In the sunlight, a pitch-black figure stood on the rooftop terrace.

The building had eighty-five floors and stood about four hundred meters high; only four buildings in the entire Upper Sector reached such an altitude. Standing at the edge and looking down, even the “great” Upper Sector seemed small.

Chu Zu stepped onto the railing. Bathed in the daylight, the man’s figure narrowed until it was just a black slit. He lowered his center of gravity and leaped into the air.

In complete freefall, Chu Zu silently counted the floors, pulled out a grappling hook gun, and fired at the gold-shining glass pane before him.

Centering around the hook, Chu Zu’s muscles tensed. With the sharp whine of the tightening steel cable, the black shadow crashed through the reinforced glass with his body, tumbled twice over the fragments, and landed.

The forty-fifth floor. The target Luciano wanted to handle was hiding here.

“Does Luciano have an illegitimate child?” Chu Zu still had the leisure to confirm the intelligence Dai Xi’an provided with the system.

“Not mentioned in the original work,” the system replied quickly, while also keeping a constant watch on the surroundings.

The tasks Luciano assigned were mostly heavy-duty physical labor. Although Chu Zu’s physical fitness could handle it, his experience was still lacking compared to the original ‘Chu Zu.’

Yesterday, he hadn’t paid enough attention during the job and nearly wiped himself out. The system had gone to great lengths to provide auxiliary services, spending several hours terrified, but thankfully, no disaster occurred.

Yet, the lapse was still noticed by the butler, Jeeves. The system had to write a report on Chu Zu’s behalf, implying it was a post-surgery side effect, and managed to smooth things over after some talking.

Once The Neon Crown ended and the credit points were secured, the system was determined to pitch the ‘Master Wang’ Assist Chip from the shop to Chu Zu.

‘Master Wang’: Man of men! Male of males! King! Master!

The description was abstract, but in short, it was an automatic character assistance chip focused on combat skills, hit wherever you aim. As long as the body could keep up, he’d be in peak condition at all times.

Since it concerned the host’s life safety, it had to be bought, even if the credit was insufficient.

The system was resolute.

Worst case, I’ll exploit another bug and sell myself off again in the next book!

Chu Zu maintained a good attitude. Before his sudden death, he had been a feeble little weakling who couldn’t lift a hand or carry a shoulder. Now, he considered this physical training.

With the system monitoring the surroundings like a mother hen guarding her chick, he felt quite safe.

“An illegitimate child is useless to Tang Qi. Our protagonist is too righteous, and Dai Xi’an would likely just get scolded if she brought it up. That’s probably why the original work didn’t mention it.”

Chu Zu analyzed.

“But it’s different for me. I have no shame. You can’t deny it: if I managed to get my hands on Luciano‘s illegitimate child, even if the man isn’t dead yet, I could seize half of Esposito.”

System: “…I don’t think Dai Xi’an had the intention of insulting you.”

“It’s the same thing.”

Chu Zu stared at the temperature sensor and infrared detector at the end of the corridor and started looking for another path.

“The loyalty of an information broker is terrifying. I only saved her to continue the trade, but I didn’t expect her to be bolder than I thought. She went all in.”

The system laboriously deleted the sentence, “Because you were incredibly charismatic when you acted like a human, you were worth betting everything on.”

When Chu Zu had faintly smiled at Dai Xi’an’s written question, Do you want to become Luciano?, the system finally realized what the “dedication” the host always talked about truly was.

It was also slow to understand why Chu Zu had said, it doesn’t matter if the original ‘Chu Zu’ was crazy or stupid, I’m not normal anyway.

More than just abnormal, ‘Chu Zu’ was probably the least human pure human being in this world.

Following the original plot and the details Chu Zu had gradually filled in, even the logical flaws could be smoothed over.

The promise with Luciano was real; his heart was filled with the desire for “the best things in the world.” He knew Lu Xiann’uo wouldn’t give them, so he would take them himself.

The emotional display toward Tang Qi was fake; he wasn’t picking a side, he just wanted to use Tang Qi to kill Luciano.

Do you call him a betrayer? Who broke the contract first?

Too dedicated. Too manic.

But it fit the persona.

Since he didn’t suffer a sudden illness, he’d been manic since he was twelve. It was perfectly logical for him to serve as the Final Boss of the entire story.

Chu Zu changed routes. The upside was fewer people blocking him; the downside was his objective was now farther away.

The people surging toward him had actively sought him out, yet they showed hesitant, terrified expressions when facing the man.

Following the system’s timed reminder, Chu Zu pressed the button in his hand, instantly detonating the plasma cutting device he had set up minutes before.

Tidy cracks silently appeared in the floor and ceiling, followed by the enormous crash of falling rubble and dust.

