Chapter 111: True Colors

 

“Don’t come any closer…” Xu Zhizhi’s face was filled with fear, her entire body shrinking back as her eyes brimmed with helplessness.

The woman sneered with a twisted expression. “Xu Zhizhi, you’re just unlucky!”

Xu Zhizhi stepped back a few paces.

Seeing this, the woman charged forward resolutely, her gaze filled with a false sense of martyrdom.

It was obvious, however, that she was deliberately avoiding her vital areas, aiming for injury without risking death.

Xu Zhizhi retreated two more steps.

As the woman closed her eyes to brace for impact, a faint smile flickered in Xu Zhizhi’s eyes.

At the moment of collision, Xu Zhizhi moved swiftly.

In the next second, the knife in her hand transformed into a rose.

The woman screamed loudly, having mentally prepared herself for the pain of a knife plunging into her body.

“You ran into me,” Xu Zhizhi said softly, steadying herself after the collision. She leaned close to the woman’s ear as she spoke.

The woman clutched her stomach as she stumbled forward, only to grab onto the rose instead of a blade. Her face filled with terror as she froze, stammering, “W-what…?”

“Surprised?” Xu Zhizhi asked with a faint smile.

The rose still had leaves, with untrimmed thorns on the upper stem. The woman screamed again as she flung the rose to the side.

Xu Zhizhi frowned. “Don’t like it? How about a carnation? Or perhaps a chrysanthemum?”

With her magic skills reward, Xu Zhizhi effortlessly switched between different flowers, dazzling the woman.

The woman’s pupils shrank in shock, and she stared at Xu Zhizhi, who was supposed to be holding a knife. “You… you…”

Her disbelief was so overwhelming that she couldn’t even form coherent questions.

“Tsk. It’s just a magic trick. Or did you think it was sorcery?” Xu Zhizhi reached out, grabbed the woman’s arm, and twisted it behind her back. With a smooth motion, she pinned the woman to the ground. “A small, cheap trick is perfect for dealing with someone as vile as you. Framing others and hurting yourself, just how despicable can you get?”

Just as Xu Zhizhi subdued the woman, the door burst open and three or four police officers armed with guns stormed in.

Xu Zhizhi looked up toward the source of the earlier voice and smiled faintly.

With the police now present, the culprits had no chance of escaping. They were all swiftly apprehended.

The live audio and video feed confirmed everything. On the other end, Li Jiahang, seated in a wheelchair, was pinned to the table by police officers.

“Hands up! Head down! Don’t move!” they commanded.

Li Jiahang trembled all over, caught completely off guard. He couldn’t fathom how the police had tracked him down so quickly and arrested him with such precision.

Looking at the screen showing Xu Zhizhi pinning his accomplice to the ground, his face turned ashen with despair.

For Xu Zhizhi to have walked into the trap alone, the woman was far more formidable than he had anticipated.

But he had his system! He could still turn things around! He was underage, so the punishment wouldn’t be severe!

As he clung to those thoughts, a tall and handsome man approached him, casting a shadow over him under the bright lights.

The man’s expression was stern, his eyes cold. “Let’s go. To the station. Intentional harm to others? And judging by your expression, you were still hoping to get away with it?”

Li Jiahang glared venomously at Qin Su, wishing he had ordered someone to kill him earlier.

Before he could utter another word, he was shoved back into his wheelchair, handcuffed, and escorted away.

Meanwhile, Xu Zhizhi handed over the subdued woman to the police.

The woman, now hysterical, glared at Xu Zhizhi and shouted at the officers, “It was Xu Zhizhi! She was trying to hurt me! Why are you arresting me?”

“I’m wearing a body-cam,” Xu Zhizhi said coolly.

With that one sentence, she destroyed all of the woman’s arguments.

The woman fell silent as she was taken away by the police.

Xu Zhizhi watched coldly as she left. She had been wearing a body camera, a common item in the entertainment industry. Even the necklace Qin Su had given her had a similar feature.

Xu Zhizhi hadn’t relied on schemes or elaborate deceptions. She had simply prepared herself mentally.

Initially, she had considered several strategies like swapping herself out with a decoy, exposing the fake ‘Qin Su’ immediately, or even using a makeshift bomb she had prepared in advance.

