Sharing System Chapter 2

Smart Cleaning

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When the system issued the task to Feng Lianzhu, there was only the simple sentence of “defeat the Love Lotus, gain experience points, and advance to level 50.” Feng Lianzhu naturally believed that the content of Fat Kirats’s task was as simple, but the system played a video for him.

Dozens of haggard men staggered through a jungle that made Feng Lianzhu feel comfortable. Some bore wounds made by wild animals, some of which had festered and attracted poisonous insects lurking in the jungle. The men seemed to be in a stupor, their eyes wooden and oblivious to the the insects gnawing at their wounds.

The system’s holographic video was very realistic. When Feng Lianzhu saw this scene, he unwittingly reached for a tree trunk nearby. He had the ability to control green plants to a certain extent so that the plants could secrete an odor that repelled mosquitoes. The effect was even more powerful if the plant belonged to the Gramineae bamboo subfamily.

His hand passed through the giant tree, and his skill bounced off the stone wall close by and failed. His abilities had no effect on stone and rocks, and he consumed aura for nothing.

Feng Lianzhu looked at his hand, and his long fingers gently quivered.

This was only a video projection, there was no substance. He could only follow along with the video as it showed the group of people walking into a cave that could hold dozens of people. They cradled their stomachs and withdrew into the cave as if to sleep. Their eyes closed tightly, and it seemed as if they would not open again.

Feng Lianzhu’s heart tightened, and there seemed to be throbbing pain. The unfamiliar feeling made him uncomfortable. He looked down at his chest, and after a moment, placed his palm on his left chest. After a while, a gray mist was pulled out of Feng Lianzhu’s chest and dissipated into the air.

His heart no longer hurt.

This was the junk cleanup feature that came in Feng Lianzhu’s program. Naturally junk data was generated during the course of the game. The NPCs of “Travel the Heavens” had limited memory, when junk data occupied their memory, it would cause the NPC to function slowly. In order to improve the user experience and reduce stuttering, the game company installed a smart cleaning function for NPCs. Once junk data was generated, the cleaning function would automatically run on its own.

Feng Lianzhu was able to use most of the system’s capabilities autonomously since acquiring it, but the smart cleaning function was a passive capability. When memory usage exceeded 70%, the internal program would automatically clean up “unnecessary” garbage.

When he did not yet have the system, memory usage was at 10%; after the first choice, memory usage increased to 40%; while watching the video, Feng Lianzhu’s memory usage suddenly jumped to 80% and crossed the critical threshold that would cause reduced thinking speed and smooth action execution. If memory usage reached 100%, the junk data would erode Feng Lianzhu’s basic data and could result in the loss of one or two skills which was extremely dangerous. Therefore, his smart cleaning function started automatically and removed 40% of the emotional junk data.

When he went back to watching the video, he felt less uncomfortable. Feng Lianzhu felt as if he had forgotten something, his heart was empty and seemed much more relaxed.

At this point, the system shut down the video and a task prompt popped up–

【The original star of the Azure Galaxy 419 belongs to the territory of pang·kirates, so please maintain your territory and help the inhabitants of the territory out of poverty. Mission reward: pang·kirates can gain the energy to grow the fifth dragon’s toe³.】

Feng Lianzhu also had a reward message after his own mission prompt which consisted of being upgraded to a level 50 boss, doubling his memory capacity, and gaining a primary emotional computing space, but he didn’t care about the reward.

“Dragon?” Feng Lianzhu looked puzzled at the term.

He remembered that there was a sect in “Travel the Heavens” whose leader was a dragon, and given the special status of the dragon clan, both demon and immortal players could join this sect. There was a forbidden place in the back of the sect where it is said that there is a level 100 hidden copy¹ in the valley. The boss was a dragon, but the copy had not yet been opened. It’s rumored that the next game version update would open the dragon boss copy.

“Is Fat Kirats, who exchanged tasks with me, such a powerful boss?” Feng Lianzhu asked uncertainly, “What he could not accomplish, can I do it?”

The system did not answer him, but prompted:【pang·kirates left a voice message for the host after the activation of mutual assistance mode, will you listen to the message?】

This time Feng Lianzhu made a choice quickly. After already having completed the act of thinking a first time, it became easier the second time. Since it’s the other party’s task, of course, follow the other party’s advice.

The system had just opened the voice message box when Feng Lianzhu heard a deafening roar.

“ROAR!!!” Just from hearing this sound, Feng Lianzhu’s brain buzzed, and in an instant, all of his program skills separated from his character model, turning his body into a shell that lacked programming.

He quickly paused the voice message and closed his eyes while covering his ears for a while. The roar in his mind gradually faded away, leaving a strong sense of dizziness.

What a terrifying power… Feng Lianzhu shook his head, supporting himself against the wall to keep himself barely standing. The feeling of nausea and vertigo lingered for a long time.

