Chapter 94: Centennial Vermilion Fruit... A Counterfeit

Fortunately, this time the wait was only three minutes; otherwise, it might have driven Chen Bo insane. But for some reason, the phrase "three minutes" felt a bit... suggestive. It must be an illusion. Yes, definitely an illusion.

After the system's space upgrade, Chen Bo eagerly entered to take a look. Sure enough, the space had instantly doubled in size! It now appeared much more spacious.

Chen Bo tidied up the items inside the system space, finally making it much neater and more pleasing to the eye.

"Ding dong! Congratulations, host, the system space upgrade is complete!"

"Ding dong! Congratulations, host, you have obtained one immature Fake Century-Old Vermilion Fruit. The Century-Old Vermilion Fruit is a rare heavenly treasure that takes a hundred years buried in the earth, a hundred years to sprout, a hundred years to branch, a hundred years to grow leaves, a hundred years to flower, a hundred years to bear fruit, and a hundred years to mature. Consuming it increases your primordial energy by a hundred years! Exciting, isn’t it?"

"A hundred years!!!" Chen Bo shouted in astonishment. How powerful would he become with a hundred years’ worth of primordial energy? Innate? Innate? Or still innate?

In his mind, the words “innate” kept echoing. A hundred years’ worth of primordial energy could instantly elevate him to the innate realm—provided his body didn’t get blown apart by the overwhelming energy.

However, just as Chen Bo was about to revel in his excitement, the system spoke again: "Of course, the above description is for the genuine Century-Old Vermilion Fruit. What you received is just a knockoff. But even the knockoff is quite potent. There’s a saying: a counterfeit Century-Old Vermilion Fruit is still awesome!"

Chen Bo’s smile froze instantly. A counterfeit? A fake?

"Are you kidding me?" The emotional rollercoaster of life was too intense. Chen Bo couldn’t help but swear. At this moment, he would curse anyone—even the Jade Emperor himself!

Where has the trust between people gone? No, rather, where is the trust between man and system? Can't there be less trickery and more sincerity?

"You answered correctly. I am indeed teasing you, host. Don’t humans like this sort of joke?" Although the system’s tone had a cute, playful style, Chen Bo felt an urge to give it a good smack.

"Where did you learn these tricks?" Chen Bo clenched his anger and asked.

"Baidu Tieba."

Chen Bo was rendered speechless by the system’s ridiculously simple answer. Was he too naive? Systems nowadays also play tricks? Was there no room left to live?

"A system that knows how to play tricks is truly invincible! Praise be to our magnanimous Baidu!"

"Baidu has corrupted the system. Will the government ban Baidu? Well, maybe I’m just overthinking."

"It feels like the system is becoming more human-like. Will it eventually have human intelligence and emotions?"

"According to system-themed novels, the system will definitely become a beautiful woman, and because it’s cohabiting inside the host’s body, it will fall in love with the host, and then... boom! Boom! Boom!"

"Your mind is really dirty! But is that really the trope of system novels? Why do all the endings I’ve seen involve the protagonist killing the system?"

"The patterns you mentioned are from years ago. Now systems have to be cuter and more adorable to be popular!"

"I once admired Dong Yong for daring to be with a fairy! I admired Xu Xian for daring to be with a snake! But I looked down on Sun Wukong for trapping seven beautiful fairy maidens in the Peach Garden, yet still having time to pick peaches! But I have to admire Sun Wukong’s father for impregnating Nuwa’s Five-Colored Stone!"

"I know what you’re going to say next! But ever since I saw the host, I’ve looked down on all those people. It turns out there are people in this world who dare to be with the system!"

"You must be my kindred spirit! But if we say these things, would the system blacklist us?"

"Uh, probably not? I’ll just watch and say nothing."

"Good thing I didn’t say anything earlier—otherwise, you’d all be dead! 66666."

"So, how many years of primordial energy does this fake Century-Old Vermilion Fruit actually add?" Chen Bo still held onto a sliver of hope. Even if it was a fake, it was still a Century-Old Vermilion Fruit knockoff! Even if it didn’t have the full hundred years’ effect, surely it had at least fifty or sixty years!

"The fake Century-Old Vermilion Fruit increases the host’s primordial energy by 20 years," the system replied.

"Pfft, only twenty? Wait—twenty years!!!" Chen Bo had actually hoped for fifty or sixty years, but even if he got seven or eight years, he’d be satisfied. Unexpectedly, it was twenty!

With this fake fruit, he might even break through to the Vein-Opening realm in one go!

Some might wonder, if the fruit adds twenty years’ worth of primordial energy, why would Chen Bo only reach the Vein-Opening realm?

Actually, this is already very good! Though heavenly treasures are powerful, cultivation isn’t that simple. Twenty years’ worth of primordial energy doesn’t mean he truly cultivated for twenty years. Well, this might be hard to understand.

Let me explain it another way: [Ten thousand words omitted here.]

A fruit, half crimson and half green, about the size of an apple, appeared in Chen Bo’s hand. Because it was unripe, it was half red and half green. Wait, it’s not mature yet!

"System, how many years of primordial energy does this unripe fruit add?" Chen Bo had lost all hope. He realized he had been played by the system twice today! Twice! Damn!

Was he just too stupid? No, the enemy was just too cunning. The system—so sly!

"Host, the fake Century-Old Vermilion Fruit in your hand adds 20 years of primordial energy," the system said.

"Twenty years?! But you said it’s not mature yet," Chen Bo asked suspiciously.

"An immature fake Century-Old Vermilion Fruit adds 20 years of primordial energy; a fully mature fake fruit adds 50 years," the system patiently explained. Maybe it felt a bit guilty for teasing Chen Bo so much. Do systems feel guilt?

"Will I explode if I eat this fruit now?" Chen Bo asked anxiously.

A sudden surge of twenty years’ worth of primordial energy was tempting but dangerous! If he accidentally exploded into a pile of flesh, who would he complain to?

"Host, answering this question requires 10,000 gold coins."

"!"