The System’s Dark Turn

[Friendly Reminder: The target’s simp index is on the rise, indicating an extremely high risk of them reverting to their old habits. Player, please take immediate intervention measures.]

“Are you even aware that I’m practically on the verge of being counter-attacked by this manipulative schemer?”

[Attention~ Player, you are an elegant young lady now, so no vulgar language, please! Xiao Qi is activating Civilization Mode and will automatically filter any inappropriate vocabulary for you.]

Zhou Yi was so exasperated she nearly choked on her own breath.

“You’re even going to censor my speech now, are you?!”

[Of course, this system is not only dedicated to maintaining a healthy emotional ecosystem but also prioritizes the civility and harmony of the linguistic environment~]

“Civilized my *ass*!” Zhou Yi felt her last shred of sanity teetering on the brink.

“If this isn’t allowed and that’s forbidden, then hurry up and give me a reliable solution!”

[Urgently generating an incredibly powerful counter-strategy for you, my dear… Ding!]

1. Gossip Purification Technique: Anonymously submit a post to the campus message board or the dean’s office, exposing their “sea queen” tendencies.

2. Blacklist Combo Pack: Instantly unlock all of Lin Yating’s social media black history (including her non-mainstream posts from primary school), thereby generating public pressure.

3. Empathy Experience Card: Allow Chen Hao to revel in the joy of being pursued by a goddess, thereby curing his simp dependency.

‘What kind of demonic schemes are these, designed to inflict a Pyrrhic victory?’

Zhou Yi silently massaged her forehead, a strong urge to physically dismantle this artificial imbecile now possessing her.

“Did you conjure these shoddy options with your toes? Not a single one is reliable.”

She stared at the three options, each emanating an ominous red glow, her fingers trembling for a long time, utterly unable to bring herself to tap on any of them.

The first would turn her into a gossipmonger, the second would force her to become an unlawful hacker, and the third… the third sounded the most human, yet it seemed utterly abstract!

‘Who exactly is supposed to simp for Chen Hao? It couldn’t possibly be her, could it? Surely not her!’

“Is there truly no option that’s both civilized and harmonious, one that can both strike down the manipulative schemer and awaken the fool, without forcing me to personally face social death or challenge the criminal code?!” Zhou Yi glared at the system interface, her eyes filled with profound resentment.

[Player’s resentment value detected to be exceeding the limit. Hidden options have been unlocked for you:]

4. Stand-in Literature: One-Click Goddess Binding: The system will precisely deploy an AI goddess, perfectly matching Chen Hao’s ideal type, to divert his attention!

5. Metaphysical Attack: Voodoo Doll Curse Package: Provides Lin Yating’s complete birth details and a DIY tutorial to weaken her aura on a metaphysical level!

6. Physical Amnesia: Simple Portable Brick: Striking the target’s occipital lobe has a probability of causing temporary amnesia!

Zhou Yi lapsed into a profound silence, her gaze fixed on the three options now emanating a sinister purple glow.

[Friendly Reminder: If the player fails to make a selection for an extended period, the system will automatically default to the “Optimal Strategy” and forcibly execute it~ Furthermore, if the mission fails again, the punishment mechanism will be 100% triggered~]

“Punishment mechanism?” Zhou Yi was so incensed that she merely laughed, a bitter, mirthless sound.

“I’m not trying to be rude, but this system of yours is truly pathetic. You blame the player for mission failure? Aside from electric shocks and other tired tricks, can you even come up with anything new? With this level of competence, you’d be on welfare in the AI world, wouldn’t you?”

She genuinely began to suspect that this AI was nothing more than a defective product, perhaps a bargain-bin find from some discount site, purchased for a mere 9.9 yuan with free shipping.

[Player feedback received. However, according to a deep analysis of cloud big data, for complex problems involving precise strikes against high-level manipulative schemers and the awakening of stubborn simps…]

“Stop right there! Put away your grand, empty theories!”

“To deal with an ultimate simp like him, your options are utterly useless. We need strong medicine; we need Lin Yating to personally admit that she’s merely treating Chen Hao as her personal ATM.”

[Serious Warning: Tendency for illicit operations detected. Should this cause adverse effects on reality…]

“What are you pretending for? You managed to turn me, a distinguished gentleman, into a woman; why are you acting like a good little baby now?”

The system interface fell into an eerie silence for two seconds, its characters flashing incessantly like corrupted code.

[…Logical conflict detected. Deep thought in progress…]

“Alright, stop playing the slow-witted thinking machine!” Zhou Yi waved her hand impatiently.

“This time, listen to me and do exactly as I say. First, we’ll do this and that… then we’ll do that and this… Understood?”

After a brief period of silence, the system’s electronic voice resounded once more:

[Command received… Ding! Xiao Qi has switched to Darkened Assistance Mode.]

[Risk Warning: High-risk operation command detected. This may lead to the target’s ‘blackening’ or trigger irreversible reality distortion. All consequences shall be borne solely by the user; this system refuses to take any blame.]

Zhou Yi nodded with satisfaction. “It should have switched to berserk mode ages ago. What’s with this pretense of being a ‘green and fresh’ innocent?”

****

A flash of white light enveloped her, and then Zhou Yi found herself standing downstairs at the female dormitory building.

The autumn night wind, carrying a hint of chill, swept through her long hair draped over her shoulders. As she gazed at the all-too-familiar stairwell entrance, a fleeting sense of melancholy washed over her, a poignant realization that while the setting remained, the people within it had irrevocably changed.

At this very moment two days prior, she had stood in this exact spot, helplessly watching Xu Yao and the silver-haired boy embrace intimately.

The radiant smile on Xu Yao’s face had, in that instant, utterly shattered all of Zhou Yi’s expectations.

The carefully chosen gift she held in her hands had instantly transformed into something both burning and utterly ridiculous.

The impact of that scene had been so overwhelmingly potent that even now, recalling it, a faint ache resonated in her chest.

It was unexpected, yet after only two short days, she found herself standing here once more.

Still the same person, still the same location, yet her identity and purpose had undergone a complete and utter upheaval.