214: puzzle

[System!]

[Come out! Come out!]

Tu Nan's body felt incredibly heavy. She stared intently at The Emperor, causing the scroll to refresh once more.

Just two short lines of text.

There was nothing more to study.

[The Emperor, Flood Dragon (Divine-Grade)]

[Successful breeding can complete host gene chain: 15%]

It seemed fine, but...

[It changed once before, System! That time it was 10% and 20%, what exactly happened?]

[Calm down, host.]

[Don't give me that nonsense. Tell me, is this The Emperor?]

Had he been replaced?

Tu Nan suspected the man before her wasn't The Emperor himself, but perhaps a body double.

A clone? Those black nurseries were currently working on such things.

And the Empress Dowager was already involved in this matter.

But what was going on? The Emperor had clearly shown a deep-seated loathing for such things before. Was that all just a facade?

What need did he have to lie to her?

[Yes.]

To her surprise, the System answered her with certainty.

[Yes... what... The Emperor?]

Tu Nan's speculation was once again shattered by the System.

[The scroll you see is the System's judgment; it is read directly from my database.]

[Speed up the progress, host. My time is running out, and so is yours.]

[Someone is attacking me, please hurry. Once these Two Children are born, perhaps the permissions can be opened slightly, I...]

The System vanished abruptly.

It was as if it had truly touched a red line regarding permissions.

These dialogues happened in a mere instant; Tu Nan had no time to think deeply.

In reality, The Emperor's pressure on her didn't relax in the slightest.

Enduring the tremors of being stared down by a natural enemy, Tu Nan forced out two words.

"Your... Majesty..."

She tried to get him to let her go.

But The Emperor remained unmoved.

Tu Nan thought of her previous method—the cat!

She didn't care if the method was elegant; she only wanted him to relax his grip on her.

Summoning the feeling within her body, she tried to let the black cat soften The Emperor's coldness.

But that energy only flowed through her body for a moment before getting stuck.

"Oh? What are you trying to do?"

His Slit Pupils turned slowly. Amidst her panicked expression, The Emperor reached out and slowly stroked down from her cheek.

His hand moved slowly down along her carotid artery and stopped just above her collarbone.

He pressed down.

Tu Nan's blood felt as if it were being squeezed past his hand.

"You can't turn into a cat anymore, can you?"

The Emperor's voice was slow, low, and casual.

"You see, you still don't understand me well enough. Otherwise, you would know..."

"...what a 'Domain' is."

A look of pleading entered Tu Nan's eyes.

"Oh, wait. You've already shown quite a lot of concern for me."

He pinched Tu Nan's chin.

"When did I ever praise Pamela? Why don't I remember, hmm?"

"Hmm, let me guess what's going on in that head of yours?" He thought for a moment, his eyes curving.

"Do you think I've been replaced?"

He released Tu Nan and began to chuckle to himself. While laughing, he said to Yuan Zhe.

"Look, isn't her courage startlingly great? Now you know why I value her so highly. Hain, Jiamu—who among them has her kind of guts?"

The Emperor laughed out loud.

Tu Nan looked at Yuan Zhe, who stood smiling to one side, her thoughts racing.

Yes, if things were truly as crazy as she thought, then this "body double" would have far too many people, matters, and things to handle.

And the key was the Talent.

His Majesty's S-Rank Talent wasn't something a simple replacement could pull off.

Even with cloning... it made no sense for even the Talent skills to be identical.

If that was the case, then...

"Fine." The Emperor seemed to lose interest.

"I told you, if you want to gain something, you must always pay a price."

"A price of this level is nothing compared to what I want to obtain."

Tu Nan looked dazed.

He knew the content of their previous conversation.

Then the price he mentioned—perhaps it was something like a split personality?

But she really couldn't ask any further.

It seemed The Emperor intended to let her off the hook, and he would certainly never speak of the "price" regarding himself.

Tu Nan suspected that others might have noticed something as well, but no one had questioned The Emperor as directly as she had.

Sure enough, The Emperor said the same.

"How can you be so smart one moment and so foolish the next?"

The cold sweat on Tu Nan's back hadn't dried yet, but she automatically grasped a bit of the skill of a Sycophant.

Forcing a slight, bitter smile, she said to The Emperor.

"I often forget that you are The Emperor. It is Your Majesty's teachings these days that have made me lose sight of my duty as a subject."

"And what is the duty of a subject?"

"Um... loyalty? Obedience? Serving the country and the people?"

Tu Nan stole a glance at His Majesty the Emperor with every word she chose.

However, she saw that he was completely unsatisfied, his expression remaining unmoved.

"Stupid."

His Majesty commented with a single word.

Tu Nan quickly shut her mouth, feeling that this Majesty was very difficult to please.

"I ask for Your Majesty's guidance," she said humbly.

The Emperor walked back to the throne, leaning back. After watching Tu Nan for a long while, he suddenly patted the seat beside him.

"Come," he said.

Tu Nan was stunned.

"Cat."

...No matter why, she had to satisfy The Emperor right now.

The black cat trotted up to the chair and lay down beside The Emperor.

The Emperor's warm, large hand stroked her fur, over and over.

"Just like this," he suddenly spoke.

Tu Nan's ears twitched.

"Think about it slowly. Expecting me to tell you the answer is not the duty of a subject."

The Emperor wore a smile that invited contemplation, finally letting go of this cat who had scratched at his Reverse Scale.

The interaction between the man and the cat seemed quite warm.

Tu Nan curled up there, thinking about the information the System had just revealed.

She had understood.

Regardless of what this System was, it was clearly being restricted by some higher rules.

Most of its energy seemed to be focused on countering attacks.

It was waiting for Tu Nan's Children—those who carried specific genes.

Tu Nan guessed:

S-Rank Divine-Grade genes. It was looking forward to power of such a level to achieve one of its goals.

What was it? Was it dangerous?Check schema for gender enum.

Tu Nan purred softly, her eyes narrowed.

She wouldn't choose not to give birth to the Children just because she had guessed this.

The System couldn't directly threaten the Children; all its various abilities seemed only able to affect her.

If Tu Nan was the medium standing between it and the Children...

...then the Children would naturally always be safe.

Tu Nan smiled.

But why her?

The System could recognize the gene providers it needed in this world, yet it chose to pick a Soul from another world to carry out the task of childbearing.

Doesn't this mean... only she can do it?

Her most obvious difference was being an "Outsider."

Very good.

It seemed she was the System's unique choice.

Knowing this, she would always be able to find a way to manipulate the System.

Not enough time? Excellent.

Without a sense of urgency, how was she going to force the System to spit out everything within its permissions?

But for now, both the System and she understood that she would definitely give birth to the Children in her belly.

So, that appropriate time for manipulation... would fall upon His Majesty.

Yes, she hadn't forgotten; this man was not only the ruler of the Empire but also her next mission target.

Now, he had another identity.

Bait to fish for the System.

Tu Nan rubbed against The Emperor's palm.

Regardless of what had happened to this Emperor, at least the 15% was still there.

That was good.

She should still keep her priorities straight and restrain her dangerous curiosity.

Closing her eyes, Tu Nan drifted straight off to sleep.