Chapter 721

This was his greatest flaw, so Yu Ningchen pressed his lips together and asked the system, "Does that mean I can only trigger skills passively when I'm suffering from insomnia? That's far too inhumane."

The system replied, "It was merely a reward to begin with."

That was true enough.

Yu Ningchen sighed; generally, skills held by the system were powerful and always useful, but the "Illusion and Reality Weight" skill was the first to leave Yu Ningchen feeling at a loss.

He didn't even know how to use it and had to figure it out slowly on his own.

If used well, this skill would indeed be a rare weapon in Yu Ningchen's hands, yet he himself could not control it; in the system's own words, to trigger the skill passively, one must be in a state of insomnia.

... Yu Ningchen did not think he would often suffer from insomnia, and for him, insomnia was an extremely draining matter; after all, with insufficient rest, it was difficult to maintain a good state the next day while working.

If he had to stay awake until he was insomniac just to use the skill, others might see it as a decent trade, but for Yu Ningchen, he would rather not have such illusory things; as long as he maintained his energy, he could already handle most matters.

So Yu Ningchen sat up straight and negotiated with the system in his mind, "I don't want to use this skill in the short term; it's obvious that after the illusionary realm appears, I won't be able to sleep, and it will drain too much of my energy; besides, I currently don't need to know those things that would give me a headache."

Yu Ningchen laid bare his thoughts from the bottom of his heart; the system listened to Yu Ningchen's words, seemingly evaluating them.

After waiting a minute, Yu Ningchen finally heard the system say, "No, whether the skill triggers or not is not up to me. In other words, this kind of skill has its own thoughts; it will automatically judge whether your state can accept the illusionary realm, and then, based on your subconscious, display others' pasts or your future to you within the illusionary realm."

After hearing this, Yu Ningchen curled his fingers, seeming somewhat unwilling, and he retorted, "... With a skill like yours, I'd rather not have it at all."

"That is not up to you either," the system's voice was devoid of emotion. "Once it is decided to give the reward to you, you have no chance to refuse or go back on your word."

Yu Ningchen immediately frowned tightly.

He felt his way out of bed in the dark, stepped in his slippers to the kitchen, pondering something the whole time, then picked up a glass cup from the table and poured himself a glass of water.

Finally, while drinking the water, he conversed with the system, "Can I apply to swap the skill reward? Foreseeing the future does sound impressive, but I might not even need it."

Actually, the main issue was that it would affect rest time; Yu Ningchen would rather not spend energy foreseeing the so-called future; letting him sleep soundly and comfortably for a whole night was the most comfortable thing.

During the half year after Si Shiya left, Yu Ningchen had not slept a single good night; he truly did not want to taste the feeling of insomnia again.

Yet he was still flatly rejected by the system, "No."

Yu Ningchen tilted his head back and drank the water in the cup in one gulp, then slammed the glass cup onto the table, making a sound of collision with the table, "What is this? Forced buying and selling? That doesn't follow the rules, does it?"

The system sensed Yu Ningchen's emotional fluctuations at that moment; although it knew the other party was somewhat angry, it did not follow Yu Ningchen's lead, but spoke in a business-like manner, "It is not forced buying and selling. Distributing task rewards is very rare; the reward you drew is already of superior quality. Once drawn, the skill is automatically delivered to you and cannot be revoked."

Yu Ningchen was completely speechless; he raised his hand to rub his brow and slowly sighed, "Alright, alright, I hope this skill can fulfill its true purpose when the time comes."

Rather than repeatedly making Yu Ningchen experience the pain of losing his beloved over and over again.

The system merely acknowledged him with a sound, saying neither yes nor no.

That night, he indeed suffered from insomnia; whether his eyes were open or closed, the image of Si Shiya finally getting into that car played before him. Even though Yu Ningchen tried to control himself from thinking about it, those images repeated like nightmares over and over in his mind.

If that were merely a fictional illusion, it would be fine, after all, it would not threaten Si Shiya, but when Yu Ningchen knew that was indeed something that would truly happen, he began to worry uncontrollably.

He took a deep breath, placed the back of his hand over his eyes, and tried to fall asleep.

