Chapter 29: Choice
"The letter determines the profession,
Once opened, it will decide my future growth path,
Determining my treatment and life in Zion City, as well as the subsequent limits of exploring the world, and to some extent, determining the maximum survival time in this world.
I can't rush, I need to think slowly and make a decision.
Neither Qian Bosen nor the clergy in the mansion mentioned the issue of [time limit], so staying here for however long should be fine."
Yi Chen also tried to call Little Grape, hoping it could give some reference opinions.
Unfortunately,
Only his own consciousness came here.
Calming his mind, he summoned all the focus he once had when doing scientific research.
The first thing he observed was the blue envelope.
"Ivy League circle, branches surrounding a human-like figure... obviously related to the 'pathological characteristics' in my body, it must correspond to a plant-related growth path.
Once chosen, it would further develop the plant system.
Moreover, Mr. Wilbert also said that the pathological crystal I swallowed was of superior quality in both color and shape.
During the Green Lake Town assessment period, I also deeply experienced the convenience brought by plants.
However, let's look at the others first."
His gaze moved to the black envelope,
When Yi Chen carefully observed the skeleton on the boat on it, the parchment envelope actually released faint traces of black air, which were inhaled by Yi Chen.
In an instant,
His thoughts were drawn to a black sea, where a skeleton was floating alone in a wooden boat.
When the skeleton turned its head,
Half of its face still remained rotting... exactly the same as Yi Chen's.
The sudden shock brought him back to reality.
"Black sea... I saw a similar scene when accepting the First Gentleman's skin before. A strange sense of familiarity, as if I had been there before, seemingly related to death.
When I first arrived in Zion, I met a doctor on an arch bridge by chance, who also said that death was flowing through me.
Could it be because of the [crossing]?
Is the appearance of the black envelope related to the experience of death crossing?"
Recalling Qian Bosen's description of the black envelope, corresponding to the nightmare profession, once selected, one would receive special training from the organization to become an executioner.
Yi Chen himself did not reject such a title.
His intuition told him,
The growth path given by the black envelope would surely endow him with more powerful strength.
"Not in a hurry... let's look at the purple one."
Compared to the previous two,
The purple letter made of white card paper was heavier and more exquisite.
With the book imprint engraved on the surface,
It was like a purple gentleman reading a book in the library.
"The book imprint on the envelope surface seems to have small text written... in reality, it would probably require a high-precision micro-engraving machine to print such text on it.
Without the visual enhancement provided by Little Grape, it's impossible to see clearly.
Wait~ If this is an area that only consciousness can reach, can it be understood that the so-called [Hall of Olden Days] is also a kind of consciousness area, like a dream?
If so,
Perhaps my subjective thoughts can influence objective factors?"
Thinking of this,
Yi Chen tried his best to open his eyes wide, almost pressing his round eyeballs against the purple letter.
However,
Long-term staring actually made the vision magnify,
The text that couldn't be seen clearly before was gradually becoming clear,
When he could see it completely,
"This..."
Yi Chen was so scared that he kept backing away,
At the same time, he pinched his own cheek to confirm that what was happening in front of him was not a dream.
To verify that he wasn't seeing things, Yi Chen returned to the stone table and looked again in the same way... this time longer and more carefully.
"Why... is my thesis printed on it?"
The small text between the book imprints on the purple letter was exactly the graduation thesis that Yi Chen had painstakingly written in his previous life.
The text on the left side of the book corresponded to the cover of the thesis, including the title, and the names of Yi Chen and his supervisor.
The right side of the book corresponded to the abstract of the thesis.
These all-too-familiar words instantly pulled Yi Chen back into painful memories, and he almost gave up on this purple letter.
Not long after,
Yi Chen, who had calmed down, reopened his overall thinking.
"The blue letter corresponds to the 'pathological characteristics' I just acquired here,
The black letter seems to be related to [crossing], corresponding to some kind of death characteristic,
The purple letter corresponds to my previous life experiences.
As Mr. Qian Bosen said, the letters are closely related to myself.
Broadly speaking,
The first two are better,
But... plants represent vitality, black represents death.
If I choose one of them as my growth path, the balance in my body will be broken, the chosen one will suppress the development of the other, or even completely stifle it.
If I want to develop both, the purple letter is the only choice.
Should I take this risk?"
Yi Chen looked at the purple letter again,
His gaze focused on the book emblem on the envelope,
For a moment, he recalled bits and pieces of his previous life, whether he was in a hopeless orphanage, or after escaping and attending local schools,
Yi Chen would not miss any opportunity to study,
It was the lines of text in the books that inspired him to survive in the previous world,
In the subsequent process of studying and going to school, it shaped the correct 'outlook on life' for him, giving him the opportunity to become a 'person'... fighting all the way on the relatively fair path of learning, winning scholarships every academic year and making it all the way to the graduate stage.
[Books] were the dawn of his previous life.
"Purple, corresponding to a unique [profession]... books and reading, which were also the most important things in my previous life, and what I was best at doing."
As Yi Chen gradually made up his mind, an intuition also formed at the same time,
No more hesitation,
He picked up the purple envelope on the surface of the stone table,
Opened it!
The textual information recorded in the letter turned into a strong and scorching beam of light, shining into his eyes and shooting into his brain.
He could even faintly smell the scent of roasted brain.
Buzz!
When he opened his eyes again,
He had returned to the ritual room.
Huff~ Huff!
Yi Chen directly knelt on one knee, gasping for breath... his entire head was continuously rising with billowing white smoke.
Other candidates had also completed their 'letter selection'
On certain parts of their bodies, such as palms, necks, or chests, the 'emblems' of their chosen letters appeared.
On the right side of the blonde Edmund's neck, a 'gun and sword intertwined' pattern was branded, still smoking, as if it had just been branded on.
On the right upper arm of the giant Dagbert, a 'flexing biceps' pattern was branded, obviously related to a strength-related [profession].
Yuliana's emblem was branded on her waist, with a 'dagger piercing skull' pattern, perhaps related to assassination.
The person in charge of this assessment - George Qian Bosen
Swept his owl-like gaze over the emblems on everyone's bodies, showing a very satisfied expression.
"This batch of newcomers is very good, with a high proportion of rare professions, and the acceptance process went very smoothly. Several newcomers can be tried for key cultivation... Hmm?"
When Qian Bosen's gaze finally fell on Yi Chen,
No matter what angle he used, he couldn't find the 'emblem'
"Failed!?"
Yi Chen was the newcomer he had the highest hopes for, and he had also gained the appreciation of the First Gentleman,
He directly stepped into the formation,
Preparing to conduct a full-body examination on Yi Chen, whose brain was smoking.
(End of Chapter)
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