In the evening, Chen Shouyi told his parents that he would be going out for a while the next day.

Then he returned to his bedroom.

Sigh!

Still couldn't resist the temptation!

So impulsive!

His attribute imbalance is severe right now, with intelligence being his biggest shortcoming.

Strength: 17.0

Agility: 17.6

Constitution: 17.0

Intelligence: 16.3

Perception: 14.7

Willpower: 16.0

Energy Accumulation: 1.92

Compared to the highest agility, intelligence is 1.3 points lower.

If you count the Divine Sword's blessing, perception even reaches 17.8, creating a gap of 1.5 points between the two.

This severely hinders his strength's potential.

In fact, this kind of attribute imbalance is not unique to Chen Shouyi; every Martial Artist has it, sometimes even more severe. It's just that not everyone can intuitively see their attribute values, so they don't perceive it.

"I don't know how much Divine Marrow this mission will reward?" Chen Shouyi wasn't greedy. He would feel satisfied if his intelligence could reach seventeen.

That way, strength, agility, constitution, and intelligence can all reach seventeen points.

It would look much more pleasing all at once.

And with the last remaining shortcoming addressed, his strength would see a monumental increase.

Now he increasingly feels that the thinking speed represented by intelligence is the most important among all attributes.

No matter how strong your agility and strength are, if your thinking is slow, you're still a target.

After all, the brain is the information processing center. If it can't process information, no matter how strong the other hardware is, it's useless; it cannot be driven.

"Big mouse, big rooster, big cricket!" The Shell Lady was reading loudly from a new children's picture book Chen Shouyi bought, using awkward Chinese: "Big prepared... no, big white pig, big white rabbit."

"Good giant, what is this bad guy?" the Shell Lady pointed at a picture of a turtle.

"Turtle!" Chen Shouyi took a glance and said.

"Big turtle! Big mountain goat..." the Shell Lady continued reading.

Actually, the Shell Lady has a high IQ. She remembers many things after being taught once, which is quite convenient. It's just that she has a quirk; she likes to add the word 'big' to every animal.

"Good giant, what about this chubby bad guy?"

"Elephant!"

"Big elephant..."

Perhaps finding it awkward to read, the Shell Lady paused, looking a bit puzzled: "Good giant, is it really called a big elephant?"

"Just called an elephant, the largest land animal in the world," Chen Shouyi explained patiently for once, glancing at it.

The Shell Lady was instantly awed by Chen Shouyi's words and looked at the picture of the elephant with reverence, loudly saying: "Big elephant..."

...

At midnight.

Chen Shouyi left a note in the living room and quietly slipped out of the house.

He didn't look like someone about to go far.

Besides a briefcase and a sword, he didn't carry much luggage.

This time, diving into the East Sea Province to investigate required discretion and caution, traveling light and simple.

A sword was fine, as almost every Martial Artist Apprentice carried a sword; it's quite common.

But a war bow and luggage were too conspicuous; he couldn't bring them.

The moonlight was hazy on the streets, and apart from the patrolling soldiers, there was no one else. After several inspections, Chen Shouyi finally reached the helicopter pad.

Two others had already been waiting there.

"Sorry for being late!"

"We arrived early," Luo Jingwen said. "Oh, and we haven't introduced you yet, Zhu Xueqing, a genius Martial Artist; you two should have much in common!"

"Hello, Sister Zhu! I'm Chen Shouyi," Chen Shouyi politely greeted.

"I already know, just call me by my name!" Zhu Xueqing said, looking at Chen Shouyi, who appeared heroic in the moonlight, a hint of redness on her face.

"Alright, Vermilion Blood Essence!" Chen Shouyi readily corrected himself.

Why does this name sound a bit odd?

"Let's chat on the way, get on the helicopter first!" Luo Jingwen interrupted.

Once the three boarded the helicopter, it immediately took off.

Luo Jingwen took out a military map, spread it out, and said, "The helicopter won't fly directly to East Sea Province but will stop at Nanshan City, bordering East Sea Province, and return!"

He drew a line on the map with his finger and continued, "There's a mountain range here. We'll cross this at night to enter Qujiang City in East Sea Province."

"Is the situation over there already that bad?" Chen Shouyi asked.

"Safety first, being cautious is never wrong. We're only going to investigate the situation; we won't stir up trouble if avoidable," Luo Jingwen cautioned. His approach was always safety first, rarely taking risks.

"Indeed!" Chen Shouyi nodded.

"Once we reach Qujiang City, we'll assess the situation and then decide our next move," Luo Jingwen collected the map as he spoke.

Sitting in the helicopter was boring. After chatting for a while, the initial unfamiliarity faded, and everyone started talking more.

"Do Martial Artists in the Capital City always get such high rewards for tasks?"

"How is that possible!" Zhu Xueqing said, "Only when going on missions that are relatively dangerous do you get such rewards. Otherwise, it's only bonuses."

Chen Shouyi felt balanced inside.

However, compared to local Martial Artists, the Capital City does offer a lot more resources.

Nowadays, most Barbarian Gods are eliminated by the nuclear strategic unit, directly under the central government. Divine Corpses aren't always entirely vaporized; many times, there's some left.

Chen Shouyi didn't know how the central and local governments share these spoils, but they probably get at least half.

At this point, Zhu Xueqing asked curiously, "I heard from Elder Luo that you have a Thumbelina?"

"His girlfriend!" Luo Jingwen couldn't help but laugh.

Chen Shouyi felt a bit embarrassed, glancing at Luo Jingwen. How could someone so mature still be so silly? He made a hasty reply: "Just keeping her for fun."

"Did you bring her?" Zhu Xueqing asked.

Luo Jingwen teased, "He brought her last time. His girlfriend is always with him."

Chen Shouyi flushed slightly, trying to explain: "She's quite timid, afraid of strangers, and likes to stick close to me..."

"Come on, show me quickly!" Zhu Xueqing's eyes sparkled, urging him eagerly.

"She's asleep, you can't see her."

"Just a peek, don't be so stingy!" Zhu Xueqing tugged at Chen Shouyi's arm, acting spoiled.

Are we that close?

Chen Shouyi felt a bit frustrated, setting some ground rules: "You can only look, no touching, and don't scare her."

Zhu Xueqing rolled her eyes at Chen Shouyi, thinking he's really stingy, as if she would snatch it: "Alright, alright, hurry up."

Chen Shouyi had no choice but to pick up the briefcase at his side and unzip it.

He found that the Shell Lady was already awake.

Chen Shouyi simply scooped her out and placed her on his palm.

"Wow! She's so cute." Zhu Xueqing gazed at the little one, only a few inches tall, her eyes sparkling: "Did you dress her?"

"She dressed herself!" Chen Shouyi quickly said.

Of course, he used to dress her before, but he wouldn't admit that.

"Is she easy to raise? What does she usually eat?" Zhu Xueqing asked excitedly.

Chen Shouyi gave her a wary glance. Why is she asking so many questions?

He replied reluctantly:

"Honey!"

"So easy to take care of!"

The Shell Lady trembled slightly at the surrounding bad giants watching her: "Good giant, quickly drive away these bad giants. They want to eat little one."

Next to him, Luo Jingwen laughed at what he heard: "Good giant, bad giant, what on earth have you been teaching her?"

As a Martial Artist, everyone had mastered the common language.

Chen Shouyi looked a bit awkward, swiftly changing the subject: "Alright, alright, stop watching, you're scaring her!"

Then he put the Shell Lady back into the briefcase.

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