Talent

"Transfer me to the New Department?"

In the supervisor's office, Chen Xu had originally thought Old Wang was going to give him a talking-to. Instead, Old Wang said he wanted to transfer him to the newly established Marketing Department.

Old Wang had a square face and a distinctive mole on his left cheekbone. "Don't underestimate this New Department. The higher-ups take it very seriously. Being transferred there is both your luck and your opportunity."

"But..."

Chen Xu had already been planning to resign, so naturally he had no intention of accepting.

"No buts." Old Wang cut him off and lowered his voice. "This newly established Marketing Department will be personally managed by Vice President Liu. The staff are being transferred in from various departments. I heard from Old He in the Personnel Department that everyone transferred to the New Department gets a raise of at least twenty percent."

By the end, there was obvious envy on his face.

The words Chen Xu had been about to use to refuse were immediately swallowed back down.

If the transfer came with a raise, then it was worth considering. With that thought, he said, "Give me a day to think about it."

"Fine. Old He will talk to you personally tomorrow anyway." After saying that, Old Wang sent him back to work.

"You okay?"

As soon as Chen Xu returned to his desk, Old Tang turned around and asked.

Chen Xu shook his head to show he was fine. Out of habit, he picked up a pen and started doodling on paper. His current after-tax salary was only a little over four thousand. Even with a twenty-percent increase, it would still be under five thousand.

It was neither much nor little.

Before, he had felt lucky just to get into a major company with his qualifications. Even if the pay was a little low, he could accept it and tough things out.

But that little money simply was not enough in a big city like this. He also had to send money home every month, making his life even tighter.

He had endured for nearly two years, yet his salary had only gone up a little. He truly could not keep enduring. That was the real reason he wanted to resign. Luo Xiyun had merely been the trigger.

"I'll talk to Director He tomorrow and see if I can negotiate for a higher salary."

He quickly made up his mind.

Over the past few days, he had gradually recalled many details from the dreams. They had brought subtle changes to him. At the very least, he was no longer as afraid of changing jobs as before, and he had the confidence to negotiate with the Personnel Department supervisor.

Before, he had had too many concerns and too little confidence in his own abilities. He worried that if he lost his job, he would lose his source of income, his survival would become a problem, and his family would fall into hardship as well.

Now, after experiencing a life where he had been the only person left in the entire world, what did his troubles amount to?

That experience in the dream alone was incomparably precious wealth to him.

Thinking that, he tore off the paper he had been doodling on, crumpled it into a ball, and casually tossed it toward the wastebasket without even looking.

Only after throwing it did he turn his head and watch the paper ball fly steadily into the wastebasket.

"Huh?"

He was a little surprised.

When he was thinking, he had always had the habit of scribbling on paper. Every time he finished, he would throw it away.

However, his accuracy was poor, and he often missed. Then he would have to walk over, pick up the paper, and toss it into the wastebasket again. Even so, he never got tired of it. It was one of his ways of relieving stress.

His luck had been especially good these past few days, and he had made every throw. But that last one made him feel that luck alone could not explain it.

"Could it be..."

He recalled the Talent Card he had received when the dream ended. Its name was Throwing Precision.

Could this Talent Card work not only in the dream world?

At that thought, he could not help swallowing.

"Let's try again."

He tore off another sheet of paper and crumpled it into a ball. Then, with his back to the wastebasket, he threw it by feel.

When he turned around, he saw the paper ball arc through the air and land precisely in the wastebasket.

His heart trembled as well. He knew his guess was very likely true.

"My Golden Finger is finally online?"

For a moment, he was overwhelmed with delight.

Then, the transfer to the New Department and finding a new job were both thrown to the back of his mind. All he could think about was how far this talent gained from the dream world could go.

Unfortunately, he was at work. He could only wait patiently.

After finally getting off work, Chen Xu rushed home as fast as he could and began experimenting.

From the name of the talent, he could tell that it was related to throwing.

He found several items of varying weight and size: an unopened 1.5-liter bottle of mineral water, an empty cigarette pack, a bag of chips, and a book.

Then he placed a bucket against the wall, retreated to the balcony, and started with the heaviest item, the bottle of mineral water.

Bang.

The mineral water bottle fell to the floor. He had missed.

"No way..."

The bad start made him frown. He went over to pick up the bottle, returned to the balcony, and tried again.

Bang.

This time, the bottle landed accurately in the bucket.

"One more time."

He retrieved the bottle again and threw it a third time. It went in again.

Two hits in a row still did not feel like enough.

Before the fourth throw, he closed his eyes and tossed it out again.

Bang. The bottle flew straight into the bucket without error.

"Looks like there's no doubt about it. The Talent Cards gained in dreams can work in reality too."

The result made his entire body tremble with excitement.

Before entering the dream, he had thought the Virtual Dream Device could only satisfy certain wishful fantasies.

After entering the dream for the first time, his view had changed. In the dream, he could have experiences beyond anyone else's imagination and gain more life experience.

But now, he understood that he had been wrong—completely wrong.

The talents gained in dreams could actually manifest in his real body. The Virtual Dream Device was far more valuable than he had imagined.

That meant the skills he learned in dreams could also be mastered in reality.

Unfortunately, what he had practiced most in his last dream had been marksmanship. It was not easy to get his hands on a gun in reality, so he had no way to verify that for now.

Of course, even if that guess was wrong, getting a few more Talent Cards would already be awesome enough.

At that thought, he wished he could start his second dream immediately.

"Three more weeks. This wait is so hard."

He sighed, then quickly shifted his attention and began trying to throw the other items.

Like a child who had gotten a fascinating new toy, he played without ever getting tired of it. Besides the items he had prepared at first, he threw everything in the room that could be thrown.

Very soon, he discovered the pattern. Whenever he switched to a different item, he would usually miss once or twice at the beginning.

But he could always quickly find his aim. By the third throw, he never missed again.

That also made him understand that what he had gained was only a talent. It required practice before he could master it perfectly.