Miss Beautiful C.E.O and her system

Tang Ziyi asked cautiously: 'May I know what this is about? Or do I have the qualification to know?'

A brief pause. 'Of course. You are far more qualified than that little girl Ling Qingyu.' The entity spoke briskly and Tang Ziyi suspected if she had misheard liveliness in the tone.

It must be her illusion playing jokes. How could such a diving being act so playful!

'And why would I appear before your mind if unnecessary?'

Tang Ziyi controlled her impulse to laugh the entity's description of Ling Qingyu and slowly lowered her gaze toward the orb in her hand.

'…What do you choose to do with it? It seems I cannot own or control it. I don't know what it is.'

'Destroy it? Completely erase it so it doesn't appear in the wrong hands? '

The response came instantly despite causing further confusion in Tang Ziyi's mind.

'Isn't it the best. So the cheat does not fall into improper hands.'

'Why would I bother to care with a little toy? Only fated ones will receive its favor.'

Tang Ziyi's eyes twitched slightly.

Straightforward.

Very straightforward.

'…But only I can see it?'

'Yes.'

'Am I the chosen one?'

'Unfortunately, not.'

'Why? Why can I see it then?'

'Because you are not truly native to this world.'

Tang Ziyi's breathing paused.

The voice continued calmly.

'You were summoned through me from another worldline.'

'Your existence carries slight deviations beyond standard three-dimensional perception.'

'Thus your senses can perceive fragments others cannot.'

Tang Ziyi slowly absorbed the explanation.

Honestly—

After everything involving Ling Qingyu, Athena, cultivation, impossible technology, and now this—

Her tolerance for absurdity had risen significantly already.

Still…

'…What exactly is this thing?'

The voice answered calmly.

'A system core.'

Tang Ziyi frowned slightly.

'…A what?'

'A growth-type externalized authority system. It grants its host progressive capability expansion according to predefined parameters.'

Tang Ziyi blinked.

'…Human language please.'

The voice paused briefly.

Then simplified.

'It functions similarly to a video game system. Or a system tropes that you read among the online literature.'

Tang Ziyi: '…'

Of course it did.

Why was she no longer surprised? With so many worlds mixed in here.

The entity continued:

'This particular variant specialized in military expansion, capable of founding a state machine military power. It allows the host to summon weapons, ammunition, equipment, manpower, and layered upgrades through accumulated progression.'

Tang Ziyi stared at the corpse while she listened to the explanation. Suddenly many things clicked together. She finally found the clues to the oddness she detected during the battle.

The endless ammunition. The impossible equipment. The storage phenomenon.

The heavy armor. The absurd logistical capabilities. The appearance of terrorists in an already secure space to flank her group.

Based on her novice comprehension, Tang Ziyi pictured a scene where the juggernaut switched multiple PKMs after each barrel melted. Meanwhile, firing with one hand, he managed to throw impact grenade with the free one, switching position every time he wielded new PKM while dropping his summoned soldiers to flank them when he believed he had incapacitated the opponent.

Fortunately, this guy didn't spam RPGs and ruined everything, confident in his defense and survival.

Unfortunately, in front of strong real power, his cheat was doomed to fail regardless. It was only a matter of time once Tang Ziyi and Ling Qingyu decided to act on ISIS.

'…Terrorist-themed system?'

'Yes.'

Tang Ziyi almost laughed from disbelief.

So ridiculous. Yet entirely real.

'No wonder…' she muttered inwardly.

No wonder ISIS here had developed so rapidly.

No wonder they possessed absurd quantities of equipment despite operating in chaotic territory.

The voice continued the explanation. 'The system adapted according to host identity and surrounding environmental factors.'

'Thus its evolution path became insurgency-oriented. Technicals. Improvised warfare. Infantry armaments. Guerrilla logistics. It will transform into a higher tier once he succeeds.'

Tang Ziyi finally understood why these terrorists were armed practically to the teeth despite supposedly operating under limited resources.

This thing had cheated reality itself.

Still—

Tang Ziyi narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.

'Even then,' she said calmly, 'they still felt disorganized. I thought summoned soldiers should already have the skillsets and cooperation.'

'Yes. The system provided tools. Not disciplined to train his entire troops. Every summon costs something— an equivalent exchange.'

