NOVEL WEB Chapter 3
Chapter 3: Skill Implosion
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Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Watching the Habit Incubator sparkle in The Mall was depressing. It was so near yet so far, seemingly within reach, yet unattainable. That was enough to dampen his initial euphoria.
Thirty thousand yuan wasn’t actually that much. Wang Yan was confident that he would be able to reach that amount within 11 days.
The problem now was that he only had eight hours.
Wang Yan had no other way out.
His mom had about ten thousand in savings, but he didn’t have a valid reason to borrow it. Besides, even if he did have a valid excuse, there wouldn’t be enough time to make a withdrawal, and she didn’t have access to online banking.
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As for his classmates, only He Meng and Gu Jiashu would be able to produce thirty thousand yuan on short notice, but he wasn’t close enough to them.
Being as prideful as he was, there was no way Wang Yan would be able to ask them for the money.
Wang Yan racked his brains long and hard, but really couldn’t figure a way out. He had no choice but to turn off the system so as not to brood over it.
‘I guess it’s not meant to be. Let’s just wait for the next item…
‘I need to occupy myself with other stuff so that I won’t be hung up on this…’
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Wang Yan cocked his head to one side and opened the Taobao app once again, ready to do some research on air conditioners.
The temperatures in the central region had been abnormal that year. There had barely been any snow during winter or rain during summer. It had been 95 degrees Fahrenheit for almost a week, and the temperature was supposed to reach a high of 104 degrees in the next few days.
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His parents couldn’t bear to spend money on air conditioning. Wang Yan was thinking of getting one installed for them before going off to college. If not, it might be too uncomfortable for them to sleep at night.
And when he had more money in the future, he’d buy them a house as well to help support the family. He would feel bad about splurging for any other reason.
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It was just that finding a valid excuse was difficult…
The thought of having to explain to his parents where the money came from was giving him a headache. He felt worse than he had while sitting for his high school exams.
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Right when he was feeling troubled, he heard some noise coming from the gate of the yard next door. Sure enough, there was a youth in his twenties passing by. He was Wang Yan’s neighbor, Wang Yunxi.
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“Brother Xizi, you’re back early today,” Wang Yan greeted him politely.
“Yo, Xiaoyan. Why haven’t you left the house?”
“Who would go out in this weather?” Wang Yan retorted. “The weather is really freaking hot!”
Wang Yunxi nodded with a grin on his face, tore off the white shirt on his back, then wrung the sweat out of it. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the sweat literally gushed out from his shirt.
“Give me a minute, Xiaoyan.”
Wang Yunxi headed into his house and took half a watermelon out of the fridge. Sticking two spoons into the watermelon, he then leapt over the wall and placed the watermelon on the table in front of Wang Yan.
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“Let’s have some watermelon!”
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Wang Yan helped himself to the watermelon without any hesitation, digging out a huge chunk right away.
As a distant relative of the Wang family, Wang Yunxi was no outsider. In fact, if they were to take the family hierarchy into consideration, he should have been calling Wang Yan “uncle.”
However, having resided in the city for so long, nobody was very particular about these things anymore. Wang Yunxi still referred to Wang Yan’s father with honorifics, but he kept things casual with Wang Yan.
The watermelon was sweet and juicy and did wonders alleviating the summer heat. Wang Yan felt great.
[Ding! You’ve just had some delicious watermelon, successfully triggering the Secret Reward.]
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[You’ve received a new skill, and a Personal Page has been set up for you.]
Damn!
‘I’ve never bought any lottery tickets in my life, so I had no idea I was this lucky!’
It was such a pleasant surprise that Wang Yan had difficulty believing it.
Who would believe that one shot was all it took to win the reward, in spite of its one percent probability?
Maybe this luck would help him procure the thirty thousand yuan he needed!
He quickly opened the Personal Page, and a miniature 3D version of Wang Yan appeared.
[Host: Wang Yan]
[Basic Attributes: Strength 64, Physique 63, Agility 68, Intelligence 65]
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[Skill: Glutton]
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That was indeed an interesting skill to possess, but it had nothing to do with money.
Wang Yan was a little disappointed, but he scrolled down and saw something that made him perk up again.
Note: Passive skill – you will be able to sense the quality of the food items and pick out the best.
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After pondering for what seemed like forever, he finally figured out what that meant—he would no longer have to worry about picking out a watermelon that wasn’t sweet.
