Shi Qing was half a beat behind in understanding Qin Mo’s question; why did he go along with him back to his world? Indeed, although it was necessary for Qin Mo to leave the system space, it was not necessary for him, the system. He could remain in the system space, with absolutely no need to go into the jade pendant and accompany Qin Mo.
His first thought in that moment was to follow Qin Mo—why was that? After Shi Qing pondered for a moment, he spit out the truth, “I was afraid you would be in an accident.”
“En?” Qin Mo kept his eyes closed, and gave off the impression that he was waiting for Shi Qing to continue speaking.
Not wanting to disappoint those expectations, Shi Qing explained further, “…If you die, I have to stay here alone for five hundred years.”
Shi Qing’s mouth moved before his brain had a chance to weigh the consequences…he wanted to slap himself in the face so badly! Shi Qing was filled with regret; once again he had missed the opportunity to leave a favourable impression with his words. He should totally have sympathized with Qin Mo, and expressed his feelings of indignation and concern. Then he could try his best to enter that psychopath’s heart and strive to be friends with him.
But look, what did he actually say? Without thinking, he just blurted out what was truly in his heart. Heh could not be more frustrated…
While Shi Qing was caught up with being upset, Qin Mo suddenly opened his eyes. He stared at the black mist floating in front of him, and the corner of his lips rose up, revealing a very shallow smile. He whispered, “En, I know.”
Shi Qing watched Qin Mo’s reaction carefully, and was unable to make any sense of the matter; why did this guy seem like he was in such a cheerful mood? What did he have to be happy about? He had just been tortured so miserably, and yet now he was actually laughing — what did this mean? He really was abstruse <sup>1</sup> !
Although Shi Qing would like to say more, and even had a whole speech ready, Qin Mo once again closed his eyes, and exuded a ‘do no disturb’ type of feeling. Shi Qing could read the atmosphere, so he took the words that were trying to stumble out of his mouth and swallowed them back down.
However, that did not mean that his mind was also silent. They had been so busy that there was no leisure time to think, but now that he had time to spare, he carefully sorted through his memories of Qin Mo from the past few days. When good luck had come, he had quickly taken advantage of it. In spite of everything, he was able to produce excellent results quickly.
Qin Mo seemed to prefer when he spoke the truth? Even if the words he spoke with sincerity were unpleasant to hear or offensive…
Oh…he muttered to himself for a while, and thought that he may have touched on the tail end of the truth . As for how he would adhere to being honest, Shi Qing spent half a day mulling it over in order to arrive at a conclusion. Qin Mo attached great importance to honesty, so he would take him seriously. If he tried too hard it may be difficult to remain sincere, so it seemed like allowing things to develop naturally was the most reasonable choice.
When all was said and done, there was a sense of estrangement of the heart between Shi Qing and Qin Mo. Although Qin Mo’s experiences predominantly consisted of bitter hardships, at the same time his hands were also stained with blood. Under normal circumstances, when faced with this kind of ‘monster’, Shi Qing absolutely would not want to have any contact. However, in their current situation, they were forcibly tied together and would not be able to avoid one another. Shi Qing was not a turtle that would hide in its shell; he hoped to establish a harmonious and safely cooperative relationship with Qin Mo.
He thought their first mission would be very difficult, but it had, in fact, been finished almost effortlessly. At least the two men had experienced this mission together; it could be regarded as something pleasant, right? All of a sudden, he was able to comprehend Qin Mo’s ‘preference’ for honesty, and he felt more relaxed. He could just be himself in front of Qin Mo, and there should not be any problems.
After he figured things out, Shi Qing’s heart could finally relax. He also felt as if the prejudices he held towards Qin Mo had mostly dissipated. He could see that Qin Mo was still resting, and did not wish to disturb him. He simply returned to his own little space, and checked into whether his seven hundred points could be exchanged for a body.
Although, according to the quick guide introduction, Shi Qing himself was the system; he had felt from the start that he could actually be classified as a proxy. His main task was to communicate with the host, and it did not require much power. Look at him, he even had to use his own points to purchase a body…he was so bitter.
The available bodies were in the constitution strengthening category. There was a wide range of descents and races; from the insects he did not even want to see, to mammals. Many mammals gave off a true meng feeling, like the cute kitten, or a little raccoon — their fluffiness was very delightful. Shi Qing was very interested in the little furballs, but when he thought of becoming one himself, he suddenly…
So, even if it was only one hundred points to turn into a national treasure giant panda, he absolutely would not choose that!
Then he came across the human bodies. Shi Qing was 囧囧 down to his soul. How could it be that the female bodies were typically two hundred points less than similar male bodies?
For example, looking at the most basic model of the human body, a female body was seven hundred points, and the male body was nine hundred points! Even the available bodies of rare, legendary origin had equal gaps in cost.
For what reason? You sexist system! Why were women cheaper than men ah?
Unfortunately, regarding these minor details, the quick guide was actually too lazy to give an explanation.
Shi Qing sighed deeply, and became depressed —h e had exactly seven hundred coins. If he wanted to become a human as soon as possible, it would be necessary to buy a female body. Otherwise, he would just have to save his points and complete another task.
Recalling the three days he spent as a jade pendant; Shi Qing only wanted to lay down and die. He could only watch the Manchu Han imperial feast <sup>2</sup> helplessly, unable to eat anything…he did not love that.
But, asking him to give up his masculine pride to become a woman…there. was. no. way! Even though he had become a wandering soul, he was still a male wandering soul. His gender was the bottom line —he would not change that even if he was beaten to death .
