Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

The sea breeze whipped at the dragon flag atop the flagship "Dingyuan," and also stirred Li Chengqian's black cloak.

He stood alone at the bow of the ship, gazing towards the western horizon where the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an, lay.

Having resolved the matter on the Japanese islands, and with the situation in Chang'an on his mind, he immediately thought of the system mission.

I remember the system's previous task was to have him destroy four countries within three years.

When he heard about this mission, he almost choked.

Because this task was simply impossible for him to complete.

Unexpectedly, things turned out differently, and it was completed half-heartedly.

Life is truly unpredictable; it's like the big intestine wrapping the small intestine!

Li Chengqian couldn't help but sigh, then said to the system, "Settle the rewards!"

[Good host! 】

The mechanical voice responded promptly, as always.

[Ding! Host has completed a key node in a side quest... Settlement in progress...]

The system notification sounded, and Li Chengqian was overjoyed.

[Congratulations, host! You have successfully destroyed the four kingdoms of Japan, Goguryeo, Tuyuhun, and Tibet, significantly altering the course of history... Rewards are being calculated...]

Li Chengqian's smile widened.

[Settlement complete! Reward: A new system (can be used by yourself or designated for someone else), being distributed...]

The system's voice suddenly stopped, then turned into a cold, impersonal notification:

[Error! Error!]

[Warning: The task is not fully completed and does not meet the reward payment requirements. Reward payment is temporarily suspended.]

The smile on Li Chengqian's face froze instantly, turning into astonishment and anger:
"Huh?! No, are you fucking kidding me?! The mission wasn't fully completed? Then why the hell did you congratulate me?! And what's with the 'settlement of rewards'?"

[Sorry, host. After review, the completion rate of the side quest 'Destroy Goguryeo, Japan, Tuyuhun, and Tibet within three years' is 99%.]

[Core Additional Condition: 'And give Li Shimin a little finger gesture, telling him, "The Heavenly Khan is nothing"' is incomplete.]

Therefore, the task is deemed incomplete, and the final reward cannot be issued.

"Fuck me!"

Li Chengqian nearly choked again, cursing inwardly:
"Damn system! This is fraud! Blatant fraud! You're not settling accounts until you've completed the task!"

"And what the hell was that additional condition, 'Who does the Heavenly Khan count for?' Is that a task even a human could come up with?"

"I'm giving Li Er my pinky?! I haven't even sat on the throne yet?! Do you want me to be deposed again?!"

He paced back and forth on the deck in anger, drawing the attention of his personal guards, who quickly lowered their heads.

But the system's voice remained completely emotionless.

[Sorry, host, according to the rules, the system cannot process your reward. Please complete the task before processing.]

"No way, you think an apology is enough? Do you believe I'll report you?!"

Li Chengqian roared inwardly in frustration.

The system did not respond further.

"Hey! Are you going to play dead again? Say something! Speak up!"

[Sorry, host, according to the rules, the system cannot process your reward. Please complete the task before processing.]

"Fine, fine! You want to play dumb with me? I'm not playing with you anymore! I'm not doing any more system tasks!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Chengqian prepared to order the cancellation of the plan and not return to Chang'an.

However, the moment he spoke, he suddenly found that his mouth was out of his control and he could not speak at all.

"you!"

Li Chengqian was terrified and couldn't help but scream in his heart, "You can actually control my body?!"

[Sorry, host, according to the rules...]

"Rules my ass! Who are you anyway!?"

[Host, I am your Counterattack System]

"Bullshit! You absolutely aren't!"

Li Chengqian's eyes suddenly sharpened:

"The system has no emotions and will never make mistakes, but you keep making mistakes, and this isn't the first or second time!"

"Also, since the mission wasn't completed, why did you initiate the settlement process just now? Are you playing me for fun?"

"The tasks you've issued are all incredibly ridiculous and absurd. You keep telling me to do something stupid, like making me perform humiliating gestures towards the emperor..."

A long-buried doubt, like a poisonous bamboo shoot sprouting from the ground, began to grow wildly at this moment, and could no longer be suppressed.

He recalled the system's bizarre behavior since he transmigrated: issuing seemingly impossible tasks, offering rewards that were sometimes generous and sometimes stingy, and exhibiting contradictory and morbidly humorous logic...

Li Chengqian's voice turned cold and oppressive; he was practically roaring with his mind:
"System! Or rather... what should I call you?"

"You're neither some kind of magical artifact nor some futuristic technology, are you?"

"The task you assigned is less about making me stronger, and more about... completing what you didn't finish back then, or rather, making up for your own regrets."

His mind raced, connecting all the clues from his journey through time to the present:
"I just transmigrated here, and you made me rise to become the crown prince! I could have become the crown prince directly, but you had to depose me and then make me the crown prince!"

"Later, things escalated even further, allowing me to rise to power and become emperor, and placing Li Er on the throne of the retired emperor!"

"You harbor a certain... indescribable malice and provocation towards the people around me, especially towards Li Er!"

"This time it's even more outrageous. They actually made cursing 'The Heavenly Khan is nothing' a key part of the mission, and even restricted the settlement rewards!"

Li Chengqian's gaze seemed to pierce through the ethereal system interface as he asked, word by word, the earth-shattering question:
"You...aren't you...the one in history who was deposed at the age of twenty-six and eventually died in despair...Li Chengqian?!"

Upon hearing this, the system interface in his mind experienced its first violent fluctuation!
The cold, mechanical light flickered intermittently, like a circuit board with a faulty connection!
【…】

The system went silent.

