Chapter 38: Escape from Fragrant City

“The light of the righteous path shines upon the earth, illuminating every corner of darkness~~~”
“Wu Xiaoxiao, turn off the music!”
“Oh!”
Upon hearing her master’s voice, Wu Xiaoxiao switched off the music on her phone and obediently stood aside, looking very much like a scolded child.
Chen Zhao turned to glare at her fiercely before facing the young man with yellow hair. “I’ll look into your situation as soon as possible. If it’s true, our Southern District station will handle it appropriately. Don’t worry.”
The young man nodded repeatedly. “Thank you, officer.”
Chen Zhao glanced at Shen He and said, “Mr. Shen, since everything is fine now, we’ll be leaving so as not to disturb your rest.”
Shen He waved his hand. “Thank you, Captain Chen. Goodbye.”
Wu Xiaoxiao bared her teeth and asked, “What about me?”
Shen He responded with an “oh,” then said, “Thanks to you as well. Goodbye.”
Hearing this, Wu Xiaoxiao puffed up her cheeks in annoyance and led the yellow-haired youth downstairs, with Chen Zhao following behind, making calls to verify the young man’s story.
After they left, Shen He checked the door lock.
Luckily, though the guy wasn’t very professional, his morals were decent—at least he hadn’t broken the lock.
He wouldn’t need to get the lock replaced, nor would the landlady have cause to complain.
He closed the door, locked it, and returned to his room to rest.

Soon, the night passed.
Morning.
Shen He sat up in bed, stretched his shoulders and neck, then skillfully opened his system panel and glanced at the task bar.
Hmm~
Daily Task One would be done by the morning after tomorrow.
By then, he’d have three more free attribute points.
How wonderful.
As for Main Quest One, the deadline had shortened by another day, but he didn’t care at all.
After all, his stats were rising fast enough.
And the “Martial Artist” section had increased by another two percent, directly reaching sixty-eight percent.
Could it be due to his diligent practice of the Level Eight Stance these past days?
Good—heaven rewards hard work!
At this rate, he’d soon reach the level of a First-Tier Martial Artist.
Completing this quest would earn him the introductory chapter of “The Complete Martial Way,” which sounded impressive.
By then, the Martial Artist profession would be fully unlocked, wouldn’t it?
Shen He yawned and turned to look at Daily Task Two.
The moment he read the small print, his yawn froze, mouth agape, drool nearly dripping.

[Daily Task Two: Escape Xiangxiang City]
[The Tier Two Dungeon next door is about to erupt. Stay here without even reaching Tier One and you’ll only meet your end.]
[Leave now! Escape the city and return once the situation stabilizes.]

[Task Time Limit: 6 hours]
[Task Reward: Survival Guide (Unlocked Version)]
[…]

Shen He closed his mouth with his hand, but his eyes still looked dazed.
Yesterday, he’d just planned to return to his hometown for a while, and today Daily Task Two had become “Escape Xiangxiang City”?
Was it a coincidence, or was the system toying with him?
The former would be fine, but if it was the latter—considering how many times he’d cursed at it—
Would it hold a grudge?
A sudden shiver ran down Shen He’s spine. He coughed lightly, pressed his palms together, and bowed in all directions, mumbling something under his breath.

After a moment, once he’d calmed down, he went to the bathroom to wash up quickly.
Afterward, he plopped down on the sofa, torn in thought for a long while.
He finally decided to chalk up Daily Task Two as a coincidence.
After all, the system itself had already arrived two years early—what else wouldn’t be possible?
Only then did he turn his attention to the task reward.
Survival Guide (Unlocked Version).
That was easy to understand—like an apocalypse survival guide, or a Song Dynasty travel manual.
Probably instructions on how to survive.
But what was this “Unlocked Version”?
Did it mean there were locked versions as well…?
If so, his abstract evaluation of the system really was spot on.
Sighing, Shen He got up and made himself a cup of black coffee, downed it in one gulp, and after a moment’s hesitation, put all three free attribute points into Stamina.
Instantly, his internal stat rose straight to ten points.
Shen He felt a change surging through his body, beginning deep within his bones.
His organs, blood, flesh—all his cells seemed to rejoice.
Forcing himself to endure the discomfort, he assumed the Level Eight Stance in the living room, hoping the exercise would steady him.
One had to admit, the wisdom of those before did have its merits.
At least, when standing in the Level Eight Stance, he could keep control of his body.
This feeling of evolution—almost like life advancing—came swiftly and faded just as fast.
When the sensation disappeared, Shen He slumped into the sofa.
He opened his player panel.

[Player: Shen He]
[Strength: 7.2]
[Stamina: 10]
[Agility: 7.1]
[Mental: 7.2]
[Free Attribute Points: 0]
[Skill Attribute Points: 0]
(Evaluation: One of your stats has reached Tier One. Evolution has begun, but in this chaotic world, you’re still at the bottom of the ladder. Hurry up and improve yourself! Let’s join the glorious evolution together!)
…
Looking at the evaluation, Shen He’s face was blank.
Join the glorious evolution together?
Who do you think you are, Viktor?
Gurgle~
His stomach growled, a terrifying wave of hunger engulfing him.
At that moment, Shen He felt he could devour an entire cow.
He quickly packed some clothes, grabbed his sword, and went downstairs.
He unlocked his car, opened the back door, tossed his things in—swift and efficient.
Then he got into the driver’s seat, started the engine, and sped away.
At the entrance to the urban village, he stopped at a breakfast shop and ordered everything possible.
He focused on carbs: soup dumplings, fried dough sticks, scallion pancakes, crullers, rice cakes—soon the table was filled.
Shen He shoved three soup dumplings into his mouth at once and began to feast.

Twenty minutes later, he drained his soy milk and finally felt the hunger subside.
Sitting on a small stool, Shen He let out a long, contented breath.
Wonderful!
He stood up, ignoring the shop owners’ astonished stares, bought a few bottles of water, paid via scan, and left.
Then he drove toward his hometown.
The system had given him six hours to leave Xiangxiang City—a generous limit.
At this hour, morning rush had already passed.
There was little traffic, so after just an hour and a half, he’d left the city and was on the freeway home.
The moment he crossed the city limits—

[Daily Task Two completed!]
[Reward issued. Please check your system panel.]
[…]