Chapter Five: Lending a Hand

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“Why can’t I use magic, but you can?” Mo Nian Nian demanded.

The system replied smugly, “Because I am technology. This world has technology, but no immortals~”

Its voice was unbearably irritating. If it had a physical form, Mo Nian Nian would have certainly rubbed it into the ground.

Mo Nian Nian pondered, “So… in other interfaces, I can use magic?”

“If it conforms to the interface’s rules—” The system suddenly realized something was wrong. To maintain the stability of the small worlds, all taskers were sealed off from their powers upon entry. This interface might be a bug, allowing the host to retain her abilities, but the higher-ups would never let such a bug persist.

Yet the host was so confident.

The system grew doubtful.

It quietly reported the glitch to its superiors; if mishandled, it could truly lead to the collapse of the small world.

Mo Nian Nian noticed the system’s little maneuver, but for once didn’t bother with it. Let it report, it wouldn’t change anything.

She was now witnessing something far more interesting: her own child was surrounded, apparently by older bullies extorting money.

Mo Nian Nian watched with amusement.

The system saw too—the pitiful, weak, helpless Jiang Hu trembling before several burly boys.

“Host, aren’t you going to intervene? If you save the male lead, his favorability toward you will skyrocket, and perhaps his hostility toward this world will decrease.”

“What’s the hurry? Let’s see how it plays out.”

Mo Nian Nian continued to enjoy the spectacle. The boy wasn’t as weak as he appeared; perhaps there was a surprise waiting.

Jiang Hu wasn’t new to such situations. At school, he was always isolated. He had no parents, often arrived with injuries, yet his grades were exceptionally good. Rumors abounded.

These bullies saw him as an easy target and frequently cornered him for money.

He usually gave in.

He didn’t want trouble. Before his parents died, they changed the school emergency contact to Mo Nian Nian’s number. Any call from the school became her excuse to torment him.

That demon was far more terrifying than these bullies.

He shrank back, fearfully looking at the group before him. “I really don’t have any money left.”

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“Ha! You just got thousands not long ago, and now you claim you’re broke? You think I’ll believe that?”

After some haggling, Jiang Hu produced two hundred yuan. “This really is all I have left.”

The bullies cursed as they snatched it away, their mouths foul and crude.

A shadow deepened in Jiang Hu’s eyes, his lips curving slightly. Two thousand… enough for a case to be filed. And at the gambling tables, they’d lost probably more than six figures.

Jiang Hu felt a touch of satisfaction.

“That’s all you can manage?” Mo Nian Nian was both angry and exasperated, looking at Jiang Hu as if disappointed by his weakness.

Jiang Hu’s pupils contracted sharply, his body stiffening ever so slightly—the most primal fear when facing Mo Nian Nian.

“You… why are you here?”

“Useless.” Mo Nian Nian gave him a disdainful look, then turned and effortlessly threw two of the bullies to the ground with swift moves.

Whatever she did, the boys writhed on the ground in agony.

She reclaimed the two hundred yuan, slapping the money twice across the leader’s fat face. “How much did you rob him of altogether?”

The fat boy, feeling as though his bones were broken, cried with snot and tears streaming down his face—he’d never suffered like this before.

“No more, that’s all we got.”

Mo Nian Nian stepped on him, doubling his pain. “Ahh! There’s another thousand… ahh! No, two thousand, yes, two thousand!”

Mo Nian Nian slapped his face again with the money. “You know what to do now?”

The fat boy hesitated, but as the pain intensified, he quickly nodded. “I know, I know.”

Only then did Mo Nian Nian let him go, standing up and dusting off her hands. “Return the money.”

Terrified, the bullies emptied their bags, handing over everything—a total of more than two thousand six hundred yuan.

Mo Nian Nian took it without ceremony, threatened them a bit more, and finally let them leave.

The group limped away, supporting each other, fleeing as if chased by the king of hell.

Mo Nian Nian shoved all the money into her own pocket.

Jiang Hu looked over, his gaze dark and deep.

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Mo Nian Nian felt no embarrassment whatsoever. She pointed at the backs of the fleeing bullies. “See that? Next time you encounter something like this, handle it just so—don’t be so clueless.”

He was destined to become a notorious killer feared by all. How could he be so easily bullied now?

“Host, don’t forget, he’s only sixteen. If he hadn’t gone through all that, who would ever become the monster he is destined to be?” The system quietly reminded Mo Nian Nian.

Mo Nian Nian considered it—perhaps it was true.

She had always focused on how ruthless the boy would become, forgetting that, for now, he was just a teenager. His methods were forged through repeated trials between life and death.

Looking at him this way, he was indeed pitifully weak, like a chick barely ten years old.

He was handsome, befitting the male lead of this small world; even at his young age, the first signs of brilliance were beginning to show.

He kept his head down, silent, his soft hair looking inviting to touch. His obedient demeanor struck Mo Nian Nian’s soft spot; her kitten had once looked just like that.

Mo Nian Nian waved her hand. “Let’s go.”

Honestly, Jiang Hu had done nothing wrong. Heaven’s will, for reasons unknown, gave him such a tragic background and childhood, claiming it was to temper his mind.

The only mistake he made was being too lucky—chosen as the male lead of this small world.

Jiang Hu was extremely sensitive to people’s emotional shifts. He could clearly sense the subtle change in Mo Nian Nian’s attitude toward him—a feeling that shouldn’t exist in such a vicious woman.

Jiang Hu’s gaze deepened, pondering.

“Fortunately, you ran into me today, otherwise, who knows how much you’d have been extorted. It’s not safe for you to keep this money, so I’ll hold onto it for now,” Mo Nian Nian declared, utterly self-assured.

Jiang Hu nodded obediently. “Whatever you say.”

His head bobbed slightly with the movement, once again poking at Mo Nian Nian’s soft spot. She couldn’t help but add, “You’re too thin, you need proper nourishment. Otherwise, you’ll disgrace me when you go out. And your skinny arms and legs—forget about fighting boys, you can’t even beat girls. Training needs to be scheduled.”

Mo Nian Nian began to make plans.

After all, she couldn’t leave the small world until her task was done—she might as well enjoy the fun of raising a child.