As midnight approached, fewer and fewer people walked the streets, and most vendors decided to close up shop.
Bai Ming, who had finished packing up, glanced to the side and saw Qin Shaoqing sleeping. She couldn't help but sigh.
'If you advertised your stall more, maybe you'd get more customers—especially with that face.' Bai Ming admired his sleeping face for a moment before pinching his cheek to wake him up.
"Wake up, it's closing time."
"Hmm? Ah, right." Still half-asleep, Qin Shaoqing moved to pack up.
By the time Bai Ming left, Qin Shaoqing was alone, the street deserted. The cold wind made the emptiness feel even more pronounced.
Suddenly, a chill crept up his spine, as if a hand traced along his back.
His drowsy eyes instantly sharpened as he looked around.
'Was it my imagination?' Trusting his instincts, he didn't lower his guard.
As he scanned his surroundings, he noticed a thick fog rolling in. Now he knew something was wrong.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a green wisp piercing through the fog.
"A heliobus?!" Qin Shaoqing exclaimed.
The moment he noticed it, it noticed him. Before he could react, the heliobus shot straight into his chest, giving him no chance to dodge.
"Ah, fuck." Qin Shaoqing didn't panic. He grabbed one remaining candied fruit stick, sat down, and looked up at the night sky, ready to enjoy it for the last time.
He knew there was no way to expel a heliobus once it entered the body. As a heliobus, it would soon drain his life energy, leaving him no way to retaliate.
"Well, it was a short life. Being sucked to death isn't the worst way to go out, heh." He mused as he put the fruit into his mouth, biting down with a satisfying crunch.
"I wonder how Ming will react when she sees a mummified body holding candied fruit. She'll probably think, 'Heh, that bastard would die like that,' not knowing I really did." Taking in the night sky one last time, he closed his eyes and waited for his demise.
[Detecting an unknown presence attempting to harm host. Deploying safety measures!]
Seeing the system notification, a spark of hope rose in his chest.
[Attempting to purge the unknown presence.]
[Failed.]
"Fuck."
[Attempting to purge the unknown presence.]
[Failed.]
"Guess I'm dying."
[Attempting to assimilate the unknown presence.]
[Successfully assimilated the unknown presence into the system.]
"Or not." Qin Shaoqing smiled and let out a long sigh of relief.
[New Ability: Drain]
[Drain: Steal yin energy from other living beings to nourish yourself and the system. With sufficient mastery, the flow can be reversed.]
"Isn't this…" Qin Shaoqing reread the ability multiple times before sighing.
It was essentially the heliobus's ability to drain life energy, converted into a usable skill.
With proper use, it could weaken opponents in battle.
But for a normal citizen like him, situations dangerous enough to use it were rare. Unless he became a Cloud Knight or a vigilante, this ability would hardly see use.
And he definitely wasn't going to assault random people just to empower his system. He was a conman at worst—not a villain seeking chaos. Just a normal guy with a system.
Shaking his thoughts away, he concluded that it was still useful for self-defense, at the very least.
Curious to test it, he grabbed an orange from storage and focused on draining it.
A green flame suddenly rose from his hand, enveloping the orange.
Moments later, the fruit withered, leaving behind only a dry husk. Qin Shaoqing felt slightly rejuvenated, and a faint citrus taste lingered in his mouth.
Satisfied, he began packing up again—when he suddenly heard the sound of running in the distance, growing louder by the second.
Now alert, Qin Shaoqing took a stance, ready to flee at any moment, expecting another heliobus.
'Wait… heliobus don't have feet.'
The realization hit just as a figure burst through the fog.
"You—have you seen any heliobus around here?" the brown-haired girl asked coldly.
"Uh… are you lost, perchance?" Qin Shaoqing feigned ignorance.
"Tsk. No use." As quickly as she appeared, she disappeared into the fog, searching for the now non-existent heliobus he had absorbed.
[Congratulations for deceiving one of the Ten Lords! Your reward is: Ghost-like Movements! Confuse opponents with illusory figures and misleading sounds!]
Looking at the reward, Qin Shaoqing felt satisfied once more. Though he wished it granted more than illusions, a man couldn't be too greedy when receiving free gifts.
"Quite a lot of combat-oriented abilities… almost like the system is prep—"
He stopped mid-thought.
As if nothing had happened, he quickly finished packing his stall.
'Don't jinx it. Don't jinx it. Don't jinx it.'