As he found his terrified target, the system prompted: “The Neon Crown‘s stage-by-stage reader reviews are out. Would you like to download and view them?”

Chu Zu kicked off the ground and jumped backward.

He leaped out of the building’s range, fired a grappling hook at the floor above, and aimed his gun at the target’s brow with the other hand.

The target also raised a gun, but even with trajectory correction, the accuracy was poor when one couldn’t stand steadily or keep calm. Several metallic rounds cut through the air, narrowly missing Chu Zu.

Chu Zu pulled the trigger. “Read them.”

The system cleared its throat.

“Excerpted reader comments for you:

“‘Did the moron author finally hire someone to revise the plot?‘

“‘Holy sh!t, Luciano was an awful piece of work even as a kid.‘

“‘Bro Tang, it has to be Bro Tang. Help! Chu Zu, you revealed state secrets to him, why can’t you just leave with him?!‘

“‘Luciano, what are you doing? I’ve searched all five millennia of history and can’t find anyone so detestable. You deserve to be sold out.‘

“‘Wait… isn’t Chu Zu… a little too pitiful?‘

“‘Guys, I can’t take it anymore, Chu Zu is genuinely miserable… he even remembered to rescue Sis Dai… and told her to go to Bro Tang… Don’t just tell her to go, sticking with Luciano won’t end well!!‘

“‘I’m done. Who helped the author revise this? I feel like it’s a trap. How am I supposed to curse him when he’s this miserable?‘

“‘No spoilers! No spoilers! New readers’ lives matter! Support Bro Tang in initiating the Chu Zu Redemption Arc!

Chu Zu vaulted into the fortieth floor, randomly searching for an escape route.

“Dai Xi’an knows I’m not a good person. Why are the readers still saying I’m pitiful?” he asked, confused.

System: “Because you and Dai Xi’an are marginalized characters. The main text only unfolds from the perspective of the protagonist and key supporting roles. It only documented what Luciano did to you and the content Luciano monitored.”

Chu Zu: “…”

Chu Zu: “It looks like I’ll have to find a chance to declare my ambition to either Tang Qi or Luciano, then?”

The system could already imagine the readers’ reactions and numbly replied:

“Yes, you have to be manic for them to see.”

***

“Operation complete,” Jeeves reported. “Chu Zu’s heartbeat is steady, and respiration rate is normal. Resting heart rate and blood oxygen have returned to pre-surgery normal levels.”

On the holographic projection, the red dot was moving rapidly. Chu Zu quickly left the building, slowed down, and walked gradually toward Dai Xi’an’s residence.

“Where did he stop?” Luciano pointed at the red dot.

Jeeves: “The Neandor Flower Shop.”

“Who’s in the shop now? Who did Chu Zu meet? Is it Dai Xi’an’s hidden contact?”

“Mr. Luciano.”

Jeeves spoke slowly, “The Neandor Flower Shop is an Esposito property. You wanted fresh flowers for your sixteenth birthday, and you funded Mr. Chu Zu to kidnap the florist from Lower Sector Nine. You had the florist disposed of when you were eighteen. The current shop owner is his apprentice, and also an Esposito operative.”

Luciano fell silent, a faint sense of discomfort rising from his previous line of questioning.

Jeeves continued, “Mr. Chu Zu purchased a bouquet of 3D-printed Comfrey and requested the shop owner handwrite a card. The content is: ‘To Dai Xi’an.'”

Lu Xiann’uo remained silent. After a long moment, he let out a laugh of ambiguous meaning. “It seems he genuinely likes Dai Xi’an.”

From his tone and words, Jeeves judged this to be a mocking comment that did not require a reply.

The loyal butler continued his report.

“Dai Xi’an has booked custom meal delivery for two, three times a day, for three months. During this period, people from the Lower Sector attempted to contact her, but were unilaterally refused engagement.”

“In the information zone we control in the Upper Sector, Dai Xi’an also appears to have abandoned all her operations.”

“A more accurate analysis requires further data compilation.”

Luciano turned off the projection, sounding somewhat disappointed. “Useless woman.”

“Should I notify Mr. Chu Zu to dispose of her?”

“Synchronize the flower shop’s surveillance feed and call him.”

“Yes.”

For Luciano, who held the highest authority, there was no ‘connecting’ when making a one-way terminal call.

The moment Jeeves linked to Chu Zu, Lu Xiann’uo softened his tone, speaking affably.

“Can your body still handle it?”

In the surveillance footage, Chu Zu was receiving the bouquet of Comfrey from the shop owner.

He was very familiar with the abrupt sound of the communicator in his ear, and his movements were perfectly steady. “It doesn’t affect my work.”

“I have a dinner engagement with Representative Preao tonight. Order some flowers for me.”

