After the tycoon went bankrupt, he was raised by the villainous female supporting character and beca

Chapter 276 Who told you I'm just a system?

No, I don't suspect you of lying to me.

Pei Xingzhi said with a stern face, enunciating each word clearly, "I suspect that your informant has investigated the wrong things."

He said it subtly, but Shen Yanhui understood what he meant.

She paused, then asked hesitantly, "Are you so sure that the information Qian Jutang gave you is true?"

Pei Xingzhi: "I hold Qian Jutang's fatal weakness in my hands. Do you think he would dare to lie to me?"

"..." Shen Yan Hui did not speak.

Pei Xingzhi gave a brief twitch at the corner of his mouth: "Any one of Qian Jutang's secrets could be enough to send him to jail for the rest of his life. How could he dare to lie to me? Besides, I even hired so many people to beat him up. He's afraid of death and pain, so he absolutely doesn't have the guts to lie to me."

"So Shen Yanhui, you should thoroughly investigate the informant who gave you the message."

“…I understand.” Shen Yanhui’s breathing suddenly became a little heavy. “Pei Xingzhi, are you planning to go to Linzhou now?”

Pei Xingzhi: "I'm already on my way to Linzhou."

“Okay, send me your location when you get there, and I’ll bring some people over to help you.” Shen Yan replied, smiling slightly. “Bye, I need to go and deal with the people.”

"Okay." Pei Xingzhi nodded and then hung up the phone.

"beep--"

A sharp notification tone came from the phone's receiver. Shen Yan put down the phone and said expressionlessly, "System."

"Host, I'm here." A mechanical female voice instantly appeared in Shen Yanhui's mind.

Shen Yan asked in a detached tone, "Did you hear what Pei Xingzhi just said?"

[…] The mechanical female voice paused for two seconds, then replied:

[I heard you, what's wrong, host?]

Shen Yanhui wasn't in the mood for beating around the bush and asked directly, "So, why did you deliberately give me false information?"

[Haha.] The mechanical female voice chuckled twice, its tone light and cheerful: [Host, you changed all this information yourself in the system backend. What does it matter to me whether it's true or false?]

"Isn't this any of your business?" Shen Yan asked back. "But how come I remember that every time I made a redemption, it was you who passed on the information to me?"

"As the middleman, isn't there a possibility that you might engage in underhanded dealings?"

The mechanical female voice remained calm: "Host, I am merely a system responsible for assisting you in completing your missions. I have absolutely no ability to manipulate things behind the scenes. Besides, there's no reason for a system like me to deliberately alter your information."

"Heh..." Shen Yanhui let out a mocking sneer, "No reason? Haven't your reasons always existed?"

"Didn't you particularly want Xie Zhaoyuan dead?"

Mechanical female voice: [But didn't you want her to stay? I gave you so many suggestions, but you wouldn't accept them. Didn't you say you'd rather die yourself than let her die?]

[Host, you lied to me too.]

A single, casual remark exposed the lies of both of them.

Shen Yan was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

"So you're admitting that you deliberately gave me all that fake information?"

Mechanical female voice: [So you admit that your promise to successfully seduce Pei Xingzhi and complete the mission was all a lie?]

"..."

Shen Yan narrowed his eyes, a hint of ferocity flashing within them.

"So you guessed I was lying to you, and that's why you deliberately switched the information I exchanged?"

Mechanical female voice: [Host, you humans have a saying, "an eye for an eye." I'm simply returning the favor to you, so why are you angry?]

Shen Yan leaned back and lazily nestled into the sofa: "I'm not angry, I'm just a little confused." Mechanical female voice: [What are you confused about?]

Shen Yan asked, "Why do you have to kill Xie Zhaoyuan?"

[...] The mechanical female voice did not answer her question.

She asked again, "Aren't you just a cold, high-tech system? How could you harbor murderous intent towards an innocent person? Did some program of yours malfunction?"

Mechanical female voice: 【…Who told you I'm just a cold, emotionless system?】

"Huh?" Shen Yan was stunned. "...Isn't that right?"

Mechanical female voice: [I never said I was just a cold, emotionless system.]

Shen Yan frowned, her eyes wary: "If you're not a system, then what are you?"

"You don't need to worry about that." The mechanical female voice didn't really explain. "Host, you just need to answer me: do you want Xie Zhaoyuan to die?"

"Hmph," Shen Yanhui arrogantly raised her chin, deliberately putting on a rebellious look, "I...don't...want! I absolutely refuse to let Xie Zhaoyuan die!"

The mechanical female voice paused, and when it spoke again, its tone had taken on a ruthless edge.

[Since that's the case, then don't blame me for being impolite, host.]

Shen Yanhui knew what her "rudeness" meant, but she wasn't afraid at all.

"Whatever you want, do whatever you want with me—"

Before he could finish his boastful words, he was interrupted by a sudden, sharp pain.

It felt as if an electric drill was twisted inside Shen Yan Hui's chest, the sharp drill bit scraping away her flesh and blood, turning her already fragile heart into a complete mess.

She clutched her chest and curled up, gritting her teeth to keep from making a sound, even though the excruciating pain was making her lose consciousness.

In the depths of winter, the world was blanketed in silvery white snow. A thick layer of frost had formed on the windowpanes.

But Shen Yanhui, who was sitting on the sofa, broke out in a cold sweat on her forehead.

Her body was trembling, and the color in her face was slowly fading. But she stubbornly clenched her teeth and refused to utter a single word of relent.

I don't know how much time passed before the excruciating pain finally subsided.

"Huff..." Shen Yanhui breathed heavily, stretching out her body weakly.

"Heh..." She laughed mockingly, and said disdainfully to the mechanical female voice, "I thought you were going to be very rude to me, but it turns out you're nothing special."

The mechanical female voice carried a clear hint of ruthlessness: "Host, you don't need to be stubborn. I know this punishment is very painful."

“It really hurts.” Shen Yan nodded in agreement. “But so what? You can punish me once a day at most. As long as I can get through it, you can’t do anything to me.”

Mechanical female voice: [Are you sure you can make it through?]

"Why not?" Shen Yan took a deep breath and sat up from the sofa. "If I die, you will be eliminated too. Our lives are intertwined. Do you dare let me fail?"

【…】

The mechanical female voice was rendered speechless by her rebuttal.

She grabbed the car keys from the table and dragged her aching body toward the door.

Mechanical female voice: [Host, I truly dare not let you die, but how do you know that this is the only way I can torture you?]

Shen Yan shook his head helplessly: "Use whatever tricks you have up your sleeve, I'm ready to play anytime."

[Hmph...] The mechanical female voice gave a strange laugh and suddenly changed the subject.

[Host, where are you going?]

Shen Yanhui didn't bother to hide it from her: "Go to Linzhou to rescue Xie Zhaoyuan."