Adding Skill Points

On the way home, his bicycle rolled along the road beside the river.

In the distance, a boat more than ten meters long came toward him, its bow packed with people.

The men and women had sallow faces and messy hair. Each carried more than one bundle, and many had children beside them.

"Refugees from outside the city?"

Chen Yiming stopped his bicycle by the road and studied the boat.

A long tarp covered its roof. If the refugees had not crowded onto the bow, there would have been no telling what was inside the cabin.

The boat pulled up to an open stretch of bank not far from Chen Yiming.

The refugees on the bow jumped ashore one by one. More emerged from the cabin and followed them off the boat.

Chen Yiming estimated there were around fifty in all.

Watching the boat turn around and head back, he felt a surge of urgency.

I need to tell my family about this, fast.

Refugees were sneaking into the city, and the army was assembling. Something serious must have happened. The urban villages would be the refugees' first choice of shelter, and his home was right in one.

He got back on his bicycle and pedaled home faster.

By the time he got home, it was dark.

Dinner was already on the table: four dishes and a soup.

His father, Chen Jindong, reclined in a chair smoking a pipe. His mother sat at the dining table with an account book, tallying the day's income and expenses.

To save electricity, Chen Yiming's younger sister, Chen Yingying, was doing her homework at the dining table.

Seeing her son return, his mother put away the account book and called everyone to eat. Chen Yiming went to fetch the bowls and chopsticks.

They ate quietly. No one said much.

Once everyone had finished, his father stopped Chen Yingying from going back to her room to read. His expression was grave.

"I heard something at the farmers' market today. There might be fighting in the west again. They say creatures from the Otherworld have appeared in the lake. Be careful when you're out from now on."

He paused, then told Chen Yingying,

"Don't come home from school alone anymore. Wait for your brother to pick you up."

Then he turned to his wife.

"From now on, the restaurant only takes orders until four in the afternoon. After Yiming makes the last delivery, he'll go straight to pick up Yingying."

As soon as his father finished, Chen Yiming spoke up.

"I saw troops assembling on my way out today. On the way back, I also spotted refugees hiding in a boat to sneak into the city."

Rain began to fall outside again, and the air seemed to turn especially cold.

"Refugees in the city. Refugees in the city. Refugees in the city," his father muttered three times.

He fell silent, apparently thinking.

After a while, he said,

"This war could be a big one. It's only just started, and people already can't stay outside the city."

His mother shuddered at the news and asked anxiously,

"Should we close the restaurant until this blows over?"

His father's heart sank. He considered it for a long time before answering.

"Let's wait a few more days and see how bad things get. Besides, Yiming will need money for his training at the academy."

He turned to Chen Yiming.

"How are your preparations for enrolling at the Praying Mantis Snake Sword Academy?"

Chen Yiming thumped his chest.

"No problem. I'm confident I can master the basic sword moves in the next few days. Then I'll sign up right away."

His father looked at him sternly and said in a low voice,

"This is no joke. You'd better not be lying to us."

Then he told his wife,

"Once Yiming becomes an academy student, hang his washed training uniform up high. Make sure people passing our door can see it."

His mother's face brightened.

"That's a good idea. I can even sew a few copies. Everyone passing by will get a good look."

Academy students were still a world away from martial artists. Not even one in a hundred would become one. But an academy student could easily handle a few ordinary people, let alone refugees in poor health.

If Chen Yiming became a student at the Praying Mantis Snake Sword Academy, the Chen family would have little reason to fear trouble. The mere title of academy student would deter anyone with bad intentions.

The next day, the Chen Family Restaurant opened as usual.

Chen Yiming got up early and used the quiet hours before orders came in to practice basic sword moves.

His father prepared ingredients on his own, his mother visited the neighbors to ask for news, and Chen Yingying went to school as usual.

Life had to go on. Those who worked went to work, and those who studied went to school. During the day, the city could still maintain order.

Near noon,

Chen Yiming stopped practicing and began making deliveries.

As he rode across the bridge, he saw that things had worsened. Refugees had begun settling beneath it.

Near the commercial district in the city center, countless recruiters stood along the road holding signs. They all read: "XXX Project. Hiring in large numbers. Meals provided, lodging not included."

Construction jobs offering nothing but three meals a day would never have attracted workers under normal circumstances. Things were clearly worse than Chen Yiming had expected.

When he reached the commercial district, he saw office workers streaming out of the buildings with their belongings in their arms. Most had tears in their eyes. They had plainly just been laid off and told to pack up and leave.

His heart sank. He desperately wanted that final skill point to arrive.

Two more days passed.

Everyone in the city knew war was coming in the west. Streets that had once bustled were now nearly deserted.

East Lake City began imposing wartime controls.

The farmers' market was forced to close when its supplies ran out. Ordinary residents could only collect one jin of grain every three days from official distribution points, using their local ID cards.

Many state-controlled companies began recruiting workers for wartime logistics.

The Chen Family Restaurant closed. Its doors were secured with a heavy lock, and the whole family stayed home all day.

Fortunately, his parents had prepared for this. They had a vacuum sealer at home and had long made a habit of smoking meat and drying vegetables before sealing them for storage.

The basement now held enough food to feed the family for a whole year.

On the fifth night,

the light rain that had fallen for days finally stopped, and stars appeared in the night sky again.

Chen Yiming practiced basic sword moves in the ground-floor courtyard. With electricity use now restricted, he had only a kerosene lamp for light.

He practiced the moves again and again, his shadow shifting across the wall with every motion.

Without warning, the martial arts talent panel appeared before his eyes.

Chen Yiming

Talent: gray-white skill slot

Skill points: 3

He had gained another skill point. The number displayed on the panel was unmistakably three.

Without hesitation, Chen Yiming put all three skill points into Swordsmanship.

The Swordsmanship icon lit up.

Chen Yiming

Talent: Swordsmanship—Level 1

Skill points: 0

The next instant, something seemed to break open in his mind, and a powerful urge surged through him.

He began practicing the basic sword moves again.

On the first run-through, he performed every move correctly.

On the second, he flowed smoothly from one move to the next.

On the third, combinations of thrusts, chops, upward cuts, flicks, slashes, and other basic moves appeared in his mind. He could change his moves at any moment to suit the situation.

With his Level 1 Swordsmanship talent, every movement felt as though it had always been etched into his mind. Before he finished one move, he already knew what came next.

His mind worked faster than his body could move. It felt as if his body had slowed down; by following his instincts alone, he could execute every sword move precisely.

A breeze stirred the lamp flame. A lone figure stood holding a sword.

His eyes were shut. In his mind, two figures appeared. The weapon in one figure's hand shifted from sword to saber, then kept changing into other weapons.

The other figure held a longsword and countered each attack by combining basic sword moves. They clashed in an instant that seemed to stretch on and on, while one response after another took shape in his mind.

When he opened his eyes, he could not help clenching his fist. The frustration he had held in finally found release.

After nearly three months of enduring it, he finally had his cheat.

These combinations were not advanced martial arts, only flexible uses of basic sword moves. Even so, he could now easily beat ten versions of his former self.

A sense of security welled up within him. At last, he felt confident.