Setting Sail
[Name: Wang An Jing: 1.15 Qi: 1.06 Shen: 2.04 Talent: Avatar Occupations: intelligent life-form, student, martial artist Skills: Basic Taijiquan (proficient, 1/1000), Health Qigong Baduanjin (beginner, 60/100), Mindfulness Meditation (beginner, 40/100)] [Martial Artist] Function: Improves martial arts training efficiency. When practicing martial arts, the user can always find the training method best suited to them. Skill, Repair: Consumes qi to improve the body's ability to repair itself. Formula: Jing × Qi × (1 + amount used) = repair speed. Duration: Amount used (no less than 0.5) × 60 minutes = duration of use.
By his calculations, the recovery speed of the [Repair] skill was twice his normal rate.
Though it didn't have the terrifying bonus of the [Student] occupation, this occupation's [Repair] skill could last over sixty minutes at most. It was quite helpful for minor injuries and internal injuries.
Another value had changed as well, helping Wang An understand something.
[Soul strength: 2.3]
By that calculation, one occupation provided 0.1 soul strength, not a percentage.
My original soul strength was 2. I doubt anyone in this world has higher soul strength than me.
[Jing: 1.2]
With the increase in his jing attribute, Wang An estimated that his full-force straight punch was around 250 kilograms.
That was more than 1.5 times that of a "normal" adult man who had received combat training.
He had a little strength now, but his technique and experience still lagged far behind.
Now that he had funds and some ability to protect himself, it was time to carry out the next step of his plan.
By the eighth day of the first lunar month, the New Year feasts were basically over.
Wang An took advantage of the free time to tell his parents about his plans and give them some instructions.
At the dinner table, Wang An opened a bottle of good liquor from the New Year celebrations.
He poured a glass for his father and himself, then said, "Dad, I want to use half the money we made selling the meteorite that day to start a business."
His father, Wang Rushan, drank the liquor in his glass before speaking. "What are you planning to do with it? We don't have many relatives, and we don't have any connections who can help you in business."
Wang An continued pouring the liquor. "I know."
"Did you see the meteor shower that day? There were so many meteorites, but instead of falling, their market price has risen."
"A lot of big bosses are looking to buy them everywhere."
"I think there might be some secret about those meteorites that we don't know. The wind has changed."
Looking at his parents' gradually aging faces and their growing strands of white hair, Wang An's gaze grew resolute.
"Your son might not have any great abilities, but I was among the first to come into contact with those meteorites. That already puts me ahead of everyone else."
"It's just like reform and opening up. Stand in the path of the wind, and even a pig can fly."
His father said nothing. After pondering for a long time, he sighed.
"If you're going to start a business, take the whole hundred thousand. The money blew in on the wind anyway, and at your age, it's just the time to go out and make your way."
After saying that, he poured himself another glass and spoke with a serious expression.
"But you have to promise me one thing: don't go into debt. Even if the business fails, you can't borrow money."
Wang An looked at his father and said solemnly, "All right!" Then he downed his glass of liquor.
Only then did his mother, Liu Aihua, speak. "Xiao An, it's good to go out and make something of yourself, but you must put your safety first in everything."
"Don't be afraid if you fail. Come home. Mom and Dad are here!"
His mother's words warmed Wang An's heart. He knew she was worried about his safety.
He assured her, "Mom, I promise you, I'll never put myself in danger."
Hearing her son's promise, Liu Aihua breathed a sigh of relief and put some food on his plate.
Wang An thought for a moment, then decided to say it after all. "Dad, if our family has any spare cash, we could buy some gold and put it away. Even if something big happens, gold will still be hard currency."
Wang An's father said nothing, his gaze turning toward the window.
A few fireworks dotted the pitch-black night sky, scattering like the meteors that day.
It wasn't as though he hadn't tried to get his parents to take an occupation.
But he found that his parents seemed unable to do so, and no information related to taking an occupation had appeared online either.
Most of the news was still about searches and purchases.
