Chapter 26
Alex's body froze for a moment.
In the midst of today's chaos, he had completely forgotten about the system inside him — along with the task it had issued and the consequence of failure: erasure.
Despite the life-threatening severity of that penalty, Alex had shown zero concern and taken no action toward completing the task. If anything, he felt like punching Barry a few more times.
He understood the situation clearly. Beyond his refusal to fear death or let the system control him, the system's so-called "erasure" had never felt like a real threat from the very beginning. His instincts had never sensed any danger. It was as if the system had casually thrown out the word "erasure" like a childish game.
Reaching the absolute peak of human physical limits wasn't just about strength — it encompassed vision, hearing, touch, smell, taste, perception, and spirit. All of these integrated into an unparalleled danger sense. When his life was truly at risk, his instincts would give him a sharp warning. He would never die quietly without noticing anything.
In reality, Alex had never felt even the slightest threat from the system.
That was why he had always considered it a complete idiot.
At that moment, the system spoke again in his ear, issuing a new task.
System: [Task: Subordinate.] [As a future superhero who protects the safety of Central City with his body and deters all evildoers with his name, how can you not have your own hero team!] [Make Multiple your subordinate.] [Failure: Erasure.]
Alex removed his black-rimmed glasses and gently placed them on the table. He showed no reaction to the mechanical electronic voice in his ear. He closed his eyes and lightly rubbed his eyelids with his fingers, soothing the soreness and fatigue from staring at data all night.
He no longer wanted to speak with this system and had already decided to kill Multiple.
The system seemed somewhat embarrassed. Its electronic voice spoke again, this time with a hint of awkwardness:
"Congratulations, Host! You have successfully bound this system!"
Alex rubbed his eyelids and couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Did I want to bind it? I told you to get the hell out of my body!
He had never seen such a cheap, shameless system — forcing itself to complete tasks and forcing a binding.
"Host, please complete the task seriously."
"Host, please complete the task seriously."
"Host, please complete the task seriously."
"Host, please complete the task seriously."
"Host, please complete the task seriously."
The system turned into a broken record, repeatedly chanting the task and reminder in his ear.
The endless buzzing in his ear was like a swarm of mosquitoes and flies. The sharp mechanical sound felt like tiny needles stabbing into his heart, making his blood boil with irritation. Alex frowned, lowered his hand from his eyes, opened them, and said coldly:
"Shut up."
"As long as you seriously complete the tasks, we can be good friends. I will help you become the King of Earth, the God-King of the DC Universe. You will have everything you want and all your desires will be fulfilled!" The system's tone suddenly became sincere and humble, like a desperate salesman.
"No need. Thank you. Please unbind," Alex replied coldly, not believing a single punctuation mark from the system.
This method of controlling someone through endless mandatory tasks was something Alex could never accept. Once you lost the freedom to choose, your will and spirit would eventually twist, dragging you into a mental hell far worse than death. That was something he would never allow.
No freedom, no life.
"Enough, Alex. I know you're stubborn and have a big ego. I've already given you enough face. Don't force me to erase you!"
The system's anger finally flared. It had never encountered such a hard-headed host.
Just do the damn tasks! With me, you'll eventually rule the world, have a harem of three hundred million, become a king or a god. Why are you resisting?!
"Please erase me," Alex sneered. He already knew the system had no real ability to erase him. Otherwise, it wouldn't have quietly completed the binding task for him.
The system fell silent.
About ten minutes later, it seemed to recover.
Suddenly, Alex frowned. He felt something like a hollow needle piercing into his hippocampus. Information flowed through the tube and injected directly into the memory-storing area, merging with his existing memories.
Just as Alex prepared to resist, the system had already finished the injection.
"Controlled nuclear fusion!"
Alex's eyes sharpened. In an instant, his mind was flooded with nearly complete information on controlled nuclear fusion. The influx made his head throb, but his strong will and spirit endured and absorbed it, quickly integrating the knowledge into his own memory.
At this moment, the system sounded weak and exhausted — like a man who had ejaculated dozens of times in one night, leaving him with sore legs, a soft waist, pale face, and on the verge of collapse. Its voice was faint and drained:
[Task: Subordinate.] [As a future superhero who protects the safety of Central City with his body and deters all evildoers with his name, how can you not have your own hero team!] [Make Multiple your subordinate.] [Success: Receive the remaining key information on controlled nuclear fusion!] [Failure: Special punishment!]
The task now included a success reward and removed the "erasure" penalty.
Hearing the system's weak, kidney-deficient voice, Alex realized it had never been capable of erasing him. Even the information it forcefully injected only caused a headache and had no real life-threatening effect.
Alex frowned and subconsciously rubbed his chin with his fingers. He nodded thoughtfully and said:
"I see. Since you can't erase me, you're switching to bribery by giving me what I need. What a pathetic system."
The moment it heard Alex's evaluation, the system exploded with rage. Its mechanical voice turned hoarse and frantic as it unleashed a nonstop barrage of curses and filthy insults directly into Alex's ear.
"Fuck you! This is your binding system reward!"
"You trash host!"
"Give me back the controlled nuclear fusion data!"
"Ungrateful for what others give you! No morals or character! Insulting a noble and virtuous system!"
"People like you should just jump off a building and kill yourself!"
"Why don't you die? Why don't you die! You're wasting oxygen on this planet and polluting the entire atmosphere!"
"Useless trash! Useless trash! Fuck you!"
"Fuck you!"
"Trash host, you ruined my youth!"
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