Chapter 3: Heartache, True Heartache

Di Qiu paused briefly, then walked over to her bicycle, gazing down at the pond. The last fish she had just caught had leapt back into the water moments ago. She patted the bike seat thoughtfully, reflecting on the recent awakening of her abilities. “In a way, it’s like betting that a bicycle could turn into a motorcycle,” she mused.

Tomorrow, she would finally leave the village.

Before departing, Di Qiu cast one last glance at the scene of the incident, still unable to comprehend how the strange seal had been triggered.

Could it have been by catching ten fish in a row?

Although her textbooks explained that this world was plagued by anomalies, such occurrences weren’t that frequent.

As she learned more, she realized that these anomalies, though parasitic on inanimate objects, remained sealed. As long as the seal was intact, there was no danger.

The books didn’t specify exactly how to break these seals but gave some examples:

An S-class anomaly parasitizing a ceramic bowl could only be unsealed by saliva of blood type O.

When she and Sikong Lu read that example, both fell silent.

An A-class anomaly attached to bamboo could be released by chopping the bamboo with a machete at nine o’clock on the lunar first day of the month.

An SSS-class anomaly hid in a withered tree branch on the ground—anyone stepping on and breaking the branch would unleash it.

These bizarre cases showed no universal method for unsealing anomalies.

Because of this, such anomalies rarely appeared, but if one was unlucky, they could still encounter one.

Her teacher once mentioned a particularly unfortunate person who had unwittingly broken anomaly seals nine times in a row, though fate smiled upon him as rescue teams always arrived in time.

Di Qiu thought the anomaly she faced earlier was probably a low-level one.

Anomalies ranged from F, the lowest, up to SSS, the highest.

An SSS-level anomaly would spell disaster on a city-wide scale.

A physically strong adult, however, stood a chance to escape from an F-level anomaly.

At least, that was what her teacher said.

She must have been that lucky person, Di Qiu thought.

Perhaps her reputation for extraordinary luck really did hold some weight.

Setting aside the system’s unreliable chatter, she pushed her bicycle home. Tonight she would prepare, and tomorrow she’d enter the city to begin a new life empowered by her "golden finger."

“Di Qiu!”

A voice called from behind. Turning around, she saw Teacher Zhou Guo riding a small electric scooter, his gray-white hair standing stiffly against the wind as he hurried over.

He stopped and eyed the battle marks on her body and the black liquid flowing on the ground, instantly grasping what had happened.

Pointing to the traces on the ground, he asked incredulously, “You... you did this?”

As a dedicated educator, Zhou Guo never imagined he’d stammer over words.

Di Qiu nodded and explained the incident. Zhou Guo listened in silence.

Who would have thought an F-level anomaly was hiding in the water? Strange indeed. He had checked all the village’s water sources before but missed this one.

Could anomalies regenerate?

He pondered for a while, reached into his pocket for a pack of cigarettes, then put it back, considering the student was present.

Still puzzled, he finally asked a practical question: “Weren’t you unable to detect any abilities before?”

Di Qiu scratched her head. “Teacher, didn’t you say a grown adult might be able to resist the lowest-level anomaly? I guess this one must be F-level.”

Zhou Guo was dumbfounded. When had he said anything so absurd?

Realizing she was leading him astray, he sighed, “I said a physically strong adult might escape, but I never said someone unarmed could kill an anomaly.”

“You can forget it. You’re just barely an adult—you’re going to need a few more years to become truly strong.”

“But your guess is correct: that anomaly was indeed F-level.”

“As for you, I think you should have your abilities checked again.”

He continued, baffled that his student just happened to awaken her powers at this very moment. What were the odds?

Fortunately, it was only an F-level anomaly and no one was hurt.

Zhou Guo got on his scooter, glanced at the darkening sky, then said, “Looks like it won’t rain after all. Let me make a call, then we’ll go check your abilities again. If you’ve really awakened, you won’t have to stay here anymore.”

He took out his phone and spoke briefly by the roadside.

After hanging up, he asked Di Qiu to recount her fight with the anomaly once more.

She complied, and after some thought, Zhou Guo said thoughtfully, “Perhaps it was the life-or-death moment that triggered your awakening—an accidental stroke of luck.”

Di Qiu nodded in agreement. Accident indeed.

The only question was whether the abilities displayed on her character panel were the same as those awakened in this world.

Within half an hour, a battered silver van pulled up before them.

“Teacher, why isn’t this car like the one that picked up Sikong Lu?” Di Qiu whispered.

Zhou Guo snorted, “So you know what a good car looks like, huh?”

“Teacher, I may not know much about cars, but I can tell old from new.”

“Stop pretending to be all refined. Get in quickly. If you had an SSS-level ability, you’d get picked up by a luxurious stretch limo.”

He opened the door for Di Qiu to get in first, then took the passenger seat.

This was Di Qiu’s thirtieth time leaving the village. Previously, during holidays, she and Sikong Lu had often ridden their bikes to the town and back, a two-hour round trip.

This time, it took less than twenty minutes to reach a modest bungalow.

Inside, a small room held a detection machine with dozens of colorful wires.

Di Qiu was very familiar with this setup. By winding ten wires around her fingertips, focusing her mind, she could detect fluctuations in her inner abilities.

She had once doubted the machine’s reliability—how could a few wires detect supernatural powers? Only after seeing Sikong Lu’s successful test did she accept the harsh truth.

It wasn’t the equipment—it was the person.

“Have a seat,” Zhou Guo gestured.

Just as Di Qiu sat down, a woman in her thirties entered. She wore black square glasses and had her long hair tied back neatly.

Zhu Yuling’s sharp gaze swept the room. Without waiting for Zhou Guo, she approached Di Qiu and asked, “Have you undergone ability testing before?”

“Yes, I have.”

Di Qiu responded promptly, stretching out her fingers. Zhu Yuling raised an eyebrow in approval, clipped the wires to Di Qiu’s fingertips, and moved to the screen.

Zhou Guo, who had been sitting, slowly stood and joined Zhu Yuling, folding his arms as he watched the screen’s shifting display.

The light circle on the screen flickered for a minute before forming a line of text:

[Destruction, B1 Level]

Zhou Guo raised an eyebrow. “You really have awakened. Not bad. This ability will make you sought after wherever you go. It’s a pity it’s only B1 level, but don’t worry—it can be improved.”

Di Qiu’s face showed surprise. “What exactly is my ability?”

“See for yourself.”

Zhu Yuling let Di Qiu reveal the good news herself. Before arriving, she had heard from colleagues that two recent graduates from Dandan Village had awakened abilities—one had, one hadn’t.

Presumably, the latter was Di Qiu.

Di Qiu removed the clips and quickly glanced at the screen. Seeing the word “Destruction,” she was genuinely impressed.

On second thought, it was both surprising and not unexpected.

After all, her ability panel also displayed “Destruction.” They must be related.

There was just one flaw.

This randomly granted ability was only B1-level?

Her heart sank—truly a cold disappointment.

You’re not playing fair, System.