Chapter Two: A Gamble
When he woke again, it was already five o'clock in the morning. Zhang Wenhao had spent the night unconscious in his computer chair, his whole body aching terribly. Recalling the incident with the mouse suddenly giving him an electric shock, Zhang Wenhao was filled with lingering fear and silently marveled at his own luck. Just as he was about to crawl into bed for some extra sleep, a voice echoed in his mind: “Super Learning System activation beginning.”
“What’s that sound?” Zhang Wenhao was utterly astonished. What on earth could be talking inside his own head?
“Super Learning System activation complete, beginning to load…”
“Loading complete, commencing baseline assessment of the test subject…”
“Test subject: Zhang Wenhao. Strength: 5, Intelligence: 7, Agility: 5, Endurance: 4. Available points: 100. Cumulative points: —”
Zhang Wenhao was too stunned to speak, and after a long pause, he ventured tentatively, “What is this Super Learning System? And how did it get into my head?”
“The Super Learning System is the most advanced learning method from the future world. It contains a vast array of skills and knowledge. Users can exchange available points to acquire any skill they choose, and once the exchange is successful, the user will instantly master that skill and retain it for life.”
Curiosity piqued, Zhang Wenhao asked, “What skills can I exchange for?”
“The skill list is loading, please wait.”
Moments later, an immense skill list appeared in Zhang Wenhao’s mind. It was divided into five major categories: Daily Life, Career, Science, Nature, and the Supernatural. Each main category contained a multitude of sub-options.
For example, under Daily Life Skills, there were foreign languages, world cuisines, mechanical operation, household appliance repair, auto repair, various types of welding, photographic memory, logical reasoning, counter-surveillance, combat techniques, physical enhancement, bedroom skills, flirting techniques, and so forth.
Career Skills included law and legal practice, psychology expertise, business management, financial operations, stock and futures trading, medical knowledge, antique appraisal, professional assassin, professional criminal investigation, etc.
Science Skills featured quantum mechanics, dynamics, astronomy, metallurgy, electronic engineering, and even nuclear science.
Nature Skills included botany, zoology, meteorology, geology, geography, and other natural sciences.
As for the Supernatural, it was almost incredible—skills like talisman crafting, alchemy, Qi cultivation, Wind Step, Fireball, Lightning, Japanese ninjutsu, and more—skills one would only expect to find in novels.
Each skill had a price tag; users needed to spend their available points to exchange for the skills they wished to learn.
Zhang Wenhao checked the prices. To acquire all the world’s culinary techniques as a package, it required four hundred points. If he chose just Chinese cuisine, it was only one hundred points.
To learn any one of the 5,651 world languages, it would cost two hundred points per language.
After careful observation, Zhang Wenhao noticed that the cheaper skills were mostly in Daily Life, while Career Skills were much more expensive—for example, antique appraisal cost eight thousand points, and professional assassin was even higher at fourteen thousand points.
The Science and Nature categories were similarly priced, but the Supernatural skills were the most expensive—talisman crafting required eighty thousand points, and Qi cultivation demanded a staggering three hundred thousand points!
Yet Zhang Wenhao only had one hundred points available…
He couldn’t help but ask, “What does cumulative points mean?”
The system answered, “All the points you earn, whether spent or unused, count toward your cumulative points. For every tenfold increase in cumulative points, the system will randomly grant you a skill.”
Zhang Wenhao frowned and asked, “So that means I only get a chance at a random skill when I reach one thousand, ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand cumulative points?”
“That’s correct.”
He recalled seeing photographic memory under Daily Life Skills and quickly checked—it required five thousand points to exchange!
Zhang Wenhao felt a wave of disappointment and asked, “Why is photographic memory so expensive?”
The system replied, “Photographic memory is one of the top-tier life skills. Once exchanged, the user will have exceptional recall ability. Furthermore, this skill permanently increases the user’s intelligence by five points, enhancing not only memory but comprehension and reasoning as well.”
Zhang Wenhao’s heart itched with longing. If he could master this skill, wouldn’t the college entrance exam be a breeze?