Tang Ziyi snorted faintly realizing why competent combatants didn't pose a threat. They were too few. Perhaps, in his mind, his opponents didn't require such upheaval apart from his own personal security but they didn't have the moment to shine their traits eliminated by her assault team.

So, his militant army merely changed from rookie loose pile of sands to a bigger advanced version.

Regardless of equipment level, if an average army capability among officers remained unchanged, nothing ever improved really.

That was the exact core problem among armies in the Middle Kingdom. The culture of loose sands with elders and tribal clashes.

Military strength wasn't merely equipment. It required organization, command hierarchy, logistics, coordination, doctrine, and discipline.

Without those things, even powerful forces degenerated into armed mobs. Tang Ziyi had already seen enough examples here— tribal divisions, personal loyalties, and greed interests.

Commanders ignoring orders because of blood relations or factional disputes. The entire operations collapsing because one officer disliked the other.

What combat effectiveness could such a structure truly sustain? This wasn't in terrorist organization but in national militaries among the powerful ones in the Middle Kingdom

Much less terrorists like ISIS here. Even if ISIS solved some of those issues, they still remained fundamentally unstable as the problems ran across several generations.

A rotten coalition of ambitions. Dangerous with flaws. Still, with enough time and enough growth, the impact could reach further. Her past world had proven the conjecture. No doubt.

Furthermore, although this dead ISIS leader was merely part of a faction, his influence overruled everything.

Tang Ziyi's eyes darkened as she understood the outrageous perks of system upgrade tropes. Even though the power he wielded was beggar's version, what if he gained more leverage after occupying more territories or achieving countless victories?

Perhaps eventually even such flaws could have been overcome, transforming militants to a professional fighting force. Good thing they crushed this branch early.

Very good thing. Otherwise, Ling Qingyu would have to spend extra resources to deal with him as he stood against her grand ambition. Known structures like government apparatus were easier to deal with than some protagonists with golden fingers, right?

Then another thought surfaced. Tang Ziyi remembered the difference between the two versions of ISIS. This HVT bid more time and hid his edge a lot. His ambition far greater. She believed he could take Country S if he really desired right now, given his control of pacing. But he didn't, trying to hide attention from foreign powers as much as he could. Playing along a small civil war theater.

Tang Ziyi glanced toward the dead woman lying beside the HVT. '…Was he also reincarnated?'

'Yes.'

Tang Ziyi closed her eyes briefly. Of course, another one. Why was she not surprised.

At this point, she almost wanted to ask how many protagonists existed in this ridiculous world.

The voice continued calmly.

'He retained fragmented memories from another life. He adapted rapidly, utilized the system efficiently and the woman beside him genuinely loved him. As for the rest, I don't think I need to explain further.'

Tang Ziyi stared silently at the pair. The massive armored terrorist and the beautiful dead woman still clutching his hand even in death.

Honestly, the scene looked strangely tragic now, Tang Ziyi sighed internally.

Ling Qingyu had already explained long ago that this world resembled a chaotic mixture of countless narrative structures overlapping together, though this was her first time against an otherworldly version.

Fortunately, her nerves had been desensitized by Ling Qingyu's outrageous merits and the mysterious entity speaking to her.

Reincarnators. Systems. Protagonists. Multiple novels. Everything mixed together into one unstable reality.

Tang Ziyi suddenly felt absurdly complicated. Did she just kill some protagonist?

What even was this setup supposed to be?

My Terrorist Lover?

Rise of the Desert Patriarch?

The Strongest Warlord System?

Tang Ziyi nearly developed a headache.

For the first time in a while she felt slightly like a villain. She killed the protagonist, stormed his temporary compound, destroyed his organization, at least his confidantes, and shot him in the face repeatedly. She killed his woman. Crap!

Hopefully, readers forgave her deeds, Tang Ziyi joked.

'Carefully archive it within your reach and deliver it to Ling Qingyu. She'll solve the mess.'

'Are we going to recruit more soldiers?' Tang Ziyi's eyes brightened with fervor at the thought of such a system thriving in Ling Qingyu's hands.

'Of course, not. Your entire group's existence is already capable of changing the landscape.'

Tang Ziyi picked up the subtle meaning. If the entity wasn't interested in the system, how could it let her send to Ling Qingyu? Why not just take it directly from her? Was it not powerful?

Nonetheless, Tang Ziyi didn't probe further. The mysterious entity always helped them. Though her memories remained locked, she was certain she had a deal with it