Chapter Three: The Arrival of the System, The Black Hole Baby!

“This person is really annoying, making a scene here and giving me a fright.”
“Maybe he wants to be an internet celebrity? Young people these days will do anything for fame.”
“Why isn’t he getting up? Is he trying to stage a fake accident?”
“If I record a video and post it online, I bet it’ll get a lot of likes.”
“What bad luck, running into something like this.”
The diners all around were murmuring among themselves. This restaurant was never cheap, and those who came here always considered themselves a cut above. Now with Yan Xuan’s disruption, everyone got a show, but it also felt like the restaurant’s reputation had dropped a notch.

“Ma’am, is this gentleman your friend? What he just did has affected our restaurant’s image quite badly. Could you persuade him to leave?” The floor manager hurried over, catching the tail end of the gossip, and frowned deeply. “This is a high-end restaurant—firecrackers are not allowed…”

“I’m sorry, I’ll talk to him.” Bai Jing apologized quickly, “Yan Xuan, I know you’re upset right now, but you can’t just lie here, can you? I’ll talk to her again later…”

Tears welled up in Yan Xuan’s eyes, but were forced back by his own glare. He’d witnessed everything that just happened, but he couldn’t move—he couldn’t even lift a finger.

Through hardship and adversity, you’re not there; for glory and wealth, you’re not worthy.

At that moment, the system’s prompt sounded again in his mind:

[Wormhole established; Black Hole System officially activated.]
[Devoured one synthetic diamond ring. Gained 20 Devour Points.]
[Devoured 21 roses. Gained 21 Devour Points.]

The first thought that flashed through Yan Xuan’s mind: A system? Was everything he’d just heard not a hallucination? He’d acquired a cheat like those in fantasy novels? He was in luck—this time, he’d really struck gold.

The second thought followed immediately: The flower shop had cheated him. He’d paid for twenty-four roses, so why were there only twenty-one?

The last thought before he fainted: He’d finally found his ring, only to discover it was an artificial fake—worth less, even, than a handful of roses?

What happened after that was a blur to Yan Xuan. When he woke, he found himself in a hospital.

Before he could process anything further, music sounded from under his pillow. He answered reflexively.

“Yan Xuan, do you still want your job? If you’re not here within an hour, consider yourself resigned!” The moment he picked up, a roar blasted from the other end.

“Supervisor, I swapped shifts with someone today…” The call cut off abruptly.

Five minutes later, Yan Xuan finally arrived at the company. He hadn’t had time to shower or change clothes, so besides the dirt on his clothes, there were still black smudges on his face.

His colleagues stared wide-eyed as he hurried to his seat. He’d barely sat down when the supervisor stormed out of the office, slammed a stack of files onto his desk, and said, “All of these need to be handled by this afternoon. Get them done before tomorrow morning’s meeting—the diagrams are already in your email.”

Yan Xuan tensed. “Supervisor, there’s no way I can finish all this.”

“If you can’t finish during work hours, stay late. Just have it ready before tomorrow’s meeting.” The supervisor sneered. “Also, this morning counts as absenteeism: 200 yuan fine, and your bonus is canceled for this month.”

Yan Xuan’s expression darkened further. He didn’t make 200 yuan in a day, and now half a day’s absence cost him that much? And he’d clearly reported in advance—he’d swapped shifts!

His fingers clenched so hard the veins stood out.

But under low eaves, one must bow their head.

If he lost this job, finding another would take time, and after paying the hospital bills, there was less than 200 left in his bank account. Payday was still a week away.

After the supervisor left, a colleague nudged him quietly, “I heard the supervisor’s got a relative coming in. He’s using you as a scapegoat—just hang in there.”

Yan Xuan nodded. So that’s what this was about. No wonder the supervisor had been gunning for him like a mad dog these past few days.

He had no choice. He buried himself in work—there was nowhere left to retreat. A grown man like him couldn’t ask his mother for money, not with his family’s circumstances.

He powered on the computer and picked up the top file. Just as he was about to open it, the familiar small black circle flashed—and the file vanished without a trace.

At the same time, the system’s prompt sounded:

[Devoured a stack of paper. Gained 3 Devour Points.]

Devoured… devoured it?

Yan Xuan was dumbfounded.

If everything he touched got devoured, how was he supposed to work?

He glared at the little black circle, but it seemed satisfied, gave a burp, and disappeared again.

Before he could grab another file, the supervisor rushed out of the office, heading straight for the stack of documents on Yan Xuan’s desk. After rummaging through them, his face darkened. “Where’s the contract from this pile?”

Yan Xuan’s heart skipped a beat, but he steadied himself. He looked up, feigning confusion. “Supervisor, everything you brought is right here. I haven’t even looked at them—this old computer is taking forever to start.”

“Unbelievable.” The supervisor stared at Yan Xuan for three seconds, then turned and left.

Yan Xuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. That was close. Though he felt a pang of guilt for having devoured the supervisor’s contract, there was no way he could produce it now.

But what was going on with this Devouring System? Randomly devouring things wouldn’t do!

[System prompt: You have received a Black Hole Baby Care Manual. Would you like to read it now?]

What on earth?

A transparent dialogue box appeared before Yan Xuan, offering two options: yes or no.

Eager to fix the system’s devouring problem and to understand it better, he chose yes.

The manual instantly uploaded into his mind. After a moment, Yan Xuan finally understood what was bound to him.

This Black Hole System came from the mysterious universe, connecting countless worlds through a wormhole. It could devour anything and everything, and after devouring, provided Devour Points.

The number of Devour Points depended on the value or rarity of the item consumed.

Devour Points were mainly used to redeem draw attempts; each hundred points allowed for one random redemption.

However, this redemption was completely random—it could be anything from any world in the vast multiverse.

From the most ordinary pebble by the roadside or a blade of humble grass, to the supreme immortals of the heavens above—all could potentially be drawn.