Chu Zu immediately signaled to the shop owner, got the flower catalog, and ordered over three hundred fresh bouquets. The astronomical bill was charged to Luciano.

“They should be delivered around four this afternoon,” Chu Zu confirmed with the shop owner. After the shop owner nodded, he continued, “I can only submit the receipt for the previous task to Jeeves tonight.”

Luciano squinted, his tone unchanged. “Aren’t you coming?”

“I have to make a trip to Lower Sector Eighteen.”

“To do what?”

“I don’t want to say,” Chu Zu said, holding the Comfrey with a cold, hard voice. “You can command me to answer, or you can control me to stop me from going. It’s all up to you, Lucy.”

Luciano actually laughed, his expression and tone carrying a sense of helplessness. “Are you still mad at me? I don’t distrust you; I’m just worried that Tang Qi and the others will deceive you. Have dinner together tonight. Move back in.”

Chu Zu half-lowered his eyes, looking at the flowers in his hand and the card the shop owner had handwritten. “I remember now.”

He said, “Mitolli, who used to call me ‘gege,’ you asked me to kill his uncle today. It was he who reached an agreement with you; you get rid of Mitolli’s legal heir, and he takes over Mitolli and becomes your partner.”

The flower shop owner stiffened, wishing he could instantly cut off his own ears.

“I know why you called me. You regret letting Dai Xi’an go and want me to dispose of her.” The man in the surveillance footage slightly lowered his shoulders as he spoke. “You’re starting to break your promises to me, too, Lucy.”

Luciano‘s expression froze on his face.

That sickening emotion began to run wild again. Yet, Chu Zu wasn’t pretending to be pitiful. He used a rare moment of frustration to state a fact, making a minor judgment against himself.

Luciano‘s throat was dry. “…Chu Zu.”

Chu Zu waited quietly for him to continue.

Luciano didn’t need to soothe him; after the device was implanted, Chu Zu wasn’t worth the extra effort. Luciano interpreted his current restraint as the magnanimity a superior should possess.

“I always keep my word,” Luciano said slowly. “You want Dai Xi’an? I’ll give her to you. You want to go to the Lower Sector? I won’t ask. I trust you won’t betray me, so you must also have faith in me, alright?”

Chu Zu looked up toward the flower shop camera, his crimson eyes meeting Luciano‘s gaze across the monitor screen.

“Alright,” he said.

“If you want to send flowers to Dai Xi’an, you can send a real Comfrey, or maybe a rose. Charge it to my account.”

“No need,” Chu Zu said. “Is there anything else?”

The connection was cut.

Luciano frowned in his seat. After a while, he instructed Jeeves.

“I want to know where Chu Zu is going, who he meets, and what he says.”

Jeeves: “I will monitor Mr. Chu Zu’s movements at all times.”

“If you judge his actions to be abnormal…” Luciano paused. He saw the digital photo on his desk, taken when he and Chu Zu were twenty.

Chu Zu had always been expressionless since childhood. Luciano suspected facial muscle necrosis and even had him checked. The conclusion was completely normal; he was perfectly healthy.

That year, at twenty, Luciano graduated from school and took over Esposito. Door after door of power opened to him.

At that time, Chu Zu did not have his current physique. He shot up in height quickly, with a narrow waist, forming a sharp contrast with the blonde youth pulling him into the photo.

While posing, Luciano complained that his arm against Chu Zu was bony. Chu Zu listened and silently moved half a step to the side, only to be yanked back.

“Eat more and take care of your body. I truly can’t get by without you.”

The camera recorded Chu Zu’s expression at that moment.

Slightly bewildered, his red eyes overflowing with sunlight, even a little lost, the corners of his mouth curved into a tender arc.

At least at that time, Luciano‘s ambition had not yet swelled. He was not stingy and valued his promise.

“If you judge his actions to be abnormal…” Luciano said expressionlessly, “Stimulate his nerves, manufacture hallucinations, and make him bloody slaughter Lower Sector Eighteen.”

Jeeves: “That will cause irreversible neurological damage. Mr. Chu Zu has an 85.547% chance of becoming a cripple.”

“He will still be my cripple,” Luciano said. “I will still give him the best things. That’s what he and I agreed upon.”

Jeeves replied kindly, “Your command has been received.”

***

Lower Sector Eighteen.

“What the hell? How did he survive until now looking like that?”

Chu Zu, holding the flowers, asked the system in disbelief.

Looking at the child before them, who looked nearly identical to Luciano when he was young, the system also fell into silence.

“Dai Xi’an… is amazing,” was all it could reply.

***

NOTES

Comfrey: A real-world plant, often associated with healing, which adds an ironic layer to the 3D-printed version sent in this cynical world.

Gege: Literally ‘older brother’, a respectful, common term of endearment or address for a slightly older male, often used by those who are close or subordinate.