In the end, Yu Ningchen did not know when he fell asleep; only after the alarm clock rang did Yu Ningchen open his eyes, feeling exhausted all over.

As if he had not slept a single night.

Yu Ningchen swayed as he stood up, reached down with his foot to find the slippers under the bed, closed his eyes, stepped into them, and went to the bathroom to tidy up briefly.

When he opened his eyes, sure enough, he saw the blueish stubble on his face and the very clear dark circles under his eyes.

Yu Ningchen pressed his lips together, wiped his face with water, and did not care; the sensation of cold water washing over his cheeks was very strong, and only then was he fully awake.

However, continuing in this state for a long time was clearly not a good thing; Yu Ningchen spat out the toothpaste foam from his mouth and said only after brushing his teeth, "I cannot fight in my current state."

Yu Ningchen was clear about his physical condition and also clear about his strength; over these many years, he had fought against various organizations, and the reason he had never lost a single battle was because he had a clear self-awareness and would absolutely not do things that forced himself, including fighting enemies while fatigued.

When Yu Ningchen finished saying this sentence, the system also evaluated Yu Ningchen's mental state at that moment; finally, it seemingly could not bear to see him like this and said, "Not informing you of the side effects of the skill before distributing the reward skill was indeed my negligence. I will restore you to your previous state as compensation for my negligence."

Hearing the system's words, Yu Ningchen couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, "Did I hear that wrong...? You say this is your negligence? Tsk tsk."

Perhaps because Yu Ningchen's tone was too cheeky, the system had a rare emotional fluctuation, "I am just compensating you; do not overthink it."

Yu Ningchen laughed and made a joke, "Alright, I won't overthink it."

The system then began to use the skill on Yu Ningchen.

It must be said that things produced by the system were mostly high-quality; shortly after Yu Ningchen finished speaking, he felt his whole body immediately regain its energy; he was no longer listless as before, but instead full of drive.

This contrast surprised Yu Ningchen somewhat, but he also liked this feeling, "Thank you."

Hearing Yu Ningchen's thanks, the system did not say much more and withdrew itself from Yu Ningchen's mind.

Yu Ningchen estimated the time; the person coming to pick him up should be arriving soon. If he delayed any further at this time, it might delay his planned schedule; Yu Ningchen thought for a moment, picked up the things he had packed yesterday, left his home, and walked toward the agreed-upon location.

He still had to take a taxi; after booking the taxi, the time should be about right. Yu Ningchen's time estimation was extremely accurate; the time he met the pilot fell exactly within the agreed time range of ten minutes, without exceeding the limit.

However, the pilot this time was a different person; when Yu Ningchen saw him, he felt somewhat unaccustomed; following custom, he greeted the person and then sat down, looking out the window the whole time.

Yu Ningchen asked the system, "Why was the pilot suddenly changed?"

The system explained, "Previously, I erased that person's memory; the side effects were severe, causing dizziness and vertigo for a period of time, making them unsuitable to fly again."

So that was how it was.

Yu Ningchen nodded, his gaze constantly darting out the window; this pilot seemed to talk more than the previous one; less than three minutes after Yu Ningchen boarded the helicopter, the pilot spoke up proactively.

"What does your boss do for work? Why did they arrange a helicopter for your travel?"

Hearing this question from the other side, Yu Ningchen almost spat out what he was drinking.

What boss? Yu Ningchen was somewhat confused.

At this moment, the system said, "This time, when I booked the helicopter, I did so under my own name; you can only be considered an employee under my name."

"So that's how it is." Yu Ningchen immediately thought of something else, "Your name? You actually have a human form in the real world?"

The system said, "Of course I don't, but I can find someone else to take my place. This means the money I have in this world is endless; as long as I need it, I can take that money for myself."

"This doesn't comply with regulations..." Yu Ningchen spoke half a sentence, then immediately stopped, as if he had just realized how ridiculous the question he asked was, "Right, you are not originally something from the real world; since you are completely detached from reality, whatever you want to do, no one should be able to stop you."

The system said, "Correct."

After finishing communication with the system, Yu Ningchen replied to the pilot, "I am our boss's father."

