The System Teaches You How to Be Human

After venting his frustrations about the fat orange cat for a while, Si Yisi returned to the system platform.

Chi Chun was still there, training as usual, though this time he had switched to marathon running.

Si Yisi confirmed that his gaming pod hadn’t arrived yet, so he darted back to the small house he’d purchased and promptly went to sleep.

Although he hadn’t needed to personally deal with the thirty perpetrators he’d eliminated, the task had drained his points at an alarming rate. Purchasing the small house had completely wiped out the thousand points he had just earned and hadn’t even warmed in his hands yet.

This left Si Yisi with no choice but to settle for a small one-bedroom apartment.

Still, a small house was better than no house. Having been dirt poor before, Si Yisi wasn’t picky. He squeezed into the tiny room and fell into a deep sleep.

He slept like a log, oblivious to the world, until he was jolted awake half a month later by the incessant beeping of overdue utility bill notifications.

When Si Yisi checked his points balance, he found it alarmingly low again. Without hesitation, he took on another task.

Si Yisi knew that many systems looked down on this grind-heavy, high-effort method of taking on tasks, typically used by low-performance systems.

High-ranking systems preferred a balanced approach, often cherry-picking the best tasks. They would never dive into random assignments the way Si Yisi did.

But so what? Si Yisi wasn’t chasing performance metrics; he was simply enjoying the thrill of the tasks. He didn’t feel like he was overexerting himself; it felt like a natural part of his existence.

Wait…

Did I forget something?

It wasn’t until much later that Si Yisi belatedly remembered Ah Tu. When he finally located his pet, he discovered that Ah Tu’s waistline had expanded significantly. The creature was stuck in a managed cage, struggling to free itself.

“Uh, sorry about that.”

Si Yisi picked up the now-larger Ah Tu, paying no mind to the furious swish of its tail, which slapped against his wrist. To Si Yisi, the impact felt like a light drizzle; barely noticeable.

Having retrieved his pet, Si Yisi quickly matched himself with a random task.

Ever since achieving several A-rank evaluations, the main system had apparently decided that he no longer needed the foolproof beginner setup; Soul Fusion. Instead, this time, it directly threw him into the body of the mission target in a small world.

***

As soon as Si Yisi entered the body, he was overwhelmed by weakness and pain. The body was feverish and frail, leaving him unable to even stand up. His vision blurred, and he vaguely saw a hand holding a gray cloth reaching toward his forehead before he succumbed to unconsciousness.

The original host of this body was a thin, nameless boy. Those who knew him simply referred to him by his codename; “Q”.

This small world was set in the interstellar era. After exhausting Earth’s resources to the brink, the planet had become unsuitable for human habitation. Humanity had ventured outward, spreading across several planets and thus ushering in the interstellar age.

During this exploration, humanity’s governments had split and merged repeatedly until they eventually stabilized into two empires; the Shuling Kingdom and the Kaz Empire.

Interstellar humanity hadn’t explored all the planets yet, and at the border between the two empires lay a dark, uncharted region. From the memories of the body’s original owner, Q, Si Yisi learned that this mysterious area was home to a destructive and terrifying species.

—The Zerg.

The original owner, Q, lived in the lower levels of the Kaz Empire, in a slum. He had no access to advanced knowledge, such as anything related to mechas. Instead, he sustained himself and his mother by fighting other slum dwellers for resources every day.

Because of that, the war between the Zerg and humanity was far removed from Q’s world. All he knew was a single, vague term; beyond that, he had no knowledge and couldn’t provide any useful information to Si Yisi.

How did the original owner die?

He died in an utterly senseless way. While searching for medicine for his mother, he was crushed to death by someone piloting a mecha that had suddenly appeared in the slum.

At that time, Q’s mother had contracted a deadly illness. The special medicine he had desperately obtained was her only hope of survival.

But as Q, covered in injuries, struggled to return home to his mother, someone piloting a mecha fired an energy cannon at him. His body was almost completely destroyed under the immense force… yet he didn’t die immediately.

