Chapter 1: Cannon Fodder and Trash

A spark ignited in the dark night, licking at the tobacco. A man’s exhausted voice sounded in the shabby room.

"So you're saying... you are a system?"

"Mhm."

On the phone screen lying on the table, a stream of glowing blue data scrolled up and down. The infinite lines of code were densely packed with no end in sight, entirely occupying the phone's display.

The man fell silent, then let out a snort of laughter.

"What the hell? Don't the systems in novels usually just enter directly into a person's brain? What's your situation?"

The system also fell silent. After a long pause, it said, "I'm not that advanced."

"Alright, so are we bound to each other right now?"

"Probably, yes."

"What do you want me to do?"

The system fell silent again.

It didn't speak, and neither did the man. Two mute gourds. The quiet atmosphere spread throughout the room.

Finally, the system spoke up and asked, "What is your name?"

"Xie De. And you? What should I call you?"

A string of scrambled code typed out on the phone screen.

@*@-/-+/*@..

"?" Xie De let out a confused noise.

The system said, "This is me. I don't have a name, or even a codename. You can just call me 'Gibberish'."

Xie De glanced at the screen and said, "I might as well just call you 'System'. Aren't you a proper system?"

"No, I... am an abandoned system."

Xie De immediately collapsed back onto the sofa. Taking a drag of his cigarette, he said, "And here I thought I had good luck for you to seek me out. Turns out you're just trash? What benefits can you even bring me?"

Being called "trash" made the system somewhat emotionally unstable, but it calmly replied.

"I am indeed trash, but you aren't much better. My dear host, you are a cannon fodder whose name wasn't even mentioned once."

Xie De raised an eyebrow, dropping his cheap cigarette on the wooden floor. He picked up the phone, brought it closer, and asked, "You're saying I'm a cannon fodder?"

"Yes."

The system's data jumped, and a paragraph of text appeared on the phone screen.

[The warehouse doors were thrown open, and a shifty-eyed, rat-faced man walked in. Suddenly, a look of absolute terror appeared on his face. Wei Yanchi stood before him with a faint smile. The knife in his hand flashed, blood splattered, and the man died with his eyes wide open.]

Xie De couldn't sit still anymore as his eyes widened.

"What the hell? You're saying that shifty-eyed, rat-faced man is me?"

The system answered him honestly.

"Yes, my dear host. You are a character in a novel, and this Wei Yanchi is the protagonist. You died the moment you made your appearance, and you didn't even get a name."

Xie De couldn't help but stand up. He walked into the bathroom and stared at his reflection in the mirror, thoroughly baffled.

"That's not right, do I really look shifty-eyed and rat-faced?"

The system told the truth.

"Although the text carries a certain degree of exaggeration, Host, you genuinely do not look good."

Xie De was speechless.

"Bullshit."

The system didn't spare him its sharp tongue at all.

"Short stature, buzzcut, average facial features, pays no attention to personal grooming, smokes and drinks, and you're already in your twenties. Host, you are a malnourished, slightly greasy, completely unsuccessful, and somewhat ugly man."

"Shut up, shut up, stop talking!"

Xie De's heart was pierced, his defenses practically shattered.

"So what then, are you here to save me? What is your mission?"

The scrolling data on the phone paused for a moment. It hesitated, then slowly said, "...Capture the protagonist's heart?"

"Are you joking?"

The system also felt this was inappropriate, so it hesitantly tried again.

"Then... change the fate of those miserable people?"

"Don't tell me you actually don't have a mission at all."

The system felt embarrassed.

"Although I don't want to admit it, the truth is exactly what you think. I am an abandoned system discarded by the Main God. I don't even know what I can do."

Alright, now it was Xie De's turn to have a sharp tongue.

"So you're completely useless? You can only appear in a phone, you can't even enter a human brain. You're too much of a failure."

The system's heart was stung, and it coldly retorted.

"You're just a cannon fodder, what kind of luxury vehicle are you expecting? You combat-power-of-five loser."

