Chapter 4: The First Story (2)

Noah, an artificial intelligence, almost let out a curse!

He and Qin Chu had overlooked one thing: why did this data body resemble Qin Chu's real-life appearance?

Earlier, when they saw Qin Chu in the mirror, they were both so familiar with his face that they didn't notice anything unusual. But now, seeing the reaction from the landlady, Noah was so scared he nearly glitched.

This was likely going to be the first mission of Qin Chu, the General, that would fail even before it started.

"Defense mechanism activated…"

"Connecting to external transmission devices…"

"Preparing to withdraw consciousness…"

The intrusion had been detected by the main brain, and the consequences were severe. Not only did it mean mission failure, but Qin Chu's consciousness would also come under attack by the main brain.

At that point, Qin Chu, the highest-ranking military officer in the Empire with free will, would be imprisoned by the main brain, which would plunge the Empire into true darkness.

That would be Qin Chu's fate, while this small local system would be completely destroyed by the main brain.

Noah's urgent activation of various functions sounded in Qin Chu's mind, the normally smooth human voice now distorted into an inorganic, electronic tone.

Despite the looming crisis, Qin Chu remained remarkably calm, quickly considering various countermeasures.

Qin Chu wasn't afraid of the consequences of mission failure. What concerned him was that if the main brain detected the invasion by military personnel, it would raise its defense level. Even if he and Noah managed to escape, they wouldn't be able to enter the virtual world again.

Data transmission took time, and even the main brain couldn't monitor every data body all the time. Qin Chu closely watched the landlady's expression, thinking about having Noah erase her data body to cut off any potential data transmission.

While Qin Chu and Noah were on high alert, the landlady sized up Qin Chu's expression, then hesitated before speaking, "Xiao Cheng... Did something happen at home? You look pale."

Qin Chu: "…"

Noah: "…Damn, I almost ejected you just now!"

Seeing that Qin Chu didn't answer, the landlady wasn't offended. She handed him a box of buns and smiled, "You're probably running late, huh? Don't chat too much, take these and eat them on the way."

Qin Chu didn't fully lower his guard. He took the buns, keeping an eye on the other people in the breakfast shop out of the corner of his eye.

The landlady had already returned to normal and was chatting with the other customers about him, "He's a kid from our neighborhood, studying at No.1 High School, and his grades are really great…"

After paying, Qin Chu turned and left with the buns.

On the way, Noah, unusually, fell silent. After a while, he spoke up, "It seems the surrounding data bodies haven't noticed anything, but I need to investigate the reason for your appearance, General."

Before leaving, Noah had already transmitted Qin Chu's current identity and some related data.

This data body was named Cheng Cheng, a senior student from No.1 High School in the city, and he was in one of the top classes.

There wasn't much information about him, but Noah highlighted a few major tags, making them as large as possible, as if afraid Qin Chu wouldn't see them. The largest tag read "Honor Student."

Honor students should have nothing to do with being late.

Qin Chu glanced at the time and decided to take a shortcut.

The neighborhood where Cheng Cheng's family lived was already quite old, but compared to the street he had just entered, it was still considered decent.

The surrounding old commercial buildings were packed together, casting the street into almost permanent shadow. The environment was poor, and the air was filled with the foul odor of rotting sewage.

In such an environment, another type of force always grew strong.

As Qin Chu turned a corner, he saw several groups of thugs gathered. They leaned against the water pipes behind them, chatting and smoking. Despite the grim surroundings, their presence felt strangely harmonious.

Noah hadn't given him a specific task for this world yet, but General Qin thought that if he were to manage the security in this area, it might be a good idea.

As Qin Chu passed another alleyway, a blond thug smoking a cigarette saw him and actually smiled, greeting him with, "Yo, it's Brother Cheng? Long time no see."

The thug's attitude was strange—neither friendly nor antagonistic, but there was a hint of unspoken sarcasm.

Qin Chu was somewhat surprised and stopped to glance at him.

Someone else asked the thug, "Which Brother Cheng? You know a student from No.1 High?"

The blond thug smiled but didn't answer, just raised his cigarette in a gesture.

Qin Chu couldn't figure out the situation, so he nodded slightly and continued walking.

Behind him, he could hear more chatter, some laughter, and the thug's voice: "That's right, I wouldn't dare to be classmates with such a good student."

The words "good student" were emphasized with a mocking tone.

Qin Chu continued on, turning left to cross a street. Just as he was about to leave the chaotic area, he suddenly heard a girl's scream.

He glanced toward the sound and saw a group of thugs surrounding a girl.

The girl had her hair tied up in a high ponytail, with two crystal strawberry hair ties, wearing the same blue and white school uniform as Cheng Cheng.

It seemed like she was also from No.1 High.

Qin Chu took a look but didn't approach.

It was almost time for class, and today was Monday, with an important exam ahead. Qin Chu didn't know how much being late would affect Cheng Cheng's character. Now that Noah wasn't around, he couldn't ask for more details.

As he walked past the alley where the incident occurred, the girl's desperate cries grew clearer. Qin Chu thought about Noah's reminder: while this world seemed real, it was just a bunch of virtual data—whether it was people or society.

One of the thugs with a pimpled face grabbed the girl's hair tie and yanked it off, letting her dark hair fall loose. The girl's voice trembled with fear as she cried out, "What are you doing?!"

The thugs laughed louder. "Hey, where are you going? We just want to talk to you."

The girl, named Zhou Sisi, regretted choosing this shortcut to avoid being late. Now, what was she supposed to do? She was going to be late for the exam… and…

"I-I have money in my bag, my mom gave me my allowance this morning…" Zhou Sisi's eyes were filled with tears as she clutched her schoolbag in front of her, making her last attempt to bargain, "I'll give you the money, just let me go!"

