Chen Minyue cooked breakfast, so Shen Nian could eat as soon as he came downstairs.
Braised fried eggs with tomatoes. With one bite, the sweet and sour tomato juice burst from the fried egg, mixing with the oil to create a very appetizing flavor.
He had to admit that his mom was an absolute authority when it came to cooking. As for pairing tomatoes with eggs, Shen Nian only knew how to make basic tomato and egg stir-fry.
He took a ride in the pickup truck to the breeding farm.
After helping out with some chores, Shen Nian slipped away to the open space where he had previously had a picnic with Xia Yanchun and Li Shiyan.
The coast wasn't always like what was shown on TV, with sandy beaches, swimsuits, and beautiful men and women. Looking out into the distance, the shore was covered with massive stretches of dirty oyster shells.
Shen Nian tried entering the Focus state. This time, the visual enhancement was even more obvious. If he hadn't entered the Focus state, he wouldn't even have known there was a boat in the direction he was facing.
Compared to his sight and hearing, Shen Nian was more interested in testing his strength.
How could his overall attributes not include strength?
There were plenty of rocks around the farm. Shen Nian picked one up and tossed it casually; the rock flew an incredibly long distance before disappearing into the mangrove forest.
It was a pity there weren't any large boulders nearby.
Shen Nian returned to the farm to help out and carried a few bags of feed. Lifting the fifty-kilogram bags of corn feed was... well, he couldn't just call it easy; it was an absolute breeze.
He could carry two bags at once with energy to spare. If it weren't for the awkward grip, carrying three bags wouldn't have been a problem at all.
Could I really kill a cow with a single punch?
Shen Nian maintained his Focus state until it automatically deactivated. After his stamina recovered, he entered the Focus state again. Surprisingly, he couldn't even maintain it for half an hour the second time before getting so tired that he was panting heavily.
And that was even when he was just sitting down.
Damn, the energy consumption was ridiculously high.
Such a powerful enhancement definitely came with a price.
After resting for an hour, he entered Focus again, but this time it lasted for less than ten minutes...
"Phew... Phew..." Shen Nian tugged at his collar, feeling sticky and a bit sweaty.
He was dog-tired. Not only that, but Shen Nian was also starving right now; he needed to eat immediately.
Fortunately, it was already noon, right at mealtime. Shen Nian went over to Pond Number Three just in time to eat.
He devoured three large bowls of rice with tears of joy. Even the Wujiang pickled mustard served with the meal tasted incredibly fragrant.
"What have you been doing? Why are you so hungry?"
"I'm just hungry, that's all." Shen Nian was full and satisfied.
"You can eat just as much as your dad used to."
"Was Dad a Bottomless Pit back then?"
"Not exactly. Anyway, before we got married, he was a little chubby."
"He's so skinny now. Did working on the farm burn off all his fat?"
"Yeah. Your dad is so tanned now because he's out in the sun all day. Where do you think the money for you and your sister's apartments in the city came from?"
Shen Nian looked at Shen Shi, who was still busy working on the other side, and grinned. "Since Dad is working so hard, I can't keep being lazy. I'll head back to school early tomorrow morning and study intensely for a week to prepare for the college entrance exam."
"Just make sure you get enough rest. Do you want more to eat?"
"No, I'm good. Mom, please help me clean up, I'm going to go help Dad with the work!"
"Don't run so fast, what if you trip and fall...!"
After lunch, Shen Nian felt that his stamina had mostly recovered. Although he wasn't quite at the peak condition he was in right after waking up, he was ready to find something to do.
The stamina consumed by working didn't drain as fast as his energetic recovery rate; the more he worked, the more energetic he felt.
He also pretty much figured it out. The more times he used Focus within a certain period, the greater the energy consumption. The first time, he could sustain it for nearly an hour, but by the third time, even lasting ten minutes was a struggle.
But it was enough.
He could be a true man for an hour.
Enhanced vision, enhanced hearing, high agility, great strength in his left hand, and massive strength in his right hand. His super brain told him that utilizing his super strength within this one hour was the optimal solution.
At the very least, if he and Xia Yanchun ever encountered any unexpected dangers in the future, he would have some ability to protect them.
Shen Nian enthusiastically helped Shen Shi with the work, urging him to go back and eat. He ended up staying busy for half the day.
Even though the work wasn't entirely finished, it was already time to pack up and go home.
The workload at the farm was exceptionally heavy, with all sorts of tasks popping up constantly. Shen Nian had no idea how his dad and mom had managed to build the farm up to what it was today, bit by bit.
At night, there was the occasional barking of dogs.
Summer nights in the small town lacked the neon lights of the city, the smoke-filled barbecue stalls, and couples strolling hand in hand. The long streets only had a few aging streetlights, peaceful like a gently sleeping poem.
