Su Erke had always been a chatterbox since she was little, unable to remain silent for too long without feeling suffocated.
It didn't take long before she couldn't resist striking up a conversation with her brother again. "Su Yan, guess who I saw on my way here?"
Su Something replied, "You guess if I'm going to guess?"
Su Erke was speechless.
Su Yan, a man of few words but stern ones, effectively killed the conversation, and there was silence for a while. But what kind of person was Su Erke? She might not be good at anything else, but chatting was her forte. She didn't care whether her brother was listening or not; she just started talking to herself.
"You might not believe this, but I saw Li Hang on my way here—the one who moved away a few years ago."
"You know what? After not seeing him for a few years, the guy's become as beefy as a bull!"
"Looking at his muscles, I feel like he could take you down with one punch, or two of you with one kick."
Hearing this, Su Yan's face turned green with annoyance. Was his sister a bit off in the head? Who would talk down their own brother like that?
Seeing her brother's face turning green, Su Erke immediately went for the kill. "I heard from Li Hang that he has now evolved into Semi-Advanced Level creatures, and apparently he can even kill a tiger with his bare hands. He's incredibly fierce, almost unbelievably so."
Semi-Advanced Level creatures? Capable of killing a tiger? Is that all? Su Yan almost laughed out loud.
"Psh, just a tiger. I can knock one out with each punch, make them kneel and call me daddy."
"Heh, more like one bull with each punch, seeing as how good you are at talking big."
Clearly, Su Erke thought her sickly brother was just bluffing.
Seeing his little sister didn't believe him, Su Yan didn't bother explaining. He took a mouthful of rice and continued to eat as he spoke, "By the way, Erke, you don't have to bring me meals from tomorrow onward."
Upon hearing this, Su Erke blinked in confusion and asked, "Ah!? Why's that?"
"Do you even need to ask? It's because your brother is all better now. Why else would I stay in the hospital if not to hit on the cute nurses?"
Having said that, Su Yan covered the now empty lunch box, ready to pack up and leave.
Hearing her brother say this, Su Erke was immediately puzzled. "But that doesn't make sense. I clearly remember you were quite sick at the time, nearly kicking the bucket. How come you can be discharged so soon?"
Su Yan was speechless. I thought it had started to rain. No, it was just you, leaving me speechless.
「On the way home.」
As the two passed by a cake shop, Su Erke suddenly found herself unable to move.
She turned her head to her brother and blurted out, "Su Yan, I'm hungry. I want to eat a chocolate cake. Go buy me one."
"If you want to eat, go buy it yourself."
Su Yan refused without hesitation. That was because even from a distance, he could see the price tag on the chocolate cake.
[Price: 199 yuan]
The cake was only about the size of a palm, but slap a trending label on it and they'd have the nerve to charge 199 yuan. This is practically daylight robbery!
Seeing her brother unwilling to buy it, Su Erke immediately started to play the pathos card.
"I have no money. Mom and Dad haven't given me any pocket money in almost a week, saying that almost all the family's money has been used for your hospitalization."
"Su Yan, I'm still young. I can't handle all this. I need a piece of chocolate cake to heal my tender heart."
"Otherwise, who knows? I might get depressed one of these days..."
Su Erke said this as she managed to squeeze out a tear with great difficulty. The entire scene she presented was so pitiable, so likely to stir one's sympathies.
However, Su Yan was completely unmoved by this display.
"I reckon it's still broad daylight; how could you be depressed already? Forget about the chocolate cake. At most, I can buy you some oranges to satiate your craving."
Oranges just cost a few yuan a pound, and Su Yan felt that buying them wouldn't hurt his wallet.
Su Erke made a disgusted face. "I don't want that. Oranges are sour; even a dog wouldn't eat them!"
Su Yan didn't indulge her. "Heh, being picky now, are we? If you don't want to eat, even better. Saves me some money."
Hearing her brother's words, Su Erke suddenly became discontent. She tugged at Su Yan's sleeve and said, "Let's both compromise. If we're buying fruit, then I get to choose what fruit."
"Suit yourself, but if you pick something like durian, then I'll only have to hold in my laughter as I sell you off," Su Yan quipped, raising an eyebrow.
