New Year's Goods Summon?

After a long time, Huai Shi had a dream.

He dreamed that he had finally achieved his dream and, amid the audience's enthusiastic applause, proudly walked into Vienna's Golden Hall.

As the host spoke in a voice so moved he was almost crying, everyone gazed fervently at the greatest musician of the century.

Then Huai Shi stood on the stage, looked down at them arrogantly, gave a slight nod, and raised a hand to signal for silence.

And silence fell.

Everyone held their breath in anticipation, fighting back tears of emotion. The female audience members looked at him with hopeful expressions and eyes as fiery as though they wanted to bear his children.

Huai Shi gave them an indifferent glance, flashed a wickedly charming smile, took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands, then tossed it aside, picked up his cello, and took a deep breath...

Then played a mournful rendition of "The Little Widow Visits a Grave."

And before the enraged audience could beat him to death, he finally woke from the dream in terror.

Lying in bed, Huai Shi panted heavily. He had no idea whether it had been a nightmare or a good dream; he only knew his feelings were complicated.

Then he began to reflect on himself.

Why the hell had he gone to the Golden Hall just to play that piece of trash?!

And what the hell was that wickedly charming smile?!

He stared blankly for a long while before coming to his senses. He climbed out of bed, looked at the sunlight outside the window, drank a vial, then wandered into the garden with nothing to do and continued staring into space.

Until he realized that he could not keep spacing out like this, so he took advantage of his day off, changed clothes, slung a bucket, mop, and rags over his shoulder, and began a thorough cleaning.

Of course, calling it a thorough cleaning was an exaggeration. It was really just routine tidying.

Stone Marrow Hall was so huge that, even ignoring the two side buildings that had been unoccupied for ages, the four floors of the main hall alone would have taken him a month to clean.

He only cleaned up the front gate, front yard, hall, and several rooms he used often, pulled some wild grass, then carried a bucket of water to the entrance and polished the dust-covered Stone Marrow Hall sign until it shone again.

At noon, the table, chairs, glass, and other things he had bought online arrived.

But no matter what, the delivery guy refused to carry them inside. After dumping the goods at the gate, he ran off faster than a stray dog. Huai Shi was so furious that he spammed negative reviews, yet the local furniture store did not argue at all and directly refunded three hundred yuan in delivery fees.

People these days would really do anything just to save themselves a little effort.

Once everything was put in place and all the broken windowpanes had been replaced, the house finally looked a little more lived-in.

At least it no longer looked like some legendary haunted house.

After resting for a while, Huai Shi finally sighed, picked up a broom and mop, and went to the fourth floor to clean the master bedroom again. He swept away the dust, opened the windows to air it out, and washed and hung up the quilt and bedsheets.

"The room on the fourth floor is pretty nice, and the bed isn't small either."

The Crow, who had come to watch, landed on the cabinet and looked around the room, which was both elegant and cozy. "Why do you keep staying on the third floor? Your bed there is practically falling apart."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Huai Shi replied, "This was my parents' bedroom."

"..." The Crow did not know what to say. "Are you still hoping they'll come back?"

"I don't know. Maybe they won't. Maybe they're still wandering around somewhere overseas. If they're really living it up, they might even have new children by now."

Huai Shi sat in the chair, scratched his head, hesitated for a long time, and finally spoke helplessly. "But what if? What if they come back? They can't come home and not even have a place to stay, can they?"

"Have you considered one possibility, Huai Shi?"

The Crow looked at him with pity. "Your parents may already be..."

"Hm?"

Huai Shi was confused.

"No, nothing."

The Crow glared at him for a long time with an expression of utter exasperation, but ultimately said nothing. She flapped her wings and flew away.

Huai Shi shrugged. Once he had finished tidying up, he closed the door and went downstairs.

Then he lay on the sofa playing on his phone, immersing himself in mobile games, short videos, and idiotic online friends. It was not until the afternoon, when he looked down, that he noticed... there seemed to be a little flesh on his chin.

"Holy shit."

Huai Shi jumped off the sofa in fright and felt himself all over. There really was more flesh on him. He had actually started getting fat?

"The essence of Completion Potion is a high-calorie compound. Its purpose is to let the body absorb calories as easily as possible, which means... gaining weight."

The Crow was very calm about it. "You lie around every day without moving. Isn't it normal that you've gained weight? If you ask me, you need to get out and walk around."

"So I can get hit over the head from behind?"

Huai Shi's eyes widened. "Someone sent me a bomb just for going to school. If I went out on the street, there'd probably be a truckload of RPGs waiting for me!"

"Sounds like you're in for it." The Crow cawed with laughter. "So? Planning to run away? There are always ways to transfer schools if you want to, right?"

"Why should I?!"

Huai Shi rolled his eyes at her and glared furiously. "This is my school. Why the hell should I run?!"

"Then do you have any countermeasures?"

She tilted her head and studied Huai Shi's face, seeming curious. "Have you gained any insight? Made any decision? How about we buy a sniper rifle, hide somewhere high at night, and take a shot at him?"

"Can we do that?" Huai Shi's eyes widened.

"We can." The Crow nodded. "But you don't look like the sort who has a hidden uncle placing an order for you before dying so you can start the game with god-tier equipment."

"Stop reading Qidian novels! It's all fake!"

