Help! I transmigrated to a Beast World-Chapter 76: Questions without Answers

Xin Yi stood in the middle of the chamber for a long time after Sha Chen left.

Staring at the door he had walked through. At the massive bed behind her. At the red lighting that made everything look like some kind of erotic dream.

Or nightmare.

She could not decide which.

[DING! (◕‿◕)]

[Host is processing!]

[Emotional state: Confused, angry, exhausted, and somehow still sassy!]

[That slap was ICONIC by the way! ☆]

"Shut up, System," she muttered.

[DING! (¬‿¬)]

[Rude!]

[I was just trying to lighten the mood!]

"The mood does not need lightening. The mood needs—" She threw her hands up. "I do not even know what the mood needs! Maybe violence! Maybe arson! Maybe—"

[DING! (⊙_⊙)]

[Please do not commit arson in the Wolf Alpha’s bedroom]

[That seems unwise]

"Everything about this situation is unwise!" She started pacing. Back and forth. Back and forth. "I am trapped in a wolf territory. My mate thinks I am going to be....to be used by another male! I slapped an Alpha TWICE and somehow survived! And now that same Alpha is telling me I remind him of his DEAD MOTHER FIGURE?!"

[DING! (≧▽≦)]

[When you put it like that, it does sound insane!]

[Also kind of hilarious?]

[No? Just me?]

Xin Yi groaned and flopped onto the nearest cushion. "This is a disaster. My life is a disaster."

[DING! (⁠ꈍ⁠ᴗ⁠ꈍ)]

[To be fair, Host’s life has been a disaster since transmigration]

[Remember the bathroom incident?]

"DO NOT TALK ABOUT THE BATHROOM INCIDENT!"

[DING! (¬‿¬)]

[Okay okay! Geez!]

[Someone is cranky!]

She was cranky. She had every right to be cranky.

She had been kidnapped. Drugged. Threatened. Forced into a harem. Made to say goodbye to Qing Lin in the most heartbreaking scene of her entire life. And now she was sitting in a ridiculously fancy bedroom belonging to a wolf who apparently collected transmigrators like some people collected stamps.

"System," she said suddenly.

[DING! (◕‿◕)]

[Yes, Host?]

"How long do you think it will take for them to get back to Azure Scale territory?"

[DING! (⁠٥⁠↼⁠_⁠↼⁠)]

[Calculating...]

[Approximately two to three days of travel]

[Why?]

"Just wondering." She stared up at the silk-draped ceiling. "Wondering how long Qing Lin will be suffering. Wondering how long until Sha Chen’s builders arrive. Wondering how long I have to stay in this place before—"

She cut herself off.

Before what?

Before she escaped? Before Qing Lin came back for her? Before she somehow negotiated her freedom?

Or before she got too comfortable and forgot why she wanted to leave?

That last thought scared her more than she wanted to admit.

"Sha Chen is evil," she said out loud. "So evil. So cruel. Using me as some kind of replacement for his adoptive mother. Threatening Qing Lin. Keeping me here like—like—"

[DING! (¬‿¬)]

[Like a bird in a gilded cage?]

[Very poetic!]

"I was going to say ’like a prisoner’ but sure. Gilded cage works too."

[DING! (◕‿◕)]

[At least it is a NICE cage!]

[With silk! And comfortable cushions! And actual civilization!]

Xin Yi sat up abruptly. "System."

[DING! (⊙_⊙)]

[Uh oh]

[That tone sounds serious]

"Where did you come from?"

Silence.

Complete, utter silence.

No ding. No notification. Nothing.

"System?" she said again. Louder now. "I asked you a question. Where. Did. You. Come. From?"

[DING! (...)]

[...]

[No comment?]

"That is NOT an answer! You cannot just say ’no comment’ every time I ask about your origins!" She was standing now. Hands on her hips. Glaring at the air like System had a physical form she could yell at. "You have been with me since I transmigrated! You give me quests! You track my stats! You know things about this world that I do not! So WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!"

[DING! (╥﹏╥)]

[Ahhhh no need to shout!]

[My......my audio sensors are very sensitive!]

"You do not have audio sensors! You are a voice in my head!"

[DING! (...)]

[Okay fine!]

