A cargo truck bearing the Hero Company logo drove along the sunlit Avenue, heading toward the Hero Company headquarters.
The back of the truck was pitch dark. The four members of Team Blue Pigeon minded their own business, the darkness filled with the tapping of phone screens and the crunch of chewed chocolate.
Ke Mingqing leaned against the truck wall, sitting quietly in the dark as he reviewed the spoils of the battle.
First, he opened the Quest Panel to check the rewards for his main quest.
[Main Quest 2 (Phase Two) completed: Establish a friendly relationship with Ember, help her complete a company-issued task, and attempt to contact Xi Ziyue of the Magical Girl Three Giants.]
[Rewards obtained: 4,000 EXP, 3,500 superhuman coins, 2 Attribute Points.]
"Two Attribute Points..." Ke Mingqing was stunned. "That's crazy."
[Experience points have reached the limit. Level automatically increased by one.]
[Current level progress: Lv.11 (3,600/5,500 EXP)]
[Congratulations, your Agility attribute has increased from C Rank to C++ Rank (cost: 2 points).]
After allocating the points, Ke Mingqing eagerly opened the Chat Panel, used the screenshot function to copy the prompt, and sent the image to Kuroki Hitomi.
He attached a message.
[Ke Mingqing: C++, from beginner to the grave.]
He had wanted to use that joke for a long time, but had never found the opportunity.
A moment later, Kuroki Hitomi replied.
[Kuroki Hitomi: (Emote: Kitten clapping)]
Ke Mingqing chuckled, closed the Chat Panel, and checked his balance of superhuman coins.
[Current superhuman coin balance: 11,000.]
With this much money, I could afford a B-Rank Skill... Ke Mingqing thought with a sigh. But a B-Rank Skill has never even popped up in the shop. With my terrible luck, I couldn't buy one even if I wanted to.
He clicked the Skill Shop icon and checked the refresh rates.
[Your current level is Lv.11. Refresh probabilities: E-Rank Skill 25% / D-Rank Skill 40% / C-Rank Skill 30% / B-Rank Skill 4% / A-Rank Skill 1% / S-Rank Skill 0% (PS: The refresh rate for high-level skills will increase alongside your level)]
"Four percent isn't too low," he muttered.
Ke Mingqing prayed inwardly. Please, I'll sacrifice ten years of that terrifying Crow Man's lifespan. Just give me a B-Rank Skill. After a moment, he opened his eyes and checked today's batch of five skills.
[Skill 1: Big, Big, Big! (E-Rank Skill) (1,000 superhuman coins)]
[Skill 2: Snap Pistol (D-Rank Skill) (3,000 superhuman coins)]
The first two skills made Ke Mingqing pause.
What's going on? Ke Mingqing wondered. Does this mean that by killing Li Wei, I released the skills he'd been hoarding back into the pool? After pondering for a moment, he shifted his gaze to the remaining three skills.
[Skill 3: Home Run! (D-Rank Skill) (3,000 superhuman coins): Gain a ball and a bat. The batted ball will cause a massive impact.]
No good, it's too slow for combat, Ke Mingqing thought.
[Skill 4: Sword Control Technique (C-Rank Skill) (5,000 superhuman coins): Summon an ancient Flying Sword. You can manipulate the sword to attack enemies or ride it.]
This one is actually decent, Ke Mingqing noted, raising an eyebrow. My main body lacks a way to fly, even though Theater Puppet can use its top hat.
[Skill 5: Wall of Ten Thousand Armies (B-Rank Skill) (10,000 superhuman coins): Push forward a giant wall of ancient soldier flesh-statues, causing a massive impact directly ahead and pushing away approaching enemies.]
[Note 1: Wall of Ten Thousand Armies will last for 30 seconds.]
[Note 2: The impact of Wall of Ten Thousand Armies scales with your Strength attribute; its size scales with your Spirit attribute.]
Ke Mingqing's gaze locked onto it.
