pjbooks Chapter 8 Bro! You've gone awry...
Chapter 8 Bro! You've gone awry...
Nanfeng Lane.
One of the representative dilapidated areas of Jiangcheng.
The electrical wires were tangled like a spider web.
The walls were covered in moss, and the air was filled with a damp smell mixed with the smell of cooking oil.
Chen Yifan's home is in this cramped tenement building.
He stood downstairs, looking up at the dim yellow light shining from his own window.
The excitement he felt from acquiring the divine skill quickly cooled down.
That place was his only refuge and his Achilles' heel in both his lives.
He composed himself.
He kept all the killing, scheming, and exhaustion hidden in his heart.
A slightly lazy smile, as always, graced his face.
"I'm back."
"You're back?"
The gentle voice of Wang Shufen, the mother, came from the kitchen.
"Go wash your hands, dinner will be ready soon."
The living room was small, with an old wooden table, two chairs, and a creaking old television—that was all the family's possessions.
My younger sister, Chen Xue, was sitting quietly at the table.
Holding a Braille book in her hands, her slender fingers gently glide across the uneven surface of the paper.
Hearing the door open, she looked up and "looked" towards the doorway, a gentle smile appearing in her beautiful eyes, which were veiled in mist.
"elder brother."
"Um."
Chen Yifan walked over and habitually patted her head.
The girl's hair was soft and had a cheap shampoo scent.
"How did the job transfer go today? Was it successful?"
Chen Xue tilted her head back and asked softly.
This was a problem that Chen Yifan had practiced countless times on his way home.
He can't tell the truth.
He couldn't tell them that he had awakened to the most despised profession: the thief.
You certainly can't say that he just killed someone.
He will bear all that darkness and bloodshed alone.
All he wanted to give them was a embellished, hopeful future.
"It went well, pretty smoothly."
Chen Yifan pulled out a chair and sat down, his tone relaxed.
"I've awakened a life skill profession, [Appraiser], with the talent [Dexterity]. I can work at pawnshops or auction houses to appraise items and I won't starve."
[Appraiser], a D-level profession that sounds respectable and stable.
【Dexterity】, an E-rank talent that sounds similar to 【Hand Speed Boost】.
This was the most perfect lie he could think of.
This both explained why he failed to awaken his combat profession and gave his family a stable and prosperous future.
"An appraiser?"
Wang Shufen walked out of the kitchen carrying a plate of stir-fried vegetables, a hint of surprise on her face.
"That's great! No fighting or killing, just peace and quiet. Mom just wants you to be safe and sound."
Chen Xue also smiled happily:
"With your intelligence, you're sure to become the best appraiser."
Seeing the genuine smiles on his mother's and sister's faces, Chen Yifan felt a surge of warmth in his heart.
But it also carried a hint of unspeakable bitterness.
"Let's eat, I'm starving today!"
He picked up his chopsticks and changed the subject.
Dinner was simple: one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and a soup. But Wang Shufen was a very good cook, and the food always had a warm and comforting flavor.
At the dinner table, Wang Shufen chattered on about the interesting things that happened to her while doing odd jobs that day.
Chen Yifan would occasionally make a sarcastic remark, which made the mother and daughter laugh non-stop.
Under the warm lights, a family of three enjoyed a happy time together.
This ordinary, everyday atmosphere gradually warmed Chen Yifan's heart, which had grown cold from killing and scheming.
He was also extremely fortunate.
I'm glad I won my gamble today.
I'm so glad I'm still here safe and sound, eating this hot meal.
After the meal, Wang Shufen went to clear the dishes.
Chen Yifan tried to help, but his mother chased him out of the kitchen.
Finally, after he finished showering, he sat on the sofa.
Chen Xue quietly moved over and sat down next to him.
She didn't speak, but just leaned against him quietly, like a docile kitten.
In the living room, only the noise from the television and the sound of running water from the kitchen remained.
Feeling the warmth emanating from his sister, Chen Yifan felt a sense of peace.
This is everything he wants to protect.
However, at that moment, Chen Xue suddenly moved.
She tilted her head slightly, her small nostrils twitching gently, as if trying to distinguish some scent.
"Brother," she suddenly spoke, her voice soft, tinged with a barely perceptible hint of confusion, "where...did you go today?"
Chen Yifan's heart skipped a beat.
"I didn't go anywhere. I came back right after changing jobs."
He answered casually, his eyes still fixed on the documents in his hand.
No.
Chen Xue shook her head, her unfocused eyes seeming to see through his disguise.
"You smell different than before."
taste?
Chen Yifan subconsciously raised his arm and smelled it.
There was nothing there except the scent of cheap shower gel.
"What nonsense are you talking about? I just took a shower, I smell great."
He joked.
"It's not that taste."
Chen Xue's voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable certainty.
"Before, you smelled of sunshine and books, warm and clean."
She paused, seemingly trying to find the right words to describe it.
"But today... there's something else in your flavor."
"Cold!"
