Chapter 25: Hidden Template
It was already seven o'clock by the time I got back to the dorm. To my surprise, my roommate John—a man so elusive he was practically a legend—was actually back.
John was sitting on the edge of his bed, smoking with a melancholy look on his face. His dog, Polly, was excitedly jumping all over him, licking his face enthusiastically.
Zhou Ning silently watched this heartwarming scene of a loving father and his "filial son." He couldn't bring himself to mention that Polly had just eaten shit.
Seeing Zhou Ning come in, John stubbed out his cigarette. "What am I going to do, Zhou Ning?" he asked, his voice full of despair. "My dad is probably going to kill me."
From what I recalled, John's family was extremely well-off. His father was a prominent businessman in the Docklands, and their family owned the entire red-light district near the old town.
My body's previous owner had wanted to get John to treat him to a meal and show him the high life, but he'd never worked up the courage to ask.
Zhou Ning raised an eyebrow, setting the bread he'd bought on the table. He was a little curious.
"That can't be right," he said. "You're his only son. He wouldn't kill you over something trivial."
"...You didn't get into some kind of trouble, did you?"
John shook his head sadly. "If I'd committed a crime, it would be easier. As long as it wasn't too serious, my dad could get me out of it."
Then he sighed again. "Remember that shop I invested in? It's about to go bankrupt, and I'm going to lose everything."
Zhou Ning's interest vanished. He'd been expecting some melodramatic family drama, not a simple business failure.
"It's just one failed investment. For your family, that's nothing, right?"
"My father gave me ten thousand Vectra..." John mumbled.
Zhou Ning fell silent.
As I recalled, John had started his venture in July, investing in a boutique pharmacy off-campus. By the end of the month, he decided it wasn't profitable enough, so he tore it down and rebuilt it as a high-end weapons shop.
In his own words: "If you're going to do something, do it right."
And now it was September 2nd.
If I were his father, I'd probably beat him to death too.
"You're hopeless," Zhou Ning said flatly. "Just wait for your doom. Be sure to visit me in my dreams after your funeral."
Zhou Ning was once again struck by the vast disparity between their lives. He silently gathered his clothes and headed for the bathroom, having no desire to talk to this spoiled rich kid any further.
When I came out of the shower, John was already fast asleep. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
It was a staff member making the rounds to collect coins from the dorm gas meters. As he took the payment, Zhou Ning felt like he was being fleeced.
You don't realize how much it is until you see the bill. To his shock, he'd used over four roshen worth of gas in just three days.
So poor, Zhou Ning sighed.
Rain pattered against the window, the sound growing heavier. Zhou Ning closed it, hopped onto his bed, and sat cross-legged. The urgent need to practice alchemy was over for now, which gave him some free time to finally organize his abilities.
Zhou Ning opened his system panel. He'd accumulated over 23,000 experience points over the past few days—some from practicing alchemy, the rest from reading.
He currently had seven common skills available for fusion: English Proficiency (Expert), Pickpocketing (Intermediate), Marksmanship (Advanced), Pickup Artistry (Expert), Ripple Breathing (Basic), Mozambique Drill (Basic), and CAR Marksmanship (Intermediate).
It took 10 Spirit points to upgrade Ripple Breathing from Basic to Intermediate, but Zhou Ning only had 9. Fortunately, he still had some unassigned attribute points. He raised his Spirit to 10, finally reaching the standard for a normal person.
Once his stats met the requirement, Zhou Ning upgraded Ripple Breathing (Basic) to Intermediate without hesitation.
[Ripple Breathing (Intermediate): A very effective breathing technique that increases Strength by 4 and Agility by 4.]
The Strength and Agility bonuses had increased a bit, and the description was upgraded from "effective" to "very effective," but the overall improvement didn't feel that significant.
Next, Zhou Ning selected Marksmanship (Advanced) and Ripple Breathing (Intermediate) and chose the Skill Fusion option.
[Would you like to fuse Marksmanship (Advanced) and Ripple Breathing (Intermediate)? This fusion will consume 8000 experience points. The success rate is 70%.]
The success rate is lower than it was in the game, Zhou Ning thought. Probably because Ripple Breathing isn't a game skill.
He chose "Yes" without hesitation.
[Fusion successful. You have acquired the skill: [Ripple Shot].]
