A man in white robes stood mid-air. His robes flapped without the wind, and a giant ice bow, crystal clear and translucent, gradually formed in his hands. At the same time, as he slowly pulled back the bowstring, an ice arrow began to form, its body a deep blue. It was so intensely blue that one could feel dizzy from just a glimpse.
"Eternal Night's Ice Hell!"
The man in white released his bowstring, and the arrow flew towards a massive gate.
Suddenly, a bizarre sound emanated from his waist. Yes, his phone rang.
With the discordant sound, LingFan's dream was ruthlessly disrupted. "Damn, even my dream got interrupted. What a tragic life! I wonder whether I managed to shoot that down," he sighed. But LingFan didn't dwell on it, as he knew what happened next in his dream. He was the man in white.
LingFan loved playing video games. He admired the flamboyant skills of the game characters.
While he might not be able to afford such abilities, he enjoyed indulging in the thrill of video games.
After slapping his face gently, LingFan swiftly got out from bed, took a shower, and finished his daily routine as usual.
Freshen up with a morning shower when time permits; this can help recover from sleep fast and improves one's image, particularly against the mess that sleep makes of one's hair. That's what LingFan believed.
"I got tons of tasks today…"
While holding a glass of milk and a meat bun in his mouth, LingFan halted a cab by the roadside, and gave the driver the address to "Junhao Garden".
LingFan didn't bother to have Su family pick him up. Since the day he started tutoring Su Moran, he only gave Su Wen a rough idea of where he lived.
Why? Partly, it was influenced by LingFan's pride. He thought his dwelling was too ordinary, hence, for the sake of his dignity, he hesitated to reveal it.
Another reason was that LingFan somehow felt it was better not to disclose the specifics. Whether it was from his past life as a mage, or his smart intuition in this life, LingFan always trusted his intuition.
While LingFan was daydreaming in the cab, his character status panel suddenly popped up.
"Huh?"
LingFan stared at the panel in deep thought.
The panel started to flash, quickly filling with words and sentences.
"Analyzing LingFan’s attributes..."
"Analyzing LingFan's skills..."
"Examining LingFan’s surroundings..."
"Determining protection mode based on the attributes and conditions..."
Only LingFan could see this panel, baffled as to what show it was trying to perform. He decided to wait patiently.
Soon, a line of text appeared on the panel, catching LingFan's eye.
"Survive Saturday and Sunday without encountering any damage caused by humans. The cut-off time is 24 o’clock on Sunday."
"Reward: Spirit of Protection (weakened), bonded to LingFan. Effect: When used, it can block any physical damage once within 10 seconds."
After LingFan finished reading, the panel disappeared automatically. Suppressing his curiosity, he first checked whether he could pull up the panel at will again. Then he sighed in relief.
Then...
"What?!"
LingFan's jaw dropped. After restoring his jaw, he glanced at the taxi driver, noticing the driver didn't pay attention to his reaction at all. LingFan started to analyze his current situation.
What LingFan could affirm was that the system of this world didn't deceive him. If it claimed that there was such a feature, then it must be true.
LingFan deduced that his current attribute panel was somehow related to his previous life as a mage. The so-called intelligence affected the total amount and quality of magic power, while charisma might affect elemental affinity and elemental release.
"Damn! But none of this is useful now! I need strength, agility, and vitality! "
LingFan looked at the rest of his attributes, all valued at 6, and he almost burst into tears. "If I was aware of this, I would have chosen to be a knight or a warrior in the past!"
At least it's better than being an outright loser.
Now is not a time to lament and show sympathy.
LingFan thought to himself, based on previous information, this protection method was chosen according to his current circumstance. If he had high melee stats, then it wouldn't be protection, but rather some aggressive and intense options such as being sent by the system to an underground boxing ring or storming the streets alone in a group brawl.
LingFan pondered briefly and drew some conclusions.
Firstly, if the system wants him to avoid man-made harm, then someone must have it out for him. If he could handle them, then there would be no need for him to hide. It's clear from the text that he is being encouraged to avoid conflict.
LingFan glanced at his stats again, shaking his head. Fighting was not his strong suit.
He had to choose based on his conditions. LingFan thought that everyone he had come across on Saturday and Sunday might be a suspect.
An idea came to LingFan: analyze the environment around him...
Then it's likely anyone he's interacted with over the past years, even with the briefest connection, could be a suspect.
LingFan believes there is no such thing as love or hatred without reason in this world.
Strolling down the street and being arbitrarily assaulted by a random stranger is unlikely.
Similarly, if a new student transfers into the class and confesses her feelings to LingFan, whom she doesn't know, shortly after, LingFan would find that nonsense, such things only happen in novels.
There must be a cause and effect for everything, at least for most events.
LingFan is not a rigid person; random attacks by strangers are improbable, still possible, but he will take into consideration the most likely events first.
Thinking of this, LingFan started wondering whether he had done something peculiar over the years, affecting someone's interest.
Did he, passing the school test under the guidance of a teacher, affect others? LingFan began recalling everyone involved.
Not many people participated; LingFan considered them quickly.
Liu Siyu!
Could it be that she has a grudge against him?
Why has she been helping him then? Could it be because he used Xue Lingyun's handkerchief yesterday?
Did Liu Siyu conclude he's a pervert and decided to act out justice?
The other potential suspects also came to his mind, like the big guy always sitting next to him who constantly stares at Liu Siyu. Could he be planning to avenge perceived romantic rivalry given Liu Siyu talked to LingFan more often due to work?
Su Wen?
Xu Zhonghao?
LingFan felt a bit of a headache and realized he was drenched in cold sweat.
Always being suspicious is not a solution. If everyone is this capable of manipulation, he would have been long gone.
He wouldn't win in a fight; he didn’t clear who the culprit might be either. Since nothing had happened before, he might not have been problematic previously—being vigilant now should suffice.
LingFan concluded: Survive! Surviving past Sunday will naturally turn danger into safety. There's no need to overthink troublesome matters, plus he'll gain a reward.
“Spirit of Protection” is very tempting for LingFan; it's like a precious artifact.
In the game, such consumables may be economical, because you can resurrect after death, but there's no such nonsense in real life.
So, LingFan understands the value of the "Spirit of Protection".
Using it well is like having an extra life!
Desire drives progress!
When LingFan thought of this, he cheered up. The countdown should have started when he received the prompt.
Looked at the panel, and sure enough, there's a countdown timer in the top-right corner.
Seeing this, LingFan couldn't help but feel a bit anxious, as if he was in a taxi with a stranger.LingFan quickly glanced out of the window, fortunately, the route remained unchanged. LingFan knew he had to keep the driver on track and couldn't afford any mishaps from the start. With a racing mind, LingFan secretly took out his cellphone and input the emergency number, ready to call the police if anything went awry. At the same time, he began to employ his high intelligence and started to engage in casual conversation with the driver, keeping him distracted.
