NOVEL WEB Ch. 24
Chapter 24: “The Man Who Spiced Me Up to Crawl All Over, Ancestor Dad.”
As things were supposed to go, Luciano was meant to have a thrilling showdown with Tang Qi, a battle at the pinnacle of cybernetics that would perfectly showcase the Upper District’s highest technological prowess.
“It’s the clash of ambition and ideals! Evil versus justice! Tyranny against freedom!”
The System said, somewhat despairingly.
“But it’s all over, done, Host. Such a crucial major plot point, and the involved party chose to end it all with two sentences at your grave.”
“Be content,” Chu Zu said faintly.
“If Luciano had been so furious he wanted to blow up my grave, you’d be crying about how the protagonist suddenly dropped dead. I saw Tang Qi didn’t bring anything but a gun.”
System: “…”
“I noticed something,” Chu Zu said.
“I originally thought all plot points were under the author’s control. If he didn’t want a plot, he could just delete it, or at worst, revise it later. But with you making such a fuss, it’s like even the author can’t change the content…”
“He really can’t,” the System said honestly.
“When the author decided to involve us for revisions, the entire story started running on its own. All characters’ actions come from their true selves. That’s why the settings you filled in spawned so many backstory details.”
“The author can only delete characters, but whether it’s Luciano, Tang Qi, or you, he’s not willing to delete any of you. So he could only watch as the originally twist-filled, thrilling battle turned into…”
The System pondered its wording for a long time.
“Turned into your anthology of heart-piercing, mind-blowing madness.”
Chu Zu thought quietly for a while, not responding no matter how the System prodded.
It even started reflecting, wondering if its blunt phrasing had hurt the Host’s fragile heart.
Then Chu Zu suddenly spoke: “I didn’t kill anyone, nor did I pierce any hearts.”
The System was stunned: “‘You are my future,’ isn’t that heart-piercing enough?”
“Didn’t I tell you when we first started revising? I smelled the future of Luciano.”
System: “…”
System: “I really didn’t expect back then… that the future you meant was this future…”
“And Luciano didn’t hear it. He was already dead by then.”
“…Doesn’t that make it even more heart-piercing?!!”
“Considering the rotten history between me and little Luciano, I think it’s just par for the course.”
Chu Zu said indifferently, “Neither of us are good people. He still tried to play me even as he was dying. There were only two possible endings for us: either he steps over my corpse to become the final big boss, or I outmaneuver him to become the final big boss.”
“What did you call it before? Self-accounting for profit and loss?”
“…Indeed.”
The System said dryly, “I’m just worried your evaluation will get tricky.
I never expected you’d come off this ruthless.
I’m concerned the readers’ shock will be like Luciano’s, and all their positive feelings for you will plummet…”
Chu Zu smiled: “We’ve talked about this. It’s good if readers hate me.”
But I don’t want so many people to hate you.
The System held back for a long time, deleting all the things it shouldn’t say from its response buffer.
It already understood Chu Zu’s stance on side characters.
With Dai Xi’an, another side character, and Sidney, even more side, Chu Zu used his own character setting as a baseline, achieving a logical “gentleness.”
He knew his role, so he was only ruthless to himself.
“Those who accept fate want others to control their fate.”
Chu Zu’s every action told this story.
So the System didn’t want Chu Zu to be hated.
It had planned to check reader feedback after this mission ended, but the Host had no regard for its fragile heart, urging: “Check the forum. Quick, let me see how they’re cursing me.”
His tone was even full of anticipation!
The System simply blocked itself off, ensuring that when it pulled up the reader forum, it wouldn’t see a single word of Host-bashing, not even punctuation!
But then it was found…
“The reader forum crashed.”
Chu Zu: “?”
System: “Wait, wait, wait, give me a moment. I’ll check what’s going on! This forum’s been attacked by competitors before and temporarily shut down. It should be fixed soon!”
Before the System could rush to investigate the crash, its superior came first, complaint form in hand.
A few minutes later, the System returned, grumbling with the complaint form.
“The site said the server crashed due to a flood of meaningless posts.”
“Including but not limited to ‘Bro, seriously,’ ‘Huh?,’ ‘Brother… BROTHER!’… After being flagged as spam, the admins issued warnings and banned a ton of IPs, but they still couldn’t delete them all.”
