Yu Zhun, who had just snapped back to his senses, felt a string of question marks pop up over his head. He stared blankly at the illegal loli beside him, who was a year younger than him.
"How did you know?"
"The Divine Revelation Talent Chart!" The illegal loli picked up her phone and expertly opened a leaderboard. "Look, rank 93: the SSS-grade talent, Open and Aboveboard! A newly emerged talent always ranks at the bottom of its tier, but based on future performance, its ranking will probably continue to rise!"
Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she puffed out her flat chest. "The player forums are already going crazy discussing it. Everyone is guessing the talent's effects and its corresponding Profession.
"If you ask me, there's absolutely no need for discussion. The Open and Aboveboard talent is obviously a talent for the Warrior Profession!
"The Warrior Profession's first class advancement can be to a Holy Knight. That's simply a match made in heaven with Open and Aboveboard!"
"Oh..." Yu Zhun took the phone and looked at it. After confirming that there was nothing on it besides the talent's name, he relaxed. He stood up, returned the phone to the illegal loli, and vigorously ruffled her hair. "Yu Zhuzhu, it's time to eat."
"Don't call me Yu Zhuzhu!" The illegal loli smoothed out her messy hair and curled her lips, following after Yu Zhun. "My name is obviously Yu Zhu!"
"They sound the same. It's not a big deal."
"It's a huge deal!" Yu Zhu quickened her pace, only to pause abruptly when she reached the door. "Wait, don't we have leftovers from lunch?"
"We're eating out." Yu Zhun took out his own phone and waved it in front of Yu Zhu. "I made a quick 600 bucks."
Basic material items like Demon Sheep Horns could be sold directly through official channels, with the payment transferred instantly, making it highly convenient. Having looked forward to entering the game for so many years, a small celebration was in order now that the day had finally arrived.
"Whoa, as expected of the Assassin Profession, known as the 'early-game carry.' You can start making money right after entering the game!" Yu Zhu's eyes lit up. "Yu Zhun, does this mean we can eat meat every day from now on?"
"Absolutely." A hint of a smile tugged at the corners of Yu Zhun's lips.
The little Demon Sheep appeared harmless and were known as the weakest mobs, but it wasn't that they couldn't attack; they simply had a special combat mechanism. Taking a single hit or being observed for five continuous minutes would trigger their combat state. The latter was a balancing mechanism against Assassins, meant to counter Lurking. Once a little Demon Sheep entered its combat state, it still posed a certain threat to novice players.
For a Lv1 player, soloing one little Demon Sheep wasn't difficult, but soloing twenty of them almost guaranteed the need for health potions along the way. Those potions weren't cheap; even the most basic bottle cost 500 bucks. Ultimately, the money earned from selling materials might not even cover the cost of healing. Therefore, the common approach was to form a party. However, doing so meant splitting the profits. Although 600 bucks wasn't a fortune, not many players could earn that amount on their first day in the game.
As the two sat at the restaurant downstairs waiting for their food, Yu Zhu suddenly looked at Yu Zhun as if she had just remembered something. "By the way, I almost forgot to ask. What talent did you draw?"
Yu Zhun stared at her in silence.
"You finally remembered to ask?" He shook his head speechlessly. "My talent is the SSS-grade talent, Open and Aboveboard."
He wasn't worried about being targeted for saying it out loud, because...
"PFFT!" Yu Zhu rolled her eyes in annoyance. "If you don't want to tell me, just say so. If your talent is Open and Aboveboard, then mine is the number one talent on the leaderboard, Unrivaled Command."
A diner at the next table, overhearing their banter, couldn't help but let out a low chuckle.
Yu Zhun calmly took a sip of his tea. Yes, everything was going exactly as he had expected.
"Yu Zhun, that tea is for rinsing the bowls."
"PFFT— COUGH, COUGH!"
"Just kidding, it's for drinking." Yu Zhu raised an eyebrow triumphantly and downed her own cup in one gulp. "I looked at the other tables; they're all drinking it straight."
Dark lines formed on Yu Zhun's forehead. "No meat for you."
"You can't do that. I'll report you for child abuse." Yu Zhu wrinkled her nose. "It doesn't matter if your talent is bad. Just wait until I get my game qualifications in a year. When the time comes, it'll be the Return of the Dragon King, and I'll take you to live the high life..."
The girl's words came to an abrupt halt as the dishes were served.
She picked up her chopsticks and began shoveling food into her mouth. Soon, her cheeks were puffed out like a little squirrel's. Watching the girl, Yu Zhun silently picked up his own chopsticks.
Yu Zhu wasn't his biological younger sister. No, that wasn't entirely accurate. To be precise, he was a child the Yu family had picked up on a rainy night, while Yu Zhu was the biological daughter of his foster parents. However, after their foster parents died in an accident many years ago, whether they were blood-related or not seemed to lose its importance. After all, they were the only ones left, relying on each other to survive.
"Damn it! Yu Zhuzhu, leave some for me!"
"MMPH, MMPH..."
-----------------
"BURP~"
Yu Zhu leaned back in her chair, rubbing her belly in a very unladylike manner, surrounded by empty plates. "Yu Zhun, you knocked me up."
Yu Zhun, who had just returned from paying the bill, nearly stumbled. He slapped a hand over Yu Zhu's mouth. "Good lord, please shut up."
"HEHEHE~" Yu Zhu stood up lazily. "Let's go home. I prepared something good for you. I'm sure you'll find it useful."
"What is it?" Yu Zhun couldn't help but look curious.
"You'll see when we get home," Yu Zhu said with a mischievous smile, keeping him in suspense. She dragged Yu Zhun all the way back to their apartment, where she sneakily pulled out a stack of documents and handed them to him. "TA-DA!
"This is the 'Beginner's Guide: Yu Zhun Exclusive Edition,' painstakingly created by this peerless beauty over forty-nine days and nights, at a staggering cost of twenty bucks!"
"A staggering cost of twenty bucks..." Yu Zhun weighed the thickness of the documents with a deadpan expression. "Old Zhang at the printing shop downstairs must have made a tearful killing of five bucks off you."
"Dammit! When will my haggling skills be as smooth as yours?!" Yu Zhu stomped her foot in anger.
"Alright, I'll help you haggle those five bucks back next time." Yu Zhun patted Yu Zhu's head, picked up the documents, and returned to his own room. "I'll study this."
Because of the emergence of Divine Revelation, modern underage education was quite different from the past. In addition to basic courses, schools also taught knowledge related to Divine Revelation. This was especially true in high school; since high school students were all preparing to enter the game, the curriculum covered a vast amount of relevant material.
With his foster parents passing away early, Yu Zhun had dropped out of school after finishing junior high to work and support Yu Zhu's high school education. Although he would borrow her textbooks and notes to study on his own, a top-tier student like Yu Zhu definitely had a better grasp of much of the knowledge.
In his cramped room of only four or five square meters, Yu Zhun carefully flipped through the documents Yu Zhu had compiled, reading late into the night.