Development

Current Skill Points: 1 (can be used to develop the "Skill Tree")

"Starting with a Skill Point? Newbie bonus?" Ji Minghuan raised an eyebrow, then remembered where this Skill Point had come from. "Oh, right... I think I got this Skill Point during the opening Q&A session."

Thinking back on everything that had happened today, he finally understood why the answer to that first question had been—"This is both a dream and reality."

And under those circumstances, the fact that he had picked the right answer was ninety percent miraculous.

Unfortunately, he had already forgotten the exact answering process. There must have been some extremely rigorous logical deduction involved, rather than some crude elementary-school logic like, "Three short, one long—pick the long one."

He tapped the first skill in each of the three branches, and descriptions of the skills appeared before his eyes.

Branch "Concealment"—Restraint Belt Senses: Grants your Restraint Band "sight" and "hearing." When you press the Restraint Band against the surface of a barrier, such as a wall or floor, you can clearly see the scene on the other side and hear the sounds coming from it.

(Learning this skill consumes 1 Skill Point.)

Branch "Frenzy"—Restraint Belt Extension: Increases the maximum extension range of your Restraint Band from 8 meters to 15 meters.

(Learning this skill consumes 1 Skill Point.)

Branch "Ferocity"—Restraint Belt Detection: When you use the Restraint Band to touch an opponent, who must be human or humanoid, a series of their data will appear in your mind, including their attributes and abilities.

(Learning this skill consumes 1 Skill Point.)

"Choose one of three. Once I learn a skill from one branch, I can unlock the next skill in that branch. A lot of the RPGs I used to play in the Computer Room had similar mechanics." To Ji Minghuan, this familiar Skill Tree System felt as warmly welcome as seeing an old friend from afar. He was only a step away from shedding tears of joy.

"If my Esper really has a mind of its own, it sure knows how to please me," he thought.

It felt like a brand designer tailoring a product to his preferences, all to spark his interest and make him immerse himself in it completely.

After considering the three starting skills for a while, Ji Minghuan ultimately chose Restraint Belt Senses.

The reason was simple. One look was enough to tell that this skill was suited for situations like "peeping," "tracking," and "covert investigation." Right now, he needed to do these sneaky things, or he would not survive at all.

If he could not investigate the laboratory as soon as possible and get his body out of the Imprisonment Room, then there was no telling what might happen tomorrow. Even if those experimenters immediately dissected his body, it would not be surprising.

He held down the skill text. The entire skill icon gradually brightened from dim to luminous, gleaming with a red-and-black sheen.

Consumed 1 Skill Point. Successfully learned the Branch "Concealment" skill—"Restraint Belt Senses."

Learning permission for the next skill in Branch "Concealment" has been unlocked.

After turning off the television, Ji Minghuan rose from the sofa and walked toward the stairwell.

The second floor of this residential building held the rooms of the three children, while the rooms belonging to their father and mother were on the third floor.

Since their father had not returned home for years and their mother had died in an accident, the third floor was usually desolate. Aside from going to the third-floor balcony to hang laundry, they rarely went up there, lest it stir up painful memories.

After reaching the second floor, Ji Minghuan stopped in front of his room and stretched out his right hand.

Black Restraint Bands surged from the surface of his body and rested against the doorframe like a black hand.

The next second, it was as though the Restraint Bands had grown "eyes." The scene beyond the door was laid bare before him—he was clearly standing outside, yet he could see everything inside the room.

The bookshelves, wardrobe, bed, every detail in the room entered his sight with perfect clarity. He could even see more clearly than if he were standing inside and observing it directly.

"This is really fun..." He raised an interested brow and withdrew the Restraint Bands from the doorframe. "Just like the description said, as long as I place the Restraint Band against a barrier, I can see what's on the other side. X-ray vision is useful for both observation and tracking. I struck gold with my very first skill."

Ji Minghuan then climbed to the third floor, headed to the end of the corridor, and arrived at the rooftop of the residential building. Leaning against the railing, he gazed toward the horizon.

The sky had already darkened. Beneath the Night Sky, neon lights flickered on throughout the city one after another, like fallen dominoes. Seen from above, they resembled a luminous dragon formed from the city's bustling life, stretching all the way to the distant mountains before fading away.

He closed his eyes and let the Restraint Bands gaze toward the far horizon in his place.

The closer it was to the sky, the darker it became. The cliffs at the horizon were gentle and muted, while the closer it got to the city, the brighter it was. The lights of countless homes illuminated every street and alley. The Restraint Bands listened to cicadas chirping in the trees and the voices drifting up from the brightly lit streets.

