Lin Xiao was woken by the sunlight. Still groggy, he rolled over and sat up, ready to head to the bathroom to take a leak.
As he passed the mirror, he reflexively gave it his usual glance.
Lin Xiao stopped in his tracks.
The person in the mirror... looked off.
He was still six-foot-eleven, still built enough to turn a T-shirt into compression wear, but the contours of his muscles had changed. Before, he had been bulky, like a pile of cement sacks. Now his lines had tightened up, with broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and grooves between his abs so distinct they looked measured with a ruler. His skin no longer had that rough texture either. Instead, it had a healthy sheen, as though he had just finished a spa treatment.
Lin Xiao leaned his face closer to the mirror.
The old scar stretching from his brow ridge to his cheekbone-gone. His skin was finer, his features more chiseled. He was gradually becoming half as handsome as his esteemed readers.
Lin Xiao froze for three seconds, then abruptly rolled up his sleeve. The skin on his arm was smooth and unbroken. All the little scars from his fights with street punks had vanished.
"...Holy shit."
Lin Xiao's expression went from bewilderment to wild delight, then from wild delight to a subtle sort of smugness.
"Doupao!"
"Ding-here."
"What's going on?"
"Ding-the Perfect Lizard Regeneration Serum has fully integrated. Effects: greatly increased cellular activity, activated regenerative abilities, repaired old damage to skin and soft tissue, optimized muscle fiber structure."
"It optimizes muscle structure too?"
"Ding-yes."
"Why didn't you say so sooner?"
"Ding-the host did not ask."
Lin Xiao choked on his words. He realized he could never win an argument with this damned system, because it always had "you didn't ask" waiting for him.
He eagerly opened the system panel. Blue light lit up, and the stats appeared:
Strength: 253 Intelligence: 18 Agility: 12 Charisma: 17 Mental power: 8
Lin Xiao stared at the number beside "Charisma: 17," his eyebrows slowly rising.
Last time he checked, it had been 5. Now it had jumped straight to 17-what did 17 mean? Probably that he had gone straight from "keep your distance" to the threshold of "could make a living off his looks."
"Twelve extra points." Lin Xiao looked thoughtful. "Because the scars are gone and my muscles are more proportionate?"
"Ding-the host's understanding is correct. Appearance optimization automatically triggered a recalculation of charisma."
Lin Xiao nodded, then suddenly thought of something, the corners of his mouth lifting. "So tell me, if that Curt Connors guy found out that the perfected version of the lizard serum he'd spent half his life researching ended up being used by some guy who didn't know him for a beauty treatment and body sculpting, would he cry himself unconscious in the bathroom?"
"Ding-Curt Connors, also known as the Lizard, has not yet turned evil. It is estimated that learning this news would cause substantial emotional fluctuations."
"Hahahahaha! Now that's more like it. This is what yours truly really looks like." Looking thoroughly smug, Lin Xiao performed a set of Ginyu Force poses in front of the mirror, waggling his eyebrows proudly.
Just then, Doupao spoke.
"Ding-that is because the original owner had a good foundation. It has absolutely nothing to do with the host."
Lin Xiao: ...
Lin Xiao closed the system panel, deciding to ignore the damned system, which was clearly consumed by envy and jealousy, and changed into a new T-shirt. He had bought this one earlier but had always found it too tight. Now it actually fit perfectly-his physique had finally evolved from "walking mountain of flesh" to "muscular hunk who looked good in clothes."
Lin Xiao headed out, whistling.
Standing at the building entrance, Lin Xiao stretched and casually pulled his hoodie zipper up to his chest. He had never zipped it up before, because doing so made him look like a ham stuffed into a casing. Now, well, he could zip it up or leave it open whenever he liked. He looked stylish either way.
In an excellent mood, he strolled down the street, planning to buy a hot dog at the corner for breakfast. Halfway there, three white girls approached him, wearing tight jeans and carrying coffees as they chattered away. Lin Xiao thought nothing of it and kept walking.
As they drew near, one of them, a blonde with sun-kissed skin, suddenly looked up at him.
Then she froze.
The other two followed her gaze. All three fell silent for half a second.
Then the blonde turned her head and said something in a low voice. The other two giggled giddily. The blonde glanced back at Lin Xiao and gave him a quick wink.
Lin Xiao walked past them without a change in expression.
After another ten steps, he rubbed his nose, unable to suppress the corners of his mouth.
"Doupao."
"Ding-"
"This feels pretty good."
"Ding-this system cannot experience the host's subjective feelings, but recommends that the host not get carried away."
"You're not the boss of me."
Two steps later, he remembered something.
"Right, you said three-star missions had item rewards? How do those item ratings work? What rank was that serum yesterday?"
A blue panel appeared before Lin Xiao's eyes, displaying considerably more information than before.
