Chapter 27 Hearing Assistance Technique

Sunday, morning.

Zhang Xiaoman got up early from bed to prepare the ingredients needed to sell sushi, a change from his usual habit of sleeping in until noon.

Today was the fifth day he had set up his stall, and compared to when he first started, his income had seen a slight improvement.

Although his daily net profit was still less than 60 yuan, Zhang Xiaoman knew he didn't plan on getting rich from this, he was just doing it for some extra spending money.

Of course, he would never miss his daily lottery draw.

Looking at the red cloth, resembling a shawl, hanging on the chair, attributes about it surfaced in Zhang Xiaoman's eyes.

[Wine-stained Cloak]

Armor 5

——Essential for newbies!

This was a white item, the only white piece that Zhang Xiaoman had pulled in these past few days.

The other two items, both useless grays, were the "Immortal Slaying Sword" and "Legendary Mage McCarthy Larentra's Body Hair."

Naturally, the so-called Immortal Slaying Sword was nothing but a knockoff, the kind that was as fake as it gets—the kind sold as plastic toy swords at street stalls for ten yuan each.

As for the Legendary Mage McCarthy Larentra's Body Hair, Zhang Xiaoman hadn't even laid eyes on it.

All he saw was the space warping for a bit, with nothing appearing in the end, probably because the body hair was too fine for him to see.

Zhang Xiaoman didn't immediately throw away the gray toy sword like he did the previous two times, but instead stashed it casually under his bed.

He wanted to test during the next upgrade whether gray items could also be randomly drawn by the system.

Upon opening the system panel, Zhang Xiaoman looked at the lottery draw option; he hadn't used today's chance yet, and now that he was done with his tasks, it was time for a shot.

Click, lottery draw!

"Congratulations, you have obtained a green skill—Hearing Assistance Technique."

Then, familiar spatial fluctuations washed over him and in a burst of green light, a small light ball fell out, which Zhang Xiaoman caught in his hand.

"Green at last! I was starting to think this system could only draw white and gray items."

Zhang Xiaoman excitedly squeezed the green light ball in his hand, revealing a smile characteristic of an unlucky person.

As he focused on the skill ball, the attributes information materialized in Zhang Xiaoman's eyes:

[Hearing Assistance Technique]

——Helps you understand different sounds.

"What does that mean? Is it to enhance hearing, or is it for translation?" Zhang Xiaoman declared that even with a green item, the system's descriptions remained frustratingly inadequate.

"But honestly, the name 'Hearing Assistance Technique' is really ugly... Anyway, I'll absorb it first and see what it actually does."

It was easier the second time around, and squeezing the light ball in his hand, he crushed it effortlessly.

The ball dissolved, turning into countless green specks that merged into his body, and Zhang Xiaoman immediately opened his personal attributes to check, where the changes were indeed reflected.

Zhang Xiaoman

Abilities:

[Extract]

[Hearing Assistance Technique]

Skills:

[Soul Absorption Technique]

——————

It really did add a Hearing Assistance Technique, but why is it listed as an ability, could it be a passive skill?"

While pondering, Zhang Xiaoman clicked to see the details of the Hearing Assistance Technique.

[Hearing Assistance Technique]

Passive

Use mental power to engrave and understand languages you've not learned, up to two languages.

Current Engravings: 0/2

——Helps you understand different sounds.

Zhang Xiaoman's eyes lit up when he saw this description, and his heart leapt with joy.

This skill is incredible!

If he hadn't misunderstood, with this skill, he could now learn two languages directly!

For someone who had never passed English, this skill was truly a godsend for poor students!

Not to mention the system had an upgrade function, he'd have plenty of opportunities to improve the level of this skill in the future, and he might even unlock other more powerful effects!

By then, even if I just went into translation, I could make a fortune!

His face lit up with excitement, thrilled at the thought that he finally had a skill that could make earning money a little easier since he acquired the System.

"Wait a minute!"

But just then, Zhang Xiaoman's smile suddenly faded as he stared at the skill description again and realized there was a serious problem.

"This skill... It seems it only teaches me to listen, but not to speak!"

Zhang Xiaoman covered his face in dismay, as the grand stage of "Master of Multiple Languages' Show-off" he had just envisioned instantly disappeared.

"Alright, actually, even if I can only listen and not speak, that's still pretty good. At least it'll be somewhat convenient when I travel abroad in the future..." he consoled himself.

"So the question now is, how should I go about engraving new languages?"

Zhang Xiaoman tapped his finger on the screen, trying to figure out how to engrave languages.

Just as he pondered, the living room suddenly erupted with the sounds of Zhang Jinbao and Zhang Xiaohua fighting.

"Woof woof woof!!"

"Meow!!!!"

This playful tussle had long become the norm for the Zhang Family. Zhang Xiaoman didn't take it seriously; anyway, those two critters would tire out soon after and curl up together to sleep—he'd grown accustomed to it.

However, Zhang Xiaoman felt something was slightly amiss this time.

When the voices of Jinbao and Xiao Hua arose, indeed cat and dog barks echoed in Zhang Xiaoman's ears.

But what he found eerie was that after his brain picked up these sounds, it also seemed to hear another kind of voice, or to be more precise, to understand the underlying meaning of these sounds.

"Fur Ball! Fur Ball! Lick the Fur Ball!!"

"Dumb dog! Stop licking! Get away!!"

Zhang Xiaoman was initially stunned, then his expression suddenly changed, and he immediately looked at the skill panel.

[Hearing Assistance Technique]

Passive

Engrave and understand languages you haven't learned through mental focus, with a maximum of two languages.

Current Engraving: 2/2

——Helps you understand different sounds.

"This, this counts as successful engraving!?"

Zhang Xiaoman's face showed shock, as he hadn't thought the engraving would be so simple—that any language he didn't understand would be automatically engraved upon hearing it.

"My two slots have been taken up by the dog and cat..."

His expression turned blank as he slowly turned his head, casting a disapproving glance at the dog and fat cat still frolicking.

The fat blue cat Xiao Hua suddenly stopped, turned its head towards Zhang Xiaoman.

"Meow!!"

("Danger!")

With a swish, it darted into the room and hid under the bed.

The dog Jinbao also looked over.

"Woof woof woof!"

("Out to play! Out to play!")

Then, wagging its tail, it ran over enthusiastically.

Zhang Xiaoman reached out with his guilty hands...

"How about we play 'lift you up high'?"

The next thing, Jinbao the dog's terrified howls echoed throughout the building.

"Awooo, awooo, awooo, awooo, awooo!"

("So high! So high! So high! So high!")

...

Moments later, Zhang Xiaoman, panting, set down Jinbao. Lifting this pet of over ten pounds had been a workout for him, the shut-in.

But as soon as Jinbao the dog touched the ground, it immediately started wagging its tail and pawed at Zhang Xiaoman's pant leg, barking incessantly.

"Woof woof woof!"

("Lift high! Lift high! More play!")

Zhang Xiaoman: "..."