SFR: Chapter 1

TL: Hi everyone, I’ve been really into ancient lately and haven’t found any modern novels that really interested me. This novel, The Salted Fish is Rebellious, is the only one that has really caught my interest. I really like the dynamics between the MC and ML and how they trick everyone, including the systems. There aren’t many chapters out in the raws at the moment, but the author is a very reliable one who has written novels like This World Has Gone Crazy and It’s My Turn to Take the Stage to Fly. Tentative schedule for the moment will be one chapter every three days, but might change depending on the amount of raw chapters left and my available time. I hope you enjoy!

Xing Shi stood silently, his eyes puzzled.

This place was indoors. There was a dining area to the left with a fresh style, while the right was a long food window surrounded by a bustling crowd.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this was a dining hall.

Then what was going on? Shouldn’t he be in the magic world?

Many years ago, he inexplicably transmigrated to the magic world where technology was backward, the strong were respected, and almost everyone had a magic core in his body. His life was very bad. The only way to have peace was to become stronger. Therefore, he worked hard and finally upgraded his magic core, entering the rank of the masters.

Upgrading the magic core was a very difficult process. It took him three days and nights to break through. He was so tired that he fell asleep.

As a result, he opened his eyes and arrived here.

The familiar skin color, the familiar clothes, and the familiar material world.

Was he dreaming? Or did someone cast illusion magic while he was sleeping?

However, his house had an advanced defensive magic circle. He also had a magic stone that resisted illusions on his body. It was almost impossible to set a trap without alarming him.

Then there was another possibility.

It was that… he had transmigrated again.

He returned to normal human society.

The moment he thought this, the whole world seemed to come alive in an instant.

He felt his suddenly accelerated heartbeat, the sweat on his forehead that occurred at an unknown time, and the smell of food in the air that made him salivate.

He followed the smell and saw the window closest to him.

Chinese food!

Fresh and hot Chinese food that he hadn’t eaten in years!

Xing Shi was shifting his toes in that direction when a cold voice suddenly rang in his mind.

[System 99, successfully bound to the host.]

Xing Shi couldn’t help pausing.

At the table not far away, Fu Xiuning had just picked up a green vegetable when he paused slightly.

He calmly continued to eat while listening to the following words.

[Host, please follow the requirements to capture the mission target, or you will be erased.]

[Mission target: Fu Xiuning.]

[Ding.]

[Currently favorability value: -5.]

Fu Xiuning’s expression didn’t change.

He started being able to hear these voices a few years ago. At first, he thought it was an auditory hallucination. However, the hosts soon surrounded him and wanted to capture him.

He tried to feign civility, but their favorability value program was very accurate. It would be updated as long as he was within the scanning range and his favorability fluctuated.

This meant that no matter how kind he acted, his favorability value continued to drop. He couldn’t fool the system at all, so he simply stopped pretending.

There was a period of anxiety, irritability, and anger. After that, he was more and more skilled at abusing batches of people.

It had been more than a month since he dealt with the last host. He recently guessed that the system would be restocked. Sure enough, one came today.

He took a sip of water and waited for the reaction of the newcomer.

On the other side, the program reported the favorability value, and the system said, “The host can communicate with me in your mind to avoid inconvenience in life.”

Xing Shi didn’t say anything.

The system and Fu Xiuning weren’t surprised. A normal person would definitely need time to digest such a strange thing.

The system took the initiative to give options. “Host, you can ask me questions at any time. Right now, you can choose to check the information of Fu Xiuning, the target, check your own information, or participate in the novice draw.”

Xing Shi blinked and controlled his thoughts.

He had killed monsters and fought demons. It was common for him to encounter dismembered bodies on the roadside. He had seen many strange things and eye-catching scenes. Nothing could make him change his expression unless it was an extreme situation.

The voice that appeared suddenly didn’t have an electronic, mechanical feeling. The tone was calm and cold. It was unknown if there were any other emotions.