A deathly silence lasted for more than ten seconds. Only the howling sea breeze and Li Chengqian's heavy breathing could be heard.

This silence is more like a silent acknowledgment.

"Speak! You're admitting it, are you?"

Li Chengqian persisted, his anger intertwined with a sense of humiliation at being fooled:
"From the moment I came into this world, every task you've given me has been designed to guide me away from your path! You want me to make up for your regrets, don't you?!"

"Let me guess, you became this ghastly as a person because you were unwilling to accept your fate? So you came to me, this soul from another world, hoping to use me to take revenge on Li Shimin? To take revenge on Li Zhi, who ultimately inherited the throne?" "Or... do you want to see if I, this 'outlier,' can break your damned destiny?!"

【…】

The system remained silent.

Li Chengqian grew angrier and angrier, and felt a chill run down his spine.

The golden finger that I've always relied on might actually be a collection of resentment from the previous loser.
"Damn it! I'm not playing anymore!"

An extreme sense of frustration and rage surged through Li Chengqian, who suddenly drew the sword from his waist!

The cold blade reflected a blinding glint of light in the sunlight!
He held the blade to his own neck, issuing a final ultimatum to the air:

"Come out here! Explain yourself! Otherwise, I'll slit my own throat right now! We'll all be finished! What a load of bull, what grand ambitions, I don't want them anymore!"

"I'm going to file a complaint against you! As the host, I'm filing a complaint against you to that 'god' whose existence is unknown! You're a defective product! A virus full of malice!"

Perhaps the word 'god' violated some rule, or perhaps Li Chengqian's resolute suicide was not fake.

A very faint, almost inaudible sigh echoed in Li Chengqian's mind.

This sigh was no longer cold and mechanical, but carried an intense weariness, a sense of vicissitude, and a hint of relief.

【……well.】

The system's voice sounded again, but it was no longer the emotionless electronic tone. Instead, it became the voice of a young man, hoarse and weak, as if he had exhausted all his strength.

You guessed right...most of it.

It… or rather, 'he', finally admitted it.

I am Li Chengqian, the one who was deposed for treason in the seventeenth year of the Zhenguan era, exiled to Qianzhou, and ultimately... died in despair.

But I don't know why I exist in this form.

As my consciousness faded away, it seemed to be captured by some force, transforming me into this form and binding me to you.

My memory is fragmented; many things are unclear, leaving only intense resentment, bitterness, and complex emotions towards...my father.

My 'task,' or rather my instinct, is to assign you tasks.

Only you, 'Li Chengqian,' have successfully reversed your fate, broken my previous trajectory, and reached a position even further than mine... It seems that only then can I... find liberation.

Li Chengqian's hand, gripping the horizontal sword, trembled slightly.

He guessed right, but hearing the other person admit it himself still left him with incredibly mixed feelings.

Anger, sympathy, vigilance, absurdity... a mix of emotions.

He slowly lowered his sword.

"relief?"

Li Chengqian sneered: "So, those ridiculous tasks you issued, were you trying to help me or harm me? To make me rebel? To make me curse the emperor? Is that the right way to turn the tables?"

【I have no idea. 】

The system's voice sounded confused.

My actions are greatly influenced by lingering obsessions.

Those missions... perhaps it's because subconsciously I hope someone can do the crazy things I can't, or perhaps I just want to see someone do to that high and mighty 'Heavenly Khan' what I most want to do but dare not do...

【Feel sorry……】

The apology was so soft it was almost inaudible.

Li Chengqian remained silent.

He gazed at the vast ocean, speechless for a long time.

He was bound to the soul of a 'former loser' as a system? This experience is truly a bizarre tale.

What to do now? Get this resentful 'ex' out of your mind? Obviously not.

Are you going to keep letting him lead you by the nose with all those ridiculous tasks he posts? You'll end up like him sooner or later.

After a long pause, Li Chengqian took a deep breath, his eyes regaining their firmness and sharpness.

“Listen, 'ex'.”

Li Chengqian thought coldly to himself:

"I don't care if you're Li Chengqian or Zhang Chengqian. Since I'm the one using this body now, I get to decide how things should go!"

"Your resentment and your bitterness are none of my business, nor do I have any interest in avenging you."

"I'm going to walk my own path! The path of the Tang Dynasty!"

"From today onwards, I'll choose the tasks to do! And you'll have to give the rewards according to the rules!"

"If you dare to post those outrageous tasks again, I'll find a temple and listen to the high monks chanting sutras every day, and see if that can save you from suffering!"

system:【……】

This silence seemed to carry a hint of helplessness, and... a faint sense of relief.

【it is good. 】

In the end, he only replied with one word.

The sea breeze remains, and the warships cut through the waves.

Li Chengqian knew that from this moment on, his relationship with this 'system' would enter a completely new, more complex, and more dangerous phase.

But in any case, he must take the initiative.

His destiny can only be determined by himself.

Whether facing the undercurrents of Chang'an or the obsession with the 'ex' within her, she was determined to overcome any obstacles.

He absolutely has to win.

Although he had doubts about the 'system' before, he always knew that he was walking his own path.

"Chang'an, I'm back."

This setup was planned from the very beginning, so it's not abrupt. If you carefully recall the previous plot, you can find many details.

This can also be seen as filling in the gaps in the protagonist's escape from the system.

The side quests, designed to reward a new system, were originally intended for this very moment. (End of Chapter)