ASPWL Ch91: The Greatest Villain

Papa Huo carried home an unconscious child wrapped in ice and snow, startling Mama Huo, and the whole Huo household was in a bit of chaos inside and out.

The butler quickly fetched clean clothes and blankets.

Mama Huo took the child into her arms and began helping him take off the thin outer coat. But as she removed it, she paused in surprise, “Did you really find this child in the snow?”

Papa Huo replied, “Of course!”

“Then why is he still warm?” Mama Huo asked.

Papa Huo was taken aback, “Warm?”

In his rush earlier, he’d only focused on bringing the child home and hadn’t checked his body temperature.

“Either way, quickly call the doctor over!” Mama Huo urged.

The family doctor arrived promptly, and his hand trembled slightly as he took hold of L1, “It was over minus ten degrees last night! How could you find a child in the snow…”

Papa Huo briefly recounted how he’d found the child, then added, “But he doesn’t seem to be in any real trouble now.”

“How is that possible?” the doctor said, reaching out to feel L1’s face.

The touch was indeed warm, and he seemed fine. The doctor furrowed his brow, “He really is warm…”

The doctor then proceeded to check L1’s heartbeat and pulse.

Since the body L1 redeemed in the points store was a high-grade human replica, he wasn’t worried about exposing himself and lay still, letting the doctor examine him.

After a brief examination, the doctor was astonished, “There truly… doesn’t seem to be any problem.”

“Then what’s… going on?” Mama Huo asked in a low voice.

The doctor pondered for a moment before replying, “He seems to just be asleep. But how did he end up in the garden?”

Papa Huo and Mama Huo exchanged a glance; in fact, they also wanted to ask this question.

The old Huo family estate covered a large area, so the villa’s location was not in the bustling city center.

The entire villa community only had a few homes. Aside from the Huo family, there were three other households, but the Huo family knew everyone and had never heard of anyone having a child of this age.

But just to be safe, Papa Huo still arranged for someone to go door to door and ask.

As for L1, who was still “unconscious,” the doctor performed a full examination on him and finally concluded—

“The child doesn’t seem to have any major issues; he’s probably just exhausted and fell asleep, and…”

The doctor pointed to his clothes and whispered, “He looks like he’s been wandering outside for a while; perhaps he’s…”

The doctor didn’t finish his sentence.

However, Papa Huo and Mama Huo understood.

Only L1, who was “half-asleep,” was somewhat unclear.

Could it be that because he hadn’t changed clothes for a while, plus spending last night lying in a patch of grass, they thought he was a wandering beggar?

L1 thought this guess was likely, but he didn’t dwell on it for long and started carefully recalling everything that had happened since Papa Huo picked him up and brought him inside.

The more he thought about it, the more puzzled L1 felt.

In this world’s setting, everyone in the Huo family was supposed to be villains, and L1 was sure he had come to the right place.

But judging by everything they’d just done, it didn’t look like something villains would do.

They didn’t ignore a stranger like him, nor did they throw him out to avoid trouble.

Not only did they carry his dirty self into their warm home, but they also called a doctor to examine him.

After confirming he had no health issues, Papa and Mama Huo summoned the butler to carry L1 to the bath.

Warm water flowed over L1’s body, and the sensation was quite comfortable. Initially, he didn’t feel very sleepy anymore, but for some reason, the warmth of the water made him drowsy again.

While the butler bathed him, Papa and Mama Huo didn’t leave. They stood by, chatting while watching the butler clean L1.

Mama Huo said, “Poor child.”

Papa Huo nodded, “Although he’s physically fine, he looks so skinny. Who knows how long he’s been wandering outside…”

“Do you think he might have been abducted and managed to escape?” Mama Huo asked.

Papa Huo replied, “It’s possible. Let him sleep a bit longer. If he doesn’t wake up, we’ll wake him for something to eat.”

Mama Huo nodded, adding, “With the icy weather outside, it’d be best for him to stay with us for now.”

Hearing this, L1 understood: they were planning to let him stay.

But why did they want him to stay?

L1 had monitored many small worlds, including some with similar settings to World A20231007.

In those worlds, kind protagonists always helped those in need.

But the people they helped were rarely ordinary.

After enduring hardships, supporting characters would later repay the protagonist a hundredfold once they regained power.

With the support of these characters, the protagonist’s strength, social standing, or wealth would leap forward, pushing the storyline.

But L1 wasn’t an important supporting character in this storyline.

