Ye Yun opened his eyes, looking at the food on the table still warm.
Ding Yi sat upright on the worn-out sofa, a black ring on her finger emitting a faint glow.
"I only told her yesterday that we could play games when I had time, but I didn't expect her to be here today. I seem to have overlooked the boss, though."
Slick, sheer black stockings, a hip-hugging skirt that reached her thighs, a professional semi-transparent white shirt, and flat-lensed glasses on her nose. Damn, could she be any more alluring? Is it a waste of talent for someone dressed like this to only do housekeeping? Doesn't she have any other clothes?
A series of three questions left him bewildered.
Ding Yi looked intellectual and beautiful, even a bit glamorous, and was quite capable at her job. While her cooking wasn't on par with professional chefs, the dishes were authentic home-style meals, perfectly suited to Ye Yun's taste.
"Xiao Yun, when did you come out?" Ding Yi asked as she withdrew from the game while Ye Yun was enjoying his meal.
Damn 'Xiao Yun'! If I had known, I should have just called her Boss.
"Ah, I just came out. I saw you were in the game so I didn't disturb you. How is it, is the game fun?" Ye Yun forced a smile, his eyes trying to avoid the cleavage revealed by Ding Yi's collar. It was too magnificent.
"I haven't played yet. I just entered the新手村 (novice village) and was afraid the food would get cold, so I came out. Xiao Yun, do you think it's too late for me to enter the game now? I heard some people are already level 18. Can I catch up?" Ding Yi didn't notice Ye Yun's evasive gaze and instead looked troubled.
The first part was pleasant to hear, but why 'Xiao Yun' again? 'Xiao Ye' or 'Ye Yun' would have been fine.
"Heh, don't worry about competing with anyone in the game. Just think of it as a side hustle outside of your work."
Ye Yun couldn't say too much about 'Tiandao' because in a few days, the real-world energy of 'Tiandao' would truly manifest. At that time, from a national level down to a street vendor, everyone would use Tiandao gold coins as currency, and the original real-world currency would be rapidly phased out in the coming days.
"Tell me about the specifics of your game," Ye Yun burped, then continued to shovel more rice into his mouth.
"Well, I was matched with the Archer profession and got a talent skill, Attack Speed +20%. I haven't had a chance to fight monsters yet, and I don't know if I can defeat them. I heard many people say you have to spend a lot of money to defeat the docile rabbits at the entrance of the village."
Ding Yi continued to chatter about the game, but Ye Yun had already lost interest in listening.
Talent skill, Attack Speed +20%. This was truly the lowest tier of talent skills. With such a start, even if she were given billions in gold, her ultimate achievements would not reach very high.
Indeed, gods differ, and fates differ!
Looking at the oblivious Ding Yi, Ye Yun felt deep sympathy in his heart.
"Mm, have fun. Perhaps you can earn your first pot of gold in the game too." Sometimes, ignorance is bliss; at least it provides a goal to strive for.
In his past life, his sole goal was to survive. Ding Yi's current goal was a stable income. And what was his current goal?
He suddenly remembered the question he asked 'Tiandao' when he logged out, and his heart tightened, feeling a great weight pressing down on him.
—Tiandao, what is my current talent's ranking in the universe?
—In the millions!
Ye Yun swallowed the rice in his bowl in one gulp. Under Ding Yi's astonished gaze, he rushed into his room and firmly locked the bedroom door from the inside.
Hoo…
"Feeling overly full is really unpleasant." Ye Yun propped himself up on the edge of the bed, extremely dissatisfied. But there was nothing he could do. In his past life, after every manifestation of combat power, he would experience hunger and fatigue. And for the already impoverished Ye Yun, the fatigue and hunger after each battle manifestation were even more pronounced.
He logged back into the game.
"Use the Stone of Forgotten Memories!"
"Please select the skill you wish to forget!"
"Heal!"
Instantly, the skill 'Heal' vanished from Ye Yun's skill list. With 'Regrowth', this already useless skill was completely rendered obsolete. 5 points of health recovered in 5 seconds, which was practically negligible.
Next, he would use the 'Combat Power Manifestation Card'.
After using the 'Combat Power Manifestation Card', 5% of the player's in-game combat power would manifest as real-world combat power, without reducing their in-game strength. Furthermore, future increases in strength would be reflected in reality.
However, manifesting strength came at a price, such as the pain of physical transformation, and the subsequent exhaustion and hunger, which were torturous to both body and mind. Moreover, the stronger the attributes, the greater the pain of transformation.
Therefore, Ye Yun chose to manifest his combat power first, even with 262,160 attribute points unused!
"Use the Combat Power Manifestation Card!"
"System prompt: It is recommended that players find a safe place and ideally have family protection before using the 'Manifestation Card'. The manifestation process takes approximately thirty minutes. Do you confirm usage?"
"High-end items have much warmer prompts. Confirm usage!" Although this was his first time using a manifestation card, in his past life, he had already become a minor expert by manifesting 15% of his power. He was experienced with this.
Boom…
Ye Yun suddenly felt thunder erupt within his mind, and an unprecedented stinging pain struck him. Arc sparks erupted from the surface of the black ring on his left index finger, quickly covering Ye Yun's entire body!
Ah…
A scream of unimaginable agony echoed. Ding Yi, who was clearing the dishes outside, was startled and dropped a plate, shattering it.
"Xiao Yun? Xiao Yun? What's wrong?" Ding Yi rushed over, only to find the bedroom door locked by Ye Yun. After twenty to thirty minutes of effort, she realized she couldn't open it and frantically ran out to seek help.
Ye Yun felt as if his body were being torn apart, his entire head pierced by long, thin needles. The pain was so excruciating that it made life feel worse than death, yet he was unable to do anything, not even able to move a finger.
Seconds ticked by. Ye Yun lay on the bed, his clothes soaked with sweat, his face frightfully pale.
Damn it, I was too hasty. I never expected the pain to be this intense! It's all because my talent is too heaven-defying, my combat power too immense.
Even with his past life's experience, Ye Yun had never felt such immense pain, not even when he was instantly killed by an alien race. And this was with his max-level talent. Without such a talent, the pain would likely be more than double.
The pain gradually subsided, and the electrical currents stopped their assault on his body. Ye Yun was already numb with pain, lying there powerlessly.
No, damn it, once I get out, I'm definitely getting a top-tier gaming pod. These low-level ones are just too torturous.
The biggest benefit of a gaming pod is its ability to greatly reduce the pain experienced in the game. Otherwise, wealthy individuals who don't upgrade their talents and only buy attribute points would be in too much pain to live.