The system was actually reluctant to offer this newcomer's gift package, as it was a universal package distributed by the main system, often containing some strange items. It was meant for those entering various alternate worlds, giving them some rewards to help stabilize their mood and adapt quickly to the new world.
However, this package was not suitable for the villains being pursued!
When the system first bonded with its host, it should have immediately distributed the newcomer's gift package. But at that time, Xue Chenjing had sneered at it. Even if the system had tried to tempt him with the newcomer's package, he would have disdained it. So the system had simply shoved the package into its storage to gather dust.
Now, in a moment of urgency, it had revealed its existence and could no longer cover it up.
The newcomer's package was divided into two parts: first, physical rewards, and second, a beginner's guide compiled by the main system based on experiences from various worlds, for the host's reference.
Xue Chenjing flipped through the physical rewards. "Beauty pills, skin-perfecting tablets, eyelash growth serum? What's this 'Passionate Love Potion'?"
The system hurriedly said, "You don't need that, it's not useful now."
Before the system could finish speaking, Xue Chenjing had already unscrewed the cap and taken a sniff. A thin tendril slipped into the bottle's mouth and dipped into the liquid.
The crimson liquid clung to the transparent tentacle, its alcoholic aroma transmitted to his consciousness through countless sensory organs at the tip.
The system drew in a sharp breath.
Xue Chenjing shook his tentacle, sneering, "So it's an aphrodisiac. I wouldn't stoop to using such a thing."
Seeing that he didn't seem affected, the system breathed a sigh of relief.
But then Xue Chenjing tossed aside the Passionate Love Potion and picked up another item, curiously turning it over, "Secondary sexual characteristic development hormone?"
Why was it that he recognized every word individually, but put together, he couldn't understand what this strange thing was?
The system: "..." It knew that the more it said not to do something, the more its host would want to try it, so this time it simply remained silent.
Xue Chenjing held the box, not knowing how to open it. Finally losing patience, he irritably tossed it aside.
His hand reached for the beauty pills again, taking one out and popping it into his mouth. He then picked up a nearby mirror to look, but after a long while, his appearance in the mirror hadn't changed at all. He slammed down the mirror, angry, "Are you trying to fool me with fake goods?"
The system: "Master, I told you, your looks are already more than sufficient. You should have confidence in yourself and not doubt yourself because of a small setback."
Xue Chenjing cast a disdainful look at the pile of strange, useless junk, and finally opened the experience package guide. A flash of white light appeared in the void, and a line of text emerged:
[Host's current world detected. Now automatically matching appropriate beginner's guide for the host. This guide is for reference only. Please adapt according to actual situations and do not overly rely on the guide.
Loading beginner's tutorial, please wait...]
The system had already given up struggling.
Xue Chenjing shed his outer robe and loosened his clothes, sitting cross-legged on the bed, watching with interest as the circle spun in front of him. After a while, the white light flashed, and with a ding, another line of text appeared:
[Beginner's tutorial start. "100-Day Conquest Plan" officially begins. Please confirm daily conquest tasks promptly. After completion, please check the box on the right. If not completed, please mark an X in the box.]
[100-Day Conquest Plan Day 1: Find an opportunity to appear before the conquest target in a unique way, making a lasting impression.
Best entrance method reference: When the conquest target faces a major crisis or life-threatening situation, the host descends from the sky, rescuing them from danger.
Best dialogue reference: "I'm here to help you! Don't worry, with me here, nothing will happen to you." Note: Please be sure to say this before they try to kill you.]
"What is this?" Xue Chenjing squinted in confusion, grabbing the light screen and pulling it close to his face, reading word by word. He frowned, "Major crisis? She's perfectly fine now, when would there be a life-threatening situation?"
Of course, the female lead wouldn't have such moments, but if you were the conquest target, there would be plenty of such times.
The system thought silently, trying to explain, "This was originally a suggestion for your first meeting, but since you've already met for the first time, it's not really relevant anymore."
Moreover, their first meeting had obviously failed. It had scared the female lead so much that she had been running away for so long.
"Let's mark this with an X and move on to the next day."
The system finished speaking and waited for a while without seeing any reaction from its host. It then belatedly realized that something was off with its host.
Xue Chenjing's eyes were red at the corners, his gaze unfocused. His clothes were in disarray, having been pulled apart by himself. Several tentacles slid down from the bed, writhing on the floor like snakes.
Normally, these tendrils should have been transparent and barely noticeable, but now they had a faint redness inside, making them visible in the air.
The system exclaimed in shock, "Master? Master, are you still conscious?"
Xue Chenjing was still staring blankly at the light screen, furrowing his brow as he fumbled with the glowing text, reading word by word: "Don't worry, with me here, nothing will happen to you..."
The system: "..." Oh my goodness, I told you not to mess with that bottle!
"Why... is it a bit hot?" Xue Chenjing mumbled dully. The text on the light screen had turned into glowing tadpoles swimming back and forth in his eyes. He rubbed his eyes hard, trying to see them clearly.
