Chapter 288: Endless War (II)
As usual, Zhou Ning first checked the second option. Now that he was a rich man, as long as the card wasn't completely mediocre, he should be able to afford it.
After a shuffle, three cards spread out one after another, glowing in blue, purple, and orange.
This time, his luck wasn't too bad again—three template cards: one blue, one purple, and one mediocre.
The first card showed himself with silver-white hair, dressed in a black suit, standing against the light, looking silent and reserved.
Personality: competitive, determined, cold.
Talents: Absolute Calm (Purple), Master of Memory (Purple), Fearless of Death (Blue).
Skill: Mahjong Technique (God-level).
The price was cheap, only 20 Traversal Coins. Title: Mahjong Genius · Zhou Ning.
This card was extremely mediocre. Somehow, the chin looked pointy, as if this version of himself existed just to play mahjong. The skill wasn't bad, but if it couldn't clear a stage, it was useless. Zhou Ning thought for a moment and bought it anyway. He was filthy rich now—20 coins meant nothing.
The second card was purple. The image showed himself in a student uniform, staring coldly ahead, with a fierce demon behind him, its monstrous face twisted, demon wings spread.
Personality: intelligent, paranoid, ambitious.
Talents: Death Note (Red), Learning Ability (Blue).
This was the only template Zhou Ning had ever seen without a skill.
Title: Substitute Shinigami · Zhou Ning. Traverse price: 125.
The template overall was mediocre—trash, even. But it had a rare red talent. When Zhou Ning focused on it, he noticed a tiny lock symbol. The prompt said he needed the Death Note item before he could obtain it.
Obviously, this template came from Yagami Light in Death Note. The talent was very strong, with stage-clearing potential, but useless without the actual notebook. After some thought, Zhou Ning gave it up for now.
The third template was instantly recognizable as super mediocre, one that had appeared before. Zhou Ning wore a silver-white mage robe, playing with three elemental orbs—ice, fire, and lightning—in his hands.
Talents: Legendary Mage (Orange), Element Sensitivity (Purple).
Personality: curious, enterprising, research-oriented.
Skills: Ice Magic (Grandmaster), Lightning Magic (Grandmaster), Fire Magic (Master), Elemental Harmonization (Grandmaster), Meditation (Master).
Title: Supplicant · Zhou Ning. Price: 1200 Traversal Coins.
Heh. Still way too mediocre. Pass!
After sweeping through the templates, Zhou Ning moved to option one again to check the new set of ten talents. If nothing good showed up, he planned to use either Oceanographer · Zhou Ning or Spider Sense · Zhou Ning for a simulation.
Both had strong protagonist vibes, with a decent chance of clearing.
[You chose Traverse Mode One]
[Please select three talents from the following ten as matching conditions]
[1. Hardcore Ruthless (Green): Your life is full of defiance and absurdity, 30% tragedy, 70% comedy.]
[2. Notorious (Blue): In the simulation world your reputation is terrible, but to some villains you're irresistibly attractive.]
[3. Masochist (Green): You love whips and candles. After experiencing pain, your combat power temporarily increases.]
[4. Celestial Dragon (Purple): Your starting status in this world is very high, and you will always be part of the privileged class.]
[5. Genius Hacker (Purple): You are an undeniable genius in computer science, with limitless potential.]
[6. Three-Part Qi Return (Blue): When you start working hard and striving, the effects will be particularly significant.]
[7. Sinister and Cunning (Green): You are naturally sly and scheming, born with a talent for calculating others.]
[8. Naturally Affable (Purple): Your social skills are absolutely top-notch. With charm and outstanding looks, you can quickly befriend anyone.]
[9. Sever Affection to Prove the Dao (Purple): You will never love or marry in this world, but your physical attributes permanently increase by 40%.]
[10. Provocation Maniac (White): You are born to provoke others, and so you've taken plenty of beatings.]
Zhou Ning: …
To be fair, this batch of talents was actually decent. Celestial Dragon was one he'd chosen before in Empire Tempest. Starting as a duke was insanely useful. Both Naturally Affable and Sever Affection to Prove the Dao were also top-tier purple. At a glance, at least four or five of these were worth considering.
Numbers 4, 8, and 9 made his heart beat faster—Sever Affection to Prove the Dao, Naturally Affable, and Celestial Dragon. Going all purple in one go gave him wealth, physique, and charisma. The start would be rock solid, with real potential for a perfect simulation. As for the constant talent… Zhou Ning hesitated, then chose Tony Stark.
In what looked like a Marvel sequel world, Tony Stark's talent would definitely come in handy. But that raised an interesting problem: what would happen when Sever Affection to Prove the Dao clashed with Tony Stark's natural playboy tendencies?
[You chose talents 4, 8, and 9.]
[Your current talents are: Sever Affection to Prove the Dao, Naturally Affable, Celestial Dragon. Constant talent: Tony Stark.]
[This map is a hidden follow-up. Both its difficulty and setting are unknown.]
[Traversal Coin rewards in this hidden map will be multiplied by 1.5. You will also gain an additional item from the adventure. However, returns are not guaranteed—your gains may be far below expectations.]
[Match successful. The parallel-world you is destined to be among the privileged, both before and after traversal. You are a leader rich in charisma, infinitely magnetic, making everyone you meet yield to you. But you feel nothing for love, regarding it as a luxury you do not want. Your body is naturally strong, your research ability exceptional—perhaps only the sky itself is your limit.]
[World exploration progress: 0%. When it reaches 66.7%, you will gain permission to unlock the next map.]
[When you die in this simulation, the game ends.]
[Boarding time machine… 1%… 33%… 65%… 95%… Whoosh… Traversal complete.]
[April 27, 2030. You arrive in New York. The sky is gray-black, as if filled with dust. Ruins are everywhere. Right beside you lies a corpse—your exact double! With no one around, as a traverser your first thought is to take his place. You immediately put on the dead man's clothes. Your luck is good: just as you finish burying the body, a private armed group arrives, looking for you.]
[April 28, 2030. You return home. Amid the ruins, your house is relatively intact. Your parents are Chinese immigrants who lead a not-so-weak survivor organization, now holding Flushing. Not long ago this world suffered a nuclear war. On your way home, you even saw the broken remains of the Statue of Liberty near the Hudson River, snapped into two pieces.]