Chapter Forty-Eight: Completion

It turned out that Chef He had previously encountered the Liu brothers during his time with the Third Caravan, when there was a conflict between members of the caravan and the brothers. The dispute began because the brothers were unwilling to accept assignments involving dirty and exhausting labor. Within the caravan, many such tasks had to be done by official employees, as the servants were unable to handle them.

“You three only gained the right to join us by betraying your original shelter, and now you complain about hard work and filth! You should be grateful you weren’t forced to sign a servitude contract, yet you dare to be choosy!”

“That’s right, people ought to know their place and remember where they came from!”

Later, Chef He heard that the shelter the brothers came from had initially managed to withstand the onslaught of the evil tide. Yet, they were tempted by Manager Xie with the promise of joining the Silver Merchant Association and the supposed immunity from evil spirits. Driven by this, they sabotaged their own shelter’s defenses.

The three believed they had rendered a great service and expected to be promoted upon joining the association, only to find themselves relegated to the lowest ranks—an indignity they could not tolerate.

But this incident was so long ago that Chef He couldn’t remember their names, only vague details.

Hearing this, Fan Bei felt a surge of intense disgust. Any thought of employing the brothers as laborers vanished completely.

Such people deserved nothing less than hell.

In comparison, his former companions seemed far kinder. When they wished to leave, not one considered sacrificing others as bait to scout the way.

Memories stirred, and Fan Bei’s expression grew cold. He turned to Da Bai and said, “Tell Xiao Bai to eliminate them. If given a chance, these people would only repeat the tale of the farmer and the snake.”

Chef He relaxed visibly at these words, seeing that the master of the shelter was indeed decisive.

Da Bai barked at the iron orb, then whined, “Xiao Bai says it never kills humans, and asks me to drive them away instead.”

“No! If you merely drive them away, they’ll only harm others!” Chef He suddenly grew agitated, gripping his mop tightly. “Mr. Fan, master of the iron orb, let me kill them!”

“No,” Fan Bei shook his head. “There’s no need to risk ourselves. Let me think—actually, dealing with them should be quite simple…”

As he spoke, he opened a special module in the shelter management software—the weapons system. He entered a fingerprint verification, then three different passwords.

Meanwhile, at the entrance, a young man grew impatient, urging, “Mr. Fan, have you decided? We’re very capable. Please don’t waste time.”

“Exactly, the evil tide is raging now. With us here, those evil creatures are nothing. You won’t have to live in fear as before,” another chimed in.

Fan Bei replied calmly, “Soon, very soon, you’ll be let inside.”

As his words fell, two black gun barrels quietly emerged from the top layer of the gilded door, hidden beneath the rocky facade.

Half a minute later, with a burst of gunfire, it was all over.

“It seems they could easily resist evil spirits, but not the simplest firearms,” Fan Bei thought, feeling utterly normal, without any of the sensations people often spoke of. He remarked quietly.

Da Bai shivered all over, his dog eyes sparkling as he barked, “Master is so imposing…”

“Hopelessly sycophantic,” Xiao Bai muttered irritably.

Despite his words, he knew that merely being kind was not enough to survive in the wasteland—decisiveness was essential.

Yet, after this sudden attack, though Fan Bei appeared calm, Xiao Bai was certain he lacked any sense of security deep down. Da Bai, on whom Fan Bei relied most, had proved useless in this crisis.

Chef He’s face flushed as he said, somewhat excitedly, “Mr. Fan, I’ll go out and clean up.”

“The evil tide is raging outside—shouldn’t you wear my golden armor?” Fan Bei asked with concern.

“It’s nothing. Though I’ve lost the mental blessing of that evil entity, I now bear the blessing of the iron orb’s master. As his chosen, I won’t fear these lowly chaotic spirits,” Chef He replied confidently.

“Thank you for your trouble,” Fan Bei said courteously, then opened the outside passage step by step.

He mused to himself: every gain comes with a loss. Had they come wearing golden armor, the bullets might not have killed them so easily.

Chef He nodded and strode outside.

Meanwhile, Xiao Bai whispered to Da Bai, “Do you want your master to never fear those low-level chaotic beings again?”

“Of course I do. Every time I took him out to fight, I worried some stray monster might ambush him,” Da Bai replied seriously.

“It’s simple. Just have him recite my name. Like Chef He, he’ll be blessed by my mental signature and immune to evil spirits…” Xiao Bai tempted.

“Uh, is that so? Sounds pretty good,” Da Bai scratched his head.

“Of course! I am a kind and noble being—I wouldn’t deceive you,” Xiao Bai declared confidently.

Da Bai then barked at Fan Bei, conveying Xiao Bai’s suggestion.

Fan Bei immediately understood, feigning surprise, “So, if I do this, I’ll have to serve Xiao Bai as Chef He does?”

“That’s right,” Da Bai exclaimed, suddenly agitated and barking wildly, “No way! Xiao Bai is too crafty, trying to become my master’s master! Impossible!”

Then Da Bai scratched at the iron orb furiously.

“My master is protected by me alone! I’ll keep growing stronger, adding more strength and agility. Next time those scum come, I’ll bite them all to death!” he growled at Xiao Bai, “You’ll never lord over me.”

“Why so angry? As if I’m begging you for anything,” Xiao Bai sneered. “There are plenty of people seeking my favor.”

After the commotion, Fan Bei finished dealing with the attempted ambush and, accompanied by Da Bai and the iron orb, returned to the duty room.

He entered his study and opened the Diary of the System’s Father, beginning to plan and record.

“July 15: Killed three villains attempting to attack the shelter. Felt nothing, perhaps because it was done remotely, or maybe it’s related to the newly practiced Bronze-level Meditation Method.

“With renewed contact with the outside world, safety concerns have indeed become prominent. Fortunately, I was prepared; now those precautions are finally useful, though they’re far from enough.”

He flipped to the fifth page, pondering the matter of new hosts.

He had considered it before, and now realized the situation was better than expected for two reasons.

First, he had uncovered more secrets within the Book of Systems. Task guidance could be handled creatively; completion could be judged by himself rather than the system alone, allowing for greater flexibility in task design next time.

This had been foreshadowed before—when he remotely activated the hidden content in the Good Person System’s self-introduction, it demonstrated this very point.

Second, the other party considered himself the “Heaven and Earth” steward. As long as he followed the task chain as designed, he would necessarily act for the benefit of “Heaven and Earth,” and it must be legitimate endeavors.

Thus, he could achieve his original goals while avoiding the risk of both systems appearing together at his side.

This gave him new ideas for system arrangements—even remote setup could yield benefits beyond the inherent gains to his mental strength.

After reflecting, he decisively signaled “Task One Confirmed Completed” on the fifth page.

A new system log appeared.

“Task One: Seek the master. Completion: 50%. Host has acquired a false identity as steward of ‘Heaven and Earth.’ The master has neither formally accepted nor rejected you. Please obtain true acknowledgment from the master in the future.”