In the living room.
The incandescent light from the ceiling cast a bright reflection on the dining table.
As the Potential Progress bar filled, several notifications instantly popped up on the panel.
Lu Chao's mind jolted. He felt his consciousness being pulled by an invisible force, suddenly drawn deep into his mind.
VMM!!
His vision changed, and he saw a boundless, gloomy darkness.
And in its center stood a titanic, illusory figure of a giant, so immense it seemed to touch the sky and stand upon the earth.
Its bones and sinews seemed to be composed of countless stars, its body translucent.
Its face was indistinct, its spine erect, and its hands hung naturally at its sides. A dim, gray mist surrounded its body.
Through some sort of feedback and intuition, Lu Chao knew instinctively that it was him.
Or, to be more precise, it was a reflection of his own life's essence.
At this very moment.
VMM!
A faint flame ignited in the heart of the giant's illusory form.
A hazy, molten-gold light radiated outward, its tangible rays shining into the surroundings.
The gray mist to the giant's left was partially dispelled, gradually revealing an opening.
A small, gray, hexagonal emblem was revealed. Compared to the giant and the surrounding mist, it seemed tiny and insignificant.
However, as the molten-gold light slowly shone upon it, the emblem's color visibly changed, as if it were being filled and lit up by some kind of power.
[Talent Specialty: Basic Resilience]
[Quality: Basic—Survival Dimension!]
[Effect: You will gain twice the recovery ability of an ordinary person, including but not limited to stamina, endurance, energy, minor injuries, etc.!]
[Note: After tempering your physique multiple times, there is a chance to advance to Intermediate Resilience!]
As the text prompts appeared, Lu Chao instantly understood everything.
'This is the true purpose of Glutton.'
'Once Potential Progress is full, it strengthens the giant's life flame. Then, from the four dimensions of Violence, Survival, Foraging, and Spirit-Alteration, it randomly lights up an emblem and awakens a talent specialty.'
'Just like the [Basic Resilience] I have now, a basic talent specialty from the Survival dimension, which has improved my recovery abilities in every aspect.'
'It can even be strengthened again and upgraded to an intermediate specialty once my physique reaches a certain level.'
"Huh?"
Suddenly, a sharp, tearing pain erupted within his body.
Lu Chao's consciousness was yanked back to reality. Without a chance to even glance at the living room, he began to tremble violently in his chair.
Pain!
Pain that seeped into his very bones!!
It felt like a pair of invisible, massive hands were tearing at his muscles and bones, reshaping his flesh and blood and remodeling his veins inch by inch.
Nearly falling over, Lu Chao's face turned pale. He gripped the edge of the table with both hands, desperately holding on.
He guessed this was the price of awakening a talent specialty. He could feel his body undergoing some kind of transformation.
One second, three seconds, five seconds...
His knuckles turned white. Beads of cold sweat rolled down his cheeks and splattered on the gray, floral-patterned floor tiles.
After a minute of this, just as Lu Chao was about to lose his grip, all the pain receded like a tide and quickly vanished.
His clothes were soaked with sweat. He slumped back into the chair, gasping for air, and rested for several seconds.
Gradually, as the feeling of exhaustion completely faded, Lu Chao felt an unprecedented sense of lightness and comfort.
"My body... it feels different?"
Wiping the sweat from his face, Lu Chao stood up and opened his still-trembling hands.
The lines on his skin were the same and his color was normal, but an intuition from the depths of his being told him that something had fundamentally changed.
His breathing seemed deeper and easier, and he could feel a greater reserve of energy building deep within his body...
'My recovery is doubled? It really does feel like I won't get tired as easily as before.'
'So after lighting an emblem and awakening a specialty, my body undergoes a transformation as well...'
Taking a moment to feel it out, Lu Chao began to understand the changes in his body.
He then looked toward the living room window and balcony.
Night had fallen outside. Lights were on in every household, and in the distance, the neon lights of the city district glittered brightly, sleepless.
The rusty security bars on the window cast multiple overlapping shadows. He saw his own reflection in the glass.
He was nearly 1.8 meters tall, with a neat buzz cut.
His sweat-soaked black t-shirt clung to his body, making him look somewhat gaunt.
His gaze met the eyes in the reflection, and as if seeing a glimmer of hope, a slight smile touched the corners of his lips.
'[Basic Resilience] seems pretty useful.'
'Recovering stamina, endurance, and energy faster than others means I can grind through more jobs.'
'In that case...'
"Hm? Wait."
Lu Chao's eyes suddenly lit up as a more important thought flashed through his mind.
'The value of this talent specialty isn't just about work.'
'Its true purpose might be in the cultivation and development of Life Energy!'
'For example—Martial Arts combat!'
'If other people feel mentally exhausted and their muscles ache after an hour of hard training, to the point it affects the next day's results...'
'...doesn't that mean I can train for longer and maintain a better state of cultivation?'
'Over time, won't this extra 'grind' allow me to go higher and further than others?'
Realizing the key, Lu Chao's heart burned with excitement, and he clenched his fists slightly.
'And this is just a basic specialty.'
'What would it be like if I could awaken intermediate or advanced specialties later on?'
"Something's not right."
Suddenly, Lu Chao frowned, quickly noticing something amiss.
He focused his mind and looked at the panel before him.
[Glutton: Lu Chao]
[Life Energy: 5]
[Specialty: Basic—Basic Resilience]
[Potential Progress: 0%]
The information on the panel had subtly changed, with a new "Specialty" section appearing.
His Life Energy had also increased by one point, which was a pleasant surprise. It was like going from a tired, sub-healthy state to one of vigorous health.
However, that wasn't his main focus.
It was that his Potential Progress was back to zero.
'This means the progress resets every time I awaken a talent specialty.'