It took him a moment to process. "Nice. Sacrificing ten years of Crow Man's lifespan really worked. This skill looks like it packs a punch."
Ke Mingqing decisively reached out and long-pressed the skill icon.
[Congratulations, you have spent 10,000 superhuman coins and successfully purchased the B-Rank Skill "Wall of Ten Thousand Armies".]
[Current superhuman coin balance: 1,000]
"Back to being broke overnight," Ke Mingqing lamented.
[Your 6 Skill Bars are full: Slot 1: Theater Puppet; Slot 2: Phantom Shift; Slot 3: I Am Lightning; Slot 4: Gate of Truth; Slot 5: It's Raining; Slot 6: Rainbow Bubbles; Slot 7: Empty (Unlocks at Level 20).]
[Please select a skill to replace.]
This feels like a scam. Doesn't replacing a skill mean I bought it for nothing? Ke Mingqing tilted his head, heart aching at the thought.
I definitely can't swap out It's Raining and I Am Lightning, since those are Blue Pigeon's public powers. Gate of Truth and Theater Puppet are my lifelines. That only leaves Phantom Shift and Rainbow Bubbles.
Just then, a prompt panel popped up in front of him.
[Note: Replaced skills will be sent to your Skill Repository.]
[You may swap out the skills on your Skill Bar once a day according to your needs.]
[Alternatively, once you unlock more Skill Bars, unequipped skills will automatically be assigned to the new slots.]
Seeing the text, Ke Mingqing raised an eyebrow in relief.
"Never mind then."
[Prompt: You have equipped the B-Rank Skill "Wall of Ten Thousand Armies" to Slot 6. "Rainbow Bubbles" has been sent to the Skill Repository.] Ke Mingqing then opened his inventory and looked at the equipment box in the final slot.
This was the reward for his first kill of a B-Rank super-human species. He clicked the icon and selected the "Open" option.
[Prompt: Player has opened the C-Rank Equipment Box. A random C-Rank piece of equipment has been added to your inventory. Please check it.] Ke Mingqing took another look at his inventory.
The box icon vanished, replaced by a silver-blue shield imprinted with a Möbius loop pattern. [Equipment Name: Shield of Möbius]
[Equipment Rank: C Rank]
[Equipment Effects: 1. Throwing the shield at an enemy causes a powerful impact, and it will automatically return to the player's hand after flying a certain distance. 2. When the shield is destroyed, the destroyer will be trapped in the Möbius loop, returning to reality only after 2 seconds.] [Equipment Description: Legend has it that only those who have truly experienced the tempering of time have a chance to obtain the Shield of Möbius.] "Oho, this broken shield looks pretty formidable. It even comes with a deathrattle effect that acts as hard crowd control," Ke Mingqing said, shrugging as he closed his inventory.
He reached out, asked Shadow Woman for a pack of chocolate, tore open the wrapper, and quietly snacked on it.
Suddenly, someone in the truck spoke up, breaking the silence.
"By the way, bro, what exactly is your relationship with Ember?" Top Hero turned his head and stared suspiciously at Blue Pigeon.
"What relationship could we possibly have?" Blue Pigeon replied dismissively, looking down as he scrolled through Weibo on his phone.
"If nothing is going on, why did she go to that underground bar to save you?" Top Hero pressed.
"All I can say is, there's definitely an illicit affair going on," the young Invisible Giant chimed in, shooting him a disdainful look.
Shadow Woman typed on her phone as she chewed her chocolate, then turned the screen toward him: "Don't date minors." Blue Pigeon looked at the words in her notepad app and tilted his head.
"Come on, what if I'm a minor too?"
Shadow Woman thought for a moment, typed on her phone again, and rephrased it.
"Minors shouldn't date."
"Okay, big sis," Blue Pigeon sighed obediently.
"So, bro, who exactly is she to you?" Top Hero patted his shoulder. "I mean, if it's too personal, you don't have to say."
"She's my..." Blue Pigeon hesitated.
"Your...?"
Top Hero's eyes widened.
