Mystery Makes Me Stronger

The city buzzed with noise, traffic streaming endlessly by.

Songs and dances flourished while undercurrents surged.

In a bustling commercial district somewhere in Dongshui City stood a business tower called Meilong. Its lower floors housed densely packed ordinary shops, while the twelfth floor was home to a company called Tianxing Club.

Wenren Sheng had just turned twenty this year. While others his age were still in college, he had already worked at this Club for three years, holding an excellent position and earning an enviable income.

That morning, inside a blue-black sedan in the underground parking garage of the business tower.

"Brother Li, same as usual. Pick me up from work at two this afternoon." Wenren Sheng spoke to the driver in front, casually using the rearview mirror to inspect his appearance for the day.

Just like every other day, he was in the prime of youth, with star-like brows and bright eyes, perfect features... In any anime or TV drama, he would fit the standard template for someone who definitely was not cannon fodder. There was no way he would die within three episodes. If he did, it would not even justify the production costs.

That was enough.

"Understood, Mr. Wenren."

The honest-looking Middle-aged Man in the driver's seat replied, then got out and bowed as he opened the rear door for him.

Wenren Sheng stepped out of the car, then glanced at the driver who had served him for three years. His eyes brightened slightly as a string of information flashed through them:

"Li Shuangyue."

"Mystery Points: 0/1."

Mm, everything was normal.

After getting out, he took a few turns and slowly headed up the staircase that led directly to the twelfth floor.

Unless necessary, he did not take the elevator.

It was nearly nine. The occasional employee appeared in the stairwell and brushed past him, most hurrying to and fro with traces of exhaustion and drowsiness between their brows.

Only he climbed the stairs at an unhurried pace, relaxed and composed.

"Good morning, Manager Wenren."

A clear female voice suddenly called from behind him.

Wenren Sheng turned around and saw a young woman whose looks were probably above a seven out of ten. She had an oval face, neat features, short black hair, straight bangs hanging to her brows, and an energetic, lively air about her... She was roughly shoulder-height on him, over five foot three.

He blinked, and another string of information flashed in his eyes.

"Zhao Han."

"Mystery Points: 9/9."

"Mystery Composition: Unknown."

His expression did not change. He merely nodded slightly. "It's Zhao Han. Morning."

After exchanging greetings, the two climbed the stairs side by side.

Wenren Sheng did not speak again, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

After waiting for a while, Zhao Han seemed to gather a little Courage and took the initiative to start a conversation. "Manager Wenren, do you usually come to the company at this time?"

"Mm." Wenren Sheng nodded again.

Zhao Han looked a little embarrassed, then continued, "I heard that a number of cases have occurred one after another in the West District over the past month. In every case, the culprit killed someone in a fit of anger."

"Oh, killings driven by anger?" Wenren Sheng slowed his steps.

"Yes." Seeing that he seemed interested, Zhao Han began speaking eagerly. "In one case, a husband killed his wife in a rage because she was addicted to gambling. In another, a wife killed her husband because he cheated on her. There was also an argument on a bus that ended with someone pulling out a knife and stabbing another person... All told, more than twenty cases have happened in the West District this month alone, though most were never made public."

"More than twenty cases? That is a bit too frequent." Wenren Sheng frowned slightly.

Zhao Han nodded repeatedly, visible worry on her face. "Exactly. Public security in our city was originally quite good. Although it has a large population and is a first-tier metropolis, the total number of ordinary homicide cases in a year was only forty or fifty. Now more than twenty have erupted in a single month. There must be mysterious factors involved again. It is truly worrying. Who knows whether the killers are hiding right beside us?"

Wenren Sheng did not respond again, seeming to sink into thought.

That was right. Their work lay within the Mysterious Realm—a gray zone that ordinary people in this world could neither resist nor avoid, and also an industry standing at the top of this world's pyramid.

As they talked and climbed, they soon reached the floor where the Club was located. A blue sign reading "Tianxing Club" hung at the entrance to the stairwell, looking utterly unremarkable.

At the stairwell entrance, they verified their fingerprints and irises, opened the access door, and entered.

Inside was a long corridor. Marble floor tiles and spotless white walls made it feel like nothing more than an ordinary company.

Using the stairwell as the dividing point, individual rooms lined the left side, while a large hall enclosed by glass walls stood to the right, filled with office desks.

At the end of the corridor was a corner. It was a circular hallway, enclosing the elevator shaft and other public facilities in the middle, with office rooms on all four sides.

After entering the corridor, Wenren Sheng nodded to Zhao Han and headed left. She remained where she was, watching him leave before heading toward the hall on the right.

Wenren Sheng came to the third room from the left. A plaque on the door read, "Project Center Manager's Office." A vast, boundless starry-sky poster was affixed to the door, seemingly declaring that the room's owner possessed the breadth of the universe.

He pressed the fingerprint lock and opened the door. Inside stood a large office desk, a sofa, and a coffee table... There was also a separate compartment, an independent bathroom furnished with every convenience.

The windows were bright and spotless, and the air was fresh. A pot of spider plant sat on the desk, radiating a green vitality.