Clutching the medicine tightly, he crawled, inch by inch, toward the crude home he shared with his mother.

Smash!

A person descended from the mecha and stomped on Q’s hand, crushing his fingers along with the medicine.

Q saw the person’s shoes; an expensive, high-end brand that slum dwellers could only dream of.

In his final moments, Q heard the mecha pilot speaking into a communication device. “Yes, it’s been handled. Don’t worry; people die in the slums every day. His death will definitely be written off as an accident.”

“Huh? You’re asking about his sickly mother? Don’t worry, we’ve looked into it. She’s bedridden and won’t last more than a few days.”

Moth… Mother…

“What? You’re still not at ease? Fine, I’ll deal with her too.”

Mother! Mother—no!

An accident? This was clearly a premeditated murder!

As Q lay dying, blood and tears streamed from his eyes. He couldn’t understand why someone would go to such lengths to kill him and even target his mother. Did he possess something they coveted?

His heart bled with grief. If he could, he would tear the mastermind behind it into pieces!

Someone… help!

***

“This kid is surprisingly lucky. His injuries are this severe, yet he managed to survive. Lisa, I’ll help you this time for old times’ sake, but don’t expect me to do it again.”

“Thank you… thank you so much…”

A humble, trembling female voice reached Si Yisi’s ears, weak and fleeting, followed by faint, suppressed coughing.

Si Yisi felt his eyelids burning, but he forced them open. Slowly, his blurred vision cleared, and two figures came into focus.

One was a woman dressed in rough, coarse fabric. Her face was etched with worry, and deep wrinkles marked her forehead. Yet traces of her youthful beauty could still be discerned.

This woman was Q’s mother, Lisa. Her gray, sorrowful eyes were fixed on Si Yisi, who lay in bed.

Beside her, a strong man dressed in slightly better clothes rested his hand on her shoulder. Si Yisi recognized him from Q’s memories; his name was Huo Zhifou, a doctor who ran a small clinic in the slum and also happened to be one of Lisa’s benefactors.

“Moth… Mother.”

Si Yisi croaked out a hoarse greeting to Lisa.

It was evident that Q’s mother, Lisa, had found a way to convince Huo Zhifou to treat him. Although Doctor Huo was an unlicensed doctor, anyone who could carve out a place for themselves in the slum was not to be underestimated. Lisa had undoubtedly paid some kind of favor in return.

“Thank you, Doctor Huo,” Si Yisi said, propping himself up. The moment he moved, he could feel how frail Q’s body was.

Q was by far the weakest host Si Yisi had ever inhabited.

He was alarmingly underweight, and his body was riddled with old, hidden injuries. It was no wonder a simple fever had nearly killed him.

Q was like this, and so were the other residents of the slum. Si Yisi’s mother before him was emaciated to the point of being skin and bones, her frail frame supported only by her still somewhat attractive face.

…Heart-wrenching.

This was the first thought that surged into Si Yisi’s mind.

He paused for a moment and then continued speaking to Huo Zhifou, “Whatever my mother promised you, Q will repay it on her behalf.”

Huo Zhifou raised an eyebrow at him. “You… hmm, you’re quite interesting.”

Lisa hurriedly interjected, “Don’t—”

But before she could finish, Si Yisi stopped her.

Lisa noticed something new in her son’s eyes. This newfound quality gave Q’s previously hollow gaze a spark, like the sharp edge of a blade carrying a fierce aura.

“Trust me, Mother,” Si Yisi’s voice reached Lisa’s ears, and, inexplicably, she found herself believing her son’s words.

“Kid, since you’re so insistent, the debt your mother owes will now fall on you,” Huo Zhifou said. “The antipyretics you used are rare commodities in the slum. Let’s say the cost is 1,000 copper star coins.”

The price Huo Zhifou named was blatantly inflated.

In this interstellar world, the currency was divided into gold, silver, and copper star coins, with an exchange rate of 1:10,000 between each. However, this system didn’t apply to the slums.

In the slums, residents like Q, who fought tooth and nail to survive, only ever dealt in copper star coins.