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The watermelon he picked out would definitely have a thin rind and be super sweet and juicy. Wouldn’t that be awesome?
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Although it had nothing to do with money, Wang Yan was still incredibly happy at the thought of it.
At the end of the day, earning all that money was meant to improve his quality of life and enjoyment anyway, so being a glutton would mean extra enjoyment!
Jack Ma was wealthy, right?
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If someone gave him a truck full of watermelons and asked him to pick the best-tasting one, would he be able to do it?
Hehe, he wouldn’t be able to, right?
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Wang Yan was an easily satisfied person. Having an edge over the world’s richest tycoon immediately dispersed the gloomy thoughts that he’d been having.
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He took another look at the Basic Attributes, where there was an explanation.
The average score for males over 18 was 60 points, the full score being 100.
Sixty points were average, 70 points and above were classified Excellent, 80 points and above would be classified Genius, and 90 points and above would be classified Super Genius.
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Wang Yan was getting a headache from trying to understand the explanation.
‘Wow, I really am average in all aspects. Not one aspect has fallen below the average, but none of them are considered Excellent either.’
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In fact, according to the theory of normal distribution, people like Wang Yan were indeed the majority, because the evaluation of each attribute was extremely rigid and complex.
Some people had a good memory but weak logical skills, and some were weak in spatial reasoning, so their overall intelligence scores wouldn’t be high.
Some people had an extremely high level of cardiorespiratory endurance but average stamina during sex, so their score for Physique might not have been high.
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In other words, everyone had strengths and weaknesses that were unique. The majority of the world’s population still consisted of average human beings. Geniuses were few and far between.
…
As Wang Yan bit into another huge chunk of watermelon, which, by the way, was still incredibly sweet, he suddenly had a question.
“Brother Xizi, where did you get this watermelon? Why is it so tasty?”
“Oh, it’s from Wu Ye. Blackhoney Number Three. You’ve never had any before? I still have four of ’em. There’s enough for four days, so eat as much as you like!” Wang Yunxi casually replied, not thinking it was a big deal.
Wu Ye was a relative of Wang Yunxi’s with whom Wang Yan was well-acquainted.
“Isn’t Wu Ye back in Wangjiao? He came all the way to Gujiao to sell watermelons?”
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“It isn’t easy to sell watermelons back at home! The soil is sandy, so lots of watermelons are available in the market during summer. The Blackhoney variety is good, but not as cheap as the Sandaogang kind. There are plenty of nouveau riche in Gujiao, so it’s easier to sell ’em here.”
It made a lot of sense, so Wang Yan understood what he was saying right away.
Wangjiao had once been a mining region, and the quality of the soil was terrible, so the harvests alone wouldn’t have provided a sustainable source of income.
Before the mines were emptied, everyone still had a form of income, but after the mines were depleted, the villagers either had to move away or find another way to survive.
Sandy soil was best for growing watermelon, so their hometown, Gujiao, focused on watermelon farming, but Wang Yan had his doubts as to whether watermelons were selling well there.
“How about the money spent on gas? After factoring in transport costs, the profit wouldn’t be much, would it?”
“Exactly!”
Wang Yunxi slapped his own thigh, then said, “Wu Ye made the trip down but didn’t manage to find buyers, so he had no choice but to sell them to the dealers at the wholesale market. After deducting the costs, he was basically left with nothing. It was practically a wasted trip!
“He left five watermelons with me and went back in a huff. Did you know that, after passing through the hands of the dealers, each watermelon would be able to fetch five yuan at the premium fruit stores?”
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Wang Yan was shocked. “Huh? They’re that expensive?!”
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“The Blackhoney Number Three variety is good. Wangjiao has access to the mountain spring water, and the soil is suitable for all kinds of watermelon, so our watermelons taste better than the mainstream ones. Wu Ye did a good job growing them. It’s just too bad he didn’t have the right connections.”
Wang Yunxi knew what the issue was, but he was unable to do much about it besides lament what a pity it was.
As for Wang Yan, he, too, left it at that.
The adult world was all about earning money, but that didn’t seem to matter at all in the Shenhao System, which seemed to focus only on spending.
He might as well start making plans for tomorrow.
Two thousand eight hundred a day would go a long way, right?
There was no need to worry about anything else right then. #YOLO!
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