Chapter 11: Do You Really Have to Be a Ruffian?

"Hey, seriously, am I destined to walk this path of no return?" Feng Xue stared at the two fundamentally similar choices, feeling utterly baffled. What's so great about being a ruffian? Why must he replace someone just because they dress like they're part of some elite police squad?

Internally ranting, Feng Xue's attention was drawn to the node description, particularly the part about "severely injuring a few classmates, including the principal's son."

This made him think back to the previous node about school bullying, which indeed involved some clichéd lines typical of second-generation heirs.

"So, I was too harsh last time, and that's why I was expelled. If I just knock them out or intimidate them without leaving visible injuries, so they can't complain or show evidence, then there wouldn't be a problem, right?"

Though last night's integrated strategy session suggested that combat nodes wouldn't affect the plot progression, his unique abilities differed slightly. Regardless of actual impact, it never hurts to be cautious.

"Next time I encounter a combat node, I might experiment to see if it truly affects subsequent nodes."

Keeping this thought in mind, Feng Xue stopped pondering and forced himself to focus on reading comprehension.

A true man should be thus.

He is worthy of replacement.

These phrases would ring familiar to any fan of historical dramas, originally spoken by Liu Bang and Xiang Yu upon witnessing the majesty of Emperor Qin Shi Huang. According to historical interpretations, Liu Bang harbored ambitions to rule yet respected Qin Shi Huang and practiced restraint; in contrast, Xiang Yu was too impulsive, failing to hide his ambitions and thus more prone to downfall.

Of course, such interpretations are often biased by hindsight. If Xiang Yu had been victorious, the narratives might have praised him for breaking conventional shackles and showing the true temperament of a ruler, while criticizing Liu Bang for his perceived inferiority complex.

Ultimately, there's no inherent superiority in these statements; any judgment would merely reflect on the speakers themselves.

Despite agreeing with this, after much deliberation, Feng Xue chose "A true man should be thus."

"I am indeed superficial," he chuckled self-deprecatingly. However, instead of the scenery changing as before, the screen went black, only returning to the node selection screen after a new item appeared in his inventory—

[You have obtained Red Sky (Gold)]

"Red Sky, huh? Would choosing 'He is worthy of replacement' have given me the Halberd of the Overlord?" As Feng Xue examined the red-handled, white-scabbarded Qin sword, a sense of surrealism washed over him. Opening the item panel, his confusion only deepened—

Name: Red Sky

Category: Sealed Relic

Quality: Legendary Gold

Effect: Slay the White Serpent

Note: A true man should wield a three-foot sword to achieve unparalleled feats.

"???" Feng Xue was utterly baffled by the vague effect "Slay the White Serpent." Was it an insta-kill effect against serpent-like enemies, a reference to a historical uprising, something that affects the descendants of a white emperor, or even entire states?

Despite his confusion and extensive gaming experience, he knew this item was valuable.

Returning to the node selection, Feng Xue's screen darkened as he faced a node with only one path, clearly labeled—

[Critical Combat Operation]

"I knew it! There's always a catch when you can't see what lies ahead!"

While Feng Xue grumbled inwardly, he hesitated whether to proceed.

This was his first critical combat operation, aside from the orphanage incident. According to the strategies discussed the previous night, this level shouldn't be overly difficult.

"Maybe I should exit?" The thought of retreating crossed his mind but was quickly dismissed.

His abilities were his only source of information. Without knowing the charges against him or his sentence, he had no real choice.

If he couldn't handle a second-level emergency operation, could he even rely on his abilities in the future?

Or should he just reset the game and grind skills in the first level?

That seemed feasible but raised another issue—time.

So far, there was no option to upgrade his abilities through the system; his ability to buy skill unlock tokens was purely due to a fortunate relic find. Without considering such relics, he'd need to complete the first level to earn a meager three relics, and there's no guarantee these would carry over after a reset.

Moreover, the previous incident with the jailer suggested that time in the real world continues to pass normally while using his abilities, though possibly at a different rate.

As a prisoner, how much time could he really afford to spend grinding the first level?

Anxiety sprouted within Feng Xue as he vacillated between retreating and forging ahead. Then, something changed in his field of vision. As he focused, he noticed his sanity points had dropped by three.

"Damn, sanity points aren't just deducted in nodes but whenever I'm stressed!"

Trying to calm himself proved futile as his anxiety persisted, and after losing another two sanity points, Feng Xue made a decision—

"I'll exit!"

It wasn't cowardice but a necessity to confirm something—

Whether gains in the system, including relics, dreams, sanity points, and unlocked skills, would carry over to future sessions.

Now was the perfect time to test this since his sanity points, relics, and dreams weren't at their starting values, and the relics he had weren't too precious to lose.

If he could carry everything over, he'd repeatedly clear the first level, accumulating skills and relics to regain most of his former strength before facing tougher challenges.

But if not, the loss wouldn't be too grievous.

With this in mind, Feng Xue focused on the upper left corner of his screen. As he contemplated exiting, a popup appeared—

[The exploration is not yet complete. Save progress? Yes/No]

"No!"

With his decision firm, Feng Xue, seeing only one relic point remaining, decisively chose no. As the screen shattered like a struck mirror, he awoke to find the icon for his abilities grayed out. Even focusing his attention only brought up a message [Limit reached. Please wait until midnight to refresh].

More striking than this, however, were the nine relics quietly floating in his mind.