"Ah?" Now it was the pilot's turn to be shocked. He spared a glance to peek at Ning Chen and examined him carefully, but no matter how he looked, it just didn't seem right.

Ning Chen blurted out a lie: "I haven't worked abroad these past years. My son gives me money to support me... This time I'm just going there for tourism. What, are you envious?"

The pilot still didn't quite believe it. He felt Ning Chen looked very young, not at all like the father of a thirty-something adult man.

But Ning Chen wore an expression of utmost seriousness. The pilot didn't know how to refute him. Instead, the system in his mind asked Ning Chen: "What do you mean?"

"Oh," Ning Chen, who rarely saw the system in such a flustered state, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "I didn't expect you to have emotional fluctuations too... What's wrong with acknowledging me as a father? Anyway, you're bound to me. Round it up, and there's no difference between me and your father."

This was complete nonsense. Ning Chen could say whatever he wanted; the pilot didn't know the truth, and the system had no ability to correct him at that moment.

The system seemed unwilling to argue with Ning Chen. Such questions were somewhat childish to him, so he said nothing and let Ning Chen continue fabricating on his own.

Ning Chen said: "My son is in his thirties, and I am fifty-eight myself. These years I've been abroad with his mother. I just need to go to the bank to withdraw money once a month. My son is very capable; he can get things done without me worrying about anything... It's been like this since he was small."

The pilot listened and imagined Ning Chen's life, saying: "That's really nice."

"Of course," Ning Chen felt a bit bored, so he continued making things up. "It's not just that. Back then, that kid was very clingy to me. From childhood to adulthood, I sent him to school every time... Although it was indeed a bit tiring, I am very gratified that he has achieved such success."

He spoke as if it were the truth. Ning Chen chuckled secretly, feeling that he had even convinced himself with his fabrication.

The pilot seemed to believe it a bit too. He looked at Ning Chen, his tone filled with an envy he couldn't hide. After learning Ning Chen's identity was actually the father of a big boss, he became even more respectful toward Ning Chen.

"... So the secret to staying in such good shape is not working," the pilot said. "Our boss is different. He is clearly in his thirties, but looks about the same as someone in his early fifties."

Ning Chen couldn't hold back his laughter. "Pfft," he said. "Oh, that might also be because his taste is poor."

The system silently recorded this conversation between Ning Chen and the pilot, planning to settle the score later.

Ning Chen knew what the system was thinking. While joking with the pilot, he said to the system: "Agreed, we are just joking. Don't hold a grudge and fire him. I like this pilot's personality."

The system simply ignored him.

Ning Chen sighed, finally straightening his expression. He stopped talking to the pilot and leaned his head against the seat, feigning sleep to rest.

The organization he would face in a while was definitely no ordinary foe, and that organization would be hard to deal with. So Ning Chen had just closed his eyes when he opened them again.

"Fly faster. We must arrive sooner," Ning Chen said. "Otherwise, by then, it won't be me actively seeking the mountain, but the mountain coming to me."

Although Ning Chen's words were somewhat nonsensical, adhering to the principle of listening to the boss, the pilot still increased the speed. The estimated travel time of three days was forcibly shortened to two and a half days.

Spending two and a half days traveling, Ning Chen felt he had been jolted into vomiting on the helicopter. He sighed and said to the system: "I have no strength again. I guess you'll have to replenish me once more."

A cold sneer actually came from the system's side: "Do you want to think about how you slandered me before?"

Ning Chen fell silent instantly. He sighed with a headache and said: "Don't be so grudge-holding. I said that person might not believe it anyway. Even if they did, they wouldn't dare say anything in front of you."

The system still rejected him outright.

Then there was no way.

When Ning Chen stepped off the helicopter, his head was throbbing. Because they had been traveling at high altitude, and because they had to speed up without stopping on the ground to rest, for Ning Chen, his current strength was barely enough.

It seemed he would have to rest for a while.

Ning Chen stamped his foot on the ground and said: "You can consider going back. It's not very safe here."

The pilot didn't intend to stay here long anyway. Having been a pilot for so many years, he naturally knew where one could stay and where one could not, where it was dangerous and where it was safe. Hearing this, he nodded and said: "Okay. If you want to go back, contact me again."