But the more he rubbed, the blurrier his vision became. Finally, the light screen scattered into countless sparks and disappeared.
Xue Chenjing gasped for air. His body wasn't actually that hot, but his pseudopods were burning, causing him to extrude more tentacles from the void.
The flushed tentacles crowded together, thrashing wildly, knocking over the furniture in the room and pressing against the walls, which creaked as if about to burst.
The system anxiously said, "Master, drink some water, drink lots of cold water."
Hearing its words, Xue Chenjing's tendrils wriggled over, finding the shattered teapot on the ground, and rolling in the spilled cold tea. The cold tea on the floor did make him feel a bit better, but only slightly.
This small amount of tea was far from enough to cool so many tentacles. In their struggle to roll in the tea, his tentacles were almost fighting each other.
Xue Chenjing lay confused at the edge of the bed, half propping himself up. He pointed at the mass of tentacles fighting over the tea and angrily said, "Don't fight!"
The system: "..."
Even more tentacles that couldn't get to the tea and were unbearably hot began to climb up the doors and windows, trying to get out.
The system shouted in Xue Chenjing's mind, "Master! Control yourself! If you go out like this, you'll be discovered. You can't go out! Don't let your pseudopods crawl out!"
Xue Chenjing nodded obediently, frantically trying to grab his pseudopods and drag them back onto the bed.
But these tendrils, usually as responsive as his own limbs, now completely ignored his commands. He'd grab one, only for another to slip down. When he lunged to pull that one back, another would crawl up the window, desperately trying to poke outside.
The unrelenting heat surging through the tentacles burned into his consciousness through countless sensory organs. Xue Chenjing's mind felt like it was on fire, as if engulfed in a wildfire, burning away all reason.
Yet he had no way to release this burning sensation.
Looking at the frenzied tentacles all over the room, Xue Chenjing felt a surge of rage. He drew a sigil in the air with his fingers. The sigil formed an array, from which several streaks of light shot out, transforming into sharp ice spikes. With a series of thuds, they pinned down all the wildly crawling tentacles.
The system: "!!!" What are you doing?!
Intense pain suddenly flooded his senses. Xue Chenjing doubled over in agony, curling up on the bed and trembling. Demonic energy continuously leaked from the wounds in his tendrils.
In the middle of the night, the night market in Yinzhou City had long since closed. The neon lights had dimmed significantly, with only scattered lights remaining in the shadows of the city's buildings.
On the two door god statues that stood day and night at the city gate, a strange light suddenly flickered. The statues seemed to sense something, their third eyes lighting up. Two shadows detached from the stone statues, transforming into enormous spectral images of the gods, as large as small mountains.
The door gods stood guard in the sky above Yinzhou City, holding long halberds. Their golden outlines depicted their imposing figures, with armor reflecting the city lights. They opened their eyes, slowly scanning the urban areas, searching for that faint trace of demonic aura they had sensed earlier.
Inside the inn, Yu Yi suddenly awoke from her sleep. The system's screams had penetrated the walls, faintly reaching her ears.
She sat up in bed and walked towards the wall between her room and Xue Chenjing's, wanting to listen carefully to what mischief was happening next door.
What scheme was he plotting with the system in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?
The wall vibrated, actually cracking in several places. The system's voice became clearer, calling out urgently: "Master, come to your senses! Quickly suppress your demonic aura! If the door gods discover you, you'll be executed."
After these words, there was more rustling from next door. The cracks in the wall widened, allowing Yu Yi to glimpse part of the scene through them.
In the dim light, Xue Chenjing was curled up on the bed, tears at the corners of his eyes and blood dripping from his mouth onto a large red stain on the sheets. His expression seemed off, indeed not quite lucid.
Yu Yi took another step forward, trying to see more through the crack. Suddenly the wall before her shook violently, collapsing to form a hole.
The falling section of wall was caught by tentacles and crushed to powder.
Yu Yi's eyes widened in surprise through the rising dust.
She saw the room on the other side filled with writhing tentacles on the floor. The tentacles were reddish, each one pierced by icicles of varying sizes that gave off light, bathing the entire room in a glow so it wasn't completely dark.
The system was still trying to rouse Xue Chenjing's reason, warning: "Host, the door gods have detected your leaking demonic aura. If you don't suppress it, you'll be discovered."
Yu Yi turned her head to look out the half-open window of her own room, seeing the ethereal figures of the gods hovering above Yinzhou City. She immediately summoned her Green Bamboo Sword, forming a barrier of sword light to contain the roomful of tentacles and his leaking demonic aura.
"What madness are you up to in the middle of the night?" Yu Yi asked in confusion.
Xue Chenjing raised his head slightly. Seeing her, his eyes seemed to clear a little. He said pitifully, "Master, they... won't listen."
Yu Yi was speechless. Are you tattling to me?
Those are your tentacles. If they won't listen, what good does complaining to me do?
