The bus stop, once crowded with people, now had only "Shadow" standing there, the vibrant neon lights reflecting in his deep and cold black eyes.
As the saying goes, the weak wait for opportunities, while the strong create them.
Instead of waiting for the arrival of game events, it was better to actively seek them out...
Behind him, the convenience store was like a church bathed in holy light. In the darkness, Alister's gaze shifted to the pale blue system interface in his field of vision.
"This game event has ended."
He had just saved an old man, a helpless soul who had collapsed in the fire, seeking hope.
"Evaluating player performance..."
It was a game event born from the fire, with the objective of "redeeming the old man."
"Player performance evaluation complete."
The old man being chosen as a player in the sequential game was unexpected.
"Item: Appraisal Art - Consumable"
It was also an opportunity for him.
Alister let out a sigh of relief, then raised his hand and touched the "Appraisal Art - Consumable" on the interface, causing faint blue data ripples to spread.
"Hint: The item cannot be revoked after use."
"Would you like to use it?"
Alister didn't say anything but mentally agreed to use it. He had long wanted to appraise something.
In the next moment, the "Appraisal Art - Consumable" disappeared from the interface and transformed into data streams, revealing a new prompt screen.
"Please select the target for appraisal."
Alister stared directly at the generated text, pondering something unknown. He fell silent for a second before calmly speaking:
"Target for appraisal—'Origin Consciousness'."
As a requirement for his own innate ability, "Blank," Alister was extremely curious about what exactly this "Origin Consciousness" was.
Unlike the "Psychic Power Value" that existed in the numerical panel, the "Origin Consciousness" was as elusive as hidden attributes, appearing and disappearing without a trace. The only feedback he had was the headache he experienced when activating "Blank."
"Appraisal in progress..."
So what did this "Origin Consciousness" represent? What was the upper limit of his "Origin Consciousness"? How much "Origin Consciousness" could he accommodate for abilities of different levels?
Not only was it to prepare for the upcoming A-ranked national-level sequential game but also to deal with the game administrators mentioned by the Emotional Aggregates...
He needed to understand the details of the "Origin Consciousness" in order to devise the most efficient plan for his growth.
At the same moment his thoughts reached this point, the appraisal was complete, and a detailed interface about the "Origin Consciousness" appeared.
"Origin Consciousness"
"Hidden attribute of the highest-ranked player, a condition for activating a few S-rank or *#data deleted? abilities. It is unobservable, unrecoverable, untraceable, unaffected by any state, and lacks any potential for growth."
Well, the idea of "accommodating unnecessary abilities and exchanging them for strength at critical moments" had failed.
His previous concern about absorbing the "Elementary Vampire" was justified, Alister recalled last night.
Activating an ability required consuming numerical values, just like how activating "Shadow Monarch" required consuming "Psychic Power Value." The activation of "Blank" required consuming "Origin Consciousness."
And this "Origin Consciousness" was an unrecoverable value, meaning that once it was consumed, it was gone. There would be no return, even if he paid the cost with "Strength Substitution."
In simple terms, every activation of "Blank" was an irreversible operation, and the corresponding "Origin Consciousness" would permanently disappear.
Using it once meant having one less chance, making it incredibly precious.
"Ah..." Alister still didn't understand the upper limit of his "Origin Consciousness." "Even with the appraisal, the 'Origin Consciousness' remains mysterious."
Oh well.
Alister disliked meaningless things.
Thinking about these details wouldn't be useful; in the future, he would only accommodate abilities that he could make use of.
Determined, "Shadow" once again accompanied him as he roamed the night in City A, seeking opportunities...
...
...
In the bedroom illuminated by white lights, a teddy bear sat obediently at the head of the bed, while a blue-haired girl curled up under the blanket, holding a square gold-edged photo frame in her hands.
After taking a shower, Luorou lay on the bed, wearing an angelic smile as she gently stroked the preserved photo.
The photo depicted a flower-filled courtyard, a kind and gentle white-haired grandma, and a little Luorou, posing with a victory gesture, resembling a sunflower.
"Grandma, I finally have colleagues to work with..." Luorou's lips curled up with a shallow happiness.
Her white-haired grandma in the photo didn't answer, nor could she answer. Everything was in the past.
"I'm looking forward to tomorrow's work again." Luorou let out a sigh, turned over, and said, "What will happen?"
Gazing at the brightly lit ceiling, Luorou lightly tapped the blanket, having looked forward to it for so long, occasionally getting happily lost in her thoughts.
"Hehe... He's quite handsome..."
After a while, Luorou placed the gold-edged photo frame back on the bedside table and snuggled up with the teddy bear, just like a family. She took out her phone, opened the photo album, and scrolled to the bottom, opening a video chat from a long time ago, the last remaining conversation video.
It was a video call during the Lunar New Year, a minute-by-minute conversation with her grandma for the New Year's greetings. Luorou had recorded and saved it until now.
With a gentle touch, the video began to play.
"Grandma, do you love me?" Luorou seemed to have asked this question many times.
"Our little Rou Rou is the most adorable angel... Oh dear..." Grandma in the video was wearing a fiery red scarf.
Her fair fingertips slowly slid, skipping to another moment in the video.
"Do you really not plan to come back?" Luorou gently asked again.
"What nonsense are you talking about, Rou Rou? Grandma will always be with you..." Grandma in the video was scolding her misbehaving grandpa.
"Mhm, you must take good care of Luorou, okay..."
Luorou revealed a saintly smile like an angel once again and skipped over this part of the video.
"Grandma, where are you?" Luorou asked weakly.
...
After pressing the button to turn off the lights, the bedroom became dark, with only the faint light from the phone's video playing, reflecting in Luorou's half-open unfocused blue eyes.
...
After a brief moment of silence, her fingertips slowly slid back, and the unchanging familiar voice rang out once again.
"Grandma will always be with you."
"...I see"
Luorou didn't want to look at her phone anymore. She placed it on the bedside table and tucked herself into the blanket with cat patterns, hiding away, unknowingly falling asleep.