A Pearl by My Side

The Pearl at Hand

"Alright, seeing as you just spent something here, I'll let you in on a little more useful information." Bartender Lady took off her gloves. "Do you know why game items are so valuable?"

"Uh, I think you said they were extremely rare."

"Rarity doesn't necessarily mean value. 'Game item' is just a cringe-worthy term meant to fit the theme; it isn't exactly accurate. In reality, they're a kind of extraordinary object containing unimaginable supernatural power. Their effects work both in reality and in the game. Used well, they can become a tremendous help to you, but sometimes they can also cause you trouble. No one can guarantee that this power will always have a positive effect, so you must be especially careful when encountering unknown game items. Not having been identified doesn't mean they have no effect. By the way, has anything strange happened to you since you obtained that item?"

"Not really." Zhang Heng thought back carefully. His life had been perfectly normal since obtaining Rabbit's Foot.

"Then it probably isn't a negative-effect type, or perhaps it has some specific activation condition." For some reason, there was a trace of regret in Bartender Lady's voice.

"In fact, even some game items with negative effects can work wonders when used properly. Wooden boxes made from Tule Tree can block supernatural power and are the best choice for storing game items. You can buy them from me if you need any. Also, you can choose to consign game items you don't need here for sale. There's a large auction at the end of every year. Keep an eye on your email—you'll receive a message before it begins. If there's nothing else, then I'll see you next time."

Bartender Lady had a serious lack of service spirit. After the excitement of earning 5 Game Points, she no longer had any enthusiasm for explaining things.

When Zhang Heng asked what services Game Point offered, she merely said she would add him on WeChat later and send him a PDF.

The moment he stepped out of the metal shack, he was once more engulfed by the thunderous waves of music. This time, however, Zhang Heng no longer found it noisy. Having spent a year and a half on a deserted island, hearing these sounds unique to civilized society again even felt a little familiar.

Zhang Heng descended the iron staircase and soon vanished into the packed crowd.

Although it was already past one in the morning, there were not fewer cars parked outside the bar. If anything, there seemed to be even more than when he had arrived.

Zhang Heng did not return to school. First, it was rather late, and second, he had taken in too much information over the past two hours and needed somewhere to sort through and digest it. Besides that, there was something else he wanted to verify.

So Zhang Heng directly rented a room at a budget hotel by the roadside and asked the front desk for paper and a pen. He had no intention of sleeping at all. He switched on the desk lamp and wrote down the important events of the day, along with as many of his own conjectures as possible.

He worked until dawn. After reading through the stack of papers he had written on, crossed out, and revised one more time, he tore them all to pieces and flushed them down the toilet.

After checking out, Zhang Heng went to the archery range across the street.

This was also where he had signed up for training classes. It had just opened at eight in the morning, and Zhang Heng hurried inside, taking out the SF Recurve Bow he had stored there.

He chose an empty thirty-meter fixed-target lane, nocked an arrow, drew the bow, and fired.

Six rings.

Zhang Heng remained unmoved.

He had switched from a primitive bow to a modern bow, so there were naturally many things he had yet to adapt to. The first arrow had merely been a test shot, and the result did not surprise him. He then adjusted his angle and released the string.

The second arrow was much better—eight rings.

At that moment, Zhang Heng's coach clocked in and entered from outside. He had intended to greet Zhang Heng, but seeing the latter practicing with complete concentration, he decided not to disturb him. He took out his thermos and stood behind him, ready to correct Zhang Heng's posture and movements.

Then he saw the next arrow sink firmly into the nine-ring.

Not bad. He's a promising prospect. The coach praised inwardly. Most beginners had all sorts of problems when they first began shooting—an unsteady bow hand, improper stance, shifted center of gravity, and so on. Yet Zhang Heng had only been learning archery for a short time, but his posture seemed as though it had been tempered through countless trials, giving off the impression of an immovable mountain.

What else could that be if not talent?

Zhang Heng's coach had once been on the city archery team. Unfortunately, his talent had been limited. No matter how hard he worked, he had never managed to break through to the next level. Later, he was defeated by an amateur archer who had practiced for less than half a year. Disheartened, he left the professional circuit and was invited by the owner of the archery range to become a coach.

Over the past two years, seeing the sport develop well, he could not help feeling tempted again. But he was already too old, with no potential left to uncover. Even if he returned to competition, there would be little point. So he turned his attention to the young people training at the archery range, wondering whether he could spot talent and take on a few exceptional students.

If one of them eventually made it to a national competition, it would count as helping him fulfill his dream.

Once he had formed that idea, he began searching for candidates. At first, he focused most of his attention on children between the ages of eight and fourteen. That was the right age to build a foundation; starting any later was somewhat too late. As a result, he had not paid much attention to Zhang Heng.

During the previous three classes, this young man had not displayed any particular strengths. He had seemed no different from those casual hobbyists.

But Zhang Heng's subsequent improvement had left him somewhat astonished.

He had not trained for long, yet his results were exceptionally good. He quickly stood out as one of the best among those who had enrolled in the same batch.

At the same time, though, the coach felt some regret. Zhang Heng had ultimately entered the field too late. Even with talent, without enough practice, it would be difficult for him to go far.

Just as the coach was thinking this, Zhang Heng took a deep breath. He had completed his adjustments. The next moment, he fired five arrows in one continuous burst.

Less than two seconds passed between each arrow.

Four of the five arrows struck the ten-ring, while the remaining one was only slightly off and landed in the nine-ring.

Zhang Heng knew this was related to his bodily coordination. He had grown accustomed to the body he had possessed on the deserted island. Now that he had returned to a year and a half earlier, there were discrepancies in both his strength and reactions. But these few arrows had already told him what he wanted to know.

The muscle memory and techniques he had developed in the game had been retained in full. All he needed was one or two weeks of practice to recover his level from the island.

Moreover, now that he had switched to modern archery equipment with greater power and accuracy, his aim would only become more precise, and his range would only become greater.

So the skills developed in the game really could be brought into reality.

This was not all that surprising. After all, those skills had not fallen from the sky. He had trained them bit by bit himself.

Zhang Heng had also realized that this game had none of the traditional game concepts of four basic attributes. It used one's own body, and any difficulties could only be resolved with one's own knowledge and abilities. Thus, the skills each person possessed were especially important.

Thinking about it that way, his extra twenty-four hours did not seem like such a bad thing.

Because that meant he had more game time than other players and could improve himself more effectively. More importantly, those improvements were equally applicable in reality.

Zhang Heng pondered this, completely unaware of just how much of an impact those five arrows had had on the coach behind him.

The latter nearly dropped his thermos.

For amateur enthusiasts who trained diligently, scoring forty-nine rings with five arrows was not impossible. But Zhang Heng had only been learning for a few classes, and very few amateur enthusiasts could pull off that kind of rapid consecutive firing.

He's a prodigy! An absolute prodigy! What other explanation could there be?! The coach's gaze toward Zhang Heng had changed completely.

It was as if he were examining an unparalleled piece of uncut jade. The more he looked, the more he liked it.

With such a pearl right beside me, how had I failed to notice him before?

Sorry this chapter was late.