RAAS Chapter 93: Copied Life (6)

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Seeing Xin Er’s message, Shi Qing’s heart stirred, and he immediately replied:

"Where are you?"

Xin Er’s response was swift as always:

"My body has already been destroyed. I’m now in a soul state, sealed within Li Mi’s body. Li Mi is the one who previously disguised himself as your host."

"Who is the other person? The one impersonating me?"

"His name is Suoya. He accepted a mission in this world and chose to traverse into your duplicate’s body, which is why he has always looked like you."

Shi Qing frowned slightly, finally solving a long-standing doubt. It seemed that he and Qin Mo had been watched from the moment they first traversed.

"What is the relationship between Li Mi and Suoya? Are they each other’s system and host?"

From Xin Er’s reply, Shi Qing could tell he was practically screaming:

"How is that possible?! How could they be systems?! They are poachers! They are madmen! They make a living by hunting systems!"

"Why? How can they traverse different worlds without a system?"

Xin Er paused for a moment before replying:

"They had their own systems. But they have already devoured them."

"What?"

After another brief pause, Xin Er quickly replied:

"They were once elites from different worlds, chosen lifeforms. Initially, they all had their own systems. But later… later… they devoured their own systems."

Shi Qing’s pupils contracted as he suddenly understood—the so-called poachers were actually hunting systems?

"They devoured their systems and didn’t suffer any punishment?"

"There was nothing that could be done. It started as an accident. Not all systems and hosts get along peacefully. Conflicts arise, arguments happen, hosts grow tired of being controlled, or sometimes the system is too naive and exposes a weakness to a scheming host. In the end, the exact origins are no longer clear. But what is certain is that by devouring their systems, they gained the power of a system. They became both host and system, without restrictions or constraints. The stronger they became, the more their ambition grew, and they started hunting even more systems."

Shi Qing frowned.

"If they already have system abilities, why continue devouring others?"

This question confused Shi Qing. In his impression, a system was just a gatekeeper—all the good stuff was locked behind a system store, requiring effort to earn points for purchases. If someone devoured a system, they could essentially assign themselves missions and access the store freely. So why would they need to keep devouring more systems?

His reasoning was sound, but when Xin Er saw the question, he couldn’t help but think—how could someone ask something so naive? However, considering that he needed Shi Qing to save him, he held back his frustration and replied:

"Of course, to gain different abilities!"

At that moment, a light bulb went off in Shi Qing’s mind.

He calmly changed the subject:

"What is your ability?"

After a while, Xin Er responded:

"Sigh, there’s no point hiding it. I have pretty good qualifications—I can help my host strengthen their physique."

Strengthen physique?! Isn’t that something you can just buy with money from the system store?

Seeing no response from Shi Qing, Xin Er tried to earn some goodwill by adding:

"If I couldn’t help hosts strengthen their physique, I wouldn’t have been unlucky enough to get hunted!"

Shi Qing tentatively asked another question:

"Hmm… do you know other systems? What abilities do they have?"

Xin Er had no idea why Shi Qing was asking such basic questions, but since he needed his help, he stayed patient and explained:

"There are too many. Some provide technological products, some offer spiritual elixirs, and some are even more powerful—they can grant hosts high-level bloodlines and bodies…"

He gave many examples, completely shattering Shi Qing’s worldview.

Wait… aren’t these things something that every system is supposed to have?

Then Xin Er suddenly asked:

"What is your ability? I noticed Li Mi and Suoya value you highly. They gathered intelligence early on and spent a large amount of Ya Coins just to traverse here and hunt you."

Shi Qing: …How was he supposed to answer this?

It seemed like his system’s nature was different from the others!

And… was being different a good thing? Because it really didn’t feel like it!

Shi Qing didn’t reply, and Xin Er didn’t press further. Instead, he anxiously asked again:

"How’s your host? Is their level high? Are they strong? Can they fight Li Mi and Suoya alone? They’ve already devoured four or five systems, so their power is immense!"

"You can’t see the battle?"

Xin Er: "I can’t see anything, dear. The only thing I can do is communicate with you."

Shi Qing: "…"

Shi Qing withdrew his consciousness, opened his eyes slightly to observe the outside, then… quickly retracted it.

He lit a candle for Li Mi and Suoya in his heart.

Meeting his host?

Well, tough luck for them.

Qin Mo had completely gained the upper hand. Li Mi and Suoya were already covered in wounds—it was only a matter of time before they fell.

The scene was not pleasant to look at, so Shi Qing stopped watching. He needed to ask more questions while Xin Er had yet to be rescued.

