Chapter 8: The Eighth Cup

Chapter 8: The Eighth Cup

He Wuning drove smoothly out of the safe zone, letting out a sigh of relief as he became more reckless with his driving.

Roaring over a group of unlucky Slimes, he returned to the old spot where he used to do awakening quests, planning to spend the night there.

As he pulled out his sleeping bag, he asked Q: "Wasn't today's Stone Giant a bit off?"

"Hmm?" Surprised that He Wuning would initiate conversation, Q blinked its round eyes and made an adorable sound.

He Wuning looked at it. "Has the game made any new moves? As a boss with inherently high base stats, the Stone Giant has never been known to go berserk when low on health."

Moreover, he clearly remembered the Stone Giant turning its eye, almost as if it was thinking whether to kill him or Xiaoxue first—it seemed alive.

Q's voice suddenly turned into a flat, mechanical tone, its round eyes flickering three times. "Checking... I'm sorry, you don't have permission for this information."

He Wuning raised an eyebrow. Permission.

This wasn't the first time he had heard that word today.

He took out two fragments from his pocket. "Then let's change the question."

"What are these?"

The fragments were scanned, and the mechanical voice responded emotionlessly, "Detected Administrator Permission Fragments. Scanning—"

"Scan complete. Confirmed as 8% Administrator Permission Fragment. Qualifications verified. Would the player like to bind them?"

He Wuning raised an eyebrow. "What benefits does binding bring?"

"I'm sorry, you don't have permission for this information."

He Wuning didn't hesitate. "Then bind them."

"Binding in progress. Please wait."

The two fragments floated up, emitting a hazy light typical of synthesis items, and then a somewhat peculiar key appeared before him.

A mostly transparent key with only the ends embedded with black metal pieces—likely the two "Administrator Permission Fragments" he possessed.

"Synthesis complete: Incomplete Administrator Key. Unlocked Basic Administrator Permissions (8/100). Congratulations on gaining access to the truth of the world. Enjoy your game."

The flat mechanical voice disappeared, and Q's eyes blinked, its tone becoming lively again. "Wow! You unlocked Administrator permissions! Amazing!"

"Ah, thinking about it, our meeting in the vast sea of systems must be a special fate!"

He Wuning frowned. "Don't call me 'baby'."

"Sure, Boss!" Q changed its tone quickly and loudly, leaving He Wuning momentarily stunned.

His expression turned strange. He had protested many times before, but Q always ignored him. Was this sudden change due to the key?

He Wuning lifted the key, and Q eagerly floated over, using its short arms to give him a gentle massage. "Hehe, Boss, do you have any questions?"

"Even though you've unlocked Administrator permissions, they're still basic, so I don't have much autonomy. You'll have to use your imagination and explore the new features yourself! Within your permissions, I can help; outside your permissions, I can only apologize!"

He Wuning detected a hint of flattery in the system's tone, a stark contrast to its earlier attitude. He couldn't help but ask, "Wasn't that your voice just now?"

"That was World Voice," Q said with a hint of respect. "It's my superior, the manager of all intelligent systems. It just borrowed my body."

Q urged, "Administrator permissions have many uses, Boss. Don't you want to try them out?"

He Wuning thought for a moment. Since it was basic permission, he should start with something simple and gradually understand the scope of his permissions. "Change the name of the milk tea shop?"

"Sure!" Q's tone was cheerful. "What would you like to change it to?"

He Wuning recalled Yi Luo's comment about being "unique" and subtly pursed his lips. "Forget it. This isn't urgent. We can discuss it later."

"How about changing the system?"

Q froze, then started wailing and throwing a tantrum. "No—Boss, it's my first day! Give me another chance, please!"

"I promise to improve and serve better. I'll even take off my dress if you want!"

He Wuning: "...I meant changing my abilities."

Q jumped up from the ground. "Oh, Boss, you scared me! Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Let me check... Changing abilities... Warning! Permission denied due to obstruction."

He Wuning frowned. "Permission obstruction?"

This seemed different from the previous "no permission" message. He Wuning looked at it suspiciously, raising an eyebrow. "So, this is a special ability given to me by the game? Not allowed to change? Targeting me?"

Q blinked. "The game doesn't target players. It's just a platform, always fair. Only players target other players."

He Wuning felt there was more to what it said.

But since he couldn't change his abilities, this "Administrator Permission" didn't seem very useful.

Q lowered its voice conspiratorially. "Boss, if you can't replace it, why not try enhancing it?"

"You're already level 3 in the milk tea shop, with two new skill points..."

The skill tree interface opened, and Q sheepishly rubbed its hands. "Don't get mad, okay? This is your original skill tree."

He Wuning glanced at it. At first glance, aside from unlocking new milk tea recipes, everything else was useless skills like "Unlock Continuous Production," "Unlock Delivery Call," and "Unlock Temperature Control." Just looking at them made his blood pressure rise.

He Wuning took a deep breath, trying not to sound too frustrated. "Enhancing, then?"

Q酱: "Administrator privileges grant you the ability to alter the existing skills on the skill tree, albeit within the confines of the original structure. Yet, as your authority escalates, an expanded array of customization options will be at your disposal!"

"Big brother, just focus on selecting skills; we can adjust them later!"

The initially lit "First Love Pure Milk Tea Recipe" on the skill tree flickered, and He Wuning clicked it without much hope.

