Chapter 1 - Chapter 1 I Went Bald! But Also Got Stronger?

"Socks, shorts, hair ties, hairpins! All on sale! The damn factory owner ran off with his sister-in-law—selling at a loss, grab your deals now!"Jiang Nan was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, emblazoned with a Hello Kitty cartoon on the chest. He had on shorts and flip-flops, and sat on a small folding stool, shouting at the top of his lungs with boundless enthusiasm—so fiery it could light up the whole place."Hey, young lady! Wanna buy some shorts? Super cheap, two pairs for ten yuan!"The girl passing by hesitated, her gaze drifting to his stall. On a 2x2-meter cloth spread out on the ground, a variety of goods were neatly arranged."Take a closer look—there are all styles!" Jiang Nan urged. "Bow-adorned ones, blue-and-white striped ones, Pikachu-themed ones, even bikini-style shorts..."The girl glanced at the pile of shorts, her cheeks flushing bright red. Then she looked at Jiang Nan—an 18 or 19-year-old with a fresh, handsome face, a total "clean-cut heartthrob"—who was staring at her expectantly. Her face turned even redder..."Pah! Such a pervert!"Jiang Nan was stunned. He quickly called after her: "Miss, don't leave yet! If you don't want shorts, check out the hair ties or hairpins!"Why am I a pervert?Is selling shorts such a big sin?Do people who sell shorts not count as decent businessmen?Jiang Nan felt like crying. He'd been yelling for over an hour, his throat raw and hoarse, yet he hadn't made a single sale.If he didn't get any business soon, his family would soon have nothing to eat—and rent was due soon too. Jiang Nan was practically drowning in worry."Yo! Isn't this 'God Nan' from Jiangcheng No.1 High School?""The big genius who awakened spatial powers! How come you're selling stuff at Jiangcheng Night Market now?"Jiang Nan looked up. He saw a girl with a bob haircut, wearing a crop top, hooked arm-in-arm with a tall guy, teasing him with a grin. His brows immediately furrowed.Li Muyan?Just my luck—ran into a classmate!"Whoa! Spatial powers? Babe, are you serious?" The tall guy gaped. "I remember one of the only three Dao Heavenly Realm powerhouses in China has spatial abilities! This guy?"Li Muyan sneered. "Dead serious! When he awakened spatial powers, the whole city of Jiangcheng was in an uproar!""That Dao Heavenly Realm powerhouse even came to meet him in person—and wanted to take him as a disciple!"Wang Lin, the tall guy, looked stunned. "Then why's he here selling stuff on the street?""Heh, you don't know," Li Muyan said, her voice loud enough for Jiang Nan to hear. "Even though 'God Nan' awakened the rarest spatial power, his talent test result was the lowest—Grade E!""That Dao Heavenly Realm powerhouse was shocked speechless, and just stormed off in disgust. With such lousy talent, he'll never even reach the Bronze Realm in his life!"Wang Lin's expression turned priceless. He stared at Jiang Nan and clicked his tongue. "Damn, that's some next-level weirdness!"Jiang Nan, growing annoyed, rolled his eyes. "You two gonna buy something or not? If not, get outta here—don't mess with my business!"Wang Lin scoffed, then lifted his foot and kicked the socks on the stall, leaving a clear shoe print."What's your problem? We never said we wouldn't buy! Is this how you treat customers?"Jiang Nan stared at the shoe print on the sock, his brows knitting tighter. Then he broke into a bright smile. "How about buying a bikini for your girl? She'll need it tonight!"Li Muyan's face flushed. She stepped forward and kicked all the goods on the stall into a messy heap."Watch your mouth! Do you know who my Brother Wang is? He's a strength-type awakener—and a student at Jiangcheng Martial Arts University!"Jiang Nan let out a snort, showing no fear. "Scared me half to death! I thought his dad was Wang Gang!"Wang Lin's voice turned cold. "What's with the attitude, you street peddler? You're nothing but a loser!""So what if I'm selling on the street? I earn my living with my own hands!" Jiang Nan shot back."Earn a living?" Wang Lin grinned menacingly. "Today, I'm gonna make sure you can't even earn a single penny!"As he spoke, he threw a punch at Jiang Nan's head. The force was so great that it even stirred up a gust of wind.Suddenly, faint spatial ripples swirled around Jiang Nan. In the blink of an eye, he teleported half a meter backward, barely dodging the punch.But right after teleporting, he collapsed into a state of exhaustion—his forehead was covered in sweat, as if all his strength had been drained away.This shocked Wang Lin. "Whoa! He really is a spatial awakener?"But the