009 Derivative Skill: Hyper-digestion
To dispel Hopper's doubts, Richard and Robin decided to take him to the place where they had fought the monster yesterday.
Arriving at the scene, Hopper looked at the clearing in the woods, about thirty square meters in size. He wasn't sure if it was because what Richard and the others said was too incredible, but a psychological effect took hold, giving him a terrible first impression of the area, feeling as if every corner was filled with eeriness.
There was a puddle of unidentified black thick liquid on the ground, with scorch marks around it. The squirrel that was said to have been half-eaten had no remains, but there were indeed bloodstains and unidentified gray-tinged slime on the fallen leaves in the designated spot.
"Where's the body?" Hopper asked suspiciously. This was his main concern; everything at the scene could be faked, except for the monster the two youngsters spoke of.
[Minor plot character Tommy H. has died.]
Robin looked at Richard, who had suddenly frozen, and gave him a gentle push. Richard slowly snapped out of it and said, "Actually, we're not sure if we killed it last night. Although the monster seemed very afraid of fire, I'm not sure if yesterday's fire was enough to burn it to death."
Hopper frowned deeply and said loudly, "In other words, you still can't prove it."
"It can be proven, but are you willing to wait here until dark?" Richard asked. He blinked and said bluntly, "They should be nocturnal creatures that only appear after dark, and the passage to the other world only opens at night."
Hopper let out a breath, "You're wasting my time, kids."
"Then you go ahead with your work. Robin and I will wait here. If the entrance appears, we'll be responsible for burning it and closing it." Richard chuckled, "You don't have to believe me completely right now because we can't prove ourselves yet. I understand how absurd and unbelievable this is, but I believe you are a dedicated, good cop. One day you'll notice the town's abnormalities and unconsciously get involved."
Hearing Richard's sincere words, the wrinkles on Hopper's brow deepened, and his heart felt even more conflicted.
Finally, Hopper chose the attitude of "better safe than sorry" and stated he would stay with Robin and Richard in the woods to wait.
"Thank you for your trust, Chief Hopper." Richard smiled slightly, then raised his eyebrows in a somewhat cheeky way and said, "Chief, considering fire is particularly effective against the monster, this time I want something that can reach a higher burning temperature. I'd like to borrow something from you, just asking for your opinion..."
The veins on Hopper's forehead throbbed. Before Richard could even finish, he immediately caught the other's meaning and gritted his teeth, "Don't tell me you want my gasoline?"
"Strictly speaking, the car is property of the police station."
"But I paid for the gas money, damn it!" Hopper was furious. The higher-ups were so cheap that the gas subsidies were completely insufficient for the department's expenses.
Of course, the reason the department's gas money was insufficient was largely because Chief Hopper often used the official vehicle for personal errands.
Richard laughed, "It's okay. If you're unwilling, my house also has some gasoline prepared. I can go back and get it now."
"Wait!" Hopper called out to Richard, who was about to turn and leave, and somewhat grumpily tossed the car keys to him. "Go get it then. The car is parked by the roadside. You should know, later on, your family's gasoline belongs to me."
"You sure know how to negotiate," Richard said with a grin, taking the car keys and leaving.
Robin wanted to follow, but Richard stopped and pulled her to his side, whispering in her ear, "You stay here for now. If we both leave, Chief Hopper will think we're playing a prank on him."
"O... OK." Hearing this, Robin looked back at a certain unhappy middle-aged cop and gave a dry laugh, wondering how she should ease the awkward atmosphere with the grumpy Chief while Richard was away.
Richard temporarily left the sight of Robin and Chief Hopper, finally finding a chance to be alone.
Using the car keys, he sat in the back seat of the police car and locked the doors. Richard lay on the back seat, pulled over a blanket from the front passenger seat to cover himself entirely, and sank his consciousness into his skill panel.
[Agent: Richard]
**[Skills: Programming (E Rank) - For a college student fresh out of school, you are at a newbie level just enough to enter a Silicon Valley company, but you might not be able to out-compete others.
All-around Handyman (C Rank) - An essential skill for someone living alone. If appliances break, I'll fix them; if the house is dirty, I'll clean it. As long as it saves money, everything at home depends on my hardworking hands. You are only one 'money' away from being the ideal partner for most people.
Culinary Arts (A Rank) - Wow! Dishes so good they're practically magical!
Misfortune (E Rank) - An innate talent. Please take two seconds to briefly recall your life.]**
[Derivative Skills: Empty]
[Plot Points: 63]
Over the past two days, Richard had "made friends" extensively. Through persistent efforts, he had managed to rack up a large amount of points. He had become acquainted with all the major and minor characters from the high school section that appeared in the original show. His plot points had not only quickly reached his expectations but had even exceeded them.
