Chapter 2 – New Traveler's Adaptive Starter Pack
The system's words had been weighing on his mind all day. By now, Chen Xing was 90% convinced it was real.
And the system claimed he had a talent for photography.
Well, maybe it was true.
Chen Xing had never formally studied photography, but whenever he went out with friends, they always asked him to take pictures. They'd say his shots were the best. Back then, he'd just assumed they were being polite.
But now it seemed… maybe they'd seen something in him all along.
With a skewer in his left hand and holding his phone between two fingers in his right, he gave it a little shake, signaling Zhou Peng to take it.
Zhou Peng didn't know what Chen Xing was up to.
He wiped his hands with a napkin and took the phone.
Oh, come on—it was a selfie.
Judging by the time and location, Chen Xing had taken it earlier while waiting for him on the second floor. In the photo, Chen Xing was smiling with teeth showing, his skin looked great, and his eyes were bright… This wasn't about showing off photography skills. He clearly just wanted compliments on how good he looked.
Seriously?
Zhou Peng rolled his eyes and tossed the phone back.
"Alright, alright, I get it—you're handsome."
"Aiya, that's not what I meant."
Worried the phone might fall, Chen Xing quickly caught it and looked at the photo again.
He'd never thought much of it before, but now… yeah, that shot was great. Even a random selfie like this one could work as his WeChat profile pic.
Why hadn't he noticed this earlier?
"So what do you mean?" Zhou Peng asked. Seeing that Chen Xing had already opened his Moments to post the picture, he added, "Forget it, forget it. I don't want to talk about this. Just tell me—are you coming or not? I'm definitely leaving tomorrow."
"You're heading home? We can't even go back to the school dorms right now."
"Quan Jing wants to go to Lijiang. I checked the flights—they're actually cheaper than flying directly to Rongcheng. If you want to go home, you could head to Lijiang first and catch a ride from there. Probably cost about the same."
"Flying to Lijiang is cheaper than to Rongcheng?"
"Yeah, probably 'cause it's a tourist city. A few years ago when I flew to Tibet with my parents, the flight there was 300 yuan, but coming back cost 1,000."
"How much is the Lijiang flight?"
"850."
Chen Xing didn't respond right away. He was thinking.
He did want to go home. Staying at the electronics factory led nowhere. Plus, he had a whole system waiting to be explored. No matter what job he picked in the future, working in a factory wasn't going to help him at all.
But 850 yuan... that was a lot.
And there were still twenty days before payday. If he left now, he wouldn't see a single cent.
Zhou Peng waited for a while, then said, "What are you even thinking about? You're not seriously considering staying here, are you? Think about it—half the month you work 12-hour day shifts, and the other half you work 12-hour night shifts. All that for 1,500 yuan. That's insane."
"I know, I know. Sigh... Do you have any extra cash? Can you lend me some for the flight?"
He barely had a few hundred left—nowhere near enough for a plane ticket. Probably not even enough for a standing train ticket back to Rongcheng.
Zhou Peng gave him a quick once-over when he heard that.
"Come on, who do you think I am? I'm not gonna haggle over a few hundred yuan. Didn't I already say we're going together? Of course I'll cover the tickets."
Then he grinned proudly and chuckled. "Before we left, I told my mom I was dating someone. She didn't even ask for details—just handed me 20,000 yuan. What a mom, huh? I've barely touched the money. It's more than enough to have some fun in Lijiang."
With the plane ticket sorted, Chen Xing felt a little more at ease.
He knew Zhou Peng's temper. If he kept playing polite, Zhou Peng might actually get annoyed.
"Alright, I'm fine with heading back together. But no traveling. You two going on a trip is romantic. With me tagging along? I'd just be a third wheel."
"Haha, then you can head to Dali! What's that phrase that's always online? Dali, the one-night romance capital~~ With your looks, I bet the rich ladies there would love you. Just don't forget to come back!"
"Get lost."
Lately, more and more people had been saying he was good-looking—some even compared him to Leon Lai in his younger years.
Hearing it enough times, he almost started to believe it himself.
But the most important thing in life is to know yourself.
Every time he looked in the mirror, he just saw an ordinary young guy. Nothing special, nothing off-putting. Just… average.
What he really wanted was for people to say he was handsome when he was 50 years old.
That would be true charm.
They ate for about an hour, downing nearly a dozen beers. By the time they headed back, Chen Xing was walking like he was floating, but his mind was still clear. The two split ways at the dorm, agreeing to meet the next afternoon and fly out in the evening.
As for work?
They were already planning to bail—who cared about work? Let the team lead worry about that.
In just ten days, over thirty out of eighty students had already quit. If this were a battle, morale would've collapsed. Unless the teacher started increasing wages, even more would jump ship.
The next day, his phone wouldn't stop buzzing.
Chen Xing put it on silent and kept sleeping.
By the time he fully woke up, the sun had already climbed over the building and was shining right into the corridor. It was blinding. He figured it had to be around 3 or 4 p.m.
He grabbed his phone.
3:20 p.m.
Well then—27 missed calls, 18 from the team lead, 7 from the line supervisor.
He scratched his head.
Felt kinda guilty.
Their line supervisor was a woman—he always called her Sister Fang. She'd been pretty good to him.
Out of nearly a hundred students, she'd given him the cushiest job. Actual work only took 10 minutes a day, tops. The rest of the time, he just played on his phone and chatted with the girls nearby.
He didn't dare call back. Just sent a text:
> "Sorry, Sister Fang. I've decided to head home. When the school first said we'd be interning, I wasn't expecting it to be like this. I really wasn't prepared mentally for working in Guangzhou. I hope you understand."
He stood up to pack, but there wasn't much to gather.
He tossed all his personal stuff and clothes straight into the suitcase. Took only a few minutes.
Then he spent another half hour double-checking, trying to remember if he'd forgotten anything.
That's when he thought of the system.
Even though he could call it up with his eyes open, Chen Xing instinctively shut them—felt like he could see the system better that way.
---
[Travel System]
[Skills]: None
[Talent]: Photography
No more introductory messages. The previous line encouraging him to travel early was gone too. Only "Skills" and "Talent" remained. But there was an item slot in the bottom right. When he thought about opening it, the panel disappeared and was replaced with a Minecraft-style inventory.
There it was: [Starter Gift Pack]
So there was a starter pack!
This system really was the real deal!
Just like before, when he opened the inventory with a thought, the red gift box burst open with beams of colorful light dancing through his mind.
---
You've received: New Traveler's Adaptive Language (Mandarin)
You've received: New Traveler's Adaptive Skill (Photography)
You've received: New Traveler's Adaptive Physique (Healthy Human)
---
A cool sensation surged from his forehead to the back of his skull like an electric current, quick and sharp. In an instant, his brain filled with new knowledge. Pronunciation tricks, catchy rhymes in Mandarin, and photography skills: focal lengths, apertures, lighting, composition, color correction…
Before he could even fully enjoy it, his limbs started aching all over again.
So, back to bed he went.
It felt like he'd done hours of anaerobic exercise yesterday, and today his body was paying the price.
No clue how long recovery would take—but he still had to get to the airport later. According to Zhou Peng, they'd need to arrive at least an hour and a half early. Guangzhou's airport was packed; standing in line could take forever.
---
End of Chapter