"I am okay." Tai Liwu shouted, pulling the knife which was stuck in her bullet proof vest. "It did not even leave a scratch."
She was approached by Xia Linlin her fellow officer and close friend. The first thing she did was snatch the gun out of Liwu's hands. "You are not allowed to hold fire weapons since the...."
"Shot myself in the ass incident." Liwu rolled her eyes. "I know."
"Twice." Linlin said with a grimace. "Hold out your hand, let me read your fate one last time before we call it a day."
Groaning. Liwu held out her hand, exposing her palm. They did this about three times a day.
Twenty years ago, the world had changed. Systems--sentient beings of power descended on the human race like invisible software updates. One moment, earthlings were sleeping and dreaming of the rat race which was their lives and the next, they woke up with glowing interfaces in their minds, granting them abilities that ranged from mundane [perfect memory, cooking recipes, earning money in exchange for breathing to elemental control, gravity manipulation, high technology to rewriting biology].
For those in the know, systems had always existed. They were not new to earth. But for those who were not in the know, the secrecy was shattered as the System's Operation Bureau came to light.
Tai Liwu was a daughter of two system hosts. A great granddaughter and grand daughter of system hosts. A niece of many system hosts. A sister to system hosts and an aunt to one. Even one of their dogs had a system!
Everyone in her family had a system but her!
Blame it on her bad luck.
Like the seventy percent of the world's population, she was ordinary.
Xia Linlin gasped.
As a walking bad luck magnet, Liwu sighed. "What now? Am I going to be mauled by bear on my way home?"
"No." Linlin looked into Liwu's eyes. "There is a change in your fate, concerning your marriage. A nonchalant mother-in-law, a husband with a childhood sweetheart, mean sisters-in-law. A narrow-minded brother-in-law, a rude one, a playboy, a moody one. I see wealth....a lot of it."
Liwu retrieved her hand, laughing at the joke. "Considering the fact that not even a mosquito is willing to kiss my neck for a little blood, I am certain that your system's prediction is wrong. I am famous for my bad luck. Every blind date I have been on since I was born ended in catastrophe. Even the loser sons of the elite families don't want me. Since I am safe for the night, I am going home." She turned and ran to the exist, swinging her handcuffs.
As soon as Wang Mazi was released by the medics, she was putting them around his wrists, booking him and then going home to an empty apartment which would no doubt try to kill her in some way, as usual.
Xia Linlin remained still, her Fate prediction system scanning the information that it had gathered. The change was sudden--too sudden. Which man was brave enough to marry the woman with the worst luck in history?
Wasn't he afraid like the others, that she would pass it on to him or their children?
Linlin's system came up blank. Only a question mark sat where the man's name should have been.
"Strange, really strange." Linlin muttered.
****
Shen Weijun was not much of a betting man. But when he did bet, he gave it his all and when lost, he paid up.
That was why he was sitting across a reporter of CNTV, willing grant an interview to the more than one hundred million people that had tuned in. Not because he was famous--which he was, but because of the question of the day. What was the outcome between the closed-door meeting between world leaders, SOB leaders and him, the leader of the independent hosts [IH]?
The reporter, who had managed to get him to sit down was Su Wanrong, a personal friend and one of the few reporters that the SOB had not managed to pay off to report the news in their favor. But she had a grimace on her face because as always, his face was covered with a Lion's mask which people had named The Lion's Veil.
It was sleek, high tech and modeled after a lion's fierce face. Most people thought it was just for show, but only a few knew what it truly did. It could emit a roar powerful enough to disorient enemies. The amber eyes could switch to infrared, tracking movement in darkness. The whiskers created a holographic projection that blended him into surroundings and the best of all, it came with a neural link. This link synced with his nervous system, enhancing his reflexes, allowing him to control drones shaped like lion cubs.
Whenever he was asked why he chose a lion's mask, he simply said it represented what he stood for. A protector of the independent system hosts and a predator for those who sought to destroy and use them.
In reality, as the leader of the opposition, he simply didn't want anyone remembering his face. He was a marked man. Had been one for years. His belief that system hosts should be allowed to grow unchecked and allowed to innovate without chains had put him on the opposing side of the bureau. It did not help when others who believed in his gospel fought the bureau across continents, leaving cities scarred and economies in limps.
The wars had plagued the world for twelve years. And now, the world was tired. Leaders called for peace. Children's faces filled every surviving television screen, crying for the old world and a chance to live in a world not ruled by fear. And in a move that felt more like a soap opera than diplomacy, the SOB had proposed a marriage alliance: someone from the Bureau president's family would wed someone from the IH city lord's family.
The IH city was his establishment, grown and developed during the system wars. It was also called One city, but nobody knew why, not even him. Everyone knew he was the city lord, and everyone knew his Shen family was in charge of the only city where independent hosts walked and lived freely.
Even though they did not know his face, the bureau knew almost everything about him. Hence, the outrageous suggestion that he be the one to wed a daughter of the Zhang family. A daughter of President Tai Alix. Any that struck his fancy.
On that matter, he had refused. Yes, a marriage could be held, but he was not going to be the groom. He had four brothers, all of marriage age, even the eighteen-year-old. For the greater good, one could be sacrificed, not that they were aware of this development just yet.
The studio lights in the station were blinding. Cameras whirred. Su Wanrong with a smile polished to perfection leaned forward.
"City Lord Shen, thank you for joining us tonight. The world is watching. Everyone wants to know, will you support the rumored ceasefire through marriage, or should we brace ourselves for the continuation of the system wars?"