Even when Q risked his life battling others or took on dangerous, low-paying jobs, he only earned 5 or 6 copper star coins a day.

The price Huo Zhifou demanded was simply exorbitant.

Upon hearing that, Lisa’s pupils shrank. She grabbed Si Yisi’s arm in silent pleading, her lips trembling as if ready to utter a refusal at any moment.

“Alright, please issue a promissory note, Dr. Huo,” Si Yisi responded decisively.

After taking the note, Huo Zhifou left without another word.

Only then did Lisa, unable to hide her panic, say to Si Yisi, “Child, you’re too reckless.”

Si Yisi simply looked at her and asked, “Mother, what exactly did you promise Dr. Huo?”

His gaze was calm, but it naturally carried a commanding seriousness that was impossible to ignore. For a moment, Lisa saw a hint of a powerful figure in her son. She opened her mouth slightly but lowered her head, ultimately cowed by Si Yisi’s imposing demeanor.

In a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, Lisa replied, “To… stay with him for a week.”

It was nothing more than a transaction involving her body. Si Yisi had guessed correctly.

From Q’s childhood memories, his mother had always humbled herself, trading her body for copper star coins. Q despised it, and as he grew older, he threw himself into brutal fights, desperate to change such a wretched reality.

Si Yisi softened his tone. “Mother, you should value yourself more.”

From Q’s memories, Si Yisi knew all too well how terrifying the people in the slums could be when indulging their desires.

Many times, women who worked as prostitutes didn’t just lose their dignity; they were often played to death right in those filthy beds.

The people in the slums were nothing more than irrational beasts. Their daily lives revolved around fighting—constant, brutal fighting. Even during acts of intimacy, they sought to unleash their animalistic, unrestrained, and frenzied desires.

It was a terrible reality, yet it was the truth.

Q never denied that he was one of those beasts, but he had a weakness; his mother.

He hoped that Si Yisi, while living in his place, would take good care of his mother, Lisa.

“But a thousand copper star coins!” Lisa’s eyes filled with tears. “How can you come up with so many coins?”

“Don’t worry,” Si Yisi reassured her. “Isn’t someone from outside coming in a few days to conduct some kind of compatibility test? If I’m selected, we’ll easily be able to pay off the debt.”

The Empire, in an effort to display its supposed generosity, visited the slums once every 5 years to screen for so-called “usable talent.” While this was clearly a tactic to win over public opinion, for Si Yisi, it was a valuable opportunity to escape the slums.

Those selected for compatibility were also rewarded with 100 silver star coins, which would be more than enough to pay off the debt.

Si Yisi had no intention of letting Lisa or himself remain in the slums.

From Q’s memories, it was clear that someone with significant influence had targeted them. The attack on Q had obviously been premeditated.

Based on Si Yisi’s assessment, the reason behind the attack likely wasn’t to seize something Q owned but rather to eliminate Q himself.

Was there something special about Q’s identity?

“But…” Lisa still wanted to protest.

“Don’t worry, Mother,” Si Yisi coaxed her. “What ‘but’? Trust my luck.”

***

At the same time, far away from the slums, in an imperial mecha base, the eyes of an unpiloted snake-shaped mecha suddenly glowed with a faint red light.

Inside the hunk of metal, an A.I. named Ah Tu suddenly appeared: ???

Where am I? Where did that annoying master of mine run off to?!

Ah Tu’s consciousness trembled nervously within the snake-shaped mecha for a moment before deciding not to move an inch.

Master, I won’t complain about you anymore. Please save me, QwQ! There are so many… monsters here!

He was referring to the rows upon rows of unmanned mecha units standing neatly in formation.

Elsewhere.

An arrogant voice commanded his subordinate, “Go to the slums and find this person. Then, kill him.”

“Make sure he is completely and utterly dead. Leave no trace of his blood or even a single strand of hair behind.”

“Remember, you must finish him off before the Empire arrives in the slums for the compatibility tests. Otherwise, things will get far more complicated.”

“…Understood! I will carry out your command!” The subordinate, cloaked entirely in black, knelt to receive the order.