Challenge

Gaoyang closed his eyes.

[Entering system]

[You gained 61 Fortune points]

That was about what Gaoyang had expected. Two days meant forty-eight hours, which earned him forty-eight points. His gains had doubled during Pang Jun's attack, adding another dozen or so.

-I want to draw a talent.

[Comprehending a new talent costs 30 Fortune points. Confirm?]

-Confirm!

[Comprehending...]

[Comprehending...]

[Comprehension failed]

-Come on! That's going too far! Is it really that hard?

[Another comprehension attempt requires 30 Fortune points]

-What a rip-off! Forget it. Put all my remaining 31 Fortune points into luck.

-My interview's coming up. Every little boost helps.

[Points allocated successfully. Luck has reached 132]

[Congratulations! You have received an additional 20 permanent, freely allocable attribute points]

-Then put those into luck too.

[Recursive allocation prohibited]

-Fine. Let me think. Put them into charisma.

[Increase charisma by 20 points. Confirm?]

-Confirm. It's only twenty points. Adding them to any other attribute probably wouldn't make much difference. Might as well make a better impression.

[Stamina: 27　Endurance: 28]

[Strength: 17　Agility: 27]

[Mind: 37　Charisma: 39]

[Luck: 132]

[Session ended. System hidden]

[Beep-]

Gaoyang opened his eyes and turned to Qingling. "Does anything look different about my face?"

Qingling gave him a cursory glance. "Nothing looks different."

Gaoyang refused to give up. "Look closer. There should be a difference. Brighter eyes, sharper features, smoother skin, something like that..."

"You've gotten more shameless," Qingling said.

This woman has no eye for beauty. Forget it. Not worth arguing with her.

Gaoyang took a deep breath, straightened his collar, and strode into the arcade.

Before him was a small, twenty-square-meter storefront, with two rows of old arcade cabinets lined up against the walls. Brightly colored demo animations played on their screens, bathing the dim room in a patchwork of retro fluorescent colors. A ceiling fan turned lazily overhead, creaking every now and then.

A young man sat in a corner, absorbed in his game.

Gaoyang and Qingling exchanged a glance. Gaoyang stepped forward and said, "Hello. We're here for the interview."

The young man ignored them, but showed no hostility either.

Gaoyang moved closer and saw that he was playing Knights of Valour. He had chosen Zhuge Liang and was wielding an ice sword, exploiting a bug to keep the final boss, Cao Cao, frozen indefinitely.

Damn. Kids these days have no sense of fair play.

The young gamer looked rather scrawny. He wore a leather jacket and leather pants, both covered in studs. The sides of his head were completely shaved, leaving a tall strip of bright yellow hair standing up in the middle-a textbook broomhead.

His chest, the back of his neck, and his arms were covered in bizarre tattoos. Gaoyang did recognize one of them, though: a pig's head shaped like a hair dryer.

"Aaargh-"

Cao Cao let out a scream on the arcade screen. His health bar emptied, and the game was cleared.

The young man remained seated and looked up at Gaoyang. "Just you?"

Gaoyang felt a little deflated. I just added twenty points to charisma. Shouldn't that earn me a little respect?

"Me too," Qingling spoke up.

The young man craned his neck, spotted Qingling behind Gaoyang, and immediately perked up.

"Well, hello there, gorgeous!" He sprang to his feet and smoothed his broomhead with both hands in an exaggerated, affected gesture. "So, the two of you?"

"And me?"

Officer Huang lifted the blue curtain and stepped inside. "Sorry I'm a little late. You haven't started yet, have you?"

"We just got here too," Gaoyang said.

Officer Huang addressed Broomhead politely. "Allow me to introduce tonight's interviewer, Mr. Wu Dahai."

Broomhead shoved his hands into his pockets, looking full of himself. "Just call me Brother Hai."

"These are two companions I recently met, Gaoyang and Qingling." Officer Huang smiled. "I lost the challenge last time. This time, I've brought some companions to challenge you together. That's fine, right?"

