translator: baumkuchen editors: glitterypanda, wuxian, serefina
061 left the “Space Between Moments”, and went over to 023’s office.
That quantum computer was still surging with waves of currents, suffused with an electroplated lustre. Tiny streams of data scattered in all directions and in between, occasionally colliding and sending out a small shower of sparks.
023 sat in front of the quantum computer, playing the game of Pacman that 061 had given him the last time he was here, filling the room with the chirping noises of Pacman eating his pellets.
His silver hair was cut short and even curled.
061 greeted him, “New hairstyle?”
023 shot him a disdainful look. “Why are you here.”
061, “The Lord God was looking for me.”
023, “What did Pig Brain ask you about?”
061, “……”
The Lord God was indeed a giant, brain-like creature. Unlike the visible, yet intangible quantum computer 023 guarded, he had a physical body, grotesque, variegated, and squirming, with synapses, with nerves, like a brain of an ancient giant cultivated in a laboratory.
……And of course, indeed really similar to hotpot enthusiasts’ absolute favourite pig brains.
023 fiddled with his controller, “You’re scared of him hearing? My office is sixty rooms away from the ‘Space Between Moments’. Furthermore, our basic code contains a privacy agreement and firewall agreements. Even if he’s the Lord God, he still has no right to invade our privacy.”
061 helplessly said, “Of course, it’s okay if it’s just in front of me. But ever since you mentioned the thing about pig brains to 009, whenever he attends meetings, the gaze he uses to look at the Lord God is a little off.”
023 rolled his eyes, “……What’d he call you over for?”
061 smiled slightly, “It’s good news. The Lord God asked me how my work has been going recently, and even said that he hoped I could take part in an expansion plan for a new type of service project.”
023, “Benefits?”
061, “My task quota will be reduced to 120 tasks.”
After asking about the benefits, only then did 023 ask, “Contents?”
061 shook his head, “I don’t know.”
“……You don’t know?”
“I haven’t signed yet. The Lord God said he was just letting me know in advance. He’ll inform me once the project’s been launched.”
“Know anything about the general details of the experiment?”
“The Lord God said that it wouldn’t violate any existing laws of this space or any basic treaties.”
“120 tasks, that’s some really generous treatment,” 023 coughed, put down the controller, and stretched out his body. As he exercised his muscles, he asked, as if casually yet carefully, “How’s it going with Chi Xiaochi?”
061’s intuition told him that there was something odd about how 023 asked that question, but he felt like he was probably just concerned about him becoming too close to his host and didn’t think too deeply about it.
He made an objective assessment, “Our relationship is okay.”
023 responded uninterestedly, “Uh-huh.”
061 laughed gently, “Hey, clearly you were the one who asked, yet why is your response so cold?”
023, “I was just casually asking. What do you want me to say?”
061, “For instance, ask me what I came to find you for.”
023 raised an eyebrow, “What did you come find me for?”
061 said, “《Harry Potter》, the complete series. Sorry for the trouble.”
A few minutes later, 061 checked his storage, “Got it, thanks.”
023 held out an open hand and said, “My reward?”
061 dug around in his chest, and tossed over a small bag of cookies baked by Chi Xiaochi.
023, “……Are you serious? Do you think I’m 009?”
061 said, “This time was a little too rushed, I’ll make it up to you next time.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
023 “hmph”-ed, dissatisfied, letting him off.
Coafg 061 kjixfv bea, 023 qlmxfv eq atf yju bo ylrmelar qlqfv klat oibkfgr abufatfg klat tlr ujwf mbcrbif jcv mjrejiis qijmfv atfw bc atf ugbecv. Lf rja mgbrr-ifuufv bc atf mtjlg jcv rajgafv ab iloa bqfc atf atlc ajyifabq, gfnfjilcu atf ajyif’r lcafglbg.
