Lynn had long since lost his will to live!
Feeling the cold barrel of the gun pressed against his forehead, his heart was very calm, he even felt an urge to howl.
Transmigration should have been a wonderful thing, and system binding was like an icing on the cake.
But when these two things happened to Lynn at the same time, what should have been a beautiful journey turned into a "beautiful departure" through and through.
Half a month had passed since he transmigrated to this world.
He now had reason to suspect that this damned system had been out to "get him killed" from the very start.
[Character Name: Carol Boyle]
[Plot Deviation: 0.00%]
Looking at Carol who was fake crying beside him with several lines of text above her head, Lynn felt somewhat helpless.
Indeed, she didn't meet the criteria either.
As he thought this, he was about to shut down the system.
But just at that moment, a window suddenly popped up in front of him.
[The system has not yet been activated. Please complete the preliminary task as soon as possible to unlock all sections.]
[Detecting host's current status...]
[Detection reveals the host is still engaging in "negative behavior"... Warning!!! Warning!!!]
Here it came again, the annoying nuisance.
Watching the countless pop-up windows fluttering in front of him like snowflakes and the sharp buzzing echoing deep in his mind, Lynn felt numb.
He spoke to the burly man with the gun in front of him once again.
It wasn't that he truly wanted to die.
But compared to being subjected to this kind of mental pollution every day, he would rather restart sooner.
This system was not like the ones he had read about in web novels from his previous life, which frequently coerced the host to complete tasks with various punishments.
It didn't use punishments, just warnings.
But these warning pop-ups were imprinted on his retina. He could see them even with his eyes closed, a horrifying red that unsettled him.
Not to mention the sharp buzzing, which directly affected his consciousness; covering his ears was useless.
As long as the system detected that he hadn't completed the preliminary task, it would judge his behavior as "negative," and then harass him non-stop for twenty-four hours.
Lynn hadn't slept well in half a month.
Now he only felt a splitting headache.
Every time his head touched the pillow, it was as if he had committed some great sin, with pop-ups and buzzing bombing him incessantly, leaving him no moment of peace.
Only drowning his worries in alcohol brought any slight relief.
Up to now, Lynn felt that the system's emotional value outweighed its utility.
If you asked what emotional value, aside from disgust, there really was none.
But it indeed outweighed its utility.
All right, since it harassed him to this extent, why not just complete the preliminary task?
That's what Lynn had thought at first.
But after learning the content, he went completely insane.
The preliminary task was just a short sentence, seemingly simple.
[Please make contact with any S-level plot character and increase their plot deviation by 0.01%.]
Leaving aside what plot deviation meant for now.
Based on a literal understanding, such S-level plot characters should be intimately linked to the original story's main plot, even capable of affecting the future and everyone's endings.
Even without the system reminding him, he knew these characters must be extremely rare.
Perhaps throughout the whole world, there might be only a handful of them.
The good news was, this world was from a Western fantasy novel he had read in his previous life, and he roughly remembered the plot.
The bad news was, he was currently in a remote city called Werner, light-years away from the Imperial Capital of the Saint Laurent Empire.
With a bit of thought, one would realize that these exceedingly rare S-level plot characters would most likely appear on grand stages like the Imperial Capital that attracted worldwide attention, since most plots unfolded there.
Even if not, they definitely wouldn't appear in a place like Werner, not even mentioned in the original story.
So the only way out at the moment was to head for the Imperial Capital.
And the trip to the Imperial Capital required a considerable sum of money, which, in his current befuddled state, he found it difficult to earn quickly.
The vicious cycle continued.
While enduring the system's mental contamination, Lynn let his thoughts run wild.
On the other hand, the burly man pointing the gun actually felt scared.
He had seen plenty pleading for mercy, but this was the first time someone begged to be shot.
"Am I, am I really going to shoot?"
"I'm begging you, just f*cking shoot!!!"
Watching the black-haired boy clutching his forehead and the ferocious, almost eager glint in his eyes, the burly man swallowed hard.
But no matter what, he couldn't pull the trigger of the revolver in his hand.
Despite his intimidating appearance, he had never actually been in a fight.
It was like everything was reversed.
At this moment, the one being threatened with a gun was madly begging to be shot, while the one holding the gun had no courage to actually do it.
The atmosphere grew strangely stale.
"Enough, Werner," Carol finally couldn't stand it anymore and let out a helpless sigh, "put the gun down."
The burly man even changed the way he addressed her, obediently putting the revolver back into his pocket and breathing a sigh of relief.
At the same time, he subconsciously took a half step back, wanting to distance himself from this guy.
"You seem to have realized my purpose early on? When did you find out?"
Carol crossed her arms and gazed emotionlessly at Lynn.
Today, to catch this big fish, she even sold some of her charm, but in the end, her efforts were all for naught.
This man seemed convinced Werner wouldn't shoot, so he was fearless.
Since that was the case, the leverage she had for blackmail and extortion was gone.
After all, she couldn't really let her brother live with the guilt of taking a life.
The warning from the system gradually quietened, which eased Lynn's irritation quite a bit, his furrowed brows slowly relaxed.
Hearing this, Carol raised an eyebrow: "I don't believe you."
"Really." Lynn pinched the bridge of his nose, "To me, a beautiful woman is like a rose with thorns, the closer you get, the more vigilant you must be about being pricked."
"You sure have a way with words." Carol wanted to scoff hearing Lynn calling her a beautiful woman, but couldn't resist a slight smile, "But I didn't feel that caution from you."
"I must have been mistaken today, so I'll let you off the hook for now."
After dropping that line, Carol left without a second glance, heading straight toward the door.
Halfway there, she suddenly stopped.
"By the way, what's your name?"
"Lynn, I hope the next time we meet... actually, let's hope we never meet again!"
The thought of the previous events made Carol's anger surge once again.
This kid was sly, clearly knowing everything yet putting on an innocent face and speaking those disgusting words.
No, you'll be eager to see me again soon.
Watching the siblings walk away, Lynn curled his lips into a smirk.
Then with a flip of his right hand, two items appeared in his palm.
They were a gun and a woman's wallet.
The gun, of course, belonged to Werner, and the wallet had come from Carol when she pushed him over.
From the beginning, Lynn knew someone who looked as aristocratic as him would become her target.
Too bad for the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.
And wasn't she just another sheep in Lynn's eyes?
After all, for him in the present, making money was an urgent matter.
He needed to interact with strangers, hoping to hit it big and complete missions, while also trying to save up for a ticket to the Imperial Capital.
In such conditions, the source of the money became insignificant.