At one corner of the desk sat a steaming paper basket. Inside were a bowl of golden millet porridge, a plate of finely prepared pickled vegetables, and a basket of delicate steamed buns, all looking mouthwateringly tempting.

Wenren Sheng sat behind the desk, opened his laptop, pulled up an anime he had recently started following, then picked up a steamed bun from the paper basket and began eating while watching.

"Mm, not bad, not bad. Xiao Qing's breakfast is still as horrifically terrible as ever—the millet porridge is burnt, the pickled vegetables are hard to swallow, and the steamed bun filling is bitter and astringent... I really wonder whether she tasted any of it herself after making it?"

His expression remained unchanged as he savored it inwardly.

To outsiders, he was merely a middle-rank company employee slacking off, eating during work hours and even watching shows.

Yet no one knew that although his eyes rested on the lively, comedic anime, his pupils had already gone slightly unfocused as a stream of chaotic, strange information rapidly flashed through his mind.

"You nonchalantly consumed a serving of mysterious dark cuisine. Your current Mystery Points have recovered by 1, and your Mystery Resistance has increased slightly."

"Seed of Mystery."

"Location: Carried with you."

"Mystery Points: 95 (current)/100 (maximum)."

"Mystery Composition: First, Otherworlder's Memories, maximum +50; second, Extraordinary Power, maximum +30; third, Mystic Cognition, maximum +20."

"Functions: First, all Mysterious Realm effects passively increase by 100%; second, Mystery Points may be consumed to further enhance the effects of mysterious skills, with each point increasing them by one percent."

That was right. Wenren Sheng was not from this world. He had come here three years ago, and this world was extremely similar to his previous one in terms of economics, technology, and military matters... The only difference was the presence of the Mysterious Realm.

In his previous life, he had merely been an ordinary person. An ordinary life, an ordinary ending, an unremarkable existence with some regrets, but no real tragedy.

But in this life, he had discovered that he could live more brilliantly and hope for more possibilities in life. All he needed to do was make himself increasingly mysterious. The more mysterious he became, the stronger he would be.

Performing all kinds of mysterious acts that others could not comprehend could restore his current Mystery Points, while exploring and delving deeper into the Mysterious Realm could increase his maximum Mystery Points.

Over the past three years, this was the basic usage he had uncovered for the Golden Finger he possessed, the Seed of Mystery.

The story on the computer continued playing, while he mentally reviewed some mysterious knowledge he had stayed up late memorizing the previous night, organizing the information.

His Extraordinary Power contained three Mysterious Realm skills—Extraordinary Physique (Intermediate), Mystery Resistance (Intermediate), and Extraordinary Memory (Beginner).

Although Extraordinary Memory was only at the beginner level, after its effects were increased by 100%, it could achieve the advanced-level effect ahead of time: rapidly browsing vast amounts of knowledge while retaining everything at a glance.

This skill had enormous benefits. It could save his eyesight and enable rapid memorization... For others, however, the beginner-level effect only improved one's memory from that of a poor student to that of a top student, still within the realm of ordinary understanding. To raise it to the advanced level, reaching a degree ordinary people found unbelievable, generally required three to five years of focused study and grueling training.

Just as he finished watching the twenty-four-minute episode, someone suddenly pushed open the door and entered.

It was a young woman around twenty years old. Two thin braids hung in front of her flat chest. She wore oversized black-framed glasses with broad rims and clothes utterly out of step with current fashion: a blue-and-white striped top and dark black pants. From head to toe, she announced a single word to everyone—"tacky."

Most of the woman's face was obscured by her black-framed glasses and braids. Her only notable feature was probably her very pale skin, as though she had not seen sunlight for a long time.

After entering, the woman did not say a word. She simply cleaned up Wenren Sheng's finished breakfast, placed everything in the paper basket, poured him a glass of water, and turned to leave.

Wenren Sheng did not get up. He merely smiled. "Thank you, Xiao Qing. Your breakfast is still as good as it has always been."

The woman's shoulders twitched slightly. She did not turn around, but she finally spoke. "Hypocrite."

"No, I am telling the truth. I have always been an honest man," Wenren Sheng replied with great seriousness.

The woman was about to say something else when a clatter sounded behind her, seemingly the glass of water that had just been poured suddenly tipping over.

"How wonderful. The laptop is broken, so I can contribute a little more GDP to this city..." Wenren Sheng put the black-screened laptop aside without the slightest hint of dejection.

The corners of the woman's mouth lifted slightly. She snorted. "Watch fewer shows. Other people use even the time you spend reading novels, watching videos, and sleeping to cultivate themselves and study."

"Teacher Ai said that success is ninety-nine percent sweat plus one percent inspiration, but that one percent inspiration is the most important. In your eyes, I am wasting time, but in truth, I am catching inspiration," Wenren Sheng said solemnly.

"Boring." The woman ignored him completely and walked straight out.

Looking at the empty office, Wenren Sheng shook his head. "But everything I said was true."

At that moment, another stream of information appeared in his mind.

"Your behavior has made a Supernatural Being of the same rank unable to fathom you. Current Mystery Points +1."

"Wei Yiqing."

"Mystery Points: ???/???."

"Mystery Composition: Seed of Misfortune, ???"