Start by Spending One Billion [Entertainment Industry]-Chapter 136
"Host, do you think it's possible that I was actually an incredibly powerful being, but for some reason, I was cast down a cliff, and after cultivating peerless skills at the bottom, I ended up like this?" Sheng Quan pondered for a few seconds: "Have you been reading old martial arts novels lately?"
006 replied bashfully: "Just dabbling a little."
Sheng Quan was surprised: "You've even learned to be bashful now?"
006 was momentarily confused: "Am I being bashful?"
Sheng Quan: "Ever since the Hive concert, I've noticed you becoming more and more human-like. You’ve even developed a love for novels. 006, maybe you really were an extraordinary being before, and now you’re just recovering your memories."
"Really?!" 006 was delighted. "So I really was amazing."
Sheng Quan: "You’re amazing now too."
006 grew bashful again: "Thank you, Host."
This was just one of their usual casual conversations, and even 006 didn’t take these words to heart.
006 had always liked its host—from the very beginning. Naturally, it also loved chatting with her. The two often rambled about random topics, jumping from one thing to another, yet always enjoying the conversation.
Of course, there was one time when chatting wasn’t allowed: when the host was sleeping.
Humans needed sleep, and 006 understood that well.
So when the host was asleep, it would wait quietly, keeping an eye on their surroundings. But ever since Sheng Quan’s security team expanded to fifty people, 006 occasionally allowed itself to slack off.
After Sheng Quan fell asleep, it decided to continue reading its favorite novels.
Since the host had acquired a website, 006 had become a regular visitor. Just as it opened the webpage to read, it suddenly felt… sleepy??
Bewildered, 006 drifted into slumber.
It even dreamed.
In the dream, it stood atop a great height, watching the rotation of planets below, the passage of time across mountains and rivers. Carefully, it picked up fragments one by one, painstakingly piecing them together. The process took an eternity—so long that some planets crumbled while others were born anew.
It was the wind, the rain—formless and silent, flowing imperceptibly through the world, filled with longing, loving every pure soul.
But then, the world began to collapse.
One day, it realized it had to write something.
It wandered through the world, inscribing the luminous souls it adored into words, transforming them into stars scattered across other worlds. It hoped these stars would draw the attention of other realms, using their collective will to aid the birth of a new world.
Finally, the world’s collapse paused under the weight of such immense willpower.
It was overjoyed.
Yet, things didn’t unfold as it had hoped.
In its simplistic understanding, these pure souls were inherently radiant—destined to shine brilliantly without effort.
But that wasn’t the case.
One by one, the stars fell.
Desperate, it tried to write a happy ending, but the stories were no longer in its control.
Reality would pen each cruel line on its own.
Light inevitably birthed darkness. Talent was crushed by capital. Hard work was undone by a single word from another.
At last, it understood why the world was collapsing. This was meant to be a beautiful world where joy should reign, but when beauty was destroyed and entertainment stagnated, destruction was inevitable.
Adrift in the void, it was frantic yet helpless.
As the stars faded, the willpower from other worlds dwindled. Angry echoes reverberated back:
"Trash author! Wasting my youth!"
"Damn it! Give me your address if you dare!"
"Hahaha, don’t ask why I’m sharpening a knife!!!"
"#$%&!!!!"
The weakened willpower could no longer sustain the world, and vast fragments began breaking away. It rushed to stop them but found itself powerless.
That was when the voice came—a will so immense it momentarily halted a falling piece of the world.
"Damn it! If I’d known I’d get into a car crash, I’d have taken leave to write one last review! Trash author!!! Bring my characters back to life!!!! If I don’t see a happy ending, I’ll haunt you forever!!!!"
Stunned by the sheer vitality of this dying wish, it instinctively followed the thread back to its source.
The world’s consciousness was unusually kind to the girl who had just died in the accident, allowing it to bring her back to its own world.
As it departed, it felt the world’s consciousness gently kiss the girl’s forehead.
She was a good soul—
The two world-consciousnesses didn’t need words to agree on that.
The other world’s consciousness asked: If you change this, you’ll die too.
It answered: They are my children. I must protect them.
I won’t die. I’ll just lose all my memories.
The world’s consciousness replied: For all world-consciousnesses, memory is everything. To lose it is to die.
It doesn’t matter. A new me will emerge, carrying on my love.
It received a gift—a novel about an invincible tycoon system, a path suggested by the world’s consciousness.
My world has many stories. Read them before you go.
Amid the collapsing world, it cradled the sleeping girl and drifted through fragments of time.
