Ye Qingfeng stood quietly watching Zhu Yan's retreating figure until she disappeared from view. He hadn't expected his spontaneous decision to lead to so many events in such a short time. Feeling mentally and physically exhausted, he wanted nothing more than to collapse onto a bed and sleep.
Fortunately, he had managed to explain everything in the end, and the kind and beautiful Zhu Yan had forgiven him. After their brief contact, her favorability had already reached 50%, earning him two lottery draws.
By the time he reached the door of the Cunning Hares and knocked, it was exactly 7:30 PM.
"Good evening, Qingfeng..." Anby jogged over to open the door, peeking her head out to greet him.
"Evening. Where are Nicole and Billy?"
Dragging his tired body inside, Ye Qingfeng sank onto the sofa and asked about the other two.
"Boss Nicole went out after dinner and hasn't returned yet. Billy is in his room watching Star Knight, which airs exactly at 7:30."
Anby followed Ye Qingfeng into the living room and sat down beside him, accurately reporting their whereabouts.
"I see... Anby, is there something you need?"
Ye Qingfeng had noticed that Anby's gaze hadn't left him since he entered. While he appreciated the admiration for his handsome features.
Being stared at so intently still felt a bit strange.
"Qingfeng, do you like watching movies?"
Anby's face showed no expression, and her tone was completely flat, but Ye Qingfeng detected a glimmer of expectation in her eyes.
He thought carefully for a moment and realized he had never actually seen a movie before. He answered truthfully, "I've never watched one, but I've always wanted to."
"Would you like to go see one together tomorrow?"
Anby's eyes suddenly brightened as she hurriedly extended the invitation.
"Sure."
"Okay. I'll wake you up in the morning."
After tossing out these words, Anby lightly bounded up the stairs.
Ye Qingfeng couldn't say he was particularly excited about tomorrow's movie, but he wasn't opposed to it either. It would be a new experience.
After agreeing to Anby's request, he spent an hour completing various tasks—tidying his room, taking a shower, and making dinner.
Now sitting on the living room sofa enjoying his solitary dinner, he ate while exchanging messages with Zhu Yan.
After finishing dinner and washing the dishes, just as he was heading upstairs to rest, the door opened and Nicole walked in, looking exhausted.
"Nicole, you're back."
"Yeah..."
"Have you eaten dinner? Should I make you something?"
"Don't trouble yourself. You should rest."
"Alright, get some rest early."
Nicole hummed in acknowledgment, watching Ye Qingfeng head upstairs before dragging her weary body to the sofa and collapsing onto it.
"So tired..."
She had been up since early morning helping Ye Qingfeng buy daily necessities, rushed back to make dinner, eaten briefly with Anby, and then immediately gone out again to visit the orphanage—all without a moment's rest.
"I'm really broke now!"
Nicole checked her account balance with a sliver of hope, but the mere three-digit figure instantly extinguished her flickering optimism.
"If we don't find a commission soon, the Cunning Hares will really go bankrupt. Qingfeng ah...
I didn't want to do this to you, but you must have at least 100,000 Denny, right..."
Nicole slowly turned her head, casting a wicked glance toward the staircase. "You're still young—you can't handle that much Denny. Why not let me keep it safe for you... Hehehe..."
Meanwhile, Ye Qingfeng, lying in bed, suddenly shuddered but didn't think much of it. He had more important matters at hand.
'System, system? Are you there?!'
[What—do you~ want!]
'Never mind that. Don't I have two lottery draws? Draw them!'
[... Drawing in progress. Congratulations, Host, on obtaining the following rewards:]
[A-grade Reward: Close Quarters Combat Mastery]
(Note: Ranked from low to high: Proficient, Mastery, Professional)
[Evaluation:The perfect choice for showing off while beating up weaklings]
[S-grade Reward: Spatial Backpack (10 cubic meters internal space)]
[Note:Theoretically, any place where items can be stored can serve as an entrance to the spatial backpack. Simply visualize in your mind to store or retrieve items.]
[Evaluation:A fourth-dimensional storage space you deserve]
'Am I really this lucky? This isn't just a showcase, is it? Whatever! Claim rewards.'
A stream of memories about combat techniques rapidly surfaced in Ye Qingfeng's mind, as if he were learning these skills through mental immersion. His head throbbed with pain momentarily, but fortunately, the discomfort didn't last long. The memories seamlessly integrated into his existing ones.
Eagerly, he jumped off the bed and threw a few experimental punches. After brief testing, he concluded:
There were no physical changes, but he could now skillfully apply combat techniques. If his past self were to line up for one-on-one fights, he could now knock each out with one punch. However, if too many ganged up on him, he could only hold out briefly before swiftly surrendering.
This might seem like a minor improvement, but that wasn't the case.
Because his current body wasn't accustomed to the combat techniques in his memories, his movements were uncoordinated, stamina drained too quickly, and reactions lagged.
Forcing their use could lead to sprained wrists or ankles, pulled back muscles, and other injuries.
This motivated Ye Qingfeng to resolve to set aside time daily for training, to escape the ranks of the combat-inept.
The A-grade combat mastery reward wasn't particularly outrageous, but the S-grade spatial backpack felt like a superpower, completely defying logic.
Using it was like being a highly skilled magician—he could freely retrieve or store items through sleeves, pockets, or any place where items could be concealed.
After several simple tests, he found that the size of the sleeve opening didn't restrict the items stored. Items would shrink relative to the opening when passing through, as long as they didn't exceed 10 cubic meters in volume.
Thus, Ye Qingfeng planned to purchase some potentially useful items tomorrow.
After familiarizing himself with all the rewards, the time approached midnight. Ye Qingfeng burrowed into his blankets and drifted into a deep, contented sleep.
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A/n: New content and Story posted on my patreon go check it out!
patreon.com/deadlygoober