Wang An thought there might be some hidden requirement for taking the [Intelligent Life-form] occupation.
Others couldn't meet it, while he happened to qualify and had therefore succeeded in taking the occupation.
It could have been his "mental state," his "physical state," or the "time window" back then.
After dinner, Wang returned to his room and checked the news on his phone. For the past few days, the internet had been a veritable wild dance of demons.
Short-video and social media platforms had become the main battleground:
Most posts were about who else had found a meteorite and sold it for a high price.
Some said they had sold theirs for a few thousand yuan, some for tens of thousands, and others for hundreds of thousands.
Hardly anyone believed the one about hundreds of thousands, though. Everyone remembered how many meteorites had fallen from the sky this time, and once a large number were found, the market was bound to crash.
There were also some short videos whose authenticity was hard to determine:
"I picked up a meteorite on the mountain behind my hometown, and the next day my efficiency studying for the postgraduate entrance exam exploded.
"My dad soaked a meteorite in liquor, and his back and legs stopped aching.
"A child touched the stone and suddenly could recite 'Li Sao.'"
Most of these videos were crude, but their comment sections filled with replies asking for the location or saying, "It happened to me too."
They were turning meteorites into mythical objects that could bring luck or wisdom.
There were also all sorts of treasure-hunting guides and scams.
All kinds of technical posts appeared, explaining how to calculate meteorite landing sites from meteor trajectories or listing the three main features of high-value meteorites. Mixed in with them was a great deal of misinformation and sales advertising.
Online shops had also begun selling meteorite fragments, but Wang An could tell at a glance that they were fakes.
There were even some "bizarre incidents" and rumors that stirred panic.
"Everyone in a certain village behaved strangely after picking up meteorites. The meteorites carry radiation that causes animals to mutate."
This information sparked panic on a small scale, and the feverish search for meteorites cooled in some areas.
The authorities were also debunking the rumors and releasing educational videos to guide public opinion.
In communities Wang An had joined earlier, such as the Meteorite Forum and the Supernatural Phenomena Research Group, interest in researching meteorites soared.
Some people began systematically collecting and comparing accounts from netizens in different places, trying to find a pattern.
Wang An saw a small number of posts saying that meteorites could grant occupations, along with panels and skill functions.
Most people, however, dismissed them as the fantasies of someone who had read too many web novels. Some who had already tried it commented beneath the posts that nothing matched what the original poster had said, angrily calling them liars.
Based on his attempts to get his parents to take an occupation, Wang An felt that there probably weren't many people who had actually done so.
The authorities and some large organizations might know the truth.
They hadn't responded publicly yet, perhaps because too few people had taken occupations.
It was unclear whether the problem lay with the people or whether some meteorites didn't have the ability to grant occupations.
Those conglomerates were even less likely to reveal the information. They would quietly drive down meteorite prices and buy them up.
A post titled "Does the government actually know?" became a hot topic.
Netizens analyzed whether troops had been mobilized, whether scientific research convoys had entered the mountains, and the wording of news reports, trying to discern the authorities' attitude from the faintest clues.
Following these netizens' line of thought, Wang An began looking into some of the authorities' moves.
Exploration activities had begun appearing in some protected areas under the name of official scientific research teams.
Nature reserves had also begun closing or admitting fewer visitors.
Meanwhile, some meteorite exploration teams formed online by small companies were offering high pay to recruit local guides.
Looking into the controlling shareholders behind these small companies, he found that most were well-known major conglomerates and companies.
By operating in the names of small companies, these people greatly reduced public attention to these events.
Seeing this information, Wang An felt that time and tide waited for no one.
He planned to head first to the provincial capital, Changnan, and see whether he could sell the meteorites he had already used through the meteorite market to unsuspecting speculators jumping on the bandwagon.
The next day, Wang An set off for Changnan with his parents seeing him off.
Since he was now in his fourth year of university and had to find a company for an internship anyway, the timing was just right.
"Changnan, here I come!"