On this night, Tang Hong suffered from insomnia.
He laid in the smallest bedroom in this bungalow, with his heart in a mess. Tossing and turning, he had trouble falling asleep. He was still a little blank even now.
"A dream-like opening…"
"What happened to the sci-fi style? Where was the so-called invasion of the gods? Why did this feel like an urban drama about an extremely rich domineering CEO…?"
Tang Hong closed his eyes. He fumbled among the few buttons at the head of the bed.
He found the corresponding buttons and lowered the blinds, to avoid the sunlight blinding his eyes.
Swoosh~
The curtains fell and the bedroom became dim. He quietly counted his Individual Value.
The system prompts in the early hours of the morning flickered three times and added four points of Individual Value. This caused the restlessness in Tang Hong's heart to gradually disperse and turn into tranquil delight.
'Ding dong!'
'First time experience of living a life alone. Individual Value has increased by 1.'
'Ding dong!'
'First time experience of having insomnia alone. You felt slight loneliness. Individual Value has increased by 1'
'Ding dong!'
'First time experience being alone at night. You felt slight loneliness. Individual Value has increased by 2'
'Individual Value plus two!'
'Is it because this house is very valuable or because I know that this house is really expensive?'
Tang Hong pondered inwardly.
There was one more reference subject for the second class increment.
The addition of Individual Value was very important. It gave him a sense of sure-footedness.
Tang Hong fell asleep unknowingly. He only woke up at noon and the headache that felt like pins pricking put a frown on his face. He instantly recalled that he had lost sleep throughout the night even before he recovered from the cold. His body would probably find it too much to take.
"Cough Cough."
Tang Hong coughed twice and brought out the System Interface.
He was wondering whether increasing Strength would lessen the negative state of his cold, or even directly cure it. But Tang Hong was worried that problems might arise if he increased Strength too quickly.
"Forget it."
"I'll keep them for now."
Mortal: Extremely small and weak creature.
Willpower: 50%
Strength: 35%
Realm: 0.00
Individual Value: 6
Putting away the System Interface, Tang Hong leaped out and jumped off the bed. His feet landed on the ground and gave off a dull thump.
Rumble!
The fancy Vegas yellow streamlined supercar slowly drove out of the estate.
The engine roared. The sound reverberated through the peaceful and secluded streets.
Tang Hong suddenly didn't want to drive anymore. The uproar would surely be huge and it would undoubtedly cause a disturbance.
"How strange…"
"It probably has been modified…"
Tang Hong brought out his phone to take a short glance. It was almost his turn in the Haodilao queue and there were about a dozen tables in front of him.
He did not get to eat the dormitory's little hotpot yesterday, so he planned to have a hotpot alone today. Of course, he wanted to verify whether it would trigger an increase in his Individual Value while he was at it.
Even though Yunhai City was a Tier 1 city, supercars were still a rare sight.
Not to mention something this yellow—it truly was a striking scene.
Tang Hong gritted his teeth. He lightly stepped on the accelerator and drove past the traffic junction. Throughout the journey, he sensed that everyone was vaguely observing him. Fortunately, the windows on both sides of this car had been tinted.
He paid special attention to it yesterday.
He confirmed that the interior of the car could not be seen from outside.
'No wonder those local tyrants online all claim that supercars weren't nice to drive. It had low chassis, bad visibility, and the seats are uncomfortable to use.'
'I cannot rush. I got to do my best and drive slowly. I won't be able to pay compensation if I crashed this into something.'
'The back press feeling [1. Refers to the feeling of being pushed back into the seat when the car accelerates] is too strong…'
'This is dope. This feels amazing. It's like I'm on top of the world…'
"The feeling of accelerating is so cool. The noise is exhilarating too, it's a waste to limit the throttle, but I have to keep calm, keep calm, keep calm… Alright, just once. I'll just try to full throttle it once and it'll be enough. I swear!"
'Ding dong!'
'First time experience of driving a sports car alone. Individual Value +3'
This was the first time an increase of three points had appeared.
Taking advantage of the little traffic on the overhead expressway, Tang Hong tried stepping on the accelerator a dozen more times. He was scared, however, so his acceleration was measured and careful. Then, he suddenly realized that he seemed to have missed the exit and he hurriedly scrambled to search for one.
He fussed around for another 20 minutes after leaving the expressway before he was finally able to reach Haodilao.
Although he was still a few hundred meters away.
This was a one-way street.
In any case, his reservation number had already expired. Tang Hong was in no rush. He drove leisurely down the street. A zebra crossing appeared ahead. Two couples holding hands stood at the edge. There were also several girls whose appearances could not be seen clearly but their outfits were very attractive.
He recalled the topic of his driving test: give way to pedestrians at zebra crossings.