Since he lacked the means, Shi Qing let loose a heavy sigh and banked his points for the time being. He would wait until the completion of the next task in order to acquire a man’s body.
He emerged from his own little space, and noticed that Qin Mo stood in front of the screen. He was in the system store, and was browsing through different items he could exchange his points for.
Qin Mo had one thousand four hundred points. As a novice, he could exchange his points for many different things, since basic items were relatively inexpensive.
Because of level-based restrictions, Qin Mo did not have access to much of what was in the system. Under body enhancements, he only had access to the most basic of body strengthening options such as; strength, agility, endurance, and so on. There were a few more items available in equipment; mostly weapons such as knives, explosives, guns, etc. There were also some scrolls available for purchase, two of which were very useful. One was a universal language scroll, and the other was a teleportation scroll that could be used to escape.
Qin Mo turned his line of sight away from the guns and other weapons, rested his eyes briefly on the language scroll, and finally stopped at the teleportation scroll.
He stood there, motionless, and stared at the scroll. As the system, Shi Qing swiftly drifted over and diligently explained, in detail, “This is an excellent tool for escaping. When used, it will immediately allow you to escape from danger and teleport anywhere in the world. The only downside is that the price is a bit expensive, fifteen hundred points, and it can only be used once.”
“Can I use it in my world?”
Shi Qing immediately grasped what he was getting at, “Yes, everything that is available in the system store can be taken and used in your own world.”
Qin Mo nodded indifferently. He withdrew his gaze from the teleportation scroll, spent five hundred points on the universal language scroll, and then used another one hundred points to purchase a gun.
Shi Qing found those choices were somewhat unexpected; he had thought that Qin Mo would save the money to buy teleportation scroll. He did not expect that he would actually be so free with his spending, and use up 600 points.
Shortly after, She Qing contemplated those choices; Qin Mo had only accumulated fourteen hundred points. He could not afford a teleportation scroll, so he could only wait until the next task was completed to acquire it. During the next task, he would receive a minimum reward of one thousand points as long as he completed the task. Therefore, as long as he did not spend too many of his remaining points, purchasing the teleportation scroll should not be hindered.
Shi Qing really felt that Qin Mo had excellent foresight. The universal language scroll was costly, but it was very practical. He believed that Qin Mo also felt that, despite the last world being an ancient world, there were still many differences in the language —written and spoken . Thanks to his high IQ, he learned quickly, and could master the necessary knowledge; with his talent he was unlikely to go so far as making major errors.
This also served as a wake-up call. The worlds they could visit were diverse; there was no guarantee that the language spoken elsewhere would be the same. While they were in the Daqing Dynasty, Qin Mo read various books about that world. He learned that there were various ethnic minorities there, and their language was completely different — he had known none of them. Imagine if they were sent to a world to complete their mission, and they did not know the language. How could they accomplish their tasks?
For this reason, the universal language scroll was a must.
Qin Mo purchased a gun, because although he was familiar with most handheld weapons, these guns were completely unfamiliar to him. He took special notice of the gun because, although it was in the same category, it seemed that it was a weapon of much greater power than other handheld weapons.
He bought the gun and planned to study its uses immediately, test it out, and generally increase his awareness of this type of weapon.
Even though Qin Mo had been clever enough so far, he could still be hindered by his deficit of cultural knowledge. Due to that, he ran the risk of committing a huge, unexpected mistake.
He bought a gun, but he did not buy bullets …
Shi Qing quickly stepped into his role as the system, and ran through the answers to questions he anticipated, “This is a weapon born of science and technology. It possesses the power to take a human life with ease. You can buy a specific combat method for it, but if you want to save your points, the tutorial is only fifty points. The learning process is longer that way, and it works best if you possess the aptitude. There is one kind of scroll that results in firearm mastery. After using it you can use any gun. The cost is quite considerable though; you would need five thousand points.”
Shi Qing changed his tone, and added, “Guns require bullets, and they can be purchased from the system store as well. You can procure infinite ammunition, but it would cost you two thousand points. The value is definitely worth the high cost, so when you have more points to spare it is certainly worth considering.”
“En,” Qin Mo answered, and then spent fifty points to purchase the gun tutorial, and began to read through it.
Shi Qing was not surprised by his decision. After all, due to the point restrictions, he could only choose the cheaper option.
He expected that Qin Mo would have to study for an hour or two. Who could have anticipated that Qin Mo would close the tutorial after only five minutes? He looked up at Shi Qing, and demanded, “Let’s start.”
Shi Qing was shocked, and he felt as though he was hearing voices — it had only been five minutes! Brother, are you finished reading that in five minutes? That manual was not thin; there were more than twenty pages of text! After reading, can you even remember anything? Even if you remember, can you apply that knowledge? Why not use this opportunity to practice?
The flurry of questions he had were ready to flow out at any moment, but the instant he was faced with Qin Mo’s eyes, he pushed them all back down.
Those deep black eyes very clearly had ‘shut up’ written across them. Shi Qing’s heart shriveled up within his chest, and he decided that he would do just that.
They pressed the button to accept the next task, and the screen changed to display the background information for their next mission.
At first glance, Shi Qing’s heart cried out… mother fucker …The first mission was quite satisfactory since it was set in ancient times. How could the second world take them straight to the apocalypse?
This chapter….this chapter really kicked my ass. I’m so glad it’s done. Also, gun was censored out every time. That made it fun.
I’m testing out some legit footnotes. It seems that they aren’t quite working right. I will try to use these from now on so you can click down to the footnote, and then click back up afterwards. If I can get them to work for me.