The Big Shot in the Wheelchair 1

Volume 1: Sunflower

The wall clock ticked rhythmically, its slender hollowed-out second hand sweeping across the Roman numeral dial circle after circle. Outside the Atlantis, several snow-white seagulls flapped their wings, occasionally skimming past the side of the cruise ship, casting chevron-shaped shadows in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling windows.

Su Jinzhi withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the vice-captain pacing back and forth in front of their row of neatly standing waiters.

He was tall and wore a retro-tailored long black coat that slightly concealed his somewhat chubby figure. His cheeks were cleanly shaven, and half of a decorative brass pocket watch chain dangled from his pocket, making him look like a loyal old butler in a medieval castle. Only the thin layer of sweat on his forehead revealed his uncalm state of mind.

"Why isn't he here yet..." He frowned, exhaled, and murmured. Then, he turned and looked up at the ornate wall clock hanging high on the wall. His eyes suddenly widened, he took a deep breath, shook his head anxiously, and continued to pace back and forth in front of them.

As he paced, his heels struck the clean marble tiles. The dull and rapid sound of his footsteps made everyone present tense up along with him.

Su Jinzhi was considered the calmest among this group of people. He casually glanced at the vice-captain, then raised his hand to adjust his collar.

His waiter uniform was custom-made for him by someone the vice-captain found. Compared to the cheap goods worn by the other waiters standing beside him, it was more delicate and comfortable—and also more seductive. He got this uniform after working as a waiter on this cruise ship for three months, without receiving a single cent of salary, and he had even spent almost all of his savings. He had expended so much effort just for today.

To be exact, it was for the person who had chartered the top three floors of the Atlantis today—his Salvation Target in this world, Qin Yezhou.

The Atlantis had a total of 16 floors and was a super cruise ship with a displacement of over 100,000 tons. It was reputed as the "Sea City of the Rich". And Qin Yezhou was able to charter three whole floors; just hearing this was enough to know how rich he was.

But the rich were also very difficult to serve. There was less than an hour before the cruise ship's departure time, but Qin Yezhou had not yet boarded. If he boarded after the cruise ship's departure time, the vice-captain would probably be busy again, so it was no wonder he was this nervous now.

"Is Mr. Qin here? He's already here?!" The vice-captain, holding the mobile phone he had just answered, had a face full of wild joy upon receiving confirmation. He took out an exquisitely crafted handkerchief from his pocket to wipe the fine beads of sweat oozing from his forehead while walking towards Su Jinzhi.

Seeing this, Su Jinzhi quickly lowered his hands that were adjusting his collar, seeming to suppress the panic and timidity in his eyes, and revealed a clean smile. But even though he had tried his best to smile very "cleanly," the vice-captain was still entranced for a moment. After snapping back to his senses, he immediately walked to Su Jinzhi's side, beckoned the chef to hand the food cart over to Su Jinzhi, then patted his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Mr. Qin is here."

"Yes..." Su Jinzhi responded softly with his head lowered. From an angle where others couldn't see, the corners of his lips curled up slightly. He ignored the gasps of the other waiters behind him and pushed the food cart away.

Because of his appearance, Su Jinzhi had been discussed a lot since boarding this cruise ship. Even if he had perfectly maintained the "pure and kind" little white flower image set for him by the system in this world, showing absolutely no trace of breaking character, he still couldn't stop the suspicion and disdain from his colleagues.

But what could he do? After all, he was born in the interstellar era where there were no ugly people.

At that time, most humans had undergone genetic modification. They not only possessed flawless appearances as if carefully molded by God, but also had strong bodies as if cast from reinforced steel, as well as a long lifespan of hundreds or thousands of years.

But even so, he still died—died from failed resuscitation.

An extremely embarrassing and speechless way to die in the year 3500 of the Star Calendar. After all, at that time, more than half of the body's organs could be replaced mechanically. Medical care was highly developed, and very few people died from failed resuscitation. Most people only passed away in wars or sudden fatal incidents.

He was clearly right there in the hospital, yet he still died due to ineffective rescue efforts.

Because he was a Pure-blooded Human.

However, thinking about these things now was useless; he couldn't die now anyway.

But even if he couldn't die, he would still feel discomfort and pain.

When he walked to the 15th floor of the cruise ship, Su Jinzhi's body swayed slightly. He leaned against the wall and took a deep breath, biting the tip of his tongue to suppress the nausea surging up his throat, before he took a step to continue walking forward.

"Host, are you feeling unwell?" Just as Su Jinzhi's footsteps paused, the system that was allegedly bound to his soul spoke up. The somewhat rigid mechanical voice carried a youth's unique immaturity, and Su Jinzhi immediately recognized this as No. 0. It said, "As long as you quickly go to Mr. Qin's side, you will feel very comfortable."

"Got it," Su Jinzhi replied coldly. "You sure talk a lot of nonsense."

Anyone who had been repeatedly nagged with "Hurry up and do the mission, otherwise you will die painfully" for a whole three months would not be in a good mood, especially someone like Su Jinzhi—a person who wanted to live and was particularly afraid of death.