"Childhood sweetheart," Blue Pigeon said, coughing twice. "We grew up together. She ended up becoming a magical girl, and I became a superhero. Amazing, right?"
"So you're her child groom?" Top Hero showed off his cultural literacy.
Blue Pigeon stared at him blankly. "What kind of logic is that?"
"Sorry, my Chinese isn't that good yet." Top Hero scratched his head, thinking for a moment. "Bro, tell us what Ember is like in real life."
"What you see is what you get," Blue Pigeon said flatly. "She has a terrible temper and hates strangers."
Speak of the devil. The moment he said that, a message popped up on his phone screen.
[Chali Jiushi: I'll take you home. See you at the usual place.]
Right at that moment, the truck stopped in the underground parking lot. The back doors opened, and the four of them got out one by one, taking the elevator upstairs.
A short while later, Blue Pigeon finished his mission report at the Hero Company office.
The other three had already sneaked off, leaving him as the only one honestly reporting the mission. Such was the heavy burden of a captain.
"It's a pity we couldn't capture a sample of a player," Lin Yin said regretfully.
"If I had the chance, I would've taken him alive too," Blue Pigeon said. "But it was involuntary."
"Never mind. What was it like trading blows with a player?"
Blue Pigeon thought about it. "They aren't that strong, but their techniques are incredibly bizarre. It's almost impossible to guard against them."
"Yeah," Lin Yin nodded. "We might be fighting more people like them in the future, and they'll only get stronger. Prepare yourself mentally."
"That's crazy. Well, if there's nothing else, I'll be heading out."
Dropping those words, Blue Pigeon turned to leave.
"Hold on," Lin Yin suddenly called out to him.
"What is it?" Blue Pigeon asked.
Lin Yin smiled faintly, spun her laptop around, and said, "Congratulations. Thanks to your performance over these past few weeks, the higher-ups have officially raised your rank from D-Rank Hero to C-Rank Hero. Also, Team Blue Pigeon has been officially promoted to a C-Rank squad."
Blue Pigeon glanced at the screen.
On the Hero Company's official website, "Blue Pigeon" had already been moved into the C-Rank Hero category. Even among C-Rank Heroes, his popularity rating was still in a league of its own.
Lin Yin continued, "From now on, you'll receive a higher salary and be assigned to harder missions. You're one step closer to the Roundtable. How does it feel?"
"That's certainly worth celebrating," Blue Pigeon said nonchalantly. "I hope I can become the fastest hero to ever join the Roundtable."
In his heart, he added, And then I'll slaughter all the heroes of the Roundtable as fast as possible, making them die horribly right in front of Rain Crow. "You will. I believe in you," Lin Yin said, pushing up her glasses.
"Save the pleasantries, Commander."
With that, Blue Pigeon turned and left the office.
He took the Hero Company's glass elevator down to the first floor, handed his Employee Badge over to the staff, and walked out the entrance.
As always, he leaned forward slightly and transformed into a bolt of deep blue lightning, shaking off the stalking reporters and crazed paparazzi.
A short while later, Blue Pigeon entered an empty, secluded alley. He looked up to see a girl in a pitch-black gothic dress leaning against the wall, waiting for him. The slanting sunlight shone on her pristine hair.
The two exchanged a look without saying a word.
But Ember's eyes were so cold they could freeze water.
"Your look is practically screaming, 'Why didn't you just stay put and wait for me to come help you?'" Blue Pigeon guessed.
Ember's gaze remained icy.
"Come on, sis. Can you not be so full of yourself? I might not care about losing face, but my squad does." Blue Pigeon paused. "Besides, didn't everything work out perfectly in the end?"
"I. Was. Worried. Sick."
After a long moment, the girl in the gothic dress took a deep breath and spoke, enunciating every single word.
"And your big brother was worried sick about you, too," Blue Pigeon cut in.
Ember froze. She lowered her head and stayed silent for a while before reaching her hand out to him. Blue Pigeon took it. The girl opened her umbrella, and the two vanished into the clear sky.
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