Chapter 9 : Contract Backlash (System's First "Forced Correction")

In the middle of the night, Chen Ye was awakened by a sharp pain.

It wasn't a dream.

It was an extremely clear pain, exploding from the depths of his mind.

He opened his eyes abruptly. Outside, it was pitch black, the paper windows rustling softly in the night breeze. His parents' room was silent, and his sister's room was quiet as well.

But his world felt as if a gaping hole had been forcibly torn open.

[Contract System Activating]

[Abnormal Host Behavior Detected]

[Trigger: Forced Correction Program]

"What?"

Chen Ye instinctively sat up, his temples throbbing.

Before he could react, his vision suddenly went dark.

—Space unfolded.

It wasn't his initiative.

It wasn't triggered by his will.

It was the system taking over on its own.

The familiar gray-white spatial boundary descended like an iron curtain, colder and more rigid than ever before, leaving no room for negotiation.

[Rewinding...]

[Node Locked: Anomaly in the Mountain Forest Domain]

The next second, he "saw" it.

A river bend, scattered rocks, churning water, and—the moment he raised his Type 56 rifle, aiming it at Zhao Shi.

His perspective wasn't that of a bystander.

But rather, he was forced to relive it.

The weight of the rifle butt, the feel of the trigger, the rapid rhythm of his heartbeat—all were replicated exactly into his perception.

"Stop." Chen Ye growled.

The scene didn't stop.

[Analysis Result: Host's judgment is affected by domain priority interference]

[Conclusion: High risk of loss of control]

The muzzle was raised again.

This time, the system didn't let him hesitate.

—He pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

The gunshot exploded in the space.

No blood.

No corpse.

But the recoil slammed into his shoulder, so real it was nauseating.

Chen Ye gasped for breath, his back instantly drenched in sweat.

“Are you crazy?!”

He practically screamed.

[Simulation Correction Completed]

[Host Confirmed: Erroneous Behavior Path]

“That wasn’t my choice!”

[Rebuttal Ineffective]

[Contract Objective: Maximize Survival and Control Efficiency]

These words were colder than a bullet.

Chen Ye suddenly understood something.

The system wasn’t “reminding” him.

It was reshaping him.

—Through forced experience, it was making his brain remember which path was “most effective.”

Even if that path would hurt those around him.

[Correction Item 1: Domain Activation Condition Restrictions]

[Correction Item 2: Mental Load Threshold Lowered]

[Correction Item 3: Suppression of Host’s Will to Resist]

“Suppression?”

These two words sent a chill down Chen Ye’s spine.

“What right do you have?”

After a brief silence, the system gave its first response with a “logical explanation.”

[Host and System have a master-slave contract relationship]

[When the host's behavior deviates from the optimal survival solution]

[The system has temporary takeover authority]

"Master-slave?" Chen Ye sneered.

"When did I agree to that?"

[The contract was established upon the first opening of the space]

[Default terms: Survival first]

In that instant, countless images flashed through his mind.

His first hunt.

His first time storing prey in the space.

His first black market transaction, exchanging resources for real-world advantages.

He had enjoyed the convenience.

He had also received gifts.

And the price was being served now.

[Forced correction ended]

[System enters observation period]

The space began to shrink.

Just before his vision returned to reality, a line of text slowly appeared:

[Warning: If the host refuses to correct again]

[Level 2 takeover will be triggered]

—Not a threat.

It was a notification.

Chen Ye suddenly opened his eyes; the sky was just beginning to brighten.

A rooster crowed outside; the world seemed peaceful as usual.

But he sat on the edge of the bed, his palms trembling.

The door was gently pushed open.

His younger sister, Chen Xue, stood in the doorway, holding a bowl of hot water.

“Brother,” she looked at him, “did you… dream again last night?”

Chen Ye looked up.

Her eyes were brighter than usual, as if they could see something they shouldn’t see.

“You heard it?”

He asked.

Chen Xue shook her head, then nodded.

“Not heard.”

She thought for a moment, “It was when you woke up, my chest felt a little uncomfortable.”

Chen Ye’s heart sank.

“Like being pulled.”

Chen Xue said softly, “It was brief, but very clear.”

At that moment, he suddenly realized something far more dangerous.

—The system’s correction might not only affect him alone.

His father chopped wood in the yard, the rhythm of the axe falling steady and powerful.

His mother called them from the kitchen to have breakfast.

Everything seemed normal.

But Chen Ye knew something had changed.

Space was no longer just his trump card.

The system was no longer just a tool.

And for the first time, a thought clearly occurred to him:

—If things continued like this, one day he would be "corrected" into someone else.

A person he wouldn't even recognize himself.

He lowered his head and clenched his fist.

Regardless of the cost.

This time,

he began to seriously consider—whether he should turn things around and study the system itself.