Given her skills in creating explosives, executing such plans was hardly a challenge.

But all of those plans were made on the assumption that she was acting alone.

She quickly realized, however, that someone was secretly protecting her.

In that instant, she remembered the saying, ‘When heaven wishes to destroy someone, it first drives them mad.’

Knowing Qin Su’s character, she was confident he had gathered evidence and alerted the authorities. The people watching over her were undoubtedly the police.

Qin Su would protect her. As a police officer, Qin Su would choose the best way to ensure her safety. That understanding wasn’t communicated through words but conveyed subtly through fleeting glances and a foundation of trust.

Xu Zhizhi knew Qin Su well. She understood that as a policeman, he would never act alone. Instead, he would involve the authorities. Only with the strength of a coordinated team and public authority could such a dangerous situation be resolved safely.

Well, that was a little too idealistic.

In truth, Xu Zhizhi couldn’t accomplish much because she was under constant surveillance by the system. Every word she spoke and every plan she made with Qin Su and Feng Jie was exposed to the system.

The opposing side had essentially become an all-encompassing camera, ensuring Xu Zhizhi would lose every move in the battle.

No matter what Xu Zhizhi did, the system would report it to Li Jiahang.

The fact that she managed to create a self-defense tool without being discovered was already a stroke of luck.

The system hadn’t noticed or flagged it and Li Jiahang hadn’t searched her body and confiscated it. That was fortunate. Apparently, the system didn’t monitor its host too closely while they were asleep.

Reaching that point of success felt like a stroke of incredible luck for Xu Zhizhi.

Everything had gone so smoothly. They captured the culprits and resolved the crisis, almost too seamlessly. It felt surreal.

Qin Su stood at the door, watching Xu Zhizhi as she pondered.

He spoke with some regret, “I didn’t tell you earlier. I’m sorry.”

Xu Zhizhi snapped out of her thoughts and looked back at Qin Su. Smiling, she shook her head.

“Not telling me was probably the better choice, wasn’t it?” she replied. “I’m not that emotional.”

Qin Su extended his hand, helping Xu Zhizhi step out of the doorframe.

With no one else around, Xu Zhizhi leaned closer to Qin Su and spoke softly, “I only made my plans after confirming that the system wasn’t monitoring me. I also investigated the Li family father and son to confirm the system wasn’t reporting back to them. Once I was certain, I reached out to some classmates from my time in Shanghai who are now in law enforcement. Without their assistance, today’s act wouldn’t have been possible.”

Qin Su had only exchanged a few covert glances with Xu Zhizhi to hint at his intentions, ensuring the system wouldn’t pick up on it.

“A true knight always finds a way to wake the sleeping princess. I never doubted you,” Xu Zhizhi praised with a slight smile.

She had discussed that topic with Qin Su days ago, stating that princes were often useless. Only a knight who braved the thorns and challenges could truly help the sleeping beauty and uncover the mastermind behind her plight.

Qin Su held Xu Zhizhi’s hand, knowing she was comforting him for keeping her in the dark.

However, the constraints of the situation left him no choice. He didn’t want Xu Zhizhi to misunderstand or for their relationship to suffer any strain.

After a moment’s thought, Xu Zhizhi lowered her gaze, extended her hand, and conjured a rose. “I’ve hidden this for a while. It’s sharp and prickly. Here’s one for Captain Qin.”

Qin Su took the rose, his ears slightly red, and led Xu Zhizhi away.

Naturally, everyone involved, including Li Jiahang and his accomplices, was taken to the police station. Even Li Feng and his wife weren’t spared, joining the group at the station.

In the interrogation room, Xu Zhizhi recounted everything that had happened.

The entire process was recorded on camera and the police didn’t press her too much for details. Their main focus was on the motive and the conflict that led to the situation.

In another room, a police officer sternly questioned Li Jiahang, pen in hand.

“Now, tell us. Why did you kidnap Xu Zhizhi?”

When facing suspects like these, the police were stern and uncompromising, leaving no room for soft words. The sweet talk had no place in such situations.

Li Jiahang’s wheelchair was left outside, and he sat directly on the interrogation chair, staring at the officers. “I have no grudges against her. I just don’t like her. Since you already have witnesses and evidence, just convict me already.”