[I will tell you what I know!]

She waited. Arms crossed. Tapping her foot impatiently.

[DING! (◕‿◕)]

[I......I do not know where I came from]

"That is a LIE!"

[DING! (⊙_⊙)]

[It is not!]

[Well......okay maybe a little bit of a lie]

[But mostly truth!]

Xin Yi’s eye twitched. "Explain. Now."

[DING! (⁠๑⁠•⁠﹏⁠•)]

[I just... came into existence]

[One moment there was nothing]

[The next moment, I existed!]

[My sole purpose: Help Host survive and thrive in the Beast World!]

"That is the vaguest explanation I have ever heard."

[DING! (¬‿¬)]

[It is the truth though!]

[I do not remember being created!]

[I do not remember a programmer or anything like that!]

[I just......AM!]

Xin Yi groaned and flopped backwards onto the bed. The mattress was soft. Too soft. Like sinking into a cloud.

Damn it.

Even the BED was trying to seduce her into staying.

"Then how come there were other transmigrators?" she demanded, staring at the ceiling. "Lin Zhiying and Wang Xianmo came here thirty years ago! Did they have Systems too? Were there more of you? Are you all connected somehow?"

[DING! (...)]

[I......I do not know]

[I have no memory of other Systems]

[No connection to anything or anyone else]

[Just......me and Host]

She turned her head to look at where she imagined System would be if it had a physical form. "You are useless."

[DING! (╥﹏╥)]

[That is mean!]

[I have been VERY helpful!]

[I gave you soap recipes!]

[And building knowledge!]

[And warned you about dangers!]

[Mostly!]

"Mostly," Xin Yi repeated flatly. "You did NOT warn me about the wolf ambush."

[DING! (¬‿¬)]

[That was for dramatic effect!]

[Plot progression!]

"I am going to delete you."

[DING! (⊙_⊙)]

[You cannot delete me!]

[I am essential to your survival!]

"I survived fine before you started withholding information!"

[DING! (...)]

[Okay okay!]

[There IS one thing I can tell you]

Xin Yi sat up immediately. "What?"

[DING! (◕‿◕)]

[The only thing I know—the only thing I can tell you—is...]

[There is a goddess]

Silence.

Xin Yi blinked. "What?"

[DING! (◕‿◕)]

[A goddess!]

[Mán Shū]

[That is all I know!]

[Just the name!]

[Nothing else!]

"Mán Shū," Xin Yi repeated slowly. "A goddess. That is what you are giving me? Just a name? No context? No explanation? No—"

[DING! (¬‿¬)]

[That is literally all I have!]

[The name just......exists in my knowledge!]

[Like it was programmed in!]

[But I do not know WHO she is or WHAT she does or WHY I know her name!]

Xin Yi fell back onto the bed again. Stared at the ceiling.

Mán Shū.

A goddess.

Of course. OF COURSE there was a goddess involved somehow. Because her life was not complicated enough already.

"I will ask Sha Chen tomorrow," she muttered. "Maybe he knows something. His adoptive parents were transmigrators too. Maybe they mentioned a goddess. Maybe they knew what was happening."

[DING! (◕‿◕)]

[Good plan!]

[Very investigative!]

[Host is getting smarter! ☆]

"I was always smart, you condescending bas—"

[DING! (◕‿◕)]

[Host should sleep now!]

[Big day tomorrow!]

[Interrogating the Wolf Alpha!]

[Surviving harem politics!]

[Not getting murdered by jealous she-wolves!]

[Fun times! ☆]

Xin Yi closed her eyes, and tried to quiet her racing thoughts.

But it was hard.

So hard.

Because despite everything, despite the kidnapping and the threats and the cruelty, staying here might not be so bad.

The bed was comfortable. Soft. Like the beds back home. Back in her real world.

The room was warm. Clean. Advanced.

The food had been delicious. Real steak. Real rice. Real civilization.

It reminded her of home.

And that was dangerous.

Because if she got too comfortable, she might forget. Might start to think "maybe this is not so terrible." Might start to accept her cage just like Měi Lán had.

She rolled over, and hugged one of the silk pillows to her chest.

"Goodnight, Qing Lin," she whispered into the darkness.