Since he could communicate in his mind, he decided to share his happiness. “Great!”

At the same time, the system and Fu Xiuning thought, ‘It looks like he has come back to his senses.’

They still weren’t surprised by his reaction. They had seen such people before. These people lived a miserable or ordinary life and felt that being selected by the system would lead them to the pinnacle of life.

Generally, such people had a high degree of acceptance, cooperation, and enthusiasm.

The system was very satisfied. Just when it was trying to calm him down, it heard his next words. He said with an excited tone and a strong voice, “Noodles, with, soybean, sauce!”

The system: “?”

Fu Xiuning: “?”

What? Was this related to the topic?

The system said, “Host…”

Xing Shi exclaimed, “It tastes like noodles with soybean paste!”

The system tried to get things back on track. “Host, please…”

Xing Shi continued to be excited. “Noodles with soybean paste!”

The system asked, “Did you hear me?”

Xing Shi told it, “Shut up. No one can stop me from eating noodles with soybean paste today!”

The system’s voice became cold. “Host, if you don’t cooperate, I will start the punishment program. Severe cases will lead to erasure.”

Xing Shi said, “There are noodles with soybean paste here!”

The system was ruthless. “If you don’t cooperate, the first level punishment program will be started. The countdown is 3 seconds.”

Xing Shi was unmoved.

The years of a bad life might’ve smoothed his temper, but there was still a bottom line. He didn’t like to be threatened or controlled.

The moment the word ‘erasure’ came out, his only thought was to dismantle it.

First of all, he had to figure out its mechanism and killing effect in order to facilitate his plan.

Fu Xiuning didn’t hear the host call out to stop it and raised his eyes slightly.

According to his understanding, the first level punishment was the lightest. Nevertheless, it wasn’t easy. The host would either turn pale, tremble all over, or scream ‘Ah!’ without exception.

He scanned the area calmly, wanting to see the scene with interest. However, after searching, he didn’t find any suspicious people. He guessed that the host might be somewhere behind him. Someone nearby happened to be eating noodles with soybean paste.

Then that idea was quickly overturned.

It was because he heard the host speak, and there was no pain in his voice at all.

“I don’t feel anything. Are you not done yet?” Xing Shi asked. “Is your time flow different from ours? Are you still counting down?”

The system: “?”

Fu Xiuning: “?”

The system froze for a moment. “Are you okay?”

Xing Shi understood. “Oh, this means the punishment is over. Is that it?”

He was happy. “Then I’ll go and buy noodles with soybean paste. Bye~”

The energy of the system was a bit disordered for a moment. The arrogant posture collapsed, and the calm tone was broken. “…No, why are you okay?”

Xing Shi ignored it.

The moment the system made a noise for the first, the instinct he developed in the high-risk environment made him immediately activate his energy core. However, there wasn’t the familiar energy fluctuation. He immediately knew that he had become an ordinary person again after the transmigration. He no longer had magic.

Even though his magic was gone, his experience wouldn’t be in vain. It was just pain. He could handle it.

Unexpectedly, he didn’t feel anything at all after being mentally prepared.

Xing Shi didn’t know the reason, but he wouldn’t tell the system.

He asked for a bowl of noodles with soybean sauce. Once he learned it was free, he took the plate and sat down nearby, eager to bury his head in the meal.

The system scanned him from head to toe and asked doubtfully, “Are you really okay?”

Fu Xiuning also wanted to know. He used the action of wiping his mouth to look around again.

Unfortunately, the volume of the conversation between the system and the host was always the same. He couldn’t judge the distance. Now it was mealtime, and there was always someone at the window with the noodles with soybean sauce. He couldn’t lock onto the target.

The system asked three times, but the host didn’t say a word. It once again brought up the rule of punishment for non-cooperation.

Xing Shi still ignored it.

The system said, “The host isn’t cooperating. The first level punishment program will be activated. The countdown is 3 seconds.”

