Suspicious System

Her last thoughts before her consciousness faded were, Suspicious! Very Suspicious! Extremely suspicious!

She woke up to the sound of that pseudo-masculine electronic voice.

[Host transfer complete.]

As she opened her eyes, she realized she was in a white space. There wasn't a floor or ceiling or walls. It was just.... white. White as far as the eye can see. The pure color felt blinding.

[System powering down....]

"Wait!" She blurted.

Liu Aili didn't know what just happened. She needed to get a grasp on her bearings. Could she have somehow ingested hallucinogenic drugs? What the h*ck was this system? Was it a virus? More importantly, how could a human get a computer virus?! It sounded so sketchy! Shouldn't there be a set-up screen or other explanation?

Questions pelted around her head like a nest of angry bees.

First things first. Where the h*ck is she?! That irritating mechanical voice sure chose a good moment to shut up.

Before she could say anything else, the space around her suddenly turned dark. No, it wasn't just dark. It was pitch black.

Liu Aili couldn't make anything out.

"SYSTEM!!!"

No response.

"You cheap system! What am I doing here?"

Nothing.

She tried calling the system again. "System~ What were you called again... If you come here, I promise I won't beat you up~"

She wasn't stupid. She was just hoping that what she thought just happened hadn't happened.

She had read enough web novels to realize she was probably in the system space. Or some sort of in-between place. It should be... sort of like limbo? But what is with this situation that defies logic? Wasn't she supposed to be given a mission or something? Where was her welcoming statement?

She raised her eyes upwards. Can I get a refund on a golden finger? This one is broken!

"Transmigration System?"

It seemed like it had really turned off. Could it be that it was waiting to hear its full name before it turned back on, she mused. But she was half-dead when she heard it the first time! How was she supposed to remember?

Wait... it had something to do with her double major. "What was it again?"

"Animal Communications System? Transmigrating Animal Communications System?"

Ding!

[What can I help you with today?]

"Explain. Where. I. Am!!!" Aili roared.

The space lit up to show that searingly white scenery once again.

[Suggesting that Host calms down.]

Her mouth twitched. "You want me to calm down? How about you start by explaining where I am! I never agreed to be here, you stupid--!"

[Here's what I found on the web for "can you die of anger?"]

[An Angry Heart Can Lead to Sudden Death

Anger Really Can Kill You

Can Powerful Emotions Kill You? Read more to find out...]

Pei! She spurted blood. If she hadn't died yet, she really would die soon of anger.

Liu Aili knew that she couldn't let the system continue to take advantage of her. She sat down, and tried to ignore it as it automatically started reading the first article it found. Who designed this sh*tty system?!

System~ If I ever find out how to destroy you, won't even know what happened before you die!

She took a big breath. And another. Then she muttered, "F*ck your mom! If This Lady doesn't beat you up at least once before I die, This Lady won't be able to rest in peace!"

The System kept reading the article "An Angry Heart Can Lead to Death"

Through gritted teeth, Liu Aili forced out the words, "Can you explain where I am?"

The system stopped reading the article and responded. [How can I help you?]

Aili stared ahead of her, at a loss for words. Was this some kind of defective virtual assistant? She repeated her question. "Where am I?"

[Answering Host: Host's soul is currently inside of the system.]

"And that system is the Transmigrating Animal Communications System?"

[Correct.]

"Can you explain what that system does?"

[Answering Host: The Transmigrating Animal Communication System is a state of the art world-hopping System. By accomplishing missions given by the System, Host can earn the opportunity to return to her old life.]

World-hopping? Huh?? What does that mean? What's with that weird name? Also, what about her world? Her friends and family would be waiting for her. She couldn't abandon her family.

It was one thing to read about this sort of thing happening in books, but it was another for it to happen in real life. She couldn't bear to just up and leave her life. But... Doesn't this seem a little too cliche? Would it tell her next that when she earned enough points, she could go back to her old life? Hah! Yeah right.

She knew that, going along with the general plot lines of these kind of stories, these systems just pop out of nowhere. She didn't believe that there wasn't some sort of mastermind behind the scenes.

More importantly... "What happened in my world? Aren't I already dead?" she asked.

[Error: System cannot answer. Searching for connection... Connecting to Master. Connection complete.]

[Initializing visual... Visual complete]

In front of her, a screen popped up, showing an extremely wrinkled old lady.

The old woman crowed, "Hello there, dearie!"

Aili couldn't keep up with everything that was going on. She wished that she wasn't in a splotchy, translucent soul-form so she could kick something.

"Who are you?"

The old woman responded, "I am the creator of this fantastic System!"

To say that Liu Aili's face twitched would be an understatement. An extreme understatement, at that. Her entire soul shuddered violently in agitation.

She couldn't hold it anymore. "Please explain what you mean by 'fantastic System' and I promise I won't beat you up!!!" She roared at the old lady in the screen.

The old lady didn't seem surprised by her reaction. If anything, she was amused.

"Hehehe," she cackled. "I know! I love it too!"

Liu Aili: "...."

"But that sly busy-body brother of mine was jealous of my achievements and purposefully messed with my system! Now it has all sorts of BUGs." The old lady seemed distressed.

Liu Aili couldn't quite grasp what she was saying. "How come you're talking to me like I know what's going on?"

The old lady ignored her. She sighed before continuing, "Do you understand the theory of entropy? Entropy is a law. It states that the chaos in the universe is always increasing. To those that thrive in chaos, this is undoubtedly a good thing. But for others, this spells their doom! Billions of universes, destroyed! An uncountable amount of deaths! Not that I particularly care about the individuals. But, to increase the amount of chaos in the universe will just bring about the end of our existence even faster! We can't let that happen."

She continued to lecture about the importance about the harmony of the universe. Yin and Yang. The five elements. Affinity and enmity. Support and suppression.

The old lady stopped when she finally realized Liu Aili was not paying attention. It was not that she couldn't understand, but she simply did not have the mental fortitude to listen to a lecture on the universe after her body was crushed by a truck. She didn't even know what happened to her.

The old woman sighed again. "Look, what it boils down to is this: if you want to see your family again you need to complete the tasks the System gives you. Just think about it like it's a RPG game, okay?"

"Why did you choose me? You didn't even get my permission to bring me here!" Liu Aili's voice was hoarse. She sneered, "Is this one of the BUGs?"

How could she treat it like a RPG game? How could she just forget about her life she had been living for twenty-one years?!

She didn't trust the woman. It was an instinctual, gut-wrenching distrust. Aili was chosen to complete the tasks of the System. But why? Why her? And what was the real end-goal of these tasks? Could one person really make a difference when it comes to the "harmony of the universe"?? Why did it sound like this woman was just spewing bulsh*t...

The old lady frowned and looked at Aili like she was a troublesome pest. Aili's heart grew cold as she saw the icy indifference in the eccentric woman's eyes. She closed her mouth.

The old woman waved her hand, and the screen shimmered before changing to show Aili's body laying in a hospital bed. She had tubes down her throat and multiple IV bags attached to each arm. Her legs were in splints. She could see her mom sitting next to the bed, talking to her, but she couldn't hear whatever it was her mom was saying.

Her mom looked exhausted. The once fine wrinkles on her beautiful face now seemed like they were carved into her skin. She wasn't wearing any makeup. Her hair was clipped back and her back drooped as she stared at her daughter.

Liu Aili's soul burned. This scummy system. This scummy woman.

[Terminating visual...termination complete.]