Even if the Huo family saved and helped him, he wouldn’t lend any aid to them.

He wouldn’t repay them in any way and would even watch as they each met their fated tragic end.

Yet, Papa and Mama Huo still saved him.

Did they not expect anything in return?

L1 didn’t understand.

After the butler finished bathing him, Mama Huo personally dressed him in clean clothes, then tucked him into a warm, dry bed.

Outside, snowflakes fell again, while inside, the room was quiet and warm, with a faint, pleasant scent from the bedding.

L1 felt he shouldn’t just fall asleep, but his body was so comfortable.

As a system, he didn’t feel fatigue; only his human body did. The exhaustion from the past few days faded, and his body quickly sank into deep sleep again.

While L1’s human body rested, he reverted to his role as a supervisor, wandering around the entire Huo household.

Papa and Mama Huo had risen early; after bathing him and tucking him in, it was barely seven o’clock.

As they went downstairs, the Huo family’s other three villain brothers were waking up as well.

When Huo Yan heard that Papa Huo had picked up a child from the garden, his eyes widened in shock: “How old is the kid?”

“Five,” replied Mama Huo.

Huo Ze’s eyes darted around as he looked Papa Huo up and down, then whispered to Huo Jing, “Could this kid be Dad’s illegitimate son? Now that he’s grown up, he’s here to claim his place in the Huo family, so Dad secretly hid him in the garden, pretending to find him there. Later, they won’t be able to locate his parents, and our family will end up adopting him…”

“Thud—”

Without hesitation, Papa Huo smacked Huo Ze on the head.

Huo Ze clutched his head, crying out in pain.

The other three couldn’t hold back their laughter, smiles spreading across their faces.

“Huo Ze! If there’s something wrong with your brain, go get it checked! How could I have fathered such an unfilial child?” Papa Huo fumed.

Tearing up, Huo Ze protested, “But in novels, dramas, and anime, it always happens like this! My guess was reasonable!”

“Damn it! I’m beating you up today!” Papa Huo, furious, chased Huo Ze in circles around the living room.

Watching this scene unfold in the living room, L1 suddenly felt a strange sense of relief.

Right.

They were supposed to be villains, after all! How could they possibly live in harmony?

The scene he’d witnessed last night had to be a façade. This tense, combative atmosphere was how it should be.

Watching Huo Ze getting pinned to the ground, wailing while Papa Huo beat him, L1 felt a newfound sense of ease.

Suddenly, he thought of something—

Since they were pretending last night, could Papa and Mama Huo have hidden motives for wanting to keep him around?

Mama Huo had just mentioned child trafficking—could it be that they planned to fatten him up and sell him?

L1 looked down at his human body.

This face was randomly generated, but there was no denying that it looked adorable, with delicate features, like a little doll.

Even if Papa and Mama Huo did sell him, L1 had ways to escape.

But for some reason, the thought stirred a strange emotion in his heart.

This feeling was somewhat familiar—he had felt it the day he watched Ye Fan die. Yet it differed slightly.

L1 thought about it carefully; it felt similar to the time he’d seen Su Rui kick a kitten. He wasn’t sure how to describe it, but he knew this emotion wasn’t happy; it even made him uncomfortable, to the point where he didn’t want to stay with the Huo family any longer.

So without hesitation, L1 returned to his human body and forced himself to “wake up.”

He put on the down jacket at the bedside, climbed down, and was ready to leave.

But before he could open the window, the guest room door swung open from the outside.

“Hey, you’re awake?” The newcomer was Huo Yan, his voice a bit surprised. Then he added, “Why aren’t you wearing shoes? Aren’t your feet cold on the bare floor?”

L1 had planned to fly out the window.

But now that Huo Yan was here, he couldn’t leave.

Huo Yan walked over quickly, scooping L1 up in one swift motion.

A smile lit up his face as he held L1 with one arm, using the other hand to pinch L1’s cheek. “You’re really cute! How about joining my crew as a little actor in my next show?”

L1 stared at him silently.

Huo Yan looked him over, puzzled. “Can’t speak?”

L1 remained silent.

Huo Yan raised his eyebrows in surprise, then hurriedly carried L1 downstairs.

Lowering his gaze, L1 knew he had no chance of leaving now.

Huo Yan, carrying L1, dashed downstairs, forgetting to put shoes on him.

Mama Huo frowned when she saw them. “He’s awake? Why didn’t you put shoes on him?”

