["Night Owl": After retiring from the military, Luo Hongyun, an elite soldier, developed severe combat-related PTSD. He felt utterly out of place in the city, unwilling to take another combat-related job yet unable to adapt to normal work. After botching several jobs in a row, his life became a complete mess.
Until one day, a little girl claiming to be his daughter suddenly appeared in his home...]
"Ugh, I knew it. Another ellipsis right at the crucial moment."
Xia Xu sighed.
The special ability Attribute Viewing was pretty much perfect in every other respect. This was the one thing about it that left him helpless.
And judging by this basic plot introduction, recruiting this powerhouse as a bodyguard would be far from easy. It might even be impossible.
Combat-related psychological trauma was a form of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD for short. It was a familiar fixture in war movies and films about soldiers, since it commonly afflicted those who had been on the battlefield.
Insomnia, nightmares, anxiety, irritability, and hypervigilance were all basic symptoms.
In more severe cases, some sufferers constantly relived scenes of war in their thoughts, dreams, and memories, or even hallucinated that they were still on the battlefield. Others did everything they could to avoid related people and situations, refused to participate in related activities, and experienced selective memory loss.
Judging by the synopsis, Luo Hongyun was deeply mired in exactly this situation. He was thoroughly sick of combat and resisted it, yet it was the only thing he knew. Combined with the other symptoms of PTSD, which denied him even a moment's peace, he simply could not adapt to normal work or city life.
This practically spelled out "cannot be recruited."
"Unless I wait for the plot to begin. Maybe then there'll be a turning point..."
Xia Xu's gaze finally settled on the last sentence of the synopsis.
A protagonist who was an elite soldier suffering from PTSD, and a daughter who appeared amid the chaos of his life-this was an obvious turning point in the plot, and it would also mark a change in his life and mental state.
There was not much information available about the plot of "Night Owl" yet, but he could still infer a few things.
First was the title. Night Owl was clearly a name or designation, perhaps Luo Hongyun's code name before he retired, or a title he would acquire during the story. It could also be the main antagonist's name, though that was comparatively unlikely.
Two five-star talents, in hand-to-hand combat and armed combat, no less. That was practically a maxed-out combat build for an urban setting in China. And since Luo Hongyun was already an elite soldier, he must have developed both of those terrifying talents to their fullest. He was a beast in human form, through and through.
People outside a plot might never discover their talents, possessing abilities without anywhere to use them. But plot characters had to take part in the story. Their abilities and talents were bound to be relevant to it and serve its needs.
With a character build like that of a beast in human form, surely Luo Hongyun was not just going to spend his days raising a daughter who had appeared out of nowhere? If that really was the story, he would not need such an overpowered setup. A purely peaceful life would not become a "movie," either.
From there, it was easy to deduce that the daughter's appearance would change Luo Hongyun's life, but at most give him a brief period of "normality." Another turning point-or rather, the next stage of the plot-was inevitable. His daughter might go missing, get kidnapped, or something along those lines.
Following that line of reasoning, "Night Owl" was probably a story about an elite soldier's return to action, or a powerful father protecting his child.
It could even be the plot of a superhero movie, something like the Punisher, Green Arrow, or Batman: no supernatural powers, but combat prowess at the very limits of human capability.
That was hardly impossible. After all, seemingly supernormal creatures had already appeared in the plot of Hunter. A "superhero" with that sort of premise appearing too would be perfectly normal.
With five-star talents in both hand-to-hand and armed combat, if anyone could reach the limits of human close-combat ability, it was undoubtedly Luo Hongyun.
"Hello, could we talk for a moment?"
Luo Hongyun was only passing by the amusement park entrance. Xia Xu had no time to think things through further. After a brief hesitation, he chased after him and called out.
"What do you want?"
Luo Hongyun's expression was icy. He visibly frowned as he turned, and his body seemed to tense as well. Only after getting a good look at Xia Xu did he relax slightly.
A boy who looked like a high school student. Whether he meant any harm was uncertain, but he certainly posed no threat.
"Hello, sir. Would you be interested in working as a bodyguard? I'm looking to hire someone to keep me safe. The moment I saw you, I got the feeling you must be really good in a fight."
Xia Xu understood his own advantages, so he simply played up his youth. Perhaps it did not even count as acting younger-he was just talking like a normal high school student.
Although he had more or less guessed the answer, he could not give up without trying. Besides, it made a pretty good opening for striking up a conversation.
"Not interested."
Luo Hongyun's expression did not change at his words. After that curt reply, he turned and continued walking.
[Affection]: 5
A number flickered on the attribute panel Xia Xu still had open, changing from 0 to 5.
That surprised Xia Xu, and amused him a little too.
Usually, getting acquainted could earn a small amount of affection, but favorable feelings were always based on something a person did. If the number increased, there had to be a reason.
And in that brief exchange, the only thing that could possibly have raised it was probably "I could tell at a glance that you're really good."
He had thought this beast in human form was the cold, stone-faced tough-guy type. As it turned out, he still had an ordinary person's vanity and secretly enjoyed a little flattery.
Having a random boy pick him out of a vast crowd as an expert at first glance-many people might have the strength of character to remain outwardly unmoved, but any normal person would still feel a tiny flicker of private satisfaction.
Maybe this tough guy is even thinking, "The kid has a good eye"?
"Hey, hey, wait! Can you tell me why you're not interested? If you have any conditions, we can discuss them. The pay is negotiable too."
Striking while the iron was hot, Xia Xu kept following him and pressing the question.
"I'm not interested. That's the reason."
Luo Hongyun stopped again and turned to stare at Xia Xu, his face still cold. Only after saying that did he continue walking.
"Boss, what's going on?"
Just then, Yang Bowen and the others reached the entrance to meet up with him.
"Nothing. Bowen, you guys can head back first. Also, sorry for the trouble, but could you take Youxin home?"
Xia Xu hurriedly gave Yang Bowen those instructions, then turned to Tang Youxin apologetically. "I need to discuss something with that man, so I can't take you home. Sorry."
"It's all right. I can get home on my own."
Tang Youxin nodded obediently.
"Don't worry, boss. We'll take a taxi back in a bit and drop Youxin off at her door on the way."
Yang Bowen nodded in agreement too.
"All right, I'll be off, then."
Xia Xu jogged a few steps and once again chased after Luo Hongyun.
"I'm not a bodyguard, and I'm no expert. Stop following me."
Seeing that Xia Xu had followed him again, Luo Hongyun could not help frowning slightly. This time, he did not even bother to stop.
"All you said just now was that you weren't interested, and that that was your reason. Doesn't that indirectly admit you're good in a fight...?"
Completely undeterred, Xia Xu followed him the whole way, looking as though he would not give up until he persuaded him.
Unfortunately, Luo Hongyun remained unmoved and stopped responding altogether. Like many people encountering a salesperson they had no interest in on the street, he simply chose to ignore him.
After Xia Xu pestered him for the entire five- or six-minute walk, Luo Hongyun reached an old apartment building that did not even have an elevator and went straight into an apartment on the second floor.
Bang!
With a bang, Luo Hongyun slammed the dark green security door shut, leaving Xia Xu firmly outside.
But Xia Xu did not mind. Instead, his face lit up with a smile.
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