1.17 The Evaluation System is a Mystery

With a sudden warmth in his chest, the male host erupted in a spray of blood and was sent flying.

Flesh and blood splattered everywhere, leaving a scene of utter carnage. As space-time shuddered, only Wu Chen remained strangely in place. It was as if the woman’s gunshot had blasted away a mere shell he had been wearing. Yes, that was it. The male host was nothing more than a vessel worn over Wu Chen’s own body.

The female host’s expression was even more panicked than it had been before she pulled the trigger.

"You... are you human or a ghost?"

"Was that a double-barreled shotgun?" Wu Chen, conversely, remained calm. The couple had spent a shot each, exhausting their ammunition.

Seeing the mansion on the verge of collapse, Wu Chen hurried to find the elevator. The female host stared blankly at the mangled corpse of the man. Subconsciously, she looked for Wu Chen, her mind unable to process the events. Who exactly had she shot, and who was her true husband? If the dead man was him, then who was the one still standing?

A logical paradox trapped the mistress of the mansion in an inescapable loop.

Wu Chen, however, had no time for such thoughts; the situation allowed for no hesitation.

The "Fat Otaku" had made it clear: to intervene and influence the plot was to complete the exploration. By seizing the moment before the male host fired, Wu Chen had triggered his Omega brainwaves, evidently influencing—or even reversing—the course of the narrative. The commission was perfectly fulfilled; there was no better time to escape.

The mansion did indeed possess its own elevator. Relying on the memories extracted from the male host’s mind, Wu Chen reached it just before the structure disintegrated.

Fortunately, the keycard was still inserted. Wu Chen pulled hard, but it wouldn't budge. "Damn it."

Perhaps because the elevator doors hadn't closed, the program wouldn't release it. Wu Chen mashed the "close" button while pulling with all his might.

Great strength, it seemed, could perform miracles.

The card slid out just as the doors began to shut. A gun barrel was thrust into the gap, forcing the elevator to reopen.

The mistress of the mansion stood there, stark naked, her gaze resolute. "Whoever you are, take me with you." With visible destruction closing in, there was no point in overthinking; survival was the only priority. As for who was right or wrong, that could be decided later.

"I don't object, but I don't know if the rules allow it." Before Wu Chen could finish his sentence, the mansion behind the woman instantly crumbled. Seeing the destruction hot on their heels, Wu Chen didn't wait for an answer, pulling the woman into the elevator.

Before he could even register the warmth of her embrace, a white light submerged the woman’s body and engulfed them both.

The Fat Otaku jolted awake. Ignoring his sweaty hands, he clumsily tore off his VR headset and called out repeatedly: "0326? 0326?"

Separated by a wall, in Wu Chen’s dedicated tablet base, the red phone booth stood.

The card reader processed the input automatically.

White light pierced the walls, filling the booth.

Wu Chen and the mistress of the mansion appeared, locked in an embrace.

***

Before Wu Chen could recover from his splitting headache, a sharp, rhythmic alarm blared from the card reader. He looked down at the woman in his arms. Her breathing was shallow, her chest heaving, and her eyes were tightly shut, as if she were hanging by a thread.

Wu Chen struggled to open the phone booth door and shouted, "A.I.! Get me a first-aid kit, quickly!"

"Understood!" The A.I. inside his wrist-mounted terminal responded immediately.

A drone quickly retrieved a medical kit from the AE86’s glove box.

"Master, it appears to be 'Trans-dimensional Stress Response.' Put a mask on her first to stabilize her breathing," the A.I. suggested.

"Understood." Wu Chen began the treatment immediately.

In the medical kit, a protective mask—identical in appearance to an N95—was a genuine product of New Hong Kong. The mistress of the mansion put on the mask, and her breathing quickly steadied. Detecting human DNA, the mask activated, releasing layers of expanding 3D light film that followed the contours of her face.

"It’s nano-intelligent wear," the A.I. noted with excitement. "Master, put the protective gloves on her as well."

"Right." Wu Chen shook his head, clearing the dizziness of trans-dimensional travel, and applied the gloves.

With both pieces of nano-wear equipped, the concealment system activated. A visible layer of nano-structures rapidly spread across her skin, cleverly avoiding Wu Chen to wrap only around the woman—a testament to the wonders of DNA-recognition technology.

"Why only a mask and gloves? Why not protective footwear?" Wu Chen asked as the nano-structures covered her toes.

"Because fingers need to be articulated, while toes do not," the A.I. answered simply and convincingly.

"Makes sense." As he spoke, a pair of beautiful, integrated high-heeled boots molded themselves into shape. The woman was now fully encased in the nano-suit. It was thin as a cicada's wing yet incredibly tough, akin to a superhero's latex bodysuit—seamless and natural. It belonged to the category of "cabin wear," though "base suit" was just as appropriate.

