Luo Meng and Luo Tianchen's phones started ringing nonstop. Luo Meng managed to answer her phone with trembling hands, "....Hello? Dad?!"
"WHAT HAVE YOU UNCULTURED PEOPLE DONE?!!! WHERE ARE YOU?!!" a roaring sound came from the other side of the phone. It was so loud that everyone standing near them could hear it.
"Answer me!!! Did that b!tch Luo Bingchen offend someone?" He asked again after not receiving an immediate response.
Luo Meng snapped back to reality, "Dad, It was a mistake. Please help us or these people might kill us. I am scared." she sobbed.
No one noticed but one group of people were not affected by this ordeal in the slightest. Two women dressed in limited-edition professional clothes surrounded by a dozen bodyguards were watching the show while discussing something.
One of them was annoyed by the loud noise while the other was unhappy with Li Tao. The latter one stood up and started walking toward the crowd, and soon everyone else followed.
She was Nangong Li, the eldest daughter of the Nangong family. The richest family in this country. She was the Executive Vice-president of the Nangong Group. She was the brain behind the recent rise of this family in business.
They had close ties with the Qin family in the capital which is a well-known Martial arts family in the country. They are neck and neck with the Xuan family which sheltered Li Tao in the previous life. Qin Chanchan who was accompanied Nangong Li today belonged to this family.
She did not have talent in martial arts so she helped her best friend Nangong Li while assisting the business aspect of her family as well.
Both of them were the heroines of this novel and belonged to the protagonist faction.
Neo had been watching the entire farce unfold with amusement.
To him, Luo Meng, Luo Tianchen and the others were nothing more than background characters.
Even the so-called protagonist of today's plot was barely worth his attention.
Yet just as he was about to continue enjoying the show—
a violent tremor suddenly ran through his soul.
Neo's expression froze.
The smile on his face disappeared instantly.
He looked toward the crowd.
Then toward Luo Bingchen.
And froze again.
For the first time since arriving in this world, Neo felt something that should not have existed.
Recognition.
A familiar aura.
An aura that did not belong to this era.
His eyes narrowed.
Luo Bingchen was still standing there quietly.
His expression remained cold.
His heartbeat remained steady.
Everything appeared normal.
Yet Neo's instincts were screaming.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
A moment earlier, Luo Bingchen had merely been another insignificant side character.
Now he looked like a completely different person.
Neo focused his perception.
The surrounding noise faded away.
The shouting.
The crying.
The ringing phones.
Everything disappeared from his senses.
Only Luo Bingchen remained.
Then he saw it.
For the briefest moment—
a trace of unfamiliar energy flickered inside Luo Bingchen's soul.
It vanished almost immediately.
But Neo had already seen enough.
His scalp went numb.
{Holy sh*t...}
{No way...}
{This can't be happening.}
For several seconds Neo simply stared.
Then he did something he had never done before.
He pushed his perception to the limit.
Far beyond the safety threshold.
Far beyond what a Yellow-rank world should permit.
His vision pierced through layers of fate.
Through karma.
Through destiny.
Through time itself.
The familiar white-colored World Origin surrounding the planet suddenly trembled.
Then—
a faint trace of hazy blue appeared beyond it.
Neo's pupils contracted.
The color lasted for less than a second.
Yet he recognized it instantly.
{Blue...?}
{Impossible.}
{This world should only be a Peak Yellow-rank world.}
{Why is it evolving?}
Before he could investigate further—
______________________________________________________
A deafening alarm exploded inside his consciousness.
[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]
[Unauthorized High-Level System Intervention Detected.]
[Current World Evolution Status Updated.]
[World Rank: White → Yellow (Complete)]
[Current Evolution Process: Yellow → Hazy Blue (In Progress)]
[Host Influence Contribution: 50.7%]
[System Intervention Contribution Exceeds Safe Threshold.]
[System Strain Recalculated...]
[Current System Strain: 69%]
______________________________________
Neo's face instantly turned pale.
Cold sweat covered his forehead.
For the first time since becoming a system spirit...
he felt genuine panic.
The alarm continued.
________________________________________
[FIRST VIOLATION NOTICE ISSUED.]
[Penalty Activated.]
[Restriction 01:]
System Spirit Neo may no longer utilize abilities exceeding one major level above current World Rank.
Maximum Authorized Authority:
Yellow Rank.
[Restriction 02:]
All active abilities now require individual Point Consumption.
Free Usage Privileges Revoked.
[Restriction 03:]
Point Consumption Multiplier Increased.
Current Multiplier: ×10
[Restriction 04:]
Further unauthorized intervention will accelerate System Strain Growth.
[Warning.]
[Warning.]
[Warning.]
If System Strain reaches 100%...
System Spirit Neo will be forcibly removed from this world.
Host Li Tao will permanently lose System Assistance.
___________________________________________________
Neo froze.
His mind went completely blank.
{What...?}
{Removed?}
{They can actually remove me?}
For the first time since arriving in this world...
Neo remembered that he was not the system.
He was merely an employee.
And apparently...
he had just received his first official warning letter.
The realization hit harder than a truck.
{Fk.}
{I got fined.}
{I ACTUALLY GOT FINED!!}
His soul nearly cracked from frustration.
All he had done was help a little.
Maybe a lot.
Maybe an unreasonable amount.
Maybe enough to rewrite half the plot.
But that wasn't the point.
The point was that management had noticed.
And management was apparently not amused.
Neo immediately checked his authority panel.
His heart sank further.
Almost every high-level ability had been locked.
Several were already greyed out.
The fate vision he relied upon?
Restricted.
Soul probing?
Restricted.
Long-distance deduction?
Restricted.
World scanning?
Restricted.
His face became uglier and uglier.
Then he looked at Luo Bingchen again.
The shock from before returned instantly.
Whatever he had just seen...
was important enough to trigger all this.
That thought alone made his scalp numb.
He forcefully suppressed the panic and hurriedly contacted Li Tao.
Then he forcefully suppressed the shock in his heart and hurriedly contacted Li Tao.
His voice carried an urgency that Li Tao had never heard before.
[Ding! Also... host... I may have received a small penalty.]
Li Tao immediately sensed something wrong.
"Define small."
Neo remained silent.
"..."
"..."
[Ding! I can no longer casually cheat for you.]
Li Tao frowned.
"How serious?"
Neo hesitated.
Then replied weakly.
[Ding! If I get caught two or three more times... I might get kicked out of this world.]
Li Tao: "..."
Neo: "..."
For the first time since they met—
both felt the same emotion.
Trouble.
Li Tao's eyes narrowed.
Neo rarely reacted like this.
In fact—
since obtaining the system, this was the first time he sounded genuinely alarmed.
A bad premonition suddenly appeared in Li Tao's heart.
Meanwhile, across the hall...
Luo Bingchen slowly raised his head.
His gaze met Li Tao's eyes from across the crowd.
For a brief moment—
the two stared at each other.
Neither spoke.
Neither moved.
Yet both felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
As if they had met somewhere before.
In another life.
Or perhaps...
at another point in time.