Xie De clicked his tongue and said lazily, "Fine, fine, let's stop hurting each other. I'll just treat you like a chatbot app, that works too."

"Uh, actually, I'm not that useless."

"Then what can you do?"

The system pondered for a while.

"This is a novel, and I know the general plot. So we can use the plot to reach the peak of life!"

Xie De's eyes lit up.

"I knew systems were golden fingers! What kind of novel is this?"

"An infinite-flow horror escape..."

Infinite-flow…

Xie De collapsed back onto the sofa. Entering that novel is impossible. Not in this lifetime.

"I'm afraid of ghosts. Even if you tell me the plot, I'll be so scared I won't be able to walk."

The system scolded angrily, "Are you willing to just be a combat-power-of-five loser forever?!"

"So what if I am?"

The system, however, was quite ambitious.

It declared fiercely, "You might want to be, but I don't! I refuse to be looked down upon by other systems! I will take you through the trials and make you a bigshot! Besides, since you were mentioned in the book for a line or two, it means you've already been selected by the trial! You can't escape."

"What?!"

The system continued revealing info.

"This book is a horror infinite-escape novel. The protagonist, Wei Yanchi, is a two-faced hypocrite inside the novel, an absolute lunatic among the players. He kills without blinking and eats people without adding salt. If you enter the trials and run into him, you will undoubtedly die."

"And it's not just the protagonist. The villain, Wei Yunmo, is an outright deranged genius researcher. If you encounter him, you'll become his lab rat! Your tongue will be pulled out, your eyes gouged out, and you'll die a horrible death..."

Xie De quickly and weakly raised a hand.

"Stop. I'll listen to you."

"Good. Let's make our first plan."

Xie De propped up his chin.

"Are you going to train my courage, or teach me escape skills? Do you have that function?"

These words once again pierced the system's sensitive heart.

"No."

"...just as I expected. So what are you going to do for step one?"

The system was silent for a long time.

"I can supervise you, make you exercise, and try hard to make you look a bit better."

...Xie De's silence was deafening.

"That's completely useless. I still have to rely on myself."

"No it isn't! I can... I can change your hair color! And I can make you ten centimeters taller!"

"Anything else?"

"...No."

"A one-time thing?"

"Yes, but it's permanently effective."

Xie De felt he shouldn't be too harsh on a little discarded system. Being ten centimeters taller was pretty good. He was 177.6 cm right now. If he grew 10 cm, that would make him 187.6 cm. Rounding up, he'd be 1.88 meters!

But then he heard the little system add one more sentence.

"I can also release electric currents on you to act as a deterrent to supervise you."

"...Gee, thanks a lot."

"You're welcome. Right now our mission is extremely urgent. In three months, you will be pulled into the novel. We must use these three months to completely change your appearance."

Xie De rolled his eyes speechlessly.

"I couldn't tell, little system, but you're quite the superficial beauty-lover. We're about to enter an infinite-flow horror escape! What the hell does appearance have to do with anything? Do you think the ghosts will spare you just because you look pretty?"

The system replied solemnly, "Accurately speaking, yes. I don't know about reality, but this is a novel. Often, a person's aura and appearance affect how others judge them. My dear host, if you possess peerless, breathtaking beauty, no one will believe you are just a cannon fodder."

"...But I don't have that."

"Exactly. Therefore, I plan to cultivate your aura. You can grow your hair out, and then I will turn it silver-white."

Xie De's expression became complicated. He held it in, and held it in some more, before finally saying.

"Couldn't tell you were a silver-hair fanatic. But don't you think someone with silver-white hair will stand out too much? In a scenario, isn't keeping a low profile the most important thing?"

The data on the phone spun around sheepishly.

"But it looks so good. Plus, it's one of the very few skills I can actually use."

Xie De was heartbroken.

"You shallow beauty-fanatic!"

The system said righteously, "Living things naturally love beautiful things."

At this moment, Xie De clearly hadn't realized the severity of the problem, and was still cheerfully joking around.