Gao Teng switched from the subway to the bus, all crowded places, leaving Wei Yi without a chance to act.

Just as Wei Yi was growing impatient, Gao Teng got off at a bus stop next to a certain wetland park.

First date in a park? What an odd choice...

But it does seem less crowded here.

Wei Yi got off the bus after Gao Teng, adjusted his raised trench coat, avoided surveillance, and followed Gao Teng.

The wetland park was quite large and sparsely populated, given its distance from bustling areas. Other than local residents, who would come here without reason.

Gao Teng walked and sometimes paused, as if recalling something.

With people still around, Wei Yi couldn’t act, so he followed Gao Teng looking for an opportunity.

Suddenly, Gao Teng abandoned the main road and turned into a side path, soon disappearing behind the trees.

Wei Yi took a few strides forward but saw no one.

His brow twitched, and he quickly chased after Gao Teng along the possible route.

Ahead was an artificial lake, where Wei Yi spotted Gao Teng standing by the lakeside, lost in thought.

Wei Yi squinted. Now he just needed to push him into the water, creating the illusion of accidental drowning...

If investigated later, it would only be seen as heartbroken, unable to cope, and committing suicide by jumping into the lake.

Wei Yi scanned around the lake, saw no one, and walked forward with his head down.

Gao Teng heard footsteps, turned his head but before he saw clearly, he was pushed down, and his head was submerged in water.

"Help... help..."

Gao Teng struggled, flailing.

"Don’t blame me, blame yourself for being chosen." Wei Yi pressed down on Gao Teng’s head, speaking with a grim expression.

Gao Teng was panicking.

What did it mean to be chosen!

Why isn’t Miss Chuzheng here yet?!

"Stop!"

A violent shout came from behind, and the force suppressing him eased as someone pulled him up by the arm.

"Cough cough..."

Gao Teng coughed and gasped, terrified.

He wiped the water off his face and looked over to see the man in the black trench coat pinned to the ground by local authorities, his expression filled with disbelief.

But soon Wei Yi understood he had been set up.

He could no longer stay here.

Wei Yi called out to his system internally, "Quick, teleport me away."

But the system didn’t respond, nor did he get teleported away.

Wei Yi had something to rely on, but now with no response from the system, panic set in, and he called for the system again internally.

Still no response.

No...

This shouldn’t be.

Wei Yi’s gaze flickered, catching a glimpse of a girl standing under a tree, arms crossed, looking indifferent.

It’s her...

Wei Yi struggled furiously.

"Stop resisting! Cuff him and take him away!"

-

[System Fusion In Progress...]

A few large words displayed in front of Chuzheng.

She came to prevent Wei Yi’s escape, but suddenly the original system prompted ’whether to capture the system’.

Only Wei Yi had a system here, so Chuzheng certainly chose yes.

Then the system fusion began.

[System upgraded to LV2]

Chuzheng: "..."

It can upgrade?

The original owner never knew this.

But the original owner died too early, never having the chance to discover this upgradeable feature.

[Time-Space Tunnel feature activated.]

[Time-Space Exchange Library activated.]

[Time-Space Merchant Chatroom activated.]

Three new messages appeared in front of Chuzheng.

Chuzheng: "..."

This setup is quite comprehensive.

Is this some kind of game within a game?

Chuzheng checked out the Time-Space Exchange, noticing considerable expansion, with a newly added library and chatroom.

Yes, a chatroom.

The door clearly labeled with the three characters for chatroom.

Chuzheng opened the door, finding a virtual screen inside resembling a leaderboard.

World #78, Jhiang Hanyan, LV2

World #345, Zhou Tong, LV2

...

All of them were LV2 in a row.

Beside it was a dialogue box with scrolling messages, mostly product-related, like a transaction dialog box.

So this feature unlocks at level two.

Time-Space Merchants exist in different worlds, and transactions between them are possible.

Whether higher levels exist, Chuzheng didn’t know, but she preferred to check out the library over the chatroom.

The library was endless inside, bookshelves filled with books.

Chuzheng didn’t locate the Time-Space Tunnel, but based on the setup, each world should have only one Time-Space Merchant. Wei Yi managed to get here through the Time-Space Tunnel.

These things could be hugely tempting for others, but Chuzheng wasn’t particularly interested.

She had that bastard system anyway.

[...] Sigh.

-

Without the system to rely on, Wei Yi was just an ordinary person.

Having been caught attempting murder, it’s not easy to get out of this.

Not to mention, banned items were discovered where Wei Yi stayed, adding to the charges.

Wei Yi: "..."

He didn’t have those!

Those things weren’t his!

Though Wei Yi protested, they found fingerprints on them, leaving him speechless.

In a fit of rage, Wei Yi suddenly revealed the Time-Space Merchant affair, vowing to disrupt Chuzheng’s life.

But no one believed what he said, deeming it as nonsense, an excuse.

Wei Yi: "..."

His anger made him cough blood.

Without a business card’s help, no ordinary person would believe him, and Wei Yi had no evidence, so who would?

Half a month later, Chuzheng heard that Wei Yi had died.

Becoming Time-Space Merchants meant dying once, and Wei Yi was no exception.

He lost his system, but the countdown continued, and when it reached zero, he died.

Having fused with Wei Yi’s system, Chuzheng gained over a year, so she wasn’t too rushed right now.

-

Gao Teng went through ups and downs, transformation quite drastic.

After classes Chuzheng signed him up for, he was like a new person.

Gao Teng looked good naturally, and now dressed in brands, exuded an aura fit for immediate stardom.

Quickly landing a high-paying job, entirely by his own merit, though the image boost helped.

During this time, a stroke of luck befell him; software he made before was barely noticed, now people approached him directly.

Not only did this earn him a fortune, but also connections.

Even word of the family house being demolished spread, and it was to be replaced by a school, making it a school district property, surely spiking its value.

In just over a year, while his classmates struggled as newbies, Gao Teng rose to management level.