Chapter 7
Thus, bracing himself, Lu Hanzhi entered his mental space and began accepting missions.
Ever since he had set his “Emperor” last time, the system had finally started functioning properly.
Now, within his mental space, a mission panel had finally appeared.
This task panel was a glowing Tai-Chi symbol, standing upright atop a Bagua formation.
Lu Hanzhi approached it, realizing that the Bagua formation was not as simple as it seemed.
Judging by the patterns etched into it, there had to be a constant flow of energy sustaining the array’s operation.
This system was certainly no ordinary thing. His transmigration into this novel was clearly no accident.
The system prompted: “Would the Host like to accept a mission?”
Lu Hanzhi responded softly, “Accept.”
“Necessary conditions met. Please bind a development area. Reward for this mission: One system exchange point.”
Then, as if trying to be generous, the system added: “This is a freebie.”
Lu Hanzhi: …
A freebie? More like a death trap! With the emperor the system had forced him to set, he could be dead at any moment!
Complaints wouldn’t help, though. He still had to select a development area.
But damn, this system was stingy to the extreme. One mission for just one exchange point? Adding that to the two points from before, plus the two points granted at the start, he had a grand total of… five points.
Recently, during his free time at night, he had been studying the system’s exchange shop. After flipping through countless options, he finally found something useful—a charm that could resist mental attacks.
The best part? The charm could be attached to any object and remain invisible. Lu Hanzhi had already made up his mind—next month was Lady Lu’s birthday. He planned to buy a piece of jewelry, attach the charm to it, and tell her it had been blessed by a master, urging her to wear it often.
But when he checked the charm’s price, his heart almost stopped—it cost a full twenty exchange points.
Looking at the entire exchange shop, magical artifacts were by far the most expensive.
Even the lowest-tier charm he had his eye on cost twenty points each.
And yet, this damn system had the audacity to reward only one point per mission? Did it have no shame?!
After accepting the mission, a parchment-like map unfurled before his eyes. The vast territories of the novel’s world were laid out in front of him—the Great Zhao, Nanlu Kingdom, Xifan Kingdom, and Yingzhou Kingdom.
The Great Zhao alone occupied nearly seventy percent of the map, right in the central region.
Then came the capital, located in the northeastern part of the Great Zhao.
But the zooming didn’t stop there—the map kept enlarging, honing in on a desolate, remote corner in the outskirts of the capital.
Within that corner was a tiny green dot. As someone who had played online games, Lu Hanzhi immediately understood what it meant.
Raising a finger to point at it, he asked, “Oh, so this is my location?”
The system replied, “Yes.”
Lu Hanzhi then asked, “How much of this area can I bind?”
The system answered, “Highlighted areas indicate bindable zones.”
Lu Hanzhi glanced at the laughably tiny patch of land and sneered, “You might as well have told me to be a farmer from the start—why go through all this trouble? You won’t even let me bind the entire estate, and you dare talk about getting rich? How the hell am I supposed to build wealth with this barren scrap?!”
System: “Profanity is prohibited. Host will be muted for one incense stick’s worth of time.”
Lu Hanzhi: ???
Before he could even react, he found himself completely mute.
What the hell?! Dogshit system, do you think you’re some group chat admin?! Muting me, my ass!
Unable to curse out loud, Lu Hanzhi had no choice but to follow the system’s instructions and bind the barren land—yes, a plot with nothing but a few measly trees.
No wonder he had exploded in frustration. Anyone would have! What kind of development was even possible on a wasteland?!
Once the mission was completed, the map in his mind displayed the newly bound area in bright highlights, while all unbound regions faded into black and white, shrouded in chaos.
Watching a single exchange point get credited to his account, Lu Hanzhi felt the tiniest bit of relief.
At the very least, he could earn these points… ensuring that the chubby little glutton on the bed wouldn’t starve to death.
Just as he finished binding the development area, his consciousness was forcefully ejected from the mental space.
He furrowed his brows, but before he could react, the sound of a baby crying reached his ears.
Looking down, he saw that Fatty Chan had woken up. The thin silk blanket covering him had been kicked away, and he was flailing his limbs while wailing with his eyes shut.
Even though he was only a month old, Ah Chan already had some weight to him. When held, he felt substantial, almost ten pounds heavy! The formula milk had all the necessary nutrients, and with Ah Chan’s healthy appetite, he had turned into a small, round dumpling in just over a month.
Lu Hanzhi grabbed one of Ah Chan’s chubby feet. A newborn’s feet were incredibly tiny, and despite gaining a lot of weight, they still felt delicate in his palm. Soft and squishy, they had a pleasant texture to the touch.
Sensing his father’s presence, Ah Chan opened his eyes. The moment he saw Lu Hanzhi, he stopped crying. He let out a few soft whimpers before sticking his thumb into his mouth and sucking on it noisily.
Lu Hanzhi: …
He immediately pulled Little Fatty Chan’s finger out of his mouth and sternly scolded, “No sucking on your hands!”
Little Fatty Chan pouted, and within moments, he burst into tears again.
