Chapter 45: This Lifetime, I Have Truly Fallen

“If she dies of old age, then according to the unequal coexistence contract, the host has to be buried with her!” With every item the system listed, Lin Qiu’s mouth dropped a little wider. By the time the system finally fell silent, his entire fishy heart was shattered to pieces.

He flipped over in the water, belly up, and began to sink to the bottom of the massive aquarium, a hundred meters deep. Lin Qiu felt as though he’d tumbled into a bottomless pit, a grave dug and filled in by the system itself.

Ever since he’d signed that contract with this woman, Xu Bing, he was bound for life, never able to break free. Not only that, he had to ensure she lived well, ate well, and stayed in good spirits. Otherwise, if the day ever came when she kicked the bucket, he’d suffer calamity for no reason and follow her into the grave.

What a tyrannical contract—how could he ever return to the sea now? From today on, Lin Qiu was Xu Bing’s personal fish guardian, on duty every hour of every day—so close, it was suffocating.

“Oh no, what’s wrong with you?” Xu Bing cried out, looking at Lin Qiu floating upside down.

“It’s nothing, just leave me alone. Let me drown here and be done with it!”

No one else could hear Lin Qiu’s voice. The one person and one fish bound by contract had a special mental channel, allowing them to communicate telepathically.

“You’re a fish. How could you drown?” Xu Bing smiled, her eyes shining even brighter.

“I know what’s bothering you. It’s just because I’m a woman, isn’t it?”

“So what if I am? Can’t a woman be a Mulan too?” Her voice was full of proud defiance.

Lin Qiu just wanted to hit her over the head. Was this a question of being Mulan or not? This was the beginning of his lost freedom, the start of his darkest days.

“System, are you blind? Of all people, why pick this woman?”

“Male and female partners make for easier teamwork. And let me remind you, the rules are set—no matter who the host signs with, there’s no escaping them. Besides, you chose this woman yourself. The system bears no responsibility!”

“I… You…”

Lin Qiu was left speechless, and it seemed the system really wasn’t to blame—this was all because of that scoundrel Xu Bancheng.

“Xu Bancheng, if I die or come to harm because of your sister, I’ll haunt you for eternity—even as a vengeful ghost!”

Lin Qiu raged inwardly, then suddenly shook himself awake, coming back to life from his near-death float.

“From now on, you and I are one. After signing the contract, if you die, I’m finished too. So wherever you go from this day forth, you must take me with you. If you die, that’s one thing—but my life is far more precious!”

“You little dolphin, you look cute, but you sure talk heartlessly,” Xu Bing retorted. “I, Xu Bing, am the belle of Wudu City. Suitors line up as far as the eye can see, and you—a little fish—dare to complain about me? If you keep it up, I’ll fillet you in a heartbeat!”

“I… You…”

Lin Qiu was stunned, staring at the crafty glint in her eyes and feeling a darkness without end looming over his future.

He sighed again: “As expected, Xu Bancheng’s sister is no ordinary woman. I thought she was just all beauty and no brains, but she’s sharp as a whip. I haven’t even begun, and already she’s got me completely under her thumb.”

All he could do was force a bitter smile.

“Fine, you’re the boss, whatever you say! But for your own safety—and for mine—you need to use my genes to alter yours, turning you into a super warrior.”

“No!” Xu Bing immediately shook her head, firm and decisive.

“I won’t accept your genetic modification. I’m a fragrant, elegant girl, I don’t want to reek of fish for the rest of my life!”

“My god, I yield to you…” Lin Qiu was on the verge of tears, like a blind man currying favor with a deaf one while a mute laughed silently in the corner. Nothing he said could get through to her—she was simply immune to all persuasion.

“Damn it, everyone in the Xu family is as stubborn as a mule. Looks like I’ll have to force it through anyway!” Lin Qiu gnashed his teeth, fully prepared for a showdown with the entire Xu clan.

“My apologies—I’ll do it my way!”

With a shout, Lin Qiu’s body turned to starlight, enveloping her once again.

“Wow, Bingbing is transforming again! That’s so cool!” Liu Changfeng watched with envy, jealousy, and admiration as Xu Bing was once more clad in silver armor.

Xu Bing wanted to scream, but was unable to make a sound.

“This little dolphin is injecting genes into Bingbing, altering her bloodline,”

Xu Bancheng commented wisely, a spark of insight in his eyes.

Liu Changfeng smacked his lips. “So what does this mean? With her genes changed, is she still truly part of your family? And besides, a person and a fish—are they swapping bodies?”

“Shut your mouth!” Xu Bancheng’s face darkened instantly and he sneered, “You work in this field—do I need to give you a lesson in basic biology?”

“No, no, I was just joking!” Liu Changfeng realized he’d crossed a line and lightly smacked his own mouth. “Serves me right for running it.”

Xu Bancheng snorted and turned to watch his sister.

So-called genetic modification wouldn’t alter a person’s fundamental genetics. A person’s genes are set from birth. What the modification did was allow new chromosomes to split off from the original ones, bestowing new abilities.

In Xu Bing’s body, Lin Qiu injected a single drop of his own blood directly into her heart, letting it spread through her entire circulatory system. The blood, refined by the system, would not harm her. As it flowed, it slowly merged with her own, causing her genetic makeup to begin to mutate.

Mysterious tendrils split off from her chromosomes, and with them, she felt a wild surge of power awakening within her.

“It’s really not easy! Useless, simply useless! I’m a second-tier aquatic being, my power immense, yet after modifying this woman’s genes, only this much awoke. Useless, utterly useless! This life of mine, Lin Qiu, is truly wasted!”

Starlight gathered, and Lin Qiu reappeared in the fish tank. He flopped over again, belly to the glass.

The pain in his heart was indescribable.

Xu Bing’s transformation left him deeply dissatisfied. At this rate, to fully improve her constitution, who knew how many upgrade points he’d have to burn?

Thinking of all those precious points vanishing into thin air, he could only wail in despair at the bottom of the tank.