Chapter 3

Even though Zhao Kuo said it was nothing, Ying Yue noticed he looked troubled and asked, “Zhao, Zhao Kuo, are you okay?”

Then she cautiously added, “Do you have any bad history with Bai Qi?”

Hearing Ying Yue’s question, Zhao Kuo fell silent again. He and Bai Qi had a complicated relationship.

After thinking about it, he decided it was important for Ying Yue to know about the “bad fate” between him and Bai Qi. He said to her, “I almost died at the hands of Bai Qi.”

Zhao Kuo and his soldiers were surrounded by Bai Qi’s Qin army in Changping. They were cut off from help and food. In a desperate attempt to escape, they failed and were ultimately killed by a hail of arrows.

His voice was calm, as if he were recounting someone else’s story.

After hearing this, Ying Yue was silent.

“I’m sorry,” she said, lowering her eyes. Her delicate fingers twisted nervously. “I didn’t know…”

She never imagined such a tragic story lay behind it. To her, “hatred” meant just that the daughters of two families dislike each other. The battlefield, the enemy, and sudden death were concepts she had never considered. 

Before this, Ying Yue never thought she might be involved in such matters, but now it seemed these experiences would always accompany her.

Seeing confusion in Ying Yue’s eyes, Zhao Kuo raised his hand and gently touched her head to comfort her.

—After all, those events happened before we died. What’s the point of worrying about them now?

Instead of feeling comforted, Ying Yue felt a little embarrassed. She smiled shyly and, after a moment’s thought, couldn’t help but be curious. She looked at Zhao Kuo and asked, “I have another question…”

“You can ask,” Zhao Kuo replied generously.

Ying Yue said, “Earlier, you seemed not to know Bai Qi, but…”

She couldn’t understand how Zhao Kuo wanted to be friends with Bai Qi yet also claimed to have a grudge against him. If Bai Qi was an enemy, why didn’t Zhao Kuo recognize him?

“Good question,” Zhao Kuo said, praising her first before explaining. “The ages of those recorded in the system’s card pool vary. Some died young, while others lived long lives. The system adjusts the ages of all ‘subordinates’ to their twenties when they’re at their peak.”

“After all, conquering the world takes time. If someone dies early before their great cause even starts, what happens then?” he complained.

Zhao Kuo continued, “The ages of ministers in the card pool are usually adjusted downwards, so if someone died young like me, they are adjusted to about sixteen or seventeen.”

“And Bai Qi was one of those who lived a long time. He was already a famous general, feared by enemies long before I was born.”

“Huh?” Ying Yue’s eyes widened in surprise. “Bai Qi… Is he that old?”

Though she sensed Bai Qi was an experienced general, she thought he was young when he became famous. After Zhao Kuo’s explanation, Ying Yue struggled to calculate. “In that case, Bai Qi must be… three or four times my age?”

Zhao Kuo was momentarily stuck. “Uh, you can’t say that…”

“In fact, both dying young and dying old are recorded in history. Generally, ‘ministers’ in the card pool are collected in their twenties or thirties. Those who lived longer receive a future ‘experience package’ from the system. Generals transmit future combat experience, while scholars share future strategies.”

“Ah, it’s good to live long,” Zhao Kuo sighed at the end.

Ying Yue was unsure how to respond—she had never died and was still alive. She couldn’t join this topic, so she just smiled quietly, signaling she was listening.

However, Zhao Kuo quickly changed the subject. “Sister, can you show me Bai Qi’s face and my card?”

Zhao Kuo had no other intentions; he just wanted clarity and to see how the system judged him compared to Bai Qi, despite having already experienced Bai Qi’s talents.

“Sure,” Ying Yue agreed without hesitation. But after nodding, she blinked her sparkling eyes and asked, “But how do you read the card?”

“Wow,” Zhao Kuo exclaimed, “How dare you agree without knowing what I want?”

“Because,” she shyly pursed her lips, showing a faint smile, “you won’t hurt me.”

When she felt the most helpless, the system appeared and allowed her to draw a card, summoning Bai Qi to save her. Therefore, Ying Yue believed that Zhao Kuo, who came from the same place as Bai Qi and was also summoned by her card, would never harm her.

Moreover, Zhao Kuo wanted to see things related to the system, which didn’t belong only to her, so why couldn’t he see it?

The extremely beautiful girl looked at the boy in front of her with sparkling eyes, full of pure trust. However, what Zhao Kuo noticed was not her stunning beauty but the sincere trust in her eyes.

—No one has ever believed in him so unconditionally, not even his parents.

Looking at Ying Yue’s lovely profile, the young general silently made a decision in his heart.

—Just because of the girl’s trust in him today, he is willing to do his best for her, hoping to see her rule the world someday.

Even so, Ying Yue looked weak now and truly lacked the courage to dominate the world.

