Chapter 2: A-Rank Ability User
At the mention of this, Yan Zhengxiang’s face was filled with even more pride.
Only Jiang Ning, who was still out of the loop, remained utterly bewildered.
Awakened?
She learned from the little girl’s memories that not only was technology in the interstellar era highly advanced, but the bodies of its people also seemed to be exceptionally special, capable of awakening all sorts of unique abilities that set them apart from ordinary people.
So, this is what an ability user is?
Jiang Ning silently sized up Yan Zhou.
He didn’t seem any different from a normal person.
“Yes.” A smile graced Yan Zhou’s face as he nodded.
Li Xiang quickly pressed, “When did it happen? Is it C-rank or D-rank? Spatial or Combat?”
The highest-ranked ability users on Planet M412 were only B-rank; most others were C-rank and D-rank.
The abilities one awakened were random, but the ranking was determined by an individual’s psychic energy. The wealthier a family was, the more they were willing to invest in cultivation. This would nourish their psychic energy to a higher level, resulting in a higher rank during the ability test.
Most ordinary families could reach F-rank, but for bottom-tier civilians like them, where would they find the money and energy to nurture their psychic energy? Thus, for an ability user to emerge from the slums was a sign of incredible ancestral fortune.
And among their group, Yan Zhou was strong and intelligent, and Uncle Yan was willing to spend money to cultivate Yan Zhou. It was a foregone conclusion that he would awaken sooner or later; the only questions were what rank and type of ability he would get.
Yan Zhou said, “A-rank, Earth Elemental Power.”
“A-rank! And it’s even an elemental power! Brother Yan Zhou, you’re amazing!” Li Xiang was stunned. This was a one-in-ten-thousand occurrence on Planet M412.
Li Xiang’s face was filled with envy. “I wish I could awaken soon, too. Even a D-rank would be fine.”
“You’ll awaken sooner or later,” Yan Zhou comforted him.
Beside them, Auntie Li’s eyes also revealed her shock. No wonder she saw that Old Yan’s grin was about to split his face from ear to ear. If her own son had awakened an A-rank ability, her smile would probably be even more ostentatious than Old Yan’s. But then she thought about the fortune Old Yan had spent on his son, and she dismissed the idea.
Auntie Li said, “Our Xiao Zhou is truly gifted. An A-rank ability should be enough to get into one of the prestigious academies on a major planet, right?”
News of an A-rank talent emerging from the slums would soon spread throughout the entire urban area of Planet M412. At that time, many academies would surely be fighting to recruit Yan Zhou.
However, the educational resources on a small planet were limited. Yan Zhou was also an ambitious person; he would definitely choose to study on a major planet.
Yan Zhou nodded. “This mission will be the last time I hunt mutated beasts with everyone. After it’s over, I’m going to Planet Kai Pu to study. So this time, I’ll do my best to hunt as many mutated beasts with you all as possible.”
On one hand, he wanted to earn a bit more money before school started. On the other, he wanted to help out his old neighbors of many years before he left.
“Then when will you be back next time, Brother Yan Zhou?” Li Xiang’s eyes held a hint of reluctance.
“I don’t know.” Yan Zhou shook his head. Maybe during the winter or summer breaks, or maybe after graduation. It would depend on how well he did. He couldn’t give a definite answer right now.
A wave of disappointment washed over Li Xiang. Everyone knew that with Yan Zhou’s awakening, the Yan family was destined for greatness.
As the saying goes, one person’s awakening means the whole family’s ascension. Perhaps after Yan Zhou graduated, his entire family would move to a major planet, completely severing ties with them and becoming people from two different worlds.
Everyone was immersed in a complex mix of joy over Yan Zhou’s awakening and reluctance at his impending departure.
Only Jiang Ning asked a question: “How… can one awaken?”
She stared blankly at Yan Zhou, her eyes filled with an ambitious desire to awaken.
