Chapter 1 Studying

After an hour of studying, he resumed exercising. When he felt hungry, he took a pre-prepared nutritional supplement from the refrigerator. This went on until one in the afternoon.

The phone rang at Nie Yan's house.

"Hello, who is this?" Nie Yan asked, picking up the phone.

"Nie Yan, let's hang out. I'm bored to death at home."

Nie Yan immediately recognized the voice as Tang Yao's. Pages of memories flipped open once more. Tang Yao was his best friend; they had grown up together. Later, Tang Yao's family became wealthy and moved to the city. However, his family owned a beautiful villa in Ningjiang and would stay there for a while every summer vacation.

Tang Yao was extremely loyal. In Nie Yan's previous life, when he was in dire straits, Tang Yao risked being discovered by Cao Xu and secretly provided financial assistance, which greatly improved Nie Yan's life.

However, Tang Yao had a flaw: he was fond of flirting with women. Once, while drinking at a bar, he got into a fight over a woman and was beaten to death. Because the other party had a powerful background, the case was never solved.

*Tang Yao, you're still alive. That's great. I won't let that happen again in this life.*

Tears welled up in Nie Yan's eyes, hot tears streaming down his face.

"Hey, Nie Yan, are you dead or something? Say something."

"Where to?" Nie Yan composed himself and asked.

"Let's go to the PK arena, are you interested? *Faith* is really popular these days. Have you played it?"

"I've played it. I'm a Level 2 Gale Thief," Nie Yan said. The PK arena was a game entertainment venue where players could bring out their in-game characters and compete in various scenarios. This kind of PK didn't increase the characters' experience or affect the game's progress; it was just a way to win one or two pieces of equipment through gambling between players.

"Not bad, kid, you've already leveled up to Level 2. When did you buy the game helmet?" Tang Yao asked, somewhat surprised. He remembered that Nie Yan's family wasn't wealthy.

"Some time ago."

"Let's go check out the PK arena. I'm a Level 3 Arcane Mage," Tang Yao said, showing off with a hint of pride.

Nie Yan smiled slightly. It was human nature for eighteen- or nineteen-year-olds to show off a little when they had something to be proud of, but he was past that age.

At this stage, those who could level up to Level 3 were all relatively skilled players, accounting for about one-tenth of the player base. But Nie Yan knew that Tang Yao's skills were still a bit lacking for the PK arena. There were quite a few experts there; basically, all the experts in Ningjiang gathered there.

"We can go, but you shouldn't gamble," Nie Yan said. He remembered that Tang Yao loved to gamble, but he always lost, yet he never tired of it. Fortunately, Tang Yao didn't have much pocket money, so losing wasn't a big deal. Nowadays, parents wouldn't give their children too much money to avoid turning them into纨绔子弟 (wanku zidi, good-for-nothing playboys).

"When did you become so naggy? Hurry up, I'm going downstairs."

"Okay," Nie Yan replied helplessly. He understood Tang Yao's personality. There was no way to stop him from gambling, but he hoped that he could remind him to restrain himself.

In his previous life, he didn't go because he hadn't fully recovered from his illness. He heard that Tang Yao lost more than three thousand that time.

Nie Yan took a quick shower to wash off the sweat, changed his clothes, and headed downstairs.

"Why are you so slow, kid?"

Nie Yan had just reached the bottom of the stairs when Tang Yao drove over in his hovercar and stopped next to him.

Nie Yan suppressed his excitement. He hadn't seen Tang Yao in a long time. The current Tang Yao was still a short, chubby kid. He and Nie Yan had only grown taller in their senior year of high school. Back then, Tang Yao had been handsome and dashing, completely different from how he looked now.

"I took a shower."

"Get in, get in, hurry up. It was hard enough to sneak out. My dad will be calling me to help him with work later," Tang Yao urged.

Nie Yan opened the car door and got in.

"It's been almost a year since we last saw each other, hasn't it? You still haven't grown taller."

"You too," Nie Yan said with a smile. That familiar, warm feeling had returned. *Tang Yao, it's been almost three years since we last met.*

"Yesterday, I lost over a thousand at the PK arena. I'm pissed! I must win back those guys' pants," Tang Yao said resentfully, stepping on the accelerator. The hovercar sped away like an arrow.

"Was it Blackie and his gang?" Nie Yan remembered a few people from his memory. They were local thugs who had bullied him a lot when he was in school.

"Yeah, those guys. I even wanted to vent my anger for you yesterday," Tang Yao said gloomily.

In Tang Yao's mind, Nie Yan had always been timid, the type who wouldn't dare to speak up after being bullied. Tang Yao had always protected Nie Yan. Tang Yao didn't know that the current Nie Yan was no longer the timid, fearful Nie Yan of the past.