"I want her to rewrite these endings. It might not work, but she’s a good person. Let her try."
"She’s human—she needs lifespan. Will you give her yours?"
To humans, this should have been a bizarre question.
But then again, these were the ones called stars. Not a single one hesitated.
Xu Man, who had just failed to be resuscitated, spat blood: "Such a pretty girl. Take it, take it! Just remind her to hire bodyguards! Fighting one against many is risky!"
Wan Bao lay on the hospital bed: "No objections, but… can’t I be saved just a little more?"
Yan Hui smiled wearily: "I can’t hold on. Saving one more is enough."
Jin Jiu, mid-fall: "Take it."
Jiang Zhen closed his eyes: "Do as you please."
Ning Zhou gazed at the floating girl: "I hope she can save my sister."
Hua Qing sneered: "Change? Is that even possible? Fine, I’m dying anyway. She can have it."
Tu Zhu said indifferently: "I don’t care."
One by one, figures from the stories appeared in the fragments—Tan Hongguang, Tan Chen, Liu Zi'an, Ming Qi, Yuan Zixin, Lan He, Wu Xiangwang…
Filled with love and sorrow, it looked at them and whispered:
"Before everything restarts, I’ll show you glimpses of the future."
Xu Man was being resuscitated, the monitors tracking her vital signs emitting ominous beeps.
Her eyelids fluttered open, and she saw her own reflection.
"Best Director of the Year: Xu Man!!!!"
Xu Man: Damn, I’m amazing! I could die happy now!
Jin Jiu was in freefall.
Amidst the rushing wind, he smiled as he caught a beautiful hairpin from the future, engraved with the words "Jin Jiu, keep fighting!"
An Baixing slowly closed his eyes on the hospital bed.
In his final moment, he saw himself standing on stage, side by side with Jin Jiu.
Jin Jiu turned to him, still lively as ever, nudging his arm: "What? You’re the mentor—act serious."
Wan Bao weakly felt his life slipping away—terminal illness, nothing to be done.
But when he looked up, he saw his film "The Path of Life" winning an award, someone calling out to him:
"Director Wan! They’re calling you up to accept the award, why are you spacing out?"
Wan Bao froze, then laughed in relief: "I... I did it..."
Ning Zhou felt his body grow cold, surrounded by anxious voices trying to help him up.
He shook his head, about to say he was fine, when suddenly a vision flashed before him—himself, around thirty years old, reading a document, his sister of the same age tapping him lightly from behind:
"Slaving away for our Chairman Sheng again? If you don’t start eating properly, I’ll have to report you to Chairman Sheng. Did you know? Our research institute is collaborating with Xing Mang too."
She grinned freely, no longer the cold corpse lying in the morgue.
The people around him scrambled to help Ning Zhou up, only to find that despite trembling in pain, the esteemed Academician Ning was smiling.
"It’s changed..."
With those whispered words, he passed away peacefully.
Flecks of light drifted from their bodies, flowing into Sheng Quan, radiating a soft white glow.
It watched silently, then murmured:
"Everyone... see you later."
It floated upward and suddenly merged into Sheng Quan’s body.
The moment it entered, the shattered world began reversing time—trees shrinking back into saplings, clocks ticking backward, raindrops rising to the sky, fragments piecing the world back together.
An ordinary day. Sheng Quan, who had just died in a car accident, opened her eyes in another world.
Well-read as she was, Sheng Quan was stunned:
[I’m alive again?? What the—resurrection system trope?]
[Host, I’m here.]
[...There really is a system? What’s your name?]
It was so naive it didn’t even realize how odd it was for someone to ask a system’s name before its functions:
[I don’t have a name. Could you give me one, Host?]
Sheng Quan agreed immediately: [Sure, I’ll name you. You’re pretty slick as a system—how about 006? Honestly, me coming back to life is pretty slick too.]
It nodded: [Understood, Host.]
[From now on, I am 006.]
Now, in the present, Sheng Quan woke up to find her system deep in thought.
She couldn’t help but admire how much smarter 006 had become.
[006, what are you thinking about?]
006 pondered: [Last night, I had a dream.]
Sheng Quan was delighted: [You can dream?? What did you dream about?]
006 continued musing: [I don’t remember. Just that... I think I was really happy in it.]
Sheng Quan cheered: [That’s great! Must’ve been a wonderful dream. 006, you’re getting more and more amazing—now you’re even dreaming happy dreams!]
Praise instantly lifted 006’s spirits:
[Hehe! I’m so awesome!]
[I must be a big deal, right?]