Auntie Li had just told her that the government of Planet M412 provided generous subsidies for exceptionally talented ability users. For someone as outstanding as Yan Zhou, the government’s subsidy would surely be substantial. If he chose to study at an academy on Planet M412, not only would the academy waive his tuition, but it would also cover his room and board.
Moreover, the variety of jobs available to ability users was far greater than that for unawakened citizens.
So, if she could awaken too, she would no longer have to worry about her livelihood.
Her question stunned almost everyone present. Li Xiang reacted as if he’d heard a joke. “Awaken? You?”
“You’d be better off thinking about how to get a better reincarnation in your next life,” he said, not bothering to hide his scorn.
This time, the other adults didn’t refute him. The troubled looks on their faces showed they shared the same thought. Li Xiang’s words were harsh, but he was right.
For an orphan like Jiang Ning who couldn’t even get enough to eat, dreaming of awakening was harder than climbing to the heavens.
Fearing the boy’s bluntness might hurt Jiang Ning’s fragile heart, the adults tacitly glanced at her expression. Uncle Li and Auntie Li were even about to say a few comforting words, but they found her expression was normal, completely unaffected by Li Xiang’s words.
Jiang Ning just stared straight at Yan Zhou, hoping he could point her in the right direction.
Yan Zhou, however, didn’t look down on her. The matter of awakening was something some achieved through money, some through hard work, and others through talent. In short, it was a mysterious process, and no one knew when they might suddenly awaken.
He gave his suggestion seriously, “I don’t know how to awaken either. It was just a coincidence that it was detected during a hospital check-up yesterday. For you, you could try strengthening your physical training and buying some food that nourishes psychic energy. It might help with awakening.”
Exercise, supplements. Jiang Ning secretly noted these two points and thanked Yan Zhou.
It seemed there were no warning signs when an ability user awakened; it could only be detected by a testing instrument.
Although Li Xiang was disdainful of Jiang Ning, the awakening method Yan Zhou shared was very useful. He also secretly committed it to memory, planning to try it later.
While they were chatting, the watch-like device on Yan Zhou’s wrist began to flash rhythmically, and he felt a vibration on his arm. He stepped aside, opened his Star Brain, and talked with the person on the other end for a while.
When he returned, Yan Zhou said to the group, “Let’s go. The people from East District 1 are already waiting for us outside the city.”
Jiang Ning was taken aback. The people they were cooperating with this time were actually from the eastern slums. They were in the North District, a newly established area. The people from the East District were practically the original inhabitants of Planet M412’s slums.
She had heard they were very exclusive and unfriendly to people from other districts. Why would they agree to cooperate with them from the North District this time?
How strange.
Jiang Ning followed the group. Yan Zhengxiang lifted a gray cloth behind them, revealing a solid black heavy-duty truck that could just fit six people.
The truck’s body was a bit worn, with a few shallow dents in the front and back, but it was still perfectly usable.
“Not bad, Old Yan. Which second-hand market did you dig this up from? Must’ve cost a pretty penny,” Uncle Li said.
Yan Zhengxiang climbed into the driver’s seat, executed a beautiful fishtail to pull the truck out, then rolled down the window and grinned at everyone. “You know that pharmaceutical factory in the lower district, right? I bought the truck from them for a low price.”
“I know, I know! It’s that Ruipu Pharmacy. I heard their boss is a plant-based ability user.” Li Xiang climbed into the back of the truck, becoming quite talkative on this topic.
Jiang Ning was the last to get on. She didn’t understand what everyone was talking about, and they didn’t seem to want to include her in the conversation, so she shrank into a corner by the window.
She took out her Star Brain. After carefully recalling how the little girl used it, she pressed her right thumb against the screen to unlock it with her fingerprint.
The Star Brain’s functions were similar to a mobile phone, and Jiang Ning quickly learned how to use it.
The little girl had rarely gone out, so she knew very little. Jiang Ning first searched online for ‘Planet M412 Northern Uninhabited Zone’.