The summer Evening Breeze slowly brushed against his cheeks. The black Restraint Bands twisted in the wind like little snakes, as if sensing the entire world in their own unique way. After a long while, the Young Man slowly opened his eyes and drew the Restraint Bands back into his body.

"Its senses are far sharper than mine in every respect. It's especially adaptable when seeing in darkness—it can see even more clearly than in bright places. It's basically an expensive pair of night-vision goggles built right in, and that has hidden value. If there's ever a situation where a shopping mall loses power and everyone's vision is swallowed by darkness in an instant, I can use the Restraint Bands to regain my sight immediately and strike first," Ji Minghuan murmured. "This skill was well worth learning."

He leaned over the rooftop railing, enjoying the breeze as he checked the "Character Skill Tree" interface.

Branch One (Concealment): Restraint Belt Senses (Learned) → Restraint Band Truth (Learning this skill consumes 1 Skill Point) → Unknown (Unlocked after learning the previous skill) → Unknown

Ji Minghuan raised his hand and tapped the newly unlocked branch skill. Its description appeared before him.

Restraint Band Truth: After using the Restraint Band to bind a target, you can force them to speak the words in their heart.

"This one looks useful too," he muttered. "If I could catch one of the experimenters from that research institute, I could pick anyone at random and force the location of the laboratory out of them."

As he thought, he turned to look in the direction of the Welfare Home.

Because the Welfare Home was some distance from Gu Yi Mai Community, even from this height he could only make out a vague outline. The attic of the Library seemed to be lit up. Some child had probably been punished by the director again. Ji Minghuan could not help grinning. Whenever the Nurses locked them in the attic, they would return to the first floor and cut the power. Otherwise, no one would be afraid of spending the night in the attic.

"After a while, I'll use this body to return to the Welfare Home and look for clues. Forget it for today. I just got this body, so I'd better first play the role of an ordinary high school student properly and not make the people around me suspicious."

"It's best to plan for the long term. I'll wait until I have a second Game Character before taking action. That way, even if one character gets captured by them, or even destroyed, I can keep acting through the other one."

"For now, I'll wait and see. Acting too quickly could easily alert them. Besides... the important thing is that I still don't know whether the Instructor and his people have accomplices hiding in the Welfare Home. Since I don't know their background yet, it would definitely be troublesome if they set their sights on me."

With that thought, Ji Minghuan withdrew his gaze from the horizon.

After leaving the rooftop, he went down the stairs to the second floor. He walked to the second door from the left in the corridor, slowly turned the handle, and pushed it open.

Returning to his own room felt comfortable.

As the saying went, there was no place like home. In his memories, Gu Wenyu loved curling up in his room and doing all sorts of miscellaneous things—sometimes supporting his favorite Espers on Esper fan sites and fiercely arguing with other netizens, sometimes quietly assembling models at home and ignoring the outside world.

But ever since awakening his Esper ability a month ago, he had become unstoppable. Almost every day after school, he would stay in his room practicing how to control the Restraint Bands as if possessed. He stopped caring about his friends and spent every day in the company of the Restraint Bands, like he was secretly raising a nest of little black snakes.

By comparison, Ji Minghuan lacked that ascetic sort of dedication.

He saw himself as a player, and his Esper ability allowed him to view the world from a player's perspective. It was like someone from a higher-dimensional world controlling two-dimensional figures on an electronic screen, making every move as practical and efficient as possible. So he simply flopped onto the bed and continued examining the System Panel, raising a hand to tap the Attribute Panel option at the top.

Character Name: Gu Wenyu

Character Type: Esper

Current Alias: None (Too little fame in the real world; has yet to become an Emerging Talent)

Character Age: 17

Character Gender: Male

Character Attributes: Strength (determines Physical Quality): C-rank; Speed (determines Nerve Reaction): C-rank; Spirit (determines Mental Strength): C-rank

Overall Rating: C-rank

Event Cards Currently Held: 0

Attribute Points Currently Held: 0

"All C-rank... trash-tier stats." Ji Minghuan swept his gaze over the three attributes and gave his assessment.

He still did not know how high the attribute ceiling in this world was, but his immediate priority was to fully understand the functions of the System Panel. He closed the Attribute Panel and opened the most prominent Character Exclusive Training System instead.

Introduction to the "Character Exclusive Training System":

During character creation, choosing different growth paths will produce different exclusive training systems. Every Game Character will possess a unique "Character Development System," and no two characters will have the same development system.

The exclusive training system of Game Character "Gu Wenyu," who has chosen the "Gray Character" route, is as follows.