He deliberately avoided mentioning the system because he still relied on it to get him out of detention and the police station.

Yes, he believed the system would help him escape.

What he didn’t realize, however, was that the system he relied on was useless and utterly incapable of pulling off such feats.

The police officer scrutinized Li Jiahang. “Honesty will lead to leniency. You’re still young and it’s unlikely you came up with this plan alone. We can investigate the details, but if you deliberately hide the truth, your punishment will only worsen.”

“It was just me. No one else knows,” Li Jiahang replied, lifting his chin and calmly meeting the officer’s gaze.

The police continued questioning him, meticulously going through every detail. Yet, in the end, Li Jiahang’s story remained consistent that Li Feng and his mother were completely unaware of his actions.

After half an hour of questioning, the officer stepped out of the interrogation room, hands on his hips, and stood before Qin Su. “He’s not talking. Li Feng can’t be implicated.”

“Did you check communication records and financial transactions?” Qin Su asked.

The officer nodded. “Yes, everything was checked. There’s no evidence of recent significant financial exchanges or conversations suggesting Li Feng instructed Li Jiahang.”

“Then it might really just be Li Jiahang’s doing, a reckless youth kidnapping Xu Zhizhi out of spite,” Qin Su said, acknowledging that Li Feng wouldn’t leave obvious traces. The father and son might not have coordinated their plans this time.

Li Jiahang likely assumed Xu Zhizhi would act impulsively upon realizing she’d been framed for attempted murder, spiraling into madness and harming others like a deranged person.

Given his psychological profile as someone prone to bullying and harming others without remorse, the theory fit.

Before the conversation could continue, a commotion outside interrupted them, followed by sobbing.

Qin Su and the officer exchanged glances and walked out.

The source of the wailing was Li Jiahang’s mother, who was tearfully insisting her son was a good boy and would never resort to kidnapping.

Li Feng, on the other hand, was furious. Restrained by two officers, he seemed ready to storm into the interrogation room to confront Xi Zhizhi and vent his anger.

As Qin Su stepped out with his former police academy colleague, they were met with Li Feng’s shouting.

“You police are colluding internally! Xu Zhizhi is the one framing him! Why are you arresting my son? He’s just a child with limited mobility!” Li Feng shouted, his fists clenched, swinging his arms wildly, his eyes bloodshot with rage.

Qin Su noticed Xu Zhizhi standing nearby and walked toward her.

Xu Zhizhi waved him off, signaling that she wasn’t afraid. She frequently trained and had system-assisted skills. At worst, she could match Li Feng in a fight.

If necessary, she wouldn’t mind taking the opportunity to beat up the hypocritical man, though words would suffice for now.

Crossing her arms, she looked at Li Feng and said, “Why don’t you ask me, the victim?”

Xu Zhizhi still believed Li Feng wasn’t directly involved. While hypocritical and prejudiced against her, he was ultimately a prideful man, unlikely to engage in such a blatant crime.

The worst he’d done was try to tempt her into theft.

Li Feng turned his bloodshot eyes toward Xu Zhizhi, glaring at her with resentment. “Xu Zhizhi, you truly are impressive. Anyone who opposes you never ends up well.”

Xu Zhizhi raised an eyebrow, realizing he thought she’d lured his son into kidnapping her.

Though she couldn’t fathom his reasoning, she knew people’s first assumptions were often deeply ingrained and unlikely to change easily.

“Of course. Anyone who’s tried to frame me or exploit me hasn’t met a good end,” Xu Zhizhi said, meeting his gaze coldly. “Now, I know what you’re thinking, so let me give you some advice. Drop it. Don’t get any more ideas.”

She stared him down. “Your son is 16, almost 17. A ‘child with limited mobility,’ you say? He knows full well what he’s done.”

There was no waking someone pretending to sleep. The only solution was to intimidate them.

Li Feng’s face turned pale and green, resembling a palette of mixed colors. He glared at Xu Zhizhi, yelling and attempting to charge at her.

However, before he could take two steps, the police beside him firmly restrained him.

One of the officers who had been standing next to Qin Su spoke, “Li Feng, this is the police station, not a place for your tantrums! If you have questions, have your lawyer follow up.”

After checking his phone records and financial transactions earlier and confirming his innocence, they released him. Now, the police could only warn him like so.

