Chapter 5 This is a historically renowned beauty...
As soon as Yuwen Kai finished speaking, the system's voice rang in Lu Xiaoqi's mind.
"Ding! You have a new side quest to complete."
"Side Quest: The Wish of Yuwen Kai, an SSR-level Card Character - To Understand How Modern Cities and Buildings Work."
"After the wish is fulfilled, the character's life form will solidify and gain a special ability."
Players will also receive corresponding rewards.
Lu Xiaoqi quietly arrived at the system space and found that a new task had appeared in the task bar in the upper right corner, with a treasure chest icon next to the corresponding reward.
She opened the treasure chest, and a small, faintly glowing fragment of a building floated out. Lu Xiaoqi felt the fragment looked familiar; upon closer inspection, she realized it was part of Qinghe Ancient Town.
[Reward: 1/3 of the 'Qinghe Ancient Town' architectural core.]
[After players collect all the Building Hearts, the overall durability of the buildings in Qinghe Ancient Town increases by 30, and the antique atmosphere increases by 30.]
Lu Xiaoqi's eyes lit up. This really is like playing a game! How interesting.
She understands building durability and knows about things that can save her money later. The antique-style filter is probably meant to make tourists feel more immersed in Qinghe Ancient Town?
It's a treasure too!
She exited the system space and asked Yuwen Kai directly, "Teacher Yuwen, have you received a notification?"
As expected, Yuwen Kai nodded and frankly told her, "If my wish is fulfilled, I will have the ability to 'build ancient structures naturally'."
Although Yuwen Kai didn't understand the system's operating mechanism or any future technology, he attributed it to "the work of the gods," and thus readily accepted it. Who hasn't heard a few myths or read a few tales of the strange and supernatural?
Since we're already here, let's make the best of it.
"Ancient architecture naturally formed? What kind of ability is that?"
Yuwen Kai shook his head: "The system didn't say it directly."
Lu Xiaoqi pondered for a moment, her eyes growing brighter with each thought. Although she didn't know exactly how this ability would manifest, surely something from a system wouldn't be too bad? She suddenly felt that her task of restoring Qinghe Ancient Town and getting it open as soon as possible was no longer a distant dream.
Her confidence soared, and she ate her noodles with an indomitable spirit: "Then let's get this done as soon as possible."
After breakfast, Lu Xiaoqi took an old cell phone from her own home that she had replaced and gave it to him. She also got him a SIM card and told him how to make calls.
"Such a small thing can actually transmit sound over a thousand miles!" Yuwen Kai was somewhat stunned.
He thought he had seen enough in the past day and night, but he was still deeply moved. Could this really be done by a mortal? What exactly happened over the past thousand years?
Lu Xiaoqi also found it difficult to explain, and could only say, "Why don't you read the books? They all have it in them, especially modern history."
Besides history books, she also rushed to the nearby Xinhua Bookstore and picked out some reference books related to modern urban planning and architecture. Yuwen Kai assured her that he would stay in his room to read all day and would not cause any more trouble, so Lu Xiaoqi left with peace of mind.
On the way, she thought about Yuwen Kai's wish and realized that it was neither difficult nor easy.
To truly understand the operating mechanisms of a modern city, one definitely needs to live there for at least a year or two. But considering Yuwen Kai is a master architect, perhaps wandering around the streets for a while and observing the surroundings would suffice?
It depends on how the system makes its judgment.
Lu Xiaoqi summoned the system: "You guys wouldn't be that much of a jerk, would you?"
The system instantly understood: "Honey, how could that be? We're very fair. Whether a wish is fulfilled or not depends entirely on the card character's subjective feelings. And the beginner quests won't be too difficult, honey."
Lu Xiaoqi was startled by its "kiss": "Speak properly!"
System: "Okay, kiss."
Lu Xiaoqi: ......
She decided to ignore it.
However, Lu Xiaoqi found the system's explanation acceptable; at least the logic was sound. She just hoped she wouldn't encounter any card characters with strange wishes in the future.
Lu Xiaoqi had already decided where to take Yuwen Kai to find information, but all of that would have to wait until he was familiar with the history and the modern environment. Right now, what she urgently needed was to rent a place; staying in hotels all the time was too expensive!
So, without hesitation, Lu Xiaoqi immediately contacted a familiar real estate agent and found a three-bedroom apartment in her neighborhood, right downstairs. It was fully furnished, clean, and ready to move in. She planned to have someone live in the ancient town later, so she only rented it for three months. However, short-term rentals are much more expensive than long-term rentals, and commissions still apply.
I had no choice but to grit my teeth and accept it.
The real estate agent, a middle-aged man, clicked his tongue in amazement: "Have you struck it rich lately?"
He was very familiar with Lu Xiaoqi. When Lu Xiaoqi bought a house, she contacted him. He tormented and dragged him for a whole month in order to get him to lower the commission by half a percentage point. He knew her true nature and knew that she would only spend money wisely.
Lu Xiaoqi rolled her eyes: "We're so poor, we rented it for the company."
Agent: "Then why are you cutting my commission?"
Lu Xiaoqi: "...It's a small company, not much money. By the way, do you know any cleaning companies? We have a big job."
The agent's eyes lit up: "Please explain in detail."
Lu Xiaoqi knew that although this person was a bit gossipy, he was still reliable, so she vaguely said, "You know Qinghe Ancient Town outside the city, right? Our company has taken on a job there, and now we want to find a cleaning company to clean the whole town, remove the weeds, sweep the ground, and clean the waterways and stuff."
