White light flickered, and the scene froze.Gu Ning found himself standing amidst a vast starry universe.Scenes flashed before his eyes like a fast-forwarded movie, frame by frame.The roars of the plague-ridden dead, the oppressive aura of the Bloodring Hammer Warriors, the heroic figure of the female knight...Finally, the image settled on Bloodhand Cologne, black blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, eyes wide open, dying as he fell toward the sky.
[Plane World: Flesh Plague - Origin][Duration: 19 days 3 hours 33 minutes 07 seconds][Era: 17th Century][Region: Europe - Around the Baltic Sea][Based on your mission completion and evaluation, you have earned 3,496 psionic points.][You have accumulated 350 points of world fame in the Flesh Plague - Origin plane. Your fame level is C: Somewhat Known.][You have earned a C-level title: Eagle Eye.][Please maintain and improve your fame level. The next time you enter the Flesh Plague - Origin plane, your Spirit Realm Ticket will grant you additional benefits.]
Gu Ning checked the effects of his new "Eagle Eye" title.[Eagle Eye: C-level title. When equipped in the Spirit Realm plane, you gain the Scout skill, allowing you to learn partial information about a target. After use, this skill requires a full natural day before it can be used again.]
"Not bad. Quite practical. If only I could use this in the real world..."Gu Ning shook his head, pushing aside greedy thoughts. This Eagle Eye title was likely a reward for spotting the Bloodring Vanguard's command post with a single glance in the vast northern wilderness.
Then, a new prompt appeared from the will of the Spirit Realm.[You have gained the innate ability of an Awakened: Data-Driven Physique.][You have gained the innate ability of an Awakened: Psionic Field. Attacks without psionic particles cannot cause you real harm.][You have gained the innate ability of an Awakened: Storage Space. Your storage space volume is 10 cubic meters; its length, width, and height can change freely, but the volume remains the same.]
"Tsk, Psionic Field… so this is the root cause of the weakening of state power in the early psionic age. Thermal weapons became obsolete, individuals gained extraordinary strength, and martial heroes defied the law..."
However, as the psionic age developed and official Awakened forces were formed, the initial chaos had long been subdued. Awakened individuals might have psionic fields, but the state had its own psionic combat units—every one of them Awakened and equipped with standardized Spirit Realm gear.
These days, even powerful Awakened had to obey the law in the real world.Governments could deploy large forces of secret archers and crossbowmen to overwhelm any rogue Awakened with sheer numbers.
Only the Spirit Realm remained beyond the reach of any nation's government. Awakened could act lawlessly there, immune to the law's grasp.Of course, to become an Awakened, you had to be intelligent enough not to challenge the world's order. As long as they respected the law, the state treated Awakened well.
Besides, Awakened weren't short of money. Enjoying life in the real world beat living as a wanted criminal any day.
A satellite map of the real world appeared before Gu Ning. The view zoomed rapidly, and soon he saw a detailed floor plan of the private Superpower Group hospital, Room 3072.
A huge circle, centered on the hospital bed, covered Jiangnan Base City and nearby satellite towns.
[You are about to leave the Spirit Realm and return to the real world.][You may choose any point within 100 kilometers of your anchor point as your return location.]
Gu Ning had researched this—of course, return points had to follow the laws for Awakened individuals. You couldn't choose private property, nor should you pick inappropriate places like a women's restroom—even if not illegal, society would condemn it.
This rule was why the Superpower Group had to send people into the Spirit Realm to hunt him down—they couldn't just wait at Room 3072.
"Time to go back… The real show is just beginning!"As starlight flickered, Gu Ning left the starry expanse.
...
Jiangnan Base City, Xicheng, a dark alley.A flash of white light, and Gu Ning appeared at the alley's end.
[You have returned to the real world.][As this is your first return since becoming Awakened, please note:][Work hard to gain and increase your real-world fame. Every three months, a fame-based roulette draw will be held. The draw can yield Spirit Realm tickets.][Calculating your real-world fame… please wait…]
Gu Ning stayed silent. In today's psionic age, the importance of real-world fame was common knowledge.Monthly roulette draws could award points, gear, items—all invaluable to Awakened.And the chance at a Spirit Realm ticket? Unparalleled. Real-world fame mattered more than fame in most Spirit Realm planes.
Awakened pursued fame through various means: some became streamers, some stars, others joined the Awakened leagues.
[Calculation complete. Your real-world fame: 197 points. Current fame level: D (Just Emerging).]
How could I have D-level fame?Gu Ning was stunned. That level meant tens of thousands of followers or being a minor TV actor.Orphaned and sickly, with few friends, how could he have such fame?
Thinking hard, the only explanation was the Superpower Group—and likely infamy.His name was probably flagged at the Security Bureau by now.
"This isn't necessarily bad. Managed right, infamy can become fame. I need fame to limit the Superpower Group's room to act against me… Huh?""I didn't realize I looked this good after recovering." Gu Ning caught his reflection in a jeep window and admired himself. "Maybe I should try singing, dancing, and rapping—become a star?"
No wonder women in the Flesh Plague plane had warmed to him so quickly. Even with the Spirit Realm's auto-adjustments, high charisma stayed high.
Suddenly, the jeep's window lowered, revealing a tan-skinned woman in tinted glasses. Her sharp gaze fixed on him."Are you drunk? Wandering half-naked at night? Careful or you'll be arrested as a pervert!"
Gu Ning froze. Only now did he realize he wore nothing but spiked iron pauldrons.Clothes from the Spirit Realm couldn't be brought out. The ragged linen garb he'd been given had vanished on exit.
He'd entered the Spirit Realm nearly naked, and now he'd returned the same way.With his endurance stat so high, he didn't even feel the cold.
Thankfully, she probably only saw his upper body. Gu Ning vanished in a flash.
The woman watched his retreating figure and muttered, "An Awakened… just back from the Spirit Realm?"Then added, "Nice ass, though."
Half an hour later, Gu Ning walked the streets in secondhand clothes—old sportswear and faded jeans he'd salvaged from a charity clothing bin.
"I must be the most down-and-out Awakened."
He smirked at himself. He didn't steal or rob—not out of high morals, but his own line he wouldn't cross.An Awakened had to know the difference between the lawless Spirit Realm and the real world.
"The Superpower Group's influence is huge here. But the real world has rules. It's about who plays the game better."
"They've probably frozen my accounts and are monitoring my contacts. I can't use my own money, can't go near my old haunts, or I'll be tracked."
That was why he'd chosen Xicheng, 80 kilometers from the capital city of Jiangnan Base, as his return point. Here, at least, the Superpower Group's reach was weaker.
"I need an ally."
He looked up. On a giant screen in Xicheng Square, a news broadcast played:"Welcome to Mr. Bratton, CEO of Byron Pharmaceuticals, visiting Xicheng to discuss cooperation with major firms like Datang Pharma. Their deals will boost the local economy…"