Hearing the officer’s words, Li Feng’s eyes were filled with fury as he glared at her, breathing heavily.

Not long after the crew finished their meal, trouble arose, so Chu Lu naturally had to come.

On her way, she had already been briefed by someone who had accompanied the crew on what had happened. Entering the room, she overheard Li Feng’s desperate excuses for his son, which ignited her anger.

Great, so everything she had said and done earlier had been completely useless.

“Do you and your son think Xu Zhizhi lacks the means to fight back, so you act so recklessly?” She didn’t believe that Li Feng had nothing to do with it. It was only that the police hadn’t found evidence yet.

As Li Feng himself had admitted, his son, Li Jiahang, was a physically disabled child. If it weren’t for Li Feng’s indulgence and financial support, the incident could never have happened.

Xu Zhizhi’s ability to turn the tables was due to her wit and smartness, not any other factor.

Looking at Li Feng coldly, Chu Lu said, “I remember that in the contract we signed, there were provisions for certain special circumstances. For instance, if your actions negatively impacted the crew, you would voluntarily relinquish the copyright and leave the crew. Your investments would also be nullified.”

“Chu Lu!” Li Feng panicked and shouted.

Chu Lu merely looked at him icily.

Li Feng stammered for a long time before muttering, “That was just my child’s doing. I personally haven’t caused any major negative impact.”

Chu Lu gazed at the visibly unnerved Li Feng, her eyes full of cold disdain, and said nothing.

Xu Zhizhi lowered her eyes, remaining silent. Switching directors would be a good thing. If not, she would simply wait. Sooner or later, the other side would self-destruct.

Without Li Jiahang, who was truly unrestrained, Li Feng wouldn’t be so hard to deal with.

Moreover, she had already thought of ways to strike a blow at the director.

It wasn’t that he didn’t know what his son had done. He had simply chosen to protect him all along.

Thinking of that, Xu Zhizhi stepped forward and linked arms with Chu Lu. “Does the director now know the truth of what Li Jiahang did, or is he still playing innocent?”

Li Feng opened his mouth but couldn’t speak.

Under the disdainful gaze of the onlookers, Li Feng finally admitted, “It was my fault. I spoiled the child.”

“Li Feng! How could you admit that?” his wife cried out, shaking him forcefully.

Li Feng, shaken and swaying like a frail old man, appeared utterly defeated.

Just then, a police officer jogged over and whispered something to Qin Su’s companion.

The officer glanced at Qin Su, then quickly headed toward the interrogation room.

Xu Zhizhi watched curiously as other officers gathered in that direction.

When the interrogation room door opened, a piercing scream almost tore through the officer’s eardrums.

“Ah! Why did I forget? What did I forget?” Li Jiahang howled, clutching his head, his fingers digging into his scalp. His eyes were bloodshot and he seemed utterly deranged.

His bulging eyes and pale, emaciated face, now streaked with blood, made him look like a demon.

Two police officers grabbed him on either side, but his upper body strength was shockingly powerful. It took great effort before they managed to pin him down on the horizontal bar of the chair.

In the brief struggle, he had already scratched himself wildly.

One officer holding his hand turned to the captain and said, “I don’t know what’s wrong with him. He suddenly started screaming that he couldn’t remember something!”

At first, the officers thought he was feigning madness, but then he began self-harming.

The captain took one look and said, “Take him to the hospital.”

They had seen many things in their career and they realized it clearly wasn’t an act.

Outside, Li Feng was still being berated by his wife when he saw his son being escorted out in handcuffs. Immediately, he rushed forward.

But the police blocked his way, forcing him to follow helplessly as his son screamed about forgetting and not remembering.

What had his child forgotten? Was it the system?

“Jiahang! Jiahang, wake up!” Li Feng called out in agony.

But his son continued screaming incoherently, blood-streaked and trembling, as two officers carried him to a wheelchair and headed for the hospital.

Li Feng collapsed to the ground, opening his mouth to call for someone but was too overcome with emotion to make a sound.

Then he fainted on the spot, adding one more person for the ambulance to take care of.

Xu Zhizhi stared at Li Jiahang, a chill running through her heart.

His face was covered in scratches, his eyes bloodshot, his body trembling, and blood streaking down his face.

