Chapter 234: Golden Finger

“What the hell! So brutal! Instant kill!”

Little Flying Fish respawned in the city, showing no reaction to death. Instead, he marveled at his recent demise. Through his vision interface, he saw Wang Yuluo’s casual strike had dealt 999+ damage – numbers beyond any player’s current capabilities.

Otherworlder?

Player!

Two words flashed through Ye Chen’s mind.

He gazed at the azure sky, faintly perceiving streams of flowing code.

“[ReadNovelFull fo] This world…”

Ye Chen’s pupils constricted. Was this… a game world? Had he become an NPC? His current life’s memories contained clear gaming knowledge, making this revelation staggering. He’d entered through the reincarnation channel – why end up in a game?

“What’s on your mind?”

Their trio reached the tavern mid-conversation.

The Adventurer’s Tavern stood as Green City’s most famous landmark. Childhood memories surfaced of their frequent visits here.

Throughout the meal, Wang Yuluo and Longmen reminisced about shared “childhood” antics, lost in nostalgic reverie. Their performance deepened Ye Chen’s silence. Now he doubted even their previous class reunion’s reality. Perhaps layered worlds existed before that gathering – memories he’d forgotten before awakening, much like Longmen and Wang Yuluo’s current reset state.

“Let’s stop here. Yuluo and I have afternoon classes.” Noticing Ye Chen’s distraction, Longmen made excuses after eating. “We’ll regroup after this busy period.”

Ye Chen didn’t protest. From their chatter, he pieced together his identity: an adventurer, supposedly some star-hopping wandering mage – cosmic cannon fodder.

Their strength seemed matched at level 20, though his exact stats remained hidden without status panels.

“Now I’m awake, I can’t wander blindly anymore. NPC or player – power dictates everything.”

Exiting the tavern, Ye Chen sought solitude. Closing his eyes, he plunged into darkness.

Within his consciousness, two spinning orbs emerged – gold and gray. These were his golden fingers from Old Ancestor and Master Zuo Meng, keys to his rebellion. The gray orb came from Old Ancestor, the golden later from Zuo Meng.

“Testing Old Ancestor’s gift first.”

His consciousness brushed the gray orb.

*Buzz*

Eggshell cracks spread across the trembling sphere. Warmth flooded his veins as golden light erupted around him – the telltale glow of player leveling.

Levels climbed.

From 20 to 40 in explosive jumps.

Ye Chen opened reborn eyes now glowing with data:

Name: Ye Chen

Class: Mage

Level: 40 (MAX)

Background: Green City orphan turned star mercenary. Fled home after traumatic space pirate wars.

Assessment: Pathetic weakling.

Is that all there is?

What kind of pathetic weakling is this!

An NPC panel with a level 20 reward, worse than a beginner’s starter pack. Old Ancestor, you’re a harmony with the Dao big shot, yet after all that fate-altering effort, this trash is what you came up with? Ye Chen didn’t know that in the chess game between big shots outside this world, Old Ancestor was utterly outmatched by the Giant Snake. Every scheme he’d devised had been predicted, every attempt to alter fate systematically undone. The Giant Snake had not only erased their extraordinary destinies but made them painfully ordinary – the unluckiest didn’t even reincarnate as humans.

“This fate’s brutal. That golden finger from Old Ancestor feels like a watered-down 6-yuan starter pack.”

Ye Chen couldn’t stop himself from grumbling.

Luckily, another orb remained in his sea of consciousness. Focusing his will, Ye Chen reached for it again.

The orb shattered.

Power burst forth from the golden fragments, magnitudes stronger than before. Ye Chen’s body underwent a baptismal transformation. The (Limit) marker beside his level vanished. Something fundamental in the world fractured, its broken essence channeled through the golden orb into Ye Chen’s flesh and spirit. His entire being – bones, soul, even his interface – reshaped itself in that instant.

Behind the bland NPC panel, a new player panel materialized.

“Now this is a proper golden finger.”

Ye Chen exhaled in relief.

That aloof Old Ancestor couldn’t compare to his reliable master. With only a level 40 ceiling, Players would’ve slaughtered him within weeks.

“Master Zuo Meng’s the real deal.”

As the golden orb’s power faded, Ye Chen examined his updated player panel:

Player: Ye Chen

Level: 40

Experience: 0\\\\100

Reserve Experience: 1000

The reserve experience must be leftover energy from the orb’s modifications, converted to experience points by world rules.

“Level up!”

Golden light erupted as Ye Chen hit the prompt. His level surged to 50.

“Needing level 1 experience to reach 40? Now that’s a proper cheat.” Closing the player panel, Ye Chen glared at his original NPC interface.

“This pathetic description wouldn’t fool anyone.”

Players ignored cannon-fodder NPCs, dismissing their quests as worthless. But for a hidden NPC? They’d grovel for scraps of attention, desperate for secret missions.

“Time to rewrite this.”

Master Zuo Meng’s golden finger allowed precisely this kind of forgery. Ye Chen deleted the NPC’s weak description and typed:

‘Extremely dangerous!’

Then erased the entire profile. For maximum mystique, he added:

‘Hidden Character!’

“The level display ruins the mystery too.”

Ye Chen removed the numeric indicator entirely. The golden finger’s power bent reality itself.

“Make it a skull icon. Let Players see death staring back, not some number.”