Chapter 1068: Rebellious Son
First, all awakeners would unite behind one banner, no organization or faction.
The twelve Rune Circuits were entrusted to Dr. Jia for further research.
Every owner of one of the top twelve Talents would visit Dr. Jia’s laboratory two days a week to contact their corresponding Rune Circuit, trying to merge with it and reach level 8.
According to Dr. Jia’s theory, reaching level 8 should allow an awakener to develop a deeper connection with each “formula”, so as to come to an “answer”.
To that end, Chen Ying had formed an investigation team to look for humans and new awakeners across the world. Given how much of a rush the Heavenly Way had been giving out Talents, soon, all 199 Talents should find an owner.
Meanwhile, Nine Frost had reinstated Team Heavenbreaker to look into the Godbearer Cult in secret. The Cult had been off the radar since Clear Mirror and Nico failed to assassinate Gao Yang, which didn’t make sense.
Gao Yang had a feeling that the Godbearer Cult might be the last puzzle in figuring out the truth of the Mist World; they had to be uprooted before the arrival of the doomsday.
War Tiger, forming a scouting team, was in charge of scouting out the other isolated islands of the Mist World for places like the Ni Nation’s underground ruin or other clues.
One Stone was based in the Walled City of Ten Dragons with her back office. The place had once again become a hub for awakeners. The old Black Tortoise building was the command center, held down by Gao Yang.
In the beginning, Gao Yang had a lot of work to do. And Wang Zikai, as their special affiliated member, was left bored out of his mind. Gao Yang had to find something for him to do, so he put Wang Zikai on Nine Frost’s Team Heavenbreaker, which Liao Liao was part of. Gao Yang didn’t expect her to be such a “bad” influence…
While he pondered, the car had driven away from the school.
“Where to now?” Wang Zikai was in a good mood.
Gao Yang thought about it. “Nothing for today.”
“Then let’s game at home?” Wang Zikai asked with glinting eyes.
“Sure.”
“Yes!” Wang Zikai stepped on the accelerator further. “Gogogo!”
Gao Yang suddenly sensed something. He looked up at the rearview mirror, and indeed, system, as the dorm keeper, was sitting in the back with the seatbelt on. She cocked her head at him and smiled.
Lucky reaching level 6 came with many changes.
First was the improvements from the level-up:
The ceiling of the six stats is now 4000.
Willful Power still lasts 15 seconds, but the cooldown is decreased to 12 hours with no cost to the stats.
Luck points now accumulate at 3 points per hour without a bonus.
He is now the Keeper of Talent Pantheon. Every successful acquisition of a new Talent now has a 30% chance of coming with a bonus Talent.
In addition, the system changed in a fundamental way.
Before, the system only came out when Gao Yang called for it, like a one-on-one receptionist.
Now, the system was more like Gao Yang’s friend. It just showed up on its own every now and then—of course, it was only visible to Gao Yang, and their interactions still took place in his mind.
“Gaming again?” the system said with a smile, but its tone was disapproving.
“What else should I do?”
“The world’s ending. The Godbearer Cult is at large. You don’t know if the Gates of Closure exist. And there’s the mystery about the twelve Rune Circuits…”
“And haven’t I delegated others to work on those?” Gao Yang smiled. “They are all working hard.”
“And that’s why you’re faffing about?”
“Am I?” Gao Yang looked out of the car window without paying much attention, propping his chin up with a hand.
“You are.”
“Than I am.”
Gao Yang had noticed his change. He had been someone who despised leaving things unresolved. He had hated mysterious, questions without answers, a lack of hope, and a lack of security.
Thus, he had acted like a curious child looking into everything and asking all the questions until he had the answers. He believed that there would always be a solution, and he would get to sleep in peace once he resolved the problems.
But that wasn’t how things went. Some problems seemed unsolvable, some problems led to more problems after being solved, and other problems made one question if they were the issue all along.
Gao Yang had almost never had a good night’s sleep due to his hustle to find solutions.
Now, Gao Yang was tired, truly tired.
He hadn’t given up hope, but he wasn’t as obsessed as he had been before.
He was still the crucial leader of the awakeners, and he had many things to worry about every day. But he was also Gao Yang, barely an adult.
So he took his sister to school, played games with Wang Zikai, had hot pot with Qing Ling every now and then, and even considered going back to college.
He wanted to go back to a normal life.
The distant hope was important, but the mundane now was, too—perhaps even more so.
“Have you forgotten, Gao Yang? You’re going to be a hero, and a hero does not slack,” the system said severely in a gentle tone.
“Why not? I’ll be a slacker hero,” Gao Yang insisted.
“You’re giving up on yourself.”
“I’m striking a work-life balance.”
“Ugh, the child’s all grown up and getting rebellious.” The system held its forehead dramatically and started singing. “The falling leaves blanket my face. My rebellious son breaks my heart…[1]”
Gao Yang shot the woman a glare through the rearview mirror, and the system slipped away.
“Gao Yang, are you listening to me?” Wang Zikai asked.
“Huh?” Gao Yang broke out of his reverie.
“I’m talking about the boy Guang Huan. He’s been looking at your sister wrong. Be careful. Don’t blame me for not warning you.”
“Alright.” Gao Yang smiled.
“Oh, and I ordered delivery two days ago. The malatang is quite good. It should be even better dining in. Let’s go with Qing Ling some day and have a few drinks…”
“Okay.”
“And I practiced the fighting game. When’s Fresh Snow returning from her trip with her sister? I’m going to get back…”
Gao Yang’s smile stilled. “Wang Zikai.”
“Yeah?”
“If the world were going to end tomorrow, what would you do?” Gao Yang changed the topic unnaturally.
Wang Zikai laughed. “It won’t!”
“Why?”
“Have you forgotten? I’m God!” Wang Zikai pounded on his chest. “With me around, the world won’t end.”
Gao Yang blinked and chuckled, falling quiet.
His phone broke the silence. Ke Yo called.
Gao Yang picked up. “Hello?”
What she said made him freeze and straighten up. He quickly ended the call.
“Wang Zikai, turn around.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Something comes up.” Gao Yang’s voice trembled, eyes lighting up.
“Oh. Where to?”
“Walled City of Ten Dragons.”
1. Lyrics of the comedic song for a shacha sauce commercial, “The Unforgettable Home Cooking”, by the Taiwanese Youtubers, This Group of People. ☜
Houseau3's ThoughtsThe last time someone said he wanted to be a slacker, he ended up saving the world and still couldn't rest, Gao Yang.
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