Lu Hanzhi instantly backed down, hurriedly shoving the tiny hand back into his mouth. “Oh, oh, fine! Here, take it, alright? You win!”
This was the first time in his life that he had surrendered unconditionally to someone. A little troublemaker like this was truly impossible to handle!
Thinking about it, it was rather strange. Lu Hanzhi had never been afraid of anyone before. Since his parents passed away early, he had spent his younger years fiercely protecting his family’s assets, hardening himself into a sharp-tempered little rooster always ready for a fight.
But now, when faced with this soft, squishy little ball of flesh, he found himself utterly helpless. Whatever he wanted, he had to give.
Standing up, he pushed the door open and instructed Luan Feng to bring some hot water. After she left, he personally took out the baby bottle, sterilized it with the hot water, and prepared the formula milk for Little Fatty Chan.
Things like formula and baby bottles were items Lu Hanzhi carefully kept by his side.
Thankfully, the mental space he possessed had storage compartments, allowing him to keep a portion on hand while the excess remained safely stored away.
The system had its benefits too—it didn’t force him to complete missions to unlock the store, nor did it limit the amount of storage he could use.
However, the storage space could only be used for items from the system’s store.
Additionally, there was a waste disposal function that could handle packaging and other trash, making it quite convenient.
Once the formula was ready, Lu Hanzhi popped the bottle’s nipple into Little Fatty Chan’s mouth.
At this stage, Fatty Chan needed about sixty milliliters of milk per feeding, with four to six feedings a day.
The newly opened can of formula was already depleting faster than the last one, and Lu Hanzhi began worrying about Little Fatty Chan’s food supply again.
He needed to complete his missions as soon as possible—earning more exchange points was the top priority.
Once Ah Chan finished drinking, Lu Hanzhi handed him over to the servant woman, Ah Man, and then returned to his mental space to accept a new mission.
The moment he entered, he spoke up, “System, let’s talk. Can you stop muting me?”
The system: “As long as you focus on completing missions and don’t insult the system, I won’t mute you.”
Lu Hanzhi let out a stifled laugh. “So we can communicate properly now? If you had been this reasonable from the start, we could’ve worked together better. You systems must have it tough too—I might even be able to help you.”
The system: … This host seems rather difficult to manage.
Being an avid reader of online novels, Lu Hanzhi had come across plenty of system-based stories—quick transmigration, reincarnation into novels, farming, infrastructure-building, you name it. System narratives always had a “Main God Space” in them.
Since he had ended up inside a novel, he figured he was now in some kind of fanfiction-based system world.
And if this was a system story, then the system itself couldn’t escape its usual trope.
With a sly grin, Lu Hanzhi asked, “I’m curious—what’s your serial number?”
The system: … Do you think I’ll fall for that?
The task-driven AI quickly reverted to its usual mechanical tone. “Host, please accept a new mission to maintain storyline progress.”
Lu Hanzhi didn’t push any further. There was plenty of time ahead—he could take it slow and gradually get this system to cooperate.
Judging by how easily he could provoke a reaction, this system wasn’t particularly experienced.
Walking over to the mission board, he accepted a new mission.
The system’s voice rang out with a feigned seriousness: “The mission is to increase GDP to an average daily income of three taels, measured over a ten-day period. The GDP panel has been updated. The host may now check GDP-related data. As a first-time mission reward, a 100% income boost buff has been granted. The buff will last until this mission is completed. Completion rewards: 5 exchange points, one beginner treasure chest. No time limit. Host, please complete the mission as soon as possible.”
A 100% income boost buff?
As the system notification ended, Lu Hanzhi noticed a small upward arrow icon appear in the top left corner of his mental space.
When he focused on it, a message popped up confirming that all revenue sources had been doubled.
He was quite satisfied with this buff. However, three taels of GDP per day didn’t seem like much—until he opened the GDP panel and nearly spat blood at the numbers displayed.
The panel read: “Regional GDP over the past ten days: -330 wen.”
System, come out right now—we need to have a serious talk. What the hell do you mean by negative three hundred thirty wen?!
This was the first time he had ever seen GDP go into the negatives.
Perhaps scared by Lu Hanzhi’s earlier teasing, the system remained completely silent.
Realizing that arguing wouldn’t get him anywhere, Lu Hanzhi decided to stop wasting his breath. He exited the mental space and prepared to visit the brick kiln.
Come to think of it, the entire estate’s monthly income was only a few dozen taels. The land was barren and unprofitable, so it wasn’t surprising that it didn’t generate much revenue.
The negative GDP was probably due to expenses like wages.
It was evening now, and the weather wasn’t too hot. Since Ah Chan was awake and lively, Lu Hanzhi decided to take him along to inspect the barren land.
The area had a pleasant environment with plenty of greenery—good for letting Little Fatty Chan breathe in some fresh air.
However, the maids Qin Se and Luan Feng were terrified.
Their young master was truly bold—taking a barely one-month-old baby outside to face the wind?
Lu Hanzhi couldn’t be bothered to explain the benefits of sunlight exposure for newborns. Supporting Little Fatty Chan’s plump bottom with one hand, he led the two maids toward the land he planned to develop.
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Obrigada pela tradução