When the Fourth Elder heard Gao Linzhi's affirmative answer, a complicated look appeared in his eyes.
Three parts relief, four parts admiration, and three parts jealousy.
"Your talent must be one that increases your comprehension."
"Otherwise, it would be impossible for an ordinary person to master a skill so quickly."
Gao Linzhi naturally neither confirmed nor denied it.
Seeing this, the Fourth Elder sighed.
"Do you know how long it took me to learn Basic Lightness Skill?"
"I started training when I was five, and even just Basic Lightness Skill took me a whole year before I truly got the hang of it."
"And you only needed a single day."
"You Descenders really are blessed with extraordinary advantages."
"Luckily, you only have one life. If you really had countless lives like those games you talk about, you'd be an even more terrifying disaster than the aberrations."
At that moment,
in another room,
Lin Qing was stunned by what she heard.
He had actually learned a Basic Skill so quickly. If he made good use of his talent and developed well in the later stages, he wouldn't be much worse than her.
He was absolutely a great backup option. Unfortunately, he looked like the most traditional kind of man—the type who would never become a simp.
Not only would he never go out of his way for a woman, he saw women as nothing more than tools to be used.
His character was that of the ambitious leader from a traditional martial arts drama.
She had figured that out after only a few interactions.
With that thought, Lin Qing quietly stepped outside.
With a lingering look of fear, she said, "Fourth Elder, what exactly happened last night?"
"Why did someone throw firecrackers into my room? It nearly scared me to death."
The Fourth Elder let out a long breath, looking somewhat helpless. "Someone wanted to harm you."
"Now it seems they don't even care about showing respect to an elder like me."
"Who could those people be?" Lin Qing asked, feigning ignorance.
"Who else could it be?" The Fourth Elder's eyes showed three parts disgust, three parts helplessness, and four parts anger.
"What should we do, then?" Lin Qing asked tentatively.
"This is outrageous, but we have no evidence. Last night, I was too busy luring the aberration away to catch the person who threw the firecrackers," the Fourth Elder said regretfully.
He looked solemnly at Lin Qing, his expression clearly saying, "You need to consider the bigger picture."
Lin Qing fell silent.
Just as she'd thought.
That was how things were in reality, and the game was no different.
Unless she grew strong, there was no one she could truly rely on.
"Elder, what should I do from now on?"
"Take it slowly. First, learn a few more Basic Skills, then go level up. Once you're stronger, they won't dare to act so recklessly," the Fourth Elder said with a frown.
Hearing this, Lin Qing looked at Gao Linzhi with hopeful eyes. "Brother Canxue, I heard you've learned Basic Lightness Skill. Could you teach me?"
"Of course, I won't ask you to spend your time for nothing."
"One of the hardest things in the world is teaching math to ordinary people when you're a genius," Gao Linzhi said casually, then turned and left.
He wasn't a simp. How was he supposed to teach this stuff?
Was he supposed to give her a cheat, too?
Teaching people was the most painful thing, and it was easy to end up raising an ingrate.
How many students in the world remembered their teachers' kindness? They only remembered how strict their teachers had been with them.
Gao Linzhi left the Fourth Elder's residence and went to level up again.
The Fourth Elder's envy of his comprehension, and the fact that he'd personally told Lin Qing to learn more Basic Skills, fully proved that Gao Linzhi had chosen the right path for his development.
He casually asked around the village and found Zheng Dong's home.
It was a spacious, bright, two-courtyard residence with two rows of main rooms, all built of brick and tile. Two children were playing inside.
"Dongzi, a Descender's here to see you," an older woman called into the courtyard.
"Coming, coming!" Zheng Dong emerged, carrying a woodcutter's knife.
As soon as he saw Gao Linzhi, he knew why he'd come and asked outright, "Canxue, you want to go level up again, right?"
"Yeah. Sorry to trouble you, Captain Zheng." Gao Linzhi clasped his hands.
"But I'm off today."
"Our village has four Patrol Teams. One patrols during the day, and three at night. The members take turns resting."
"Today, Zheng Shan's leading the daytime patrol. I'll take you to find him."
"But remember, don't kill too many at once, or you might draw out a boss. But since there are Corporate Players here, the monster bosses near the village are cleared out on a schedule. There's no chance we'll get to fight them, so I didn't mention it yesterday."
"Understood." Gao Linzhi nodded. Bosses were among the most important resources in a game.
As he spoke, Zheng Dong led Gao Linzhi toward the village entrance.
"An aberration came to the village last night. You know about that, right?"
"I do. It even went to the Fourth Elder's home. I happened to see the whole thing..." Gao Linzhi briefly explained what had happened.
Zheng Dong sighed. "That's right. Even an elder like him was helpless against the aberration."
"Defeating an aberration head-on is incredibly difficult. I've never heard of anyone managing it."
"In your way of speaking, they follow a system of rules."
Zheng Dong continued as they walked.
"Only by testing them and figuring out their killing rules can we avoid their attacks."
"Like that White Mist Faceless Man aberration yesterday. It couldn't enter a villager's home, and it couldn't teleport. Otherwise, even the Fourth Elder might have been in danger."
Hearing this, Gao Linzhi couldn't help but wonder, "If that's the case, how has your village survived until now?"
If they had to test each aberration to learn its rules, then with only a few thousand people in the village, everyone should have died long ago...
Zheng Dong heard him and shook his head helplessly.
"The village naturally has other trump cards, but I can't tell you Descenders about those."
"But I can tell you something everyone knows: almost all aberrations follow one general rule."
"When a certain number of people in a village have died—say, one-tenth of them—the aberrations won't go near that village again for a long time."
Gao Linzhi pondered this. "I see."
Wasn't that just a breeding system?
Could there be some mastermind controlling the aberrations from behind the scenes?
The two soon reached the village entrance, where they met the Vice Captain, Zheng Shan, a short, slender man.
"All right. Since the Fourth Elder personally assigned you as an escort, I'll take you leveling. Brother Dong, go home and get some rest," Zheng Shan said with a smile.
"Then I'll leave him to you, Shan. Make sure he stays safe," Zheng Dong said, reminding him repeatedly before he left.
"Got it."
Zheng Shan then turned to Gao Linzhi. "The places around the village that are suitable for newbies to level up are Foxy Slope, Myriad Snake Cave, Green Flood Dragon Beach, and a few others."
Before you continue