Chapter 1: Male Protagonist with X-ray Vision VS Five Female Protagonists (1)
“Are you going to jump or not? Jump if you’re going to!”
“Black-hearted capitalist, you deserve to die! Jump!”
“Don’t jump! If you’re going to jump, pay back the hard-earned money of the common people first…”
“Pay back the money! Pay back the money!! Pay back the money!!!”
“…”
When Huo Xian’s consciousness returned, the first thing he heard was a cacophony of shouts. These voices seemed to come from far away, yet also very close, each word like a knife leaving bloody gashes on his heart, the pain excruciating.
Anger, resentment, and fear surged through him, finally culminating in despair. He lifted his foot, one step forward, and everything would return to the beginning, his world forever peaceful.
The moment his hand loosened its grip on the railing, he childishly grasped it again.
Huo Xian finally opened his eyes. Just then, a gust of wind blew his weary and weak body precariously. If he hadn’t grabbed the railing in time, he would have likely fallen from the edge.
Close call! Huo Xian thought.
[Warning, the host must complete the jump to obtain abilities.]
A mechanical voice sounded in his mind, but Huo Xian remained unmoved. He looked down; below, hundreds of workers were gathered, some holding banners, others with cloth strips tied around their heads, demanding their wages. Firefighters in orange uniforms were quickly inflating air cushions; they must have just arrived, as the cushions weren’t yet full.
[The building is too high. Jumping won’t just kill you, you’ll be crippled.] He communicated with the voice in his head.
The emotionless mechanical voice replied: [You are the son of destiny in this world. You won’t die.]
Huo Xian said earnestly: [But I’m afraid of heights, my legs are weak, I can’t even look down, it’s terrifying.] Pausing, he spoke before the mechanical voice could: [Can we change the method of obtaining abilities?]
[No.] The mechanical voice replied coldly.
Huo Xian pursed his lips, peeked out, then retracted, hugging the railing tighter, shaking his head regretfully: [Then forget it, I don’t want any abilities.]
[Abilities are your cheat code, you must obtain them!] The mechanical voice seemed even colder, [If the host doesn’t obtain abilities according to the plot, this system will punish the host.]
[What punishment?] Huo Xian asked.
[Elimination.] The self-proclaimed system’s mechanical voice replied coldly.
However, the system’s threat didn’t frighten Huo Xian. He responded calmly: [Then eliminate me. I’m already dead anyway.]
Three days ago, Huo Xian died in a car accident. Immediately afterward, his consciousness, or soul, left his body and was detected and captured by a self-proclaimed system from a higher dimensional space, which offered to bind with him on the condition of giving him a new life.
Huo Xian hadn’t agreed, and was confined to a system’s “dark room” for three days before negotiating with the system and deciding to experience the system’s so-called “mission” as an intern.
Thus came this journey to another world, unfortunately, with a very rough start.
The system fell silent. Before Huo Xian could wait for his elimination, he prepared to climb over the railing to the safety of the rooftop. However, just as he was bracing himself and lifting his leg to step over, a powerful electric current surged from his brain to his limbs. The intense numbness caused him to lose control of his body. His hand slipped from the railing, and the narrow edge, only wide enough for one foot, lost its balance due to his hand slipping.
Huo Xian saw the clear, bright blue sky, cloudless, the sun shining brightly.
He also saw the firefighter who had reached the window of the top-floor resident’s apartment, just a hair’s breadth away from catching him. He even saw the annoyance and guilt on the firefighter’s face…
[Host, this is your punishment, take it as a lesson.]
Before falling into a coma, Huo Xian heard the system say this.
=v=
While his body was unconscious, Huo Xian’s consciousness was in the system’s dark room, where the system was merging his body’s memories and giving him his mission.
The system said that to allow novice hosts to adapt to the mission world as soon as possible, the first world would be a simplified world, searched for by big data, with the same name and similar background as the host, to help novices complete the mission.
Therefore, this body was also named Huo Xian, the third young master of the Huo family.
The Huo family made their fortune from demolition. Huo’s father used the demolition money to invest in real estate. He encountered favorable national policies and had exceptionally good luck, making money from every investment. In just ten years, he became a real estate tycoon.
Huo Xian was born after the Huo family’s rise to wealth. He had an older brother and sister above him. His siblings were exceptionally talented and, at a young age, became his father’s right-hand men, receiving much love and pampering from their parents. Huo San Shao, naturally, became a good-for-nothing playboy.
However, unforeseen circumstances struck. After making his fortune, Huo’s father, because of his humble beginnings and lack of refinement, had offended and blocked the path of many people. Therefore, the Huo family soon encountered trouble.
First, Huo’s father and mother were involved in a car accident. Huo’s mother died on the spot, while Huo’s father, though still alive, became a vegetable. Next, Huo’s Teng En Real Estate was exposed for tax evasion, smuggling, and bribery. Elder brother Huo Ting was detained for investigation, followed by second sister Huo En’s extramarital affair caught on camera. Teng En Real Estate’s stock price plummeted, then the company’s senior management was exposed for embezzling company funds, leading to a broken capital chain and a debt of one billion. The once-grand Huo family and its real estate company completely fell in just six months.
The truly useless second-generation ancestor, the original body, couldn’t handle the family’s upheaval. He was forced onto the rooftop by creditors and wanted to use death to escape the world that filled him with fear and panic.
However, he didn’t succeed, and instead, through misfortune, he gained a cheat code – the ability of X-ray vision.
