Chapter 29: Chapter 29: Acquisition
As Zhang Wenda spoke, he glanced toward the bookshelf and, sure enough, spotted other books identical in style to the one he was holding.
Zhang Wenda reached for one, but the man blocked him. "Hey, hey, hey! Kid, if you’re not buying, don’t touch. You can’t afford to pay for it if you damage it."
The man’s attitude confirmed Zhang Wenda’s suspicion. There were definitely more powerful Superpowers here—they just couldn’t be had for ten yuan.
’So the solution Rabbit mentioned is a more powerful Superpower?’ Zhang Wenda wasn’t sure, but he wanted to find out. He refused to believe all the Superpowers were this pathetic.
At the very least, Rabbit’s ability to instantly heal a severed hand was leagues better than these bizarre Superpowers.
After another glance at the time, Zhang Wenda knew he couldn’t delay any longer. He had to pick a Superpower, no matter how lousy, or this whole trip would be for nothing.
He browsed through them again. After some difficult deliberation, he finally settled on Mind Control, which seemed marginally useful.
"Made your choice? No take-backs. Wait for me a minute." The man walked over to the large iron door at the back and began fumbling for his keys.
A moment later, Wang Shaojie returned. He pulled out a steel syringe as thick as an infant’s arm and began drawing fluid from a gray, vapor-wreathed test tube.
The sight of the long needle made Song Jianguo’s face drain of color, and the hair on her arms stood on end.
Zhang Wenda, on the other hand, wasn’t afraid of needles. He was just a little confused. "Isn’t this thing for livestock?"
"Cut the crap and lift up your shirt." Zhang Wenda complied.
Soon, Zhang Wenda watched the man take the syringe and plunge it directly into his spine. A sharp pain shot through him, followed by a powerful, driving pressure, as if the man were pushing the needle straight into his bone.
"Receiving the Superpower is just the first step. It doesn’t mean you’ve mastered it. You still need to train..."
By now, Zhang Wenda was no longer listening to the man. His attention was fixed on the red scar on his arm, which was slowly lengthening as the injection proceeded!
After the injection was finished, the man asked Zhang Wenda, "Do you feel anything different? For example, are you able to see things you couldn’t before?"
"Different? Not at all," Zhang Wenda said, shaking his head.
"Nothing? That’s impossible." The man leaned in, prying open Zhang Wenda’s eyes to examine them. "Huh. Strange. There’s really no effect? Was it expired?"
With a puzzled expression, he turned and went back to the large iron door, taking another test tube that was passed through.
With the second injection, Zhang Wenda saw it crystal clear: his red scar was indeed lengthening, almost as if his forearm were slowly tearing itself open.
He didn’t know what was happening, but it seemed the Superpower he was supposed to receive had been converted, somehow, into an enhancement for his red scar.
"Nope, still nothing. Did this one expire too? Why don’t you give me another one?" Zhang Wenda said, feigning composure.
"This makes no sense. How could this be?"
The man in the white coat scratched his head, completely baffled. After writing another report, he went back to the iron door.
Another needle went in, and Zhang Wenda saw the red scar on his forearm grow even longer.
"Still nothing. Maybe this particular sequence is defective. How about you try a different one? What about ’Abdominal Color Recognition’? I’m not picky," Zhang Wenda said, struggling to suppress a grin.
"Get lost! We’re out!" Wang Shaojie shot up angrily, shoved Zhang Wenda out the door, and prepared to lock it.
"I’ve finally figured you out! You know what you are? You’re like one of those characters from a martial arts novel with all their meridians severed! What do they call that again... a cripple who can’t learn anything."
"Making me write all these reports... Stay away from Superpowers from now on. You have no aptitude for them. Just focus on your studies! You can still contribute to society by studying hard."
Shoved out by the man, Zhang Wenda found himself back on the street.
Seeing that the red scar on his arm had grown by a quarter, Zhang Wenda couldn’t help but feel a surge of delight.
