vrcanaries Chapter 529 What exactly is his talent?
Chapter 529 What exactly is his talent?
"Yes." Chen Shan nodded.
"When he sees someone stronger than himself, his first reaction isn't fear, it's excitement. Raji is like that, and so is Sato. So they will continue to strive upwards and continue to get stronger."
He paused.
"Me too."
Situ Zhen looked at him without saying a word.
"After opening the treasure chest, I've been thinking about one question." Chen Shan's gaze fell into the darkness in the distance, "What exactly is the difference between us SSS-level people?"
"grade?"
"no."
"equipment?"
"No, not exactly."
"What is that?"
Chen Shan remained silent for a long time.
"I don't know," he finally said, "but I always feel that Lin Tian knows more than we do."
Situ Zhen frowned: "What do you mean?"
"Talent," Chen Shan pointed to his panel, "SSS level is the highest, that's set by the system. But what if—there's something else outside the system?"
Situ Zhen was stunned.
Chen Shan offered no further explanation.
He simply leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
He always felt that Lin Tian had already figured out what was hidden behind the rankings and the rules that weren't written in the announcement.
And he was still standing outside the door.
The torchlight danced on his face, creating a play of light and shadow.
"Boss," Situ Zhen suddenly spoke up.
"Um?"
"Tell me, who exactly is Lin Tian?"
Chen Shan opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.
"I don't know," he said. "I only know one thing."
"What?"
"I don't want to just stand by and watch the next time I see him."
Situ Zhen paused for a moment, then smiled.
"Come on, you. He stomped the boss to death with one kick, and you expect to exchange a few blows with him?"
Chen Shan did not laugh.
"It's not about exchanging a few moves," he said. "I want to see what his talent really is."
His gaze was calm, but something burned deep within his eyes.
That wasn't jealousy, nor was it resentment.
It's the direction.
"You're right." Situ Zhen stood up, brushed the dust off his pants, and said, "I need to step up my game too. I can't keep holding you back."
Chen Shan glanced at him: "When have you ever held me back?"
"Every time we open a treasure chest," Situ Zhenli said confidently, "you get an S-rank skill book, and I get five healing potions."
Chen Shan's lips twitched.
"That's just bad luck."
"That's why I said we need to work harder—work harder at burning incense."
Chen Shan remained silent.
He stood up, picked up the shield, and examined the cracks on it.
"I'll get someone to fix it tomorrow," he said. "We don't know when the third round will start yet, so we need to be prepared."
Situ Zhen nodded: "I'll contact the blacksmith and ask if there are any new shield blueprints."
"Um."
The two walked out of the main hall side by side.
The moonlight shone on the stone slabs of the camp, giving them a cool, clear glow.
In the distance, players were still cheering in the square.
Some people are showing off the loot they found, some are cursing and complaining about their bad luck, and some have already started teaming up to farm monsters in the wild.
The third round hasn't started yet, but they don't want to waste time.
Situ Zhen suddenly stopped in her tracks.
Chen Shan looked at the night sky in the distance.
The two continued walking forward.
The moonlight cast their shadows long, long, stretching all the way to the edge of the camp.
......
Shadowwing stronghold.
Ye Yao did not return to her room.
She stood in the training ground in the backyard of the camp, the moonlight stretching her shadow long and long, like a knife stuck upside down in the ground.
The training ground wasn't large, with several wooden stakes planted around it, their surfaces covered in knife marks—the marks she had left over the past few days.
She sat on a stone platform in the center of the training ground, a dagger resting on her lap, its blade reflecting a cold light.
She lowered her head, watching her shadow lengthen inch by inch in the moonlight, then shrink back, then lengthen again.
Shen Yiyi stood in the corridor, hesitating for a long time.
She had known Ye Yao for quite some time.
From the very beginning in the starting village, they leveled up together, fought monsters together, and formed Shadow Wings together.
She knew Ye Yao too well—she wasn't resting; she was thinking. And it was about things she couldn't figure out.
The person under the moonlight was as quiet as a sculpture.
But the knuckles of the hand holding the dagger were white.
Shen Yiyi bit her lip, but finally walked over.
She sat down next to Ye Yao. The stone slab was a bit cold, and she couldn't help but hunch her shoulders.
The two of them sat there, neither of them saying a word.
The night wind blew across the training ground, stirring up the dust on the wooden stakes, which swirled in the moonlight.
"Thinking about Lin Tian?" Shen Yiyi asked tentatively.
Ye Yao neither answered nor denied it.
That's considered an implicit agreement.
Shen Yiyi thought for a moment, then said, "That kick today really scared me. I was standing behind him when I saw that person suddenly appear above the boss's head, and then—"
"Then he stomped on her and killed her." Ye Yao finished for her, her voice flat and without any inflection.
"Yes..." Shen Yiyi whispered, "I thought I was seeing things. A level 60 boss, we fought it for so long, and then it just kicked me away—"
Do you know how much I'm inferior to him?
Ye Yao suddenly interrupted her, her tone still calm, but Shen Yiyi could tell that what was pressing down beneath that calm was deeper than anger and heavier than resentment.
Shen Yiyi didn't dare to reply.
Ye Yao finally moved.
She slowly tucked the dagger into her waistband, as if performing a ritual.
Then she looked up at the moon overhead.
The moon was round and bright, and its light shone on her face, illuminating her features clearly—it was a very clean face, without anger or frustration, only a serious calm.
"I could fight him and last three seconds."
Shen Yiyi was stunned.
She had expected Ye Yao to say "I can't beat her," and she had expected her to say "The gap is huge," but she never expected Ye Yao to say something like "I can't last three seconds."
She had known Ye Yao for so long, and she had never heard her say anything like that before.
This woman, who doesn't even care about SSS-level talents, is now saying that she can't last three seconds.
"If I strike with all my might, a backstab with armor penetration, it might not even break through his armor."
When Ye Yao said this, her tone was as calm as if she were analyzing a mission objective.
She pronounced each word very clearly, as if she were reading a battle damage report.
"SSS-level talent is as good as nothing in front of him."
Shen Yiyi opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found herself unable to find the right words.
Comfort? Ye Yao doesn't need comfort.
Encouragement? Ye Yao was more clear-headed than anyone else.
"Could it be that his talent is rather unique...?"
She spoke tentatively, her voice barely audible, like a mosquito's hum.
"It's not a matter of talent."
Ye Yao interrupted her, her voice suddenly becoming very soft, as soft as the night breeze.