The First Time Is Priceless

'After several days of verification.'

'The furnishings of the budget hotel, Jinjiang Inn, in the Yangtze District of Yunhai City is bad.'

'There was one good point with the furnishings of the three-star hotel, Lake Garden Hotel, in the Yangtze District of Yunhai City.'

'The four-star hotel, Mingshu Atour Hotel, in the Yangtze District of Yunhai City has one good point.'

'The five-star hotel, Crown Design Hotel, in the Yangtze District of Yunhai City has two good points.'

Tang Hong looked down at this sheet of paper filled with black ink that had words full of inexplicable content in his eyes.

If another person were to see this sight, he would only think that Tang Hong was spouting some nonsense. They wouldn't understand what he was talking about.

Tang Hong scratched his ears and lifted his pen to write several more phrases.

The first time was priceless.

Time and mood…

Difficulty Level…

Swoosh~

He drew a red circle around 'The first time was priceless'. As proven by facts, the first-time experiences or actions could not be triggered for a second time.

"Staying in a five-star hotel…"

"Individual Value plus two!"

This was a crucial discovery, one that was indispensable for his theories.

Tang Hong pondered inwardly.

"First time experiencing a night alone in a five-star hotel allowed me to earn two points in Individual Value. That night I heard the Sacred Voice of the Gods and sobered up because of the appearance of the system interface. It triggered an additional increase of five points to Individual Value."

In this case, the more difficult a situation or deed was, the more points were given.

However, was it very difficult to check-in to a five-star hotel?

Tang Hong frowned. Even if it was difficult, it would be relative to the economic classes of contemporary human society.

If one were to reference the law of conservation of energy of the vast universe, sleeping in a five-star hotel was no different from doing so in an ordinary homestay apartment.

It was just sleeping after all.

The money circulating in human society could actually correspond with the difficulty level of the Individual Value and trigger the mechanism for its increase.

"Unless…"

"Money, status, identity, reputation could also be seen as resources and a huge factor in determining the difficulty of a scenario. After all, the difficulty of obtaining resources was naturally different for each person… but there could also be other reasons."

Tang Hong was in deep thought for a long while, unable to figure things out.

Anyway, this was a good thing for him.

Referring to the first Transcendent being that he had encountered, Fang Nanxun of the Yellow River Organization was virtually a wild tycoon.

This meant that the average income of Transcendent beings was definitely higher than the average people.

"Let's not think about this for now."

Tang Hong's gaze landed on the paper in front of him once more.

The first time was priceless and could not be triggered a second time, but a person could have many first-times. The world was vast. There were a lot of possibilities. Even with the strength of Tang Hong's Willpower, he still felt dizzy thinking about what was possible out there.

First time driving a motor car alone…

First time going to the amusement park alone…

He originally had the loneliness rating scale in mind, but now that he had found a boundless world with countless opportunities hidden inside for him. It had long served its purpose.

"Searching for first-time events will be listed as the priority goal."

"The secondary goal is to figure out the three essential factors…"

"Difficulty level, Time threshold, and Emotional changes."

"Next would then be how to improve the [Power of One] support system and increase the value in the Realm column. Is there some kind of a deeper meaning behind why Willpower was being displayed in percentages?"

"I should also only increase my Strength increases bit by bit. After all, its importance is secondary to Willpower."

Compared to a sudden boost in Strength, Willpower was more secretive. It would not attract attention. Moreover, in the process of encountering Fang Nanxun, Tang Hong had already felt the advantage of having strong Willpower.

But he could not describe it in words.

Besides, he was a university student.

He wouldn't go onto a battlefield nor would he compete in a ring.

What was the use of great strength?

To be a boorish man and go show off his muscles and power in the gym?

More often than not, great strength didn't create miracles. Rather, it only brought problems.

If it wasn't for the rewards for being in the top three of the entrance test for the special training camp, Tang Hong would not even raise the percentage of his Strength.

He brought out the system interface.

Mortal: Infinitely small and weak creature.

Willpower: 44%

Strength: 29%

Realm: 0.00

Individual value: 12

Five days of sleeping alone…

Together with the remaining gains and what he had accumulated in the days that passed…

All in all, he now had 12 points of Individual Value.

He first added six points to Strength.

Then, he poured everything else into Willpower.

The surface of his skin, his blood, his bones, as well as his consciousness itself seemed to throb once he was done inputting these changes.

The percentage of his Strength rose to 35%.

The percentage of his Willpower rose with a glimmer to 50%!

Rumble!

Dull thunder sounded right outside the library's windows.

It was elicited low shrieks, mainly from the girls.

Tang Hong rubbed his glabella.

His mind was sober and calm and he picked up his pen once more.

He wrote a few lines of words.

'First line: Motor car, homestays, hotels that are four-stars and below.'

'Second line: Five-star hotel.'

The third and fourth lines both had question marks. While the fifth line was filled with line breaks onwards.

According to the increase of Individual Value, he temporarily drew out five classes of scaling.

