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A delighted smile spread across Jimmy's face.
"Haha, this time, he miscalculated. I've already finished writing everything. It's probably already gone to print by now. Nothing I can do about it."
Yinsen glanced at him.
"You really do settle every grudge.
Forget it. Seeing how the two of you are enjoying yourselves, I won't interfere."
"But there is one thing I need to ask you. Once school starts, you should seriously think about your future. What direction are you planning to take?"
Jimmy thought for a moment.
"I'm pretty interested in plants and animals. If possible, I want to major in something related to that. I don't lack money anyway, so I'll treat it as a hobby."
"Oh, right, Yinsen, during this vacation, I'm planning to go to the Amazon rainforest for some wilderness survival. I want to see primitive tribes and stuff."
"The Rocky Mountains feel more like a park now, not fun at all, so I want to see somewhere different."
"That's too dangerous!" Yinsen said immediately. "Even though I know you're strong, there are venomous insects and ferocious beasts there. You—"
He suddenly stopped.
The image of Jimmy riding a brown bear out of the Rocky Mountains flashed through his mind.
Sometimes, having a child who was too strong wasn't exactly a good thing either.
"By the way," Yinsen asked, "what were you doing yesterday?"
"Haha..... The weather's really nice today."
Yinsen: …
Did he look like an idiot?
Under Yinsen's stare, Jimmy quickly surrendered, raising both hands.
"Alright, alright, I'll confess."
"I've been busy with this lately. Damon and I partnered up to run a warehouse rental business. We divided it into small units and rent them out as storage lockers."
"Business has been pretty good. Quite a few units are already rented out."
"There's still one larger space left, which we're using as a workshop for now."
"You know how it is. Sometimes when I'm writing, I need to recreate armor or weapons. It's better to be precise. I can't write things that professionals would instantly call fake."
"For example, some oddly shaped weapons look cool, but they completely ignore basic mechanics."
"You and Damon?" Yinsen asked.
"Running a warehouse rental together?"
"You know Damon just got out. His credit is shot. He can't even rent an apartment, and finding a job is hard. Plus, he has Mindy to take care of."
"Right now, he's working two jobs. One at the warehouse rentals, and another as a night guard at a scrapyard. It's exhausting."
"If I can help, I'll help, especially for Mindy's sake."
"You always have reasons," Yinsen said. "But lately, Peter has been looking for you. He says you haven't spent time with him in a long while."
"Alright," Jimmy replied. "I'll go see him before I leave."
---
Jimmy didn't even need to go find Peter.
That afternoon, Peter showed up by himself.
"Hey, Jimmy! Long time no see. What have you been busy with lately?"
"You're always in a hurry, and you're often not home. You know, sometimes I wonder if we're even neighbors anymore. Neighbors who never hang out together…"
After twenty-five minutes and thirty-eight seconds of verbal bombardment, Jimmy finally got a moment of peace when Peter paused to drink his coffee.
"This coffee's pretty good," Peter said.
"Where'd you buy it?"
"I bought the beans myself and roasted them," Jimmy replied proudly. "I'll give you some later. Take them back for Uncle ben to try."
"Is that okay?"
"Of course!"
"Better not," Peter said seriously. "Aunt May doesn't let Uncle Ben drink coffee. She says too much coffee affects sleep, poor sleep causes hair loss, and hair loss makes you look old…"
Jimmy: …
"You know Yinsen doesn't like coffee anyway. He prefers tea," Jimmy added calmly. "I'll be traveling soon, and roasted beans don't keep well. If you like them, just take them."
Peter's eyes lit up.
"Going to the Rocky Mountains again?"
"I'd like to go too sometime. I want to see how thick those pine trees are that grow such huge pinecones."
"No," Jimmy said. "This time, I'm going to the Amazon rainforest. I want to see primitive tribes."
"Oh…" Peter slumped back into his chair.
"You're always so free."
"You will be too," Jimmy said softly.
Jimmy believed that deeply.
Not only would Peter be free someday, but he would also truly spread his wings.
"Hopefully," Peter said quietly.
"Peter, didn't you want to know what I've been busy with lately?" Jimmy continued.
"I've been renovating a warehouse. The one you and Ned introduced me to. I bought it."
Peter froze.
"I turned it into a workshop, plus a two-level rental storage facility. And you already know my partner. It's Damon. The guy who stayed at my place for a while."
Peter's eyes widened.
"There are two permanent storage rooms reserved for you and Ned. You can treat it as your base if you want."
He paused, then added with a grin:
"But there's one condition, If a storage unit becomes overdue, you help clear it out."
"Really? Really?" Peter nearly jumped out of his seat. "That's awesome! Thank you, Jimmy!"
"No need to thank me. Without you and Ned, I wouldn't have found such a good warehouse in the first place."
Peter scratched his head and laughed.
"Honestly, I didn't do much. Ned handled all the online filtering. I just ran errands."
---
After enduring Peter's endless chatter for an entire afternoon, Jimmy finally opened his system panel to spend his skill point.
Interface opened:
[Name: Jimmy Halstead]
[Level: 14 (11%)]
[Age: 1]
[X-Gene: 1 (+)]
[Abilities:] Accelerated Healing, Feral Senses, Enhanced Smell, Advanced Hand-to-Hand Combat, Bladed Weapon and Claw Mastery
[Equipment: Memory Adamantium Alloy]
[Strength: 60]
[Agility: 60]
[Mental: 50]
[Available Points: 0]
[Skill Points: 1]
(System Note: One skill point is granted every ten levels. Skill points may be used to evolve X-Gene traits or unlock latent mutations.)
[Techniques:] Silat
[Random Dungeon Entry Scroll: 1]
[Lottery Draws: 1]
[Lonely Mountain Anchor Point: 1]
[Mutant Plane Coordinates: 1]
Jimmy took a deep breath and invested the skill point into [X-Gene].
[Unlock latent gene?]
[Yes / No]
"…Not an enhancement?" Jimmy muttered.
He checked again.
Looks like strengthening the Wolverine lineage required more points.
He had already come this far.
"Fine, unlock it."
Confirmed.
"Ding-ding-ding—clang-clang-clang…"
Jimmy stared blankly.
A cheap, low-budget lottery wheel interface appeared in front of him.
Red and green lights flickered. Electric sparks popped and crackled.
The massive wheel was divided into twenty-four segments.
One of them was already lit.
Jimmy stared at the sparking, unstable wheel in silence.
"I seriously suspect that if I pull this lever, the whole thing will fall apart… and then blame me for losing my skill point."
He shook his head.
With a hardened resolve, Jimmy pulled the lever using his mind.
The wheel began spinning.
Slow at first.
Then faster.
Faster still.
So fast that it made his heart pound.
And then—
It started smoking.
"I'm not imagining this, right?" Jimmy muttered. "It's actually smoking."
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