Soon, the two stopped in front of a fruit shop. The owner of the shop was a young woman. She wore a loose shawl and a pair of intellectual-looking black-frame glasses, with her striking figure faintly discernible, quite eye-catching indeed.
However, Su Yan didn't have the slightest interest in any of that; his entire focus was drawn to a tag inside the store.
[Tag]: Spiritual fruit area
"Owner, what's so special about the Spirit Fruits in this Spiritual fruit area in your shop?" Su Yan asked the owner curiously, as he noticed that the Spirit Fruits displayed in the Spiritual fruit area looked almost no different from the ones in the Ordinary area, wondering what made them special.
The lady boss first smiled upon hearing him, then explained with great enthusiasm, "Little brother, you just don't understand."
"The Spirit Fruits displayed in the Spiritual fruit area have all been ripened bathed in spiritual energy."
"They have an extremely high nutritional value and can even accelerate the evolution of creatures to a certain extent."
To a certain extent? Even? So, they're not that useful, huh?
Su Yan was no stranger to the shopkeeper's clever way with words. Still curious, he asked about the price, "Then, Owner, how much are the oranges in the Spiritual fruit area per pound?"
The lady boss smiled and said, "The oranges are sold individually, 10 yuan each. Buy 10, get 1 free."
"That's expensive..." Su Yan muttered to himself. Still, after some thought, he decided to walk over to the Spiritual fruit area.
If the Spirit Fruits there really could help accelerate creature evolution, then after eating them, I should be able to trigger the Super Double effect. In that case, it wouldn't matter if they were 10 yuan each or even 100; I'd have to buy them.
Su Erke didn't follow her brother to the Spiritual fruit area but stayed on her own in the Ordinary area. She had glanced at the Spirit Fruits in the Spiritual fruit area just now and saw only sour-tasting fruits like oranges, tangerines, and plums. There wasn't a single one she liked.
"Owner, are your peaches sweet?" After scanning the surrounding fruits, Su Erke pointed at the peaches behind the lady boss and asked.
Upon hearing this, the lady boss immediately responded with warmth, "Sweet, my peaches are super sweet."
"Then never mind, I like the sour ones."
"Oh..." The lady boss smiled awkwardly.
Soon after, Su Erke pointed at the grapes in front of the lady boss and asked, "Owner, are your grapes sweet?"
"Oh dear, my grapes are super sour, not sweet at all. Little sister, would you like to buy some?"
Upon hearing this, Su Erke shook her head. "No thanks, I like sweet grapes."
"Heh... hehe, little sister, your tastes are really changeable, aren't they?" The corners of the lady boss's mouth twitched slightly.
"It's okay, just a bit unique."
After saying that, Su Erke pointed to the loquats on the shelf in front of her and asked, "Owner, are these loquats sweet?"
This time, the lady boss learned her lesson. She neither said sweet nor sour. Instead, she said, "My loquats are both sweet and sour, little sister. Which do you prefer?"
Su Erke shook her head. "No reason, I was just asking. I don't like loquats."
The lady boss looked thoroughly exasperated.
After leaving the fruit shop, Su Erke was holding a box of strawberries, her baby-fat cheeks beaming with joy. It was her favorite fruit; although a bit pricey, she still bought it.
As for Su Yan, he was holding a large orange bought from the Spiritual fruit area. He walked along, peeling the skin off.
Soon, the orange was peeled clean. Su Yan took a plump segment and put it in his mouth, then gently bit down. Immediately, a burst of fresh juice exploded in his mouth, assaulting all his taste buds.
Su Yan winced, sucking in a sharp breath. My god, that's sour!
He squinted his eyes shut from the sourness. Meanwhile, the familiar sequence of numbers once again appeared deep in his mind.
Evolution +1+1+1...
My god, it actually works!
Seeing the numbers deep in his mind, Su Yan was first shocked, then overjoyed. He couldn't care less about the sourness and started stuffing orange segments into his mouth, one after another.
Evolution +1+1+1...
Incredible, incredible!
Evolution +1+1+1...
Incredible, holy shit...
Evolution +1+1+1...
With the numbers continuing to appear, Su Yan vaguely felt that every cell in his body was filled with energy.
At this rate of growth...
When I go back to school tomorrow morning, won't I be punching through know-it-alls and kicking the butts of geniuses?
Just thinking about it got Su Yan excited.