Thanks to the environmental isolation provided by the nano-suit, the woman’s stress response dissipated. The card reader, its alarm silenced, resumed its function and spat out a new card.

Wu Chen picked it up: 3-Star *Femme Fatale: Lin Baiyu*.

It was actually a 3-Star card.

Truth be told, Lin Baiyu was just an ordinary human. She lacked alloy skeletons, bionic organs, or genetic enhancements; she couldn't even resist natural aging. How was she superior to the 2-Star cyborg, Vitress?

It was obvious: the cyborg Vitress could easily kill Lin Baiyu with her bare hands.

Never mind Wu Chen; even the hyper-intelligent A.I. couldn't provide an accurate answer. It was the mysterious star-rating system of the Shattered City.

"Let's put the rating aside for now. Master, getting another exclusive card is an unexpected joy," the A.I. added. "It looks like such a proper card; why the harsh label of 'Femme Fatale'?"

"As the saying goes, 'A face like a peach blossom, a heart like a viper,'" Wu Chen said, unbothered by the attributes. The character settings of plot figures were fixed facts, difficult to change within the plot world. Once they became citizens of the Sanctuary, their future depended on how they were nurtured. After all, Wu Chen had already confirmed that cards could be upgraded, which meant that character attributes—including personality—could be altered.

"So that's how it is," the A.I. said, half-understanding. "Does that mean 'the more beautiful the woman, the more she lies'?"

"Exactly." Wu Chen felt a stir in his heart. "I think I’m starting to understand the star system of the Shattered City."

"Capability levels are relative to the situation. Ultimately, it’s about completing missions and solving problems." The A.I.’s logic was far superior to that of an average person.

"Well said." Convinced, Wu Chen placed the 3-Star Femme Fatale card next to the 2-Star cyborg beauty card and stepped out of the phone booth.

"0326?" The Fat Otaku’s anxious voice came through the wrist terminal.

"I'm here," Wu Chen replied. "Is the commission complete?"

"Yes, yes, it's done! I harvested 8,000 Shelter Coins. Haha!" The Fat Otaku sounded very satisfied. "I'm transferring the commission fee to you now."

Wu Chen asked in surprise, "That much?"

"I only just realized the harvest yields were so high," the Fat Otaku sighed. "In the past, I only focused on evolution, never daring to harvest. The fragments kept growing, and my burden became heavier and heavier..."

Wu Chen could fully empathize with the Fat Otaku's complex feelings. It was like smashing a piggy bank he had spent years filling; he had, after all, destroyed something he loved.

It wasn't just that the Fat Otaku had a deep-seated hoarding obsession. Most players, Wu Chen included, would find it difficult to destroy the plot fragments they had created with their own hands. Most would likely do as the Fat Otaku did—unable to bring themselves to do it, they would let someone else handle the dirty work. His mood might be comparable to the ancients who "traded children to eat."

Yet, it was undeniable that creating these fragments was the Fat Otaku's source of joy. Recalling the scene of the couple's "massage" on the bed, the A.I. could easily deduce that the fragments the Fat Otaku selected were definitely "famous scenes" from various plot worlds, and inevitably, they were filled with a shut-in's "perverted tastes."

Wu Chen found himself looking forward to them.

"Master, the client has confirmed the mission is finished," the A.I. reported. "69 coins plus the Tide Type-II tablet. Wait? There’s an additional reward of 80 coins. That’s 1% of the 8,000 harvest yield."

"Not bad earnings," Wu Chen smiled. "There will surely be more commissions like this."

"Indeed." The A.I. reached the same conclusion. As the Fat Otaku had said, with that magical elevator that reached across planes, he must have evolved many plot fragments waiting to be harvested. For Wu Chen, beyond the commission rewards, the 3-Star character cards from the Fat Otaku’s fragments were also immensely valuable. Especially a rare *Femme Fatale*. If Wu Chen were willing to sell her at the talent market, he could get 1,000 Shelter Coins. Of course, whether to keep her or sell her would wait until Lin Baiyu woke up.

The A.I. controlled the drone swarm to bridge the Tide tablet with the 0326 base motherboard. Wu Chen said his goodbyes to the Fat Otaku and carried the base back to the O-103B outfitting workshop.

During the flight, the A.I. had already finished reorganizing and updating the secondary board code. Upon returning to the base camp, the A.I. immediately began merging the main and secondary boards.

Wu Chen watched the entire process through the holographic display on his wrist.

By the way, "Energy Body Perspective" was one of Wu Chen's Sanctuary skills. It had yet to be activated.

"Huh?" In the holographic window, a stubborn line of code that the A.I. kept deleting only to have it reappear caught Wu Chen's attention. "Firewall isolation. Attempt to decode."

"Understood." The A.I. took action immediately.