35 WHERE IS THE SCREW?
One second had passed...
Two seconds had passed...
Three seconds had passed...
And Bai Chen wondered, ‘Is the system broken? Why doesn’t it give me an OOC warning?’
Bai Chen had been counting in his heart, and it had been three seconds since the Emperor had said that he didn’t look like the real Bai Chen in this world because he suddenly volunteered to participate in the Beast Hunting Event, and he thought that it was a sign of an OOC.
If he was out of character, then the system should have given him a warning before deducting his points, but he didn’t hear the mechanical voice in his head, nor did he see the red screen flashing in front of his eyes.
Bai Chen suspected the system had framed him with the mission he had been given, and he had voiced his suspicions in his head, but he still got no response from the system. He couldn’t help but think that the system was broken.
‘I’ve never read a transmigration novel with a broken system, but mine might be broken, right? After all, the creator of this system is just a stupid-looking baby wolf.’
{THE SYSTEM IS NOT BROKEN, AND IF THE HOST CONTINUES TO INSULT THE MIGHTY CREATOR OF THE SYSTEM, THE SYSTEM WILL CANCEL ALL REWARD POINTS THAT HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO THE HOST, AND THE HOST POINTS WILL AUTOMATICALLY ZERO}
.....
Bai Chen almost gasped when he heard the system’s reply. He said Bai Lang looked like a stupid-looking baby wolf, but the system defended it by saying that the little wolf was the great creator of the system.
He felt like throwing up when he heard the praise, thinking that maybe Bai Lang was the one who typed the answer that the system just gave him, but he held back because it might be disgusting if he threw up in front of the Emperor.
‘I admit I was wrong, but can you explain to me why you didn’t give me an OOC warning, dear system?’ Once again questioning the system, Bai Chen’s face looked greatly distorted as he tried to restrain himself from shouting at the system.
{THE HOST DID NOT GO OUT OF CHARACTER, SO THE SYSTEM DOESN’T NEED TO GIVE A WARNING}
In the end, Bai Chen frowned when he got the reply from the system. ‘What do you mean I didn’t go out of character?’ He asked the system again. ‘I volunteered to participate in the Beast Hunting Event, but the real Bai Chen of this world has never done that before. That’s supposed to be OOC, right?’
Bai Chen was curious, but the translucent screen in front of his eyes suddenly displayed an emoticon -___-
It astonished him once again.
{THAT’S NOT OOC BECAUSE IT’S PART OF THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT OF BAI CHEN, HOST. OR, DO YOU WANT THE SYSTEM TO REDUCE YOUR POINTS EVEN IF YOU DON’T BREAK ANY RULES?}
Bai Chen finally gasped when he heard the system’s question, and the strange sound that escaped his lips made the Emperor frown at him.
“What’s the matter with you, Prince Bai Chen?” The mighty emperor questioned the Prince curiously. “You suddenly volunteered to participate in the Beast Hunting Event, and you just made a strange sound. Are you under a demonic spell?”
Just like the reason behind his drenched state yesterday, the Emperor also suspected that he was under the influence of a demonic spell. ‘Is he also talking about the Flute Demon? That demon is very famous, ah?’ He still had time to wonder in his heart when he remembered the reason why his servant suddenly poured water on his head yesterday.
Afraid that the Emperor would ask another servant to pour water on him again, the young man with brown hair hastily swung his arms in front of his body. “No, Your Majesty!” He answered. “I’m the one who wants to participate in the event, and I’m not under the spell of any demon! Please don’t pour water on my head!”
If only Bai Chen could say that it was the system that forced him to participate in the event, he would definitely do so because he was annoyed with the system. However, revealing his system was the same as revealing his true identity, and that would mean he would be breaking the first rule.
He said nonsense once again, and the Emperor was still frowning at him, probably trying to read what was on his mind. Sensing that, Bai Chen immediately turned his gaze to the floor so he could keep everything in his head to himself.
