Chapter 47: Chapter 47 System Upgrade_1
"Mr. He, I guess I’m done here. I had Mr. Liu send the samples to the city bureau, so I’ll head off now. This smell on me is really unbearable."
He Chunyang waved his hand.
"Go back and rest, we’ll deal with the rest tomorrow. However, our New Year’s Day won’t be a holiday, so explain it to your little girlfriend."
Zhou Ning was startled.
"I don’t have a girlfriend though!"
He Chunyang burst into laughter.
"Then you should hurry up and find one. You know it’s not easy for people in our profession to find a wife, take care your uncle doesn’t get anxious with you."
Zhou Ning shrank his neck and didn’t dare to say more, after all, they all knew his uncle. At that moment, Zhao Xinli came back, and He Chunyang had Zhao Xinli take Zhou Ning home, even packing some food for him, which made Zhao Xinli enviously wish for the same treatment.
All the way home, Zhou Ning didn’t say much, just called Liu Yongxin. But the line was always off, it seems the person hadn’t woken up yet, so Zhou Ning didn’t think much of it.
In fact, Zhou Ning was at the end of his rope. Having just finished the dissection, he felt even more nauseous, as if his airways were filled with that charred smell that just wouldn’t dissipate.
Seeing Zhou Ning not speaking, Zhao Xinli stopped nagging and dropped him home.
Upon entering, Zhou Ning threw all his clothes into the washing machine and rushed to the bathroom. After throwing up thoroughly, he started showering until he had no strength left, then he came out.
He flopped down on the sofa, looking at the takeout, undecided whether to eat or not.
Just then his phone rang. Zhou Ning grabbed it and answered without really looking at who was calling. After all, the case was still under investigation and he was on edge.
"Hello?"
"Hey, it’s Xia Momo. It’s Friday today, how come you didn’t come to class?"
Zhou Ning slapped his forehead; he had completely forgotten about it.
"Sorry, I was too busy today and forgot to tell you. Are you still at the Youth Center?"
"Yeah, since you weren’t coming, I was about to leave. I just saw the website’s announcement about the car accident. You went to deal with that case, right?"
"Yes, I just returned home from doing the autopsy. I didn’t eat lunch, but honestly, I really can’t eat right now."
Xia Momo paused on the other end.
"It’s quite horrific, isn’t it? I saw the censored photos posted online and they were frightening. Your job is really not easy. But this time there’s no need to reconstruct the victim’s face?"
"Yeah, the identity of the deceased was found, so no skull reconstruction this time."
"Do you need me to bring you something to eat?"
Zhou Ning was a bit surprised and quickly sat up.
"No need, I’ve just finished working with a burnt body, my nose is full of that smell. I’m hungry but I don’t have an appetite right now. How about you wait, and I’ll take you home?"
"There’s no need for that trouble, my home is just behind the Youth Center. It takes less than five minutes to walk, you get some rest. Call me when your case is over, I have an exam at the end of next week, after that, I can start winter vacation."
Zhou Ning rubbed his nose. Being a teacher was indeed enviable, with two vacations a year and thirteen months’ salary.
"Alright then, just be safe on your way home and send me a message when you arrive."
After saying goodbye and hanging up the phone, Zhou Ning lay down again.
In his mind, he couldn’t shake off the image of Xia Momo. The girl was gentle and empathetic, and her paintings and sculptures were so spirited. Their last collaboration had been very comfortable.
Shaking his head, Zhou Ning sat up again. Today, the system was as if it had never existed, not responding at all, which made him feel very anxious. Could it be that the system had disappeared?
Zhou Ning reached up to push his glasses but got no response from the transparent screen. After some thought, he silently recited in his mind.
System, issue a task!
Still no change. Zhou Ning, unwilling to give up, recollected the system’s initial evaluation of him and silently recited again.
Query the basic information of the bound person.
Suddenly, a line of text appeared on the transparent screen.
The bound person has completed the three trial tasks, and the system is currently upgrading. Remaining upgrade time: 5:00 hours. Please wait patiently. Afterward, the basic information of the bound person will be re-evaluated.
Zhou Ning blinked, jumped up immediately.
Fuck, there’s a response! I thought the system was dead. Good that it’s still here!
But...
After dealing with three such tough cases, was it still a trial run because I was too inexperienced?
