Chapter 68: A New Profession
Leandro was resting his chin on his hand, intently studying the store window, while Sherlock was off to the side interrogating the shop owner—a chubby, middle-aged man who was now trembling with fear and couldn't answer a single question properly.
Suddenly, a crack appeared in the glass window, quickly spreading outward in a spiderweb pattern until the entire pane shattered. The space behind it collapsed with a roar. Startled, everyone looked over just in time to see Zhou Ning pressing down his hat with his left hand, dragging a corpse behind him as he crouched and climbed out from within.
Leandro's eyes widened with curiosity. He had just stepped forward to ask what had happened when Zhou Ning glanced in his direction. That one look stunned him, causing him to instinctively retreat a step, filled with a sense of alarm and uncertainty.
Although there was no apparent hostility in that glance, he keenly felt as if he'd come face to face with a natural predator—one that could bring about his death at any moment.
"What happened?" Sherlock walked over with his team, giving Zhou Ning a strange look. "Why is it always you?"
"He did it." Zhou Ning pointed to the corpse of Elvis on the ground and stated tersely, "This guy was tough. Took a lot of effort. Don't forget to transfer the money."
"Elvis Bart?"
Sherlock immediately recognized the name. Wasn't this the fire mage, one of the suspects in the attempted assassination of the King? A genuine supernatural-class professional, already approaching the high-tier level—extremely dangerous! That was why they'd offered a sky-high reward of 1,000 Vecktas.
"Wait, don't tell me you took down Elvis Bart all by yourself!" Sherlock was stunned. Then, seeing the half-smiling look on Zhou Ning's face, he gave him a once-over. "Alright, fine. I believe you."
"No doubt about it. The deceased is indeed Elvis Bart," said a Sunwatcher after completing the autopsy. "Over a hundred bones in his body were shattered—like he got trampled by an elephant."
"Tough? Took a lot of effort?" Sherlock glanced at Zhou Ning again, noting that he didn't even seem to have broken a sweat. He couldn't help but feel speechless. He'd known this guy for a while now, and Zhou Ning never failed to overturn his expectations.
Just then, the possession effect of the epic vampire wore off. Zhou Ning looked at his own fists with a hint of awe. When he pummeled Elvis earlier, he'd clearly felt that monstrous strength—something that had already surpassed the bounds of a human being. Considering that, Elvis was surprisingly durable to only end up with a hundred-plus broken bones.
He opened his panel, and the temporary template card he'd just earned popped up.
[Temporary Template Card: Contains one rare character template. Single-use only. Can only be used in Simulated Worlds or Rewind Worlds.]
The image showed Zhou Ning in a black suit, black vest, white shirt, slicked-back hair, and a rose pinned to his collar. He sat on a sofa, right leg crossed over the left, a cigar between his fingers.
[Character: The Godfather · Zhou Ning]
[Personality: Gentlemanly, determined, authoritative, ruthless, unpredictable]
[Talents: Born Leader (Orange), Criminal Genius (Orange), Extraordinary Charisma (Purple)]
[Skills: Negotiation Techniques (Expert), Basic Marksmanship (Advanced), Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat (Advanced)]
[Uses Remaining: 0/1]
The Godfather?
Zhou Ning was momentarily stunned. Based solely on the skill set, this card wasn't actually that powerful—its combat capabilities were even relatively weak. But this was the only template he'd ever seen that came with two orange-tier talents. What the effects actually were would only be clear when he used it.
Closing the control panel, Zhou Ning casually asked, "How are things today?"
"Not great," Sherlock admitted with a bitter smile. "We've been working nonstop these past couple days. His Majesty was attacked, and somehow it's all on us. We've been chasing leads around the clock with no rest. Honestly, you taking care of Elvis is the first break we've gotten."
"Should we still continue the gun and ammo deal these next few days?" Zhou Ning asked.
"Of course. Did you think the Sunwatchers were just a handful of people?" Sherlock replied, exasperated. "I'll have someone waiting for you at the West Lin General Store again tomorrow. I'll also have them bring your 1,000 Vecktas bounty."
"Classy." Zhou Ning gave him a thumbs-up.
Once the conversation ended, Zhou Ning walked up to Leandro and patted him on the shoulder. "Let's go."
Leandro, still a little stiff, nodded and followed a few steps. Once he felt sure he wasn't in danger, he finally relaxed.
