binnovel Chapter 5 The Origin of the System
Chapter 5 The Origin of the System
King Qin returned to his palace and sat upright, seemingly deep in thought. Zhao Gao, standing not far away, also began to ponder: [What's wrong with His Majesty today? If the Thirteenth Princess's singing angered His Majesty, a reprimand would suffice. Why ask who she was speaking to? Is His Majesty making up an excuse? But His Majesty isn't like that! What's really going on?] Just as he was thinking these things, King Qin suddenly spoke: "Did you hear the Thirteenth Princess's conversation with a voice today?" Hearing the King's question, Zhao Gao's usually amiable face showed a hint of confusion, but he knew he couldn't ignore it. After a moment's thought, he said, "Your Majesty, my ears have been slightly uncomfortable lately, and I didn't hear the Thirteenth Princess speaking to anyone. I beg Your Majesty to calm your anger!" As he spoke, Zhao Gao knelt down.
The King of Qin looked at Zhao Gao kneeling below. He knew Zhao Gao wouldn't dare lie, so he said to Zhao Gao, "Get up. If your ear is uncomfortable, go see the imperial physician." Without waiting for Zhao Gao's reply, he waved his hand, signaling Zhao Gao to leave. Zhao Gao bowed and said, "Yes!" before taking a few steps back and leaving.
At this moment, only King Ying Zheng of Qin remained in the empty hall. Based on Zhao Gao's earlier answer, he was certain that only he could hear those two voices; no one else heard them. But what were they? Thirteen's voice was likely her innermost thought. What about the other voice? That cold voice came from something called the System. What is the System? The System is bound to Thirteen. What does "bound" mean? Why bind Thirteen? Is it to harm her? But Thirteen is just a young girl; why would there be any need to harm her? Is it to force Thirteen to harm him? No, he has many children; Thirteen rarely sees him. To coerce him is a pipe dream. So why bind Thirteen? Was it an assassin sent by one of the six states? No, no, this wasn't a human voice, and no one else heard it. Could it be a deity? But why would a deity target Thirteen instead of himself? And even he couldn't save Thirteen, proving he lacked magical powers. So what was it? What was its purpose? After much contemplation, King Qin still had no answers.
The King of Qin summoned the commander of the Imperial Guards to an audience with Zhao Gao. Soon after, the commander met with the King. The King dismissed Zhao Gao and instructed the commander, "Find someone to secretly monitor the Thirteenth Princess. Observe what she does every day, who she meets, and what she says. Report everything to me in detail. Furthermore, this matter must not be known to anyone else!" After saying this, the King began reviewing memorials.
The commander of the Imperial Guards hurriedly accepted the order and left. He then summoned several trusted confidants and relayed the King of Qin's command, adding, "Anyone who dares to leak the information will be executed without mercy!" After saying this, he turned back to report to the King of Qin that the matter had been completed. The King of Qin didn't even raise his eyelids and simply grunted in acknowledgment.
The commander of the Imperial Guards withdrew from Zhangtai Hall and continued his inspection of the palace.
At this moment, Ying Wuyou had lost all interest in singing and swinging. Filled with questions, she returned to her room. After dismissing the maid, she lay on her bed and began to ponder: [What did the First Emperor hear? Did he dislike my singing? But that doesn't seem likely. He just asked out of the blue who I was talking to. Can't he talk to people? Even though history books say Qin Shi Huang was a tyrant, Ying Wuyou never thought he was cruel. It's just that today, on her first meeting with the famous Qin Shi Huang, she encountered such a thing. Ying Wuyou was completely baffled. Instead of letting her imagination run wild, perhaps she should ask the system?] Thinking this, Ying Wuyou directly asked in her mind: [System, System, are you there?]
The system's lazy voice rang out: "Didn't I already say my name is Little Apple? You keep calling me 'System,' which is the same as me calling you 'Human'—'Human.' Do you think that's appropriate? Humph!" After saying that, the system turned around angrily towards Ying Wuyou.
Looking at the arrogant system, Ying Wuyou was also surprised. [Wow, system, are you really this arrogant? Your expression is so cute! Hahahaha!] Ying Wuyou laughed as she spoke.
Hearing Ying Wuyou call her "system" again, the system was about to get angry, but then it heard Ying Wuyou say that she was cute, and it instantly became arrogant again. [Hmph, of course Little Apple is cute. This host has quite good taste!] Hearing Ying Wuyou's laughter, the system didn't understand what she was laughing at, so it could only glare at her.
Ying Wuyou laughed for a while, then apologized to the system: [Okay, I'm sorry, it was my fault. I shouldn't have called you system. But why did you call me Little Apple? You're clearly a cat!]
Upon hearing Ying Wuyou's words, the system replied, "[This name was given by my previous host, so what? Just because I'm a cat doesn't mean I can't be called Little Apple.]"
Ying Wuyou then asked, "Oh, you have a former host? Then why don't you just stay with her? In novels, aren't systems always bound to one person and constantly doing tasks?"
The system retorted, "Of course not. My former host has already completed her mission, so she was unbound." As it spoke, the system revealed a sad expression.
Looking at this system, Ying Wuyou remarked with a sigh: "I thought systems were all cold, impersonal artificial intelligence; I didn't expect you guys to have emotions!"
The system said, "We are also living beings. We've just become the system, and you've become the host. Essentially, we're the same. Now that we're bound together, we must complete the mission together. If we fail, we will both die!"
Hearing the system's words, Ying Wuyou gained a general understanding of it. This was different from the systems she knew before. The systems she knew before were roughly of two types: one type was a product of the small world/heavenly way evolving on its own. These systems served the small world, stabilizing it and ensuring it operated according to its original logic. When something deviated from its course, the system would appear, bind to the host, and bring the plot back on track. The other type was a product of advanced civilizations, either to observe humanity or to serve the advanced civilization. In short, advanced civilizations would send systems to bind to humans, then deprive the small world of its fortune or destroy it, or simply help the suffering protagonist for observation purposes.
Thinking about all this, Ying Wuyou asked the system: "So what exactly are you? Why did you become a system? And why are you bound to me? Are you a product of an advanced civilization or a product of this small world itself?"
The system replied: "I am neither a product of an advanced civilization nor a product derived from a small world. I am actually a manifestation of mental power. You can think of it as millions of humans sincerely praying for the same thing; this mental power of prayer undergoes a qualitative transformation, and then our system is born. All of us systems exist for the sake of humanity's wishes!"
"[Coming here for a wish? Isn't that like being a god? Does that mean I can get whatever I want?]" Ying Wuyou asked.
"No, that's not true. Our systems aren't just the fleeting wishes of tens of millions of people. They're formed over thousands of years of mental energy. For example, I was born with only three thousand years of mental energy. Before that, I had two other systems: one formed from four thousand years of mental energy, and the other from five thousand years. And after that, I have two more systems: one from two thousand years and the other from one thousand years. However, a one-thousand-year-old system is like a human infant; it can't complete tasks at all. And a two-thousand-year-old system is like a primary or middle school student; its intelligence isn't fully developed yet, so it also can't complete tasks!" the system said.
"So you only have five systems in total? According to you, your three-thousand-year-old system is equivalent to a college student's experience?" Ying Wuyou asked.