This time, it focused on the host’s breathing, heartbeat, muscles, and nervous system. It found that the rhythm wasn’t disturbed at all. It checked the program suspiciously and confirmed that it was running well without bugs. It was surprised. “You are really fine!”

Fu Xiuning was also surprised to hear the answer.

In so many years, this was the first host immune to the first level punishment. What was the reason?

The system also asked, “Why are you fine?”

Xing Shi concentrated on eating and pretended not to hear.

The system: “?”

It looked at the dining hall with people coming and going and felt a bit lonely.

It had never suffered such grievances before. It was helpless and furious. “Can you pay attention to me?!”

Xing Shi treated it as if it didn’t exist.

He finished the noodles in a hurry. He put down his chopsticks and looked at other windows with an unsatisfied look. He wanted to eat something else.

At this time, the boy next to him raised an arm towards him. Xing Shi immediately looked over.

It was a long table and the boy was sitting one seat away on the opposite side. He held an open package of tissue in his hand and asked in a friendly manner, “Do you want tissues?”

Xing Shi paused and took one. “Thank you.”

The boy had hair dyed gray and a sunny smile. “My name is Feng Zifan. Brother, what should I call you? Are you here for the interview, or have you already been internally selected?”

The boy opposite him introduced himself. “My nickname is Da Zhuang. You can call me that. You must’ve been internally selected. This face can be described in one word, handsome!”

Xing Shi didn’t understand and called out to the system, “What do they mean?”

The system finally heard him speaking and asked coldly, “Aren’t you ignoring me?”

Xing Shi smiled at the two people in front of him and asked back, “Are you here for the interview, or were you internally selected?”

Feng Zifan answered, “We both passed the interview and are waiting to be assigned to classes in the afternoon. However, we can only go to the regular class. You should be able to go to Class 1, right?”

Xing Shi told him, “That isn’t necessarily true.”

He changed the subject. “I’ll go get some drinks. Do you want any?”

Feng Zifang and Da Zhuang both already got drinks, so they politely declined.

Xing Shi stood up and left the table, asking in his mind, “Do you think you are important?”

The system said, “This is just the beginning. Do you know where to go and what to do in the afternoon? Do you know where to live after this is over? Do you know the name of this body?”

Xing Shi replied, “I don’t know anything.”

The system’s voice was arrogant. “Then please correct your attitude and cooperate with the mission. I will give you the information after that.”

Xing Shi said, “But I can sprint 100 meters to hit the wall in front. Then I will tell the policeman that I have lost my memory. Then I can get everything I want to know.”

“…Huh?”

The system was caught off guard and said without thinking, “Aren’t you afraid of being killed by the 100 meter spring? Fainting is better than that”!

Xing Shi naturally knew that fainting was more feasible.

However, his purpose wasn’t just to get the information. He also wanted to test the bottom line of the system. Fainting didn’t take as long as running. He wanted to know to what extent the system could control his body during this process.

He said, “No, I’m afraid of falling back. I don’t feel safe.”

The system wondered, “Aren’t you afraid of hitting the wall?”

Xing Shi told it, “I am also afraid, but I can close my eyes and charge without looking.”

He imitated the other person’s tone. “The system isn’t providing information, so the 100 meter spring will be started. The countdown is 3 seconds.”

The system warned him. “Unreasonable behavior from the host will initiate the punishment program!”

Xing Shi asked, “What level?”

The system choked up. “…First level.”

“As long as you are happy. Then I will charge now.”

The system noticed that his leg muscles were instantly tense and hurriedly said, “Don’t do it! I will tell you!”

Fu Xiuning looked calm. He thought, ‘If you have the ability, you can really charge.’

However, reporting information was the responsibility of the system. Now that the system had compromised, he could listen in… The moment this thought came to mind, a figure in the corner of his eye suddenly ran forward.

At the same time, it was accompanied by the system’s screams. “Ahhhh, stop!”

Fu Xiuning: “……?”