SPO – Chapter 53

Previous Chapter | Project Page | Next Chapter

---

Chapter 53: You Are Playing A Game, Aren’t You

Yue Qiang’s close combat ability now was already pretty amazing.

Although there was no leveling system in this game and his stats weren’t OP, his skills had quite the compatibility with one another. Killing power, movement, attack power, and recovery… the basic elements required in close combat were already all there. They propelled him from a person who nearly died when he first ran into a Zhao Soldier level enemy to someone who could now single handedly beat down three Zhao Sergeant level enemies alone.

The real factor that enhanced Yue Qiang’s combat strength and allowed him to unleash all sorts of combination skills was in fact, the realistic fighting system.

If he attacked an enemy’s vital spot, such as a tiger’s head, then he might be able to kill it in one shot. He could also potentially deal penetration damage to an enemy with weak defense and nail him on the ground. The many and varied attack effects and meticulous control allowed him to deal far more damage than what the superficial numbers suggested. This was also why Yue Qiang was able to win from a position of weakness multiple times.

He looted the scout Zhuo Huai’s body. The drops he got were 1.1 Progress Points and an accessory: Black Bracelet.

Black Bracelet: Equipping it will cause the user’s figure to become difficult to identify. The effects are even better in a dark environment. There was also a short text at the back: Green Cow Village Market – Deng Fang. Quality comes only from Deng Fang.

The reason the scout Zhu Huai had appeared soundless just now was probably to the merit of this item. Although there were no stat enhancement whatsoever, it was an excellent equipment for ambush purposes.

Yue Qiang put on the bracelet and went blank staring at his own pathetic assortment of equipment. He had killed a lot of mobs up to this point, and this was the first time ever a mob that he killed had dropped an equipment (that he could equip). Moreover, it was an equipment that did not give any stats at all. Does this game really have no equipment that can directly increase one’s stats?

He glanced at Yin once. The girl’s white bed sheet was even more damaged than before, revealing many places that shouldn’t be revealed. There were also a lot of dust and dried blood on them. After glancing a couple more times, he controlled his character to strip Zhu Huai’s clothes.

“Um… You can tear the white bed sheet around you and wrap your wounds a little; there’s a wound on your leg that’s still bleeding. Then you can wear his clothes.” Yue Qiang said.

“I realized that you really like to loot bodies*. You looted a tiger, and you looted a soldier as well.” Yin accepted the clothes and turned around. She pulled all of the torn white bed sheets around her body and tossed it at the side. Then she put the large-sized Zhao Scout uniform on herself. The hem of the upper outer garment nearly reached her knees, and the pant waist was three sizes too big. She first tore a few clean fabric from the white bed sheet and bandaged her wounds simply, then wrung the rest of it into two long shreds. One shred was used as a belt, and the other was wrapped around her chest. It covered the huge gaping hole in the uniform caused by Yue Qiang’s earlier stab.

*In Chinese, the gaming term ‘loot’ can be read as ‘gropes’ as well.

Yue Qiang quietly watched her change at the side.

When the girl had abruptly appeared, she was wrapped around a white bed sheet, and now she was wearing a tattered military uniform three and four sizes too big. None of them fell under the normal category of clothing. However, no matter how odd her clothings were, the foundation of her beauty was still the same. She was very beautiful.

Very, very beautiful.

The process of a woman changing was a long one. In his boredom, Yue Qiang clicked open Yin’s character stat since he had nothing to do, and because there were no urgent issues this time, he was able to read it in greater detail.

Name: Yin

Class: Patient

Strength: 8 (grey font) A strange illness prevents Yin’s strength from rising in any way.

Stamina: 8 (grey font) A strange illness prevents Yin’s stamina from rising in any way.

Intelligence: 25 (Yin has analytical abilities that far exceeds the common man) (rare attribute)

?? : ??

Skill:

Plague of Grave Illness LVL 1: A strange illness prevents Yin from increasing her basic stats in any way. This skill will automatically level up, and as the level rises, Yin’s stats will continue to drop further.

Eye of Truth LVL 1: Yin’s unique skill (A sub skill that can be expanded further)

*Passive Effect 1: Take damage when opening one’s eyes. The amount of damage increases along time.

