Chapter 14: [You Have Unlocked a New Feature]
"Beep beep!"
Chen Xing opened his eyes and felt completely drained.
Yawning, he reached for the phone that had just made the sound. His vision was bleary, he was still exhausted. After getting drunk last night and tossing in bed unable to sleep, he had ended up watching two movies on his phone before finally dozing off.
He wasn't even sure if the WeChat notification sound had been real or just in his head. Well, only one way to find out.
After searching around for a while, he finally found the phone buried under his pillow.
Zhou Peng's profile picture was right at the top of his chat list. He'd just sent a message:
"Chen Xing, come down for some butter tea."
Too tired to type, Chen Xing replied with a voice message, weakly saying, "You guys go ahead. I'm gonna sleep a bit more. Don't bother calling me later either, just go have fun."
Zhou Peng was probably already on his phone, because he replied quickly.
"Alright then."
Downstairs at a small shop next to the inn, Zhou Peng and Quan Jing were having butter tea with a local pastry called Lijiang baba. After Zhou Peng finished messaging Chen Xing, Quan Jing asked:
"Is Chen Xing coming?"
"Nope." Zhou Peng dipped the flatbread into his butter tea like it was fried dough. Seeing that Quan Jing looked a little uneasy, he added, "Don't worry about him. That guy's probably living it up even more than we are. If we hadn't gone to drag him back last night, he might not have come back at all."
He wasn't kidding, Long Island Iced Tea was no joke.
Famous for knocking people out with one glass, it was a drink favored by sleazy guys looking to trick naïve girls. And last night, Chen Xing had almost finished his third glass.
Zhou Peng didn't believe for a second that the woman named Muzi had no interest in Chen Xing.
But then again, so what?
It wasn't like Chen Xing was some innocent virgin. If anything did happen, it wouldn't be him getting the short end of the stick. And Muzi was gorgeous, definitely the mature, alluring type.
As Chen Xing's best bro, Zhou Peng almost felt guilty for interrupting.
"Alright then," Quan Jing said.
She'd been worried that Chen Xing might feel left out. After all, the three of them had come on this trip together, and now it seemed like they were splitting off. Still, she couldn't deny the happiness of going on a little getaway with her boyfriend alone. That inner conflict had been bugging her all morning.
Now it felt resolved.
It was Chen Xing who didn't want to come with them, not like they were excluding him.
"So, where are we going today?"
"Jade Dragon Snow Mountain."
…
Chen Xing woke up hungry at 11 a.m., got dressed, and headed downstairs to find something to eat.
After sleeping off the hangover, he felt much better.
Lijiang during the day was quieter than at night, but thanks to heatwaves sweeping through popular tourist destinations across the country, the cool climate in Yunnan had turned it into a rare, fun, and refreshing spot. So, it was still bustling.
He had breakfast at a small shop, then stepped outside to see the sky an impossibly vivid shade of blue.
Looking up, the massive white clouds floated like cotton candy overhead, so low it felt like a 20-story building might be able to touch them. But all the buildings in Lijiang were short.
"Wasn't the sky in my dream just like this?"
He vaguely remembered dreaming last night: he had lived on a small grassland, tending sheep, with several border collies smarter than himself. A gentle stream, about three meters wide and half a meter deep, flowed nearby. Fish would occasionally leap from the water.
The sky in that dream had been just as blue.
He used to think skies this blue only existed in dreams, or were filtered with software. But now he knew what it meant to be a frog in a well.
The world was vast.
Skies like this really did exist.
There really were simple yet emotionally moving dances.
There really were cities built along streams, with water flowing through them.
There really were shop owners who played matchmaker—not out of a desire for fame or fortune, but simply because they liked pairing up travelers.
Then a thought struck Chen Xing.
Maybe it wasn't that they didn't care about fame or money.
The couples they matched would be grateful, drink in their bar, and later tell their friends about it, spreading word of the place and recommending others. Because they'd think, "Wow, that owner was such a good person."
If that was the case…
Chen Xing hoped he was just overthinking it.
If he was right, all he could say was: what a schemer.
He strolled around town, snapping lots of photos of beautiful women, but there was no reaction from the system.
Wasn't there supposed to be a reward for sightseeing?
Lijiang Old Town wasn't that big. In just three hours, Chen Xing had covered all the top spots recommended online. The scenery and architecture were gorgeous, no doubt, but the system notification he'd been waiting for never came.
When he closed his eyes and tried to sense the system, the only text he saw was the same one from yesterday.
"So how did I get the reward yesterday?"
Thinking carefully, he remembered being completely stunned by the sight of hundreds of people dancing in unison, he had even zoned out.
So maybe basic sightseeing wasn't enough?
Sure, Lijiang was beautiful. But for a modern person to be so shocked they blanked out? Not likely.
"If the system only rewards me for moments during travel that genuinely shock me, then there's probably no point in staying in the Old Town much longer."
Zhou Peng and the others would head back in a few days, but Chen Xing wasn't planning to return home anytime soon. Not until he figured out how the system worked, what kinds of sights triggered rewards, and which didn't.
Back at the inn, he packed up and brought his suitcase downstairs.
"Checking out," he told the owner.
The innkeeper, a local from southern Yunnan, spoke with a heavy accent and asked, "Just you?"
"Yeah, my friends are staying longer."
While checking out, Chen Xing gave Zhou Peng a call to tell him he was leaving.
Zhou Peng was chill about it.
He used to worry that Chen Xing didn't have enough money to travel alone. But now he knew, Chen Xing had more money than he did. With a bit of frugality, the guy could wander around for months without a problem.
Still, Zhou Peng reminded him to be cautious while traveling.
After hanging up, Chen Xing wheeled his suitcase out of the Old Town and found a large supermarket in the nearby urban area.
There, he bought a black backpack, a laptop, and an action camera that could be mounted on a hat. But as he was about to check out, a flash of light flickered in his eyes. Chen Xing immediately focused on the system, and saw a new line of text.
[You Have Unlocked a New Feature]
[POV Recording: Once activated, begins video capture from the traveler's point of view. Maximum resolution: 4K at 120fps. Automatically starts recording when turned on, and automatically sends footage to the designated email address upon deactivation. Please set your email address.]
[More travel features can be unlocked, please explore proactively.]
Wait…
How was he supposed to "explore proactively"?
He had assumed the system was just about earning rewards by looking at scenery. But now it turned out there were hidden features too?
When he opened his eyes, the cashier auntie across the counter was staring at him.
"Young man, why are you just staring at me? Scan your code!"
(End of Chapter)