Chapter 23: Cao Cao is Faking It! I Am the Real Deal!

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Lines of tiny text rose from the rippling ink, forming a clear display of talents.

【1. Millionaire】

【No matter what happens, all your assets—including hidden assets—will be transformed into ten million yuan at noon every day, and the process will be entirely legal and compliant. (What do you mean? I only have ten million now?)】

【2. Diligence Makes Up for Dullness】

【Anything can be mastered after one hundred repetitions. The more you practice, the deeper your mastery. (Isn't this just a proficiency system?)】

【3. Grandmaster of Slow Motion】

【You can slow down any of your movements by a hundredfold. (I slipped and fell from a cliff. By the time the search-and-rescue team arrived, they found me still floating halfway down the mountainside.)】

Only three talents?

Was it because this simulation had not given him a choice?

Zhou Quan pondered this.

At that moment, the three talents began to flicker violently. In the end, they turned into wisps of pale smoke and drifted away.

【Congratulations. You have obtained “Grandmaster of Slow Motion.”】

【Talents not obtained in this draw may be acquired directly next time by consuming a talent-draw opportunity.】

A dim, obscure light shot from between the notebook’s pages.

It burrowed into the tattoo on the back of Zhou Quan’s hand, bringing a sharp, needle-like pain.

“Ugh!” Zhou Quan groaned.

Perhaps it was only his imagination, but this talent draw seemed more painful than the previous two.

The pain faded quickly.

“Slow motion?”

Zhou Quan frowned.

Perhaps his luck was poor. Or perhaps Father Charles’s luck was poor. Of the three talents he had drawn this time, none could protect anyone else.

The first talent, “Millionaire,” was practically a negative effect for him...

He had much preferred “Diligence Makes Up for Dullness.”

With that talent, the effects of hard work would become tangible, truly allowing one to reap exactly what one sowed.

But in the end, he had drawn “Grandmaster of Slow Motion.”

What use could this talent possibly have?

Zhou Quan thought for two seconds, then jumped straight up.

At the instant he took off, he activated “Grandmaster of Slow Motion” with a thought.

In a flash, his movements became unbelievably slow, like a fish swimming through glue. It looked as though he had completely defied the laws of physics.

Even Newton would have sent three question marks.

The second hand on the clock mounted on the wall ticked from mark to mark. More than a full minute passed before Zhou Quan’s feet finally touched the ground again.

Zhou Quan pressed his lips together, unsure how to assess the talent.

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This talent was strange, but he could imagine how it might be used in actual combat.

Suppose he were trading blows with an enemy and suddenly became motionless for two seconds at a critical moment. He might throw off the enemy’s defense and catch him completely off guard.

It was, in a sense...

An especially convincing feint?

Having it was better than having nothing, but if he wanted to use the talent effectively instead of becoming a sitting duck in battle, he would need extensive practice.

“‘Diligence Makes Up for Dullness’ would be very useful too.”

Zhou Quan was deeply conflicted.

During the previous talent draw, there had been one called “Let Us Speak English.” He had a feeling that talent could prove enormously useful, making it worth spending a talent-draw opportunity to obtain it directly.

But “Diligence Makes Up for Dullness” was excellent as well.

Reap what you sow. With that talent, he could soon become a universal genius.

That was without even mentioning ordinary knowledge such as languages, marksmanship, and hand-to-hand combat.

With “Diligence Makes Up for Dullness,” he could rapidly master knowledge from the supernatural world—for instance, how to break a curse.

That was extremely important to him.

But if he wanted both talents, he would need two talent-draw opportunities—which meant helping the evil god kill two more good people.

Zhou Quan let out a soft sigh.

He would take things one step at a time. Before he could break the curse afflicting his parents, there was no way he could escape the evil god...

He rose and walked out of the room.

“Ni Hao!”

“Li Muchi!”

He called out loudly.

A small head poked out from the shadows in the corner of the wall. “God, I’m here.”

Zhou Quan looked toward Li Muchi.

Before Li Muchi emerged from the shadows, he had not sensed his presence at all.

His heart tightened. “You didn’t come into the room just now, did you?”

“No.” Li Muchi shook his head. “Grandma said you have to knock before entering someone else’s room. If you don’t knock, you can’t go in.”

He blinked, looking exceptionally well-behaved.

Grandma?

Looking at Li Muchi’s innocent expression, Zhou Quan felt a faint stir of guilt.

He nodded. “Don’t call me God anymore. Call me Boss.”

“Oh.” Li Muchi looked slightly disappointed.

Zhou Quan asked again, “Have you seen Ni Hao?”

“I’m here, Boss!” Ni Hao emerged from around the corner of the corridor.

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Her golden curls shimmered in the sunlight, swaying from side to side with every step like wheat rippling in the wind.

Zhou Quan gave a slight nod and instructed her, “Send your identification details to my phone later. I’ll have the company process your employment paperwork. Starting today, you’ll receive a salary.”

“Thank you, Boss.” Ni Hao blinked.

A salary was wonderful. And from today onward, someone would be paying her social insurance and housing fund contributions.

“Come with me. We’re going to protect Father Charles.”

Zhou Quan led the way downstairs.

Every time a simulation ended, the evil god took action that very night. This time should be no exception.

Ni Hao looked puzzled.

She had once gone to Father Charles for confession as well. He was a kind and good-natured priest.

Why did he need protection? Who wanted to kill him?

...

A luxury car drove into the church parking lot. A handsome man and a beautiful woman stepped out, along with a little boy.

“Boss, who exactly wants to kill Father Charles?” Ni Hao could not help asking.

Even condemned murderers praised Father Charles by name before being executed. Who would want to kill a peace-loving priest with such excellent relations with everyone—and make the Boss personally go out to protect him?

Zhou Quan said solemnly, “Another me.”

“Huh?” Ni Hao did not understand.

Zhou Quan hesitated, then explained, “After I fall asleep, a monster exactly like me crawls out of my body. It wants to kill Father Charles.”

Ni Hao was certain to see his other self during this operation.

Rather than let her make wild guesses then, he thought it better to give her some warning in advance.

After hearing him, Ni Hao’s mind seemed to crash.

“...You also kill people in your sleep?” she asked hesitantly.

Zhou Quan shook his head and said gravely, “It’s different. Cao Cao was pretending. I’m the real thing!”

“Once I fall asleep, a monster really does crawl out of my body.”

Ni Hao fell silent.

All right. Everyone’s supernatural abilities were bizarre in their own way.

There was a monster inside the Boss’s body. Perhaps that was the price he had paid for becoming so powerful.

In a certain sense, Ni Hao had actually guessed the truth by accident!

“Do you really intend to protect Father Charles?” Ni Hao asked cautiously, having accepted Zhou Quan’s explanation.

“Why do you ask?” Zhou Quan frowned.

Ni Hao thought for two seconds before saying, “If a monster crawls out of your body after you fall asleep, then why did you come looking for Father Charles? Wouldn’t that be delivering the monster straight to him?”

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