like... I was just a little curious."

"It's alright, it's nothing that can't be said." Yu Zhuo answered simply. All the small systems in all worlds are the same; he could describe their characteristics with his eyes closed.

"He is a small, pure silver sphere. In terms of size... it's about the size of your two palms."

“Silver…” He Lan seemed to understand something, then he continued to ask, “Does he have any fur?”

"..." Yu Zhuo was silent for a moment, seemingly not understanding why He Lan would ask such a question. "No. The system's exterior is made of machinery. At most, it will rust, but it won't grow mold."

"I see..." He Lan pondered for a moment, then said, "Thank you, I understand."

Yu Zhuo paused for a moment, then said, "Do you know what your system does? His approach to you might not be for pure motives."

"I don't know, and I don't care." He Lan finally scooped some porridge out of his bowl and ate it. He said in a calm tone, "It's enough that he's by my side."

Even if Yu Zhuo was slow to notice, he could still sense something unusual in He Lan's words. He Lan and that silver system seemed to have a particularly special relationship.

And that silver system also possesses energy related to the main system...

Yu Zhuo roughly guessed that there was some relationship hidden between them, but he felt doubtful and unbelievable.

"Why are you here all alone?" Yu Zhuo withdrew his gaze and did not ask any more questions about the system. He changed the subject and said, "I just looked around. This castle where you live is the only one within hundreds of miles, and you are the only one here."

He Lan lowered his eyes and said, "I am ill and am recuperating here."

Yu Zhuo raised an eyebrow: "Just you alone?"

"Ah."

He Lan's expression was indifferent. Yu Zhuo looked at him for a long time, then wisely refrained from asking any further questions.

What illness necessitates sending him to such a remote place for recuperation? And what illness requires leaving him here alone?

There was no sign of human activity for hundreds of miles around; it was an isolated island and a long-abandoned ancient castle.

Yu Zhuo glanced around; the leaves on the trees were turning yellow, and there were no birds. He noticed something amiss in the withered flowers and plants outside the window.

He Lan might not be staying here to recuperate; he might be... an orphan abandoned here.

*

Yu Zhuo returned to his room to rest at night. He exchanged a few words with He Lan, and spent most of the rest of the time secretly observing the dynamics of the silver system.

The system's abilities were very strange. Yu Zhuo had used his own detector to examine him from all angles, but he had not found any special abilities he possessed.

This system is closely connected to the main system, and its capabilities are most likely related to the main system as well.

Yu Zhuo rested his chin on his hand and looked out the window. The window was open at night, and the cold wind howled in from the forest outside, cutting into Yu Zhuo's face like a dull ache.

Yu Zhuo used the pain to stay awake, but his energy was being rapidly depleted, and he couldn't control how long he stayed there.

But in any case... he wanted to use this opportunity to figure out the relationship between He Lan and the main system.

Yu Zhuo frowned. He Lan was a dragon, and the main system resided in outer space, controlling all the smaller systems.

How did they get in touch?

As Yu Zhuo was pondering, he looked up and suddenly saw a crack appear in the night sky above. The originally dark and dense night seemed to have been cleaved open by a sharp weapon, and a beam of white light shone through the crack, casting a strange, pure white path on the ground.

Yu Zhuo's pupils trembled as he looked up, confirming that tiny fragments were constantly falling from the crack in the night.

These are tiny particles from outer space, and they're actually crashing into the cracks in this world.

...The sky cracked.

Looking at the scene above, Yu Zhuo quickly came to a conclusion.

Every world has its own time and limits. This dragon world must have existed for countless years, but now its energy is about to be exhausted, causing cracks to appear in the sky.

Initially, only small particles from outer space will fall into the cracks of this world. As the world's energy reaches its limit and its defenses weaken, the world will be compressed and torn apart, ultimately leading to its destruction.

This is something that all small worlds eventually go through.

After the old world is destroyed and rebuilt, a new world will be born many years later.

This is the rule of the world.

Yu Zhuo looked at it for a moment, then reached out to close the window.

The white light outside was getting bigger and bigger. Yu Zhuo looked at it and suddenly saw a silver light rushing towards the crack in the sky.

Its light was faint, and it was soon swallowed up by the white light.

Yu Zhuo was somewhat surprised. He quietly watched from the window and saw that after about half an hour, the wound in the sky slowly healed, the white light disappeared, and the surrounding darkness returned to its original calm.

Yu Zhuo stared at the silver light. The pure silver sphere fell from the sky after repairing the crack. He set his direction midway and flew into the room on the third floor in the center of the castle.

Yu Zhuo followed his flight path and pinpointed the last place he disappeared—He Lan's room.

Yu Zhuo glanced downstairs, remained silent for a moment, and then drew the curtains as if he hadn't seen anything.

*

These are offerings for you. I passed by the coast and brought them back for you.