hsntnovel 42: Job Change
42: Job Change
The night was so dark, like cotton wool soaked in ink, that it weighed heavily on the entire neighborhood.
Every household kept their doors and windows tightly shut.
There was no sound at this time of day, only a deathly silence.
Su Chen got off the car carrying his gear. Although he was eager to see the two job change cards, he knew it wasn't the right time yet.
He looked up at the sky—through a gap in the clouds, hung a scarlet moon, like a jade plate soaked in blood, gleaming with an eerie red light. The light shone through the thin clouds, casting mottled and distorted shadows on the ground.
I used to think the moonlight was a bit strange, but ever since I read the Witcher's Diary and looked at the blood moon, a strange thought popped into my head: Why has the moon turned red?
Could it be that even the moon couldn't escape the curse, being wrapped in rotting flesh and blood, which is why it reveals this chilling color?
The thought had barely formed in his mind when Su Chen couldn't help but take a deep breath, feeling as if countless eyes were watching him from the darkness. He dared not linger any longer and quickened his pace toward his building.
Most of the streetlights were broken, with only a few still lit, casting a dim light that could barely illuminate the path ahead.
But this dim, yellow light brought Su Chen a long-lost, slightly reassuring peace. At least he could see his surroundings, instead of being filled with anxiety in complete darkness.
As he passed Building No. 3, he caught a glimpse of several figures wearing thick coats, bending over and dragging several bulging cloth bags into the stairwell. Half of the tin cans were sticking out of the bags, clearly indicating they were survivors who had just returned from scavenging supplies.
The men noticed his gaze and looked up warily. Neither side spoke; they exchanged a brief glance before looking away.
Su Chen wondered to himself, "Where did he get so much stuff?"
However, that group of people were extremely cautious towards Su Chen.
They breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that he only glanced at them and then left, exchanging glances.
"Who's that guy? His gear is way too complete!"
"I vaguely remember... I think she was one of the survivors from the first expedition!"
"Yes, that's him. I heard he brought back a lot of supplies that day."
"Tsk, no wonder. Look at his outfit, it's really professional."
"Alright, stop staring at them. It's making them uncomfortable. We definitely shouldn't offend neighbors like that. Besides..."
"Don't let his current strength fool you, we're not far behind! After all, we've discovered that place. As long as we follow the plan, we have the potential to turn things around!"
"That's right, bro! Let's use the card quickly!"
The middle-aged man at the head nodded and took a card out of his pocket.
[Homestead Building Card 'Blacksmith Shop']
The moment the card appeared, all four of them lit up. They quickly carried all the supplies upstairs, eagerly anticipating what changes the card would bring once activated…
……
……
Su Chen was unaware of this little incident at Building 3.
All he wants now is to get home as quickly as possible.
However, when he got downstairs, he looked up at Building 1 and saw a sliver of light shining through the gap in the tightly closed curtains of Lin Yu's window.
It seems she's back too.
"I wonder if this woman has ever been to the Black Forest..." This thought flashed through Su Chen's mind.
Ding Dong!
The elevator arrived at the 18th floor.
Su Chen walked to her front door with her backpack.
Before entering the house, he opened the cabinet by the door, took out a bottle of disinfectant, and carefully sprayed it on his coat, shoes, and even the ends of his hair.
After spraying the disinfectant, I felt much more at ease.
Having narrowly escaped infection several times due to carelessness, the word "caution" has become ingrained in his bones. He cannot overlook any small detail that might pose a risk.
I'm finally home.
Su Chen went straight to the bathroom, took off his clothes, and turned on the water heater. The warm water flowed over his body, making him breathe a long sigh of relief, feeling all the tense muscles in his body relax.
After washing away all the grime and fatigue, I felt much refreshed.
"Gulp, gulp..."
After gulping down a large mouthful of cool well water, Su Chen felt refreshed from head to toe!
Cool!
We're finally back safely from the Black Forest!
Although this trip was fraught with danger and we narrowly escaped death, the gains were truly enormous!
He opened his backpack, first setting aside the four magical items, then his gaze was immediately drawn to the two cards.
The card on the left was shrouded in a hazy, grayish-black halo, within which countless fine threads could be vaguely seen, pulling at the blurry shadows of puppets. The threads swayed gently, and the puppets made simple movements in response.
