Help! I'm the Plot Device: Just Here to Save the Heroes

Three Offerings and a Very Stressed System

Xu Ming waved his hands nervously. “I—I didn’t do it for gifts—”

Ran Yi’s eyebrow climbed. “Are you declining xiao dianxia's present, Xu daren?”

Xu Ming paled. “I don’t dare! I—” He reached out, but Jerry slid smoothly in.

“Brother,” he said lightly, “why not give it to him yourself?”

Yuanzhou’s gaze flicked to Jerry, unreadable. Then his lips curved faintly. “If you insist.”

He took the tray from Ran Yi and placed it directly into Xu Ming’s hands.

A system window flickered before Jerry’s eyes:
Offering 2/3 — Accepted.

Xu Ming clutched the tray like it was a newborn child, bowing so deeply he almost upended the sweets. “Thank you, Xiao Dianxia.”

Yuanzhou rose. “Carry on. I have matters to attend.” His gaze lingered once more on Jerry. “Take care.”

The door shut behind him.

Silence.

Then Xu Ming spun around, hugging the tray to his chest. His eyes shone with manic relief. “Host, I love you.”

Jerry burst out laughing.

🐱

Xu Ming was still cradling the tray like a sacred relic. “Two down, Host. Two! We’re so close. My eternal doom is slipping through my fingers.”

Jerry sighed, leaning back against his pillows. “Don’t celebrate yet. The last one’s the hardest.”

"What should we do about him? Are we going to wait for him to show up?"

"No, waiting for him will only bring more trouble. Let's go find him and complete this as soon as possible." Jerry stood up smoothing his sleeves.

They stepped out into the pale chill of morning and cut across the palace toward the Ministry of Revenue, the corridors smelling faintly of ink and boiled tea. Xu Ming kept glancing at the doorway with the jittery, helpless energy of someone who'd spent the night rehearsing catastrophes.

“Wait here,” Jerry told him at the ministry steps, then pushed through the carved doors and into the hushed hall.

Rows of officials bent over ledgers. Yan An’s usual seat—an oaken chair carved with a simple cat motif—was empty. Jerry’s smile thinned. He came back out, shook his head once, and met Xu Ming’s anxious look.

“Where did he go during duty hours?” Xu Ming muttered. “Shouldn’t he be at his desk, poring over tax slips like a respectable bureaucrat?”

Jerry folded his arms, amused despite himself. “Isn’t that your job too? What are you doing besides panicking?”

“My job is different,” Xu Ming said, very small. “Mine involves imminent uninstallation and the slow, permanent onset of being trapped in human skin.” He tried to make a brave face and failed.

Jerry nodded. “Right. So where do we find him?”

“He could be anywhere,” Xu Ming said. “Ask someone.”

They flagged down the nearest passing clerk—a thin man with ink on his sleeves and a fan tucked into his belt. The man bowed so low his forehead nearly kissed the floor.

Jerry cleared his throat. “Do you know where Assistant Minister Yan An went?”

The man’s eyes darted, his lip trembled. “W-Wangye—” He swallowed. “I don’t know—”