He tapped lightly on the brakes. He slowed down, but the roar of the car engines became even louder.
Vroom! Vroom!
The yellow Audi R8 stopped in front of the zebra crossing. Those pedestrians by the zebra crossing looked over. They took a few tentative steps forward and seemed to be surprised. Some buried their heads and crossed quickly. Others lifted their hands with a smile to give their thanks.
A line of cars queued behind…
There was no tooting of horns…
Tang Hong felt that the world had turned silent and incredibly vibrant for the first time in his life.
He was now having some inexplicable anticipation towards the special training camp in the Imperial Capital.
Money symbolized desire and greed. But it could also serve as a motivation.
Glory, dedication, faith, and responsibility could indeed move the hearts of men.
However, these were accumulated over a long period through unconscious influence.
They were nothing like the massive shock he could see from the faces of the spectators and the vanity that a supercar brought over to him.
'Kid, do you want to save the world?'
'Kid, do you want this car?'
The facts proved that Fang Nanxun's deductions had been accurate so far.
At this moment, Tang Hong wanted to become a Transcendent being—he wanted to become one so bad.
He hardly realized that the gift given to him by fate had long been labeled with a price.
…
His strong Willpower allowed Tang Hong's state of mind to quickly return to normal. He parked his car outside. It was because of the security uncle at the entrance of the basement car park. He told him that the chassis of his car was too low and that it would be easily bumped and scratched. It was best to park it above ground.
When he entered Haidilao, his number had long expired.
Many people were seated, waiting for their turn.
'Makes sense.'
'Today is Saturday."
Tang Hong looked towards the Haidilao server who welcomed him with a smile.
He was given a new number for the queue.
Fortunately, people who had missed their numbers were allowed to cut the queue.
Three more tables and it would be his turn.
The server scratched her head, trying hard to conceal the astonishment in her gaze. "You are alone?"
She had seen a considerable number of people who ate hotpot alone, but most of them were girls.
"Mm."
Tang Hong nodded.
He sat at the side and waited patiently.
He was working up his sense of loneliness.
On his right and left were people waiting for their tables.
Tang Hong swept a glance and even saw four or five pretty attractive young ladies.
He also saw a few graceful back views whose faces could not be seen.
He retracted his gaze.
The server handed him a glass of water.
"This is lemon water. Please have some to quench your thirst."
"Thank you."
Tang Hong took the lemon water and continued working up his sense of loneliness while eating hotpot alone.
The server then brought a plate of snacks.
"Would you like some?"
"Thank you."
The corner of Tang Hong's mouth twitched for a moment.
The server passed him a sheet of paper next.
"You can print photos if you scan the QR code with your phone."
Tang Hong was speechless.
After waiting for three minutes, the queue finally reached Tang Hong's number. He was about to get up when he saw two rather pretty young ladies. They looked a little familiar. The two people approached the server who had given him water, snacks, and the QR code as they enquired something in a whisper.
Then, he saw the server walking towards him with the two young ladies. Both of them were grinning.
"Hi…"
One of them was wearing a camisole and shorts with a jacket hanging on her left arm.
She said to Tang Hong with a smile.
"We still need to queue for a long time… cute guy, let's we eat together?"
Tang Hong was a little stunned. "How can we do that?"
"It's fine. We'll go Dutch." Another person added. "It's just joining tables at the last minute."
Tang Hong shook his head. "Sorry."
The two people exchanged glances. There was regret in their eyes but they no longer insisted…
Meanwhile, the server led Tang Hong to a four-person table.
The table was very clean…
She was just about to leave when she heard Tang Hong's question.
"Um, I heard that you do give solo customers a bear, right?" asked Tang Hong.
"What chest?"
The server misheard. It was a little noisy in the restaurant.
Tang Hong raised the volume of his voice and repeated.
"The big toy bear that accompanies people to eat."
"Ah, we do, we do."
The server nodded repeatedly and turned to retrieve one.
Her expression instantly became unusually splendid—you rejected having two girls eat with you but insisted on having a bear?!
Big brother… that's a toy, not a living bear!
I… Ah… Pui! I am feeling anxious here for you!
At the same time, Tang Hong sat on his seat, expressionless.
He could vaguely sense the strange gazes focused on him coming from all directions.
When everyone was looking in his direction, the average man would feel that he was very pitiful.
But Tang Hong was different.
'Look all you like!'
'I am the pitiful son that the heavens have cruelly disregarded!'
'The temperatures have dipped today. The cicadas sing dolefully in the cold…'
I cried. 'What about you people? Where is your Individual Value?'
I heard that Shuangxi was beautiful in Spring. I would soon drift there alone in a light boat.
'Ding dong!'
'First time experience eating hotpot alone. Individual Value has increased by 1.'