When system cheat becomes rampant!

"It's not too bad, we just chat with each other, don't worry, Grandpa knows what can be said to outsiders and what can't. But he's an orphan with no fixed abode, traveling around doing odd jobs until he came here not long ago. He's a very diligent person, always doing whatever I ask of him in the shop," Xiang Qingde said.

"Does he really listen to you that much?"

"I'm the manager here! I'm his boss, so of course, he has to listen to me."

Xiang Qingde looked quite pleased with himself.

He probably had no idea that the Xiao Zhang he was ordering around every day was an SR-level Awakener in the God Refining stage!

"Is that so..."

Xiang Beifei didn't say anything explicit.

Xiao Sheng was definitely not here just to work. Discover more content at My Virtual Library Empire

Then, was he here to surveil his grandfather?

So was it him who had installed so many cameras in his house?

But the thing is, Xiang Beifei had just checked Xiao Sheng's system log and found that the latter had no records of exchanging anything for surveillance cameras, and his system didn't even have the capability to monitor.

That is to say, the provider of the cameras must be someone else!

Xiang Beifei couldn't help but think of Xu Yang, whom he had met shortly after he first gained access to his Awakening System.

To this day, he still hadn't completely investigated Xu Yang's intentions. This semester, Xu Yang had been attending his classes and hadn't done anything to Xiang Beifei, but Xiang Beifei had always been wary of him, constantly keeping an eye on Xu Yang's system.

After Xiang Beifei gained access to the Awakening System, Xu Yang tested him by releasing a desolate beast hound.

Now there was another SR-level Awakener around his grandfather.

Xiang Beifei found it hard not to link these two people together!

So were these two guys in cahoots?

Was it because of his old man?

Or was there some other reason?

Xiang Beifei's mind was full of questions.

——

Xiao Sheng quickly brought over that piece of black brick, apologizing with an apologetic expression, "I'm sorry, Uncle Xiang, I didn't know this was your system reward. Luckily, I didn't tamper with it, and now it has been returned intact. I hope I haven't caused you any trouble."

Xiang Qingde took the brick, weighed it in his hand, and said, "Indeed, it's mine. No problem, it's good that you've brought it back."

"Then I'll get back to my work."

Xiao Sheng didn't linger, picked up the mop, and continued with his own work.

Xiang Beifei didn't immediately reach for that brick, and the old man didn't give it to him right away either. They waited for Xiao Sheng to be out of sight before Xiang Qingde handed it to him.

"Take it to study, see if you can write a sensational research paper. Grandpa doesn't understand this stuff, but it's your duty as an elite student to make a contribution to the future of humankind in Jiuzhou, isn't it?"

Xiang Qingde did have a sense of social responsibility for the system, and he wanted Xiang Beifei to succeed and become a pillar of the alliance as soon as possible. In his view, students from elite universities are born for the development of the alliance.

"Alright."

Xiang Beifei didn't offer any explanations; for him, it was enough to protect himself and his grandfather.

He probed the brick with a bit of Spiritual Power, and there were no traces of Spiritual Power left by Xiao Sheng on it, meaning he hadn't tampered with the brick.

However, the less evidence he found, the more suspicious Xiang Beifei became of the guy.

But at the moment, the existence of the black brick was of greater concern to him, clearly now was not the time to study the brick, so he decided to wait until he got home.

At that time, Kong Daming also arrived at the store and instantly spotted Xiang Beifei, immediately greeting him with enthusiasm, "Xiaofei is back? It's been almost half a year since we've seen each other, huh!"

"Hello, Uncle Kong," Xiang Beifei greeted him politely.

"That's my boy, Xiaofei is so promising!" Kong Daming came over and heartily clapped Xiang Beifei on the shoulder, then lowered his voice, "Xiuwen told me all about it, truly worthy of being Xiang Tianxing's son, haha! Come on, I'm treating you today, to welcome you back."

"Just returning from winter break, there's no dust to wash off," Xiang Qingde said.

"That's different, when Xiaofei succeeds, it makes us all happy. Old man, don't busy yourself today. I'm giving you the day off; go on and spend more time with Xiaofei," Kong Daming said with a laugh.

"Why make a fuss over nothing? I haven't finished my work."

Xiang Qingde was always very principled in his work here, even though Kong Daming had invited him to the store to act as the big shot, he didn't like special treatment, preferring to rely on his own labor. He earned his wage by working, and if there was no work to be done, he would find work to do, keeping the store in perfect order.

Kong Daming was very clear about Xiang Qingde's temperament and immediately said, "Then as the boss, I'll assign you a task! Xiaofei is our shop's honored guest today, so you better attend to him right away. Don't neglect him."

"Go on, go on! There's no need to fuss over him," Xiang Qingde waved his hand dismissively.

Kong Daming put on a stern face and said, "I am the boss, you are the employee. When the boss assigns a task to an employee, you pick and choose? Is that proper?"

"This..." Xiang Qingde hesitated.