"Ding-the item rating system is as follows: F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS, for a total of nine ranks. The higher the rating, the greater the item's rarity and effectiveness. Yesterday's reward, the Perfect Lizard Regeneration Serum, was rated B."
"B-rank?" Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Something that awesome only gets a B? Then what kind of godly stuff would S-rank or SSS-rank be?"
"Ding-items rated S and above typically possess rule-level effects, or involve dimensions such as causality, spacetime, and concepts. For example, the S-rank item Infinity Sunglasses reduces the damage you take from all forms of energy attacks by fifty percent while worn."
"...Sunglasses?"
"Ding-yes."
Lin Xiao fell silent for a moment, then decided not to dwell on the sunglasses for now.
"Fine. Are there limits on where the items come from? Or do you just generate whatever?"
"Ding-item rewards are randomly drawn from the myriad worlds. Yesterday's B-rank item came from the local Marvel setting, but higher-ranked items may come from other planes."
Lin Xiao's eyes brightened. The myriad worlds-he knew all too well what those words meant.
"So that means I could get something like... a Sharingan, a Zanpakutō, a Spark Lens, stuff like that?"
"Ding-theoretically possible, but the probability of drawing them is positively correlated with mission difficulty."
"Then how are mission ranks divided?"
Another explanation popped up on the system panel.
"Ding-mission star-rating system: one to nine stars. One star denotes minor everyday incidents, two stars denotes minor public-security incidents, and three stars denotes moderate-threat incidents. Four stars and above denote major-threat incidents, typically involving mutants or superpowered individuals."
"Give me examples."
"Ding-stopping a street robbery is three stars. Participating in an incident involving mutants or superpowered individuals is four stars. Facing a conventional human military force alone while protecting a specific target, such as Tony Stark, is five stars."
Lin Xiao raised an eyebrow.
"Wait. You mean Iron Man?"
"Ding-Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man. CEO of Stark Industries. Core member of the Avengers."
"I know who Tony Stark is." Lin Xiao rolled his eyes. "It's not like I sprang out of a crack in a rock. His flashy ads are all over the streets. It'd be hard not to know him."
He paused, then suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"So you mean, if Iron Man was in danger one day, and I went to save him alone, facing an entire army-that would be five-star difficulty?"
"Yes."
"And the rewards?"
"Five-star missions guarantee an A-rank item, with a chance of triggering an S-rank reward."
Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes further. A perfected lizard serum without side effects was only B-rank, while five-star missions guaranteed A-rank-that sounded like a worthwhile deal.
He thought for a moment, then suddenly asked a more practical question.
"Kingpin. That king of the underworld, Kingpin. How many stars would killing Kingpin be?"
The system fell silent for a second.
"Ding-evaluating..."
Lin Xiao waited a moment, and a line of text appeared on the system panel.
Wilson Fisk, codename "Kingpin." Ruler of New York's underground empire. His businesses span numerous illegal sectors, including arms dealing, drugs, human trafficking, and loan-sharking. Peak personal combat capability: capable of shattering bulletproof glass barehanded. Commands numerous superpowered individuals, including but not limited to mutants, magic users, mind controllers, and cyborgs. His influence extends across New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and multiple other cities. Overall assessment: the Kingpin mission has a base difficulty of five stars. However, given the wide variety of superpowered individuals under his command, and the host's currently low mental power, which presents a significant weakness against mind-control-type enemies, mission risk has been raised to five and a half stars.
Lin Xiao fell silent.
Five and a half stars.
He thought about his current stats-Strength 253, Intelligence 14, Agility 12, Charisma 17, Mental power 8. Apart from strength, his other attributes were about the same as an ordinary person's. His mental power was below average.
If he faced a mind controller, a single thought from them would leave him without even a chance to resist.
He frowned and stayed silent for several seconds.
Then he spoke, his voice a little muffled.
"...You just said my mental power was low. Fine, I admit it, but could you stop bringing it up?"
"This system merely states objective facts. There is no subjective disparagement."
"Fine." Lin Xiao sighed, planning to set the Kingpin matter aside for now.
The system added another remark.
"Ding-additional clarification: in the local setting, the host's current combat capability is roughly equivalent to a top-spec version of the Spider-Man villain Rhino."
Lin Xiao's expression froze.
"Rhino?"
"Yes."
"Who's that?"
The system fell silent.
This silence lasted longer than any of the previous ones. Lin Xiao even thought the panel flickered, as though it had crashed.
"Ding-Rhino, one of Spider-Man's villains, wears rhinoceros armor and is renowned for brute strength. His intelligence leaves much to be desired."
Lin Xiao nodded, only half understanding. "So, a big dumb brute?"
"Ding-the host is correct."
Lin Xiao's eyes suddenly widened as anger welled up. "Motherfucker, you're comparing me to Rhino? Doupao, you're calling me a big dumb brute in a roundabout way! Come on, get out here! I promise I won't beat you to death. Doupao, I've put up with you long enough. Come out and duel!"