“The readers seem really shaken, so they made the admins shaken too.”
“What’s worse, someone mentioned your name, and the crawler caught it. The superior came asking if we pulled some stunt again… What stunt? This has nothing to do with us!!!”
The System, while ranting, started to doubt itself: “It… shouldn’t have anything to do with us, right?”
Chu Zu, calmly: “Right, no relation.”
The System relaxed.
Even if there was a relation, it couldn’t admit it!
The System knew better, so it held firm before the superior, showing no trace of guilt.
A correction specialist crashing the novel’s official reader forum?
If that got out, how would the Host ever survive in the future!
After a few rounds of back-and-forth, the superior likely figured out this System, paired with Chu Zu, had evolved into something impervious.
Even if it denied everything, the superior still proactively helped the forum admins, swiftly handling the emergency.
The forum reopened soon, but the old posts hadn’t been filtered and uploaded yet, leaving the entire board empty.
Because the old posts weren’t synced and the basic functions were intact, the blank forum gave readers, pent up from the shutdown, a sense of… “If I don't post something crazy now, I’m losing out.”
So, before anyone could react, they launched a new wave of relentless bombardment with lightning speed.
The time flow between the real world and the novel was still staggering.
For Chu Zu, only about five minutes passed before the System, hesitantly, said: “The forum’s back. Want to check?”
The System’s true hope was that, with few people around, even if readers wanted to rant, they probably hadn’t reacted yet.
Better to face the pain now than later.
After this, it’d blacklist the forum address immediately.
Chu Zu: “Look.”
The System pulled up the page, shielding itself as before to protect its fragile heart.
A few minutes later, it cautiously asked: “You done?”
Chu Zu didn’t respond.
A few more minutes passed, and the System asked again: “You done?”
Chu Zu still didn’t respond.
The System had to unblock a bit to check Chu Zu’s reaction—its Host had a profoundly intriguing, complex expression.
“Are they… cursing you to high heaven?” the System asked softly.
Chu Zu’s face remained complex: “…I don’t know how to put it.”
The System sighed: “You need to take it easy. Before you came to revise, the curses against ‘Chu Zu’ were way harsher than now…”
Chu Zu: “No, you look at the forum first. You have to look. I think I’m a bit out of touch with the web novel market. Help me analyze it.”
System: “?”
*
Topic: [The Man Who Spiced Me Up to Crawl All Over, Ancestor Dad]
Before Chapter 325, who was Chu Zu?
Don’t know him.
After Chapter 325, Ancestor Dad! Dad—!
Noble ideals are great, but twisted ruthlessness is just thrilling.
What?
You say Ancestor Dad betrayed everyone who had expectations for him?
NONONO, what’s that got to do with me?
I just want to eat Ancestor Dad’s big mango!
I mean, big mango pie!
[Be a Man, Slash 999 Times] | Posted on 2024-03-18 21:12:03
Insane.
[Eat Something Good] | Posted on 2024-03-18 21:12:45
Bro, seriously, I just saw you slaughter your way through a power-ranking thread in another novel, and now you’re here losing it.
Who said, “No matter how good the character, it’s not as good as a biting dog”?
And who said, “Spare me the fatherly lit, kids are a burden, the essence of old men is kill, kill, kill”?
What’s with this abstract nonsense?
[Whose Chef’s Cooking] | Posted on 2024-03-18 21:13:05
Screech
I get it.
Chapter 325, I call it the Neon Crown Bible.
Ancestor Gate.
[I’m Gonna Snatch Your Mama] | Posted on 2024-03-18 21:13:34
I’m not saying I have fantasies about Ancestor Dad.
I’m not an Ancestor Dad stan.
That said, Ancestor Dad is indeed spicy.
I’m not saying I like Ancestor Dad, but he’s definitely spicy.
Still, I’m not a hardcore Ancestor Dad fan.
Even taking a step back, Ancestor Dad is pretty aspirational, but too bad I don’t like him.
That said, being Sidney to Ancestor Dad wouldn’t be bad, but I’m not begging for it.
Screw it, I’m done pretending! Who in this world doesn’t love Ancestor Dad?
It’s all just posturing!
Ancestor Dad! Dad! My Ancestor Dad, how can I live without you, waaaah!
[Villain Fans Did What to You] | Posted on 2024-03-18 21:13:34
Seriously, did Chapter 325 serve you all a plate of Yunnan mushrooms?
