Chapter 9

Qiu Shuyu's words diverted Song Xiaozhu's attention.

What was Force?

Could overexerting it damage the body?

It seemed Qiu Shuyu knew quite a lot.

Song Xiaozhu put away the inferior "ginger candy," looked at Qiu Shuyu, and explained what had happened. "Before I went out this morning, Master Bai was still in the shack. When I came back from scavenging, he wasn't there anymore..."

In the week she had spent in the community, Qiu Shuyu was the person Song Xiaozhu had interacted with most, aside from Bai Jing and Stationmaster Xia at the northern recycling station.

Qiu Shuyu hadn't hidden her feelings when they first met. Song Xiaozhu knew she disliked her.

At first, she had genuinely thought Qiu Shuyu feared that a young person like her would bully Bai Jing, one of the "old, weak, sick, and disabled." Now she knew...

It was the Awakening Stone.

Bai Jing had an "Awakening Stone," and Qiu Shuyu clearly knew about it. Perhaps she had wanted to inherit it too, only for Song Xiaozhu to turn up and even move into Bai Jing's shack...

Though the analogy was rather inappropriate, Song Xiaozhu did indeed have "the advantage of proximity."

That made sense of everything.

They were competitors. Of course Qiu Shuyu had been unhappy at their first meeting.

Song Xiaozhu explained her situation in a few words. Naturally, she didn't mention the warning from the "Growth Quest," saying only that she had run into Shang Bao at the recycling station and felt very uneasy after her narrow escape.

Not finding Bai Jing when she returned to the shack had made her even more uneasy. Afraid that exposing herself would draw Shang Bao over, she had made it look as though Bai Jing was home. Who knew Shang Bao would come anyway...

Finally, Song Xiaozhu added, "Shang Bao reeked of alcohol. He probably found out at the tavern that Master Bai had left the community."

Qiu Shuyu knew more about these things than she did. She nodded. "Something probably happened in one of the villages on Garbage Mountain, and they asked Master Bai to treat someone."

Hearing this, Song Xiaozhu breathed a sigh of relief. As long as Bai Jing was all right. Not only had he saved her life, but he was also her backer-

In this godforsaken place, even an unsteady backer was better than none.

At present, this "Synthesizer" had virtually no combat capability.

And at the foot of Garbage Mountain, "intruders" were the last thing in short supply.

Qiu Shuyu had already let go of her suspicions and resentment toward Song Xiaozhu.

Hearing Song Xiaozhu say, "I'll handle this. You won't get dragged into it," had greatly changed her opinion of the girl before her.

With that kind of willingness to take responsibility, Song Xiaozhu wasn't one of those cold, heartless "upper-city people."

Besides, now...

She had inherited Master Bai's Awakening Stone.

Master Bai's Awakening Stone was "personally transmitted." Without his approval, even if she had tricked him into handing it over, she wouldn't have been able to awaken at all.

At this thought, Qiu Shuyu sighed softly and said sincerely, "Congratulations on getting a 'profession' of your own."

A profession?

Song Xiaozhu felt that the word probably didn't mean what she thought it did.

After a moment's thought, Song Xiaozhu followed Qiu Shuyu's lead and asked, "Sister Shuyu, I don't really understand these things. Could you explain them to me?"

Qiu Shuyu looked slightly surprised. "Master Bai didn't tell you?"

Song Xiaozhu shook her head honestly.

Having already assumed that Bai Jing had given Song Xiaozhu the Awakening Stone, Qiu Shuyu supposed the reason he hadn't explained was probably...

Master Bai had left in a hurry and hadn't had time to go into detail.

At this thought, Qiu Shuyu's heart sank. "Things must be bad over at Liu Family Village..."

Liu Family Village?

Had that bandit stronghold gotten into another fight?

Although Song Xiaozhu was somewhat curious about that too, right now she was more curious about things related to "awakening."

Qiu Shuyu said, "Master Bai probably won't be back that soon, so I'll give you a general explanation. But I don't know much either. It's all stuff I heard back in Fortress. Master Bai corrected some of it, but he didn't go into much detail, mainly because I... well, haven't awakened..."

She paused, then stopped rambling about unimportant things and got straight to the point. "Awakening Stones are a product of the Dawn Era. The major conglomerates all have their own core technologies. Master Bai didn't explain how they're made. All I know is that Awakening Stones are very rare. Even among the citizens of Fortress, most never get access to one."

"As for how you awaken, you must have experienced it already, so I won't go into detail. In short, different people awaken different 'professions' depending on their individual qualities."

Song Xiaozhu: "..."

She hadn't experienced it. She was very curious, but she couldn't ask.

Qiu Shuyu looked at her. "What 'profession' did you awaken?"

She had seen Song Xiaozhu make Shang Bao's corpse, the bloodstained clothes, and the rag disappear. She even seemed to have exchanged them for some item, but Qiu Shuyu didn't know which particular "profession" that corresponded to.

The question left Song Xiaozhu stumped too.

She also wanted to know what her "profession" was. The problem was, she didn't think she had awakened. After all, she didn't even know what an Awakening Stone looked like.

Song Xiaozhu considered her words, then said, "I don't know what my 'profes

sion' is either."

Qiu Shuyu froze for a moment.

Song Xiaozhu asked another question. "Does everyone just automatically know what their 'profession' is after awakening?"

Qiu Shuyu rested her chin in her hand, thinking. "Of course they don't automatically know. They determine their 'profession' based on their abilities..."

She hadn't even awakened herself, and her understanding of these things was only partial.

Song Xiaozhu could tell that she didn't know much, which was why she dared to speak so freely. If she had been facing Bai Jing, she certainly wouldn't have dared to be so direct.

She needed to seize this opportunity to gather as much information as possible from Qiu Shuyu, then organize, analyze, and draw deductions from it. By the time Bai Jing returned, she might be able to piece together a story.

"Right?" Song Xiaozhu continued. "I don't even know what 'professions' there are, so I have no way to determine my own."

Qiu Shuyu nodded. "True. If Master Bai were home, he'd definitely be able to help you determine your 'profession.'"

Song Xiaozhu asked again, "Then, Sister Shuyu, what 'professions' do you know about?"

Qiu Shuyu scratched her head. "I don't know many. Master Bai is a 'Physician,' Boss Mu at the logging yard is a 'Lumberjack,' and the district chief is a 'Digger.' There are even higher-level 'professions' in Fortress, like 'Warrior,' 'Hunter,' and 'Purifier'..."