Gao Yang closed his eyes.
[Entering the System]
[You have acquired 61 new luck points.]
The number of points was roughly what Gao Yang had expected. Forty-eight hours over two days would normally yield 48 points, but when Pang Jun attacked him, the gains doubled, adding over a dozen extra points.
—I want to draw for a new talent.
[Acquiring a new talent requires spending 30 luck points. Confirm?]
—Confirm!
[Acquiring…]
[Acquiring…]
[Acquisition failed.]
—Damn it! That's too much! Is it really this hard?
[Reattempting acquisition requires 30 luck points.]
—What a rip-off! Fine, whatever. Add the remaining 31 luck points to my luck stat.
—The interview's about to start. Every bit of strength counts.
[Stat allocation successful. Luck has reached 132.]
[Congratulations! You have additionally gained 20 permanent flexible attribute points, which can be freely allocated.]
—Then add those to luck too.
[Looping is prohibited.]
—Fine, let me think… Add them to charm.
[Increase charm by 20 points. Confirm?]
—Confirm. It's only 20 points—adding them to other stats probably won't make a noticeable difference. Might as well improve my first impression.
[Stamina: 27 | Endurance: 28]
[Strength: 17 | Agility: 27]
[Spirit: 37 | Charm: 39]
[Luck: 132]
[Session ended. System hidden.]
[Beep—]
Gao Yang opened his eyes and turned to Qing Ling. "Does my face look any different?"
Qing Ling gave him a cursory glance. "No, not really."
Gao Yang pressed, "Look closer. There should be a difference. Like, my eyes might be more vibrant, my jawline sharper, my skin smoother or something…"
"Your face is thicker," Qing Ling said flatly.
This woman has no taste. Whatever, not worth arguing with her.
Gao Yang took a deep breath, straightened his collar, and strode into the arcade.
The space before him was a small, 20-square-meter storefront. Two rows of old-school arcade cabinets lined the walls, their screens flashing brightly colored demo animations that bathed the dim room in a retro, neon glow. A ceiling fan spun lazily overhead, creaking and groaning intermittently.
A young man sat in the corner, engrossed in a game.
Gao Yang exchanged a glance with Qing Ling before stepping forward. "Hello, we're here for the interview."
The guy ignored him, though he didn't seem hostile either.
Gao Yang moved closer and saw that the young man was playing Three Kingdoms: Battle of Red Cliffs, controlling the character Zhuge Liang. He was exploiting a bug to infinitely freeze the final boss, Cao Cao, with an ice sword.
Damn, this kid has no honor.
The gamer was scrawny, dressed in a studded leather jacket and pants. The sides of his head were shaved, leaving a strip of bright yellow hair spiked up in the middle—a classic mohawk. His chest, back, neck, and arms were covered in tattoos of bizarre designs, though Gao Yang did recognize one: a pig's head shaped like a hairdryer.
"Aaaah—!"
The boss Cao Cao let out a death cry as his health bar emptied. The game cleared.
The young man finally looked up. "Just you?"
Gao Yang was a little offended. I just added 20 charm points. Shouldn't that warrant some respect?
"And me," Qing Ling said.
The guy craned his neck to see her behind Gao Yang and immediately perked up.
"Whoa, a beauty!" He jumped to his feet, theatrically smoothing his mohawk with both hands. "So it's the two of you."
"And me."
Officer Huang pushed through the blue curtain at the entrance. "Sorry, I'm a bit late. Haven't started yet, right?"
"We just got here too," Gao Yang said.
Officer Huang politely introduced the mohawked guy. "This is our interviewer for tonight, Mr. Wu Dahai."
The guy stuffed his hands in his pockets, oozing arrogance. "Just call me Brother Hai."
"These two are new companions I've met—Gao Yang and Qing Ling." Officer Huang smiled. "Last time, I lost the challenge. This time, I brought some friends to join me. That alright?"