"Sob sob sob..." Scolded by its host, No. 0 whimpered a couple of times and left crying.

Listening to No. 0's crying, Su Jinzhi was silent for a while and actually felt a little bit of guilt. Although he knew this was just an inherent program set by the AI, he still couldn't help feeling a twinge of pity.

But when Su Jinzhi saw clearly what that Mr. Qin looked like, he no longer wanted No. 0 to leave; instead, he wanted to drag it back and beat it to death.

"Do you know how to do your job?!"

Because of his momentary distraction upon clearly seeing Qin Yezhou's appearance, the spout of the teapot Su Jinzhi was using to pour tea tilted and bumped into the purple sand teacup on the other side. Immediately after, a bodyguard standing next to Qin Yezhou forcefully pushed him away, making him have to stagger back a few steps to stabilize his body.

"S-Sorry..." Su Jinzhi quickly lowered his head to admit his mistake and apologize. His hands hung down by his sides, pressed tightly against his thighs.

The young man had his head lowered, so his raven-black bangs softly rested against his forehead. His face was as pale as paper, and his lowered long eyelashes trembled slightly due to fear and panic. Contrasting with the young man's beautiful face, which resembled a white camellia coated in morning dew, he looked so incredibly pitiful that it made people unable to bear scolding him for another half a sentence.

Therefore, the person who pushed him away opened his mouth but still couldn't continue cursing at him.

And Qin Yezhou, sitting in the wheelchair, took the towel handed over by another bodyguard and slowly wiped the water stains on his legs. From beginning to end, he didn't even glance at Su Jinzhi—just like that person.

Perhaps seeing that Qin Yezhou wasn't angry, the bodyguard who had pushed him away frowned, sighed, walked up to Su Jinzhi, and said in a low voice, "Go, go, go, Mr. Qin doesn't need people serving him here."

If it was before, Su Jinzhi might have struggled a bit in order to complete the mission and stop No. 0 from nagging him. But now that he saw clearly what Qin Yezhou looked like, he couldn't wait to run far away and never see this person again.

So he bowed and left without saying a word.

As Su Jinzhi walked, he called out to the system in his heart: 'No. 0, No. 0! Come out and explain to me why Qin Yezhou looks exactly like that person?'

"The appearance of the Salvation Target was chosen by the host himself, does this still need an explanation?" The system's mechanized voice did not carry a hint of humanity, and it was full of provocation.

"When did I choose it?" Su Jinzhi walked into the restroom and splashed his face with cold water before calming down a little. He continued to interrogate the system, "I'm not asking you, where is No. 0?"

"The host made the choice at the moment of death in the Origin World." No. 1's voice was even colder. "No. 0 went to headquarters to fight for the latest benefits for the host."

At the moment of death?

Right, he vaguely remembered that before he died, No. 0 had asked him a question—Please select the appearance of the Salvation Target. Given that the host cannot speak right now, the host only needs to form a three-dimensional picture in your mind.

Choose my ass!

He was about to die at that moment. In his blurry consciousness, he seemed to see that person standing in front of him, so his mind was entirely filled with thoughts of that person. Could No. 0 have thought that this was his chosen appearance for the Salvation Target?

Su Jinzhi raised his head to look at the person in the mirror, remained silent for a few seconds, and asked, "Then is it still not too late for me to change it now?"

No. 1 replied to him, "The quota for this option's benefit at headquarters has already been snatched clean. The host can participate in fighting for it when entering the next world."

However, before Su Jinzhi had time to say anything else, he heard No. 1 say, "But the 'Priceless Spring Night' benefit is still valid."

Hearing this, Su Jinzhi raised an eyebrow.

The "Priceless Spring Night" benefit was exactly as its name suggested. It could be used on all living creatures, and its effect was that it could cause the targeted subject to obtain the illusion of spending a spring night with the user, without any after-effects whatsoever. It was safe and secure, the ultimate treasure for every host to save the world with their body, sow the seeds of love, and build a great harmonious society together.

Drawback: It could only be used in the same world.

It was precisely because of this benefit named "Priceless Spring Night" that Su Jinzhi, after hesitating for a long time on the road, had decided to board the ship to generate electricity with love to save Qin Yezhou.

This was the only way he could complete the mission.

Qin Yezhou was handsome and rich. In the past, there was probably not a single woman who didn't want to marry him. Unfortunately, he had a car accident three years ago, leaving him unable to move below the knees, and since then he could only sit in a wheelchair permanently. His mother had died early, and right after his legs were crippled, his father immediately took a stepmother for him and even brought an illegitimate son who was only two years younger than him into the house. His father's intentions were crystal clear.

Later, Qin Yezhou disowned all his relatives and sent his father down to the ground to keep his mother company.

Of course, the latter was a rumor, and whether it was true or false was unknown, but Qin Yezhou's father was already dead, and it was also a fact that his stepmother and younger brother were not living very well. He was a person who didn't care about familial affection, didn't care about friendship, and was completely dismissive of life.

