Zhen Li didn’t notice Yu Hua’s increasingly dangerous expression. He went on regardless: “I was originally chosen by the System after I died in a car crash. Each extra day I live is free. Of course I have to live comfortably. It’s like the song says, ‘A few brief autumns and life is done, don’t stop until you’ve had your fun¹.’

“I took stock when I finished my first mission. My abilities are average. If I actively leveled up, passed the safe newbie levels, and came to the regular levels, I might die on the first day. 

“Counting it up that way, if I could safely live a hundred years in the ten newbie worlds, then I’d be doing better than the average person. 

“So I treated each level very seriously, lived happily in each world.” 

He looked seriously at Yu Hua. Yu Hua had one hand on the desk and was lost in thought, fingertips tap-tap-tapping on the desktop, each tap banging on Zhen Li’s heart. This made Zhen Li involuntarily slide into a kneeling position again. 

“You’re right,” Yu Hua said suddenly. “Having a proper understanding of yourself and being willing to assume the consequences, enjoying the journey of life without looking to the outcome—you are wise.” 

He-he’d been praised! Zhen Li covered his heart, for the first time in a long time remembering the surprise and happiness of getting first prize in a five-thousand meter race in high school and being praised by his homeroom teacher. 

So he knelt more precisely, nodding his head repeatedly, saying, “Right, right! I do understand myself pretty well! So, great master, I think you’d better find a way to seal my mouth. The World Protection Organization is still watching me, and I’ve accidentally found out your true identity. If they use extreme methods to torture me, I won’t be able to hold out.” 

Zhen Li looked up at Yu Hua, face full of sincerity and the words “I’ll definitely give you away.” Who knew how he had managed to fuse these two meanings so perfectly? 

Yu Hua held his right hand with his left, restraining himself from impulsively doing away with the person in front of him. 

He couldn’t hit him; if he hit him, he might die. He couldn’t kill him; at the moment, he had only this one chess piece. If he killed him, there would be no one to help him. 

Yu Hua was only helping Zhen Li because he had no choice. The System had issued a mission, forcing him to save or kill Zhen Li. The System’s goal had probably been to have Yu Hua kill Zhen Li, because Zhen Li really was useless. 

Zhen Li had been captured by the World Protection Organization less than half a day after walking out the door, and he had given up the System’s mission. If the System hadn’t wanted to use the Protectors to kill Yu Hua, Zhen Li would have self-destructed when he’d told them about the big boss hidden in their world. 

The System had deliberately let Zhen Li reveal the existence of the big boss and had tempted Yu Hua to kill Zhen Li with the threat of making Yu Hua’s identity public within twenty-four hours. If Yu Hua really had snuck into the base that night and assassinated Zhen Li, the World Protection Organization’s base would have been alerted. They would have sensed danger. All the world’s Protectors would have put forth all their efforts to kill Yu Hua. Then, in self-defense, Yu Hua would have been forced despite himself to release the System’s energy and unseal his power. Then the System’s evident plot would have succeeded. 

Therefore, Yu Hua hadn’t shown himself prematurely. Instead, he had tried to work out what the Protectors were thinking and secretly lead them to release Zhen Li. He had let the Protection Organization think they hadn’t been forced, but had reached this answer through rational discussion. 

After Zhen Li had been released, Yu Hua had hurried to absorb the energy of Zhen Li’s System within the twenty-four hours of the System’s stated mission. For one thing, this was to prevent Zhen Li from being threatened by the System into exposing his identity; for another, it was to give the System a warning. 

Yu Hua had used concrete actions to tell the System, I simply want you dead. The only reason I haven’t acted is to protect the levelers. If you really do throw away all concerns and reveal my identity, we’ll all be in for it. No one will survive. 

This way, the System definitely wouldn’t dare to use the threat of exposing Yu Hua’s identity against him again. The two sides’ battle would be hidden out of public sight and wouldn’t harm this world’s ordinary people. 

The only thing Yu Hua hadn’t expected was that the chess piece he had chosen would be such a good-for-nothing. 

Zhen Li didn’t know that he’d wandered by the gates of hell. He added anxiously, “Also, with the World Protection Organization watching me, if you join my studio, won’t your identity be revealed?” 

Yu Hua knew this chess piece’s IQ was insufficient. He had to explain outright: “I want to make them suspect me.” 

“What?” Zhen Li looked uncomprehendingly at Yu Hua. 

Yu Hua picked a pen up off the desk. He pressed down on the pen cap with his index finger, making it stand upright and conspicuous on the tabletop. “I want to act very worthy of suspicion, to look as much as I can like either a leveler or the target of the System’s mission, to make the Protection Organization investigate me.” 