"No problem. But if you lose tonight, don't come bothering me again this month," Wu Dahai said dismissively.
"Deal."
"Let's begin." Qing Ling flicked her wrist, and a tang dao appeared in her hand.
"Whoa, that weapon's sick! It retracts too?" Wu Dahai's eyes lit up. "That's not yours, is it? Where'd you get it?"
"None of your business." Qing Ling assumed a fighting stance.
"Feisty! I like it." Wu Dahai wasn't offended. He lazily picked at his ear. "So, which of you three is going first?"
"I'll go," Officer Huang said.
"Alright, same rules—three challenges!" Wu Dahai spread his arms. "You pick. Beat me three times, and you pass."
"Pick what?" Qing Ling asked.
Officer Huang smiled apologetically. "Ah, I forgot to mention. The interview is an arcade competition. Pick any three games, and if you can beat him, you pass. I've challenged him several times and lost every time. You youngsters are probably better at games, so our odds are better this time."
"Officer Huang, when you said you were weak… you meant at video games?" Gao Yang was speechless.
"Yeah."
Qing Ling frowned, clearly not understanding. "Why not just cut this idiot down?"
"Hahahaha… cut me down?" Wu Dahai nearly doubled over laughing. "Beauty, you have no idea what real power is! I'm giving you a chance here! Don't push your luck! If we're talking real fights, forget all three of you coming at me at once…"
Wu Dahai raised his voice dramatically: "Even if you come at me one by one… I'd still lose!"
Gao Yang broke out in a cold sweat. Is this what they call "the most aggressive tone delivering the wimpiest lines"?
Wu Dahai smirked. "Hmph, I'm not a combat-type talent, so of course I can't compare to you guys. But if you dare lay a finger on me, there are plenty of big shots in the organization who'll come deal with you."
"Alright, alright, we're all Awakened. Let's keep things civil, no infighting." Officer Huang quickly mediated. "I'll go first. I pick the shooting game."
He sat down at one of the arcade cabinets and inserted a coin. Wu Dahai did the same.
Gao Yang walked over and saw it was Strikers 1945, the first installment.
This game had been the nightmare of Gao Yang's childhood. A single coin would last only a few minutes before his ship got blown up. He hated shoot-'em-ups.
Officer Huang and Wu Dahai each selected a fighter plane and started the game.
"Same rules—you get three lives, but the match is over after the first death. No bombs. Whoever dies first loses."
"Got it."
The game began.
The first stage was simple, with sparse enemy bullet patterns. Both cleared it easily, maxing out their firepower.
The second stage ramped up the difficulty, with denser bullet patterns. Since bombs were banned, they had to rely solely on their main guns, making dodging much harder. Both weaved through the bullets skillfully.
By the third stage, the competition grew fierce.
Officer Huang, with his Sharpshooter talent, naturally had an edge in shooting games. He remained calm, his movements precise and his fingers nimble.
When the third-stage boss appeared, Officer Huang stopped attacking entirely. His plan was obvious: let the boss's bullet patterns take out Wu Dahai.
Wu Dahai was agile too, but he was clearly getting impatient, frantically attacking the boss while dodging bullets.
Officer Huang controlled the joystick with one hand, lit a cigarette with the other, and focused solely on evasion.
Gao Yang had to give him full marks for that show-off move.
Amid the relentless bullet hell, Wu Dahai's plane was shot down. Officer Huang stopped controlling his plane, and it was destroyed a second later—he'd outlasted Wu Dahai by one second.
He stood up. "Good game."
"Hmph, you're only good at shooters," Wu Dahai grumbled. "Next round, next round."
"You two take the next matches," Officer Huang said.
"But you're pretty good at this," Gao Yang said.
"Nah, I've tried all of them," Officer Huang admitted sheepishly. "Other than shooters, he crushes me in everything else."
"Who's next?" Wu Dahai called out.
Gao Yang and Qing Ling exchanged glances. Qing Ling spoke coolly: "Me."