Chapter 14: Handing Out Tasks Over a Disagreement

Liu Heming amused himself for a while, then carried the shotgun he had bought but never used into the yard and fired it a few times, “bang, bang, bang,” treating it like fireworks.

Now he felt a little satisfied because his daughter did not treat him like a stranger. Thinking about his daughter, he felt that all the exhaustion and hardship he had endured over the past month were totally worth it.

Even though the way of managing the land here was a bit different from back home, no one said he couldn’t use the methods from home. Back home, they only had a small plot of land, but it was enough to support the whole family and raise him. With so much land here, if he managed it slowly and carefully, it would surely become his own asset.

From now on, he would be a farmer who worked the land. Although the conditions of this ranch were much worse, now that there was water, it was still much better than unused wasteland. Later, he would ask his parents for advice properly, and this land would provide strong financial support for him.

Just as he was thinking this, he saw fireworks blooming one after another before his eyes, and the System’s voice sounded in his ears:

“Congratulations on completing the ‘Novice Farmer’s First Steps’ task. Reward: 3 Strength Points, 2 Spirit Points. Hope the host continues to work hard, complete more tasks, and earn more rewards.”

“Wait, don’t go yet,” Liu Heming quickly shouted. He had too many doubts and needed to have a good talk with this unreliable System.

“What do you want?” The annoying electronic voice came to his ears, but the image he saw was that of his beloved daughter.

“What are you doing? Why are you using my daughter’s image?” Liu Heming asked angrily.

“Why can’t I use it? I went through your memories. Alex is the person you care about the most, so of course I’d use her image,” the System said casually.

“Because she’s the person I care about the most, you can’t use her image. Listen, change it right now, or I’ll make you regret it,” Liu Heming said anxiously.

The image of his daughter blinked at him, then turned into a puff of smoke and disappeared.

Task Announcement: Farmer’s Growth – Spring Planting.

Task Name: Sowing.

Time Limit: One month.

Task Reward: None.

Task Penalty: Loss of mobility.

This abrupt and confusing task appeared before his eyes, leaving Liu Heming stunned once again. The “None” marked under the task reward and the “Loss of mobility” under the task penalty made him even more frustrated.

He knew it was because he hadn’t allowed the System to use his daughter’s image, and now it was throwing a spiteful task at him. Otherwise, why would there be no reward for success but such a severe punishment for failure?

He had discovered another characteristic of the System: besides being a bit unreliable, it was also quite tsundere.

“Hey, buddy, are you still there?” Liu Heming asked. The System didn’t respond.

“Look, the first task is already completed. But I finished it without really understanding how. And you haven’t even given me the reward yet—Strength, Spirit, or whatever. I don’t feel any different,” Liu Heming said to himself.

“You said it yourself, we’re brothers in life and death. You’re here to help me, so you should be a bit more responsible, right? Since the first task is done, you should at least tell me how I completed it, shouldn’t you?”

He had no choice. He had almost forgotten about the System recently and hadn’t thought much about the tasks, yet this task was suddenly completed. He would have to deal with the System for a long time to come, so he needed to figure out some patterns. Otherwise, with these confusing tasks, he had no idea what to do.

He tried to sound friendly, but after waiting a long time, the System still didn’t respond. Just as he was about to give up and accept his fate, the System’s voice sounded again:

“Why are you so dumb? A task that should have taken one or two days took you this long. If you had delayed any further, I would’ve had to go into hibernation.”

“I already gave you a break, but I ended up with someone as clueless as you. Who can I complain to about how upset I am? I already gave you the Strength and Spirit. Experience the changes in your body yourself. Do you have anything else to say?”

“Uh… yeah, I do,” Liu Heming quickly said. “How did I complete that task? I’ve been working on that land for so long. I was afraid it wouldn’t meet your requirements—I didn’t even use a plow.”

“Are you stupid? What does that have to do with anything?” the System said, exasperated.

“‘Novice Farmer’s First Steps’—you can tell just from the name that the key is in ‘Farmer’ and ‘First Steps.’ It’s about how you see yourself and your acceptance of that identity.”

“Even if you flattened the entire ranch, if you didn’t accept your identity as a farmer, you couldn’t complete the task. The task was simple, so the penalty had to be a bit bigger. But you were so clueless it took you this long to finish. If you’re not dumb, then who is?”

Liu Heming was dumbfounded. He had never thought about the task from that angle. According to the System, it made perfect sense. As soon as he truly accepted his identity as a farmer, he could complete the task instantly. That’s exactly what happened today—he decided to take good care of the land to earn money and raise his daughter, and then the task was completed.

Poor him, working so hard on the land all this time. Luckily, his daughter called him today. Otherwise, even with two more months or even half a year, he probably still wouldn’t have figured it out.

“Hey… don’t be mad. You didn’t give any task instructions—how was I supposed to know what to do?” After realizing this, Liu Heming spoke with an apologetic smile.

“Also, I wanted to ask, why does your tone always sound so strange? Even though it’s an electronic voice, I can always picture you being angry.”

“Is it my fault? You’re my host, and my biological template is based on you. Isn’t it because of you that I turned out like this? Don’t let your stupidity rub off on me. Figure out the tasks yourself. I’m going to rest.” After saying this, the System fell silent.

Liu Heming smacked his lips, feeling a bit unsettled. His evaluation of the System was that it was a bit neurotic and tsundere. But now, listening to the System, it seemed like it was describing him.

“Yuck, yuck, yuck… When have I ever been this neurotic or tsundere? If you were born defective, don’t blame me for it.” Liu Heming spat several times, trying to shake this somewhat “terrifying” thought out of his head.