He might not have achieved his original goal, but he had still reaped significant benefits. The trip hadn’t been a waste.
He glanced at the large, square clock on a building; it was already 5:40. Zhang Wenda started for home.
’But why can my red scar convert other Superpowers and use them to enhance its own power?’ Zhang Wenda wondered as he walked.
His initial assessment was that the red scar must be something like a Superpower itself; otherwise, this conversion wouldn’t be possible.
’Since that guy who specializes in this stuff didn’t even recognize it, it must be pretty mysterious. Is this my transmigrator’s bonus?’ The corners of Zhang Wenda’s mouth had just begun to curve upward when the thought of the rules’ punishment made them droop again.
He would gladly trade the red scar to make the rules disappear, just to go back to his childhood and have a normal fresh start.
But since he was here, Zhang Wenda wasn’t going to complain. After all, countless people would kill for a second chance at youth. As long as he kept moving forward, one step at a time, he would eventually be free of the rules and their punishments.
’It seems the Superpowers from Xinhua Bookstore are useful after all. I have to find a way to get more of them. More importantly, I need to find out what the higher-tier Superpowers are.’
But when he remembered that even the most basic Superpower cost ten yuan, he knew the more advanced ones would be prohibitively expensive. He had to find a stable source of income.
As Zhang Wenda’s mind churned, his gaze drifted to the listless Song Jianguo beside him. A benevolent, boss-like smile spread across his face. "Jianguo~~"
"Hmph!" Song Jianguo, arms crossed, whipped her head to the side, her face a mask of disgust.
"You did a good job today. I didn’t expect you to make eleven yuan so quickly. As a reward, I’ll let you rest tonight. How about that? I’m pretty good to you, aren’t I?"
Although Song Jianguo was cursing Zhang Wenda a thousand times over in her head, she didn’t dare say a word out loud.
"I have to go to school tomorrow, so I can’t keep you company. But you can’t slack off. This pest control is a public service, you know. Remember to get right back to it after you wake up."
"What?! I still have to do it?!" Song Jianguo’s near-shriek drew the gazes of all the commuters heading home from work.
"Whoever heard of working for just one day? Think about it, does that make any sense? I’m doing this for your own good, helping you adapt to society more quickly when you grow up," Zhang Wenda said with grave sincerity.
"No! My cats are exhausted! They need to rest!"
"Your cats are tired, huh? Fine. My nickname might be Haozi, which means ’rat,’ but I’m a cat lover. So how about this: they can take a half-day off tomorrow, and you can cover their work for them. Glad we could agree on that."
"ARGH! I’m going home to sleep!" The utterly frustrated Song Jianguo turned to leave, but Zhang Wenda blocked her way.
"No. You’re coming home with me. You’ll sleep at my place."
Zhang Wenda continued. He couldn’t let Song Jianguo run off on her own. What if she used the opportunity to find a way to remove her collar?
"I... You..." Song Jianguo didn’t want to say any more. Her head was spinning, and she was too exhausted to argue.
In the final second before 6:00 PM, Zhang Wenda stepped precisely through his front door.
The television was on, a fish tail dangling from the top of it. No one else was home. A bowl of noodles sat on the table.
Though extremely reluctant, Song Jianguo had no choice but to follow him inside.
"Eat up." Zhang Wenda pushed the bowl of noodles toward her.
Song Jianguo thought she had misheard. But when she realized he was actually giving the food to her, she forgot all decorum and lunged forward, plunging her hand directly into the bowl to scoop out the noodles.
She stuffed a large clump of noodles into her mouth, and her expression instantly froze. After a very difficult swallow, she frowned and looked at Zhang Wenda.
"This is disgusting."
"Disgusting, isn’t it? It’s supposed to be." Not the least bit surprised, Zhang Wenda emptied his schoolbag, then began repacking his books and pencil case, getting ready for school the next day.
Song Jianguo crouched on the floor, looking left and right, before asking hesitantly, "Where are your parents?"
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