"Yo, Young Master Tang, you're here. Right on time," a dark-skinned, skinny teenager who looked only eighteen or nineteen years old walked over. His clothes looked like they hadn't been washed in days, and his speech had a gangster-like flavor.

His name was Wei Kai. Because he was so dark, you couldn't see him at all if you put him somewhere at night. Nie Yan and Tang Yao had once suspected that he had African ancestry. Nie Yan and Tang Yao secretly called him Blackie, and when the nickname spread, Wei Kai hated Nie Yan and Tang Yao. But he was a little afraid of Tang Yao because Tang Yao's father was the general manager of Linzhou Airlines, whom he couldn't afford to offend. So he often picked on Nie Yan.

Wei Kai was followed by five other teenagers who were a little younger than him, all from his gang.

"Nie Yan that kid is here too, tsk tsk, didn't teach him a lesson enough last time."

The teenagers glanced at Nie Yan.

In his previous life, Nie Yan had heard that Wei Kai had committed a crime and had gone into exile in another star system. He hadn't heard from him since. After being reborn, Nie Yan wouldn't even put a few small-time gangsters in his eyes. As for the bullying he had suffered back then, what was the point of pursuing it now?

"Don't worry, I'm here. They won't dare to do anything to you," Tang Yao whispered to comfort Nie Yan.

Nie Yan nodded.

Tang Yao couldn't help but take another look at Nie Yan. Nie Yan seemed especially calm today. He thought to himself, *This kid has become bolder.*

"Enough nonsense, did you bring the money?" Tang Yao asked, looking at Wei Kai.

"Don't worry, I brought two thousand, but you're still paying for today's venue fee," Wei Kai said, waving a bank card.

"You're so calculating over a hundred-odd venue fee..." Tang Yao curled his lip in disdain, his words unsparing.

"I'm not as rich as Young Master Tang. We ordinary folks can only be concerned about these small amounts," Wei Kai said with a grin, not getting angry at all.

Looking at Wei Kai again with the perspective of an adult, Nie Yan realized that although Wei Kai was just a thug, he had a cunning edge to his gangster attitude. Wei Kai and his kind had seen more of the world and had more experience.

"Damn, just relying on having a rich dad, what's so great about that?"

The teenagers behind Wei Kai couldn't stand Tang Yao and started cursing.

Tang Yao was a very good friend to his friends. The reason why he was so harsh today was probably because Wei Kai and his gang often bullied Nie Yan.

Tang Yao ignored the teenagers, walked to the bar, took out two hundred and threw it on the counter, and said, "Boss, get us a private room. Keep the change, and have the waiter bring us some drinks. No cola."

"Room Six, here's your room card," the boss said, handing Tang Yao a card.

"Young Master Tang, please go first," Wei Kai said with a smile, his eyes sweeping over Nie Yan. Their eyes met, and Nie Yan looked at him calmly.

Wei Kai was slightly surprised. The current Nie Yan seemed different from before. In the past, Nie Yan would be very timid and fearful when he saw him, but today, he was unusually calm.

The group walked towards Room Six.

Nie Yan and the others entered the room, which was divided into two areas, each with five recliner-like machines. Players could do 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4, or 5v5. If they wanted to do a team battle, they would need to go to a larger room.

Nie Yan and Tang Yao entered one area, closing the door and separating themselves from Wei Kai and the others with glass.

"What level is Blackie?" Nie Yan asked, looking at Tang Yao.

"Level 3 Berserker," Tang Yao said. He had played ten matches yesterday and had only won three. After returning home, he had his father's subordinates get him a Arcane Burst skill book and had changed into a bronze Arcane Mage equipment. He was preparing to win a few matches and win back everything he had lost yesterday.

Ten matches, two hundred per match.

"What skills do you have?" Nie Yan asked. After all, he had been playing *Faith* for so many years. Although he had never played Arcane Mage, he had seen enough of it. He had PKed with Arcane Mages countless times, so he still had some understanding of it.

"Arcane Missile, Arcane Fireball, Arcane Flame, Arcane Burst, Arcane Mana Return," Tang Yao said casually. He didn't think Nie Yan knew much about *Faith*. He had already leveled up to Level 3, while Nie Yan was only Level 2.

"How much health, how much mana?"

"One hundred and twenty health, one hundred and fifty mana," Tang Yao said. His equipment was considered good among Level 3 Arcane Mages.

"Did Blackie learn Charge?" Nie Yan asked. He was puzzled. With such equipment, why did Tang Yao lose in his previous life?

"He did."

"No wonder," Nie Yan suddenly realized. If used well, the Berserker's Charge was very effective against Arcane Mages.

"It's starting," Tang Yao said, picking up the game helmet.

Tang Yao was most likely going to lose. Nie Yan thought about it and decided to watch. If Tang Yao lost too badly, he would step in.