Huo Yan, in a rush, replied, “Well, Mom, that’s not the point…”

“What do you mean it’s not important? What if he catches a cold?” Mama Huo said as she started looking for socks.

Huo Yan then blurted out, “I think he’s mute!”

Mama Huo froze, and the other Huo family members all turned to look.

“M-Mute?” Papa Huo was surprised.

Huo Jing frowned. “I’ll call the doctor.”

By this point, Huo Ze had come over and observed L1 up close for a while before breaking into a grin. “But he’s so cute. Can I hold him?”

Huo Yan didn’t hand him over.

Huo Ze reached out to L1 again.

L1 pressed his lips together and pretended not to notice.

Huo Ze looked disappointed. “Second Brother, let me hold him!”

But Huo Yan wouldn’t give in.

So Huo Ze circled around Huo Yan and L1 like a broken record, begging for a turn.

Huo Yan, annoyed, was about to refuse again when L1 suddenly noticed something odd—Huo Ze didn’t seem to have any injuries.

Wait.

Hadn’t he just been getting beaten up by Papa Huo?

Did villains fight each other just for show?

L1 found it hard to believe, then reached out his hand toward Huo Ze.

Huo Ze’s eyes lit up immediately, cheering, “Hey! Little mute, let me hold him!”

Reluctantly, Huo Yan handed L1 over to Huo Ze.

The moment Huo Ze took L1, he suddenly lifted him and tossed him into the air.

L1’s eyes widened in shock—what was this villain doing?!

Before he could fly off, Huo Ze reached up and caught him, grinning. “How was that? Isn’t it fun to go up high?”

L1: “…”

He had just scanned Huo Ze’s body and confirmed there were no injuries. Clearly, this guy’s head wasn’t quite right.

Mama Huo shot Huo Ze a disapproving glare. “Don’t scare him!”

Huo Ze chuckled. “I’m just teasing him.” Holding the still-shaken L1, he sat on the couch and asked, “So, was it fun? You’re not really a mute, are you? Such a cute mute?”

L1: “…I’m not.”

His body was that of a child, so his voice sounded soft and sweet.

Huo Ze exclaimed in surprise, “So you can talk!”

Huo Yan suddenly looked annoyed. “Why didn’t you speak when I was holding you?”

Huo Jing interjected, “In that case, no need to call the doctor.”

Papa and Mama Huo also gathered around L1.

Papa Huo asked, “Whose child are you?”

Mama Huo smiled warmly. “Are you hungry? I asked the kitchen to make some porridge for you, and it’ll be ready soon!”

Hearing the word “porridge,” L1 shot Mama Huo a cautious look.

In his mind, he thought, so they really did intend to fatten him up and sell him.

However, he was genuinely curious about human food.

Systems didn’t need to eat, but his body did.

During his time with Su Rui, L1 hadn’t been able to get close to him at all, much less eat anything.

After several days, his stomach was now empty and shrunken.

L1 nodded at Mama Huo.

Mama Huo covered her face with her hands in delight. “Oh my, he’s so adorable! Even cuter than these three when they were little!”

The three brothers: “…”

Huo Ze protested, “Hey, no favoritism!”

Ignoring him, Mama Huo reached over and took L1 from Huo Ze’s arms, then carried him off to the dining room.

The chef had already brought out the porridge and other dishes.

Mama Huo set L1 down in his seat, smiling as she placed the porridge in front of him and added several side dishes to his plate. “Careful, it’s hot. Can you feed yourself?”

L1 nodded. After thinking for a moment, he still said a polite thank you.

Although they planned to sell him, they had also given him food.

L1 was a very polite system.

The porridge Mama Huo served him was a vegetable and lean meat porridge. The minced meat and greens were cooked to a soft consistency. L1 remembered that humans in a small world had used a spoon to eat porridge, so he mimicked them by scooping up a spoonful. But just as he was about to put it in his mouth, Mama Huo quickly stopped him.

L1 looked up at her, his eyes full of confusion.

Mama Huo laughed. “You said you could eat on your own, but don’t you know to blow on it first?”

She then took the spoon from his hand, blew on the porridge, checked that the temperature wouldn’t burn him, and brought the spoon to L1’s lips.

L1 looked down at the meat porridge in front of his mouth.

This feeling was very strange.

He was clearly an all-powerful system; why did he need someone to feed him?

So L1 said, “I can eat by myself.”

He insisted on feeding himself.

With no other choice, Mama Huo handed the spoon back to him and reminded him repeatedly to be careful of the heat.

L1 nodded.