*Passive Effect 2: Can see the object directly in front while one’s eyes are closed.

*Passive Effect 3: The power of all of the active effects of Eye of Truth are directly affected by Intelligence.

*Active Effect 1: Gaze. Unleash an absolutely accurate attack at a close range target. This attack cannot miss, and its attack power is directly affected by Intelligence (This skill requires the user to open their eyes).

*Active Effect 2: Unravel. Capable of unraveling any forms of complications. The level of difficulty that can be unraveled increases along with Intelligence.

Power of the Heart LVL 1:

?? : ??

To Live Through Death LVL 1:

Memory Unlock Rate: 0%

Yin’s character stats were many and complex. The one that drew his attention the most was without a doubt the ‘strange illness’. The effects of this illness seemed incredibly scary, and worse, it wasn’t a continuous debuff, but a skill that can be leveled up. Even more scary was the fact that the skill seemed perfectly capable of leveling up on its own.

Yue Qiang suddenly understood a little why Yin’s expression was so calm when she told him that he should have used her as bait. He wondered how she was infected by this illness – or should he say, this skill Plague of Grave Illness LVL 1 – and what kind of story she had.

“Are you finished reading?” At this time, Yin had already finished changing into her clothes and making some simple bandages around her wounds. She continued to look incredibly weakened, but her expression was calm, and she seemed utterly incapable of feeling pain at all.

“I’m done. You…”

“If you’re done, then I would like to ask you about a few things. We both have questions of our own before, but they were postponed due to the urgent circumstances earlier.” Yin said slowly.

In order to preserve her stamina, Yin curled up and sat while holding her knees. The clothes on her body were too huge, causing her to look weak and delicate. She brushed her hair to the back and waited quietly for Yue Qiang’s arrival while closing her eyes.

Yue Qiang walked beside her and sat down. Now that he was close, he could clearly see every detail of her face. Yin was extremely beautiful. It’s just that her complexion was a little pale; the kind of delicateness only a patient would have. Originally, he had a lot of questions that he wanted to ask as well, but after considering the girl’s powerful observation and analytical abilities, and the 25 Intelligence stats gave out by the system, he chose to let her ask first.

“I have a lot of questions.” Yin said, “But these questions all originated from some basic questions… I realize that your combat abilities are terrific, but there is always a kind of disharmony every time you move. For example, when you walk, run and jump, no matter what kind of terrain you’re on, the extent of your movements and the strength you used every time are incredibly constant… can you explain this?”

Yue Qiang watched the computer monitor quietly. His two hands were placed on the keyboard and he had tapped out the dialogue box. And yet, he didn’t know how to answer her.

Of course there was an answer to this question. There were only so many hotkeys on a keyboard, and even if he found far more methods and hotkey tied to his character’s movements than there were in other games, some amount of lifelessness and stillness was inevitable.

Yin waited for a short while, and seeing that he did not answer her, she continued to speak, “Why do you speak so little, and your tone is always exactly the same? Why is there no difference in the time lag between every word you speak at all?”

Yue Qiang could only continue to stay silent; he was only using the dialogue system to type words was all. Could it be… Suddenly, an incredibly strange emotion fleeted through his heart. This feeling, was a little like… fear.

Yin did not stop talking and instead continued to ask, “Then, I would like you to help me explain a few terms.”

“This item. You call it a ‘Save/Load Module’?” Yin pointed at the wooden log overflowing with rainbow light.

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me what ‘Save/Load’ means?”

Yue Qiang fell silent. He did not know how to explain it.

Yin did not give him the time to explain it either. She continued to ask, “I realize that you really like to loot bodies. Can you explain the two words ‘loot bodies’ to me?”

Yue Qiang suddenly felt immeasurable sense of dread. He abruptly bolted away from his chair, stood up and circled behind his monitor to take a look. There was nothing there. Then he returned to his seat dejectedly, and it was just at this moment Yin asked her final question, “Can you explain the two words ‘skill book’ to me? I remember you uttering that term when you passed over that ‘The Philosophy of Cockroaches’ to me.”

“You do not speak, and you wear no expression as well. In that case… it would seem that my guess is correct.” Yin said calmly.

“You are playing a game, aren’t you?”

---

Previous Chapter | Project Page | Next Chapter