Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 198, Section 196: Potential Enhancement

A heart that burns, a heart that is frozen.

This clearly splits the mind of light and shadow into two.

Moreover, judging from the name, the effect is not as broad, and the overall ability is probably more than one level lower.

However, this reward is by no means bad; it depends on what you compare it to. Compared to the snake bone reward from the previous "Escape from the Other Shore" event, it's considerably better. However, this is probably due to the larger amount of game content.

If you were to trade it, it would be worth at least 200 points, and might even be better than some abilities.

"Both fire and ice types can be used in combat, but high-temperature burning abilities are clearly more destructive in the early stages, while low-temperature abilities are more concealed."

Uesugi made a decision quickly.

"I choose—ice!"

[Player confirms selection of "Heart of Ice"]

[Scanning...]

[Player "Moon" has been detected to possess a D-level potential ability - Cat Ear Switch]

The compatibility between the two is 80%. Should we spend 50 points to fuse them? If the fusion is successful, the expected potential will be increased to C-.

You want points?! And a whopping 50 of them!
Uesugi became extremely cautious: "What are the benefits of merging? What if we don't merge?"

After fusion, players can use the Ice Heart in cat form. The original cat ear switch abilities may produce strange reactions with the Ice Heart.

[Without fusion, it will be difficult to use Ice Heart in cat form; potential remains unchanged.]

understood.

Glaceon, right? If she had chosen Burning Heart just now, she would be Flareon now.

“But I haven’t unlocked my cat form ability yet,” Uesugi sighed.

The game system did not respond.

This is a player issue; the progression requirements have been clearly stated, and if players cannot meet them, it has nothing to do with the player's problem.

"Can you make it cheaper?" Uesugi pleaded pitifully, trying to squeeze out a few points.

Please make a selection

The system is ruthless; it only urges us on.

“I choose, fusion!” She clutched her chest, speaking with such difficulty.

No one knows how many opportunities there are to enhance one's potential, but from a long-term perspective, these 50 points are definitely worthwhile.

Although, C-'s potential is likely still at the bottom among players.

[Requirements confirmed. Integration complete]

The cat ear switch has been upgraded to "Cat Ear Switch - Ice".

Don't worry about the name; on the bright side, at least it didn't turn into something like Ice Cat or Cat Ice Switch.

"To unlock the cat form, I first need to unlock skill. I've mastered agility, elegance is something I can manage, but fearlessness is a different story."

In reality, Uesugi was sighing while hugging a chicken-shaped body pillow, which was a piece of merchandise related to her own costume.

She got up, filled a wine glass halfway with room temperature cola, threw in three ice cubes, and then pressed her index finger against the rim of the glass, drawing circles on it.

The visible cold air sinks down, quickly chilling the cola in the glass.

This is the most basic application scenario of Ice Heart: the quick-freeze function.

Uesugi thought this might be the most practical one.

She took a sip of the cola and could feel the coolness, but it wasn't cold to her at all.

She took another sip, stunned, and upon closer inspection, her pupils dilated in shock.

Oh no, it's only slightly cool, not cold at all in my mouth, and even the slight tingling sensation from the carbon dioxide is greatly reduced!
The wine glass fell to the ground and shattered, spilling the remaining cola everywhere, bubbling and frothing, but Uesugi paid no attention.

She has lost the pleasure of drinking iced cola!
The blissful feeling of chugging ice-cold cola on a hot summer day, enjoying the interplay of carbonation and icy coolness, has been taken away and is gone forever, leaving only memories.

"No!"

Uesugi sat on the ground in a classic pose, supporting his body with his hands. His aura was somber, and the low temperature enveloped his entire body. Light snow began to fall indoors.

Shin Higashiyama, who had intended to see what players who had cleared the game were doing, posted: "Old man's phone on the subway.jpg"

Coca-Cola definitely had something mixed in; I'll stick with Pepsi from now on.

That's what he thought, but since all he had at home was Delicious, he still poured himself a glass.

I took a sip, and it felt no different from usual.

But this is natural.

The exclusive reward he receives after completing "The Heart of Patience" is the newly awakened Heart of Light and Shadow.

As for the Ice Heart, which is essentially a budget version of the Heart of Ember, it doesn't really have much of an impact on him; it can only be considered a lower-tier alternative, something that's acceptable but not essential.
No, it's not even dispensable; it has no reason to exist at all.

