Chapter 21: Simulated Skill

Chapter 21: Simulated Skill

... After typing the last line of code, Lei Cang stood up from the chair, ready to stretch his body and meditate for a while.

This was his daily routine - after coding, he would meditate for thirty minutes to practice the "Tai Xu Sword Qi: Heart Essence" technique.

He was hoping to get the "Heart Essence" of the Tai Xu Sword Qi from the lottery, but it seemed to take a long time. Instead of waiting, he decided to practice on his own. Who knows, he might succeed in practicing it himself, and that would save him some wish times.

After stretching his body, Lei Cang sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes, and started meditating. However, involuntarily, he began to calculate his recent gains.

Last time, when he helped "One Lifetime Love" clear the game, the system made a sound, but he didn't hear it while he was playing. It was only after finishing the proxy session that he saw the message popped up by the system and realized that he had comprehended a new skill.

[Simulated Skill: Radiant Light]

[Focus your attention, temporarily enhancing dynamic vision and reaction speed.]

[Transcend the limits of the mind and body, rewriting the world with your will.]

Lei Cang felt that instead of calling it the vague and obscure "Radiant Light," it would be more appropriate to describe it as "Bullet Time" from the famous movie "The Matrix."

Once activated, everything around him would seem to slow down... well, not exactly slow down, but the illusion caused by his enhanced reaction speed. In this state, Lei Cang could even count the number of times a bee flapped its wings. He even had a hunch that if he wanted to, he could do things in this state just like Fu Hua, the class leader, and catch bullets with his hands.

But making movements in this state causes too much damage to the muscles, and it cannot be used frequently. Moreover, if maintained for too long, it will lead to severe headaches, most likely an aftereffect of excessive concentration.

The skill Lei Cang comprehended from the "Kirito" character card is best used for only one to two seconds each time. Although one second may seem short, it is enough for Lei Cang to throw several punches. If he disregards the consequences, he could even throw a dozen punches, but the aftermath could range from minor bleeding and temporary paralysis of the arm to the arm breaking directly.

The skill "Radiant Light" is the most significant and useful gain during this period, as for the other usual rewards.

Regarding wishes...

After completing the proxy task last time, he had three opportunities to make wishes, but he couldn't draw anything good.

The three items he drew were: "Honkai Beast Shell Fragment," "Lost Teddy Bear Underwear," and "Magnetic Storm-Shovel."

"Magnetic Storm-Shovel" and "Honkai Beast Shell Fragment" are blue items.

The "Magnetic Storm-Shovel" is an odd-looking, blue single-edged sword similar to a ruler. Apart from glowing when the button on the hilt is pressed, it doesn't have any significant difference from a regular longsword.

The description reads: "A shoddy imitation of a certain weapon, with the only additional feature being the ability to emit light. It makes it more susceptible to being targeted at night."

The "Honkai Beast Shell Fragment" is a shell that fell off the Collapse Beast. Its purpose is quite simple, to be used as material for making weapons or armor.

However, Lei Cang currently can't handle it as he couldn't find a skilled craftsman to process it, so he can only leave it for now.

As for the last white item, the "Lost Teddy Bear Underwear"... Lei Cang threw it away along with the other junk he drew before.

"Why would a guy like me need teddy bear underwear? I'd rather wear boxers; they're more practical."

In terms of money, after the surge in sales caused by the "Metal Gear Silver Wolf" promotion, sales of "Kallen Fantasy VII" gradually stabilized. After all, it's still an unfinished game, but the earnings over these days amounted to around a hundred thousand. Combined with the one hundred thousand earned from the "One Lifetime Love" proxy task, Lei Cang now has over two hundred thousand yuan in his hands.

...For an average family, over two hundred thousand is a considerable sum, but for Lei Cang, it's not enough to purchase even the lowest-level upgrades.

It seems he'll have to wait for the release of Chapter Three to create another surge in sales.

Lei Cang planned,

Based on his investigation of the single-player market during these days, he believes that after the game's release, he should be able to earn around six to seven hundred thousand yuan, which would be just enough to take out five hundred thousand and buy a search, expanding his customer base.

There are still many people in this world willing to pay for single-player games. After all, the division between East and West is much simpler here, and there aren't as many conflicts between countries. People's lives are relatively affluent compared to his previous life.

