Three months later.
Noon, bedroom.
Su Qi lay on the bed, staring blankly at the not-so-high ceiling.
So, how did things end up like this?
He had already uncovered the true name of that engraving knife. According to how the story should unfold, three months should’ve been more than enough for him to "punch the nursing home and kick the kindergarten," so to speak.
Su Qi stared at the translucent screen before him, lost in thought.
[Radiance: 12]
[Brilliance: 0]
[Delight: 421]
...
To anyone else, these three strings of numbers would probably seem utterly baffling.
But in reality, they corresponded to the skill: ["For all that the 'Bearer' desires, I shall grant one by one."]
Translated into plain language: As long as he collected enough points, he could turn any desired thing or outcome into reality.
After three months of trial and error, Su Qi had easily figured out the mechanics of the skill.
1. The methods for obtaining the three types of energy:
- [Radiance] came from altering "the unchanging tracks of someone's life"—but it had to be someone else's. He himself seemed to have no "fixed life track" anymore.
- [Delight] was earned by witnessing or creating something entertaining enough—whether good or bad, comedy or tragedy, as long as it was interesting.
- As for [Brilliance], he still had no clue.
2. The energy gained only depended on the state at the moment of acquisition. Even if the person whose life was altered returned to their original path, or whether they lived or died afterward, it didn’t matter—the points couldn’t be deducted.
3. [Radiance], [Brilliance], and [Delight] were three independent currencies, incapable of being exchanged for one another.
Among them, [Radiance] was the standard currency, [Brilliance] the rare currency, and [Delight] the inferior one. As for why they were classified this way... he’d find out soon enough.
Bang!
A sudden, though not particularly loud, door-slamming sound interrupted Su Qi’s train of thought.
It was probably Liu Yuan going out.
Come to think of it...
The two of them lived under the same roof, yet ever since the "house-selling incident," they hadn’t had a proper conversation in three whole months.
He didn’t know how other siblings interacted.
But between them, the most frequently exchanged phrases were "Food’s ready" and "I’m full."
Or perhaps, this was just her default attitude toward everyone—cold and distant.
There wasn’t a trace of the liveliness one would expect from someone her age.
...
After closing the front door, Liu Yuan took a deep breath and tilted her head back.
Her striking eyes fixed on the skyscraper across the street for about four or five seconds before she finally put on her mask.
This wasn’t some cliché scenario where she was too beautiful to go out without covering up.
She was simply heading to one of Jiangxia City’s two major black markets—the underground Cardholder market on Ping'an Street, colloquially known as the West Market.
No matter how down-and-out she seemed, living in the city’s slums, Cardholders were still a privileged class.
And for the sake of so-called "social stability," many of these privileges and details couldn’t be disclosed to ordinary people.
Hence, the black market thrived.
...
Masked, Liu Yuan pushed open the door of a shop in the black market and stepped inside.
This shop was the territory of one of the market’s big shots, offering a wide range of services—from custom Card enhancements and intelligence gathering to hiring Cardholder teams for expeditions into restricted zones.
It claimed to operate outside the oversight of the Cardholder Association.
At least, that was the official line.
But who really knew?
Maybe every shop here had some high-ranking Cardholder Association figure pulling strings behind the scenes.
Liu Yuan glanced around. The shop was dimly lit, the air tinged with a faint musty smell.
Behind the counter, a middle-aged man wearing a monocle was polishing a faintly glowing Card. Hearing footsteps, he looked up.
"What do you need?"
No pleasantries, no small talk.
Liu Yuan didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she walked to the counter, pulled a folded slip of paper from her pocket, and slid it over.
The man took the note, unfolded it, and frowned slightly after reading.
He studied Liu Yuan again, his expression unreadable, then spoke.
"Sorry, the requirements are too strict. No one’s taking the order. I suggest raising the price."
Liu Yuan shook her head.
If she had the money, wouldn’t it be better to just buy from official channels?
Silently, she took back the note. On it was written:
[Wanted: Tier-4 Rare Card. Must provide substantial base attributes, preferably with additional efficiency in refining Source Essence. Budget: 50,000–60,000.]
The man gave her another two-second once-over, his face now tinged with disdain.
"Goodbye, then."
Just another martial arts examinee hoping to get lucky. The black market wasn’t some standardized service industry—this request was a waste of his time, not worth another word.
Put simply: Only a fool would craft that Card for her.
A Tier-4 Rare Card’s market price did fall within 50,000–60,000, but with those requirements?
Any attribute that boosted Source Essence refinement efficiency was sky-high in price. You couldn’t even get one for 500,000, let alone 50,000!
After all, no matter which world you were in, there was no shortage of parents hoping their children would "stand out from the crowd."
Who didn’t want their kid to have a head start?
Pushing their children was always easier than pushing themselves.
Even in a world with supernatural systems, some things never changed.
...
On her way back, Liu Yuan had removed her mask. Clutched in her hand was the now crumpled note.
Just then, three young men in their early twenties approached from the opposite direction.
The two on either side started whistling and egging the middle one on, shoving him forward until he stumbled awkwardly in front of Liu Yuan.
Flushing red, the boy stammered, "H-Hi... can I... add you on SourceChat?"
Liu Yuan gave him a cool glance.
"I don’t add strangers."
The boy pressed on, undeterred.
"Do you... have a boyfriend?"
"None of your business."
Without another word, she walked past him.
Just another passerby in life, unworthy of her time.
Yet, after this encounter, her thoughts involuntarily drifted to someone else.
Almost unconsciously, she pulled out her phone and opened SourceChat.
Her eyes landed on the pinned contact—his profile picture and status.
[I want to sleep.]
[Should your life be an endless wilderness? Or the same old tracks?]
A radiant smile broke through her usual icy expression.
Even though... they were just online friends... even though she didn’t even know his real name...
She felt... it was about time they took things a step further, right?
But she didn’t dare ask for confirmation...
The more you cared, the more you feared losing it.
What if he didn’t feel the same? What if they couldn’t even stay friends afterward?
...
Meanwhile.
Su Qi stared at his suddenly doubled—no, more than doubled—"inferior currency," deep in thought.
[Delight +500]
Huh?
What funny thing happened?
Where?