PAID

The Temporal Regulatory Bureau consisted of many departments, and the one L1 belonged to had the primary task of maintaining the stability of small worlds, ensuring that the protagonist's trajectory in each world led to the predetermined perfect ending.

L1 was the top-ranked system in the department, and every small world under his supervision reached a flawless conclusion—except for world number A20231007.

A cool breeze swept through, dispelling the heat in the pavilion.

Ye Leyao felt the temperature around him drop significantly. Looking up, he realized that the scorching sun had been obscured by thick clouds, and layers of them were piling up, signaling an imminent storm.

Bai Yu used sign language to ask, “Did you remember everything?”

Ye Leyao nodded slightly, “Yes, I remember.”

The pain in his head had subsided, and all of his memories had been neatly restored to their proper places.

Bai Yu asked, “So, will you succeed this time?”

Ye Leyao didn’t respond immediately, instead sinking into a deep recollection.

...

When exactly had all of this started?

After thinking for a long time, L1 finally recalled—it had begun after the conclusion of world S20070501.

The plot of S20070501 could be summed up in one sentence: a "koi" protagonist wins at life effortlessly.

The protagonist of that world was named Cheng Fei, but L1’s favorite character wasn’t him. It was a character who died unexpectedly midway through the story—Ye Fan.

All regulatory systems had absolute control over the small worlds they managed. They could correct errant plots or modify predetermined events.

The former earned the system points from the main god system, while the latter could result in point deductions, depending on the severity of the plot’s deviation.

Points were akin to currency and could be used within the system space.

And when a system accumulated enough points, it was granted a choice:

It could either remain a system, under the supervision of the main god system, or it could relinquish its system status and enter one of the small worlds as a human.

L1 had amassed more than enough points a long time ago, though he couldn’t even recall how many digits his point total contained.

Despite having plenty of points, L1 had chosen not to become human.

The system administrator, Qiu, had once asked L1 why he didn’t want to become human.

L1’s response was simple: “I am the top system in the regulatory department. I am omniscient and omnipotent. Why would I give up these abilities to become a weak human?”

Qiu had been taken aback. After a long pause, she smiled and said, “L1, humans are not weak. The reason you see them that way is because you’ve never experienced their vibrant, colorful lives. You’ve never felt the most beautiful emotions in the world, so you don’t understand yet.”

L1’s tone remained unchanged. “I don’t understand why someone would willingly abandon everything they have to become insignificant. But I am certain I don’t want to experience such a life.”@@novelbin@@

Qiu was surprised. “So, you’ve never been to the human world in your true form?”

L1 shook his head.

Systems did not have physical bodies. They were merely data—vast and complex data.

But the main god system had given all systems the ability to obtain a physical form.

All it took was a visit to the points marketplace, where they could exchange hundreds or thousands of points for a body of their choosing.