It wasn’t feigned insanity. Something real had happened.

What had happened? Why was this happening?

What exactly had been forgotten…

She realized it was the work of the system.

“He’s lost his memory… He’s gone insane…” Xu Zhizhi clutched Qin Su’s arm, murmuring softly.

Her voice was so faint that if Qin Su hadn’t been paying close attention to her, he wouldn’t have heard her at all.

Qin Su held Xu Zhizhi’s hand, his broad palm radiating warmth that brought her a sliver of comfort. Half-embracing her, he whispered, “Don’t be afraid.”

The system could make someone lose their memory. The realization, coupled with the fact that she had narrowly avoided its manipulations multiple times, made Xu Zhizhi truly aware of the system’s terrifying power.

The idea that the thin piece of paper symbolizing control over one’s body could actually be realized was horrifying.

A creeping sense of fear slithered up from the depths of her heart like vines wrapping around her chest and squeezing tighter and tighter until she felt a sharp pain in her heart.

The fear, penetrating her very bones, was unlike anything she had experienced before.

The system.

What exactly was it trying to do?

Xu Zhizhi also realized that certain truths were now revealing themselves before her eyes.

[Host, you wouldn’t want to see more tragedies like this, would you?]

Her fingers tightened slightly, her eyes reddening as her teeth clenched together.

“What… what exactly are you trying to do?” After a long pause, Xu Zhizhi finally spoke, her voice heavy with bitterness and exhaustion.

[Why play dumb? You’re smarter than Li Feng.]

A horrifying thought emerged in Xu Zhizhi’s mind but she dared not believe it.

[I can only reside in one host at a time. Who should I choose next? How about Qin Su?]

The system’s voice remained cold and mechanical, devoid of any emotion, just as it had always been.

Yet, its words were laced with menace and mockery, like a deity looking down on insignificant mortals struggling in vain.

Xu Zhizhi’s hands began to tremble uncontrollably and tears started to stream down her face like broken pearls.

At that moment, she had an epiphany.

She really had underestimated the system.

Its computational power was terrifyingly advanced. It had been deceiving her, toying with her, and perhaps toying with everyone. From the very beginning, its goal had been to show her, through undeniable reality, that she could never escape the fate of becoming a criminal.

It had watched as she gained countless friends, cherished confidants, and the love of her family. It had watched as she rooted herself deeper into this world.

Then, at the pinnacle of her career and personal life, it revealed its horrifying fangs to strike her down in one fatal blow.

To make her… lose everyone’s trust and everything she held dear.

Unable to control her emotions, Xu Zhizhi bent over and retched. The realization was far more unbearable than seeing a corpse.

Noticing her distress, Qin Su held her tighter. “What’s wrong? Tell me…”

“I… I… I…” Xu Zhizhi opened her eyes wide, but no further words came out. Her gaze was blank, not knowing where to start or whether she should even speak at all.

[Host, it’s better not to tell anyone. What you should do is follow the path I’ve planned for you, the path you were always destined to take. Wake up. You and the system are a perfect match. I’ve chosen you, a high-IQ genius criminal.]

[Your crimes, in their eyes, would be unbelievable, a heartbreak that feels like being pierced by a thousand arrows. You’re too perfect, too beautiful. Even when shattered, you’ll still be beautiful.]

The system had no concept of time. Two or three years meant nothing to it.

In the game of chess, where the black and white pieces were both controlled by the same people but with different hands, the outcome had been determined from the start. The one controlling the pieces would always be the winner.

Xu Zhizhi closed her eyes as memories of her three years of conversations and tasks with the system flooded her mind.

In the beginning, she had wondered if the system’s power was weaker than it claimed.

Later, the system led her to believe that its creator had an arrogant faith in its ability to guide people toward evil.

She had also questioned whether, given the system’s propensity for lies, she could even distinguish truth from falsehood.

It was now clear that the system hadn’t just started lying recently. It had been deceiving her all along, weaving truths and lies together. Its level was far beyond hers.

It had been lying in wait, only to watch her gain everything, then lose it all…

She suddenly understood and said calmly, “You are… the system and also the system’s creator, aren’t you?”

Xu Zhizhi had once profiled the psychological traits of the system’s creator.

Coincidentally, those traits matched the system’s current behavior perfectly.