Qinghe Ancient Town is too big to be cleaned by just a few people; you need to hire a professional company.
The agent was a little surprised: "Qinghe Ancient Town is reopening?"
Lu Xiaoqi nodded mysteriously.
"Okay, I'll ask around for you. Don't worry, I'll definitely find you a reliable one," the agent assured him confidently.
Lu Xiaoqi looked around the house and said, "Why don't you find a cleaning lady to clean this place first? You can pay for the cleaning."
The agent said, "...There's no big deal in sight yet!"
Lu Xiaoqi: "You're not charging a commission for this apartment?"
Agent: "Well, you still tried to bargain... Never mind, I'll give you one free time."
Lu Xiaoqi nodded in satisfaction. Don't be fooled by the agent's aggressive behavior; he wouldn't have agreed so easily if there really wasn't a profit to be made.
After settling into the apartment, it was only noon. Lu Xiaoqi went to the hotel again to get takeout for Yuwen Kai. Seeing him engrossed in a book, even holding it while opening the door, Lu Xiaoqi quietly left without disturbing him.
She felt it was time to draw the remaining two cards.
Since the houses are already secured, leaving them empty is a waste of money. Instead of drawing lots one by one, we might as well draw them all at once.
She took a taxi to Qinghe Ancient Town. When she got out of the car, Lu Xiaoqi thought that with so many people, it would be more convenient to buy a car. Her steps became even heavier. One thing after another was making her already poor situation even worse.
Once inside the ancient town, perhaps because I had a genuine sense that "this place truly belongs to me," I no longer felt that it was dilapidated; instead, the more I looked at it, the more pleasing it became. Look at those eaves, so sturdy, none of them have collapsed; look at that wall, covered in ivy, so charming; look at that blade of grass, it can even push open a stone slab—no wonder it's the grass that grows in this town, it's so strong!
As they walked and looked around, they arrived at the square in the center of the town, where Lu Xiaoqi drew two cards.
A flash of light, and the system voice sounded:
"Congratulations, player, you have drawn an SR character card."
"Congratulations, player, you have drawn an SSR character card."
First image:
[Fish soup, a timeless classic, is renowned far and wide – by Sister-in-law Song Wu.]
[Character Attribute: SR]
[Skill: She always excels at cooking fish-related dishes.]
[Degrees of freedom: Medium.]
Second image:
[The dance in the palm ends, the sound of the flute fades away—Zhao Yizhu]
[Character Attribute: SSR]
[Ability: (Gray)]
[Degree of freedom: High]
......
One SSR and one SR – this was the pinnacle of her lottery luck! Lu Xiaoqi was overjoyed. And the SR even had an ability!
However, she was somewhat confused and muttered to herself, "Sister-in-law Song, fish soup...who is it?"
"Ah!" After thinking for a moment, Lu Xiaoqi's eyes lit up. "I know! It's Sister Song's Fish Soup!"
This is the signature dish of the capital city of a neighboring province! She's eaten it a few times, and it really does taste good—much better than that vinegar fish. Legend has it that it was invented during the Southern Song Dynasty by a woman named Song Wu Sao, and then Zhao Gou, who was boating on West Lake, praised it highly after tasting it, which is how it became famous throughout the land.
If it were Sister-in-law Song Wu who came, Lu Xiaoqi smiled and thought, "That would be wonderful!"
The system also congratulated her: "Congratulations, player! Only 50% of SR characters have innate talent abilities. You truly are the chosen one!"
Lu Xiaoqi was so flattered that she became a little smug.
"SR cards, if used well, may not be inferior to SSR cards. Players are encouraged to try them out and unlock more gameplay options." The system added, "For SR cards with innate talents, players might also consider asking if she has any wishes she wants to fulfill."
Lu Xiaoqi asked why, and the system explained: "After fulfilling your wish, you might be upgraded to SSR, and your talent ability will be further enhanced."
"Can all card characters be upgraded?"
System: "Yes, but upgrading requires the NPC's own abilities to be further improved, so the probability is not very high, and upgrading to SSR is even more difficult. So this is just a suggestion, and players can also choose a more conservative approach."
“I understand,” Lu Xiaoqi said thoughtfully. “One last question, what does ‘degree of freedom’ mean?”
She hadn't noticed this indicator last time, but this time Song Wusao's freedom level was "medium," unlike the other two.
"Generally speaking, SSR cards have high freedom, SR cards have medium freedom, and R cards have low freedom," the system explained. "High freedom means no restrictions; you can go wherever you want. Medium freedom means you can go anywhere within a 200-kilometer radius of Qinghe Ancient Town. Low freedom means you can only go within a 10-kilometer radius."
Lu Xiaoqi raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. A radius of 200 kilometers already allowed travel to many places, even neighboring cities and provinces. But a radius of 10 kilometers? That meant she could practically only stay in nearby towns and counties...
She pulled herself back to reality.
And who is the other one, Zhao Yizhu?
Lu Xiaoqi took out her phone and started searching quickly. As an SSR card, it must be a figure who has left their mark in history.
Moreover, the dance in the palm of one's hand... could it be...?
A thought struck her.
Sure enough, the page that popped up on her phone confirmed her thoughts: Zhao Feiyan, whose given name was Yizhu and whose courtesy name was Feiyan, was the empress of Emperor Cheng of Han, Liu Ao.
Wow!
Lu Xiaoqi was a little excited. This was a famous beauty in history who became the empress of the empire from a commoner background, relying on her beauty and legendary dance! She really wanted to rush over immediately to see just how beautiful she was.
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