Why’s everyone tripping?
[Cosine Formula] | Posted on 2024-03-18 21:13:58
Here’s the deal, Chapter 325 solved the following:
1. Why did Dai Xi’an suddenly retire to be Ancestor Dad’s nanny?
2. Why did Ancestor Dad go to the Lower District, and after being caught by Tang Bro, sell out Luciano?
3. Did Ancestor Dad really die or fake it? Was he forced, or was it his choice? Why?
4. Why could Ancestor Dad be the ruthless guy who fights Tang Bro to the end?
5. How could anyone not like Ancestor Dad?
6. How could anyone not like Ancestor Dad?
7. How could anyone not like Ancestor Dad?
[When the Crowd Shines Like Stars] | Posted on 2024-03-18 21:14:15
Fairly, justly, openly, even if I’m not into this type of character, Chu Zu is a real wolf.
Even recalling earlier plots, among all the vile villains, it’s hard to find one like Chu Zu, who doesn’t rely on specific deeds but makes you shudder just knowing his mindset.
[No Secondhand Smoke] | Posted on 2024-03-18 21:14:35
Off-topic, but little Luciano finally found a new track to make himself popular.
Alive, he was a handsome scumbag; dead, he’s a tragic beauty.
Truly, the best plastic surgery for a rotten person is to die with regret.
This is our Luciano Esposito, please give him lots of attention!
[Hell Jokes Never Get Old] | Posted on 2024-03-18 21:14:35
I want mango pie too.
[One Big Fat Kid Per Bite] | Posted on 2024-03-18 21:15:03
The best part of crafting a villain is getting to something like Ancestor Dad!
At first, you think he’s got some hidden pain, but turns out it’s a congenital defect.
Awesome!
Ancestor Dad doesn’t care how anyone sees him, at most asking Sidney if he’s scared.
Awesome!
You’ve got your unfulfilled ambitions, your towering grudges—sorry, Ancestor Dad’s got no feelings.
Awesome!
[Move Over, Let Me Pass] | Posted on 2024-03-18 21:15:58
Mango pie! Mango pie! Everyone loves mango pie!!!
[Be a Man, Slash 999 Times] | Posted on 2024-03-18 21:16:15
…
The System was dumbfounded.
It had hardly seen this kind of fervor in progression novels, especially all aimed at a villain.
Staring at the screen full of big mangoes, glaringly yellow, the System choked up for a while.
“If female readers liked your type, I’d get it, but I checked their profiles… uh… there’s a lot of guys.”
Chu Zu, the seasoned one, snapped out of it first.
“Do you know about homosociality?”
The System only caught “homo” and looked it up.
“Homo, 1. Offensive term for a homosexual man. 2. Biological genus, humans, including modern humans and extinct species.”
“Homosociality,” Chu Zu repeated.
This time, the System got it right.
“Homosociality, a term in sociology and gender studies, refers to same-sex sociality. Not homosexual, it’s non-sexual, non-romantic same-sex social networks based on pure friendship, work, or shared interests.”
Chu Zu said: “Simply put… with modern pressures, lots of people want to just blow up the world, but they can’t, and they won’t. Then they find a novel where someone actually does it, so they get hooked… Readers being more lenient with villains lately has this factor too.”
“And no matter how capable a villain is, they’ll end up as the protagonist’s stepping stone. Readers know this and don’t feel the protagonist’s spotlight is stolen.”
System: “I get it, I totally get it. Stop trembling when you talk…”
Chu Zu: “…”
Chu Zu: “Sorry, I’ve never seen this kind of reaction either.”
Finding nothing useful in the reader feedback and nearly breaking the Host’s mindset, the System started looking inward for reasons, scouring the web with its database.
It refused to believe every reader online was just raving about the Host!
After a bit of searching, it finally found hope and pulled up a page, presenting it to Chu Zu like a kid showing off a third-place certificate to a parent.
Topic: [On Villain Crafting]
Thoughts on reading Neon Crown Chapter 325.
Welcome rational discussion, no fighting.
[One Punch Blows Up Earth] | Posted on 2024-03-18 20:09:13
In a grand worldview, what brings realism to a fictional world?
I say, the villain!
A villain doesn’t need to worry about justice, kindness, or virtue.