Due to fewer references, the increasing scale of his Individual Value appeared to be vague.

But as long as he kept adding references to this data in the future, he would probably discover something valuable by then.

Rumble!

Thunder reverberated outside the window.

The flash of lightning seemed to cut open the skies.

It lighted up the faces of everyone inside the library.

"Hmm."

Tang Hong abruptly stopped.

After some thought, he packed up his books, clutched that sheet of paper tightly, and strode out of the library. That dark-colored back filled with loneliness and determination was reflected on the water close to the entrance.

He was also seen by a lot of students standing close to the entrance of the library.

The majority of them were waiting for the rain to stop, while the others had called on their friends and were waiting for umbrellas.

In such stormy weather, no one dared to walk out without an umbrella.

Except for Tang Hong.

"That person…"

"He looks so pitiful."

"Don't you have umbrellas? Go give him one."

The girls mumbled to each other. On the other hand, the boys wore looks of understanding but also sympathy. They sighed and mused with emotion as they watched this pitiful person who had been hurt by love disappear in the heavy curtain of rain.

He was drenched.

That sheet of paper had also become wet.

'Liar!'

'Damn it!'

'Getting wet in the rain alone for the first time actually did not trigger an increase in my Individual Value!'

Tang Hong ran into an academic building and entered the washroom. His hair was dripping wet with rainwater. He removed his t-shirt and wrung it before wearing it once more. Finally, he took out that sheet of paper he held earlier and clutched it tightly within his palm.

He was going to burn this sheet of paper.

Even if there were Transcendent beings monitoring him with technological instruments, Tang Hong was not worried. No one would care about this messy writing that was clearly written by someone with an unsound mind.

When it rains, it pours!

The wet paper could not be set on fire!

Simply annoyed, he strolled around the academic building and waited for the sheet of paper to dry up before returning to the washroom to burn it up.

Actually, this was also the reason why he left the library earlier. Lighting a fire and all kinds of smoke were prohibited in the library. Even though no one would know if he lit a fire in the washroom of that library, Tang Hong still honored that rule.

And right now…

He made a sidelong glance at the loneliness rating scale…

"I'm out of money."

Tang Hong expressionlessly opened WeChat to send a message to Fang Nanxun.

"Huhuhu! I'm so broke that I have not eaten for three days and three nights. Right now, I'm so hungry that I'm dizzy. I have blurred vision, chest pains, backache, and numb feet. I'm feeling terrible! I might not be able to participate in the special training camp next month!"

…

Mo Yan Group, reception. Fan Yu added Tang Hong to her WeChat friends.

"Hello, I am Fan Yu. You can approach me anytime if you have any questions."

Fan Yu lifted the jet-black hair that fell by her ear and saw that Consultant Fang's expression was as black as charcoal.

Fan Yu's impression of Tang Hong was that he was a student, a talent worthy of a consultant's recommendation. Furthermore, three consultants had specially gone through his information out of curiosity.

Mindful of this, she was very respectful to Tang Hong.

"Consultant Fang mentioned that you are looking for an internship. We sincerely do not suggest you waste your time on an internship. Why don't I apply for an economic grant for you? Please let me know if it works."

"All right."

Tang Hong quickly followed with a question while he was absorbed in his thoughts. "You don't provide funds?"

"Sorry," Fan Yu replied.

"Before the completion of the special training camp, we usually will not provide livelihood support in any form."

Seeing Fan Yu's reply, Tang Hong immediately understood that this was Fang Nanxun's private favor. That what he had done to him back then was not the standard treatment that every member of the Yellow River Organization received.

He instantly felt a little ashamed.

Earlier, he thought that he was supposed to have an allowance and salary from the Yellow River Organization, so he thought that he was entitled to it. But now, the situation has changed.

Without waiting for Tang Hong's reply, Fan Yu added him into a WeChat group chat named 'June Meeting in the Capital, Compiling the Canon of Supreme Mystery Till Heads Are White'.

"Wa!"

"A newbie has joined the group!"

"Drop your voice and photo as initiation. Please send red packets on your own initiative!"

A few messages instantly popped up in the WeChat group.

They were all from one person.

Within less than thirty seconds, another four to five people appeared.

They were either teasing him or watching the show.

Tang Hong: "Will a one-dollar red packet work."

"Courting death (╰_╯)#"

"@TangMonkCannotGetBy, leave the group by yourself!"

"Take the initiative and leave!"

There were a total of 13 people in the group chat. It was built by Fan Yu and mainly consisted of people who had gotten recommendation spots in the special training camp in June.

They were a mix of men and women. One could see who they were for everyone had used a photo of themselves as their profile picture.

Watching the lively WeChat group chat, Fan Yu hesitated for a moment before saying…

"Tang Hong is someone who the consultants are paying attention to. Do get to know each other and remember to look out for one another for the meeting at the Imperial Capital next month."

In an instant, the WeChat group chat became dead silent.