"Alright, go on, take a break upstairs. Who knows, maybe one day I'll rely on Xiaofei, our distinguished guest, to shoot up the ranks! Don't you ruin this for me. If you fail to host properly and leave a bad impression on Xiaofei, you'll bear a big responsibility," Kong Daming said.

Kong Daming chuckled heartily and, without a second word, pushed the grandfather and grandson duo upstairs.

Xiang Qingde was quite helpless, but having been so cajoled by Kong Daming, he had nothing to say. Upstairs there were private rooms and a lounge. Kong Daming directed them to the lounge, brewed a pot of tea for them, and then went downstairs to prepare the midday banquet.

It was only then that Xiang Beifei took out the black brick, placed it on the table, and began to examine it carefully again.

The brick was just like the kitchen knife; even using Spiritual Power couldn't destroy it!

"Grandpa's system items are really powerful," Xiang Beifei couldn't help but say.

"Powerful?" Xiang Qingde, sitting opposite, looked at Xiang Beifei with puzzlement and said, "The strength of that brick when it hit me was not small."

"Grandpa really has no recollection of this brick? I can't destroy the kitchen knife or the brick." Xiang Beifei knocked the kitchen knife on the black brick, "Look, the knife strikes the brick, and neither is affected."

Xiang Qingde, not quite understanding, took the knife and made a few gestures on the brick, saying, "What does this show?"

"Grandpa should be aware that my strength is stronger than yours now, right?"

"That's right, the stronger you are, the happier Grandpa is."

"But I can't destroy the kitchen knife and the brick, and that really says something."

"Eh?"

Xiang Qingde looked quite surprised.

Though life was dominated by practitioners of the literary Dao, those martial artists who could resist desolate beasts were still more revered, the higher one's cultivation, the higher their social status—this was unchanging, as martial artists had an easier time making money. Even practitioners of the literary Dao understood the matters of the system; those of higher realm could defeat the system items of those with lower realms. This was a fact.

He furrowed his brow slightly and said with astonishment, "You can't destroy my system items?"

"Yes," Xiang Beifei nodded.

"But why?"

"Grandpa, how much do you remember about your past? For instance, what was the situation like when you received the Awakening System?" Xiang Beifei asked.

Xiang Qingde tried to recall and then, touching his forehead, shook his head, "Not much, I haven't figured it out until now."

"Has Grandpa ever thought that you were once a martial artist?"

"I was a martial artist?" Xiang Qingde looked surprised then broke into laughter, "With these old arms and legs?"

"Grandpa, do you know about the Northern District of the Essential Domain?" Xiang Beifei inquired.

Xiang Qingde paused, his complexion drastically changed, and he stuttered, "Y-you... why are you suddenly asking about that?"

"So Grandpa does know about it?"

"I—Who told you that?" Xiang Qingde asked nervously.

"I study at my dad's school, I know what pioneers are," Xiang Beifei said.

Xiang Qingde spoke in a slightly agitated and uneasy manner, "Don't think too much into it... he—"

"What does Grandpa think I'm considering?" Xiang Beifei questioned.

"I... I can't be sure," Xiang Qingde wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead and added, "But you can't be too impulsive."

"Grandpa is afraid I'll run off to the outside wilderness?"

"I just..."

"Then could you tell me about my dad?" Xiang Beifei asked again.

Xiang Qingde hesitated as if debating whether or not to speak.

After a long while, he finally said, "That day, people from the alliance came and told me that your dad went missing in the Northern District of the Essential Domain. I'm not very clear on the details, but back then you were so young I didn't think to tell you. I had no concept of the outside wilderness; your parents never told me what they did when they left, and I don't know much."

Xiang Beifei pondered for a moment, and after a while, he continued, "Then what does Grandpa think of their work?"

"They are pioneers, struggling for the future of humanity!" Xiang Qingde declared solemnly.

"Does Grandpa hope I will become a pioneer in the future?" he asked again.

Xiang Qingde, looking at his only grandson, his eyes flickering with a solemn light, said, "I don't interfere with what you do in the future. Everyone has their own choices. It's not about being sensational, but about being true to oneself! You should live for yourself, not for someone else."

Xiang Beifei regarded his grandfather.

A very thin old man, with a full head of white hair, the years had left deep marks on his face, and perhaps due to constantly taking care of his grandson, even his silhouette seemed a bit hunched.

Yet this old man had always been positive and optimistic, full of hope for life, often sharing wisdom with Xiang Beifei, encouraging his grandson and those around him.

The phrase Xiang Beifei heard most was—As long as life doesn't defeat us, we control life.

This was an ordinary man, but he had always approached life with utmost seriousness. He never complained about his destiny nor belittled himself.

After his son's incident, the alliance actually provided a substantial sum of consolation money, but he had saved it all for his grandson. While he was still able to move, he sold vegetables to earn money, thinking of his grandson's future. Kong Daming invited him to live comfortably to ease their burdens, but he did not just rely on his age and continued to work diligently, doing his job well.

This was a man who truly lived for himself.

But also a man filled with questions for Xiang Beifei.