They’re cornered, and they corner others.
They’re the sharp, extreme result of structural dysfunction.
Not seeking the extreme sharpness in a cyberpunk worldview is like skipping Dream of the Red Chamber in the Four Great Classics—forget the middle, doomed to a failed life.
What’s chilling about Chu Zu is he rarely lies, but once you know who he is, you look back at what he said?
Carnegie said fear mostly comes from ignorance and uncertainty.
Chu Zu gives that vibe.
You can deduce his logic.
Luciano, who shaped his life’s baseline, died right in front of him.
Anyone with eyes can see Luciano’s a simple villain—selfish, arrogant, the classic mid-tier villain who hits a wall and dies unrepentant.
But when Chu Zu truly reveals a corner of his soul, he can still shatter your understanding with the simplest mindset, rooted in twelve-year-old Luciano.
Goddamn, when Chu Zu told Luciano, “You are my future,” I got goosebumps all over.
The key is, that was his thought at twelve.
So what’s he thinking now?
[One Punch Blows Up Earth] | Posted on 2024-03-18 20:08:15
Now let’s talk about Chu Zu and Tang Qi.
Tang Qi used to face off against Luciano.
Luciano directly represented the entire Upper District environment, a collection of ambition bred by Upper District life.
So Luciano couldn’t be the final BOSS.
The revised Neon Crown is gradually moving away from the protagonist-leveling-up-to-win trope.
Tang Qi’s fight isn’t just against the Upper District’s ruthless exploitation but also the Lower District.
The barbaric origins shown through Chu Zu’s sparse backstory.
The world’s already split.
To seek equality, you need a midpoint in civilization.
Chu Zu said before, dragging Lower District people upward won’t work.
The order formed by the Upper-Lower structure is a twisted, stagnant deadlock.
Chu Zu sees it clearer than Tang Qi.
Because he’s the most terrifying product of that order we can see.
He doesn’t care about the Upper or Lower Districts.
If you set aside Sidney, whose significance is still ambiguous, Chu Zu is pure “cyberpunk existential extremism.”
Repeat after me.
“Cyberpunk existential extremism.”
And Tang Qi?
If you look up existentialism, you’ll see… Tang Qi’s the same.
Chu Zu amplifies personal freedom and instinct to the extreme, while Tang Qi amplifies personal freedom and responsibility to the extreme.
A clash of ideals becomes a clash of people—two strikingly similar yet vastly different people, two sides of a coin making a whole.
Chu Zu, knowing the world, is still driven by instinct.
Tang Qi, knowing the world, starts making choices.
Chu Zu has no emotions (again, excluding the ambiguous Sidney).
Tang Qi is all emotions.
Chu Zu wants all the best things.
His goal is fluid, no one knows where this endless desire leads or if it even has an end.
Tang Qi wants to dissolve the best things.
His goal is a fixed anchor, dreaming of a future even he doesn’t know, all for reaching an endpoint.
What’s this called?
A clash of grand paths!
[One Punch Blows Up Earth] | Posted on 2024-03-18 20:00:32
Honestly, before Chu Zu was fleshed out, who saw this side of Tang Qi?
To sum it up with what most people call Chu Zu now.
Ancestor Dad is great, no more needs saying!
[One Punch Blows Up Earth] | Posted on 2024-03-18 20:00:00
…
“Something feels off, doesn’t it?”
Chu Zu asked after reading.
System: “Earth Teacher’s already restrained…”
“This Earth Teacher feels like an insider…” Chu Zu asked the System, “Why isn’t this post HOT?”
System: “If he used ‘Ancestor Dad is great, no more needs saying’ as the title, it’d be HOT in no time.”
Chu Zu: “…You know your communication theory.”
The System scrolled further through Earth Teacher’s post, highlighting his concerns.
“I’m actually a bit worried now about how Chu Zu and Tang Qi’s clash of grand paths will end.
It’s amazing—I’ve read the old Neon Crown and know the final outcome, but I still look forward to each update like it’s a live serial.”
“I think it’s all because of Chu Zu and Tang Qi.”
“They’re like humans fighting extreme weather, battling not just each other but a larger, uncontrollable. I’ll register fifty alternate accounts and boost the Earth Teacher’s post.”
He emphasized, “It needs to outshine those big mangoes.”
System: “…Oh.”