Chen Mo shot back to his desk in the blink of an eye, moving so nimbly that he hardly seemed like the "nearly middle-aged man" who had just endured three hours of martial arts training. He sat ramrod straight, his expression solemn, as if about to perform some sacred ritual.
"System?" he murmured in his mind, his tone tentative, with a hint of barely concealed flattery. "You there, Big Boss? Deep Blue? Grandpa Cheat? Could I get an instruction manual? Or maybe a beginner's gift pack?"
Silence. The panel still hovered in his mind, its data clear, but it gave no response.
"Hey? Hello? Moshi moshi? Annyeonghaseyo?" He wasn't giving up, and tried a few different languages (though those were the only phrases he knew).
Still silence. The panel was as unmoved as ever.
Chen Mo tried communicating with it mentally, controlling it with gestures (waving his hands around in the air), and even muttering commands under his breath... He put on an impressive show, but got almost nothing in return. The panel was like a cold, aloof ice queen: no matter how he tried to woo her, she remained completely unmoved.
"Fine." Chen Mo slumped back in his chair and rubbed his brow. "Looks like it's a 'three-no' product: no intelligence, no voice, no customer service. The most primitive, rigid kind of 'status panel' system. Nothing like the witty AI Grandpa I imagined."
He could complain all he wanted, but he refocused his attention on the faintly glowing System Panel and began carefully "studying" his "user manual"—the attributes and Skill Bar.
[Personal Attributes]
Strength: 8.0
Constitution: 7.9
Agility: 7.9
Mental Strength: 9.2
(Note: The peak value for a healthy adult man is 10.)
Chen Mo stroked his chin. "Hmm... All below the average person's peak. A textbook case of an unhealthy teenager's physique. My mental strength's a little higher. Maybe it came free with the soul of a thirty-something corporate drone? Or maybe... it's from all those late nights?" He automatically dismissed the latter, less plausible theory.
Next came the Skill Bar. One look at it nearly made him spit blood all over the panel.
Basic Mathematics Lv.1 (12/100)
Basic English Lv.1 (2/100) <-- That "2" was particularly glaring!
Basic Chinese Language Lv.2 (3/200)
Basic History Lv.2 (3/200)
Basic Geography Lv.1 (13/100)
Basic Politics Lv.1 (11/100)
Basic Copywriting Lv.1 (64/100)
Basic PPT Production Lv.1 (36/100)
There seemed to be a few more odds and ends farther down, such as [Basic Bicycle Riding Lv.1 (88/100)] and [Basic Egg Fried Rice Lv.1 (50/100)], along with other life skills.
Chen Mo stared at the rows of "Basic" prefixes and the shamefully low proficiency values, falling into a deep silence.
"So, after this life and my last, after more than thirty years, all I've got is a pile of 'Basic' skills? And I'm barely competent at any of them?" His cheeks began to burn as a feeling called "shame" welled up inside him.
He'd studied financial management for four years in college, yet not a trace of a skill remained. He'd returned all that knowledge to his teachers and let the dogs eat it. He could drive, but he was a far cry from a seasoned driver. His cooking skills were just enough to keep him from starving. Making food that looked, smelled, and tasted good? That only happened in dreams. And as for the piano, calligraphy, and painting his parents had forced him to learn as a child... They'd all gone to the dogs along with his youth. He hadn't even reached the "Basic" level in any of them.
"What a failure... Failure's mother opened the door for failure—this is failure at its finest!" Chen Mo lamented. "My résumé reads like it's been kissed by the god of mediocrity. There isn't a single highlight!"
He guessed that these skills appeared because he was currently a student, and was being exposed to the relevant knowledge, willingly or otherwise. Otherwise, given how quickly his knowledge had deteriorated in his past life, he'd probably have to start Basic Mathematics and Basic English from scratch.
"Never mind. The past can't be changed, but the future's still within reach." Chen Mo quickly pulled himself together and turned his attention back to the present. "The important thing now is, how do I use this panel? I can't add points or draw prizes. Is it just... an electronic report card?"
He stared at the panel, brows furrowed. Then inspiration struck. "Wait. Proficiency... If this is a Proficiency Panel, then its core function must be... practice!"
No sooner had the idea occurred to him than he acted on it. He pulled out a brand-new geography textbook (the original owner probably hadn't looked through it much), turned to the physical geography section, and forced himself to focus on reading.
Maybe his Mental Strength really had improved after his transmigration. Maybe the pressure of the Gaokao had awakened his potential. Or maybe it was simply the plasticity of this young brain. Whatever the reason, he found he could understand and remember the otherwise tedious material about terrain, climate, and ocean currents surprisingly quickly.
After reading for about half an hour, he closed the book and tried to recall what he'd just studied.
"Huh?" Chen Mo was surprised to find that the information seemed engraved in his mind, crystal clear! It wasn't like before, when he'd forget everything after reading and have to review it repeatedly.
"Could this be the system's doing? Eidetic Memory?" His heart leaped, but he quickly calmed down. "It might just be because so little time has passed and the memory's still fresh. I'll check again tomorrow."
He instinctively brought up the System Panel again and looked at the geography skill.
[Basic Geography Lv.1 (14/100)]
The proficiency had changed! It had gone from 13 to 14!
Chen Mo thought carefully. The change notification seemed to have appeared after he'd been studying for ten or twenty minutes, but he'd been so focused at the time that he hadn't noticed it right away.
"So... after about twenty minutes of serious study, my proficiency goes up by one point!" Chen Mo's eyes lit up like a pair of little light bulbs. "Even at the lowest level, with a low initial proficiency, that's a pretty good rate!"
He rubbed his hands excitedly, all his earlier gloom swept away.
"Mystery solved! This Grandpa Cheat is a 'Proficiency Panel'! It can't add points directly, but it has two amazing features:"
"First, Practice is Growth! As long as I put in the effort, I can see tangible progress! This is the ultimate cure for Laziness Cancer and procrastination!"
"Second, Knowledge Solidification! Any knowledge the system recognizes as 'mastered' seems hard to forget—or maybe the rate of forgetting is extremely slow. It's like having a permanent external hard drive!"
Chen Mo's heart pounded, and he was so excited he almost sprang out of his chair.
Why did people slack off? Why did so many plans fall apart halfway through? A big part of the reason was that people couldn't see immediate feedback after working hard or feel that they were making real progress. It was like groping around in the dark; it was easy to lose direction and motivation.
But things were different now!
He had a visual "Experience Bar"! Every study session, every bit of practice, would make that little number tick upward! It was like playing an online game and leveling up by defeating monsters. Watching experience accumulate bit by bit, and looking forward to the next level, brought a sense of anticipation and accomplishment that was the strongest motivation to keep moving forward!
If everyone in the real world could see their own "skill proficiency," there would probably be several times as many experts and masters in the world!
"Hahaha!" Chen Mo couldn't help laughing to himself. "Grandpa Cheat, you may be mute, but this feature of yours is the real deal! It's exactly what a failing student like me needs to turn things around!"
He'd been full of dread about the Gaokao, but now his heart brimmed with boundless determination and hope.
The road ahead was still difficult, and there was still a vast ocean of knowledge to learn, but at least now he had a clear "map" and a "compass" that would never lose its way!
He took a deep breath. His gaze grew firm and intense as he picked up the geography textbook again, like a knight gripping his sword.
"Come on! Let's see how high I can level up Basic Geography after grinding for two hundred and fifty days!"
Before you continue