They swiped their ID cards on the device and put on the game helmets. The device would automatically extract the player data from the *Faith* database, copy it, and they could compete here. Since it was copied data, it was unrelated to *Faith*.

Everyone entered the game. Nie Yan and the five teenagers were assigned to the audience seats. The arena was random, and the first one was mountainous terrain.

Mountainous terrain was very advantageous for Arcane Mages.

Tang Yao and Wei Kai prepared themselves, and with a system prompt, the two started fighting.

"Hey, kid, long time no see. Not bad, Level 2 Gale Thief. Interested in a match?" One of the five teenagers said. Nie Yan vaguely remembered that this guy was called Shi Feng.

Level 2 Combat Thief!

Combat Thieves and Gale Thieves were fundamentally different. Combat Thieves had a more elegant title, called Rangers. Like Gale Thieves, they had the Stealth skill, but they focused more on fighting. They generally used short sword weapons and had good melee abilities.

Because the professional characteristics were different, it was impossible to tell which was stronger or weaker. There was no weakest profession in *Faith*, only the weakest player.

Nie Yan glanced at Shi Feng and said indifferently, "You're not worthy. Choosing a Ranger, a profession with no skill, is really tasteless."

"Damn you, do you want to be beaten? Believe it or not, I'll go out and beat you up," Shi Feng cursed, not expecting Nie Yan, who was always submissive, to dare to speak so impolitely.

Nie Yan raised an eyebrow. They were just a few kids. What did he have to fear? Although his body was still a little weak, a far cry from his peak state in his previous life, his fighting skills were more than enough to deal with a few kids. These small-time gangsters were a level below Wei Kai. They were just students who dressed like gangsters, cursed all the time, and thought they were hooligans. They were still very naive. In fact, being a hooligan was also a skilled profession.

"Dare to come down and compare."

"Just one match, the stakes are too small. I'm not interested," Nie Yan said. It was easy for him to take care of Shi Feng.

"Kid, you've become ambitious. I have three hundred here. Let's have a match, how about it?" Shi Feng took out a bank card. Nie Yan's courage was getting bigger and bigger. If he didn't teach him a lesson, he wouldn't know how high the sky was or how thick the earth was.

"Just one match, I have seven hundred here." Nie Yan took out his bank card and swiped it. The amount displayed was still more than seven hundred. This money was a considerable sum for Nie Yan at the age of eighteen.

"Who has money? Lend me a few hundred first," Shi Feng turned to the teenagers and said.

"I have two hundred here."

"I have one hundred."

"I have one hundred."

After borrowing four hundred, Shi Feng finally had enough seven hundred. Shi Feng was following Wei Kai, but after all, he was just a thug and didn't have much money.

Nie Yan glanced at the battle between Tang Yao and Wei Kai. Since it was mountainous terrain, Wei Kai's Berserker skills couldn't be used, and Tang Yao won one match. Next was a plain terrain, and Tang Yao was estimated to lose.

"Let's go," Nie Yan withdrew his gaze and said to Shi Feng.

The light and shadow in front of the two switched, and they were in a jungle filled with lush plants. The two were about fifty yards apart.

"Damn, Grandpa will teach you how to be a man."

Nie Yan smiled faintly. He was too lazy to argue with Shi Feng.

Shi Feng was secretly puzzled. Why did the current Nie Yan look so scary?

System: The match begins.

Nie Yan and Shi Feng entered Stealth mode at the same time.

Stealth wasn't the same as invisibility. When thieves used Stealth skills, their bodies would blend in with the background. It was difficult to see unless you looked closely. If you concentrated, you could still see flaws.

Stealth tested the thief's concealment skills and agility, while anti-stealth tested the player's eyesight.

The two were approaching. Nie Yan lightened his steps, carefully avoiding leaves and branches, leaving no trace. After playing Thief for so many years, it would be too embarrassing to be discovered by Shi Feng, a newbie. Nie Yan's eyes were like lightning. There was a slight irregular shaking of the branches in the jungle not far away. Concentrating, he could see a vague human figure. He quickly locked onto Shi Feng's location.

Shi Feng moved slowly and cautiously, observing carefully, but Nie Yan seemed to have completely disappeared, with no trace to be found.

The thief's concealment ability was closely related to the background color. The more complex the background color, the easier it was to be discovered. If the background color was only one color, it would be difficult to discover even if the opponent observed carefully.

It was like a stick insect on a bamboo, completely blending in with the background. Predators couldn't find it even if they walked in front of it.

Stealth ability was closely related to the player's control ability. The route and pace taken during stealth were very particular.

In Nie Yan's opinion, he didn't need to deliberately hide his traces. The concealed movements were like instinct, deeply ingrained in his bones.

After ten years as a thief, even a fool would become an expert, not to mention that Nie Yan's comprehension was quite good.

Wearing a big red cotton-padded jacket in the middle of summer and asking for recommendation tickets with a pot lid on my head...