‘Werewolves don’t have the ability to read minds, do they? I guess I didn’t hear about it when the system explained to me about the werewolf hierarchy,’ the brunette Prince stupidly asked himself because the Emperor’s gaze was too intimidating.
“If it’s really your wish to join the event, then you should tell me the reason behind it,” the Emperor finally spoke again, and Bai Chen dared to look at the person sitting on the throne again.
He was still in the hall with the Emperor, the Crown Prince, as well as the officials, and he felt compelled to present his reasons just like when he had to present his thesis in front of several professors when he was still in college.
As an introvert, it wasn’t easy for Bai Chen to speak in public, and at that time, he was intimidated by the sharp gazes of the professors. Back then, the professors would probably only criticize him if he spoke the wrong way, but in this place, his head would probably be floating if he got the words wrong.
Bai Chen became even more nervous from the pressure, and he swallowed nervously before taking a deep breath and letting it out through his mouth. The next thing he did was to step forward to directly face the Emperor, and that shocked the Emperor as well as the others present in the Hall.
Extending both hands before displaying his most professional smile, Bai Chen then started his presentation, “I want to participate in the event because I want to become a better and stronger person. I am the Prince of the Dong Lang Empire, and protecting my people is my responsibility. For a bigger and stronger Dong Lang, I will fight tooth and nail, and I also will-”
{HOST, IF YOU CONTINUE TALKING NONSENSE, THE SYSTEM WILL DEDUCT YOUR POINTS FOR REAL}
“...” Bai Chen decided to thin his lips, and when he glanced at his surroundings, everyone else also thinned their lips when they heard his speech.
‘Did I go overboard with my speech? But, politicians usually use speech like that in campaigns,’ Bai Chen squirmed uncomfortably at people’s strange gazes at him, but then the silence in the hall was broken by the sound of laughter.
Looking up once more, Bai Chen could see how the Emperor was laughing in amusement. “You have indeed improved, Bai Chen. In the past, you rarely came to the meeting even though I invited you, but you came today even if you were a little late. And what you said just now proves that you are a capable person. I didn’t expect that you would be able to change yourself like this.”
{DING!
CONGRATULATIONS, HOST!
YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY WON THE EMPEROR’S TRUST!
THE SYSTEM REWARDS YOU WITH 20 POINTS, AND YOUR CURRENT POINTS ARE 130 NOW}
‘What? Is it a hidden mission? Why did I suddenly get 20 points?’ Bai Chen was confused as he questioned the system.
{DON’T WORRY, HOST. IF YOU DON’T WANT TO GET 20 POINTS, THE SYSTEM CAN ALWAYS TAKE THE POINTS BACK}
“...” Bai Chen facepalmed before muttering, “Girls and their mood swings.”
“Huh? What did you just say?”
Bai Chen gasped when he heard the question, and he looked up again before discovering that it was the Emperor who had just questioned him. He just insulted the system, but the murmur was too loud, and it was not only the Emperor who managed to catch it, but other people in the hall were also able to hear it. He was once again rewarded with fierce gazes from the people within the hall.
‘I forgot that I live among werewolves now, so their hearing must be sharper than normal humans,’ he was secretly condemning himself for having voiced his thoughts out loud, and now the Emperor was frowning at him.
{DING!
THE HOST HAS OFFENDED THE EMPEROR!
20 POINTS HAVE BEEN DEDUCTED AS A PENALTY!
CURRENT POINTS: 110}
‘Where is this system’s screw? I really want to destroy this system!’ Bai Chen looked furious as he continued to curse in his heart. He had just received a reward of 20 points, but the system took it back after a few seconds. It was as if he was being toyed with by the system, and he was plotting murder in his heart.
{DING!
THE HOST IS PLANNING TO ASSASSINATE THE SYSTEM!
10 POINTS HAVE BEEN DEDUCTED AS A PENALTY!
CURRENT POINTS: 100}
‘What the hell!’ Bai Chen cursed in his heart.