Chapter Two: Beauty as a Blessing

"Master, are you trying to get yourself killed? Haven't I told you not to open your eyes or move?" Just as Xiao Fei was lost in the intoxicating allure of beauty, a warning suddenly sounded in his mind, followed by three sharp beeps—so similar to the alarm when running a red light in real life that it sobered him instantly. No matter how enchanting the beauty, if you lose your life over it, it's not a blessing one can enjoy—this much Xiao Fei understood.

"So, am I about to die now?" Xiao Fei asked in a trembling voice.

"Don't worry, Master, you won't die. However, regrettably, the energy upgrade system has been damaged, and the upgrade procedure was forced to terminate," the melodious female voice replied.

To hell with the upgrade system, Xiao Fei thought; as long as he was alive, nothing mattered more. At last, he could breathe a sigh of relief.

"Tch, Master, you simply don’t realize how important the energy upgrade system is. If you knew, you wouldn’t think so lightly of it," the melodious voice said, sounding almost disdainful.

What the—! I was just thinking that, I didn’t say it out loud! How can you even know that? Xiao Fei was shocked again.

"Master, I not only know what you're thinking now, but I also know what you'll think in the future. I'm the smart chip embedded in your brain, so there's nothing about you I don't know," the voice continued.

"What? Hold on! Stop calling me 'Master' and spouting such nonsense. What’s going on here? Don’t you think you owe me a proper explanation?"

"Simple enough. Just wait a moment," the voice replied. Then, with two soft 'booms,' as if someone were initiating a program, Xiao Fei was instantly flooded with the knowledge he sought.

It turned out that after Lin Siyu knocked him out, Xiao Fei fell onto his keyboard at the very moment he was connecting, in his browser game, with the energy system of the alien Maya planet. His head hit the keyboard, inadvertently pressing the 'Enter' key—just like executing a command in-game. An even more incredible coincidence occurred: the brainwaves generated by his being knocked out resonated with the signal of the command execution, allowing the alien intelligent system to implant its program into Xiao Fei’s mind.

Immediately, the alien intelligence—this very voice—established a symbiotic relationship with Xiao Fei, making him its host and prompting her to call him 'Master.'

Though the process was bizarre and fantastical, so absurd most would find it unbelievable, Xiao Fei, who was used to transmigration novels and outrageous TV dramas, accepted it quite naturally.

Damn, others get struck by lightning and transmigrate—my method is even more convincing, isn’t it? Besides, my transmigration comes with benefits. Just look at the beauty before me, Xiao Fei thought lasciviously.

After his excitement faded, Xiao Fei couldn’t help but grow frustrated. It was precisely because he was bewitched by beauty that he opened his eyes at the wrong time, causing the energy upgrade system to fail.

Had the energy upgrade been completed, it would have become an energy converter. In the early twentieth century, resources across China were scarce, and weapons of war were woefully outdated. That 'millet and rifles' method of fighting prolonged the War of Resistance for eight long years.

But with an energy upgrade and conversion system, Xiao Fei could improvise, adapt to local conditions, and independently develop and produce advanced weapons and equipment for warfare, cutting-edge medicines for healthcare, various foodstuffs to improve living conditions, and even build secret military bases equipped with the most advanced armor—just like in the game.

In that case, the First World War wouldn’t have dragged on for four years, the War of Resistance wouldn’t have lasted eight, and a Second World War might never have happened, because Xiao Fei would never allow foreign invaders to take even an inch of his homeland.

If you can’t sleep peacefully with wolves under your bed, it’s better to drive them out. Xiao Fei had no intention of invading others, but he certainly wouldn’t allow them to invade him.

Yet all these dreams had just vanished with the interruption of the energy upgrade system. What a lamentable loss it was!

"Don’t lose heart, Master. There’s still a way," the female voice sounded again, like music to Xiao Fei’s ears.

"Really? What way? Tell me, quick!" Xiao Fei asked urgently.

"Although the energy upgrade system was interrupted, we can still activate the backup system. However, the backup system requires you to accumulate energy points to continue upgrading—so it all depends on your own abilities, Master."

A backup system? That works too? Xiao Fei was astonished.

"What do you mean?" he pressed.