Feng Lianzhu knew that Fat Kirats had no malice, but he was so powerful that his mere existence made it difficult for other beings to breathe. Luckily, this roar was heard through the system message, otherwise the roar might have caused Feng Lianzhu to be formatted on the spot.

After gradually returning to normal, Feng Lianzhu said to the system, “Continue to play it, turn the volume down, and be ready to pause at any time.”

He was not going to stop listening to the other’s message out of fear.

Fortunately, there was only one roar, after which the sound became relatively normal. However, the decibel levels were somewhat higher so that even when Feng Lianzhu turned the volume down to the lowest level, it felt ear-shattering. Unfortunately, with no subtitles, it could not be muted.

Fat Kirats’s thick voice echoed in the cave: “Let me help the poor? No! No way! I won’t contact those pirate stars 100,000 light years away. I won’t spend gold coins to buy clothes, food, weapons, medical equipment, infrastructure materials, and science and technology from them!”

Feng Lianzhu: “……”

Fat Kirats seemed to have worked out the best plan for the task, but he didn’t want to put it into action.

“Can I turn on mutual assistance mode? Will there be another host that will help me complete the task? Does the system think he is the most suitable host for this task?” This seemed to be Kirats talking to himself, “He’d better bring his own money!”

Feng Lianzhu who was penniless: “…….”

Finally, at the end of Fat Kirats’s message, he said viciously: “You listen carefully, dare to move my gold coins and I will bite you to death!”

The voice disappeared. Feng Lianzhu thought the message was over and was just about to close the voice message when the voice returned: “Oh, if someone realizes that I am not in my territory, they might come and invade the original star. In a box, there is a dragon scale with my breath² on it that once fell from me.”

The message ended here, and Feng Lianzhu opened the chest next to the gold coin pile, which contained a gray dragon scale.

The dragon scale was the size of Feng Lianzhu’s palm, he carried it in his arms so that he could possess the breath of Fat Kirats.

“Can I send a voice message to Fat?” Feng Lianzhu asked.

【The current communication value is 0. A message can only be sent once. The other party has used the message function once and cannot reply.】

There was only one chance, so the most important thing must be said.

Feng Lianzhu turned on the voice function and said succinctly, “Please lower the volume the next time you leave a message, thank you.”

After sending the message, he stood in the cave and experienced for the first time what it meant to be sentimental.

It was true that he could not complete the task of defeating the level 50 boss, but he knew how to execute it and produce a positive outcome. Even if he failed 50 times, Feng Lianzhu did not feel anxious, he would just continue to attack. He didn’t need to think about how to win, and the reward had no practical significance to the current Feng Lianzhu. He did not have the desire to urgently complete the task and had been performing it mechanically.

Now it was different. Since Fat Kirats could easily succeed and Feng Lianzhu had to produce an equivalent exchange, he could not afford to fail.

The mission had no hints and gold coins could not be used. Even if they could be used, Feng Lianzhu had no idea how to contact the pirate star.

He couldn’t even take the first step.

What should I do, what should I do? How should “I” act?

One question after another surfaced in Feng Lianzhu’s mind, almost draining his memory. The smart cleaning function activated continuously, but after it cleaned a part of the junk data, new garbage was generated that lingered.

After hundreds of such repetitions, Feng Lianzhu was exhausted, and the smart cleaning function was inoperative.

As a boss, Feng Lianzhu’s aura value far exceeded his blood value so that even if players killed him, his aura value would not be completely depleted. After resurrection, his aura and blood values were replenished, and he had never experienced complete aura exhaustion.

The body was empty, there was no energy, the operation stuttered, the stomach felt uncomfortable, and from time to time, it made a “gurgling” sound.

Feng Lianzhu felt his current state.

It was called “hunger.”

Basic common sense told him that he needed to find food and replenish his energy.

There obviously was not anything edible in the cave. Feng Lianzhu remembered the jungle in the video from earlier and believed there would be energy-rich fruits there.

“I’m going to forage for food and at the same time meet people who seem in need of help. They look “hungry” and “hungry” doesn’t feel good. I don’t know how to accomplish the task, but I can help them find food and alleviate hunger.” Feng Lianzhu thought to himself.

Driven by his “hunger,” he had his first subjective idea.

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The author has something to say:

The fat dragon rolling on the gold coins roars: NO!!!! The gold coins are mine! I use them to rub my back! No money! Not a penny!

Translator Notes:

1. Copy = instance or dungeon in an MMO
2. If you’re unfamiliar with this concept of “breath”, think of like residual presence or like an animal’s scent. Something that lets other creatures know this is your space/territory.
3. Courtesy of Xass in the comments: Chinese dragon claws symbolized ranks in society and the higher ranked the more claws you had. Generals and leaders therefore could have up to 4 claws. Only the Emperor could wear a Chinese dragon with 5 claws, which symbolized the Emperor‘s actual hands. If someone else wore 5 claws and was not the Emperor, they would be killed.” Source: https://ninchanese.com/blog/2016/03/29/chinese-dragon/amp/