The results showed that Planet M412 was a barren planet. Most of its soil was dead, and some areas were contaminated. Over seventy-five percent of the land was unsuitable for human habitation. The northern uninhabited zone was a contaminated area near their city. It was relatively large, and its danger level was much lower than that of typical contaminated zones. Many bottom-tier citizens would choose to go there to gather resources, and some thrill-seeking youths also liked to go there.
Next, she searched for the ‘Ruipu Pharmacy’ that Li Xiang had mentioned. The StarNet results indicated it was a biopharmaceutical company that supplied medicinal agents to the medical industry on Planet M412 and had partnerships with several hospitals.
Finally, Jiang Ning slowly typed the word ‘Ability’ into the search bar. She was having some trouble comprehending this supernatural phenomenon.
A large number of related pages immediately popped up.
After carefully organizing the information in her mind, Jiang Ning concluded that abilities were very much like the majors in her world. There was a vast range of disciplines. An elemental power ability like the one Yan Zhou had awakened was a popular ‘major’ in the interstellar era, and the jobs one could get after graduation were highly regarded by society.
Of course, there were also plenty of complaints about various ability majors. But when it came to the universally acknowledged most obscure and useless ability major, it was undoubtedly the plant-based one.
It dawned on Jiang Ning. That’s why Li Xiang had so much to say when he heard the boss of Ruipu Pharmacy was a plant-based ability user. It was indeed a comeback story worth discussing.
Jiang Ning continued to browse the web page when a piece of information suddenly caught her eye.
【Career Paths for Plant-Based Ability Users: Flower Shops, Flower Markets, Urban Greening】
Her eyes lit up. This was a great career path—a demand in the industry, bright prospects, and it was closely related to her original major.
It was practically her dream profession.
But she sighed inwardly.
When an ability user awakens, they can’t choose the ability they want.
Otherwise, she would definitely choose the plant-based ability!
Auntie Li, sitting next to her, saw her expression fluctuating between happiness and distress. Assuming Jiang Ning was just nervous about her first trip out, she comforted her, “Don’t be afraid. Those low-level mutated beasts are easy to deal with. Besides, Xiao Zhou is an A-rank ability user. The men will take the lead later. The two of us can just clean up in the back. No need to worry.”
“Huh?”
Jiang Ning, who had been lost in her lamentations about her lack of choice, hadn’t heard what Auntie Li was saying at all.
Auntie Li lovingly patted her head.
But at that moment, Li Xiang, in the front row, said in a snide tone, “If someone’s scared, they’d better get out of the truck and go back now. If you end up peeing your pants from fear of a mutated beast, no one’s going to help you.”
“Li Xiang! Say a few words less,” Uncle Li said helplessly, rubbing his forehead as he chided him.
Yan Zhengxiang also harbored the same worry that Jiang Ning would be a liability. If they were in the middle of fighting a mutated beast, they wouldn’t have a free hand to look after a young girl. So he turned his head and asked Jiang Ning, “Jiang Ning, why don’t you head back first? After we hunt the beasts and exchange them for money, we can give you a share.”
Jiang Ning’s brow furrowed. She didn’t understand what she had done to make the group not want to take her anymore. Unable to figure it out, she could only blame Li Xiang; his words must have swayed everyone.
Jiang Ning said, “Thank you for your kindness, Uncle Yan, but everyone has already helped me so much. I can’t keep living off everyone’s charity. I want to stand on my own two feet and support myself.”
Since Jiang Ning had put it that way, the adults felt too embarrassed to say anything more.
And so, the group traveled the rest of the way in silence.
By the time the truck drove out of the city, beyond the high-voltage protective fence, there was a stretch of scorched-red land. The desolation and barrenness were visible to the naked eye, and as far as one could see, there wasn’t a single trace of plant life.
This was a planet where both land and resources were depleted. There were many such planets in the interstellar expanse. They didn’t even have names and were simply designated by serial numbers.