“How can I earn more points?” Zhang Wenhao blurted out.
“There is only one way to earn points: by fully utilizing acquired skills and generating measurable results. The system will determine the value of those results and award points accordingly.”
“For example, if you exchange for photographic memory and use it to achieve outstanding results in a high-impact exam or competition, the system will assess your achievement and reward you with points.”
Feeling awkward, Zhang Wenhao asked, “So with only one hundred points, I can only exchange for low-level life skills? And if I spend fifty points to learn TV repair under household appliances, does that mean I need to keep repairing TVs to earn points?”
“Exactly,” the system replied affirmatively. “Additionally, the system grants users one hundred points every month.”
Zhang Wenhao sighed, “With just one hundred points, I can’t even afford anything useful.”
The system responded, “It is recommended that you start with simple life skills and use them to earn points. For example, as you mentioned, color TV repair. However, TV repair is not recommended since modern manufacturers provide comprehensive after-sales service, making it less useful. Welding, gas welding, and argon arc welding are more widely applicable and offer more opportunities.”
Zhang Wenhao was nearly in tears. “If I wanted to learn those, I wouldn’t bother with high school—I might as well enroll in Lanxiang Technical Institute!”
As he spoke, he suddenly noticed that every skill’s price tag had a “Take a Gamble” option next to it. He asked, “What does ‘Take a Gamble’ mean?”
The system explained, “It allows you to use one percent of the skill’s cost to spin a roulette wheel. If you win, you acquire the skill. The chance of winning is one in a thousand.”
Zhang Wenhao’s eyes lit up. “So I could spend fifty points to gamble for photographic memory?”
“That’s correct.”
“I’ll do it!”
For Zhang Wenhao, the ability to rapidly improve his grades was what he needed most right now. Only then could he score well in the entrance exam four months away, fulfilling his parents’ greatest hope and realizing their dream of seeing him in college. As for other skills, they weren’t urgent at the moment.
“Please confirm: do you wish to spend fifty points to take a gamble on photographic memory?”
“Confirm!” Zhang Wenhao answered without hesitation.
If he didn’t take this gamble, there was no telling how many years it would take to earn five thousand points. By then, the opportunity would be long gone.
“Gamble initiated. Attention to the large roulette wheel: there are one thousand slots, nine hundred ninety-nine marked ‘lose’ and just one marked ‘win.’ When the wheel stops, the pointer indicates the result.”
After the prompt, the giant wheel began spinning rapidly, only slowing after twenty seconds. Zhang Wenhao’s heart pounded; a one-in-a-thousand chance was vanishingly small. Only a single green slot said ‘win,’ and it kept slipping past the pointer.
Once… again… and again…
The wheel slowed to a crawl, the ‘win’ slot having just passed the pointer.
Moments later, the wheel stopped. Zhang Wenhao’s heart ached with regret—he’d lost.
He still had fifty points left—enough for another gamble!
Uninterested in the skills available for fifty points, Zhang Wenhao steeled himself, thinking only of the entrance exam. “I’ll take another gamble on photographic memory!”
After confirming with the system, the wheel spun again.
Over and over, the ‘win’ slot flashed by. Zhang Wenhao’s nerves were taut.
Win! Win! Win!
Each time the pointer aligned with ‘win,’ he fervently wished it would stop there, but the deceleration was agonizingly even, making the suspense unbearable.
Almost stopped—still seventy or eighty slots from ‘win!’
Fifty left… forty…
Ten… five…
Zhang Wenhao clenched his fists, hardly daring to breathe, eyes glued to the wheel, silently praying, “A little further, just don’t pass it!”
Three, two, one!
As the pointer slipped past ‘win,’ it was barely moving, but inertia nudged it just over to a ‘lose’ slot.
Suddenly, as if all its momentum was snatched away, the wheel jerked backward by about a millimeter.
“Congratulations, you have successfully won photographic memory. Skill acquired. Intelligence increased by five points, now at twelve.”