Frowning slightly, Lu Chao also had a gut feeling about something else.
'Accumulating potential this time will be harder than before.'
'In other words, unless I can eat more nutritious food, the time it takes to fill the Potential Progress bar will be much longer.'
'I'll take it one step at a time.'
After a moment of thought, Lu Chao shook his head, pushing all these worries aside.
[Basic Resilience] alone had already given him a certain talent, a chance to change his fate and escape this quagmire.
Once he got stronger and earned more money, he would eventually find a way to solve this problem.
The pressing matter now was to decide on a suitable path for developing his Life Energy as soon as possible.
'Cybernetic modification requires implants and regular injections of neuro-stabilizers, which costs a fortune. Awakening an ability is pure luck.'
'All things considered, the only path suitable for me is probably the grind-heavy Martial Arts.'
Lu Chao made his decision. In fact, he had considered this option even before.
Compared to cybernetic modification, the initial cost of Martial Arts was much lower.
Even so, it still required a certain amount of talent to even get started, not to mention a hefty tuition fee for a martial arts school.
'The original owner of this body couldn't afford the fees and had mediocre talent, which is why he gave up.'
'I've managed to save eight or nine thousand Alliance Coins, but that's probably still not enough.'
Lu Chao dismissed the panel and looked at his wrist.
The bank balance displayed on his smart-watch was painfully meager.
He remembered that the cheapest martial arts schools charged at least ten thousand Alliance Coins for tuition, and that didn't even include the cost of nutrition needed for the subsequent high-intensity training.
CLICK!
Just then, a sound came from the front door.
Lu Chao's thoughts were interrupted, and he turned his head to look.
The security door was pushed open, and a young man in a dark blue work uniform walked in.
"Finally back. Damn it, I'm dead tired."
He cursed under his breath as he took off his shoes and his grimy work jacket.
The pungent smell of machine oil wafted over. The body under his black tank top was quite sturdy and packed with toned muscle. It was none other than the original owner's roommate and friend, Zhao Yuanqing.
Hearing him, Lu Chao glanced at the time. It was already almost nine o'clock at night.
"Why are you so late today?" he asked, puzzled, as he walked toward the living room.
"Hah, don't even ask."
Zhao Yuanqing was about the same height as Lu Chao, around 1.8 meters.
As he spoke, he walked into the living room, grabbed a glass from the coffee table, filled it with water, and chugged it down.
GULP... GULP!
The sound of his swallowing was heavy and continuous. He then let out a breath, wiped his mouth, and explained resentfully, "The Rock Gang showed up today. They're demanding the repair shop pay a monthly fee."
"The mood was so tense. If Old Dong hadn't stopped us, we would've fought those bastards."
Lu Chao was slightly taken aback, but he quickly understood the situation.
The Iron Ring District was a very complex environment. Because it bordered the wilderness outside the city, some people called it the "Embroidered Belt," signifying the lowest rung of the Rhombus Ring City Circle.
It was teeming with gangs, most of which ran fighting rings, gambling dens, and loan sharking operations.
The Rock Gang was the most notorious of them all, specializing in extorting merchants and forcibly collecting protection money.
"What did Old Dong say?"
He was the repair shop's owner.
"Sigh, you know what he's like."
"Besides, the shop has only just started turning a small profit. If the Rock Gang really starts targeting us, coming around to cause trouble every other day, we won't be able to handle it..."
Zhao Yuanqing plopped down on the worn-out sofa, frustrated and helpless.
Lu Chao could understand the feeling.
Gangs had countless methods, especially a shameless and despicable one like the Rock Gang.
Even if the presence of the Patrol Department kept them from killing anyone, tactics like splashing paint, slashing tires, locking people in dog cages, or framing them were more than enough to deal with ordinary people like them.
Moreover, considering the factory street wasn't too far from the repair shop, he started to worry. Would these bloodsuckers extend their claws here one day?
"So what happened in the end?"
"In the end?"
Zhao Yuanqing let out a breath, his expression relaxing into one of satisfaction. "We called Brother Hao, of course."
"Out of respect for him, the guys from the Rock Gang didn't dare push their luck. You should've seen it—those bastards didn't even dare to breathe."
Lu Chao nodded, a smile also appearing on his face.
Brother Hao's real name was Chen Junhao. He was one of the three most successful people to come out of the orphanage in the early years.
He currently worked for the Hongyi Society, a major gang in the Iron Ring District with the best reputation, and he held a fairly high position.
He would occasionally return to the orphanage to visit. He was a very loyal person and even looked out for many of the people in the neighborhood.
That included the original Lu Chao and Zhao Yuanqing; they had only been able to rent this place for cheap because of his help.
"Speaking of which, I still haven't had a chance to properly thank Brother Hao."
"Let's find some time to go together soon."
Lu Chao said seriously, thinking of the past.
Zhao Yuanqing knew what he meant; he'd been thinking the same thing.
"How about this weekend? I'll ask Old Dong for a day off. Shouldn't be a problem."
"Besides, I think Lin Ze and the others were planning on it too. We can arrange it."
"Okay."
The two of them chatted back and forth, gossiping a bit about the repair shop and the neighborhood.
As their conversation wound down, Lu Chao suddenly asked, pointing at the dining table, "Have you eaten yet?"
"I heated up a synthetic instant meal for you. It's on the table."
Zhao Yuanqing followed his finger and saw a steaming food container on the table.
Instead of looking happy, a wary expression appeared on his face, and he quickly took two steps back.
"You kid, being so nice for no reason..." He eyed Lu Chao up and down suspiciously. "You're not up to something, are you?"
"Heh heh."
Lu Chao rubbed his hands together with an embarrassed smile. "Bro, I'm a little tight on cash lately."
"Lend me some money."