Seized by the System

“Bang!”

Han and George, the two tabloid reporters, watched as the gleeful giant octopus was knocked unconscious by a beam of sword energy from above.

And then, it was swept up into thin air and thrown into the distance. They could almost hear the distant sound of splashing.

Everything looked all normal, but for the gold-plated bathtubs, toilet bowls and basin left on the scene.

Above, Vigilante A was staring somewhere else.

Fang Ning was advising him. “Sir, don’t you pick up that garbage.”

The System replied, “Why not? You did say at your swearing-in ceremony last week that without accumulation of dust and dirt, Tai Shan cannot be formed…”

Fang Ning, of course, would not say this was too low-class. Vigilante A, as the Head of the Martial Arts World, might be seen doing that, which was why he was feigning such defiance…

He started manipulating it. “There’re two tabloid reporters down there. If you take those bathroom amenities, it will be turned into news by them and sent out; and next time someone wants to repay Vigilante A, they would think you have a special liking for these things and gift us nothing else besides toilets and sinks…”

The System gave in. “I see. You are very smart, Big Billionaire. Next time when no one’s watching, I shall take them…”

Fang Ning was speechless. He had known that this guy would say this.

Han and George immediately dashed out. They pointed their cameras towards the reating back of Vigilante A, who was already flying away, and frantically took photographs.

Then, Han saw the golden toilet and bathtubs. He unconsciously moved forward to touch them, and greed rose in his heart.

“George, they are really are all gold-plated. How strange. This is just a small Australian town, this toilet shop’s pretty well-furnished, but it’s unlikely to sell this sort of expensive products. Though that’s none of my concern. The total value of those six items would be a few million US dollars. We don’t have to be some tabloid reporters anymore; we can just take them home and we’ll be rich…”

True, Fang Ning was no expert on luxury items, and his observations were nothing compared to Han, who was a reporter. The latter could realize that those items were real, and were indeed invaluable. Definitely not garbage.

George looked up at Vigilante A, hovering around above the town, and shot him a flat look. “If you want to join that giant octopus in the ocean, then I won’t stop you from taking them.”

Han thought of the many rumors surrounding the other and swallowed his drool. He stood up with regret.

“But, we could dig a hole and help the person who lost it to bury them to prevent anyone from taking them…” George changed his tack.

“Eh, you are definitely Clever George. You’re right; if so, Vigilante A won’t be able to find an excuse to trouble us.” Han became excited and picked up a shovel lying by the road. He started to dig at the foot of a few tall coconut trees.

George soon joined in. Drawn by money, both were extremely motivated. In the New Era, everyone’s individual constitution had also strengthened due to their soaking up of vitality, which was why they moved much quicker than they could before.

Not long after, an enormous, deep hole was complete.

After that, they spent some effort in moving the six gold-plated toilet amenities into it.

As they climbed out with difficulty, their world went black and they fell back into the hole.

The six items lay unharmed beneath them.

…..

The second giant octopus moved into the town,following the route of the first one. It had noticed the hole shining with a golden light from the distance, and under the tropical sunshine, it glowed with a blinding intensity…

It rushed over instantly.

At that moment, George and Han had woken up.

They looked at each other, and were about to crawl to their feet when they saw a giant, monstrous octopus eyeing them coldly.

“We’re finished! We’re dead meat now!” screamed Han.

“Damn. We shouldn’t have taken advantage of the treasures. I could have contentedly earned a large fortune; from now on, everyone would call me Stupid George.” George covered his face with his hands, and did not dare look at the beastly-looking octopus.

And then, the giant octopus suddenly opened its mouth and spoke to them, “Ka, Kaka, Kakaka…”

Han, afraid and puzzled, asked, “What’s it saying?”

George thought for a moment. “I think it’s probably grinding its teeth as a last preparation for eating us.”

Han was so scared that he collapsed into one of the golden bathtubs that he had desired so much earlier, staring at the ferocious octopus.

“Those idiots. Mr Tom spoke correctly. Most humans are idiotic, and this noble language is something only the few experts among humans can learn and understand. We giant octopuses, being able to learn this easily and use it skilfully, are destined to be the future ruler of the Earth.”

A gleeful, arrogant thought entered the two reporters’ minds.

“My God, they can communicate with us?” George held a ray of hope. Hopefully they could drag this out until the person who knocked them out arrived.

He did not know, of course, that the man in question was looking down at them from more than a thousand meters above.

He immediately pleaded, “Dear future ruler of the Earth, please have mercy on us and let us idiotic humans free.”

“Of course, just take all my golden containers up, then I shall let you free.” The octopus seemed to enjoy the praise of the former rulers of the Earth, gleefully waving its arms.

The two tabloid reporters were exultant, and bent down, preparing to carry those items. But then, two thick strong arms suddenly wrapped around them.