_

Under Zhao Kuo’s guidance, Ying Yue called out to the system in her mind, asking, “Can you show me my card book?”

【Sure.】

The electronic voice replied quickly. A moment later, an ancient yet luxurious golden book appeared above Ying Yue’s palm.

The girl opened the first page. On the left half was her “portrait,” which was her photo, with her name in golden letters below it. On the right half was Bai Qi’s “card.”

Ying Yue took out the card.

The card had a textured look. The back was black with white characters, showing the word “争霸” ^[1]Zhēngbà, which means “contend for hegemony”., exuding solemnity. The front had a white background.

In the upper left corner was the heavy black character “武” ^[2]Wǔ, means “martial”., and in the upper right corner were gold-plated characters she couldn’t understand, but according to the system, it indicated that it was SSR.

Bai Qi’s name appeared slightly below, along with the words “God of War” in smaller brackets, matching the system prompt when she drew Bai Qi.

The second was Bai Qi’s portrait, or rather, his photo. In it, the general in black armor had his eyes slightly closed, a knife at his waist, and appeared casual, yet his image gave off a frightening aura, like a beast even when asleep.

Below the photo was the character introduction.

The words on the card read:

A famous general in ancient times who was invincible in every battle. He fought on the battlefield and commanded his troops like a god. He fought in over 70 battles in his life and never lost a single one.

A butcher with millions of corpses, a well-deserved god of war.

Bai Qi’s card was really impressive from start to finish. The girl stared at it in a daze for a long time. Finally, at Zhao Kuo’s urging, she put the card back in the album and turned to the next page, revealing the card with Zhao Kuo’s name.

However, compared to Bai Qi’s impressive card, Zhao Kuo’s card seemed extremely… ordinary.

It was also a symbol of a military general. Unlike Bai Qi’s SSR, Zhao Kuo’s card had a blue R in the upper left corner.

The photo was quite nice. The young general in maroon light armor was riding a horse with his sword drawn. The angle of the photo showcased Zhao Kuo’s appearance well, but he himself felt very confused.

What confused Zhao Kuo even more was the following. Compared to the grand introduction on Bai Qi’s card, his character introduction read:

…The system doesn’t know what to say. It is said that the owner of this card is a chatterbox. Let him introduce himself.

The “…” and the following “bang” seemed very amusing, making Zhao Kuo want to hit something.

—Is it because his R card isn’t suitable?

…Oh, maybe he really doesn’t deserve it.

Although Zhao Kuo found his card confusing and felt lost, he had mentally prepared himself and didn’t feel too disappointed.

He wondered if Ying Yue would think he was useless after seeing this card. If he had known his card description was like this, he wouldn’t have recommended the system’s function to her.

Thinking of this, Zhao Kuo couldn’t help but glance at Ying Yue’s expression, tentatively asking her what she thought of him. However, Ying Yue seemed focused on something else. After hearing his question, she asked back:

“I’m curious, why… is there a circle of gold on your card?”

The girl pointed at the light golden border around Zhao Kuo’s photo, looking confused.

“Well…” The young man felt embarrassed to tell her that this was actually a symbol of his loyalty to her, showing his willingness to stay in this world, assist her, and witness her success. He thought for a moment and vaguely replied, “You will know later.”

_

“Sister, if there’s something you don’t understand, just ask the system. Don’t hesitate to bother it. But remember, some things the system can’t answer, so you’ll have to figure them out yourself.”

Just as Ying Yue and Zhao Kuo whispered to each other while checking the system functions, Bai Qi had already returned.

Seeing the two huddled together beside the bed, Bai Qi calmly said, “It’s solved, let’s go.”

As Bai Qi finished speaking, Ying Yue felt a flash before her eyes, and a figure rushed toward the tattered doorway, attacking Bai Qi. Then—

With a sound of duang.

Zhao Kuo was knocked down by Bai Qi, followed by the sound of flesh rubbing against the ground.

The beautiful girl’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

Ying Yue felt heartache for Zhao Kuo just by hearing his voice.

Bai Qi easily pinned Zhao Kuo to the ground, like holding down a chicken, and asked coldly, “What are you doing?”

Zhao Kuo struggled, lifted his head, and glared at Bai Qi, “Don’t you know me?”

Bai Qi looked confused, “Should I know you?”

“Bastard!” Zhao Kuo struggled harder, but Bai Qi pressed him down even more.

Ying Yue finally understood what was happening and shouted toward them at the door, “Stop fighting!”

“Stop fighting!”

Ying Yue forgot that the drug’s effect was still on her. She stood up to stop the fight but fell to the ground with a thud. Now, Bai Qi and Zhao Kuo both stopped.

Just as Ying Yue was trying to get up while rubbing her bumped forehead, she heard a familiar voice.

[It is detected that the host’s crisis has been temporarily resolved, and the main task has begun to be released – Fight for World Domination! 

Does the host want to check the task immediately?]