"Thanks for the reminder." One of the thugs snatched her schoolbag, but the others still didn't let her go.

Someone reached for her uniform, and Zhou Sisi cried, scratching at the people around her, "Get off me! Don't touch me!"

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared before Zhou Sisi's eyes. The filthy hand didn't reach her uniform collar. The owner of the hand was pulled away by an arm around his neck, which was covered by a No.1 High blue-and-white uniform.

The thug was dragged away like a chicken caught by the neck.

Qin Chu looked expressionlessly at the thug he had restrained.

From his face, no one could guess how much strength he was using. A man over 1.8 meters tall was being dragged by Qin Chu's elbow lock on his throat, his face turning red like a bamboo stalk, unable to speak a word.

The other thugs around were startled, but when they saw he was a student, they relaxed.

"Kid, what are you doing?"

Qin Chu glanced at them with half-lidded eyes. "Nothing, just wanted to talk to you."

The thugs hadn't said anything when Zhou Sisi suddenly became angrier.

She shoved the thugs around her aside and pointed at Cheng Cheng, yelling, "I knew it was you! Cheng Cheng, when my classmate told me you were into this, I didn't believe it. You, you! I should've known better today of all days, with the exam coming up!"

Qin Chu: "?"

Although he was confused, Qin Chu cursed Noah inwardly, thinking, What kind of useless information is this, I can't even recognize a person?

He quickly subdued the remaining thugs and was about to ask the girl what had happened, but when he looked up, she had already run out of the alley.

"I'll be damned," the leader of the thugs groaned, clutching his stomach. "Kid, you'll regret this!"

Qin Chu had one foot out of the alley but turned back after hearing the words.

He had one bad habit: he couldn't stand it when someone threatened him, and every time he heard it, he slapped them.

He glanced at the thugs, then raised his foot and stepped on the face of the leader.

His expression was cold, exuding an intangible sense of oppression. "I'll only warn you once. You can look for trouble with me, but if I catch you harassing students on this street again, tomorrow you'll be floating in the stinky gutter."

The threat was so intense that the thugs looked simultaneously toward the foul-smelling gutter at the street corner, their faces turning green.

Although it was clear that even in the virtual world, General Qin's ability to deal with people hadn't dulled, Qin Chu still faced an awkward situation.

He was going to be late.

Qin Chu's expression darkened.

There were no taxis around, and although he could run the remaining few kilometers in five minutes, Qin Chu wasn't sure if such an odd behavior would have any unintended consequences.

Just then, Qin Chu noticed an electric bike parked in front of a shop.

A tall, slim boy got off the bike and slowly walked toward the shop. He looked like a delivery person.

Qin Chu walked over, stopped him, and asked directly, "Are you done with your deliveries?"

The boy was wiping sweat off his forehead, his bangs pushed up to reveal a clean, handsome face. He looked a little surprised when he saw Qin Chu.

"I'm done. You…?"

Before he could finish speaking, Qin Chu stepped up and hopped onto the bike, tossing his wallet over his shoulder.

The cold tone of his voice carried through the wind, "There's money and my ID in it. I'll borrow the bike for now and return it tonight."

Just as Qin Chu was almost at the school, Noah's voice finally popped up again.

After seeing the electric bike beneath Qin Chu, Noah paused for two seconds and then said, "…Dear General, may I ask what you've been doing in my absence?"

Qin Chu: "I just tested if there's a difference between hitting people in this world and in the real world."

Noah: "No, I was asking about the bike."

Qin Chu answered confidently: "I borrowed it."

"Alright." Noah reluctantly accepted, then reported to Qin Chu, "The incident regarding your appearance has been resolved. Due to your high mental level, you've broken through the constraints of the data form, allowing it to manifest your traits to some extent. However, the data form's disguise still works, so no one else in this world will notice."

Qin Chu asked, "What was up with that shop owner's expression?"

Noah replied, "Oh, when someone who always greets you with a smile suddenly has an icy expression, anyone would feel it's strange. So maybe you should reflect on your facial expression management."

Qin Chu: "…"

He almost arrived at school just in time, and students were steadily entering the exam room.

Qin Chu held the back of a chair with one hand as he walked into the exam room. It might've been his imagination, but when he stepped inside, there was a moment of silence. The students seated neatly in the room all gave him a respectful glance.

Then there was an awkward silence.

Qin Chu glanced around the exam room and saw an empty seat at the very front. He walked over with his admission ticket that had the number "1" on it.

The first exam was about to begin. Qin Chu didn't feel anything, but Noah was quite anxious.

"Sir, your identity now is that of a top student! Do you know what that means?"

Qin Chu ignored him and asked, "What's the task in this world?"

"It's still being calculated. After your exam, we should have the results," Noah replied.

Qin Chu scoffed: "Still being calculated? Your efficiency..."

Noah responded with pride: "As you say, I'd already be thanking heaven if I didn't freeze."

Qin Chu: "…Do you really think that's a compliment?"

Noah quickly changed the subject. "As a top student, if you mess up this exam, your character will be ruined. If that happens, the mainframe will have us stewed for soup..."

An AI wasn't supposed to be this dramatic.

Qin Chu sat down at his desk. "Don't worry, my written exam scores have never been bad."

Especially not in a civilization with a lower level like this one.

But soon, the confident General Qin was slapped in the face.

Qin Chu looked expressionlessly at the two crossed-out starship characters on his answer sheet, then spoke to Noah in his mind: "We're going to be stewed for soup by the mainframe."

---

Author's note:

Every world is an imperfect virtual world, so don't take it seriously.

The first world has a school setting, with the timeline being the second semester of senior year, and both the main character and supporting characters are over eighteen.

The correct way to act heroically is to call the police or inform a teacher, so don't act impulsively in real life!