209 - I Don’t Want to Be Turned Into the Female Protagonist by the System

Chapter 209: Saving Lives and Donations At three in the morning, the sky was as dark as ink. This was the time when the body most needed rest and sleep. Su Qi, who should have been in deep sleep at this moment, was abruptly awakened by the urging voice of the system. Assuming it wanted to play games, she replied somewhat irritably, "Didn't we already play for two hours yesterday?" "No, Host. The system has detected that some of your 'popular characters' are currently in danger," the system's voice came through with urgency. Stunned for a moment, Su Qi realized that the 'popular characters' referred to those who supported her. She quickly picked up her phone from the table, got out of bed, and rushed to the bathroom to check. As soon as she opened her phone's browser, she was greeted by major headlines – Zhengzhou in Henan province had been hit by a severe storm. Su Qi hurriedly clicked on the news story. The article described the heavy rainfall in Henan, which had exceeded 500mm overnight. The system's timely alert surely indicated that something major was happening. Indeed, the system’s continued explanation confirmed the connection to this emergency situation: "Due to the intense rain, a dam has collapsed. Three individuals were swept away by the rushing waters and were not caught by the downstream safety nets. The system estimates a high likelihood of fatalities." Just as Su Qi was about to inquire about the condition of those three individuals, three dialog boxes suddenly appeared in her field of vision. Drawing from her previous experiences, Su Qi focused her thoughts and selected the first box. She found herself viewing a turbulent river where a soldier named Lin Feng was struggling to maintain his balance, repeatedly knocked down by the rushing waters and swallowing mouthfuls of it. The fast-moving current was filled with mud and debris, and Lin Feng’s arms and face bore numerous scratches. Humans seemed so insignificant against the force of nature. Watching Lin Feng being tossed about like a leaf in the river, Su Qi felt anxious for him. Lin Feng's strength was waning; maintaining buoyancy in such a torrent consumed a great deal of his energy. As time passed, Lin Feng's resolute face began to show signs of impatience; he could feel his strength depleting. As a firefighter, he knew he had missed the last protective safety net due to the furious river. The distance from his position to either side of the riverbank was 4 to 5 meters, not to mention the effort required to climb ashore. Despair crept into his heart — people always sought firefighters and police in emergencies, but who would help them when their lives were at risk? Lin Feng, though a firefighter, was still human. He feared death; he did not want to die. Watching the scene, Su Qi wasn't sure whether the moisture in Lin Feng’s eyes was from tears or the rain. Just by looking at him, she could feel the overwhelming sorrow and reluctance in his heart. "System, how can I save him?" Su Qi asked. "Host, due to the rapid current, my presence cannot be exposed, so we can only rely on 'coincidences' to help the popular characters find fortune in misfortune," the system explained. Immediately, Su Qi noticed Lin Feng in her view seemed to be inexplicably caught by something. He stopped sliding downstream. Grasping around, Lin Feng felt what seemed to be a thin, resilient tree root. Excitement coursed through him — could this be a second chance at life offered by heaven? With determination, he carefully advanced upstream, clinging to the root. Five minutes later, he crawled onto the riverbank, and as he reached safety, the root snapped dramatically. Lying sprawled on the ground, Lin Feng gasped for air, his arms twitching from the effort. Despite the pain, he was overwhelmingly happy. Though Lin Feng would never know Su Qi helped him and couldn't repay her, seeing him safe was satisfaction enough for Su Qi. After all, their job was to quietly protect people like her, and she had never heard of police or firefighters seeking rewards for their help. Watching Lin Feng safe, Su Qi felt immensely relieved, though the cost of the disguised tree root pained her — a steep price of one million. In truth, the 'disguised tree root' didn’t cost one million itself. Moments ago, the system had shown Su Qi the transaction history of currency exchanges among these systems. The naive system had even projected the inventory, indicating ten gratitude coins were exchanged for a ten-thousand-dollar medical case. Subsequent expenses similarly amounted to approximately one thousand per gratitude coin. If one were to convert 100 gratitude coins, it would equal one million. Serving as the system's universal currency, as the system explained, these 'gratitude coins' could only be issued in currency form after the host performed good deeds. Here, every product exchanged required a minimum of 100 gratitude coins. Su Qi finally understood where the greedy monetary desires of the system were directed. All along, she assumed those text alerts were false, not realizing they were indeed donations to impoverished children. Even though its motive was to earn gratitude coins, which seemed less than pure, at that moment, her view of the system's stature elevated slightly. Because of these necessary "gratitude coins," Su Qi finally comprehended the true motivation behind the system's relentless earning pursuits. After all, in the system’s marketplace, there was an item valued at ten thousand gratitude coins — a 'Revival Coin.' Its description was elegantly simple: as stated. Su Qi couldn't help but become curious about the physical appearance of this system being. However, the immediate priority was to save lives. When the scene shifted to the second firefighter being swept away, Su Qi was stunned. This individual was in a more dire state than the previous one, especially with a gruesome scar on his arm, likely caused by something sharp. Even with grey river water washing over him, the bright red blood was visible on his clothes. Zhang Feiyu clung desperately to a large wooden log as he drifted downstream. Due to his injury, his lips were devoid of color. Dizzy and muddleheaded, he was engulfed by the river, uncertain of where he might be swept to next. His strength was fading rapidly. Humans are social creatures, instinctively seeking out others during dire situations. Yet at that moment, Zhang Feiyu saw nothing but the grey river, not even a single animal in sight. Feeling a profound sense of desolation, he lamented the prospect of dying at just 22. While still a junior in college, he had joined the recruitment ceremony to fulfill his dream of serving in the military, entering the firefighting unit of the armed police forces just that year. But a single year's experience was not enough to steel him against the realities of life and death. Watching the video of Zhang Feiyu, especially his eyes filled with despair, Su Qi’s heart ached. Having been frail since youth, Su Qi had never learned to swim, but she knew well about drowning. Merely wearing a life jacket doesn’t entirely prevent it; factors like hypothermia, heatstroke, and most deadly of all — hopelessness — are significant. At that moment, Zhang Feiyu was consumed by despair, with his will to survive fading away because of the loneliness. This explains why in survival situations, two people wearing life jackets have significantly higher survival chances than one. She desperately wanted to shout encouragement at Zhang Feiyu, urging him not to give up. Yet, how could her voice traverse thousands of miles to reach his ears? But then Su Qi remembered, this supernatural phenomenon might be beyond her, but what about the system? She hastily inquired. The system, hearing Su Qi's request, hesitated briefly before manifesting an item from thin air. "Host, this is a Voice Transmitting Conch. It lasts ten minutes. When used, shouting into it will transmit your voice directly into the target's mind, just like our conversation." (Note: The site has optimized the "Rankings" page to help everyone find books more easily. Feel free to try it out!) Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter Contact Us | Settings | Report a Chapter Error