Meng Ran opened his room window and stealthily slipped in, making no sound.
"Phew~, I'm exhausted," Meng Ran put away his battle suit, took a shower, and then comfortably lay on his bed.
"Ha~," Meng Ran suddenly chuckled, "So this is what it feels like to be a hero."
He never expected that after being reborn, he would also become a masked hero.
Meng Ran lay on his bed, raised his hand, and clenched his fist.
"Since I have this power, I must make good use of it," he thought to himself.
"Congratulations, host, you have gained 10 points!"
The system's voice rang out in his mind.
"host has gained prestige for the first time, rewarding one Newbie Gift Pack and one hundred points."
"Acquiring points unlocks functions such as the System Mall."
Meng Ran became excited upon hearing the system's prompt and sat up.
"I knew it, how could a system not have a Newbie Gift Pack? It's finally here."
Meng Ran's system came with a system space, but its area wasn't infinite; it was roughly a cube-shaped space about one hundred meters in length, width, and height.
Although not infinite, this size was already more than enough.
Meng Ran found the glowing Newbie Gift Pack and consciously chose to open it.
The glowing Newbie Gift Pack shimmered slightly, then disappeared, replaced by several glowing items.
"One Combat Suit (can combine with Venom; the combat suit is unaffected by sonic waves and flames, and can protect identity from being exposed when Venom is suppressed.)"
"Two Handguns (System-produced, guaranteed quality. Ordinary and special bullets can be purchased in the mall.)"
"One Dagger (special metal, indestructible.)"
"Cultivation Method: Free Breathing Technique"
"50 points"
Meng Ran was incredibly excited by the items he received and quickly took them out of the system space.
All the other items had physical forms, only the cultivation method transformed into a speck of light and merged into his body.
Meng Ran closed his eyes, contemplating it carefully, and soon opened his eyes with joy.
This cultivation method perfectly solved his immediate problem; it not only replenished his energy but also enhanced his control over his own strength.
With continuous operation over time, Meng Ran's various physical attributes would also slowly improve.
After reviewing the cultivation method, Meng Ran turned his attention to the physical equipment.
The combat suit provided by the system, like Venom, was a round, liquid-like sphere.
As soon as Meng Ran took it in his hand, it immediately permeated his body.
With a thought, it could combine with Venom to become a battle suit.
"The system is truly considerate; it's afraid my identity will be exposed if Venom is suppressed by sonic waves," Meng Ran remarked with satisfaction.
Then he looked at the guns and the dagger, and placed them in the corresponding positions on the combat suit.
Meng Ran stood with his hands on his hips, looking at himself in the mirror. The black combat suit was not only fully functional but also very stylish.
Especially with the hood on, only those narrow, pale eyes were visible, which directly maximized the deterrent effect on criminals.
"Now this is a true battle suit," Meng Ran thought to himself, satisfied, as he looked in the mirror.
When the lady he saved earlier asked for his name, he felt a bit caught off guard.
After all, this was his first appearance, and he hadn't yet decided what his moniker would be.
After pondering for a moment, he combined his image and chose the title "Evil Ghost" for himself.
He didn't care if it sounded good or not; he just wanted to become the nightmare of all criminals, an Evil Ghost who came from hell to claim lives.
After checking the equipment, Meng Ran looked at his total points. Today's 10 points, plus the 100 bonus points and the 50 points from the gift pack, totaled 160 points.
Meng Ran didn't know if 160 points was a lot or a little. He opened the System Mall, which was divided into several areas: skills, movement techniques, and items, among others.
When the system had just merged, Meng Ran had no points, so many functions were not yet apparent at that time.
He carefully browsed the mall and then came to a disheartening conclusion: just as one can never have too much money, one can never have too many points.
He looked at the prices of the items in the mall, then at his current point count.
"Sigh, I can only look but not touch. It's so frustrating," Meng Ran thought with a bitter expression as he browsed.
Finally, after a long time, he selected a few things he urgently needed.
He bought three skills: Close Combat, Firearm Mastery, and First Aid Mastery. Each cost 20 points and was only basic level; upgrading them would require more points.
After buying these, he also spent a hefty 100 points on a movement technique called "Wave Stride."
This movement technique, just like its name, was both flashy and cool.
"Wave Stride." Meng Ran could already imagine himself using his movement technique to weave through enemies seven times in and out during future battles.
But then, thinking about his now empty points balance, Meng Ran couldn't be happy anymore.
However, he wasn't discouraged. After all, this was only his first battle, and with all the rewards, 160 points was already quite good.
It was a pity he couldn't save any more; he didn't even have money to buy bullets now.
The system offered many types of bullets. Ordinary bullets cost one point for ten rounds, while special function bullets were slightly more expensive, one point for five rounds. This exchange rate was still very reasonable.
Moreover, things like tranquilizer darts and explosive bullets not only had diverse functions but were also of excellent quality, as system-produced items were always top-notch.
Besides bullets, the System Mall also offered many weapons, but most were at prices Meng Ran couldn't afford right now.
Currently, besides bullets, he could only buy some grenades and smoke bombs.
Meng Ran flipped through the System Mall for a long time. Although he really wanted to buy everything, he had no money, so he could only look.
Reluctantly closing the mall, he then sat cross-legged on the bed and began to cultivate the technique.
The Free Breathing Technique aimed to calm one's inner breath and harmonize the body's strength and spirit.
While it was slightly less effective in terms of increasing strength and spirit, it was undoubtedly the most suitable cultivation method for Meng Ran.
Because the Venom possession function could provide him with periodic strength boosts.
Periodic strength growth, or rather, sudden strength boosts, had both pros and cons for Meng Ran.
The advantage, of course, was that his growth rate would be very rapid, but the disadvantage was precisely what this rapidity brought.
Suddenly gaining immense power was very difficult for a person to adapt to.
For example, it's like a normal person suddenly becoming a strongman, crushing rocks as easily as crumbling a soft clod of earth.
After this, the first thing this person would have to learn is to constantly control his strength, so as not to harm his friends and family, as an uncontrolled embrace could cost these people their lives.
Meng Ran silently recited the Free Breathing Technique's incantation, feeling a cool energy start from his dantian, then spread throughout his entire body.
After this energy completed a circuit, it returned to the dantian, forming a cycle.
In this way, Meng Ran slowly emptied his mind as the technique operated, and his cyclical circulation became smoother and smoother.
He could clearly feel his control over his strength growing stronger, and his spiritual and physical power also showed slight improvements.
"At this rate, I should be able to fully digest this power tonight," Meng Ran thought to himself while cultivating the technique.
His original fatigue was also released during his meditation.
He sat cross-legged on the bed like this until midnight, when his meditation was complete.
Although Meng Ran's fatigue had been completely eliminated during meditation, the habit of resting by lying down for so many years couldn't be changed overnight.
Moreover, he didn't intend to rely solely on meditation for rest; sometimes lying in bed wasn't just for sleeping, but also for mental relaxation and contemplating issues.
Meng Ran lay on his bed, recalling today's battle and gains, as well as some plans for the future. As he thought, he gradually drifted off into a dream.
That night, Meng Ran slept very soundly.