Chapter 77: Is This the Power of Version 2.0?

By the time Shen He finished shopping, dusk had already fallen. He entered a restaurant and ordered a generous spread; under the astonished gaze of the staff, he polished off what amounted to dinner for four people. There was no denying the advantages of Yu Province—the prices weren’t too steep. Lamb offal hotpot cost forty-eight, stewed noodles were twelve per bowl, and authentic Yu Province-style Xinjiang chicken ranged from forty-eight to fifty-eight, with portions enough to satisfy four or five diners. After the chicken, they even served complimentary noodles.

Sated, Shen He carried his bulging bag of goods back home. The Black Gold Ring was a marvelous item, but its only flaw was that it could store only items generated by the system. The miscellaneous things he purchased that afternoon had to be lugged by hand.

Upon returning, he set the bag aside, not bothering to unpack. Instead, he headed straight to the bathroom for a thorough wash. Now “Ancestor’s Blessing” had been upgraded to version 2.0. With 1,040 points remaining in his account, it was time for a ten-draw spree. He was eager to see what treasures the 2.0 “Ancestor’s Blessing” might yield in a tenfold draw.

Sitting on the sofa, hands rubbing together in anticipation, Shen He initiated the ten-draw. As light shimmered, his gaze was instantly riveted to two golden-glowing blind boxes.

Wow! Legendary gold—two of them, no less.

Ancestor’s blessing, indeed! Was this the power of 2.0?

[Guangzhi Save Me: When you shout “Guangzhi Save Me,” the system randomly selects a creature nearby whose strength is close to yours, temporarily bestowing the name “Guangzhi.” In peak condition, it will obey your commands for fifteen minutes.]
[Cooldown: 24 hours]
[I Come to Aid You: When you shout “I Come to Aid You,” all your attributes are temporarily increased by ten percent for seven minutes.]
[Cooldown: 24 hours]

Staring at the two skills that appeared before him, Shen He’s eyes widened.

Is this real?

He knew these skills weren’t exactly orthodox, but they were undeniably useful! Imagine encountering real danger—shout “Guangzhi Save Me,” and the system randomly assigns someone of similar strength, letting them act at their best, obeying his orders. Fifteen minutes may be brief, but with another self as backup, what couldn’t be solved?

Plus, since the selection is random, it could be a teammate or an enemy. If the system picked an enemy, the fun would be boundless. The thought alone was entertaining.

And “I Come to Aid You” offered a temporary ten percent boost to all attributes. Seven minutes wasn’t long, but for him, it was enough to accomplish many things.

With all states activated and buffs stacked, his temporary attributes could easily break twenty points. At this stage, when spiritual energy had just begun to revive and tides had yet to surge, he’d be hard-pressed to find an equal. These two skills would give him extra peace of mind in tomorrow’s rescue operations. As for the lengthy cooldown—an entire day—he didn’t mind. He doubted he’d encounter misfortune requiring constant full-power performance.

He shifted his attention to the remaining eight blind boxes. Though two legendary golds from a ten-draw were already a windfall, he couldn’t help but feel a bit excited.

[Delicious Goose Egg x3]
[Delicious Duck Egg x3]
[Powerful Flying Brick x2]
[…]

Shen He: ???

Rigged! Was this a setup?

What was with the “delicious series” in the blind boxes? Spending a hundred points only to get snacks? And then there was “Powerful Flying Brick.” Sure, it was useful—guaranteed hit within a hundred meters plus stun—but two in a row? That was ridiculous.

Looking at the “delicious series” in his Black Gold Ring, Shen He gritted his teeth.

He would see just how delicious they really were.

He took out a duck egg and a goose egg, checked recipes online, and set about boiling them. Soon, the eggs were ready. He cooled them in water, grabbed a fist-sized goose egg, peeled the shell, and bit in.

Instantly, he felt as if his eyes were glowing.

There was indeed an indescribable flavor—words failed to capture it.

He finished the goose egg in a few bites, then peeled the duck egg and took a similarly hearty bite.

Another taste equally worthy of the “delicious goose egg”—different in flavor, but just as exquisite, and surprisingly filling.

After eating both, Shen He coughed lightly and commented to himself, “Though they’re tasty, spending a hundred points each isn’t really worth it.”

Now he possessed four of each in the delicious series and three Powerful Flying Bricks. Combined with his assortment of gear, his inventory was substantial.

He stood in his room to practice his stance. With the help of “Martial Arts Complete Mastery,” his stance was further optimized, allowing him to gain attributes with half the effort.

By ten o’clock, Shen He retired early for the night.

…

The next morning.

He sat up in bed and summoned the system panel, glancing at the task bar.

[Daily Task One: A Hundred Times! A Hundred Times!]
[As a newly advanced Tier-One ant who already exhibits inhuman traits, you are far too slack. Please practice any movement one hundred times to clarify your intent.]
[Task Reward: 1 free attribute point]
[…]

Seeing the newly refreshed daily task, Shen He’s gaze was filled with curiosity.

The name was unserious, but the assignment itself was straightforward. However, the reward was rather stingy.

He no longer cared for the measly one-point free attribute rewards.

After all, in the coming half-month, even a full month, he’d gain +1 to all attributes daily just by taking Stone Milk.

This daily task was rather like a chicken rib—unremarkable, but hard to discard.

[Survival Guide: Tsk, still just a bit hungry. If you disdain even chicken ribs, it means you simply can’t cook.]

Shen He took a deep breath, ignoring the useless, untranslatable hyperlink.

His gaze moved down.

[Daily Task Two: Gather Some Common Medicines]
[In troubled times, even if official forces have restored some order, occupied cities, and revived a bit of productivity, common medicines remain hard currency on the market. No one can guarantee they won’t fall ill, unless they’ve surpassed Tier Six.]
[Task Reward: 260 points]
[…]

Looking at the reward, Shen He fell silent.

If memory served, he had only forty points left on his panel.

This system was stingy—was it obsessive-compulsive, too? After finally offering points as a reward, it still had to be so miserly. Did it really need to round out the total to three hundred?