Chapter 238: Harry Potter
Opening the quest panel, sure enough, just as he expected, the progress for History Enthusiast (II) had reached 9/9, showing that it was ready to claim.
Zhou Ning vaguely remembered that the last time he completed the first stage of the quest, the reward had been random. As a hardcore gamer, his favorite moment was always the one where you got to claim the prize.
He tapped the button to collect the quest reward, and a prompt popped up on the panel:
[You have completed the hidden quest: (History Enthusiast) (II). You have gained 120,000 experience points. You have obtained [One Piece – Zhou Ning Character Possession Card] ×1. You have obtained 1 Random Template Card. You have unlocked a new series of hidden quests.]
So this is what it feels like to have cheats on? Looking at the generous rewards, Zhou Ning almost felt like he was floating.
[One Piece – Zhou Ning Character Possession Card: Allows you to temporarily possess the combat power of One Piece – Zhou Ning for 15 minutes.]
Another possession card. Up until now, Zhou Ning had already obtained two possession cards. The first two had both been Epic Vampire versions; this was his first time getting a One Piece version.
Although he felt that the One Piece version of himself wouldn't be as strong as the epic vampire one, at least it was another trump card to have in hand. Overall, he was satisfied.
Next, there was still the random template card to collect. Unlike the one-time-use Godfather – Zhou Ning card he had just consumed, a random template card granted permanent access to a template. It could potentially give him something like the First Emperor or One Punch Man.
Last time, Zhou Ning had drawn "Ordinary Office Worker" and missed his chance to soar.
He retrieved the random template card from his inventory and chose to use it.
[You have used a Random Template Reward Card. You have obtained a random template: Oceanographer – Zhou Ning.]
A white light tinged with purple shot upward, indicating that this was a purple card from the righteous faction. The card instantly became three-dimensional, showing Zhou Ning dressed in a white coat and matching hat, expression cold and indifferent, with a purple-skinned humanoid figure floating behind him.
[Character: Oceanographer – Zhou Ning]
[Personality: Calm, taciturn, deep, aloof.]
[Talents: Athletic Genius (Purple), High Intelligence (Blue), Extreme Composure (Blue), Combat Awareness (Purple)]
[Skills: Star Platinum (Special Skill), Expert-Level Knowledge of Oceanography, Advanced Combat Skills.]
Zhou Ning: "…"
Just from the appearance, Zhou Ning immediately knew who this was. It's you! Kujo Jotaro!
This result wasn't bad at all. Zhou Ning let out a sigh of relief. After all, he was one of the most invincible men in the JoJo series; there was no way his power could be weak.
Although judging by the talents and skills alone, he didn't seem that overpowered, and his personality wasn't as combat-suited as the Godfather or the Mad Clown, Zhou Ning was still curious to see how he would perform in the simulator. Given the current budget, next time he'd try letting him make an appearance in the Rewind function to test the effect.
After completing History Enthusiast (II), there was a hidden follow-up. Once Zhou Ning accepted it, the quest entered the next stage.
Hidden Quest (Triggered under special conditions):
[History Enthusiast]: As a history enthusiast, you are deeply interested in long-forgotten history. Try to collect fifteen or more extraordinary items that are over 100 years old, whether in reality or in the simulated world. (9/15)
Nice—not too hard. This whole series of quests was basically free rewards; as long as you had hands, you could do it.
After handling all the rewards, Zhou Ning thought for a moment, then took out a stack of paper from the drawer, grabbed a pen, and began to write, pen scratching across the page.
Harry Potter
Chapter One – The Boy Who Lived
He would spend a week copying out the first book of Harry Potter and try submitting it to the Darkland Daily.
…
Wednesday morning, the weather had turned chilly.
Zhou Ning pulled the collar of his black trench coat tighter, put on his hat, and opened the front door.
He had stayed up all night writing Harry Potter—though his memory was hazy, his existing writing skills allowed him to fill in with his own improvisations, managing to produce a little over 30,000 words, roughly one-seventh of the first book.
Checking the time, there were less than 20 minutes left before the Lucky Clover effect ended. Zhou Ning wasn't all that nervous—after all, he had already experienced the worst-case scenario last time. This time, no matter how bad his luck got, it couldn't be worse than before. Now that he had fallen back to being a broke man, he had nothing left to lose. His overall strategy was to avoid trouble wherever possible—keep it safe and steady.
On the way, he bought a copy of the day's newspaper and looked for a more open spot to weather the "tribulation," fully bracing himself for any incoming disaster.
Passing by the school gate, he heard someone calling out to him. Instinctively, he turned his head.
It was Mrs. Turing, wearing a thick black coat, pushing Mr. Turing's wheelchair.
"Good morning, little Wayne. Have you had breakfast? Would you like to try some savory cake I baked myself?" Mrs. Turing said kindly, pointing to a bag hanging from the wheelchair's armrest.
Although Zhou Ning had his doubts about what kind of dark cuisine a "savory cake" might be, he couldn't bring himself to refuse the sweet elderly lady. He thanked her and accepted a still-steaming piece of cake, taking a small bite.
Although it looked suspicious, the taste was surprisingly good. The main ingredients seemed to be potatoes and eggs, with sausage and bacon mixed in, rich with savory flavor.
"Fantastic!" Zhou Ning said with genuine praise.
After chatting with Mr. and Mrs. Turing for a while, Zhou Ning bade them farewell with a smile and continued toward the street corner.
Once he crossed to the other side of the street, his smile faded. Shaking his head slightly, he sighed.
Through his aura-reading technique, he could see Mrs. Turing's health line filled with black and dark brown threads, twisted together—her condition was much worse than it appeared, even worse than the paralyzed Mr. Turing.
If he guessed correctly, she had only one to two years left at most. With the current medical standards of this era, there was no way to cure such a serious illness. He wondered whether stronger alchemists might have a solution.
He remembered that Mr. Turing himself was a very skilled alchemist. If he needed a large number of life cores to treat Mrs. Turing, that would definitely be a cause worth helping with.
As these thoughts ran through his head, Zhou Ning arrived at a sparsely populated open lot not far from the Withershire Cathedral Square—a planned construction site.
It wasn't long before, as the countdown reached zero, a chill surged through his body.
At that moment, black clouds suddenly gathered overhead, fierce winds rose, and in just moments a hurricane began forming over the lot!
Zhou Ning: "???"
Why did this look even stronger than the first time he'd used the Lucky Clover?
In the Apocalypse World, there was an old saying: In the face of the weather, no matter how strong your power, you will always be small.
His spiritual instincts told him he couldn't withstand the hurricane head-on. Without hesitation, he left the lot. It seemed that with the Lucky Clover, there really was no loophole to exploit.