"It has a slightly... rusty, and also a bloody... smell..."
"There's something else, it's very strange, it's like... in an empty room, a gust of wind suddenly blows through, and the wind carries... a faint smell of burnt wires."
Cold?
Could it be because he killed someone today?
Rust and the smell of blood—it must be Shadow Fiend's blood.
The room was empty, a gust of wind blew by... He didn't understand what that meant.
The smell of burning electrical wires...
Is it the smell that came from when the light bulb in the Security Bureau lobby burst?
Chen Yifan unconsciously tightened his grip on the remote control.
For the first time, he realized with such clarity just how terrifying his sister's talent, known as "psychic blindness," truly was.
She cannot see the physical world.
Yet they can "smell" things that ordinary people cannot.
Even more outrageous, sometimes you can even "hear" subtle changes in emotions.
Any pretense is futile in her presence.
The horror in his heart surged like a tide, but he forcibly suppressed it.
Don't panic.
"That must be the smell of energy from the ceremony during today's job change."
He found a perfect excuse and spoke in a relaxed tone.
"There was lightning and thunder, it was like a disco, I guess that's when I got infected."
"Yeah?"
Chen Xue frowned slightly, seemingly not entirely convinced by this explanation.
She could sense a slight unease in her brother's emotions when he said those words.
But she didn't ask any further questions.
She simply moved closer to her brother, her little hand quietly grasping the hem of his clothes.
It was as if only in this way could she dispel the feeling that made her uneasy.
Chen Yifan, feeling the force from the hem of his clothes, softened completely.
He put down the remote control and ruffled his beautiful, long, black hair.
"Stop overthinking."
His voice was very gentle.
"No matter what I become, I will heal your eyes and let you see this world again."
"Um."
Chen Xue nodded gently.
She could hear her brother's heartbeat, steady and strong.
The cold feeling seemed to be largely dispelled by this warm heartbeat.
Late at night.
After Wang Shufen and Chen Xue had both gone to sleep, Chen Yifan returned to his small bedroom.
He locked the door, drew the curtains, and the whole world became completely quiet.
He sat cross-legged on the bed, opened the control panel, and his gaze fell on the mental strength section.
[Mental Strength: 25/200]
"It seems that the price to pay for stealing high-level targets goes far beyond a 24-hour cooldown."
The recovery of his mental strength was much slower than he had imagined.
He turned off the panel, his eyes showing no sign of frustration, but rather an even calmer demeanor.
This made him realize the power of "theft of all things".
This talent is a trump card, but it must never become a regular weapon.
Before one's mental strength achieves a qualitative leap, every use of it must be done with utmost caution.
He can only truly rely on himself.
as well as……
His gaze fell on that S-rank skill.
[Spatial flickering].
He stood up and took a deep breath in the small room.
Concentrate your mental energy and mobilize your spiritual power.
He activated his skill, facing the direction of the bed.
"Buzz—"
There was no sound, only a strange sense of spatial distortion.
The next second, his body swayed slightly and disappeared from the spot.
When it reappeared, it was already sitting steadily on the bed.
The entire process was smooth and seamless, without the slightest stagnation.
It worked!
Chen Yifan's heart pounded wildly.
But before he could even feel happy, a strong sense of dizziness suddenly struck him.
He glanced at the panel.
[Mental Strength: 35/200]
[Psionic Power: 96/100]
Each flash consumes 10 points of mental energy.
With his pitiful mental energy reserves, he can only flash three times in a row before he is completely exhausted.
"Still too weak."
Chen Yifan shook his head, having gained a clear understanding of his current situation.
They have amazing skills, but not enough "mana" to support them.
The most urgent task is to upgrade.
Only when his level increases will his various attributes, including his maximum mental strength, increase.
three days later.
No, there are only two days left tomorrow.
The beginner dungeon two days later will be his springboard for takeoff.
He must be there, squeezing every last drop of value out of himself, and level up to level 5 as quickly as possible.
Thinking of this, his eyes sharpened.
He opened his phone and suddenly saw a series of messages sent by Fatty Wang.
"Fanzi, are you alright? I heard you were summoned to the National Security Bureau?"
"Holy crap, I heard from the wife of my second aunt's cousin's seventh uncle's neighbor's sister's child that the escaped Shadow Fiend just killed himself by running headfirst into a wall?"
"Tomorrow's school mobilization meeting, then straight into the dungeon, let's team up! I'm tanky, I'll be your shield!"
Chen Yifan looked at Wang Pangzi's boisterous comment and a smile appeared on his lips.
He replied with two words: "I'm fine."
Then I closed the chat window and opened an app called "Jiangcheng Professionals Forum".
To maximize your gains in dungeons, intelligence is always the most important thing.
He needs to know what the beginner's tutorial at Jiangcheng No. 1 High School was like in previous years.
not to mention……
Before the newbie dungeon opened, his talent had been on cooldown for almost twenty hours.
It can be used twice more.
This means he needs to find two more targets.