On the back of the card is a figure of a person intently carving a wooden puppet.
The one on the right radiates a faint golden light, with a pair of sharp golden eyes at the center of the halo, and below the eyes is the silhouette of a figure covered in heavy armor. Even as just a pattern, it exudes a menacing aura, as if it is staring at the world outside the card.
"The Puppeteer..."
Looking at the job change card, Su Chen's first choice was to become a Puppeteer.
If we can make puppets, whether for exploration or defense, it means we have a stable and reliable source of troops!
Thinking of this, he picked up the card with the image of a doll on it.
A notification sound rang in my ear:
"Use the [Life Skills Change Card: Puppeteer] to change jobs?"
Su Chen answered without hesitation: "Yes!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a gentle energy surged from his fingertips into his body, flowing slowly along his meridians.
The gray-black halo on the card grew brighter and brighter, eventually transforming into a streak of light that wound its way up his arm and merged into his brow.
In an instant, a flood of information about "puppet masters" rushed into my mind—
A puppeteer isn't just an ordinary toy maker; they're a special profession that imbues inanimate objects with "pseudo-life" by infusing them with emotions, memories, and even fragments of their souls. They can even create fantastical dolls that exist only in their imagination. And now, he has become a junior puppeteer.
After completing the job change, Su Chen clearly felt that his perception had undergone a wonderful change.
The senses that could only vaguely perceive the surrounding movements can now "see" tiny specks of light floating in the air!
"Is this...spirituality?"
Su Chen gazed at the faint specks of light in the air, digesting the knowledge inherited from the puppeteer in his mind.
This is a fundamental skill for puppeteers: the ability to sense the concentration and flow of "spirituality" in the surrounding environment, and to distinguish the attributes of different spiritual entities. The stronger the spiritual perception, the easier it is to find high-quality puppet materials.
Furthermore, with this ability, he can gain a clearer understanding of his surroundings and detect potential dangers in advance through abnormal spiritual fluctuations.
not only that.
Su Chen tried to concentrate, and then, several strands of transparent silk appeared at his fingertips!
With a thought, he controlled the silk threads to wrap around the red-tasseled spear in the corner, and gently tugged—
"Smack."
The red-tasseled spear was pulled through the air by the silk thread and landed steadily in his hand.
Su Chen smiled.
This is the puppeteer's core skill, "Life Threads." The threads are soft yet strong, and can swing freely according to his will.
However, with his current skill as a novice puppeteer, he can only weave simple straight lines and create "unconscious puppets"—that is, things similar to intelligent puppets. They can only execute simple commands such as "moving" and "guarding," and he can only control one at a time.
Even so, Su Chen was already quite satisfied. As auxiliary troops, these puppets were extremely useful!
Their characteristics include: they can be used as decorations, emotional companions, and simple trap triggers.
Moreover, the very threads used to manipulate the puppets are a divine skill in themselves.
Su Chen couldn't help but think of Spider-Man.
Right now, he can only manipulate the silk threads to pull things weighing less than ten pounds. But if he upgrades in the future, these silk threads... who knows, they might actually allow him to scale walls and leap across rooftops?
There are no useless skills, only people who don't know how to use them!
Finally, there's the matter of the tradition of puppeteers passing on their skills in making puppets.
Currently, there is only one passive skill called "Skillful Hands".
[Skillful Hands]: Production speed increased by 20%, material waste reduced by 15%.
The puppeteer's knowledge transmission finally reminded him that as a puppeteer, he must constantly create puppets in order to accumulate experience and improve his level.
He can also see an interface that looks like an experience bar:
[Junior Puppet Master]: 0/100
A novice puppeteer can only make a limited variety of puppets, and the puppets they make still require a professional puppeteer to operate them.
He can only create intelligent puppets like the ones he saw in the basement of the cabin in the Black Forest after he has reached a certain level.
The profession of puppeteer is full of changes and possibilities, and Su Chen is full of expectations for it.
Then, his gaze fell on another card.
[Job Change Card 'Witcher']
The puppeteers are already this good.
What will happen to the Witcher?
Su Chen gripped the card, and the notification sound rang again:
"Use the [Job Change Card 'Demon Hunter']?"
"Yes."