According to the system's prompts in the wristwatch, the dial was some sort of progress bar that reflected the wearer's condition.
Once that half-golden 0 turned into a complete golden color, he should be able to achieve a breakthrough from nothing to something and become a formal Chosen One—that's going from 0 to 1... This description sounded quite solid, as if there was a problem somewhere.
Anyway, it wasn't him!
He had no idea what sort of background the Sky Rail Group had to be able to create such a bizarre thing. Although it didn't emit a sound other than system reports, whenever Ji Jue felt his spiritual quality drying up and hard to sustain, new spiritual quality would quietly emerge, replenishing the consumed energy.
Compared to Ji Jue's capacity, which was like half a bottle of water, this little wristwatch seemed to hide a large water tank—no, even that was an understatement; it was like a bottomless reservoir, but he could only mobilize and use an insignificant fraction of it.
He didn't know if there would be any changes once he became a regular employee. As for the current stage... forget it, being allowed to freeload as a casual temporary worker was already saving face; what did he need a bicycle for?
"What bicycle?"
A curious voice sounded.
Right beside him.
Ji Jue startled with alarm and quickly turned around, finally noticing the long hair that had unknowingly draped over his shoulder, and that face that always seemed to bear a sly smile.
Her eyes were slightly narrowed, watching him.
Closely scrutinizing.
"Senior Sister Ye?"
Ji Jue was shocked, "What are you doing here?"
"Shopping."
Ye Chun swayed the plastic bag in her hand, grinning, "I was waving at you from outside the window for quite a while, but you didn't notice. But running into you having tea is really rare... I thought with your dogged persistence, you'd still be grinding away on your studies even over the summer break."
Who are you calling rare!
Ji Jue panicked.
"Can't I take a break and enjoy some tea?"
He picked up the almost cool cup of black tea from the table, took a sip, and sat up straight, pretending to be dignified: "I haven't touched my thesis all day today, I'm super enjoying life, okay!"
"Eh? If that were true, it'd be great."
Ye Chun pulled out a plastic stool without reservation and sat down next to him, not minding the designer handbag that would suffocate a poor soul like Ji Jue just by looking at its logo; she dumped it on the dirty table and then started eating his oatmeal roll with chopsticks, proficiently, as if she was snatching his drumstick in the cafeteria:
"I was thinking of asking you out to play yesterday, but my aunt said you were still busy with your thesis and didn't allow me to disturb you... How much have you written? Can you finish it before the break?"
"Barely managing, I guess."
Thinking of the thesis, Ji Jue felt a wave of mental baldness.
"Wow, that look again... Every time you say you know 'a little,' it means you're working like a dog."
Ye Chun glanced at him, half believing, "You make me seem dumb, Senior Sister."
"This time it's true, I've just passed the proposal defense, and I haven't started on anything else."
Ji Jue raised his hands in surrender; he definitely couldn't say, "Don't worry, sister, I've been busy catching a gang of bloodthirsty freaks, and I really haven't had time for the thesis."
Ye Chun immediately brightened with a smile, "If we're slacking off, let's do it together. Whoever submits their thesis is a dog, agreed?"
Ji Jue was utterly resigned.
Big sister, Professor Ye is your aunt, not mine!
Besides, after the school starts, I'll be in my third year, and you'll still be in grad school; we're not even on the same level, how could we roll out the same results?
But Ye Chun seemed to always enjoy seeing him struggling, taking pleasure in it; even though she always took care of him, she loved teasing him and always left him helpless.
Poor Tom was completely at her mercy.
Damn, I've been played.
Was she PUA-ing me?
As Ji Jue's mind wandered, he heard the mischievous voice beside him: "Hmm... So you like that type, huh?"
"Ah?"
Ji Jue was puzzled, "What type? What?"
"That type, you know, big chest, big hips, the trashy big waves, glossy black tights, short skirts matched with red stiletto heels, quite the taste, huh." Ye Chun followed the direction Ji Jue had been staring and clicked her tongue in admiration.
"Where? Where?"
Ji Jue looked in the direction she was gazing absently, and then, he couldn't smile anymore.
He was petrified on the spot.
There on the roadside, behind a white van, the trunk opened. Two burly men took over a hefty box, handing it down from a woman nearby.
That slim figure and the expressive large eyes, enchanting, captivating, impossible to look away from.
That woman...
Ji Jue felt like he had fallen into an icy cave.
—She was clearly the woman from yesterday afternoon, who was trying to entice him at the auto repair shop!
She even provocatively asked him to check out the headlights!
Even though she was captivating yesterday, when he looked again today, he could only feel revulsion; behind those pale blue polarizing lenses, those eyes adorned with long eyelashes were a deep, vivid crimson!
So, not only Master Ji... but even Ji himself was on her menu?
Literally, a range for consumption.
He stood there in his horror, paralyzed, for a long time, until Senior Sister Ye next to him, still clueless, waved her hand in front of him: "Hey, hey, come back to reality, she's already gone, how long are you going to keep looking?"
"Ah?"
Ji Jue snapped back to reality.
"Young man, listen to your senior sister—a woman in society has deep schemes; you're underage, you can't outplay her." Ye Chun admonished with earnest significance, "Inexperienced boys like you, once tricked into their home, will be locked in the basement tied up, turned into playthings for a wealthy cougar, embarking on a life alternating days of steel wool and days with little leather whips; you must be cautious."