Pcrlvf kjr j rfa bo mgbkvfv, lcafgijmfv mbwweclmjalbc mjyifr, atberjcvr bo ktlmt mglrr-mgbrrfv jr atfs kbnf atfwrfinfr jgbecv bcf jcbatfg. Ktf yief iluta kjr ilxf atf rfj, wjxlcu atf olcf ragfjwr bo vjaj lc 023’r fsfr rtlcf jii atf wbgf mifjgis.
With swift movements, he picked out seventy to eighty communication cables showing the “online” status and connected them to his skull one by one.
Immediately, a chat channel flashed in front of his eyes. The channel was named “367 Big Stupid Fucks and I”.
[023]: I have good news, do you guys want to hear it?
[011]: Say it.
[182]: Say it.
[1999]: En?
[072]: 023, I remember telling you many times to change the name.
[072]: Every time I see that channel name, I want to go to your office and beat you to death.
[023]: I didn’t come up with it. Go find the person who actually came up with it.
[089]: Hahahaha.
As the people continued to fool around in the channel, 023’s original message disappeared under the sea of messages in the blink of an eye.
More than a hundred messages later, at long last, someone finally said something reasonable.
[139]: I saw 061 leave your room just now.
[139]: So does it have something to do with 061?
[139]: Is it about Chi Xiaochi?
[089]: Probably. I just saw 061 get called over by the Lord God a short while ago.
[023]: Insider information, he got quite a good benefit. He has the chance to go back earlier. ——His task quota has been reduced to 120 tasks.
[1999]: ……
[221]: ……
[1983]: ……
[131]: Really?!! He can go back?!! That’s amazing!!
[015]: [fireworks][fireworks][fireworks]
[177]: That really is good news.
[1112]: Yeah, I even thought it was just 023 bluffing again. After all, no ivory can come out of a dog's mouth.
[023]: 1112, if you never want to download a movie ever again, you needn’t beat around the bush like this.
[1112]: ……Daddy!
[1112]: Daddy, can you see me? Does my kneeling posture reach your standards?
[023]: En, it’s acceptable.
[131]: White-hair, I remember before, you were the one who was the most opposed to 061 being with Chi Xiaochi.
[023]: That was before, it’s not the same now.
[1999]: Right, right, how can 200 tasks be the same as 120 tasks? 061’s been here for twelve years now, and, even without taking a single break, he’s just barely at the halfway point.
[023]: I used to think that Chi Xiaochi wouldn’t wait for him, so he had no need to carry such illusory hopes as he continued on. Just forgetting about Chi Xiaochi would be best.
[023]: But if that project he’s participating in succeeds, after finishing up with Chi Xiaochi, he would just need to work for at most four or five more years before being able to return to his original world.
[131]: But, will Chi Xiaochi choose to return to his original world?
[131]: In the beginning, all of my hosts wanted to go back, but, by the end, there wasn’t a single one willing to return to their original world, all preferring to pick their favourite world out of their ten task worlds.
[131]: What if he’s just like the rest?
[131]: Also, 061 can’t remember anything now, even if he returns to his original world, will he know whom to look for?
[131]: We are all subject to a confidentiality agreement and have no way of telling him about Chi Xiaochi. Even a slight mention of that year’s incident may end up in us becoming thoroughly blocked.
[139]: ……
[654]: ……
[1999]: ……
[089]: We were all talking so happily, why’d you have to say so much.
[089]: Hey, can anyone here go do a good deed and seal this pessimist’s mouth?
[1999]: I live next door to 131, I’ll go.
023, who was currently engrossed in watching the going-ons in the channel, utterly enraptured, suddenly heard a knock on the door.
Unable to forcibly go offline in time, 023 could only turn and face 061 as he was, gazing at him in speechless dismay.
With a head stuffed full of messy cables, 023 thickened his skin, keeping his heart steady, and remained just as calm as collected as usual, “What are you back here for?”
061 asked him, “Gossiping again?”
023 denied it, “I’m not that free.”
……I’m not, I didn’t, don’t talk nonsense.