"Since they’ve swallowed so many systems, why are you the only one still conscious?"

Xin Er, now willing to share everything he knew, answered immediately, "I’m at level 70, after all. My talent isn’t bad, cough cough… and my abilities are excellent. Besides, those two poachers aren’t as united as they seem. A system can’t be devoured by two hosts at once. Since they haven't decided who will absorb me, I got a chance to breathe."

"But that won’t last much longer. If you get hunted down, they can split me between them and live in harmony while slowly enjoying their feast." At the end of his message, he even added a dramatic 'wide noodle tear' emoji.

Shi Qing's mouth twitched, inwardly grumbling, I won’t be hunted down! Stop cursing others just because you got caught!

As if realizing his mistake, Xin Er quickly tried to make amends. "I mean—you're definitely way stronger than me! You won’t fall for their tricks, and you’ll definitely rescue me!" He even added a ‘starry-eyed’ emoji.

Shi Qing found his casual way of using system messages like a chat app utterly disgraceful.

But there was no time to waste; he still had questions.

"You mentioned the Origin World earlier. What is it? How do you get there?"

"Hmm… What level are you? Not even level 50 yet?"

Shi Qing glanced at his and his host’s level—two glaringly low twenties. Compared to this fool’s level 70, they were nothing. If he admitted his level, he’d definitely be looked down upon. So he decisively snapped, "Quit the nonsense! Do you want to be saved or not?"

Xin Er immediately played humble. "D-don’t get mad! I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you!"

"The Origin World is above all small worlds. No one knows how it was formed, but one thing is certain: only chosen beings can go there. When they reach level 50, they receive a system mission. If they complete it successfully, they’ll be transported to the Origin World."

Shi Qing's ears twitched slightly. A system mission? He and his host had received one, but they weren’t even level 50 yet!

Xin Er continued, "I’ve heard that some systems and hosts with incredibly good luck might receive a system mission before level 50. But even if they do, it doesn’t matter. System missions are extremely difficult. Attempting them without enough strength is basically suicide."

Shi Qing: … So, he and his host are incredibly lucky? Damn it! What kind of luck is this?! If his host weren’t a powerhouse, they’d already be dead at the hands of those two poachers!

Now that he knew how to get to the Origin World, Shi Qing didn’t waste time and immediately asked another question, "What about Soul Awakeners? You said earlier that both you and I are Soul Awakeners."

Xin Er took a little longer to reply this time, making Shi Qing nervous for the first time—hoping his host outside would slow down and not deal with those two threats too quickly.

After a moment, Xin Er's response finally came: "There are countless systems, but not all of them are Soul Awakeners. I can’t explain it clearly, but some systems don’t have minds of their own. They just issue tasks and provide certain abilities mechanically. Others, like you and me, have self-awareness. Hmm… You were an independent lifeform before you became a system, right? Same with me. I died in my own world, then woke up again as a system. That makes us Soul Awakeners."

Shi Qing was slightly stunned. So that’s how it is?

He asked, "What’s the difference between a Soul Awakener and other systems?"

"We can grow."

Shi Qing understood.

After a while, Xin Er sent another message: "…Most poachers’ exclusive systems are Soul Awakeners."

A short sentence, yet Shi Qing caught the underlying meaning.

Being a Soul Awakener system had its advantages, but also unavoidable drawbacks. Soul Awakeners could grow, providing their hosts with greater power. But at the same time, because they had self-awareness and were independent beings, conflicts with their hosts were more likely to arise. When tensions escalated, fights became inevitable. If one person crossed the line, what followed was a never-ending cycle of battles.

Shi Qing thought for a moment and then asked one final question. "Xin Er, where is your host?"

As a system, Xin Er must have a host. Since he had been captured, what happened to his host? Had they been killed by Li Mi and Suoya?

Shi Qing thought Xin Er wouldn’t answer, but then a message arrived: "He’s not dead. He’s still alive."

Shi Qing's heart skipped a beat.

Xin Er continued, "Li Mi and Suoya chased us across five worlds. In the last world, my host and I fell into their trap and were completely defeated. But in the end, I voluntarily severed our contract. He stayed in that world while I was taken by Li Mi."

After a brief pause, Shi Qing received a message that struck deep into his heart:

"So, I want to live."

Only by surviving could he go and find his host again.

Shi Qing was momentarily stunned, then sent Xin Er a message: "Don't worry, you will survive." At the end, he added a smiling emoji with curved eyes.

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