A long list of selectable recipe enhancement directions appeared before him. The first few were basic attribute boosts, while a large portion at the end remained grayed out and unselectable. He Wuning glanced over them briefly and noticed one that even had a "resurrection" effect.

His expression turned peculiar. "How can someone drink milk tea if they're dead?"

"Oh, what a nuisance, posing such inquiries—" Q sauce blushed and shielded her visage, "Naturally, it would be administered mouth-to-mouth—"

This skill was almost at the very bottom, likely requiring extremely high privileges. He Wuning shook his head and decided not to think about it for now.

Currently, he could only choose from five options: Attack, Spirit, Defense, Speed, and Health, all with a 10% boost.

He Wuning's gaze fell on Health and Defense. These two base stats were weaker for him, and without equipment to compensate, he needed to prioritize them.

After hesitating between becoming "more durable" and "less hurt by attacks," He Wuning ultimately chose the "less hurt by attacks" defense boost. The milk tea recipe also underwent a slight change.

Unlocked Menu: First Love Pure Milk Tea Price: 80

Effect: After drinking, gain a 10% defense boost for 15 minutes; limited to one use per person.

Required Materials: Tea *10, Milk *10

The material consumption and price had increased tenfold but were still quite cheap. Such auxiliary items could sell for thousands of coins in the player trading center, and even then, they were often hard to come by.

Although the boost to defense wasn’t extraordinary, it made for a decent auxiliary system. He Wuning felt that the near heart attack he had suffered because of Q酱 was finally healing.

Q酱对他眨了眨眼。“建议价格只是一个参考，大哥；你可以自己定价！”

"Also, I recommend you quickly unlock the prerequisite skills for 'Delivery Service'..."

He Wuning glanced at his skill tree. There were two milk tea recipes between him and the "Delivery Service" skill. Before he could examine them closely, an intermediary's call interrupted his thoughts.

He Wuning answered, "Hello."

"Brother He, are you staying at the same spot tonight?"

"Yes."

"In that case, Yi Luo is looking for you."

He Wuning tensed up. "Why is he coming?"

"He said he forgot to add you as a friend." The intermediary relayed the message dutifully, "He said, given how you drive, this car will need repairs soon. Add each other as friends so you can settle things privately without using my hotline."

He Wuning: "..."

"I guessed you'd be staying at the same spot. He should be nearby. Can you flash your headlights for him?"

He Wuning wanted to drive away.

But when he looked outside, it was already late, and visibility was low in the darkness. Even without monsters, venturing out at night wouldn't be safe.

With a furrowed brow of irritation, he commanded Q Sauce to activate the hazard lights.

"Absolutely, big brother! I've got this!" Q Sauce thumped her chest confidently and drifted towards the driver's seat of the milk tea truck. Before she could make a move, a fleeting shadow zipped by the front of the vehicle, prompting her to let out a scream and retreat back into the embrace of He Wuning. "Big brother! Big brother, there's a ghost! Waaah! It's so terrifying!"

"Cough!"

Though this thing had no offensive power, it was made of steel. This sudden impact felt like a small cannonball, nearly knocking He Wuning off balance. He checked his health nervously.

—Fortunately, it didn't decrease.

The shadow at the window knocked again, and He Wuning recognized it as Yi Luo.

It seemed he didn't need to flash his headlights after all; Yi Luo had found him himself.

Yi Luo got into the truck and got straight to the point. After adding He Wuning as a friend, he looked at him. "Is there nothing else you want besides being friends?"

Yi Luo was surprised. "Hmm?"

"You chased me this far just to add me as a friend?" He Wuning hinted, "Nothing else?"

He wasn't sure if Yi Luo had seen the dropped item. If he could see the "Administrator Privilege Fragment," then...

Yi Luo paused, then smiled. "Oh—I understand, I understand. There can be other reasons too."

"Since I'm here, I might as well take ten cups of milk tea back."

He Wuning stared at him speechlessly.

Yi Luo shrugged. "It's not that I'm stingy; I wouldn't mind buying a hundred cups at eight coins each. It's just that I can't carry them."

"If you're willing to deliver, I'll buy another hundred cups."

It seemed he wasn't pretending to be stupid; he really was.

He Wuning looked away expressionlessly. "Milk tea prices have gone up, 80 coins per cup."

Yi Luo pondered for a moment. "Does that include the cost of friendship?"

He Wuning shook his head. "No, it's because the milk tea has been upgraded."

"Oh." Whether it was a psychic ability or a system-based ability, improvements came with level increases, albeit in various directions. Yi Luo asked casually, "What kind of upgrade? Ten times concentrated or super-sized?"

"Do you think this is coffee?" He Wuning frowned, but his guess was indeed typical of a mediocre system's evolution direction.

"It provides a ten percent boost to defense."

Yi Luo’s expression turned surprised. He and He Wuning exchanged glances for a moment before his face suddenly turned serious. "Give me ten cups. I won’t take these ten cups to the treatment center; I’ll send them directly to the command center. Is that okay?"

Author's note:

A lighthearted mini-scene:

He Wuning: What if I say it’s not okay.

Yi Luo: Then I’ll coax you.

He Wuning: ...

Q: Eek~

Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or watered the nutrient solution from 00:37:58 on August 1, 2021, to 02:35:28 on August 2, 2021~

Thank you to the little angel who dropped a landmine: 1 from Chachazi;

Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: 1 bottle from vkhjkvhg;

Thank you very much for your support! I will continue to work hard!