‘We’re dead! This octopus is so cunning. It’s so powerful yet used tricks to lower our guard. Is it worried that our stress would spoil the quality of our flesh?’

They both had this thought in mind as they watched themselves, unsurprisingly, trapped tight by powerful arms and moved in front of the gaping jaws below its head!

However, what made them puzzled was that the octopus did not take a bite out of them, but started making “Kaka” sounds by moving its jaws.

“Don’t be afraid. It’s the two idiots doing their own thing.” Another confusing thought entered their minds.

And then, they were released back down onto the ground by the arms. Yet, just when they thought they had escaped death, two new idiots ¹ captured them again, moving them near to its mouth.

If it happened a third time, they are going to pee in their pants. What was this mysterious Master Octopus planning to do?

Their long-awaited savior did not appear, either.

They thought, with infinite regret, that their greed and arrogance must have infuriated the Eastern Pharos. He must be watching them get their just punishment.

…..

In the sky above, Vigilante A looked down expressionlessly at the scene below, not moving at all.

The System said, “Hey, Host, this is a new kind of monster. One surrounded by eight… I’ve never seen such a monster. A big red dot surrounded by eight smaller ones…”

Fang Ning was speechless. “You ignorant fellow, that ‘one surrounded by eight’ is the characteristic of an octopus. Its eight arms have certain independent moving abilities, just like AI.”

The System said, “This kind of monster’s certainly cool. I can only knock it unconscious, but the Experience gained from that is not much less than when killing it.”

Fang Ning looked grave. “You idiot, only thinking about Experience. I can see the hidden danger in the future world. Those monsters have great potential, and when their eight arms all develop full consciousness, their learning abilities would crush that of most ordinary people. No wonder they had mastered the complicated Morse Code so easily. If anyone wanted to manipulate and motivate them, it won’t be an easy task like today.”

The System said, “I don’t understand… Have you finished considering the larger picture? Just let me knock it unconscious now.”

…

Han and George scrambled out of the hole they had dug.

That merciful Master Ruler Octopus was then knocked unconscious by a beam of sword energy from above, then, like its predecessor, was flung towards the ocean…

The disappearance of the two octopus leaders, in fact, left the clan of octopuses unfazed.

Instead, without the control of their leaders, the groups led by the two were already moving into the town.

Sounds of “Ka Ka” started ringing out.

Anderson did a live explanation and translation. The octopuses said, “The leaders are gone. I think they were thrown into the ocean.”

“Humph, what’re we afraid of? Our leaders’ absence fits us just fine; no one can control us anymore! Everyone, say, what do we want?”

“We want containers!”

“We want the best containers!!”

“No one can stop our desire for containers!!!”

Groups and groups of octopuses sent messages along those lines using the code, then with no intention of turning back, rushed into the town.

They soon appeared in every bar, square, shopping mall…

They happily took away big vases, thick pipes, large aquariums…

….

Two days later, the Black Cat Tom started incredulously at the hundreds and thousands of octopuses drifting on the surface of the water. They moved dazedly with the tide.

“I didn’t even gather any Death Energy, but had to pay for a precious altar for Death, and even used Death’s Shadow Disguise thrice. I’ve used up so much of my Death Energy…”

It muttered with disbelief.

Huang Rui hid away consciously. He knew that he was in big trouble this time.

Then, he realized Master Tom had appeared before him and, as expected, was glaring fiercely at him.

“This is the good idea you came up with!!”

“I’m very sorry, Master Tom,” the old man Huang Rui’s voice stuttered as he explained, “There are flaws in my strategy. I didn’t expect that those octopuses, having become sapient and part of the demons, would still maintain their nature. All of them didn’t even go after humans to eat, but stole their unvaluable containers. Vigilante A naturally won’t kill them.”

The Black Cat Tom considered this, then retracted its sharp claws.

It did not trouble its underling, since his idea had been pretty sound, the only mistake being wrongly anticipating the powerful nature of those octopuses, which had overridden their thirst for power.

That was because useful, loyal subordinates like these was hard to find. Those who moved whichever way the wind blew, like Anderson, were much more common.

“Well, maybe I need to find another more bloodthirsty species of ocean creatures. Help me do some research, but this time, I won’t tolerate any mistakes!” the Black Cat said. It could not take too many failures.

Huang Rui, trying to compensate, said quickly, “I won’t fail this time. I will plan everything well.”

…

At that moment, a twelve-limbed giant octopus climbed down with difficulty from a coconut tree. Its leader had thrown it so far away by one limb that it had fainted. Thanks to the conscious movement of its twelve arms, it had managed to grab hold of a coconut tree and not fall into somewhere dangerous. Which was why it had survived until now.

It looked at the prosperous human town, and without any thoughts of lingering, turned to move towards the sea.