Because he had slept too much during the day, at night, Joey was not sleepy at all and was even watching entertainment shows attentively.
Calmly glancing at his son, Chi Zhao maintained a calm expression and walked to the bathroom. The moment he closed the door, he quickly ran to the toilet, put the toilet seat down and sat down with his hands covering his face.
He had explained the situation to the system on his way here and since then, the system hadn't spoken a single word.
Chi Zhao was uneasy. No matter how he looked at it, this time he was too careless. He didn't dare throw the blame onto the system anymore and he was ready for the backlash.
Chi Zhao felt guilty and ashamed. The voice calling out the system also become much softer.
Please read this from kk translates
"System, I know I was wrong. Please say something. Don't be angry. The data link is already fat, if it continues to fatten, how are you going to make your debut?"
...….
[Huh? You said something?]
Suddenly hearing such words, the system was surprised.
[Angry? Why would I be angry?]
Chi Zhao: "...Because I messed up."
The system was even more surprised.
[Isn't that a common occurrence though? If I get angry every time you mess up, my motherboard would have already burned out.]
Makes sense.
Chi Zhao was silent for a moment, "Then why weren't you saying anything all this time?"
[Preparing for the finals. One of my competitors is the new virtual idol Carol. You have no idea how much money the merchants have used on it and it is considered the most advanced virtual idol around. It wouldn't be easy to beat! There is also another competitor. You'll be shocked when you hear its identity. It's also a very formidable opponent. I must prepare well. If I only get third place, it would be a huge shame!]
Coming third place was already really amazing. When the system first went to participate in the competition, it had thought that it would be eliminated at the semi-finals, but it had unexpectedly made its way to the finals.
Chi Zhao still couldn't understand. He was someone who had listened to the system sing the most. The system's singing wasn't good or bad and it wasn't at a level where it could get to the finals and become a singer. Could it be that the people there have a different form of appreciation of music compared to the people from Earth?
Although he thought tis, Chi Zhao naturally didn't say it. He as usual spoke some encouraging words, "Don't worry, with your skills, you will definitely come out first! No matter how formidable the others are, they are definitely not any better than you…..Ah, by the way, who is your second competitor? Is it really that formidable?"
[Of course!]
The system lowered its voice, and its tone became serious.
[Before joining this competition, it was a smart rice cooker!]
…..
For a moment, Chi Zhao thought there was something wrong with his ears.
"…..What?"
[Smart rice cooker.]
The finals were coming soon. It wasn't easy for the system to manage both the competition and the task at the same time so Chi Zhao decided to cut it some slack and not say anything. But….
He couldn't help it.
"Why are you afraid of a rice cooker?! How big can a rice cooker's memory be? It can probably only say a few lines, cooking rice, rice is ready, please enjoy etc. What's so scary about that?!"
After three seconds of silence, the system's sigh sounded in Chi Zhao's mind.
[It is because it is a low-level rice cooker. It should've been made obsolete thousands of years ago but somehow this low-level intelligence managed to survive until now without being repaired or inspected while continuing to expand on its intelligence. It can now even compete with the most advanced systems in the world and win. Don't you think such an opponent is scary?]
Chi Zhao: "....."
It does indeed sound quite scary.
[So, look. Host, you're someone who cannot even understand such a simple thing. Do you think I would be angry over you messing up the task?]
The tone the system used was like a kind father gently rubbing his intellectually challenged son's head. Chi Zhao wanted to refute but he couldn't seem to say anything.
After leaving the bathroom, Chi Zhao still felt upset inside. Even Little Red was aware of Chi Zhao's mood. It tilted its head and looked at Chi Zhao for a while before turning its head and no longer caring about him.
Turning off the lights, Chi Zhao could hear Joey's faint and steady breathing. He closed his eyes and decided that the first thing he should do tomorrow was to buy a house.
In a world where spiritual powers could take form and be used as weapons, to Chi Zhao, it also gave him another advantage. Now, he could turn around and track the whereabouts of the system.
In the past, Chi Zhao could only make vague guesses based on his intuition and judgment but now he only needed to explore the depths of his mind slightly to know what the system was doing or whether it was still in his mind.
But doing something like this was risky. There was a risk of being discovered by the system.
Please read this from kk translates
After waiting patiently for an hour or two, Chi Zhao carefully stretched out a spiritual thread. He saw that the system was hidden in the deepest part of his mind, engrossed in its singing practice. Reassured, he rolled over, opened his eyes and pondered carefully over the information the system had accidentally revealed today.
Rice cookers have been made obsolete over a thousand years ago. This meant that their civilisation wasn't all that much different from the world they are currently in or at least relatively similar. Here, they also eat rice and cook rice…..they also live off grain foods.
Countless speculations formed inside him. A minute later, Chi Zhao lightly exhaled and closed his eyes again. This time, he really fell asleep.
Over the next few days, Chi Zhao was busy will all kinds of trivial matters while he secretively prepared his heart for his next confrontation with Leo.
Chi Zhao had thought of various ways to blow Leo off, but three days had passed, and Leo never made his appearance.
Chi Zhao didn't deliberately hide his whereabouts. Even if they're not the chairman, anyone would be able to find out his location but for Leo not to come, did it mean that he wasn't coming?
After so many worlds, what Chi Zhao was most afraid of was the protagonist playing his cards the usual way and facts have also proved that the protagonists in each world had never done that.
