Chapter 7: Scaring Myself Silly

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for acquiring the entry-level demonic cultivation skill—"The Rat Race."]

Chu Qiao’s mouth twitched slightly; she instinctively felt this was not a good thing. Sure enough, the next second, the system declared:

[This is a passive skill.]
[The host is required to utilize all available time to diligently practice and surpass other demonic cultivators, so as to fulfill the dream of destroying the world as soon as possible.]

Chu Qiao was beyond bewildered.
"Wait, if I’m already a world-destroying demonic cultivator, why on earth do I still need to compete with others?"
Are you sure this is a world-destroying demonic cultivator and not a peerless workhorse?

The system replied:
[The host is joking. There are millions of demonic cultivators in the world; who doesn't have a dream of destroying it? If you don't work hard, how can you expect to surpass the others and earn the opportunity to be the one to destroy the world?]

Chu Qiao nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. So even destroying the world requires a competitive job application? She couldn't imagine what kind of world that would be.

The system began to urge her:
[Please get up and practice. Other demonic cultivators see the sky at 4:00 AM every day—why are you sleeping? How can you even sleep?]

"..."
There were so many things wrong with this that she didn't even know where to start. Chu Qiao lay limp on her bed, motionless, deciding to ignore the brain-dead system. She had been on the verge of a nervous breakdown all day; only a madman would get up to study now.

[Please get up and practice.]
[Electric shock stimulus countdown: 10, 9, 8...]
"Up, I'm up, I'm up!"

Chu Qiao had to jump out of bed in a rage. To avoid being electrocuted, she fished out her textbooks and began to study. The brain-dead system finally shut up. The system could not detect the difference between the two worlds, so it could not distinguish whether Chu Qiao was studying or practicing cultivation. The core was the same anyway: it was all a grind.

Chu Qiao thought this was a good thing. As long as she found a loophole in the tasks, she could avoid this pitfall of a mission. But she soon discovered she had underestimated the system's sheer idiocy.

2:00 AM. Chu Qiao put down her pen, dizzy and exhausted, ready to close her eyes for a moment.

[Please do not slack off, host.]
[Electric shock stimulus countdown: 10, 9...]

Chu Qiao snapped her eyes open.
"It’s two in the morning! If I don't sleep, I’ll die of sudden cardiac arrest!"
[Please do not slack off, host.]
"If I die, there will be no one left to do your tasks, and you'll be finished too!"
[Please do not slack off, host.]

"..." She had to find the button to report this system!

4:00 AM. Chu Qiao felt as though her head were about to explode. She put down her pen and stood up to pour herself a glass of water. The system remained silent. Chu Qiao felt a glimmer of hope. It seemed the system allowed for breaks. Could it be that if she performed the action of resting, she wouldn't be urged to study?

[Detected that the host has been drinking water for over two minutes. Suspected of slacking off.]
[Electric shock stimulus countdown...]

Chu Qiao: "..."
[Detected that the host has been in the restroom for over one minute. Suspected of slacking off.]
"..."
[Detected that the host has been standing for over five minutes. Suspected of slacking off.]
"..."

8:30 AM. The warm, gentle sunlight poured through the window, hitting every corner of the room. It made Chu Qiao feel toasty, like a corpse being sun-dried. On her desk lay the entire workbook she had finished last night. Its thickness, only slightly thinner than a coin standing on its edge, bore witness to the torment she had suffered.

The good news: The system finally stopped screeching.
The bad news: She had been squeezed dry.

And as a dried-up corpse, she still had to attend Professor Zhao’s class, or she would fail the course directly. Chu Qiao finally understood why her parallel-world self wanted to destroy the world. In a world of such wretched labor, was there any need for it to exist?

While washing up, Chu Qiao had a vague feeling she had forgotten something very important, but she couldn't recall what it was. It wasn't until she sat on the bus that she received a WeChat message from Lu Jingtian:

[Miss Chu, apologies for disturbing you so early. There is something I would like to confirm with you. You are not a student of the Divine Doctor Lin, are you?]

Looking at those few lines of text, Chu Qiao felt a buzzing in her brain, and she felt as if she were suffocating. She finally remembered what fatal thing she had forgotten last night! But the worst part was that she was being reminded by the very victim she had scammed. And even worse than that, the fact that Lu Jingtian knew the truth meant he had met the real student of Divine Doctor Lin.

The student—or even the Divine Doctor Lin himself—must know she had impersonated them! Had they already called the police?

No, no, don't panic. After all, she was Lu Jingtian’s benefactor. Even if he were just returning the favor, he should help her...

Chu Qiao thought frantically, deciding to feign frankness:
[Right, I am not.]

She then hurriedly concocted an excuse:
[I impersonated Divine Doctor Lin's student because I was afraid you wouldn't trust my abilities...]

Before Chu Qiao could finish typing, Lu Jingtian had already sent another message:
[I knew it. You helped me under the guise of being the Divine Doctor’s student to maintain a low profile and avoid unnecessary commotion, right? Don't worry, I will guard this secret of yours and never let anyone know your true identity, including myself. As for Divine Doctor Lin, do not worry; I will handle it.]

Chu Qiao: "..."
Lu Jingtian’s reasoning was dozens of times better than hers, and it even came with an aura of mysterious expertise! She couldn't imagine how high and lofty her status must be in the heart of the Head of the Lu family. To avoid disappointing him, Chu Qiao deleted the excuse she had been typing and maintained the high-and-mighty act:
[As long as you understand.]

She put down her phone and breathed a long sigh of relief, her taut nerves finally relaxing. Then, she heard the system’s voice:

[Please do not slack off, host.]
[Electric shock stimulus countdown: 10, 9...]

"Damn it!"
Chu Qiao pulled out another workbook and began to work on it on the bus, cursing under her breath.

...

In the study of the Lu family mansion, Lu Jingtian put down his phone and raised his eyes. His dark pupils, deep and cold like an ancient well, looked toward the young girl with round eyes sitting across from him.

"Bai Lu, I didn't expect the new student of Divine Doctor Lin to be you."

The Bai family was also a century-old aristocratic family with deep and immeasurable ties in the capital. However, the Bai and Lu families had always been on good terms; when Lu Jingtian was cleaning up the capital, the Bai family had contributed significantly. Thus, the Bai family was the only family left that still lived comfortably and could be mentioned in the same breath as the Lu family.

Bai Lu and Lu Jingtian had grown up together; they were childhood sweethearts. Therefore, she had never been as cautious with him as others were.

"That's right!" Bai Lu lifted her chin proudly. Then, her face filled with fury: "Brother Lu, now you know how detestable that woman is—the one who took advantage of me being busy last night to impersonate me, steal the limelight, and trick you into thinking she was some kind of master?"

She had never been the center of such amazing attention! She had never been treated with such respectful caution by Brother Lu! The person who impersonated her was actually doing better than she was! It was too hateful! She would never let that person off! She would make the person who dared to impersonate her rot in jail!