Chapter 122: Past and Present Lives

After the incident with the ring just now, Mo Shu found himself almost completely distracted throughout the rest of the recording session. Although the beautiful Lin kept urging him on, Mo Shu simply couldn’t muster the energy to focus. If this continued, his debut on "Extreme Partners" was bound to end in failure, rendering Wang Yu’s painstaking efforts to promote the "Summit Speed Downhill Race" utterly wasted.

No, this wouldn’t do! Mo Shu decided to find a quiet place to consult with the system.

Feigning an urgent need, he slipped into the restroom—a tranquil spot where interruptions were rare.

“System, please, I need you to tell me something. What exactly was that ring about?” Mo Shu steadied himself and began to pose the question in his mind.

“...” The system remained silent.

“Come on, I’m a complete mess right now. Don’t you want me to raise my profile in the country? That would be a huge help for the downhill race!” Mo Shu called out earnestly.

A sigh finally escaped the system’s lips, faint but unmistakable.

“System, as your host, can’t you just grant me this one favor today?” Mo Shu grasped at the faint glimmer of hope.

“Host, truth be told, I don’t want you to pull off this race,” the system replied, her voice tinged with concern.

“Why not? We’re almost ready,” Mo Shu asked, puzzled.

“Do you know? You—or rather, we—have stirred up some very formidable forces this time,” the system admitted, deciding to be completely candid. After all, Mo Shu was her host, and their existence was symbiotic; withholding too much information wouldn’t benefit her survival.

Mo Shu sensed the gravity in her tone but didn’t press further. Suddenly, images began to form in his mind—signaling that the system had begun her narrative.

The scene opened around the 1980s.

Mo Shu found himself floating above an unfamiliar city. The once clear blue skies darkened suddenly, thickening with ominous clouds.

Then, a blazing meteorite streaked downward—a sight Mo Shu recognized all too well. It resembled the moment he first encountered the system, except this meteorite was much larger.

Fortunately, the meteorite didn’t crash into the bustling city streets but plunged directly into the adjacent bay.

The impact sent a towering water column shooting upward, dozens of meters high. Astonishingly, at the crest of this watery pillar floated a human figure.

This person must share a similar fate to mine—likely another host, Mo Shu surmised.

He was right—but what surprised him further was that this host was none other than the legendary racer Ajie, the street racing king who once ruled the entire island in the 1980s and whom the revered Zhang Tianwang often mentioned.

But what did this have to do with the system’s refusal to let him hold the "Summit Speed Downhill Race"?

As Mo Shu pondered, the vision shifted abruptly.

He was now in a strange, alien dimension—bizarre and shadowy.

The world blurred before his eyes, and a hoarse voice echoed through the void.

“Guanjue, the day we part ways has come. Today, it’s either your death or my survival. Only by determining a victor between us will this end.”

No sooner had the voice faded than a monstrous, terrifying face emerged from the phantasmal realm, thunderously charging straight at Mo Shu’s face.

Instinctively, Mo Shu raised a hand to block it—but the dreadful visage passed right through him, surging deep into the illusory space. Mo Shu’s consciousness followed, spinning, weaving, and falling through layers of time and space.

Finally, he experienced a surreal sensation of breaking through the dimensions, only to find himself before Ajie.

Ajie, originally sitting alone on a sofa drinking, suddenly lifted his head, his eyes locking unblinkingly with Mo Shu’s.

Though Mo Shu knew this was merely a projection within his mind, he was struck by Ajie’s cautious rise and slow approach toward him, hands gesturing in the air as if they both sensed their connection across different times and spaces, silently exchanging gazes.

When Mo Shu noticed the ring on Ajie’s hand, a realization dawned.

He recalled the system had once told him their home was destroyed by a group of rebels. The terrifying face challenging Guanjue must be one of the rebel commanders.

After their homeland’s destruction, Guanjue led their people to flee to Earth, but the rebels had relentlessly pursued them.

Ajie, it seemed, was a host possessed by one of these rebel systems.

“System, am I right? This Ajie doesn’t seem like a good guy. It’s fortunate he died young,” Mo Shu asked.

“You’re only half right,” she replied.

“Is that so? Then tell me the rest of the story.”

“Do you remember where the Supreme Spirit Ring came from?”

“Of course. You assigned me to retrieve a pale purple metal sphere from the top of a bridge and then forge it into a ring,” Mo Shu answered.

“Good memory. But do you know where that metal sphere originated?”

“No.”

“That metal sphere was personally forged by Guanjue and her closest friend—a rare metal into which they both fused their consciousness.”

“Is that even possible?” Mo Shu found it hard to believe.

“Don’t forget, we’re advanced beings from the fifth dimension.”

“Oh, so it’s something beyond human comprehension.”

“Not necessarily. Maybe one day, you’ll grasp the mystery yourself,” the system said, switching back to recent events.

“Until one day, Guanjue and her friend had a falling out. The metal sphere containing their consciousness split into two—one half you obtained, and the other fell into Ajie’s hands.”

“So that terrifying face in the illusory space, the rebel system that chose Ajie as host, was Guanjue’s former friend?” Mo Shu exclaimed.

“Yes, the very same, and also the culprit who destroyed our home!” the system lamented.

“I see. Since Ajie possessed such a powerful metal and, like me, forged rings, why did he die so young? Shouldn’t he have been invincible with such a system?”

“After obtaining the other half of the evil metal, Ajie, too, forged two rings. But the person who received one of those rings betrayed and killed him,” the system finally revealed Ajie’s fate.

“That’s ruthless! Taking a gift and then killing the giver? Who did Ajie give the ring to?” Mo Shu was stunned.

“That person is the very reason I urged you to cancel the downhill race. After we reunited with Ajie’s ring in the museum, they must have sensed it. That’s why, for now, the lower our profile, the safer we are,” the system said anxiously.

“Ah... I didn’t expect the situation to be this perilous. Let me think it over, alright?” Mo Shu admitted, unwilling to give up on the race so easily.