Seized by the System

“Hey, Shi Da, look, my baby’s head is already showing…”

“Shi Si, what’s there for you to be proud of? Yours still can’t compare with mine. Look at how my baby has already grown an arm.”

A group of imbecilic stones sat cross-legged on the ground with their heads full of sweat. The sounds of their heavy breathing and their loud, rough shouts echoed one after another, causing Fang Ning to gape in shock.

He regretted this very much, realizing he should not have let them grow their babies right then and there. Instead, he should have looked for a delivery room first… This scene was too inappropriate.

Nevertheless, the great green insect and the little girl Hong Hu, who were both nearby, were watching this in excitement and clapping vigorously.

In this area, Chong Daqing had a huge advantage. After all, it had many legs, and by propping up half of its body, it could clap many times at once.

“Come on, you can do it!”

“Keep at it!”

“It’s almost out!”

The two girls took turns cheering on the group of imbecilic stones.

“Wait, why is there someone loafing about?” The great green insect had sharp vision and was pointing at a tall, wide stone person as it spoke. “It’s been so long, and all the other stupid stones have at least grown a head, but he hasn’t made any progress at all. What’s this called? Little Hong, you say it.”

“I think it’s called being there just to make up the numbers?” Hong Hu answered in a serious manner, biting on her finger.

Fang Ning raised his eyes and noticed that there was indeed a stone person sweating all over, but he was keeping his eyes shut while nothing was happening at the top of his head.

When he saw that person, he understood the situation instantly but did not reveal anything. Instead, he waved a hand and said, “Daqing, didn’t you hear what Shi Da said just now? They need to have enough vitality to grow a child. I’m afraid that Whitestone brother might’ve endured some internal injuries when he came, so he might not be able to gather sufficient vitality anymore, and most likely lost his ability to have children.”

“Sss… I see.” Instantly, the great green insect looked at the tall, wide stone person with a pitying gaze, and said most sympathetically, “It seems like you can never become a mother now. How pitiful.”

Claus was initially rejoicing at the perfect excuse that the man had found for him. Although he could have thought it as well, it was impossible for him to convey it directly as a supposedly slow-witted Whitestone person. Now that the other party had said it, the other Whitestone people would not have any further suspicions.

However, after hearing what that little insect said, his feelings were suddenly mixed up. Who cared anyway!

Then, the other Whitestone people started consoling him.

“That’s right, brother. You don’t have to worry. If worst comes to worst, you can come live with me. I’ll let you raise half of my Whitestone children,” Shi Da said gallantly.

“Ah, no wonder this diligent stone brother is doing so much work all the time. It seems like he already knows he can’t become a clan leader anymore, so he can only turn his sorrow into strength, and numb himself by working!”

“Hey, Shi San, how are you so smart?”

“Hahahaha, I read this in a book from the locals.”

“I see. I knew you couldn’t come up with those words. You’re obviously stupider than me.”

“Nonsense. I’m smarter than you. At least I can read and understand books.”

“Stop talking nonsense and focusing on growing your baby!” Shi Da rebuked.

The two stone people, who had gone off-topic, stopped talking at once in obedience.

The reason Shi Da was called Shi Da was that, among this batch of Whitestone people, he was the first to be born and the oldest in seniority.

After watching them for a while, Fang Ning felt overcome with boredom, so he instructed the great green insect to help keep an eye on them, and if anything came up, to send him a message through the AJO platform.

“Understood, Great Azure Dragon. Go on then,” said the great green insect as it waved at him without a sense of reluctance to see him go.

As Fang Ning was about to leave, he suddenly felt that something was not right, and after giving it some thought, realized that the way it addressed him was not right.

Whenever he showed up in the Draconic Arcane Realm, he always covered his face. How could that insect recognize him so quickly?

He directed his question at Sir System.

“No kidding! Its sense of smell is greater than a dog’s. It memorized the smell of your dragon soul a long time ago…” Sir System gloated.

“Sss…” Fang Ning was shocked to hear this and immediately kept it at a distance. Who would have guessed that that innocent-looking great green insect was still thinking of eating him?

“What are you scared of? No matter who it eats, it won’t eat you. You’re its grain depot,” Sir System scorned.

“You’re right. I’ll leave first then. You focus on your training. I shan’t bother you any longer.” Fang Ning returned to the System Space and opened the Heavenly Book to continue with his reading.

…

Three days later, in the Land of Heritage, the bronze cauldron had been densely covered by numerous gold and silver chains.