shock only lasted a second. "You dare dodge?"He threw another punch, which hit Jiang Nan square on the jaw. Jiang Nan, already weakened from the teleportation, had no strength to resist. He fell to the ground, his head spinning with dizziness."Pah!"A mouthful of spit mixed with blood spattered heavily onto the stall cloth.What the hell is going on?Jiang Nan, who'd been knocked to the ground with a single punch, had a buzzing in his head—as if someone had stuffed a roaring blower inside.He was just selling stuff on a street stall, so where did this "system" suddenly come from?A ten-consecutive draw? Could it even spit out an SSR-rank Onmyoji girl or something?......Jiang Nan's face was covered in question marks: "???"Why was this system throwing a fit? Fine! I'll draw, okay? I'll do the draw![Consolation Prize: Basic Strength Potion x1!] [Consolation Prize: Basic Strength Potion x1!]...After nine straight "Thank you for your patronage" notifications popped up, Jiang Nan's face turned so dark it could drip ink—sure enough, no matter where you were, ten-consecutive draws were always a scam!It wasn't until the last notification appeared: [Marrow-Cleansing Spirit Fruit x1!]Jiang Nan opened his system inventory. Inside, there were nine neat vials of Basic Strength Potion, plus a faintly glowing Marrow-Cleansing Spirit Fruit, along with their descriptions below:[Basic Strength Potion: After consumption, physical fitness increases tenfold; effect lasts three days and three nights!] [Marrow-Cleansing Spirit Fruit: Purifies essence and cleanses the marrow, completely improving the user's talent and aptitude!]His eyes lit up instantly—this consolation prize, the Basic Strength Potion, sounded pretty powerful!He immediately clicked "Take Out" in the inventory."Thud!"With a dull thud, a full water dispenser bucket suddenly crashed onto the stall, splashing a few drops of water.Jiang Nan froze on the spot.Whoa! This is called a "vial"?Did the system have some huge misunderstanding about the measurement unit "vial"?Though… it did live up to the saying "great strength works miracles"!"Hmph! So what if you have spatial powers? You're still a loser who can't even take one punch from me! With this kind of stuff, you dare call yourself 'God Nan'? You've got some nerve!"Wang Lin was standing with his hands on his hips, yelling down at Jiang Nan—who was lying on the ground—his face filled with pride from crushing the weaker party.That suddenly appearing "big vial" made him pause too."Quit yapping! Wait for me a minute!"As Jiang Nan spoke, he reached out to twist open the bucket lid, then lifted the bucket—thicker than half his torso—cleanly and began chugging straight from it.Wang Lin was completely stunned: "???"What kind of move was this? They were in the middle of a fight…What's wrong with you, dude? Did getting beaten up make you thirsty?Drinking from a bucket?As soon as the Strength Potion slid down his throat, Jiang Nan felt a coolness on the top of his head. Immediately after, a surging wave of scalding power burst forth from the depths of his bones and muscles—his physical fitness had doubled ten times over!He set the bucket down with a "clatter." His fist, cutting through the air with a whoosh like a coiled, ready-to-strike dragon, shot forward as he leaped to his feet, slamming a punch straight into Wang Lin's stomach!The force was incredible—when his fist sliced through the air, it even let out faint sonic booms.Wang Lin hadn't been prepared at all."Bang!"After the dull thud, Wang Lin's face twisted and contorted instantly, his eyes bulging almost out of their sockets. He felt as if a truck had slammed into his stomach, and a mouthful of sour fluid spurted out uncontrollably!Hit by that punch, his whole body curled up like a shrimp with a hunched back, gasping in pain."Ugh… Wha—what kind of monster strength is this?!"Li Muyan had long been dumbfounded, not even bothering to help Wang Lin—who'd been beaten down. The scene unfolding before her eyes was just too absurd, too rare."Ji—Jiang Nan, you… why are you bald?"Jiang Nan froze. He subconsciously reached up to touch the top of his head.The place his fingertips touched was so smooth it could reflect light…Oh no!Where's my hair?Where the hell did my hair go?!Bald? Not a single strand left?!"System! Where's my hair?!"[This is a detail, no need to worry about it.]A detail?Screw your "detail"! My whole head of flowing hair—how is that just a "detail" to you?What kind of lousy Strength Potion is this! The effect is powerful, sure, but drinking it makes you go bald on the spot?So…I'm bald! But I really did get stronger?