Finally, the X-ray vision ability was an additional explanation from the system. Huo Xian’s body hadn’t woken yet, and he hadn’t been able to confirm it.
[What is the mission?] he asked.
The system’s mechanical voice replied coldly: [Mission One: Follow the original world’s plotline to gain the favor of the five female protagonists: Fang Manyun, Anna, Liu Xuxue, Qiao Yixuan, and Qiao Yirong, and balance the relationships between the five female protagonists; Mission Two: …]
[What kind of system are you?] Huo Xian suddenly interrupted as the system was about to explain Mission Two.
The system paused for a second, before Huo Xian continued on his own: [I guess it’s a harem system.]
The system’s inorganic voice sounded: [Warning, the host should not make such low-level jokes.]
Huo Xian chuckled and asked: [Mission Two?]
The system paused again, and after a moment, continued: [Mission Two: Obtain the world bug An Chun’s luck.]
[Who is An Chun? What is a world bug?] Huo Xian asked again.
The system: [An Chun is for the host to explore and discover. A world bug is someone who entered this world through unconventional means. Their purpose is to steal the luck of the son of destiny. Your current body, Huo Xian, is the son of destiny of this world; that is, the protagonist.]
After hearing this, Huo Xian pondered for a few seconds, then continued to ask: [What is the difference between unconventional and conventional means? According to what you say, the world bug occupies An Chun’s body, so where did the original An Chun go? Similarly, I became the current Huo Xian, so where is the original owner?]
Perhaps he asked too many questions, the system didn’t answer quickly. After about half a minute, the system’s voice sounded again: [The host’s task is to complete the tasks assigned by the system. Other questions are not for the host to ask.]
[Then I’m sorry, I don’t really want to do the tasks you’ve assigned.] Huo Xian said lazily.
[Does the host want a second electric shock warning?] The system threatened.
[You can also eliminate me and find another host.] Huo Xian remained unmoved.
The system fell silent, and the two seemed to be in a stalemate. After a long time, the system broke the silence: [The system currently has no authority to answer the host’s questions. The host can complete the task of this world to unlock the system’s permissions. At that time, the host will also share the system’s permissions.]
Huo Xian thought for a few seconds and said calmly: [Alright.]
…
Huo Xian’s consciousness returned to his body, and his senses followed. The first thing he perceived was sound—a woman weeping softly beside the bed, suppressing her emotions.
He opened his eyes and saw a woman in black sitting by the bed. Her hair was loose and disheveled, her face ashen, her eyes swollen like walnuts, her cheeks deeply sunken, like a walking corpse.
This was the original body’s second sister, Huo En.
With her parents and siblings’ successive misfortunes, she too had been framed and caught in adultery with her husband, but she couldn’t spare the time to clear her name. Company matters had her overwhelmed. At this critical juncture, she also heard the news of her brother’s attempted suicide, causing this woman, clearly only in her thirties, to age rapidly under the series of blows, looking like a sixty-year-old woman.
Just as Huo Xian was about to speak, his eyes suddenly felt hot, and then what he saw changed. He…saw Huo En’s collarbone and sternum, encased in layers of flesh beneath her black sweater, as well as the bruises, ranging from purple to green, on her skin.
Huo Xian closed his eyes again and communicated with the system: [Is this how you use X-ray vision?]
[What’s wrong with it?] The system coldly countered.
Huo Xian said sarcastically: [It makes me look like a creepy peeping Tom.]
The system didn’t respond to him but said: [But you need it.]
Huo Xian: [I don’t think so.]
The system: [No, you need it. You, with no merits and uneducated, and Huo En, whose reputation is ruined and who can hardly save herself, are powerless to save the Huo family’s company. You need it to earn money.]
Huo Xian: [How do I earn money? Gambling on jade?]
The system seemed not to hear the sarcasm in his tone and praised: [Host, you’re very smart.]
Huo Xian: [……]
Huo Xian didn’t continue to argue with the system. He coughed lightly, attracting Huo En’s attention. However, he didn’t open his eyes, only frowning in discomfort, murmuring softly, as if trapped in a nightmare.
[Axian? Axian? Axian…] Huo En called several times, but Huo Xian didn’t open his eyes. She immediately went out to call for a doctor.
A short time later, the doctor came into the ward to examine Huo Xian again. After confirming that all his data were normal, he spoke to Huo En: [Miss Huo, we’ve thoroughly examined Mr. Huo, and he’s fine. You don’t need to worry.]
Huo En couldn’t help but worry: [But my brother fell from the sixth floor. Is he really okay?]
The doctor patiently explained: [Mr. Huo fell onto the inflatable cushion. Though the cushion wasn’t fully inflated, and he still hit the ground, it was just a faint, with slight concussion. After waking up, he may experience some nausea, but there are no external injuries to his body, and all functions are normal.]
Hearing this, Huo En finally breathed a sigh of relief and thanked him sincerely: [Thank you, doctor.]
The system said: [You are the son of destiny in this world, the rules of the world will protect you. Unless your luck runs out, you will always have good fortune in any danger you encounter. Therefore, you must be wary of the world bug An Chun stealing your luck!]
Huo Xian didn’t respond, nor did he ask how a world bug steals luck. After two minutes of silence, he slowly asked: [How do I control the ability?]
The system: [Control the ability?]
Huo Xian: [I’m not that creepy, and I don’t want to use it to peep.]
The system couldn’t understand Huo Xian’s thoughts and replied coldly: [Please explore and control it yourself.]
Author’s Note: I’ve checked the calendar, today is a good day to start a new story. Leave comments for red envelopes!