Chapter 75: The Devalued Pink Skill
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"That's right, this is a little gift from me to you. I guarantee it’s a sure win," Chen Yun said to Aqi. "Come on, you know what we are to each other—have you forgotten already?"
Aqi felt a sweetness blossom in her heart. You are my master, and I am your maid. We’re all on the same side. She nodded vigorously and signed her name. “Yes, I’ll sign!”
Ma Lanshan’s jaw dropped. Although the two hadn’t said it outright, he could piece it together in his mind. Damn, so that’s what’s going on between them…! Bringing this much money for… well, this kid’s got guts. Fifteen percent of the net profit from Oubo phones—even he wouldn’t dare dream of that. If the contract’s terms came true, it’d be an unimaginable figure. Such a massive slice of the pie, and this kid just… gave it away?
...
“From now on, if your family or friends want to buy phones, bring them here! Pick any you want, no charge!” After all the paperwork was done and the catchphrase left behind, Ma Lanshan enthusiastically ushered Chen Yun and Aqi out from behind the counter.
Aqi gazed blankly at Chen Yun. Good heavens, how did you come up with such a brainwashing slogan? Look, Ma Lanshan practically fell to his knees in gratitude. Not only was the reward delivered instantly, but each of them also received the latest top-tier luxury phone—one not even on the market yet, officially priced at 18,888 copper coins!
“Hurry up and contact all the advertising agencies. I want our publicity everywhere there’s a living soul. Spend whatever it takes. Damn it, I admit it—this is true talent! Look at how his mind works, then look at you lot—like a pen of pigs. He’s worth ten thousand of you! ‘Five minutes to charge, two hours to talk!’ That line—forget anyone else, even I want to buy one now. It’s hypnotic, addictive—hell, call President Li and report at once! Oubo is about to blow up!”
Aqi realized she truly couldn’t see through Chen Yun. A master chef who could heal, trading a single advertising slogan for fifteen percent of Oubo’s net profits… Master, you’re aiming for the stars!
After helping Aqi buy a few things, Chen Yun excused himself and left. He was no lovesick fool; he could tell Aqi liked him, but he was a player. To him, everyone else was an NPC. Who ever heard of players falling in love with NPCs in a game? Besides, this wasn’t his real home—his real home was back on Earth, where his wife and child were still waiting for him.
Riding his bike to the city’s central square, Chen Yun found a wooden bench, carefully checked to see if it had been freshly painted, then sat down in relief. In his mind, he opened his backpack.
The bag was almost full—nineteen slots weren’t enough for much. Gritting his teeth, Chen Yun activated the auto-expand feature.
“Player Chen Yun has chosen to unlock all backpack slots. System unlocking in progress…”
“Player Chen Yun spent 100 purple coins to unlock the twentieth slot.”
...
“Player Chen Yun spent 10,000 purple coins to unlock the twenty-fourth slot.”
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“Player Chen Yun needs 50,000 purple coins to unlock the twenty-fifth slot. Player has insufficient funds. Unlock failed. Auto-unlock sequence terminated.”
He looked at his backpack—just five new slots. Then he glanced at the 57 purple coins and 7,814 gold coins he had left. Chen Yun felt utterly drained and slumped against the bench.
“I can’t afford this, I just can’t. Fifty thousand purple coins for one slot—that’s five trillion yuan! System, are you insane with greed?”
“Clearly, purple coins aren’t enough for the system anymore. I’ll need to find a way to earn Celestial Crystals. But being a chef is too risky—just my purple-level dishes caused a sensation. If I made something higher, who knows what would happen. I need a side job, something quiet, something profitable, something no one else will know about.”
Chen Yun pondered, “If I don’t want anyone to know, I can’t learn from anyone else—it’ll have to be self-taught. But then I can only rely on bookstores. Problem is, every book in the store has level restrictions. Damn it, whatever, I’ll go and see. I refuse to believe I’m already level twelve and there isn’t a single skill book I can use!”
Decision made, he headed for a bookstore. This time, he avoided the big ones—after all, last time he bought half a million books and everyone there knew him. Instead, he picked a small, private shop.
The moment he stepped inside, Chen Yun was stunned. The entire store was color-coded: the east and west walls were lined with green books, the south with blue, and in the center, a small bookshelf held dozens of pink books!
Whoa, is this place for real?
He went outside, looked up, and realized the truth.
No wonder—it was a specialty shop for premium skills.
Rubbing his hands, Chen Yun ignored everything else and went straight for the pink skill books.
Each pink book was identical, titled “Beyond the Cultivator.” But what interested him was the system’s description.
Heavenly Cultivator Class Change Manual: Pink skill. If the player is a Cultivator, using this manual after reaching Cultivator Level 10 Peak grants a 100% chance to advance to the Heavenly Cultivator class. All attributes double. If the player is any other class, all attributes +20%. Requirement: Level 10 Cultivator Peak.
My god, it’s a class change book for cultivators! Chen Yun was dumbstruck. He never expected such a powerful book in such a small store. If high-level cultivators saw this, wouldn’t they go mad?
Yet by rights, a book so precious should be incredibly rare—so why were there dozens here? And all standard editions!
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Chen Yun picked up a copy and read: “Author: Yun Fei. Description: The journey of cultivation never ends. Level 10 Cultivator is not the end, but a new beginning. The Empire’s Guardian, Level 10 Peak Cultivator Yun Fei, guides you to glimpse the world beyond cultivation… Published by Tianlong Empire Royal Press, nationwide fixed price: 188 copper coins.”
At this, Chen Yun’s mouth twitched. Damn, this pink skill book was mass-produced by a publisher, and costs only 188 copper coins? That’s a joke!
All his excitement vanished in an instant. Scornfully dismissing the pink books, Chen Yun turned to the blue ones.
“Advanced Boxing Skill Book. Usable at level 30.”
“Advanced Fishing Skill Book. Usable at level 30.”
“Advanced Vehicle Repair Skill Book. Usable at level 30.”
...
He browsed through the lot—every single one was an advanced skill book, all requiring level 30.
“So it looks like I need to be level 30 to learn any advanced skill. That means, for now, I can only use beginner skills.” Shaking his head, Chen Yun turned to the green skill books lining the shelves. After a while, three caught his eye.
“Apothecary’s Primer: Allows the user to change their secondary profession to Apothecary, Apprentice level. After mastering the three core skills of Apothecary—Potion Making, Diagnosis, and Healing—you will automatically advance to Junior Apothecary.”
“Potion Making. Green skill. Grants beginner-level potion making. Requires level 10, Intelligence 10, Spirit 10.”
“Diagnosis. Green skill. Grants beginner-level diagnostic skill. Requires level 10, Intelligence 10, Spirit 10.”