Chapter 48: A New Quest, the Right of Final Interpretation Belongs to the System

It is the final week of the new book rankings, and I sincerely ask my brothers to keep reading to give this book a fighting chance. Please.

***

Wang Li booked a rather decent hotel, and the authentic Hangzhou cuisine had Hua Shier praising it endlessly.

During the meal, as everyone chatted, Wang Li recounted how Hua Shier had risked his life to save his son to Chen Junshan, earning the latter's deep admiration. The conversation then naturally drifted to their boxing practice earlier that day.

Chen Junshan could not stop praising Hua Shier's natural talent, remarking that with proper training, he could easily go far even in professional boxing.

Curious, Wang Li asked for details and could not help marveling in astonishment. No wonder Hua Shier had suffered no major injuries when he was sent flying by the car back then—it turned out he was naturally gifted with divine strength and extraordinary talent.

Hua Shier quickly waved his hands. "Oh, please don't say that. That day I just had dumb luck. If you asked me to go through that again, my fragile bones probably wouldn't be able to hold up."

He also took this opportunity to give the couple a gentle reminder. Such a lovely little boy deserved more vigilance; they shouldn't be so careless.

Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter. Afterward, Wang Li and Li Dan both nodded repeatedly in agreement.

The meal was thoroughly enjoyed by host and guests alike. That afternoon, Hua Shier did not continue his boxing practice. Instead, he went to a sporting goods store and bought a punching bag and a human-shaped silicone boxing dummy to practice with at home.

In the days that followed, Hua Shier spent his time immersed in boxing training, occasionally getting dragged out by Luo Yun for a drink or a game of basketball—though, naturally, that Yi Xue was present every single time.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed. Hua Shier’s combination punches were starting to look quite impressive. Combined with his peak Shaquille O'Neal-level strength and the force-generation techniques taught by Chen Junshan, the two together proved so powerful that he accidentally blasted the punching bag right open one day.

While practicing boxing at home that day, a sudden "ding" echoed in his mind, followed by a system prompt indicating that a new mission was available and asking if he wished to accept it.

Hua Shier brought up the virtual interface to check the mission details. The mission description read:

"Shen Chongyang hopes to make something of himself, take his daughter back by his side, give her a happy childhood, and watch her grow up, get married, and have children, without missing a single moment of her growth."

The time limit to accept the mission remained three days. Failing to accept it within three days would be considered an automatic forfeiture, or he could choose to give it up directly.

"Shen Chongyang? Why does that name sound so familiar!"

True to form, Hua Shier did not accept the mission immediately. Instead, he went online to search for information regarding the character "Shen Chongyang."

The most likely match was the character played by Donnie Yen in the movie *Bodyguards and Assassins*.

Hua Shier wondered why it sounded so familiar; he had watched the movie, though it had been quite some time ago. Realizing which film it was, he immediately wanted to back out.

For no other reason than the fact that almost everyone in the movie died, and Shen Chongyang was no exception. What's more, he got dragged into the plot right from the very beginning with no way to extricate himself.

***

Confirming with the system once more that abandoning the mission carried no penalty, Hua Shier chose to forfeit without any hesitation.

The next instant, the system prompt sounded: "The host has chosen to abandon the mission. Entering the lucky draw phase!"

Hua Shier was stunned at first, and then overjoyed. Abandoning the mission not only had no penalty, but it also came with a lucky draw?

Why on earth had he been struggling so hard to grind through mission worlds for decades all this time? Next time, he would just forfeit right away.

While his mind was wandering with these wild thoughts, the system prompt rang out once more:

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for winning Shen Chongyang's personal ailment: 'hemorrhoids.' Would you like to claim it?"

His smile froze on his face. "Claim your sister's! Whoever wants them can take them, but this lord is certainly not claiming them!"

In an instant, Hua Shier was reminded of his college days when he and his roommates used to mess around altering song lyrics.

Back then, they took the classic line from the song *Leave the Sorrow to Yourself*—"I suppose it's because I'm not gentle enough, unable to share your sorrow"—and changed it to, "I want to ask why you are sorrowful; you say it's because you've got hemorrhoids."