"Fine. But if you lose tonight, don't come bothering me again this month," Wu Dahai said arrogantly.

"Agreed."

"Let's begin." Qingling flicked her hand, and the Tang Dao appeared in it.

"Whoa, that weapon's pretty slick! It even retracts!" Wu Dahai's eyes lit up. "That thing isn't yours, is it? Where'd you get it?"

"None of your business." Qingling took a fighting stance.

"Gorgeous and cocky!" Wu Dahai wasn't offended. He lazily picked at his ear. "Which of you three is going first?"

"I will," Officer Huang said.

"Sure. Same rules as always. Three challenges!" Wu Dahai spread his hands. "Take your pick. Beat me three times, and you pass."

"Pick what?" Qingling asked.

Officer Huang smiled. "I forgot to tell you. The interview is an arcade game competition. Pick any three games. If you can beat him, you pass. I've challenged him several times already and lost every time. You're young, so you should be better at video games. Our chances ought to be pretty good this time."

"Officer Huang, when you said you were too weak, you meant at video games?" Gaoyang was a little speechless.

"Yes."

Qingling frowned, utterly baffled. "Why don't we just cut this idiot down?"

"Hahahahaha... Cut me down?" Wu Dahai laughed so hard he could barely breathe. "Gorgeous, you know nothing about power! I'm giving you a chance here! Don't throw it back in my face! If we're talking about an actual fight, forget all three of you coming at me together..."

Wu Dahai shouted, "Even if you came at me one at a time, I still couldn't beat you!"

Gaoyang cringed. So this is what they mean by delivering the most cowardly lines in the most arrogant tone.

Wu Dahai looked very pleased with himself. "Hmph. My talent isn't combat-oriented, so of course I can't compete with you. But if you dare touch a hair on my head, there are plenty of heavy hitters in the organization who'll deal with you."

"All right, all right. We're all Awakened. We should get along, not fight among ourselves." Officer Huang hurried to smooth things over. "I'll go first. I choose a plane shooter."

He sat down at an arcade cabinet and inserted a coin. Wu Dahai sat beside him and inserted one too.

Gaoyang walked over to look. It was Psikyo Strikers 1945 I.

This game had been Gaoyang's childhood nightmare. He would put in a coin and die within minutes. Flight shooters were his least favorite games.

Officer Huang and Broomhead each selected a fighter plane and entered the game together.

"Same rules as always. We get three lives, but only the first counts for the match. No bombs. Whoever dies first loses."

"No problem."

The game began.

The first stage was fairly easy, with few enemy bullets. Both cleared it without trouble and obtained the best firepower upgrades.

In the second stage, the enemy fire grew denser. Without bombs to clear the screen, they had to rely entirely on regular attacks. The pressure shot up, and both deftly darted left and right.

By the third stage, they were clearly getting competitive.

Officer Huang did have the Gun God talent, after all. It probably gave him an edge in shooting games too. He remained calm and composed, his controls steady and his fingers quick.

When they reached the third-stage boss, Officer Huang stopped attacking altogether. His intent was obvious: he hoped the boss's barrage would take Wu Dahai out.

Wu Dahai's controls were nimble too, but he was clearly getting anxious. He frantically fired at the boss while dodging the barrage.

Officer Huang controlled the joystick with one hand and smoked with the other, doing nothing but dodging bullets.

Gaoyang gave that display of swagger full marks.

Amid the relentless hail of bullets, Wu Dahai's plane was shot down. Officer Huang stopped playing too, and his plane was destroyed the instant he let go-he had lasted one second longer than Wu Dahai.

He stood up. "Thanks for the match."

"Hmph. Plane shooters are the only thing you're any good at." Wu Dahai looked disgruntled. "Come on, next round."

"You two should take the next match," Officer Huang said.

"Aren't you pretty good at this?" Gaoyang asked.

"No. I've tried them all." Officer Huang smiled wryly. "Aside from plane shooters, he crushes me at every game."

"Who's up next?" Wu Dahai asked.

Gaoyang and Qingling exchanged a look. Qingling said calmly, "I'll go."