Having obtained so many plot points, Richard hoped to develop a derivative skill for [Culinary Arts].
However, receiving the news of Tommy's death just now felt too sudden to Richard. Since it was someone he knew, he couldn't help but feel a sense of mortality for a moment.
Although Tommy was a bad kid and a bully, he shouldn't have died like this. He could have died of illness or an accident; he could even have died at the hands of someone he had bullied, but he definitely shouldn't have been murdered as an innocent victim.
What a shame, a living person just gone in a flash. Richard felt regret for the deceased Tommy.
Returning to the main point, Richard selected the [Culinary Arts] skill and immediately initiated a refinement upgrade.
[Ding! [Culinary Arts (A Rank)] is undergoing refinement and strengthening...]
[Ding! Refinement and strengthening successful!]
[Ding! You have developed a new derivative skill [Hyper-digestion].]
[Derivative Skill: Hyper-digestion - Your body's ability to digest and absorb food substances is greatly improved. You can quickly replenish energy and restore your physical state by consuming food.]
"As expected, it's a supernatural ability, and it's actually such a food-related ability." Richard was extremely excited. Succeeding on the first refinement meant his luck was very good today; even the [Misfortune] talent couldn't keep up with his luck. "This derivative skill is good. Just as my physique has been strengthened and my appetite has increased, this ability not only lets me eat more but also gives me an extra means of survival."
While excited, Richard also noticed that the newly born derivative skill currently didn't seem to meet the conditions for point allocation. The skill entry for [Hyper-digestion] did not show options for strengthening or refinement.
On the other hand, the [Culinary Arts] skill still had refinement and strengthening options available, which meant the [Culinary Arts] skill could still be further developed.
Richard took a deep breath and wanted to try again.
[Upgrade [Culinary Arts (A Rank)] skill. Refinement and strengthening costs 40 plot points. Current rank refinement success rate is 70%. Please choose.]
"Holy crap, the price actually doubled."
He saw that the plot points required for refinement had doubled, and he only had 43 plot points left. He really couldn't bear to gamble them all away. After some thought, he decided to put the points into the [Programming] skill instead.
"Culinary Arts brought an improvement in physique and strengthened the five senses, allowing the physical quality to match the corresponding rank of [Culinary Arts]. Using this as a reference, upgrading the rank of [Programming] should bring an improvement in rational thinking and mental agility.
Moreover, it's only 1983. As computers are slowly rising in the world, computer operating systems are lagging far behind compared to the twenty-first century before I got here. If I level up my [Programming] skill very high, would I have a chance to replicate Microsoft's future releases like Windows 98... or even the most classic and practical Windows XP?" Richard's heart felt excited. "No, I can be even bolder. Let Java, Android, and iOS all be invented by me, and Facebook become my creation..."
A series of money-making plans were rising in his heart, full of ambition.
Sure enough, to fight against the federal government of this world, one still has to rely on money.
As long as he had enough money, became a powerful businessman, and mastered enough influence so that future information technology was based on his products... at that stage, would Richard still need to fear a mere Hawkins National Laboratory plotting against him? It would be good enough if he didn't go and investigate the people in the laboratory himself.
Perhaps, sometimes, if a person wants to fight a dragon, they must first become a dragon themselves. A bittersweet smile appeared on Richard's face.
[Upgrade [Programming (E Rank)] skill. Strengthening costs 11 plot points.]
[Ding! Your [Programming] has been upgraded to D Rank!]
[Upgrade [Programming (D Rank)] skill. Strengthening costs 22 plot points.]
[Ding! Your [Programming] has been upgraded to C Rank!]
[Programming (C Rank) - Industry expert, master of algorithms]
The effect of this skill strengthening was different from the feeling when upgrading [Culinary Arts]; the impact on the brain and spirit was much stronger.
After the strengthening, his mind felt a sense of sudden enlightenment and instant clarity. Every science-related course he had ever studied in his life was reviewed repeatedly in his mind. Knowledge that he originally didn't understand, only half-understood, or had a vague impression of suddenly became as simple as elementary school addition and subtraction. At the same time, his mind was filled with many problem-solving methods, ideas, and mathematical formulas he had never seen before.
Of course, the most critical part was that he instantly mastered and became proficient in more computer programming languages, and his programming abilities soared along an exponential curve.
With his knowledge greatly expanded in an instant, Richard seemed to have a clearer understanding of the world. When he opened his eyes again, he felt that the world in his eyes had undergone a slight change.