Chasing away all the distracting thoughts in his head, Hua Shier quickly communicated with the system: "Didn't you say there was no penalty?"

The system sent back a confirmation message with absolute certainty: "Absolutely no penalty!"

"Then what about these hemorrhoids?"

"This is a lucky draw. There is a lucky draw even when abandoning a mission."

"Draw your sister! Look at who gets hemorrhoids from a lucky draw—this is a disease, okay?!"

"The scope of the lucky draw includes all abilities, items, and personal belongings of the targeted individual. The reward drawn this time falls into that category!"

"Then why didn't you draw appendicitis instead?!"

"That is also a possibility. May the host continue to work hard!"

Hua Shier was shaking with anger. "I'll believe your nonsense! You're just being completely unreasonable!"

"The final right of interpretation belongs to the system."

Hua Shier finally saw through it. So much for "no penalty"—it sounded nice, but they had just slapped a different name on it.

Resigned, he asked, "Is it still too late for me to accept the mission?"

***

"The system senses the host's strong desire to accept the mission. The previous lucky draw has been canceled. The mission can be accepted within three days; failure to accept it upon expiration will be regarded as an automatic forfeiture, at which point the items from this lucky draw will be automatically distributed!"

"......"

Hua Shier felt a burning hatred, gritting his teeth in frustration. If he didn't accept the mission, he'd get hemorrhoids—this system was truly a bastard!

"System friendly reminder: If the host successfully completes three missions, the host's real body entry mode will be unlocked, granting an additional lucky draw opportunity!"

Hua Shier's eyes lit up. The system had previously mentioned that if he could travel with his real body, everything he personally experienced could be retained at the host's request.

Doesn't that mean many non-material benefits could be brought back to the real world? For instance, all the skills he had learned in the previous world wouldn't go to waste. If he entered with his true body, he could request to retain them completely.

"You should have said so earlier! If I had known there was this perk, only a fool would refuse!"

Hua Shier immediately searched for the movie *Bodyguards and Assassins* online and rewatched the film he had seen years ago.

The movie mainly tells the story of October 1906, when the Qing court receives word that Dr. Sun is arriving in Hong Kong from Japan under the pretext of visiting his mother, secretly conspiring with revolutionary patriots from various regions to plan an uprising. The Qing government dispatches military commander Yan Xiaoguo with three hundred assassins from the army to secretly travel to Hong Kong with the intent of assassinating Dr. Sun.

During this time, revolutionary patriot Chen Shaobai and Hong Kong tycoon Li Yutang organize folk righteous heroes to protect Dr. Sun's safety in Hong Kong.

Among these folk heroes are beggars, rickshaw pullers, students, gamblers, monks, and so on.

The target he was supposed to help this time, Shen Chongyang, was the "gambler" among them.

In truth, Shen Chongyang was a police officer with formidable martial arts skills, but he was heavily addicted to gambling. His gambling habit caused his wife, Yueru, to leave him and marry the wealthy tycoon Li Yutang as a concubine, becoming his fourth mistress.

After Yan Xiaoguo arrived in Hong Kong, Shen Chongyang, driven by greed for money, tipped him off, indirectly causing the death of Fang Tian, the head of the opera troupe who was originally scheduled to participate as a bodyguard, filling him with deep guilt.

Later, his ex-wife Yueru discovers that her current husband, Li Yutang, is in grave danger and comes to ask Shen Chongyang for help. At first, Shen is disdainful and mocks her mercilessly, but upon learning that the daughter of Yueru and Li Yutang is actually his own flesh and blood, he agrees to her request.

During the mission to protect Dr. Sun, Shen Chongyang kills the Qing court expert Sa Zhenshan. When Li Yutang falls into mortal peril, Shen throws his physical body directly into the charging horse beneath Yan Xiaoguo, dying on the spot.

In Hua Shier's eyes, although Shen Chongyang had many flaws, he also possessed a good heart. While Fang Tian's death was inextricably linked to him, he hadn't intended to harm anyone—it was an unintentional mistake, and he ultimately paid for his sins with his own life, guarding his inner conscience.

Yet, watching the film again, he felt it was somewhat different from how he remembered it back then.