Many people who saw this sighed in relief, but then their expression became grave again because of the sacrifice it took to put up these seals.

Eventually, there were not enough Lake-level cultivators, so they had no choice but to let some Pond-level masters replace them. The victims came from among these substitutes…

On the top floor of a certain building, at a high-level cultivator’s place of residence.

A family was having a meal when there was a sudden knocking on the door.

The four people who were sharing a meal around the table were all Chinese, including an old couple, a middle-aged woman, and a youngster who appeared to be eighteen or nineteen years old.

The youngster’s head was lowered as he was on his phone, and he was playing with his phone while eating.

“Big Hai, it’s probably your father who’s returned. Stop playing your games, and quickly go open the door,” the middle-aged woman hastened.

“Okay, mom.” The youngster sluggishly stood up, muttering, “It can’t be dad. Why would he need to knock on the door?”

It was just as he had predicted.

The youngster might be playful, but he was smart.

He opened the door and saw that in the hallway, a young lady was carrying a cremation urn for ashes. Around her stood a group of people as well, and they all wore a solemn expression.

It was a big spectacle since the people were mostly important figures who could only be seen on television.

“It’s very difficult to bring you this news, but I’d still like to give you my condolences, dear child,” a senior walked up and said to the young man.

“Impossible. This is impossible!” The youngster’s mind went blank instantly, and he shook his head in desperation. “My dad’s a genius! He’s God’s Missionary! How could he be dead? This is impossible. This must be a hallucination.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he slammed the door shut.

The people in the hallway shook their head at the sight of this.

Inside the residence, the middle-aged woman was startled by the sound of the door slamming shut, and asked worriedly, “Big Hai, what happened?”

“Nothing, it’s just some silly people.” As the youngster leaned back against the door, he suddenly squatted down and cradled his head in his hands…

…

A few days later, Han Yunhai sat in an office, looking cold and detached while listening to a young man who did not seem much older than himself speak.

“I’m very sorry, Mister Han. Your cultivation proficiency is only at Double Grade D. Originally, since your father died while helping to seal the Spirit Cauldron, you would not only inherit the cultivation assets he left behind but also enjoy the right to thirty million points of magical energy cultivation resources. However, in your current situation, and given the crisis humanity is facing right now, we can’t allow these resources to be wasted,” the young man said earnestly.

“Which means to say, a good-for-nothing cultivator like me should offer up my deceased father’s compensation to be used by those geniuses, so that they can better assume their responsibilities toward all of humanity?” Han Yunhai said coldly.

“Ah, while it may sound rather cold, that’s the truth.” The young man kept a straight face as he spoke.

“I don’t believe this. Is there no room for reason?!” Han Yunhai abruptly exploded in rage.

“Reason. What I said earlier is the fairest reason. The current situation is unlike before. Of course, we’ll remember your father’s contribution, and when the situation is mitigated in the future, whatever should be yours will still be yours,” the young man soothed.

“The future, and how long will that be? Three years? Five years?” Han Yunhai pressed on.

“This I can’t say for sure. It may be three or five years. It could also be three or five hundred years.” The young man leaned back in his chair as he spoke, sounding slightly impatient.

“You?!” Han Yunhai charged forward, wanting to grab him by the neck.

“Humph…” The young man merely flicked a finger, and Han Yunhai was sent flying away, causing him to slam into the wall.

Fortunately, he was not injured. He glared at the other person hatefully.

“This isn’t a place for you to misbehave. You’re just a good-for-nothing cultivator. If it wasn’t for your deceased father, you would’ve been thrown out of this place already. Get lost. Other than the cultivation resources that we can’t give you, you can continue to stay where your family is residing now. You’ll have access to all the normal resource supplies. You better behave and live the rest of your life well. Be grateful. Those who are living on the ground floor can’t even have these things!” said the young man icily.

Han Yunhai stopped his outburst and threw a final glare at the young man before turning away to leave.

Soon after, another young woman walked in.

She asked in concern, “That kid won’t cause any trouble, right?”

“Humph, who can he go to? Who would be willing to do anything about this on his behalf? In fact, have I said anything wrong? Wasting resources will pose a threat to the fate of all humanity. Even the higher-ups won’t be able to say anything about this,” the young man said in irritation.

“Nonetheless, it’s still disheartening,” the young woman could not help saying.

“Disheartening? Obviously, he should’ve been the one to come and offer these to us. Unfortunately, his moral standards aren’t high enough, so we can only play the role of the bad guy,” said the young man hatefully.