Shen Nian was on a video call with Xia Yanchun, staring at her on the screen with a silly grin.
"You look so creepy." Xia Yanchun poked her phone screen, wishing she could invent a phone with a physical strike function so she could poke Shen Nian's face through the screen.
"I'm lovesick for my Chun."
"Eww..." Xia Yanchun shivered in disgust, holding the phone further away. "What time are you coming back tomorrow?"
"I should arrive around two in the afternoon, and then I'll head straight to school."
"Oh."
"Aren't you going to ask me to come back earlier?"
"Even if you wanted to be earlier, could you fly over? Once you're at school, what difference does it make if you're early or late?" Xia Yanchun puffed her cheeks and complained.
She didn't go home at noon. She arrived at school at 6:50 AM and didn't leave until 10:45 PM. Even if Shen Nian arrived at 10:00 AM, she would still be stuck at school.
"True, true." Shen Nian rubbed his nose. "Go to sleep early."
"Mhm."
Shen Nian blew a kiss at the phone.
Xia Yanchun looked at him blankly. Phones were filthy; she didn't want to catch it.
So she grabbed the blown kiss Shen Nian sent over out of thin air and casually tossed it aside, letting his kiss land on the floor.
"Damn it, Haji Chun, you brat!"
"Someone's mad."
"Don't sleep too soundly tonight! I'll be watching you!"
"Keep barking. I'm muting my speaker."
Watching Shen Nian blabbering on the phone, Xia Yanchun's eyes curved into a smile.
Can't hear you, can't hear you, time to sleep!
Shen Nian was furious. He needed a solid eight hours of sleep to cool off.
...
At eight o'clock in the morning, Shen Nian had already packed his things and had his dad drive him to the entrance of the town.
"Do you have cash for the bus?"
"I always pay with my phone, but if you have some, you can give it to me." Shen Nian held out his hand.
"I didn't bring any." Shen Shi shook his head. "I was just reminding you to bring cash."
"We're already here, what's the point of reminding me now?"
Shen Shi held back a laugh. "Just reminding you for fun."
"??"
This is the most loving father in all of Cinan. Is there an even more loving father in the whole world?
Shen Nian died inside, accepting his fate.
"Hey, remember to eat on time when you get there." Shen Shi patted Shen Nian's shoulder and drove off stylishly.
Shen Nian waited for the bus alone and soon boarded the bus back.
Calculating the time, if nothing unexpected happened, he should arrive at school around one in the afternoon.
I should bring Haji Chun a cup of fruit tea when I get back; she should be able to drink it even during her period.
Shen Nian leaned against the window, staring at the trees rapidly retreating outside. His mind was full of Xia Yanchun, and his heart felt a ticklish longing.
He wanted to hug Xia Yanchun and take a deep sniff of her scent.
He hadn't felt this strongly just a couple of days ago.
Even though he would be seeing Xia Yanchun in just a few hours.
The closer he got to Xia Yanchun, the more he missed her...
Sigh, he was completely wrapped around Xia Yanchun's finger.
and couldn't return to the real world. Finally, I gave up and decided to go with the flow, only to discover that writing a diary could make me stronger. Since no one could read it, Su Luo wrote freely, daring to pen anything and everything. Female Lead #1: "Not bad. This diary helped me steal all the protagonist's opportunities. I just want to get stronger." Female Lead #2: "I don’t care about reaching the peak of the cultivation world. Right now, I just want to enjoy the chaos." Female Lead #3: "What? Everyone around me is a spy? I’m the Joker Demon Lord?" ... It’s so strange. Why is the plot completely off track, yet the ending remains the same? Are you all just messing with me?!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
rowess are unmatched, commanding a million-strong army! Yet, the Emperor wants to depose him for the sake of a false prince? Hold on, are you throwing me into some female-oriented romance plot? How can I tolerate this? With a grand wave of his hand—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! Slander the Emperor? Very well, all of you shall die! ... The False Prince: "Although I am not the biological son, Father and Mother love me more. The throne should be mine!" The Female Lead: "Qin Xiao, you are the Emperor, and I am a commoner. If you wish to marry me, you must abdicate. Otherwise, you will never have me!" The Empress: "After we divorce, you must give me half the empire!" The Transmigrator Consort: "You worthless Emperor, why should I kneel to you? All men are equal—I advise you to be kind!" The Great General: "The enemy general is my childhood sweetheart. For her sake, I willingly abandon the frontier defenses!" The Retired Emperor: "Although Yu'er was adopted, I prefer him. Qin Xiao, you should abdicate and let him become Emperor!" ... Very well! So this is how you want to play? Facing this twisted world of female-oriented tropes, Qin Xiao grins and raises his hand to unleash—the Nine Clan Extraction Technique! I am the Emperor. Why would I bother reasoning with you? Seal the gates! Leave none alive!
