Hyberian Wars Chronicles

Qianlong slept deeply, and when he finally woke up, his head felt heavy and dazed.

"How long did I sleep?" 

"17 hours, 26 minutes, and 32 seconds," Phantom replied.

"Did the Points arrive?" 

"They arrived in the second minute after you finished counting. You earned a total of 85,200 Points, and your account now has 108,900 Points. Congratulations on successfully breaking through the six-figure deposit," Phantom answered.

"That seems like quite a lot," Qianlong muttered to himself.

"Correction, that number is not much," Phantom unexpectedly replied.

"Hmm?" Qianlong asked, puzzled.

"According to statistics, in Zone C, a year of normal consumption can deplete these Points," Phantom explained.

Qianlong shook his head helplessly; what Phantom said was indeed normal.

Looking around the empty room, he thought for a moment, then glanced down at his grumbling stomach. After a quick wash-up, he left.

In Zone D, Qianlong walked into a small restaurant.

"What would you like to eat?" 

"What do you have?" 

"Signature mashed potato rice, meat soup noodles," the enthusiastic middle-aged female shop owner greeted.

Qianlong said, "Meat soup noodles."

"Hey? Haven't I seen you somewhere? You look very familiar," the middle-aged female shop owner asked, puzzled.

Qianlong thought for a moment and replied, "Maybe you've seen me somewhere."

"That's right, I'll go prepare your meal."

Soon, a steaming bowl of meat soup noodles was served, and Qianlong began to eat.

At that moment, a young man walked in, weakly saying, "Give me a bowl of meat soup noodles."

"Okay."

The middle-aged female shop owner happily replied; today's business was particularly good.

Qianlong casually looked up and noticed that the young man sitting next to him looked familiar. After a moment of thought, he realized it was the guy who sold appliances.

The young man scratched his head while waiting, looking quite troubled.

"Your meat soup noodles."

"Thanks," the young man replied weakly.

"Did you get scolded again today?" the middle-aged female shop owner joked, clearly familiar with him.

"What else? It's all for the exam."

"The exam is already over, right?"

"Yeah, it ended, but the results were terrible," the young man said, distressed.

A greasy uncle walked out from the back and said, "You've always had this result in your exams. If you ask me, you might as well change your major."

"No way, this is my dream."

"Your dream doesn't seem to be reflected in your grades. If it weren't for your sister, you would have been expelled long ago," the greasy uncle said bluntly.

The middle-aged female shop owner rolled her eyes at the greasy uncle, "Don't talk nonsense."

At that moment, a familiar voice came from outside.

"Jieken."

Upon hearing the voice, Jieken immediately felt a wave of dread wash over her.

Jiela stormed in, visibly angry, and upon entering, she spotted Qianlong.

"Miss Jiela," Qianlong said, surprised to run into her here.

"I remember your name is Qian?" 

"Qianlong."

Jieken slowly stood up, hoping to sneak away while Jiela wasn't paying attention.

But Jiela yanked her back.

"Stand there; I'll deal with you later." Jiela said, ignoring Jieken.

Jieken stood there with a look of despair.

Jiela sat down across from Qianlong and called out to the female shop owner, "Give me a bowl of meat soup noodles too."

"Okay."

"How did you feel after your first task?" Jiela asked casually.

"It was different from what I imagined, but it was okay," Qianlong replied.

"This job is high-risk, but the rewards are commensurate. Once you get through three years, it'll be fine," Jiela said.

"Yeah." 

Jiela looked up at Qianlong, then turned her gaze back to her brother, her eyes filled with a fierce intensity.

Having grown up under Jiela's education, Jieken knew all too well what that look meant. She stared at Qianlong in disbelief, her face a mask of despair, wondering why a mere bystander could stab her where it hurt.

Jieken hurriedly said, "Sister, what a coincidence to run into a friend. Why not come to our place for a visit?"

Jiela unceremoniously punched Jieken on the head.

"Ouch, that hurts."

Qianlong couldn't help but glance at Jieken, who, noticing his gaze, winked at him.

Qianlong felt confused, not understanding what it meant.

At that moment, the noodles were served.

Jiela started eating, quickly and decisively, as if she were starving.

Curious, Qianlong asked, "Aren't you on vacation since there's not much going on lately?"

"That's for you guys. For us, this is the busiest time. All departments are reaching out, and we need to ensure unified distribution of supplies and assess the quantity of different departments' provisions," Jiela explained.

"Sister, you're working so hard. You worked late last night; it would be better to go home and rest. Even Qianlong can't bear to see it," Jieken forced a smile.

"The best way to relax after overtime is to rest," Qianlong nodded in agreement with Jieken's words.

In just a few minutes, Jiela finished her bowl of meat soup noodles and let out a long sigh of relief.

Then she turned to Jieken.

"Tell me how you managed to score 43 points?"

"That was an accident; I happened to be unwell that day."

Qianlong quietly sat by, watching, a faint smile appearing on his lips. At that moment, he could feel a hint of the warmth of life.

Jiela calmly said, "With a thousand-point exam, I could score more than that even with my eyes closed. You can't have accidents every day for three days straight."

Jieken's expression froze, "It really was an accident."

Jiela took a deep breath, "I've decided that next time there's a task, I'll specifically assign you. You'll never know how hard life can be if you don't experience it."

Qianlong exclaimed in surprise, "With his physical condition, he could die."

Jieken instinctively took a few steps back, fearfully replying, "Sister, you're joking, right?"

"What do you think?" Jiela's tone was calm but sent chills down one's spine; she seemed genuinely angry.

However, Jiela's anger wasn't without reason. Jieken had always dreamed of being a mechanic, and she supported him wholeheartedly. If he truly lacked the talent, that would be one thing, but this guy never followed the conventional path. From the beginning, he was a problem student in the eyes of his mentor, always doing the opposite of what he should, questioning textbooks, teachers, and classmates. If he had real talent, that would be one thing, but in reality, it was more about whimsical fantasies. Jiela had taught him lessons before, but he still persisted.

This time was even worse; he failed the advanced academy upgrade exam outright. No matter how he tried to pull strings this time, it was useless.

Jiela's parents had never been in good health,

and she had been holding the family together. To put it bluntly, if one day it was just this guy left, how would he take care of himself?

(End of Chapter)