Su Jinzhi was not his father, nor was he his gay buddy. To save him, unless he became his lover and used love to warm his icy heart and body, making him feel love, only then could he make him build a beautiful world together with him.

With the effect of "Priceless Spring Night", it wouldn't matter even if he didn't want to truly be with Qin Yezhou. He could just act during the day and put on a show. If that Qin Yezhou really was handsome, Su Jinzhi wouldn't mind genuinely having a romance with him—after all, he could no longer be resurrected in that world.

And he was still a virgin before he died.

It was truly too tragic.

Su Jinzhi had been living perfectly fine in his previous life. He was the only surviving Pure-blooded Human interstellar diplomat on Earth in the year 3000 of the Star Calendar. However, right after he finished receiving that extremely difficult alien who wore human skin and looked exactly like Qin Yezhou, he fainted immediately upon returning home. Upon examination—systemic organ failure, the only terminal illness in the Milky Way Galaxy.

He ran to the Naxi Port Hospital, the best hospital on Beta 68 Centauri, to receive treatment. He invested his entire fortune in the hospital and stubbornly held on for five years without dying.

The doctor told him that, given that he was a surviving pure-blooded Earthling, he had absolutely no antibodies against the microorganisms on alien creatures. Furthermore, his current physical condition was not enough to support him through the adverse reactions of vaccination. So for the sake of his safety, it was best for him to lie in the hospital's isolation ward for the rest of his life, only then would he have a chance of surviving.

After entering the hospital, Su Jinzhi had been constantly pondering the life choice of whether to just be a salted fish until he died, or walk out of the isolation room and die immediately. Finally, he decided to return to Earth to take one last look at his hometown before being buried in the ground—after all, he no longer had any money to continue maintaining the operation of his mechanical organs in the hospital.

But just early on the morning of the day before his departure, when the nurse pushed the door open holding a bouquet of flowers and told him that someone had come to visit him, Su Jinzhi immediately covered his mouth and nose and collapsed—dead from failed resuscitation due to an alien pollen allergy.

——Who the fuck sent him alien flowers?!

But perhaps Su Jinzhi's fate was truly not meant to end there; he still didn't manage to die. After opening his eyes in the system space, he found that he had been bound to a "Love Life System".

This system had two AIs—Punisher No. 1 and Welfare Baby No. 0.

No. 0 was responsible for distributing reward benefits after the mission was completed, while No. 1 was responsible for issuing punishments when the mission failed or when the host was passive in doing the mission during the process.

No. 0 felt sorry for him having just died, so it not only gave him a free benefit but also issued him a very simple mission—in this world, he only needed to arouse the Salvation Target character's love for life, and it would be considered a successfully completed mission.

And once the mission was successful, he would be able to obtain the "longevity" benefit based on the average life expectancy of that world, and he could enjoy the highest treatment in that world. He could live as wildly as he wanted without any problems, and after living until a natural death, he would head to the next world.

If it weren't for the backdoor No. 0 opened for him, the mission Su Jinzhi was originally supposed to complete in this world was to arouse 10 people's and the Salvation Target character's love for life before he could enter the next world. Failing to drag the Salvation Target back from the abyss of emotions such as depression, world-weariness, loneliness, and isolation, or failing to arouse the love for life in a full 10 people, would count as a mission failure. Neither could be omitted.

Because of his identity as a pure-blooded Earthling in his previous life, Su Jinzhi had always only been able to stay on Earth. But the Earth at that time had nothing to see except black stones, and after he suffered from organ failure, he had never seen anything else other than pure white hospital wards and doctors in white coats. Coupled with his physical condition, his life was simply more bitter than an ascetic monk's. But now, not only did he not have to die, he could also enjoy life. What reason did he have not to accept the mission?

As a result, he was scammed by the system.

Qin Yezhou was truly fucking handsome, but he looked exactly like that alien he had entertained right before he died. Su Jinzhi seriously suspected that he fell ill precisely because this alien was carrying some weird thing on him. Before he died, he thought that if he had a next life, he must definitely never be allowed to see an alien again, not even an alien wearing human skin!

But now he had already boarded the system's pirate ship. If he didn't obediently wait to "save" Qin Yezhou, then it meant he couldn't think straight and wanted to be tortured to death by No. 1.

No. 1 was the Punisher. If he didn't do the mission, his illness in this world would quickly worsen, and he would live an incredibly miserable life. Then, based on the average life expectancy of this world, he would receive the punishment of "being chronically ill but unable to die," and he would only die after being tortured by No. 1 until he no longer resembled a human.

And in this world, he might have to be tormented by No. 1 for a hundred years before he could die.

No. 1 wanting to torture him to death wasn't just a matter of a day or two; it was like this every single day.

Moreover, No. 1 had already tortured him, and was still torturing him now.

Almost at the very same moment this thought appeared in his mind, Su Jinzhi clutched his agonizingly cramping heart and collapsed.