"It hurts so much, Master. They won't listen, so I can only pin them down, but it hurts so much, Master, it hurts so much..." Xue Chenjing rambled weakly from the bed.
Yu Yi glanced again at the patrolling door gods outside, realizing her sword light barrier wouldn't conceal things for long.
Seeing Xue Chenjing's pained expression, she hesitated for a moment before stepping through the hole in the wall into his room. Looking at the tentacles pinned to the floor, she found herself at a loss for where to step.
Xue Chenjing lay on the edge of the bed, looking at her with unfocused eyes. He asked, "Is it disgusting? Do you find me repulsive? They're usually well-behaved, just like a tail, only without fur. I can make them grow fur too, would you like that?"
Yu Yi couldn't help but imagine it as he spoke, feeling her skin crawl. Furry tentacles, what kind of monstrosity was that?!
"You still find me disgusting after all." Xue Chenjing's gaze passed over her to the golden glow of the gods flashing outside the window, then back to her. In an enticing tone, he said, "Will you abandon me then? You just need to open that window and the door gods will find me. Then you can be rid of me. Master, do you want to open the window?"
"You can open it. I won't blame you, because you're my master. You can do anything to me. So, will you open it? Will you abandon me?"
System: I think she will. She really will! You don't need to be in such a rush to die.
Indeed, Yu Yi took two steps towards the window. "Fine, keep rambling and I'll withdraw my sword and open the window to throw you out."
Xue Chenjing finally fell silent. Though his words had sounded agreeable, when he saw her actually intending to do it, his expression instantly darkened. Those hazy eyes clouded over as he stared at her accusingly.
As if the moment she dared to touch that window, he would be utterly heartbroken and grief-stricken for her to see.
Yu Yi felt her heart skip a beat under that gaze. She forced herself to tear her eyes away from him, looking down at the tentacles covering the floor. She asked, "If I help you remove the icicles and free one tentacle at a time, can you retract them one by one?"
Xue Chenjing kept staring at her, the darkness in his eyes seeming to dissipate somewhat. His pupils trembled as he struggled to focus. "Alright."
Yu Yi crouched by one of the writhing appendages and shattered the icicles pinning it down. The tentacle tip immediately rose up, twining around her fingertips and up her wrist to coil around her shoulder, squirming intimately.
Xue Chenjing sniffled as the tentacle slithered wetly across her neck. His gaze grew unfocused again as he murmured, "You smell so good, Master. So good."
Yu Yi: "???" You're so perverted! Even at a time like this, you can still be a pervert. Seems it doesn't hurt that much after all.
Yu Yi caught a whiff of alcohol from the tentacle on her shoulder. She grabbed hold of it, turning to give the man on the bed an exasperated look. "Xue Chenjing, stop this drunken nonsense. Focus and retract it."
Xue Chenjing closed his eyes and shook his head before sitting up, concentrating intently on that tentacle.
After a while, the constricting sensation on her shoulder finally vanished.
Yu Yi wiped her neck with her sleeve before moving to another tentacle and shattering its icicles. This one tried to wrap around her too, but she mercilessly stepped on it.
In her haste, she hadn't put on shoes. Her bare foot pressed directly onto the tentacle, feeling the suckers on her sole as it curled and writhed beneath her.
A tingling sensation shot from her foot up to her scalp like electricity. Yu Yi's toes instantly curled as she turned to glare at Xue Chenjing. "Do you want a beating?"
Xue Chenjing looked bewildered at being scolded, blinking innocently. He shook his head, "No, it hurts when you hit me."
"Then hurry up and retract all of these."
Xue Chenjing furrowed his brow, struggling for a moment before finally retracting another tentacle. They repeated this process until the floor was cleared.
The demonic aura permeating the room was drawn back in. Yu Yi peered through the window at the patrolling door gods in the sky.
The two divine apparitions circled for a long while, unable to find any trace. At last, they transformed into streaks of light and returned to the stone statues at the city gate.
Yu Yi let out a soft sigh of relief, then turned to find a pair of eyes staring directly at her. With the icicles gone, the room had grown dim again, but those eyes seemed to glow as they gazed at her unblinkingly, as if lucid yet not quite clear-headed.
His eyes were truly beautiful, like stars twinkling in the night sky. But Yu Yi had developed something of a psychological aversion to those beautiful eyes. She reflexively turned away, avoiding his gaze.
Then she remembered that Xue Chenjing had sworn an oath not to hypnotize her again. She frowned slightly and looked back at him.
Xue Chenjing sat dazed on the edge of the bed. He swayed once, then suddenly collapsed with a thud.
Yu Yi waited a moment, but he didn't respond. She flicked her finger to produce a wisp of sword qi flame. The small, ethereal fire floated in midair, illuminating the surroundings.
"Xue Chenjing?" she called out, stepping towards the bed to check on him.
The man on the bed suddenly opened his eyes again. He rubbed the corners of his eyes and sat up.
In the ghostly light of the flame, Yu Yi saw him give her an apologetic smile and say, "He injured himself too severely and lost consciousness."