Without contact between the two, Chi Zhao didn't have the opportunity to complete his task. After waiting for another two days, Chi Zhao couldn't wait any longer and so he decided to take the initiative.
Coincidentally, just as he was about to make the first move, someone came over.
But it wasn't Leo, it was two government officials dressed in suits.
The other party didn't waste ay time. After showing their ID's to Chi Zhao, they quickly explained the reason for their visit.
Following the last terrorist attack, the government had been looking for the high-level guide who had protected half the people but was unsuccessful, so they had decided to investigate them one by one. All guides and ordinary people involved were requested to go have their spiritual powers tested and they were free to leave after that.
The other party was very polite, but Chi Zhao was not an ordinary citizen who rarely interacted with government officials. In the second world, his husband was an admiral and in the fourth world, he was an Emperor. Chi Zhao was very familiar with these types of government officials. They may seem polite now but if Chi Zhao shows any signs of not wanting to go, their attitudes would immediately change.
Just the sight of their spiritual bodies by their sides was enough to tell what their true attitude was.
Chi Zhao smiled lightly, "Okay but I am not the only one in my family. If I go, I need to take my son with me."
The superiors had showed great interest in this search for the high-level guide because they found that they did not have a guide like that registered. It basically meant that the other party was hidden somewhere or never registered. In any case, that person could no longer be hidden.
With the country being short in talents like this, they would naturally not let a top-level guide like this get away.
The place they were going to was not an ordinary government agency. If you brought a child along, it would indeed be a little troublesome.
The two officials were a little troubled for a moment. They finally proposed, "How about this? You can bring the child over, but you can't let the child enter the testing room. The child can stay in the reception on the first floor and we will send someone over to specially protect your child. What do you think?"
Chi Zhao didn't accept or refuse, "What floor is your test room on?"
"Fourth Floor."
That was okay. Chi Zhao thought about it. The fourth floor wasn't too far. There shouldn't be any problems if he left Little Red with Joey.
Now that there was no problem, Chi Zhao was taken to the testing room while Joey stayed in the reception with a half-sized Little Red on his lap.
Chi Zhao had long told Joey not to act like he could see Little Red when others were around. Being strong was a good thing but it was necessary to keep a low profile as much as possible. After all, one cannot defeat many. In case someone deliberately wants to try something, it would be troublesome.
And so, Joey remained sitting there motionlessly, looking very well-behaved. It even made the staff accompanying him find him loveable.
Alas, when would he also have a lovely son like this too?
In the quiet atmosphere, suddenly, Joey's eyes moved. He stretched out his hand. It looked a little strange but in fact, he had grabbed onto Little Red and held it in his hands. Just two seconds after he did this, the door was opened. When the staff saw who came, he immediately stood up.
"Chairman, good day."
Leo smiled and nodded. He seemed to be in a good mood. The staff was flattered. The chairman was usually not so amiable. Did something happen today?
At the same time, he didn't forget to try and get close to the chairman, "Chairman, what are you doing here?"
There were a lot of places to sit in the reception, but Leo walked straight over to the staff and even wordlessly took over his seat. When he looked at Joey who was looking at him curiously, Leo's smile deepened.
"I heard that you haven't found the high-level guide yet, so I came to take a look and along the way see what is going on."
Staff member: "...….."
Seems to be an interrogation!
The smile on the staff's face turned stiff. He smiled awkwardly and quickly found an excuse to run out to call for his boss. Before leaving, he didn't forget to ask the chairman to temporarily look after this well-behaved child. The staff felt that he was very clever doing this; he managed to delay the chairman a little and buy himself some time. Unbeknownst to him, Leo was the cleverer one and he was the one who was tricked.
There was only Joey and Leo left in the room now. Leo moved closer to Joey and spoke in a low voice. Because he hadn't interacted with children before, he seemed to be a little restrained.
"My name is Leopold. What's your name?"
Joey's voice was milky, but he was unexpectedly very accepting. When they met the first time, the child didn't speak, and Leo had thought he was very introverted.
"My name is Joey."
Immediately afterwards, Joey blinked and threw out the question he couldn't get an answer to from his father at this strange uncle, "What is your relationship with my dad?"
Please read this from kk translates
Leo was stunned for a moment, "This question, your father seemed to have already answered that."
Joey nodded and replied solemnly, "I know but I don't believe my dad. He is Pinocchio whose nose won't grow long and none of his words are truthful."
Little Red who was held in his hands, "...…"
You damn cheat! Turning around and selling out your dad!
Leo laughed.
It wasn't a faint laugh or a polite laugh. It was a joyful laugh that came from the depths of his heart. It had been many years since Leo laughed like this.
After laughing for a while, Leo also stored away his relaxed expression. He similarly nodded with seriousness, "Okay, how about we exchange information? Tell me what kind of person your father is and in exchange I will tell you what your father's relationship is with me."
He had thought that Joey would agree but the latter narrowed his small eyes and shook his head very coldly, "No."
Leo wondered, "Why not?"
"Because the value is not equal. The answer to the question I asked you isn't very important to me, and I will also sooner or later be able to figure it out through my own efforts anyway. As for your question, it is something important to you. Did you think I'm stupid enough to give up information about my dad so easily?"
The child wasn't even taller than the green plant next to him but the words coming out of his mouth was completely shocking. Leo was stunned for a long time. Immediately afterwards, the staff who had hurried back after reporting to his boss heard the chairman's majestic laughter from the other side of the door.
Staff member: "...???"