Zhou Ning shook his head. The system’s initial rating was so low it was negative; it couldn’t get any lower, so it didn’t discourage him. However, these cases were indeed challenging. Perhaps such a trial run required a certain number of cases, and these few were tough enough to complete it.
Yes, that must be it.
Zhou Ning shook his semi-dry hair. The gloom from before was swept away; he turned off the light and went straight to sleep. If he had five hours, then sleep it was—everything else could wait until tomorrow.
As he closed his eyes, it didn’t take long for Zhou Ning to fall asleep. This time he didn’t enter that room to be tormented but actually slept properly.
...
The alarm went off.
Zhou Ning opened his eyes, grabbed his phone to silence the alarm, reached for his glasses, and put them on just as a line of text appeared on the transparent screen.
System upgrade complete. Would the bound user like to view the current basic information?
Zhou Ning, with a mix of nervousness and excitement, tapped ’yes’ on the options below, and several lines of text popped up on the big screen.
Bound User: Zhou Ning
Age: 26
Forensic Doctor Level: 0
Overall Evaluation: Learning ability is quite acceptable.
Reward Utilization: 27%
Upgrade Accumulated Value: 0 (500 points needed for upgrade)
System Notice:
1. After the system task is released, the user must make a choice within one minute, and the bound user cannot refuse to complete the task;
2. After completing the task, if the bound user feels the difficulty of the task is too low, they may choose to increase the difficulty, but cannot decrease it. If the increased difficulty is not completed, but the initially released task is completed, the system will neither reward nor penalize;
3. The various knowledge rewards from the system, once fully mastered by the user, will not be taken back. Punishment options will be adjusted to either a decrease in intelligence level or electric shock punishment;
4. Regarding rewards, a reward list will be generated according to the difficulty of the tasks completed by the user, and they may choose the corresponding reward or upgrade an already obtained reward.
Zhou Ning stared blankly for a while, unable to recover. This system, the first two points were somewhat humane, but what did the last one mean?
Oh, so now the system won’t take back the knowledge as a punishment. If I choose to decrease my intelligence level, what will be left of me?
I’m not all that smart to begin with; a couple of punishments and will I become an imbecile?
This is forcing me to choose electric shocks. I’ve experienced the sensation countless times in dreams, with a sour thrill I can’t forget. If I really experience it, it can only be worse.
Shit, that’s harsh!
However, seeing the forensic doctor level at zero, I already felt quite relieved. At least it wasn’t in the negatives.
Learning ability is quite acceptable. That’s probably the best compliment the system has given me so far. It looks like my previous approach was the right one. After receiving these rewards, I’ll keep studying the content. They will become my own. So the punishment method has changed.
He sighed softly. No matter what, the system upgrading was a good thing. He just didn’t know if the difficulty of future tasks would also increase accordingly.
Zhou Ning didn’t dwell on it. He got up, got ready, and stepped out of his house. He hadn’t eaten last night’s takeout, so he grabbed a bowl of wontons at a street stall before heading to the office.
On his way upstairs, he called Liu Yongxin, but as usual, the phone was off. As he walked toward his office, he ran into Xu Dayuan coming the other way.
"Doctor Zhou, I was just looking for you," Xu Dayuan said.
"What’s up, Xu Da?"
"Last night, Mr. Feng accompanied Doctor Liu to the Lu Yi Affiliated Hospital in the provincial city. Your master asked me to tell you not to worry about him. His concussion isn’t serious, but a check-up revealed some heart issues. It’s a good opportunity for him to undergo an interventional surgery. You’ll have to take over here for now, and Zhao Xinli will assist you," Xu Dayuan informed him.
Zhou Ning’s heart skipped a beat. If it were a common surgery, it could be done right here in Qindao City, where the medical standard was quite good. If it required going to the Lu Yi Affiliated Hospital, the problem must be serious.
"Is Master’s heart condition very serious?" Zhou Ning asked.
Xu Dayuan smiled and patted Zhou Ning’s shoulder, a gesture that conveyed more comfort than reassurance.
"It’s nothing major. At his age, many issues can arise. He was conservative with treatment before, but with you here, he’s at ease. So he’s taking this opportunity to get it done. It’s a good thing; don’t worry," Xu Da explained.
Zhou Ning seemed to understand, taking the opportunity for surgery should mean full reimbursement. That actually was indeed good news.
"Oh, that’s good then. By the way, Xu Da, is there a grudge between Wang Zhihua and Cui Gongyi?" Zhou Ning asked.