This time, he didn’t rashly take a large bite of porridge. Instead, he used the spoon to scoop small bites, eating them slowly.

The soft, tender flavor of the porridge spread across his taste buds with the first bite.

L1’s eyes widened slightly. So this was what porridge tasted like.

It was very good.

L1 liked it very much.

In no time, the small bowl of porridge was empty.

Mama Huo was delighted to see this and asked, “Would you like some milk?”

L1 nodded.

Mama Huo brought him a cup of sweet milk.

At first, the taste of milk was strange to him, but soon, L1 tasted its sweetness.

He liked this milk.

So, over the course of breakfast, L1 finished a bowl of porridge, drank a glass of milk, and, with Mama Huo’s gentle encouragement, ate a whole doughnut.

After eating everything, L1’s body suddenly let out a burp.

L1 had never burped before and was momentarily stunned.

Mama Huo noticed his reaction and leaned in to ask, “What’s wrong?”

After thinking about it, L1 replied, “I burped.”

Mama Huo chuckled. “You ate too much; it’s nothing. Why don’t you go for a walk with those three brothers to help you digest?”

L1 looked over.

Huo Yan and Huo Ze were already approaching him.

Huo Ze put a hat on L1’s head, and Huo Yan wrapped a scarf around his neck.

“Let’s go. Let’s take a walk in the garden,” Huo Yan said.

L1 looked back at Mama Huo.

He thought, I’m probably about to be sold off.

However, that strange emotion he’d felt earlier was gone now.

The doughnut, porridge, and milk were all delicious, so L1 decided he could temporarily forgive them.

When he got down from the chair, Huo Ze and Huo Yan took his hands, one on each side.

L1 wondered if they were afraid he might run away.

Although he was planning to run, just not now.

The temperature outside dropped the moment they left the warm indoors.

Huo Ze sighed, “So you spent the whole night sleeping in the flower beds?”

L1 thought about nodding but quickly realized that if a normal human slept in the snow for a night, they would surely die, so he corrected himself, saying, “No, just for a little while.”

Huo Yan asked, “Then how did you get into our house? Did you climb over the wall?”

Of course, L1 had flown in.

But he didn’t intend to tell them that, so he kept silent.

Huo Ze and Huo Yan exchanged a glance, and Huo Ze asked, “Where are your parents?”

This was a question L1 could answer: “I don’t have parents, so even if you sell me, they won’t find out.”

Both brothers paused at his words.

“Sell you?” Huo Ze blinked in confusion. “Why would we sell you?”

Huo Yan was equally baffled. “What’s going on in that little brain of yours? Why would we sell you?”

L1 didn’t respond.

The more Huo Yan thought about it, the more amused he felt. He then crouched down to look L1 in the eyes. “So, you think we fed you and took you in just to sell you?”

L1 still didn’t answer, but he couldn’t hide his emotions yet. His clear eyes read like a book: Isn’t that the case?

Huo Yan laughed.

Huo Ze burst into hearty laughter.

The two brothers then brought L1 back indoors, just as the police arrived. When they saw the child Huo Ze and Huo Yan were holding, the leading officer asked, “Is this the child?”

Mr. Huo replied, “Yes. We went around asking the neighbors this morning, but no one had reported a missing child, so we contacted you to see if you could help.”

L1 stared at the police officers, a bit dumbfounded.

Did the villains’ family actually call the police?

Were they reporting themselves?

No, that wasn’t it.

One officer stepped in front of L1, crouching to meet his eye level with a warm smile. “Little one, do you remember your parents’ phone number?”

L1 understood.

The villainous family hadn’t called the police to turn themselves in; they wanted to help him find his family.

Which meant his earlier assumption that they’d sell him was also wrong.

L1 found this incomprehensible and looked up at Mama Huo, who stood nearby.

In a soft voice, she said to him, “Don’t be afraid. Just tell the officer what you know; they’ll help you get home.”

L1 wasn’t afraid of being sold, so he certainly wasn’t afraid of the police.

He was only deeply puzzled as to why the villainous family hadn’t sold him.

Their behavior was entirely uncharacteristic of villains.

In fact—

They were acting much more like the protagonists of a story.

But I can’t repay them for any of this.

L1’s brow slowly knitted together.

At that moment, he remembered something Qiu had once said:

“Not everyone in the world is purely black or white, and not all villains are bad people.”

The entire Huo family were villains, but they weren’t villains in the traditional sense.

On his seventh day in world A20231007, L1 came to understand this.