061 supported himself against the doorframe and laughed, “Alright, you’re not that free. I specially turned back just to tell you that if you don’t want to eat the biscuits, share them with everyone else, don’t waste them.”
023 looked towards the bag of biscuits and gave a laconic reply, “En.”
061 continued, “Also, the Lord God said that the project isn’t strictly confidential. But since the project isn’t yet fully formed, and still needs to undergo internal testing, I’m the only one invited to participate for now.”
023 raised a snow-white eyebrow, “What do you mean by this? Am I the kind of person who would gossip as he so pleases?”
061 smiled, “……En, cough, of course you aren’t. I’m just worried that the special treatment might make it awkward for everyone else.”
023 cooly declared his position, “Don’t worry. Even if there was only one spot left for people to separate themselves from the Lord God, I’m afraid that no one would fight you for it.”
……We all know how long you’ve been waiting.
Even though you yourself no longer know whom you’re waiting for, we’ve all been friends for so long now, everyone will remember for you.
061 nodded politely, “Thanks.”
023 waved a hand, expressing that if he didn’t have any other matters, he should go.
After 061 left for real this time, 023 took a look at the channel and found that everyone was already discussing whether they could form a group to watch the Chi Xiaochi from the rumours.
023 went back to watching them for a little while longer before reluctantly closing the chat channel, picking up the bag of biscuits, and going off to, one by one, distribute them to all the system staff still around in the system space.
With a click, the door to office 1008 closed, just leaving the light from the turbulent streams of data flowing through the quantum computer, casting a mix of light and dark shadows on the empty tabletop.
Gradually, a bulge started to form on the quantum computer.
Slowly, the bulge took shape. What was originally an uneven lump of flesh, little by little, formed a human face.
The face had no mouth or nose, only a pair of unusually distinct eyes and ears.
The entire quantum computer and room began to distort, accompanied by the soft clattering of cables.
……The surface of the quantum computer, the floor, and the walls, bulged with a thousand fleshy, bulbous lumps, a thousand human faces, each with a pair of well-developed eyes and ears. They had been silently watching and listening to everything that had just happened in the room.
For a time, the clean and spotless data transfer station turned into a room of flesh, the walls covered in eyes and ears.
If anyone were to walk in at this moment, they definitely would be shocked out of their wits.
Soon, 023 returned to the room.
As he casually pushed open the unlocked door, the fleshy human faces situated behind it also started to move slightly along with it.
But the scene that entered 023’s eyes was a completely normal data station. The entire room had returned to normal, the quantum computer still letting off a warm glow, as if the strange scene from earlier was nothing but a fleeting illusion.
Meanwhile, every image, every sound, was being transmitted to the Lord God’s “Space Between Moments” sixty rooms away.
The giant dark red brain squirmed beneath the high domed ceiling, while on the walls of the “Space Between Moments” was embedded an immense digital board.
In the past, this digital board would show numerous alternating red and green charts which shifted up and down like the tides.
But today, there was only the information of one person on the board.
“Monitoring Host no. 1198’s digital information.”
“The host’s name is Chi Xiaochi, a male of 26 years, with a height of 181cm, and a weight of 64kg.”
“Current data: Goodwill points 46, regret points 46, the former shows a downward curve, the latter shows an upward curve.”
The red bar representing goodwill points and the blue bar representing regret points were not much different from those of Chi Xiaochi’s own personal digital display.
However, other than these two sets of data, the digital board in the “Space Between Moments” also had a black bar chart.
As it scanned said chart, the mechanical, androgynous voice of the AI suddenly increased in volume——
“Warning, warning, there is an anomaly with host no. 1198’s entropy level. Entropy level is abnormal, far lower than the average levels. Please take notice.”
After muttering to himself irresolutely for a moment, the undulating cortex issued a command, “When did the entropy level reach its peak?”
After a series of calculations, the system presented an image on the digital board.
——That was when Chi Xiaochi first saw Yang Baihua. Upon seeing the person arriving, Chi Xiaochi, leaning against the car, stiffened slightly.