Honestly, this child of the plane had a personality that reminded Zhou Ning of Luffy or Naruto—a classic hot-blooded shonen protagonist. Before long, he had completely forgotten the earlier scare and was chatting cheerfully with Zhou Ning again.
During their conversation, Zhou Ning learned that just like in his previous life's game, Leandro was a genius alchemist, three years younger than him, yet already an expert-level alchemist—far more impressive than Zhou Ning himself. But the most enviable thing about him was a general skill called [Hot-Blooded Focus], which Zhou Ning had coveted for a long time. At the current pace, he might be able to learn it someday.
Mr. Turing's residence was right next to the alchemy lab, not far from their location. When Zhou Ning pointed it out, he noticed Leandro suddenly turn serious, fixing his collar before knocking. It made Zhou Ning wonder—was this Mr. Turing some kind of big shot?
Back in the alchemy lab, Zhou Ning eagerly opened his game panel. He now had 190,000 experience points, mostly from today's mission.
Now that he had learned Divine Departure, he only needed three more active skills to complete his basic class build.
His skill list included the following, eligible for fusion:
Marksmanship (Beginner)
Ripple Breathing Technique (Intermediate)
Mozambique Drill (Beginner)
C.A.R. Shooting Style (Beginner)
Dodge (Beginner)
Armament Haki (Beginner)
Divine Departure (Beginner)
Basic Swordsmanship (Advanced)
Throwing (Beginner)
After two previous fusions, his options were limited. Zhou Ning hesitated briefly, then attempted to fuse Basic Swordsmanship and Ripple Breathing Technique.
[Fuse Basic Swordsmanship (Advanced) and Ripple Breathing Technique (Intermediate)? This fusion will consume 12,000 experience. Success rate: 68%]
Zhou Ning selected "Yes" without hesitation. Both skills were reset to zero and reverted to Basic level.
[Fusion successful. You have obtained the skill: [Ripple Swordsmanship] (Beginner).]
[Ripple Swordsmanship (Beginner): Infuse ripple energy into the blade to perform a powerful strike. Attack power is 235% of weapon damage. Double damage to dark creatures.]
Not bad! Although swordsmanship was only a secondary combat style for him, the attack stat here was quite high. Could come in handy.
Next, Zhou Ning spent over 20,000 experience upgrading both Marksmanship and Throwing to Intermediate, and attempted a fusion.
[Fuse Marksmanship (Intermediate) and Throwing (Intermediate)? This fusion will consume 12,000 experience. Success rate: 56%]
[Yes!]
[Fusion failed. Your Marksmanship (Intermediate) and Throwing (Intermediate) have been reset.]
Zhou Ning: …
Good thing he'd saved up enough experience—just in case.
On his second try, the panel finally displayed:
[Fusion successful. You have obtained the skill: [Aerial Shot] (Beginner).]
[Aerial Shot (Beginner): Fire at the ground to propel yourself backward, then shoot at enemies while airborne. Damage: 135% of weapon damage.]
This one was decent. Not amazing, but certainly stylish—and that's what really counts.
Still not done! Lastly, Zhou Ning spent over 60,000 experience to upgrade Marksmanship to Advanced, and both Armament Haki and Dodge to Intermediate.
[Fuse Marksmanship (Advanced), Armament Haki (Intermediate), and Dodge (Intermediate)? This fusion will consume 36,000 experience. Success rate: 65%]
Skill fusions weren't limited to two abilities. Each additional skill added 5,000 XP to the cost, and multiple fusions scaled up the expense dramatically. That's why Zhou Ning had waited until he'd saved enough to attempt a triple fusion.
[Fusion successful. You have obtained the skill: [Fatal Countershot] (Beginner).]
[Fatal Countershot (Beginner): Evade an enemy attack while simultaneously striking back with a devastating blow enhanced by Armament Haki. Damage scales with the level of Armament Haki.]
Done! Zhou Ning clenched his fists in excitement.
Compared to luck-based draws, he had exceptional fortune when it came to skill fusions—he'd never failed at a critical moment.
This Fatal Countershot was even more impressive than Evasive Shot—arguably a god-tier skill. Based on the description alone, it outclassed most advanced profession abilities.
With this, Zhou Ning's new profession build was now officially complete.
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