"Currently, your energy conversion level is at one. The highest is level nine. Each upgrade requires a set amount of energy points. You can earn energy points in various ways—by doing good deeds, punishing the wicked, helping the weak, saving lives. The better your deeds, the more points you'll earn. Conversely, if you commit evil—arson, murder, pillage, harming the innocent, or worse—such as violating young women—the system will deduct points accordingly."

"Well, that sounds pretty good. Better than having nothing. Oh, right—what if a young woman forces herself on me?" Xiao Fei asked, his tone suggestive.

"Master, must you be so lewd? Please be serious," the voice replied, sounding bashful.

"I was being serious! With my looks, I’d be a hot commodity in the Republic era. What if a beauty threw herself at me and I couldn’t refuse? I need to know if I’d lose points for being forced!"

"Tch, Master, you’re so narcissistic. I’m ignoring you now."

"Alright, alright, enough joking. So, what can I actually do with a level-one energy conversion system?" Xiao Fei asked, as this genuinely concerned him.

"Master, you can convert the surrounding air, wind, or water into handguns—for instance, three German Mauser pistols, two American Brownings, one British Maxim machine gun, a tank—"

"Wait, wait—are you serious?" Xiao Fei interrupted her, unable to contain himself. To a military enthusiast from the 21st century, getting his hands on a Browning or the like was the stuff of dreams.

"Of course, Master, I never lie."

"I still don’t believe it unless you show me right now," Xiao Fei insisted.

"Now isn’t the time, Master. There’s a beautiful woman right in front of you—shouldn’t you greet her first?" the voice reminded him.

Right, there was a stunning woman here. Xiao Fei remembered at last, and the thought alone made a certain part of him stir.

"Master, you’re such a wolf. I’m embarrassed for you!"

"Damn, I just realized—if you can read my thoughts, you’ll know everything I do. If I’m, say, making love with someone I cherish, you’d see everything. Doesn’t that mean I have no privacy at all?" Xiao Fei exclaimed.

"Master, must you be so indecent? Fine, in the future, whenever you do that sort of thing, I’ll cut off my monitoring. I’m not interested in watching anyway—hmph!" she replied with disdain.

"Heh, that’s good, that’s good. Wait, why is it so hard under me? What is that?"

"Master, that’s the computer and keyboard you brought from the 21st century."

Bang! Xiao Fei’s mind reeled. "What? I brought my computer too?"

Just imagine—a man traversing time with his laptop, reclining among a harem of wives and concubines in the old days, watching adult films... What a delightful scenario that would be.

Yes, a thrilling idea! Xiao Fei mused with excitement.

But then another thought struck him: what use was a computer without broadband in the Republican era? Even if he had some movies stored, he’d eventually tire of them.

"Master, you’ve forgotten about me! Once you upgrade the energy conversion system, you can connect to the future internet."

Bang, bang, bang...

Just now, his mind had exploded once. Now, it was three times in a row.

"What—are you kidding me?!" Xiao Fei couldn’t hold back anymore and leapt up from the sickbed, entirely forgetting the weeping beauty at his bedside.

The beauty was clearly startled. She had been kneeling beside the bed, and Xiao Fei’s sudden outburst gave her such a fright that she cried out. But her shock was quickly replaced by boundless delight—Xiao Fei, bedridden and unconscious for seven days and nights, had miraculously awakened.

"Uncle, uncle, you’ve finally woken up! Thank the ancestors of the Xiao family! Uncle, wait here, I’ll fetch your medicine right away."

Her eyes were brimming with tears, but her face shone with irrepressible joy. She rose, turned, her figure graceful, her eyes bright, her fragrance wafting through the air, her hair flowing like silk—a beauty of a kind Xiao Fei, accustomed to modern women, had never seen. He was left speechless by her elegance.

As the beauty disappeared, a silk handkerchief drifted down. Xiao Fei caught it and brought it to his nose. The delicate, virginal scent was so intoxicating he was nearly overwhelmed.

Wait. Uncle? Could she be my niece?

Surely not—what a wretched fate! Xiao Fei swore he would never commit such a beastly, incestuous act.

"Uncle, what are you doing?"

The young woman saw Xiao Fei intently inhaling the scent of her personal handkerchief, her expression turning complex and mortified. She quickly set down the medicine jar, snatched the handkerchief from his hand in anger, and rushed out the door. The two battered doors slammed shut, leaving Xiao Fei sitting dumbfounded on the bed...