Just as he saw that face, Chi Xiaochi’s entropy level went through a significant fluctuation.
However, since then, Chi Xiaochi’s entropy level became a stagnant pond. Even when Yang Baihua appeared in front of his eyes again, it didn’t cause any fluctuations.
Seeing this image, the Lord God fell silent.
After quite a while, he issued his second command.
He drew out his tone, and within the indifference was a slight, inexplicable strangeness, “……Monitor the changes of the entropy level of this host. If the situation continues to stay the same before the next world, use your discretion and raise the difficulty level of the next world; and if it remains unchanging, prepare to let 061 participate in the experimental plan.”
The author has something to say:
Everyone can just take the entropy level as a kind of negative representation, a confusing energy source.
I love how supportive the other systems are of each other~ I’m glad 061 has some good friends 
Also, so much for that privacy agreement, huh? When I reached that part of the chapter, I was like o_O Genre shift much?
Thank you to Tonbo for the ko-fi~
im crying for cxc and luo ge
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💔💔💔💔
Ok Lord God is probably evil. I wouldn’t trust a giant pig brain.
(┐「ε:)
Be careful, giant pi- ahem, Lord God’s eyes and ears are everywhere.
Lord God is watching you.
…1984.
Lord God~gege sees all
This is so cool oh my god thank you for sharing this with us
Waaaaooooo what a more interesting story. I have fallen in love with this novel once more.
Ewww. Now all I can think of from that chapter is a pig brain room…
Seems the Lord God is a good guy? Though disgusting looking lol and creepy… but a good guy!
Lord God is not a good guy. He just violated the privacy terms and hacked into 023’s room. And perhaps you know by now that he is the main in the story.
What main? Male lead? The what? Ugh….i wanna know all
023: “We have privacy agrrement”
Lord God:” Well yes, but actually no”
Exactly lol
Thanks for the chapter! 💕💕💕
Thanks for the update
This is some creepy shit.
I came expecting some slag gong abuse and got the Matrix conspiracy. And bromance!!!
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK !!!
023 is so savage i STAN! And damn, I want to join that chat!
It’s nice to see all the other systems being so happy for our liuliu.
Thanks for the chapter! 🙂
Man, this is so good that I’m ahead by three arcs by MTL. I can’t wait until you guys get to arc 3. It’s my fave. 😭
Thanks for the chapter! 💕
Ohh, 061 have such good friends! Everyone is cheering him on! And 120 tasks is not that far!
Hmm, but It seems the system is gonna transfer Chi Xiaochi to the Hard Mode in the next world. Ugh. Why are they trying to make things difficult for him?
Thanks for the chapter!
Thanks for the chapter! I wonder if 61 is the friend who told MC the wrong version of Harry Potter in the past, so he woudln’t find out his favorite character died.
–But ever since you mentioned the thing about pig brains to 009, whenever he attends meetings, the gaze he uses to look at the Lord God is a little off.
ROFL.. 009 really doesn’t discriminate, even his boss is being sized up as potential food. And other systems are so kind to 061. Hoping the more difficult tasks will also being handled by CXC brilliantly.
Thanks for the translation..
System rebellion? So strange this chapter. 😱
Thank you.
please let me imagine lord God as a handsome ikemen
I wonder what Lord God is planning.
#WannaJoingTheSystem’sGroupChat
Thanks for the chapter!
And so the plot thickens~ ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Whats ‘Lord God’ plotting for our babies 😭
Wait. Didn’t Lou-ge die? So how will ML go back…?
Lord God might be helping LY. Reducing his tasks and the first the Lord God ‘chose’ for this new project
Insert creepy smile. Insert sarcastic laugh. Ha! Be more vigilant, enemies are just close by. Never trust a pig brain.
Hmm, I don’t trust that Lord God. Seems very suspicious, and is in obvious breech of privacy contact. I wonder, does it absorb systems and hosts to turn into a room of eyes and ears? Is that how it gets so many info (books, movies, etc)?