[Ripple Shot (Basic): A shooting method that infuses the bullet with ripple power, making it extremely lethal to dark creatures. When this skill is active, Strength and Agility are increased by 3.]
Zhou Ning's eyes lit up. He had imagined many possible outcomes for combining Ripple Breathing and Marksmanship, but [Ripple Shot] was the best he could have hoped for. While it lacked the accuracy bonus of Advanced Marksmanship, it infused his bullets with ripple energy and granted an additional 3 points to both Strength and Agility, maximizing its lethality.
He had about 8,000 experience points left. Glancing at his skill list, he immediately upgraded Mozambique Drill (Basic) to Intermediate.
[Mozambique Drill (Intermediate): A close-quarters combat shooting technique: two rapid shots to the body, followed by one to the head. Damage is significantly increased compared to the basic level.]
[Would you like to merge Mozambique Drill (Intermediate) and CAR Marksmanship (Intermediate)? This fusion will cost 8000 experience points. The success rate is 48%.]
[Fusion successful. You have acquired the skill: [Rapid Pursuit].]
[Rapid Pursuit (Basic): A lethal gunfighting technique combining long- and short-range combat styles. Allows the user to enter a special state that passively increases combat effectiveness.]
"It actually worked?"
This time, Zhou Ning couldn't believe his luck. The description was vague, however, leaving him unsure of the skill's true power. It reminded him of the "Deadly Rhythm" specialty he'd learned from the John Wick template—another abstract ability.
After sorting out his skills, he spent some more time reading in the dark, bringing his progress to 547/1000. A glance at the clock showed it was just past eleven.
Zhou Ning had been patient for two days, but seeing his balance of nine Time Travel Coins, he finally gave in. He opened the simulator and initiated a time jump.
[Preparing for time travel... Time Travel Coins -5]
[Please select a time travel mode...]
[1. Direct Jump.]
[2. Jump using a parallel world template.]
As usual, let's see what templates are available.
The previous three templates—Extreme Hacker, Crazy Clown, and God of Gamblers—were gone, replaced by three new ones.
The first showed a well-mannered, bespectacled version of himself.
Title: Architect Zhou Ning
Personality: Shrewd
Talent: Talent for Design (Blue)
Skills: Architectural Design (Expert), Accounting (Intermediate)
Cost: 3 Time Travel Coins
The second showed him in a black mage robe, juggling three large fireballs.
Title: Zhou Ning, the Flame that Burned a City
Personality: Volatile
Talents: Fire Magic Genius (Purple), Magic Affinity (Purple), Magic Focus (Purple)
Skill: Fire Magic Omniscience (God-Tier)
Cost: 250 Time Travel Coins—a sky-high price.
When Zhou Ning saw the third picture, he couldn't help but gasp. It depicted him in a black suit, half-shrouded in darkness, with a weathered look in his eyes.
Title: Legendary Vampire Zhou Ning
Personality: Wise, Calm
Talents: Scientific Genius (Purple), Athletic Genius (Blue), Vampire Physique (Purple), Daywalker (Purple), Rapid Recovery (Purple)
Skills: Ripple Breathing (Expert), Painting (Expert), Writing (Master), Marksmanship (Expert)... and a densely packed list of others.
Cost: 0 Time Travel Coins.
Zhou Ning stared, stunned, for a long moment before it clicked. He remembered the hint he'd received after completing "Lost in Fog City": The Legendary Vampire Zhou Ning has become a hidden template and can be selected with extreme luck.
Is this my lucky day?
Was there even a choice? He selected the Legendary Vampire Zhou Ning template without a second thought.
[Match Successful. In this parallel world, you are the 20th century's greatest scientist, writer, and physicist. You have won two Nobel Prizes and led the Allies to victory in World War II. You are a legend—a living legend—and also a vampire who can walk in the daylight. The Stone Mask granted you the talents and physique of a vampire, while your body, transformed by the synergy of the Mask and the Edge Red Stone, has given you the ability to withstand the sun. What changes will you bring to this world? We shall see.]
[Current world exploration: 56.8%. At 66.7%, you will gain permission to unlock the next map.]
[The simulation will end upon your death.]
[Initializing Time Machine… 1%… 33%… 65%… 95%… Jump complete.]
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