“Huh?” Zhen Li’s mouth hung open. He completely didn’t understand Yu Hua’s line of thought. 

“Then I’ll make them overturn every point of suspicion, think that none of their doubts have any legs to stand on, even feel apologetic towards me, an ‘ordinary person.’” Yu Hua raised his index finger slightly. The standing pen fell over. 

Yu Hua said, “The System won’t let things go at this. It wants to kill me to retake its power. There will definitely be more and stronger levelers coming to this world in the future. When the time comes, I won’t be facing levelers of your grade, but stronger and more ruthless ones.

“One day I’ll have to unseal myself, whether I want to or not. If the Protection Organization suspects me then, I won’t be able to explain it away.

“So I want to appear in their line of sight before that, give them the impression that ‘Yu Hua definitely can’t be a leveler.’ This way, even if I slip up, the Protectors will think of excuses for me, fooling themselves.” 

Zhen Li, still kneeling, applauded, cheering on Yu Hua’s scheme. He thought about it, then asked, “So what should I do?” 

“Two things.” Yu Hua held up two fingers. “First, be the first to suspect me.” 

“Oh, I see,” Zhen Li said, suddenly seeing the light. “It makes sense to use me to lead the Protection Organization to investigate you. At the same time, the Protection Organization doesn’t trust me. The more I say something, the more they’ll question it. People only believe what they’ve verified themselves. As soon as they’ve determined you’re an ordinary person, when the time comes, even if I tell the Protectors, this is the world-destroying big boss I’m looking for, they’ll only think I’m using you as a scapegoat.”

“That’s exactly right.” Yu Hua finally nodded at Zhen Li. He might be a little stupid, but he was very obedient, knew himself well, and was easy to train. 

“Oh, right, you should be careful for the next few days, great master.” Zhen Li picked up a tablet and pulled up a screenshot from the basketball throwing video. “The uncle who was shooting hoops with us, and the people in the crowd whose faces I’ve circled, are all Protectors. It was that man who caught me that day.” 

Yu Hua took the tablet and frowned faintly. Protectors and a leveler had been next to him for so long that day, and he hadn’t noticed it. His vigilance had atrophied too much. 

He closely examined the Protectors on the high-definition screenshot and said, “These people seem to be in disguise. It’s too bad that 99% of my abilities are sealed. I can only use ‘truth-seeing eyes’ if I unseal at least 50% of my power. I can’t see their true faces.” 

In standard kneeling posture, Zhen Li said, “What is your primary power, great master? The people I met in the Clearing League had powers concerning strength, speed, defense, aid, and healing. Those aren’t so hard to deal with, but I heard that there are also high-grade time and space power users. Those two abilities are huge problems. If you aren’t prepared ahead of time, they’ll be very hard to handle.” 

Yu Hua smiled faintly. “All of them.” 

“Huh?” Zhen Li rubbed his ears. 

“3841 worlds were enough for me to possess all the abilities,” Yu Hua said. 

Zhen Li was so scared he stopped breathing, terrified that he would annoy the great master by breathing too loud. 

“But these abilities have no use in daily life. I’ve sealed them all. If I need one later, I can unseal it then.” Yu Hua swept his eyes indifferently over Zhen Li kneeling on the floor. He got up and went up beside him, putting his hand lightly on Zhen Li’s wig. “It doesn’t matter if you give me up. For the sake of my peaceful and pleasant life, I don’t object to shutting up anyone who knows. Anyway, there are so many people in this world, right?” 

Zhen Li couldn’t hold back a hiccup. His wig couldn’t withstand the pressure and slid off. 

The keen instincts of a prey animal kept Zhen Li from pursuing this topic. He quickly changed the subject. “Sir, you-you-you just said there were two things. What’s the other one?” 

“Not bad. Your memory’s all right. You didn’t forget about that,” Yu Hua said. “The second thing is even more important than the first. When I absorbed your System’s powers, I left your hidden System account, and I transferred a hundred million to it.” 

“A hundred million!” Hearing this number, Zhen Li’s eyes glowed. He instantly forgot about his hiccups. “Is it a reward for me?” 

Dream on! Restraining his anger, Yu Hua said, “It’s the salary you’re going to pay me in the future. It doesn’t matter what business you undertake. Within three years, you’ll openly and legally return that money to me, and then you’ll be free.” 

“I don’t have any business sense. How can I earn a hundred million?” Zhen Li asked weakly. 

“Any way you like. Haven’t there been things like virtual currency, credit investing, shared services online recently? Pick some business with a fast return on investment, put together a nice project, then raise my salary,” Yu Hua said. 

Zhen Li said, “…I think that half of what you just said is written down in the criminal laws.” 

