novelbin Chapter 200: A Pragmatic System
Chapter 200: A Pragmatic System
"The traffickers saw that she had recovered and was somewhat attractive, so they sold her deep into the mountains to be the shared wife of a father and his two sons. Not only did she have to serve the three men day and night, but she also suffered their beatings. After giving birth to four children for that family, she died during a difficult labor."
"Her life was so miserable that her resentment lingered after death, which is how she summoned us. Her only wish was to change her fate and live a good life."
Dawn York could hear the Resentment System’s words now, which only confirmed her suspicions. "Just as I thought. She’s the one who deliberately let the traffickers take my sister, isn’t she?"
The Resentment System let out a timid "mhm."
Riley Perry asked, "Was she the one behind all the online slander against me, too? Is Holly Summers working for her? When did she figure out who I was?"
The Resentment System said, "She saw you in the movie *Youth* and thought you looked a bit like Mrs. Valentine, so she had me run a check."
’Damn, a search like that was bound to be spot on.’
Having asked all her questions, Riley Perry’s expression hardened. "I’m giving you two options. The first is I tear you apart..."
"Two! Option two! I choose option two!"
"Second, you continue following Whitney Valentine. Find an opportunity to piss her off, then pretend to unbind from her. After you’ve ’unbound,’ come find me."
The Resentment System was overjoyed. "Yes, yes, my dear Host! I’ll come find you as fast as I possibly can."
’Thank goodness I saw things going south and secretly stashed away some energy,’ it thought. ’It’s just enough to bind a new host.’
Riley Perry raised an eyebrow. ’A pragmatic system, I see. It’s already calling me Host?’
Witnessing this exchange, 408 became even more docile. It didn’t dare make a peep whenever Riley Perry was around.
’It was terrified of attracting the big shot’s attention,’ it thought. ’If she got upset and decided to ’humanely euthanize’ me, I wouldn’t even know where to go to cry.’
Having reached a pleasant consensus with the Resentment System, Riley Perry released her Divine Sense. The system returned to Whitney Valentine’s body. Riley then gave Whitney the antidote and pulled Dawn York out of the guest room.
When they came out, they found their older brother sitting in the living room, clearly waiting for them. "Mission accomplished?"
Dawn York plopped down next to her brother and started rattling on, "Brother, you have no idea how despicable that damn Whitney Valentine is! All that online slander against Riley was her doing! She knew all along that our sister was the child our family lost!"
She couldn’t mention the part about Whitney deliberately letting the traffickers take Riley Perry—after all, that was just the system’s word with no proof. But Whitney’s use of Holly Summers to slander Riley was traceable, and Dawn planned to have someone dig up the evidence later.
But Warren Valentine was utterly devoted to his sisters. Since his sister had said it herself, what more proof did he need?
Anger flashed in his eyes. "Mom said she wants to get into showbiz?"
Dawn York nodded.
Warren Valentine said coldly, "Isn’t she walking right into your line of fire, then? Let her see the dark side of showbiz. A fancy background isn’t enough to make it in this industry."
"Alright, leave it to me. Tomorrow, I’ll get her a role and stick her on a film set."
Heh. There were film sets, and then there were film sets. Some shows were destined to be hits before they even started filming. Others might never air even after filming was complete. And even if they aired, they might not become popular. And even if they became popular, it might have nothing to do with one particular character.
There was a saying in showbiz: minor fame comes from support, but major fame is up to fate. Without a backer, even someone with a good family background would end up a forgotten failure.
With just a few sentences, the brother and sister had decided Whitney Valentine’s future.
Riley Perry watched with glee. ’It feels great to have powerful family members on your side,’ she thought. ’I don’t even have to say anything, and someone’s already fighting my battles for me.’
Whitney Valentine didn’t wake up until after three, jolted awake by a phone call. She then left in a hurry.
With the eyesore gone, Riley Perry decided to just stay over, which made Iris Weldon and Dawn York ecstatic. Right away, Dawn hit Riley with a major proposal.
"About your acting career—you can pick one good script to act in each year. Spend the rest of your time coming to the company to learn management."
Riley Perry said, "Why would I learn that? No way. You could just give the company to our brother, you know." ’Am I an idiot?’ she thought. ’What’s wrong with coasting along in the entertainment industry? Why would I want to take on more responsibility?’
"You think I haven’t suggested that? Our brother refused. He said he plans to stay in the military for life."
"So just come when I tell you to. Tomorrow, I’ll transfer all my shares to you. Money is useless to me. The company will be yours sooner or later anyway. The sooner you take over and get a handle on it, the better it will be for you."
Riley Perry frowned. ’I forgot to ask earlier if my mission was already complete.’
So, that night, the two sisters shared a room. "Can’t you stay in this world forever, Sis?"
"I can leave once the mission is complete, but I could also choose to stay. I just don’t want to get married and have kids in this world, so naturally, I don’t want to stay. And I can’t take my assets with me, so if I don’t leave them to family, am I supposed to donate everything?"
"I’m not that generous."
’Isn’t giving it all to me just as generous as donating it?’ Riley Perry thought.
Dawn York rolled over in bed to face Riley Perry. "What you’ve given me is far more precious in my heart than what I’m giving you. Besides, my mission was complete the moment I found you."
"But it feels like we met too late, so I’ve decided to wait until you’ve officially taken over the company before I leave."
"Besides, you’ll have a system of your own in the future. Who knows when we might see each other again."
Riley Perry said no more. Since Dawn York had already made up her mind, she would respect her decision.
「In the master bedroom on the third floor of the second Valentine family’s villa.」
Whitney Valentine had been forcing herself to endure the frustration at her uncle’s house all day. When she got home, she spent a good while throwing and breaking things before the anger in her chest finally subsided.
Thinking of Riley Perry, who was countless times more glamorous than her, she decided she absolutely could not tolerate such a face continuing to exist in this world.
That was why she had just bribed a staff member from *Go on an adventure together* to find out their filming location for tomorrow.
’This time, I’m going to kill that little bitch Riley Perry,’ she thought, ’and I’m going to destroy her reputation in the process.’
’Then there’s that old fossil, Dawn York, always lecturing me nonstop. But since she just gave me a supporting role in a TV drama this afternoon, I’ll let her live a few more days. I’ll take care of her after I’m a star.’
The Resentment System had been planning to throw a tantrum and then unbind from this idiot, but it didn’t expect an opportunity to present itself so quickly. "Host, you want to kill the female lead?"
’Torture and kill, no less! Is that something a human should even be capable of thinking?’ it wondered. ’I seriously suspect the information I gathered when I first bound to this host was wrong. Wasn’t she supposed to have been bullied in school for being ugly?’
’This woman is more fucking venomous than a scorpion!’
Whitney Valentine replied without a hint of guilt, "Why not?"
The Resentment System said, "We’re here to change the original owner’s fate, not to oppose the female lead. And don’t you think your actions are a bit too villainous?"
Whitney Valentine said self-righteously, "Every man for himself, or heaven and earth will strike him down. I refuse to believe that after I torture and kill her, she won’t have any resentment. Once I’ve collected enough resentment value, I’ll be able to unlock another category in the shop."