After Fan Yunshi's parents left, Fan Yunshi had to find odd jobs. His body, depleted by smoking and drinking, could no longer exert strength or use his brain.
So, he set his sights on his two sons, forcing his crippled son to beg. The two boys, not good people to begin with, would go to crowded places like train stations and subway stations to pick pockets.
When caught, they would play the victim, narrating their tragic backstories. Being young, the police could do little to them, only offering a few words of advice.
Until one day, they encountered a ruthless character who dragged them to a secluded spot and broke their hands and feet. Those who were once deformed but able to move freely were now confined to their beds.
It was that day that Fan Yunshi was at the mahjong table, and when his two sons, who were supposed to bring him money, didn't show up, he went out to look for them. He found them barely clinging to life. Lacking money, he could only drag them back and care for them casually. The two boys were lucky to survive.
Since being separated from the Fan family by marriage, Su Baiwei had been thinking of leaving every moment. But every time she harbored such thoughts and acted on them, she would receive "rewards" from the system.
Fan Yunshi had long grown accustomed to her occasional injuries and had no inclination to investigate. He spent his days glued to the mahjong table.
Now, Su Baiwei maintained her beauty, though her skin had become somewhat loose. Her hands were calloused, and Fan Yunshi had used her to pay off debts several times when he lost.
One day, as they lay in bed, Su Baiwei spoke, "Fan Yunshi, you are a chosen one, a destined male protagonist. But why have you become like this?"
"You've read too many novels. What destined male protagonist? If I hadn't met you and had stayed with Qing He, I would have been considered the male protagonist."
"Hahaha, I knew you still thought of him. Who has been paying off your debts all these years? Who gave birth to your children? Why do you treat me like this?"
Every time Fan Yunshi took the bus, seeing the large poster of Jun Jiuli next to him, he couldn't suppress his regret.
What did Su Baiwei have besides her face? And even that was altered to resemble Yuan Qing He. He had been blinded by foolishness back then. If he hadn't made the wrong choice, he would surely be a winner in life now.
Thinking this, Fan Yunshi slapped Su Baiwei twice with all his might, "You're crazy. Yuan Qing He is the moon in the sky, and you are the mud beneath the earth. How dare you compare yourself to him? I was truly blind back then."
"As for the two monstrous offspring you bore, I don't care for them at all. If you hadn't deliberately seduced me and somehow bewitched me, how would my company have gone bankrupt?"
"Your company went bankrupt because you were incompetent; don't blame everything on women. Following you has been my lifelong misfortune."
On the other small bed, the two children habitually covered their ears. They had heard these arguments countless times.
It was said that before meeting their mother, their father was a rich and handsome man, intelligent and wealthy. They didn't understand why their family had fallen to this state. They looked at their mother with resentment and hostility.
Why did she have to ruin their father's relationship with someone else? If she hadn't interfered, their brothers wouldn't have appeared, and they wouldn't have had to suffer so much in this world.
Fan Yunshi and Su Baiwei came to blows, neither giving in. They fought fiercely, smashing several nearby objects.
"Beep, beep, the host no longer meets the system requirements. Unbinding in progress."
Su Baiwei, her eyes red from the fight, suddenly stopped. She took a direct hit from Fan Yunshi's ashtray to her forehead, drawing blood. She didn't bother to wipe it.
She darted around, "System, don't leave. System, where are you? Come out quickly, don't play such a joke on me. I'll do anything you say, alright?"
She stumbled around, searching everywhere, her appearance like a madwoman, shouting hoarsely. The two little brats were so scared they clung to each other tightly, not daring to utter a sound.
"Su Baiwei, stop pretending to be crazy. What system? What daydream are you having?"
Su Baiwei turned around fiercely, startling Fan Yunshi so much that he fell back onto the ground. It was terrifying; the woman had transformed in an instant.
She looked incredibly old, her skin sagging unnaturally. Her face was mottled with age spots, her eyes vacant and bloodshot. Her entire facial structure had changed.
"Ah~, a ghost! There's a ghost!"
The two little brats were too terrified to look up, burying themselves tightly under the blankets.
"Are you still sleeping? Screaming your lungs out in the middle of the night."
"If you keep making noise, I'll report you for disturbing the peace. You fight all the time. If you have the guts, kill yourselves."
Hearing these voices, Fan Yunshi finally came to his senses. Combined with Su Baiwei's original appearance and her talk of a system, he had a rough idea of what had happened.
Just then, a mechanical voice sounded in his mind. "Beep, beep, a suitable host, Fan Yunshi, has been found. Do you wish to bind with the 'Underdog's Counterattack System'?"
Fan Yunshi thought this was his chance to turn things around. He had read his fair share of novels where protagonists bound with systems and reached the peak of their lives.
"I do, I do."
"Shut up, you want to steal my system, don't you? I want you dead, I want you dead!" Saying this, Su Baiwei picked up a nearby stool and swung it at Fan Yunshi.
Fan Yunshi nimbly dodged and kicked Su Baiwei in the chest.
He said disdainfully, "You think you can compete with me? You don't know what's good for you. Get lost. Hahaha, this is my chance to make a comeback. I am indeed the destined male protagonist."
"Congratulations, Host Fan Yunshi, binding successful. 038 is at your service."
"Good, good, good. System, what can you do?"
"The system issues missions. Mission 1: Slap yourself 300 times to lose three catties. Mission 2: Kick Su Baiwei twice to receive two steamed buns. Mission 3: Starve your two sons for three meals to receive 300 yuan."
"System, these rewards are too meager. When will I be able to counterattack and turn things around at this rate?"
"Host, please remain calm. Even a mosquito's leg is meat. Every little bit adds up. Missions will progress from easy to difficult, and the system will assign more generous rewards after the host completes them."
"Okay, I'll do missions two and three, but not the first one."
And so, tempted by the immense potential benefits, Fan Yunshi became increasingly ensnared in the system's deception. He became obsessed with completing missions, even resorting to self-harm without hesitation.
The system's rewards were barely enough for his family to survive. To gain more, he had to resort to even more ruthless acts. Within three years, Su Baiwei and her two sons died from his abuse.
He himself lost his sanity and committed suicide, his scarred body discovered only when the stench of decomposition alerted the neighbors. The police were called to handle the grim scene.
Fortunately, the money provided by the system allowed them to purchase this small house, thus saving the landlord from any misfortune.
After Fan Yunshi's death, Jun Jiuli repossessed 038 and had its energy core absorbed by Shui Wa.
Shui Wa didn't know if it had upgraded, but its entire body had grown larger.
Apart from that, there were no other significant changes. The path of scientific research was endless, and Jun Jiuli was not in a hurry.
After Yuan's father and mother passed away, Jun Jiuli chose a bright and clear day to die suddenly in the laboratory.
Her funeral was held very low-key, but many people came to pay their respects.
The nation lamented her early death and the lack of successors. Fortunately, her nephews and nieces continued the family lineage.