Yu Hua conveyed to Zhen Li with a look, You can break the law, but make sure that I get my salary properly and legally and without knowing about it.

Zhen Li: “…” 

He thought he understood his position in the great master’s eyes: a person who could be tossed out to die any time. 

After the two of them had negotiated, using a contract personally drafted by Yu Hua, Zhen Li’s studio engaged Yu Hua as director of human resources, responsible for overseeing the studio’s potential future employees, who may never exist at all. 

Yu Hua signed it and left his thumbprint. Zhen Li signed it and added his freshly-carved official seal. Then at last it received the seal of the Labor Department. Thus was an employment contract completed, in triplicate: one for Yu Hua, one for Zhen Li, and one for the Labor Department. 

An original copy of the employment contract came in front of You Zhengping two hours later. He lifted the contract with trembling hands and said in distress, “I told him not to be in a rush to find a job, to patiently look for a suitable one. Why would he join Zhen Li’s studio? Human resources director? What human resources is he directing? The Destroyers?!” 

“Calm down, calm down!” Cen Xiao soothed You Zhengping. “That’s the head office’s desk in front of you, we can’t go around smashing the director’s desk!” 

Cen Xiao was shocked. Their squad had also been acquainted with Yu Hua for four years. Yu Hua was a warm-hearted, domestic man, who seemed something like a wife (ahem), but had very manly qualities in unexpected aspects. He was kind and considerate and often had You Zhengping bring food for them. Cen Xiao and the others thought that You Zhengping had stepped into the grave of marriage too early, but they believed from the heart that Yu Hua was in fact a good final resting place. The air of home he had about him neutralized You Zhengping’s violent tendencies. With him there, You Zhengping could control himself. 

“Director, we’ve known Yu Hua for many years. He definitely can’t be a Destroyer.” Cen Xiao scrambled to speak for the enraged You Zhengping. 

Director Xiao looked at You Zhengping with a complicated expression and gave everyone a copy of the materials. “The first time Zhen Li appeared in front of us, Yu Hua was at the mall playing Whac-A-Mole back to back with him and shooting hoops in the same game area. 

“After leaving our base, Zhen Li immediately went to that same mall to have lunch, and Yu Hua just happened to be there. 

“The first person Zhen Li hired after setting up his studio was Yu Hua.

“I also know Yu Hua, and I also hope he isn’t a Destroyer. But this is a Protector’s work. The whole world is at our backs. As soon as we discover a suspicious point, we must investigate and verify.” 

“I, I request to be the one to investigate Yu Hua. I want to personally prove his innocence,” You Zhengping said, choked with emotion. “When we got married, you investigated his past in secret to examine his political record. He’s completely innocent. The last three generations of his family have been ordinary people. How could he be a Destroyer?” 

“Destroyers can occupy certain ordinary people’s bodies,” Director Xiao said with a sigh. “Though most Destroyers choose identities with limited social connections, it’s still not impossible for Yu Hua to be chosen. You’re Yu Hua’s family member. Emotions will cloud your judgment. In this investigation, you have to step back as much as possible to avoid suspicion. You can only cooperate, not take part. That includes Cen Xiao and the rest of the squad. You’ve also known Yu Hua too long. It’s inappropriate for you to act in this. The head office has dispatched someone else to the Xuyang District. Before this has been clarified, You Zhengping, you and your squad will be on rest from duty. Once Yu Hua’s identity has been determined, we’ll redistribute assignments to you.” 

“How can that be!” You Zhengping got worked up and smashed Director Xiao’s desk. 

“How can it be otherwise?” said a man standing behind Director Xiao. He was holding an injury report. “This is the injury report from half a month ago on Yu Hua’s superior. The evidence shows that half a month ago, Yu Hua suddenly burst out and injured him, giving his direct superior a concussion. After this, you had your first period of cold war, lasting about a week. You were only reconciled when Zhen Li appeared. We have ample reason to suspect that Yu Hua was replaced by a Destroyer half a month ago.” 

This man wore a form-fitting Zhongshan suit. He touched Director Xiao’s desk lightly with the palm of his hand, and the desk that had been broken into sawdust was immediately restored to its original form. 

He reached out a hand towards You Zhengping. “My name is Lian Yufan. I’m in charge of this case. As a family member of the suspect, I hope you will cooperate with the investigation.” 

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Author's Note

You Zhengping: Human resources director? What human resources is he directing? The Destroyers?!

Yu Hua: Oddly enough, the post really is to direct Destroyers. 

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Translator's Note

¹Song by Taiwanese singer 李丽芬/Li Li-Fen, 爱江山更爱美人 (translated as “The Bold and the Beautiful”): https://youtu.be/-DwvDoXAxvU. The original lines are: 人生短短几个秋啊/不醉不罢休.