In this era, Naruto Shippuden had not yet been released.
Lu Mingfei believed that the strongest abilities in existence were the Mangekyō Sharingan and Wood Release. Acting on that assumption, he foolishly purchased them without hesitation.
The result was immediate and overwhelming.
His eyes evolved directly into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, and the Ten-Tails manifested within his body as if it had always belonged there.
When he later consumed the Divine Tree fruit in excitement, reality struck him hard.
Many of the abilities he had bought were completely redundant.
The Divine Tree fruit alone had already granted him chakra on the level of the Ten-Tails, along with the Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan. The overlapping powers stacked on top of one another, but a massive portion of his points had been wasted for nothing.
Lu Mingfei stood alone in the rain.
Pain stabbed at his chest, not physical pain, but the agony of realizing that tens of thousands of points had vanished into nothingness. He did not even notice that the freezing rain and biting wind no longer affected him.
"Can I get a refund?" he asked weakly.
The system, which had appeared out of nowhere, proved to be as heartless as any scam.
[All goods sold are non-refundable and non-exchangeable.]
Lu Mingfei froze, then cursed inwardly.
"Where did this shady merchant system come from?" he thought. "These days, no-refund policies are illegal. Report this, and you would be fined into the ground."
Despite his frustration, the pain was manageable.
After all, the three hundred thousand points had been free. There was even a chance this was a system error and everything would be taken back eventually.
That thought sent a chill through him.
Without hesitation, Lu Mingfei reopened the shop interface and began buying again, this time with far more caution.
The God of Death series required altering the body beyond humanity. He rejected it immediately.
He already felt invisible enough. Losing his humanity entirely would make him something people could not even look at.
The One Piece series caught his attention next.
Six Powers, purchased.
Haki options appeared, and he selected Observation Haki and Armament Haki. Conqueror's Haki was unavailable due to compatibility restrictions.
There were several abilities he had never seen before, but their descriptions were useful enough to justify the purchase.
All of Hogwarts' magic combined cost less than three thousand points. He bought the entire bundle without hesitation.
The Devil Fruits section was vast. He bought relentlessly until his remaining points were completely drained.
Lu Mingfei ran all the way home, consuming the fruits as he went.
Unlike the versions in the manga, these fruits carried no restrictions. He could eat as many as he wanted.
By the time he finished, six fruits remained.
Three were set aside for his aunt, his aunt again, and Lu Mingze.
The remaining three were reserved for Chen Wenwen, Su Xiaoqiang, and his online friend, Old Tang.
His aunt had taken care of him for years, so he saved the Mochi-Mochi Fruit for her.
As for the other aunt and Lu Mingze, who constantly ordered him around, he chose the more unpleasant options, the Sticky-Sticky Fruit and the Cream-Cream Fruit.
According to the descriptions, these abilities allowed the user to transform into viscous substances similar to slime or cream.
Lu Mingfei laughed out loud at the image of them turning into something so ridiculous.
Chen Wenwen received the Smooth-Smooth Fruit, an ability said to enhance beauty.
Su Xiaoqiang was someone he often clashed with, but she had shown him kindness more than once. He chose the Love-Love Fruit for her, imagining how unstoppable her charm would become.
For Old Tang, he saved the Mera-Mera Fruit.
These were the few people who made up Lu Mingfei's entire social world.
He continued running through the rain, a schoolbag full of Devil Fruits bouncing against his back.
Though every point was gone, the sense of fulfillment was overwhelming.
He felt like someone hiding unimaginable strength, waiting for the right moment to reveal it and stun everyone.
From this day forward, he would no longer be a nobody.
Lu Mingze would have to cling to him and call him Brother Mingfei.
He was still grinning when a new notification appeared on the system interface.
[You have new quest orders.]
Curious, Lu Mingfei glanced at the side of the screen.
[Quest One: Publicly confess to Chen Wenwen in front of the entire class. Reward: 100 points.]
[Quest Two: Travel to the Arctic Ocean and locate the Nibelungen. Reward: 1000 points.]
[Quest Three: Eliminate the Black King infant or achieve the first kill on Odin beneath the Arctic Ocean. Reward: 10000 points.]
"Hey, wait a second. Confess to Chen Wenwen?" he shouted. "Are you serious? Who said I like her?"
He completely ignored the second and third quests as his face flushed a deep, humiliating red.
The system interface remained open, silent and unmoving, as if mocking him.
"What kind of look is that?" he muttered. "You… you…"
It felt as though his deepest secret had been dragged into the open.
Chen Wenwen was his softest weakness, a truth he never intended to face.
Now the system had seized it without mercy.
"This is insane," he said through clenched teeth. "Unbind the system. I don't want it anymore. Unbind it now."
[Unbinding failed.]
Lu Mingfei let out a broken cry, pulled his jacket over his head, and sprinted blindly down the rain-soaked street.
---
Several kilometers away.
Malrick casually lifted Xia Mi from the ground. Her body was battered, bruised, and unconscious.
He turned his gaze toward the direction Lu Mingfei had fled.
"Will a loser who suddenly gains power really find the courage to confess?" he mused.
He smirked faintly.
"Even if he does, he will probably say something ridiculous, like wanting someone to buy half-price milk tea with him."
The confession quest had been issued by Malrick himself.
Everyone carried a loser version of themselves somewhere inside, and he was no exception.
Since he had encountered Lu Mingfei, he decided to give that part of himself a push forward.
Malrick would never admit that he was enjoying this more than he should.
"For now, he won't confess," Malrick said calmly.
He looked down at Xia Mi.
Without hesitation, he planned to throw Teacher Da Ye back into the Nibelungen beneath the Beijing subway station.
Earlier, when Malrick had flown away from Shilan Middle School, he had not hidden his presence. Their eyes had briefly met while Xia Mi crouched atop a utility pole.
She had been observing Chu Zihang, searching for traces of Odin.
Mistaking Malrick for another Dragon King, she had generated killing intent.
The automatic rebound triggered instantly, sending her crashing down.
If Malrick had not already weakened the effect twice beforehand, Teacher Da Ye would have returned directly to the fountain to await resurrection.
"Go."
Malrick tore open a spatial rift and threw Xia Mi inside.
He rose slowly into the air afterward, scanning the city and observing every individual currently facing a system decision.
---
Genoa Bay, Italy.
A blond young man, no older than eighteen, sat at the bow of a ship beneath the golden sunlight reflecting off the sea.
He was shirtless, his hair flowing freely in the ocean wind.
Midway through drinking his wine, his movement froze.
"The truth of the world," he murmured. "So this is what it means to truly live."
A sharp smile formed.
"Interesting."
Caesar tapped "Yes" without hesitation.
Something invisible was extracted from his body.
The interface appeared. His ID read 000003, and his balance displayed five thousand points.
"Conqueror's Haki?" Caesar said with interest. "Not bad."
He purchased it immediately and began browsing the system shop without restraint.
---