Ji Jue was silent for a long time, on the verge of speaking: "Senior Sister..."
"What?"
"Ugh, I'm already nineteen."
"Full years don't count!" Ye Chun said irritably, pinching his face, "Is that really the point here? You didn't object to the steel wool or the little whip at all.
Besides, if you go with her, what am I supposed to do with the two kids? Wuuu wuuu!"
Surrounded by the shocked stares of the bystanders, Ji Jue sighed as if without love, "…Senior Sister Ye, next time you go into acting mode, could you please tone down the expressions a bit?"
"Oh come on, I'm just worried about you making a mistake and straying down the wrong path."
Ye Chun patted his shoulder, chuckling. She seemed about to say more, but after glancing at the time on her phone, she sighed slightly, "Alright, I'm done teasing you, I've still got to go grocery shopping.
I'm off, you take your time eating."
Ji Jue felt like he had been pardoned. If this continued, he didn't know how much longer he could keep up the facade or if Senior Sister Ye might notice anything amiss.
After watching her leave, he finally heaved a sigh of relief.
"Check, please."
"It's already been paid for, handsome."
Behind the counter, the smoking boss glanced at him, his look seeming to carry a hint of nostalgia, as if seeing in Ji Jue the radiant days of his own youth, and he couldn't help but flick his cigarette ash and let out a wistful sigh:
"Ahh, those were the days…"
Confused, Ji Jue couldn't help but turn around, looking in the direction Ye Chun had left, but she was no longer in sight.
Only a vibration from his phone brought him back to the present, a message arrived.
[DogHeadPointingAtHuman.jpg]
[We agreed, no turning into a bookworm, alright!]
Ji Jue was stunned for a while, then couldn't help laughing softly: [Okay]
The screen went dark, reflecting Ji Jue's smile.
Honestly, it was pretty dumb.
But he felt as if a weight had been lifted.
It was as if suddenly, the panic and unease had receded like the tide, even if they might return again.
First, there was the Human Clone Truck, then the strange powers, Chosen One, temp work…Whether it was Bloodthirsty Old Deng or the ill-intentioned inducements, or even those inexplicable attacks—suddenly, there were too many bad things piling up.
He was dragged headlong into these bewildering Vortexes, uncertain of where he might end up.
But for a moment, he felt as if he were still on solid ground, within his own life.
He was still alive, just as he wished to be, even if he was plagued by bad luck, a bright future awaited him.
So, he needed to make the most of his time—
Ji Jue rubbed his hands together and followed in the direction the female car owner had left.
Get it done quickly and go home to write that paper!
Yes, bookworm is me!
Ugh, this doesn't seem easy at all.
Ten minutes later, Ji Jue suddenly realized he might not be able to become a bookworm after all.
He stood at the corner, gazing toward where the woman had disappeared on the surveillance monitor…
A sophisticated building stood out among its peers, its vast parking lot and the dazzling neon lights shining in the twilight.
It was a nightclub Ji Jue had never entered since birth!
The beats of the music were already faintly pulsing from inside, people were lining up to get in, scantily clad young ladies clinging to the arms of their companions, and luxury cars flowed into the parking lot, each emitting a shine that made Ji Jue's heart stop…
That one has a paint touch-up cost of twenty thousand, another forty-eight thousand, and here's a serious one, to send it back to Central City in the Federation for a full paint job costs eight hundred and sixteen thousand, and this one might even need to go to the Empire in Southern Continent…there's also a car whose brakes are making a strange noise, which even with aftermarket replacements fitted at a mainland garage, would fleece him out of thirty-six thousand, right?
Snap!
Ji Jue slapped his forehead, breaking off the descending train of thought.
In the shadows where the neon and streetlights didn't reach, he stared blankly at the lights, looking just like any young person passing by with empty pockets.
While hesitating, he noticed… the van that had been staking out during the day, had circled around to the back of the building.
When Ji Jue got there, he saw the van parked in the nightclub employees' parking lot, with a brand-new license plate, and empty inside.
Even the back door wasn't overlooked; through the half-open iron door with its hollow pattern, he could see the burly security guards patrolling the parking lot, each equipped with walkie-talkies and carrying intimidating rubber clubs in their hands.
And one, upon seeing Ji Jue approaching, just stood and watched him.
Ji Jue could only bow his head and hurry away.
Back in front, he looked at the guards at the entrance.
Everyone in line had to hand over something, like a membership card or money, while others didn't queue at all, walking straight in, either with a young lady in tow or directly escorted by a club manager…
It gave Ji Jue a headache.
Occasionally, someone without a card tried to slip in and would be promptly ushered aside by the hefty bouncers at the door; no one could see them getting roughed up, anyway.
Damn it, did it have to be this tight?
Impenetrable, right?
Ji Jue felt his hair thinning with the frustration; unless he suddenly came up with a pile of money or sprouted wings to fly, getting in today would be harder than dreaming.
Surely he wouldn't rely on his looks to mooch off a wealthy lady and sneak in, right?
Wouldn't that make him a gigolo?!
Ji Jue watched as the women arrived in luxury cars, dressed in designer fashion and holding various small bags—lovely ladies, mature dames, older sisters… What to say, he suddenly became somewhat tempted.
Bite the bullet and just go, right? Might even earn some subsidy.