Chapter 11: The Power Granted by Disguise +4
The dormitory was located in a private residential community on the outskirts—a small apartment building with only three floors. Each floor had about five units, each a single-room, one-living-room setup. It was much smaller than where Yang Bo currently lived, and the decoration was simple. The doors were old-fashioned, manually locked, and there was internet service inside the room.
"This is your employee card—you'll need it to enter."
"We don't have many employees here; most of them have their own homes."
"This is your access card. At the entrance of the community, there are security guards equipped with laser emitters. If anyone forcefully breaches the perimeter, these devices will fire lasers."
Liu Zhijie then drove Yang Bo to purchase a new watch and went with him to the community office to cancel his previous housing arrangement. Community staff arrived together, and Yang Bo only took a few changes of clothes with him; he also handed in the government-issued watch.
Inside the dorm, the environment in the private community was even better than where Yang Bo had been living. The neighboring units were virtually hidden by trees.
The room itself was simple—a manually flushed toilet, manual faucets, and even the temperature had to be adjusted by hand. The windows had to be opened manually, and so did the air conditioner.
"Damn, isn't it pathetic? Coming to the future world only to live in a rental just like in your past life," Yang Bo thought as he looked around. Strangely, that familiarity made him feel oddly at ease.
The watch was a product of Ping An Technology Co., Ltd. Although it was an older model, according to Liu Zhijie's explanation, no hacker would dare mess with Ping An Technology—making it practically untouchable. In other words, it implied that Yang Bo still wasn't qualified enough for anyone to risk provoking Ping An Technology.
This watch lacked an intelligent butler system. In government housing, everyone was required to wear one because the government was responsible for the residents' safety—otherwise, any incident would lead to fierce criticism of the politicians. The watch was entirely centered on the owner; Yang Bo had stripped away most of its functions, keeping only a communication feature (like making calls) and an email service—everything else was removed.
As for buying things, purchases could be made through a wired virtual computer. The property staff would deliver items to designated locations, such as the storage lockers in the lobby or at the elevator entrance. Garbage didn't even need to be sorted—just toss it in; the management provided that service. You could eat whatever you wanted and drink whatever you liked.
After taking a shower, Yang Bo noticed a notification on his watch. It turned out to be from a game the original owner used to play—a promotional event tied to a concert by a certain female celebrity he once followed. By continuing the game, he could win concert tickets. Yang Bo wasn't interested, so he blocked the notification. He then changed into his shorts and sat by the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room.
"Skill!" Yang Bo thought, summoning his abilities.
The information immediately appeared in his mind:
Swimming: Beginner (1/10)
Sound Wave Localization: Beginner (1/10)
Dynamic Vision: Beginner (4/10)
Disguise: Beginner (4/10)
Yang Bo mused to himself. The sound wave localization ability was pretty decent—but really, where were all those bats for him to kill? In his past life, he could have easily found a dark cave in the countryside filled with them.
"Disguise—yesterday I sensed someone watching me right away. Is that also the power of disguise?" he wondered quietly.
Closing his eyes, Yang Bo concentrated on the concept of disguise. Suddenly, he seemed to have an epiphany.
He went to the bathroom and stared into the mirror. As he focused on his reflection, something remarkable happened—his double eyelids transformed into single ones. Then, he felt another shift: his large eyes narrowed into squinted eyes. Soon after, his eyebrows also changed. Within a minute, Yang Bo looked at himself in the mirror and saw that he had transformed from a fresh-faced young man into a greasy, middle-aged man with squinty, lecherous eyes—no doubt giving off a sleazy impression.
"You can change your muscle tone and hair, but you can't change your bones," he noted.
"Could it be that my disguise level isn't high enough?" The transformation lasted for 20 minutes, then his ability faded, leaving Yang Bo with an odd, hollow sensation—as if he'd switched into a 'sage mode.'
He concluded that at this level, the disguise power could alter muscle and hair appearance. "Now, I wonder if these changes cause any energy fluctuations?" he mused.
"Should I buy an energy detector?" "No, forget it."
Feeling suddenly hungry, Yang Bo went out to buy groceries while still pondering over the disguise ability.
"Nowadays, hunting down those creatures is probably very difficult. I might look up some ancient martial arts to see if they can trigger genetic evolution." Yang Bo decided that after eating, he'd research ancient martial arts methods for activating genes. His home-cooked meals were delicious—if a bit labor-intensive.
The virtual computer he used was from a well-known brand. According to Liu Zhijie, it was best to choose a big-name product because reputation mattered. Unless you're worth an unimaginable amount, no one wants to mess with the top brands.
"Damn it!" Yang Bo exclaimed as he manually searched for information on ancient martial arts genetic schools. The information displayed made him curse out loud.
On the virtual screen, a square metallic fragment appeared. The fragment displayed a diagram of human acupoints and meridians; one side showed a complete figure, while the other side was partially missing. There was also an inscription stating that 4,500 years ago, during the inaugural spatial jump experiment by the precursor of the Three Alliances—the Black Stone Empire—this metallic shard burst forth from another dimension.
Research indicated that it belonged to an unknown civilization. This civilization was strange; its method of producing metallic fragments was rather crude, yet the depicted content was astonishing.
Scientists initially thought the inscriptions on the metal plate were a joke. "Isn't the human body just blood vessels and nerves? What are these markings supposed to be?" However, one scientist—perhaps driven mad—experimented by stimulating these marked points with electric current, and… unlocked an extraordinary ability.
That spurred further research. Later, scientists discovered some suspicious information on the back of the golden plate which, when translated, turned out to be an ancient martial arts method.
"Damn it—using electrical current to stimulate acupoints. This better not be some Earth-launched probe or something," Yang Bo muttered as he stared at the metal piece. Or could it be that humans on Earth are also of extraterrestrial origin?
Continuing his reading, Yang Bo found that the practice of using electrical stimulation on acupoints later evolved into a secret technique for triggering genetic evolution. As for genetic agents, there wasn't much online—only descriptions of advanced biogenetic technologies.
"Training in martial arts? That's not something I can do, but I do know about acupoints and meridians." In his previous life, Yang Bo had learned massage techniques to help his aging parents; he had taught himself quite a few methods.
He recalled that in his younger days he also enjoyed reading novels—wuxia stories and martial arts manuals he once bought. (Of course, in reality there are people who pursue the Dao, but that's too dangerous for ordinary folk.)
"But what kind of martial arts system is it? Is it the same as on Earth? Could it be that Earthlings are also aliens?" Yang Bo hesitated to experiment; online information wasn't always reliable, and there were no specific manuals available.
"Better earn some money first," he finally decided. "I'll figure it out once I've saved up."
(End of Chapter)