Huai Shi rolled his eyes. He finally understood what she meant. "That author doesn't even want to write anymore, yet he has the nerve to call it a temporary conclusion. Heh. He spends all day living off soft rice on Weibo, and everything he writes is pretentious as hell. He doesn't look like any kind of decent person!"

After taking a jab at a washed-up author, Huai Shi pushed himself up from the chair. After taking a couple of deep breaths, he finally recovered a little energy and cooperated with the Crow's physical examination for the day.

"It seems that border substances still have a certain stimulating effect on your growth rate."

The Crow nodded in satisfaction. "At this rate, your developmental period can be shortened by at least half. And if we begin adjusting your physical attributes now, your compatibility with the Stigmata will improve considerably when the time comes.

"However, to avoid any accidents, I still need to ask once more—there's no hereditary disease history in your family, right?"

"No." Huai Shi shook his head. "Why ask?"

"Good. An Ascender's developmental period unconsciously adjusts itself according to the 'prototype' in the Silver Sea. If you have any latent or hereditary illnesses, completing them will be quite painful.

"Starting today, I'll begin adjusting your potion formula. It may have a certain effect on your body. If you experience symptoms like high fever, dizziness, or heart palpitations, tell me immediately."

The Crow seemed to casually say something rather alarming, then handed him a vial of potion. Today's potion seemed darker in color. If it had originally been pale green, it now looked as if a layer of shadow had settled over it.

After hesitating for a moment, Huai Shi still drank it in one gulp.

I've been on this pirate ship for so long already. Why the hell would I regret it now?

"Very good, Huai Shi, very good—you will have a bright future. Probably."

The Crow nodded in satisfaction and happily brought out the "Book of Destiny." "Next, shall we have another thrilling post-meal activity?"

Huai Shi rolled his eyes at her and sighed. He sprawled across the chair again, limbs spread wide, and closed his eyes. "Bring it on! Don't go easy on me just because I'm a delicate flower..."

"Hehe."

The Crow gave a mysterious smile. "Big sis likes bold boys like you. Since you've been performing so well, I'll let you have a taste of meat today."

She tapped the Event Branch.

Huai Shi's vision went dark again.

"Kill them all. Leave no one alive."

First he heard the instructor's voice in his earpiece, then felt the heavy weapon in his hands and the yellow sand blowing in on the wind.

Outside the open car window, parched earth streamed endlessly backward. Dust in the air poured inside alongside the music playing on the radio.

It was almost suffocating.

Yet there was no coughing in the vehicle. It was silent as a grave.

Huai Shi felt as though he were playing a VR stealth game, like the ones streamers often played, except ordinary people could never afford those absurdly expensive gaming pods.

This was a fragment of Red Glove's memories, an excerpt selected from shattered records. It was nothing more than his past memories. Huai Shi had merely turned himself from an observer into the protagonist, like in an incredibly realistic single-player RPG.

He saw more than a dozen people in unmarked uniforms like his, sitting on either side of the vehicle compartment. Like machines, they remained expressionless beneath the ravages of wind and sand.

Only the instructor's orders continued to sound through their earpieces.

"Operation begins in ten minutes. Teams A and B will encircle from both sides. Leave no targets alive—do you hear me?"

The soldiers in the vehicle answered in unison.

The vehicle stopped at the end of the road. In the distance, the outline of a village could vaguely be seen.

After so many rounds of simulated training, Huai Shi could at least keep up with them now and distinguish their gestures and commands.

These people were far too strict in their evaluations. If they thought his performance was too poor, then even if he passed the test, he would ultimately be destroyed as an unqualified product.

Just where the hell had that bastard Red Glove served—

Judging from the surroundings, this seemed to be some desolate plateau region. From the outlines of the buildings, he could vaguely make out the flavor of a desert nation. Combined with the remnants of oil drilling sites he had seen along the road, Huai Shi could tell that this was the southeastern Mediterranean region, West Asia—most likely a narrow desert territory between Rome and the Russian Federation.

Because of its abundant oil resources, war had continued across this land. Dozens of kingdoms, large and small, had been fighting endlessly under the interference of the Five Powers, with no sign of it ending even now.

Then the target of this mission should be a Russian Federation stronghold, right?

Rome and the Russian Federation had been arm-wrestling for more than a year or two. Calling them mortal enemies with a blood feud might have been a bit much, but whenever they had a chance to trip each other up or cause trouble, neither side would ever hold back.

Looks like this mission could be handled like a New Year's Goods Summon—just blast away.

He had cleared the video so many times. What the hell was there to be afraid of?

Huai Shi gradually relaxed. Following the main force, he lay prone in hiding and waited for the command.

Soon, gunfire rang out from the village in the distance. Team A ahead had already begun engaging the enemy. Not long afterward, the instructor's order came through. "Team B, attack."

There was no need to shout slogans. The soldiers who had lain in ambush for so long rose from the ground, forming groups of two or three as they charged into the village from every direction.

Huai Shi blended in among them, deliberately lagging a step behind so the friendly troops could block bullets for him first. But the expected hail of gunfire never came. Even the occasional shots of return fire were only sparse and scattered.

It was as though the enemy had already been beaten senseless.

His mood immediately became even more relaxed.

He mixed into the group and casually fired a couple of shots ahead, then charged messily into the village. Under orders, he kicked open the broken gate of a courtyard and raised his gun inside.

Then froze in place.

Where was the enemy?

Just remembered that updating more makes it easier to get onto the new book rankings. How about trying one update of two thousand words?