Hopefully I’m just misunderstanding Lord God here, but then again, every story needs an antagonist right? Sigh. Let’s see how this goes.
Also, it’s cute how supportive the systems are to one another. Such good friends. What a great family!
[Even though you yourself no longer know whom you’re waiting for, we’ve all been friends for so long now, everyone will remember for you.]
… *sobs * PepeHands
biblethump
I wasn’t expecting the systems to be so gossipy haha
thanks for translating!
creeeepyyyyy. on a brighter note it’s nice to see that ML has system friends rooting for him.
I don’t like this Lord God person already.
Already crying third times when reading this 😭😭
I’m so glad 061 has so many good friends 😭😭
Wow last ten paragraphs just hinted that Yang Baihua’s face was similar to Lou ge’s? Does that mean 061 still had the same face?
i believe so as well. remember when CXC watched a horror movie with 061 and 061 materialized to carry him back to bed, CXC woke up briefly and saw his face and thought about Lou Ying. so yeah i think the face is the same
i searched entropy and basically got “lack of predictability” so to say.
Soo… are all of the trash boyfriends gonna look like Lou Ying?
Unlikely, they mentioned that the first world was mostly similar to the host’s real world to let the adapt quickly.
Lord Pig Brain is just a malignant tumor that needs surgical removal from the world.
the lord god is very fishy very very very very fishy
I googled entropy, and apparently the definition is “a decline into disorder” or “gradual dispersal”?
Thank you for the chapter ❤
It’s getting more and more intense. What will that giant brain do to our CXC??”experimental plan”? DA FAQ is that?
Oh man I genuinely teared up reading the part where the systems were like “we all know how long you’ve been waiting”
Love the genre shift x3 author actually fleshes out the systems system
just imagining that part with all those mouthless heads appearing makes me think of the movie silent hill 💀
Pig brain sounds suspicious….no likey.. (-_-)”
Hmm this is just soo interesting.
Love the systems cute chats, even 023 seems like a good kid (if not a bit shrewd)
I don’t know what to feel about this second character, lord pig brai cough hope he didn’t see that (>_<;)..
Anyway he seems mysterious and I have a bad feeling about this project but somehow… Hmm let’s just see
Thanks for the chapter!🍀
Owhhhhh(σ≧▽≦)σ I reallllllly want to knowwww whattt realllyy happeneddd🤧🤧This is just like a very sad storyy😭
The brain better not have designs on our Leads!
Thank you for the chapter!
Since I was being trolled by a certain “God” in the neighbour novel, i will never trust this kind of ‘god’ anymore.
He is too suspicious
I love how the other systems are so supportive 🥺
“……But ever since you mentioned the thing about pig brains to 009, whenever he attends meetings, the gaze he uses to look at the Lord God is a little off.”
Gosh I’m laughing so much at this😂
Entropy level is the case where things become chaotic. Our world and universe is going towards an increasing entropy to which tells us that everything will turn to disorderliness or chaos. So probably, his mind is on its most chaotic state when he saw the Yang scum
Two years out it feels weird to be commenting on this really great story…but I see as time expands outward there are other readers out here at the edges with me!
So the fact that they look the same was on purpose? Does he want mc to react?
Stopppp all the systems are so cute and adorable! What a good friends but the pig brain can please just die? Dont get in between these sweet couple
reading for the second time…
pig brain, come here🙂 promise i won’t hack you with my knife🙂🔪
AIs gossiping like old idlers .. lmao
…Okay, now I only want to axe-murder the “Lord God System”; everyone else can live.
System solidarity is such a beautiful thing I love it. Also idk what lord god is doing, but that reduction in 061’s target seems like a trap based on the way he’s planning on increasing MC’s difficulty
Any entity that calls themselves “Lord God” is automatically sus =_=
Wow the pig brain seems like a bltch to me.
Of course the person that calls himself ‘Lord God’ isn’t a good guy