The police ultimately didn’t get any information out of him because L1 was lost in thought and didn’t say another word the whole time.

The police speculated that the child might have some level of autism, being reluctant to speak, so they didn’t press him any further.

On the other hand, Huo Yan and Huo Ze treated what he had said in the garden as a joke and shared it with the police officers and Papa and Mama Huo,

The officers chuckled at this and reassured L1, “There’s no need to worry. Mr. Huo and Ms. Lin are very good people, but you also can’t stay here forever. So we’ll do a DNA entry and monitor any missing person reports to help you find your parents.”

With that, Mr. Huo took L1 to the police station.

In the afternoon, when they returned, Papa Huo held L1’s hand and, smiling, told him, “Don’t worry. Even if it takes time to find your parents, we won’t make you leave. You can stay at our house temporarily. Our whole family really likes you.”

L1 turned his head to glance at Papa Huo, still feeling puzzled.

L1 had overseen many worlds, so he naturally understood that the most important emotion in human feelings was love. Love and like were similar, but they weren’t quite the same.

L1 didn’t understand the difference between the two.

Nor did he understand whether this “like” was the same as his own liking for milk and donuts.

But one thing L1 could confirm was that the Huo family wouldn’t hurt him, nor would they speak to him harshly like Su Rui had.

Being with them was comfortable.

Since he needed to understand human emotions, he might as well stay with them.

With that thought, L1 really did settle down in the Huo household.

Papa Huo and Huo Jing were usually very busy with work and rarely home during the day.

Huo Yan and Huo Ze also had their own jobs, so it was mostly Mama Huo who spent time with L1 during the day.

Mama Huo would make a lot of delicious food for L1, and she would also watch dramas and read books with him.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed, and the Huo family gathered together once more because it was New Year’s.

L1 knew about New Year’s and knew it was a very lively holiday.

Papa and Mama Huo woke up early in the morning and started bustling around, and even Huo Jing, who usually stayed glued to his computer, set it aside to help out in the kitchen.

They prepared a large table of dishes, and the whole family cheerfully enjoyed the meal together.

In the afternoon, Huo Ze and Huo Yan took L1 out to play in the snow, and after dinner, they watched fireworks together.

For L1, all these experiences were new and fascinating, but he couldn’t deny that he enjoyed them all.

When he got tired from playing that night, L1 went back to his room to sleep.

He actually didn’t need to rest, but during his time with the Huo family, he’d gradually adopted the habit of letting his body rest, just as the Huo family members did.

But when he woke up from this sleep, L1 suddenly felt something was wrong—he felt dizzy, and his body felt heavy.

He realized almost instantly that his body had caught a cold.

So L1 dragged his heavy body downstairs to tell Mama Huo.

Without a doubt, this was the decision L1 regretted the most since he came to live with the Huo family—

After learning he had a fever, Mama Huo quickly called a doctor.

The doctor said it wasn’t anything serious, but he needed to take medicine.

L1 hated taking medicine.

The pills were bitter and awful, and there was also a dark liquid medicine.

Mama Huo said that drinking this would make his throat stop hurting, but L1 thought the liquid was practically poison and refused to drink it no matter what.

This wasn’t the first time he’d felt this way.

As a first-time human, L1 found many foods new and delightful, but there were also many things he couldn’t accept.

For example, bitter melon, green onions, ginger, and garlic—all things L1 refused to eat.

Whenever he said he didn’t like something, Mama Huo never forced him to eat it again.

But this time was different. Mama Huo, going against her usual ways, insisted that he drink the medicine.

L1 knew Mama Huo was doing this for his own good.

But for some reason, he just felt unhappy.

He wanted to say that this was his body and that he could fully regulate it without drinking “poison” three times a day.

But he couldn’t bring himself to say these things.

Not because of any restrictions.

But because once he said these words, the Huo family would realize their identities as villains.

In these little worlds, only the protagonist could see their future.

Villains didn’t have this right.

Because even if the protagonist knew their future, it wouldn’t change the predetermined events of their life.

But the villain’s future could still be changed.

For the storyline to reach a proper ending, they shouldn’t know their final fate.

As he thought of this, L1 felt even more discontented.

So, while Papa and Mama Huo weren’t paying attention, he left without hesitation.

He’d interacted with this villainous family long enough.

Now, L1 could try approaching other characters.

But who should he meet next?

Why not visit the biggest villain in this world?

L1 remembered his name—it was Qin Yao.