Unfortunately, "Metal Gear Silver Wolf" has already promoted the game once, and it's impossible to sell it for nearly a million again. He can only wait until the game is completed and officially released, with reviews from various media, to achieve explosive sales.

Lei Cang is quite confident in the games produced by the system—ignoring the difficulty, all the data is top-notch in the current world. Unless there's a revolutionary virtual game, it's impossible to surpass the quality of "Kallen Fantasy VII."

As for clients...

Kiana, also known as "Grasshopper," sent a message yesterday, saying that the ranking battle would begin in a few days and begged Lei Cang to help her. Naturally, Lei Cang agreed.

His current situation is not very stable, and he hopes to improve his combat experience through Kiana.

As for "One Lifetime Love," there's been no news from him, and Lei Cang doesn't know if he's cleared the game.

...He should have cleared it by now, right? After all, Lei Cang already demonstrated it to him once, and the bosses in the first two chapters are relatively straightforward with fixed routines. Once you've mastered the methods, they're easy to defeat.

Besides, if he really can't beat them, he can try another way to clear the game.

"One Lifetime Love" seems like a smart person, not the kind to get stuck on things.

Lei Cang pondered endlessly—and then he felt his leg go numb again.

Undoubtedly, his practice of "Heart Essence" failed.

He sighed, feeling accustomed to it, knocked on his leg, and was about to stand up when he heard his cellphone ringing.

—It's a delightful ringtone.

"Hello?" Lei Cang answered the phone.

"Brother..." A weak and gentle girl's voice came through the receiver.

It was from the orphanage.

"Oh, it's Kong. Is something wrong? Is there not enough food, or is someone sick? Or maybe someone's being naughty again?" Lei Cang's tone softened.

Kong is the oldest child in the orphanage now... three years younger than Lei Cang, currently 14 years old.

"No... everyone is healthy, and there's no misbehavior among the kids... I just wanted to ask, brother, are you doing okay lately?"

"Me? I'm doing fine. Kong, why do you suddenly ask about this?" Lei Cang was a bit puzzled.

On the other end of the phone, Kong seemed to be carefully considering her words.

"I heard from someone that you dropped out of school..."

"Oh, that matter." Lei Cang suddenly realized. Although he usually doesn't interact much with people at school, silently dropping out still caused a little commotion.

"It's nothing. I've found a new job that has more prospects than school."

Lei Cang sighed silently, trying to console her.

Though he said that, giving up on his studies at the doorstep made him feel a bit unwilling.

"Then... can you open the door?"

"What do you mean?" Lei Cang was puzzled, but he immediately heard knocking from outside his room.

"...Brother, I'm outside."

Lei Cang hung up his phone, went to the door, and opened it.

Helplessly, he said, "Kong, didn't I tell you not to come out recently?"

Standing outside the door was a thin and weak girl... It's more accurate to say she's a slightly older-looking loli than a thin and weak girl.

She wore clothes with a hood and kept her head down, only revealing a strand of pale pink hair.

"But I'm worried about my brother's condition."

Kong squeezed into the room from Lei Cang's side, closing the door behind her.

She took off her hood, revealing her short pale pink hair, and she stood at the height of Lei Cang's belly. She looked up at him with her small face and spoke softly.

"Sister said that you're a very strong person and often force yourself to do things you can't do. She asked me to look after you."

In the sunlight pouring through the curtains, Kong's little face looked as pale as porcelain, lacking a bit of liveliness but emitting a frail beauty.

Since she came to the orphanage, her health has always been poor.

"Don't listen to her nonsense!" Lei Cang felt a bit annoyed when he heard that name, but seeing Kong's worried expression, he sighed and softened his tone.

"...I know what I'm doing."

Kong, whose hands were wrapped in bandages, held them in front of her chest and quietly looked at Lei Cang for a while. Then, her frail and beautiful little face showed a weak smile.

"Okay..."

"I heard about your dropping out of school and was worried about you, but it seems that Brother had planned it a long time ago... So I can rest assured."

"Don't worry about it." Lei Cang touched Kong's pink hair, and she lowered her head, seeming content. "Hurry up and heal your injuries. You're the oldest in the orphanage now, and the new director is always wandering around somewhere. I've been busy recently, so I need you to take care of the little ones."

"...I can't heal." Kong's eyes narrowed as she looked up when her head was patted.

"I can't heal, so Brother doesn't need to buy me medicine anymore."

"They're expensive... and they don't work."