Return of Black Lotus system:Taming Cheating Male Leads-Chapter 142 --

"And his endgame in the original plot?"

"He captured Estov, dragged him back to their original world, and the story just... ended. The author never explained what happened after that because it was a side plot."

Heena groaned. "Of course it was. Why would anything be simple?"

She thought for a moment, then asked, "Can I negotiate with him?"

The System looked doubtful. "Host... he’s been chasing Estov across ’hundreds’ of worlds. I don’t think he’s in a negotiating mood."

"Everyone can be negotiated with," Heena said firmly. "You just need to find the right leverage."

"What leverage could you possibly have against someone that powerful and that obsessed?"

Heena smiled coldly. "I have what he wants. Estov. And more importantly, I have Estov’s cooperation. If I talk to Estov and convince him to meet with Kaelen under controlled circumstances—"

"Host, that’s a terrible idea!" the System squeaked. "The moment they’re in the same room, Kaelen will just grab him and leave!"

# The Horrifying Truth

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Heena nodded at the System. "Now you’ve said something actually useful. Yes, if we put them in one room, Kaelen would just grab Estov and run away."

She paused mid-thought, turning sharply to look at the System.

"Wait. What did you just say about how the general appeared in the original story?"

The System looked confused. "Um... that was what was written in the plot?"

Heena grabbed her head. "DAMN IT! System, call Estov right now!"

Even the System looked alarmed at her tone. He rushed off immediately.

Within ten minutes, Estov burst into her office, throwing the door open.

The moment he entered, Heena shouted: "System! Shield! Now! Make sure no one comes in, no one goes out—not even sound, not even air!"

The System nodded frantically and immediately erected a powerful barrier around the entire office. The air shimmered slightly as the shield locked into place.

Estov looked at Heena with confusion and concern. "What happened? Why are you—"

Heena strode forward and grabbed Estov by the collar, yanking him toward her.

"You FUCKING MORON!"

"OW! What—" Estov grabbed at her hands, trying to pry them loose. "What happened?! Have you gone completely crazy? What are you doing? Do you want to kill me?!"

Heena glared at him with fury. "You fucking idiot! Do you even know what you’ve done?!"

She shoved him backward hard enough that he stumbled.

"System! Give me the book! The visitor book, third edition!"

The book appeared instantly in a swift motion from the System. Heena grabbed it and slapped it directly onto Estov’s face.

’SMACK!’

"OW!" Estov’s head snapped back from the impact. He grabbed the book, rubbing his face with his other hand, his expression turning angry. "What the hell?! What’s happened that you’ve gone completely crazy?!"

"READ IT!" Heena shouted, pointing at the book.

Estov looked down at the open page, and his face went completely pale.

"Oh no..."

He started trembling. His hands shook as he turned the pages, one after another. With each page, his face became whiter and whiter.

"No... no, no, no..."

Heena watched him, her expression deadly serious.

"Estov," she said in a cold, controlled voice. "Tell me the truth. Did you give Kaelen any type of system? Any small system? Did you request one from the Lord God for him? Did you tell him about our work? About how we travel from world to world? Anything?"

Estov grabbed his head with both hands, the book falling to the floor. "I didn’t! I swear I didn’t!"

Heena looked at him hard. "Are you absolutely certain?"

"Yes!" Estov looked up at her, his eyes wide with panic. "I never told him anything about transmigration! I never gave him a system! How could I?! That’s completely against the rules!"

But then he paused, his expression shifting to horror as realization dawned.

"But... wait. How the hell is he even appearing in the original story? Do you know what this means? It means he’s already come to this world before! But I wasn’t here before... how can my story be in this world’s plot?!"

Heena’s expression was grim. "Estov, do you understand what this really means?"

She picked up the book from where it had fallen and held it up.

"It means that your ’previous life’—that damn bastard who’s been following you—has already been to this world before in a different timeline. And he—God knows how—messed up at least two lifetimes, two timelines, two parallel versions of this world that you’ve visited."

Estov stared at her, his face ashen.

"I don’t know how he erased your memory or whatever other bullshit happened," Heena continued coldly, "but one thing is absolutely certain: this is NOT your first time coming to this world. And you didn’t come here by accident or random assignment."

She fixed him with a penetrating stare.

"What was your mission, Estov? Your original mission when you were assigned to this world?"

Estov swallowed hard. "I... I was assigned to take revenge for Aston. For everything he suffered—the bullying from nobles, the abuse, the isolation. My mission was to make him into a powerful, untouchable duke who could live peacefully until at least age fifty."

Heena completely slapped her own forehead in frustration.

"IDIOT! YOU WERE FOOLED! GET OUT OF THIS WORLD NOW!"

Estov’s face turned completely pale, and he actually stumbled backward.

For those who didn’t understand the significance: when a transmigrator enters a story world, it’s normal—it’s their job. But when a transmigrator’s ’original name’ appears in a story, used as a character, it means whoever wrote that story ’knew’ about that specific person.

And that was an utter taboo.

It meant someone had deliberately pulled them into this world. Someone who knew their real identity.

And if whoever orchestrated this managed to capture Estov, he could be completely trapped, kidnapped, or worse.

Most people thought systems were invincible protection. They weren’t.

There was only one real reason every transmigrator host had to have a system: to make sure they wouldn’t get lost.

In the universe, there were thousands of galaxies like the Milky Way. Millions of planets. Billions of worlds and dimensions overlapping and intersecting. It was infinite and infinitely complex.

The system was the ’key’—the navigation beacon that ensured a host could find their way back home, could travel between assigned worlds, could return safely after each mission.

Systems didn’t need overwhelming combat power or reality-warping abilities. They just needed to maintain the connection—the dimensional anchor—that kept their host from becoming lost in the infinite expanse of the multiverse.

If a system died, the host became a wandering soul stuck in whatever dimension they happened to be in. They could drift for eternity, unable to return home, unable to even find another world. They might end up trapped in the void between dimensions, conscious but unable to interact with anything, for all of existence.

It was the most terrifying fate a transmigrator could face.

And if Heena’s calculations were correct—and they usually were—Estov’s partner, this General Kaelen, was specifically targeting Estov’s ’system’.

If Kaelen captured the system, he could sever Estov’s connection to the transmigration network. Estov would be stuck—trapped in whatever world Kaelen chose, unable to call for help, unable to escape, unable to even be found by the Bureau.