Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!

Chapter 236: Finding a Loophole

[Mission of the Month: Detected in six hours, an important figure is facing a life-threatening crisis in the Imperial Mausoleum. Please rescue the target by midnight. Mission completion rate is 100%. Successful completion will reward a Special Skill. Failure will result in the revocation of mall usage rights.]

Damn mission, could it not have come at a better time, but right when I’m on the road? Wait a minute!

Imperial Mausoleum?

Could it be the Imperial Mausoleum I’m thinking of?

Isn’t that the royal cemetery?

Someone escaped to the Imperial Mausoleum and needs me to save them?

This is the only possibility Cheng Xiaoxiao could think of.

But isn’t the Imperial Mausoleum in the Capital City?

It’s thousands of miles away from where I am now.

"Host, it’s not that exaggerated, at most two or three thousand miles."

Still, for such a long distance, I’d have to use the Space Transmitter!

I currently have nothing to my name, how could I afford to rent such an expensive Space Transmitter?

System: "..."

There’s no way for me to survive this!

77. It seems I’m better off just lying down and waiting for death.

Cheng Xiaoxiao casually thought to herself, it’s not that she’s not trying hard enough, it’s just that this ultimate challenge shouldn’t be something a newbie and a new Tongzi can handle alone.

Cheng Xiaoxiao’s self-pity affected the system.

"Host, let’s explain the situation to headquarters, seek help, and see if they have a solution!"

Hmm!

Cheng Xiaoxiao suddenly frowned with a tired expression, looking like she was on the verge of tears.

The two people beside her noticed something was off, and Cheng Hao spoke up first, "If it’s difficult, you don’t have to say it, Second Brother doesn’t need to know."

Cheng Xiaoxiao’s nose tingled with emotion, realizing that her Second Brother wasn’t so heartless, and a little crying could bring about compromise.

At this point, she had nothing to hide, after all, both of them were the people she trusted the most.

She directly said with grievance: "I have to leave again for a few days, but I haven’t gathered travel expenses yet."

"How much do you need?"

"Is it difficult?"

The two spoke in unison, their words almost identical.

Cheng Xiaoxiao nodded, "Just a small problem, though it’s not about money."

She didn’t dare speak the truth; if she failed the mission, without access to the mall, there’d be no more good stuff to buy. Besides, the warehouse is linked to the mall, and losing the mall means losing the warehouse, leaving all her collected items without a place to store them.

Though it wouldn’t be fatal, it would be very damaging.

"Is there anything we can help with?" Qi Fei caught on quickly, realizing that the boss’s "travel expenses" probably weren’t referring to money.

Cheng Xiaoxiao shook her head, "We still have a bit of time. Let’s keep moving and catch up with the main group first."

There were a lot of people on the road, and as time passed, the team stretched into a long line with no end in sight.

The civilians in the group had heavy loads and traveled slowly, while the three of them, traveling light, quickly surpassed the bustling crowd. An hour later, they were about to catch up with the main group.

The refugees with carriages steadily arrived at the rest area of the 132th Regiment. Seeing the continuous stream of people, the team inquired about the situation and got terrified by the explanation. They dared not delay and continued on their journey.

Originally about to catch up, the three were once again distanced from the group.

After walking for another half an hour, the already dim sky started to grow darker. Night was approaching, the cold wind was howling, and the temperature suddenly dropped significantly.

The people took out their cloaks and robes, wrapped up tightly to fend off the increasingly cold air.

The three of them could see their family’s silhouettes from afar, smiling knowingly, as they were now only about 500 meters from the main group.

That’s when the system brought good news.

After its shameless wooing, hard selling, and continuous begging with all sorts of methods.

Headquarters couldn’t stand the pestering and finally agreed to lend them the Space Transmitter.

The system realized that thick-skinned persistence wasn’t without benefits.

It looks like it had learned something valuable from sticking with the host for so long.

Unintentionally, it had mastered the host’s art of thick-skinned tactics.

Cheng Xiaoxiao praised the system generously.

The system was extremely happy, feeling that its moment of glory had finally arrived.

Not only did it manage to get headquarters on board, but it also received praise from the host.

It felt it had grown up, no longer a rookie, and was ready to become a more mature and stable Tongzi.

Cheng Xiaoxiao was in a great mood too, realizing that perhaps the system headquarters wasn’t without loopholes to exploit. Maybe she had been too easygoing in the past.

Thinking about it, it’s not hard to guess; the system headquarters exists to support hosts in completing tasks, likely having quotas or directives to follow.

If all dispatched systems fail to complete tasks on time and fail one after another, wouldn’t it lead to the destruction of more worlds?

Wouldn’t that contradict their original intention?

So, they don’t want to see mission failures, and the system headquarters can’t possibly be run by a single Tongzi. It might operate like a company, each doing their part, with 77’s leader being just a regional manager, reporting to higher-level Tongzis, all collectively forming the system headquarters.

Thinking from another perspective, Cheng Xiaoxiao realized her entire worldview had changed; she was no longer the passive one.

Though she is now the lowest-level employee, even workers have rights. If she perished, wouldn’t it be a waste of their investment in training her? This wouldn’t just yield no benefits but might cost more to replace the worker and Tongzi. In severe cases, time might need to be reversed to save a small world.

If this assumption holds, could she demand more benefits to ensure her life safety, considering the world is in ultimate mode, and it’s no easy task?

But this guess needs verification, and it’s not yet time to share it with 77. Who knows if it, as a linking tool, might relay her ideas to the system headquarters, exposing her intentions to find loopholes.

The little discovery brought great joy, restoring Cheng Xiaoxiao’s good mood. She resolved never to be passive again, not passively accept missions, not passively take punishments.

She wanted to turn the tables, to take control of her own destiny.

Of course, this had to be done step by step, cautiously probing to find out where the limits were.

With the stress and suppression in her heart swept away, Cheng Xiaoxiao laughed heartily, even the cold air felt unusually refreshing.

Seeing Xiaoxiao bursting into cheerful laughter, the two men didn’t understand how she went from looking ready to cry to suddenly feeling better.

"The group is a few hundred meters ahead. You should hurry up, you can catch up with them after a stick of incense’s time. I have a mission and need to leave first, to avoid having to explain everything when I meet them."

The two understood that Xiaoxiao must have a compelling reason for what she was doing, so they offered some words of concern and let her leave.

Cheng Xiaoxiao distanced herself from the group, arriving at an empty place. By now, it was completely dark. However, her transmission would emit light, so she had to walk even further to prevent any mistakes.