Subjective System

2

“Blake, wake up!”

With his shoulders violently being shaken again, Blake slowly opened his eyes and saw Steve’s fat face.

“F*ck! You’re finally awake,” said Steve before letting out a long sigh as he let go of Blake’s shoulders. He laughed apologetically, “Hope you don’t mind. I didn’t mean to disturb your rest. I saw that you were snoring and guessed that you were okay.”

Blake looked at the surrounding white walls and the bedsheet covering the hospital bed before asking, “Where am I?”

“Don’t you remember? You had a heat stroke at the Com Business Hall!” said Blake as he sat back down onto the chair. He sighed and patted his stout thighs before saying, “Ah, I told you not to be stubborn and you didn’t listen. We’re only doing this part-time. We’re not professionals. What’s the point of working so hard? Look at you now. You’ve sacrificed your health. Is it worth it?”

Reluctantly, Blake smiled as he asked, “What did the doctor say about my health?”

“Not much, just a bit of dehydration,” said Blake. He pointed at the nightstand with his chin as he added, “I put a cup of water there. Don’t forget to drink it.”

Blake cleared his throat and sincerely said “Thanks.”

“Don’t thank me. You’re considered a junior student. As a senior student, it’s my duty to take care of you,” said Steve. As he waved his hand, he added, “You should rest well and go back to school when you’re fine. I’ve already paid your wages so check if you’ve received it. Also, don’t worry about the hospital bill. It wasn’t a lot and I’ve already paid for it.”

“How can I accept this...”

“It’s fine. Don’t be sentimental. I arranged this job for you. It’s my responsibility when something happens to you,” said Steve. He stood up from the chair and said, “We’ll leave this situation at that. You should go and rest for a couple of days. Don’t go start working again.”

Blake wanted to say something but he was unable to find the words. Instead, he nodded his head and said thank you.

Steve waved his hand as a sign of “no thanks needed” and left.

Blake laid on the hospital bed and sighed towards the ceiling.

“Looks like I have to find a new part-time job...”

After all the trouble, Steve probably would not want him back. Not to mention, Blake was disappointed in himself. He had caused so much trouble for them. He could not ask for any more help.

He rolled over and thought about that motley dream. He closed his eyes and quietly whispered, “System.”

No response.

“High tech system.”

No response as well.

Lu Zhou’s cheeks were slightly reddened.

F*cks sake!

Guess it was a dream after all...

However, when he opened his eyes, he was shocked by what he saw.

His entire surroundings were covered in pure white. There was the semi-transparent holographic display with the characteristic panel that was full of zeros. Everything felt like it was a reality.

Blake was surprised for a short moment before squeezing his fists in immense happiness.

Haha!

This is real! This isn’t a dream!

A line of reminder text suddenly appeared on the semi-transparent characteristic panel.

[User, please select mission]

Blake tried to contain his excitement as he walked towards the screen and touched the [mission] icon.

Immediately after, a semi-transparent chat box appeared in front of him.

[

Mission 1: Physical Fitness

Description: First of all, you need to have a healthy body if you want to excel in scientific research. You have to outrun journalists, fight against zombies, and perform continuously for 72 hours. Training your body is no easy feat. User, please begin now.

Requirements: A five-kilometer jog in one hour. Think of the mission to begin the timer. (Able to repeat the challenge upon failure)

Reward: 20 experience points for any science subject. One lucky draw ticket. (100% garbage) ]

[

Mission 2: Develop relationships

Description: If you want to be in the academic field and do not wish to buy people dinner, you have to learn to manage relationships.

Requirements: Develop a good relationship with Professor Lu Fangping, the Head of Mathematics of the University of Baymack. (Minimum relationship score of 30. The mission relationship score target will be displayed after the mission starts)

Reward: 100 mathematics experience points. 400 general points. One lucky draw ticket. (97% garbage, 3% high tech sample)

]

[

Mission 3: A genius student’s lifestyle does not need an explanation

Requirements: Study at the library for 24 hours. Think of the mission to begin.

Reward: The number of experience points for each subject is determined by the type of books read and the books’ value score. 100 general points. One lucky draw ticket. (90% garbage, 9% sample, 1% blueprints)

]

This system is pretty honest. It even gave the percentages.

But what the hell is this running mission? 100% of getting garbage?! F*cking scam!

Also, what the hell is this developing relationships with a professor? Buying him dinner? Giving him gifts? Either way, it will cost me a lot of money.

Only the last mission seems a bit normal. Even though it didn’t say how much experience points it would give, the probability of getting garbage is the lowest! From a game theory perspective, this mission should be the best path, right?

Not to mention, studying at a library for 24 hours seems pretty easy to accomplish.

After considering everything, Blake did not hesitate and picked the third mission.

A genius student’s life does not need any explanations!

[You cannot change the mission after selecting. There is no time limit. If you give up on the mission, a penalty of 200 general points would be imposed. User currently has 0 general points. Do you confirm your selection? (First reminder)]

Blake did not hesitate and said, “Confirm!”

[Selection completed. Best of luck]

White light rays flashed. The characteristic panel’s [mission] section went from “None” to “Mission three”.

Blake closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He whispered to exit the system. When he reopened his eyes, he saw that he was back in the hospital room.

He laid on the bed for a while and took a couple of minutes to process the new information.

He did not know why, but he somehow became a user of this high tech system.

He thought back to when Steve shook him awake. The system’s space should be deeply embedded in his consciousness as it was something out of this reality. Furthermore, the time in the system space and outside should flow concurrently.

To be honest Blake did not even feel like the system really existed.

However, all of this did not matter.

It could be an alien’s scheme, an April fool’s joke, or something was just plain wrong with his brain. He had already accepted the mission so he might as well complete it to find out.

Blake grabbed the water cup from the nightstand and drank it all. He then got out of the bed.

He got his body temperature measured by the nurse and it confirmed that he was fine. He then left the hospital and walked to the nearest bus stop to take the bus back to school.

When he got back to his dorm, only Jack Hemsworth was in the room. His other two roommates must have gone to the internet cafe.

Jack noticed Blake coming back and put down his textbook. He adjusted his glasses as he asked, “Blake, I heard that you had a heat stroke?”

“Yeah... but it wasn’t a big deal,” said Blake as he forced a smile. He walked towards his bed.

For this type of four-person dorm, the upper bunk was a bed while the lower bunk had a desk and a cabinet. Blake stored all his cards in the cabinet drawer.

After a bit of searching in the drawer, Blake was relieved that he finally found his library card. He then left the dorm with a backpack.

The chilly night winds blew across the parasol trees causing it to make rustling sounds.

The streets were brightly lit by lights. There were students and teachers walking around with textbooks in their hands. On the field, some people were holding hands as they walked while others were running with a partner. It was almost like this school would always be lively and full of energy.

It was already eight o’clock. Blake looked at the brightly lit library and felt a feeling of unfamiliarity and nostalgia.

How long has it been since I came here?

He took a deep breath. With a feeling of unease, he walked into the library.