What the Heart of Ice can do, the Heart of Light and Shadow can do as well, and even better.

It also avoids the side effect of temperature imbalance that prevents the icy sensation from being felt.

"Keep it for now. It might have other uses later. If it's really useless, you can just throw it in the store." Higashiyama Shin didn't pay much attention to this little thing.

He is summarizing the patterns he has observed in these games.

"Under competitive pressure, even if players cannot communicate with each other about how to pass the game, for small games, players can generally keep the completion time within half a month."

"Games purchased with points are essentially a supplement to the monthly game content, and after Subway, no new games have been introduced that require points."

"The only remaining point-based game that can be purchased now is the special, non-rewarding 'Peach Blossom Village.' Judging from the name, it doesn't seem like an ordinary game. Rather than a game, it's more like a 'base.'"

"Won't this conflict with the positioning of the player lobby?"

Currently, players' activities in the lobby are quite limited; they can't even stand up. Apart from facilitating face-to-face communication and buying items with their laptops, it seems there's no other function.

But that's from the player's perspective.

Shin Higashiyama's perspective is that of God.

He could see that the player lobby was not just a simple round table; there were other spaces, but they were shrouded in mist and not yet open.

Actually, it wasn't completely shrouded in mist. At least he could see that behind an ordinary door was a large space with many doll-like objects arranged in it, like a training ground.

I checked my points balance; it's over a thousand.

"Peach Blossom Village" requires 2,000 points, and you need to complete at least one month of gameplay to accumulate that amount.

It'll be soon; today is the third day after the Kyoto Giant incident.

5 month 31 day.

There are five days left until the new game is released.

"Hmm? Has it started?"

Higashiyama Shinsuke snapped out of his reverie, and standing beside him was the shadowy spider lily that had transformed into a mirror.

He consistently used this method to issue instructions to the Lycoris radiata, which was officially revered as a "divine flower."

Tonight, another group of men and women who have traveled from America will be selected and will soon face the screening by the divine flower.

This experiment can be considered one of his research topics.

I just want to see if, in this era of declining spiritual energy, cultivators can still be born without games.

Even if it can only withstand a portion of its capacity.

He originally thought highly of that girl named Milai, believing she had considerable talent.

Unfortunately, he only manipulated the Yang Spider Lily for a moment before it completely collapsed because it couldn't withstand the power of non-intentional assimilation.

Given this situation, he has no choice but to find another talented test subject. Letting the authorities handle it themselves is undoubtedly the easiest and most efficient approach.

Yokota underground base.

A large number of investigators gathered here, observing the scene in the open space below through the one-way glass.

The Amis, dressed in uniform, simple clothing, entered this space with excitement.

The moment they stepped inside, their expressions changed, ranging from joy and sorrow to fear.

Only a very few people were able to quickly recover from the hallucination and, following the researchers' guidance, arrive before the divine flower.

If one cannot even break free from illusions, one will only become a puppet of the divine flower, according to the official view.

"Now, focus all your attention and try to communicate with the divine flower in front of you."

The official name of the Divine Flower has not been spread, and instead, the random distribution of the Spider Lily is used to more controllably enhance the power of wishes.

They were well aware that once the Divine Flower was officially revealed, countless sects would emerge around it, and no one knew what the consequences would be.

Therefore, most ordinary people believe that the vine giant that appeared in Kyoto is an undisclosed supernatural ability.

Only a few ordinary people have made various guesses based on the spider lilies that once bloomed among the vines.

As for those who can clearly understand the reasons, they are even fewer.

Those who were chosen all knew beforehand that they would receive an unprecedented opportunity—the chance to become extraordinary.

Half of them are children or even directors of chaebol families who have been placed in these positions.

He arrived in a wheelchair and on crutches, his expression filled with a longing for life and strength.

But half of them are Eagles Youngsters selected by Aramco with impeccable credentials!
These people are the true core candidates of the government; the others are just people who couldn't refuse due to personal relationships. Besides, the president made a fortune just by selling the quotas to those people.

He himself didn't come; perhaps he was convinced that he lacked a natural heart and was therefore unsuitable.

The first person was a young man, his fists clenched and his legs trembling nervously. He listened to the researcher, nodding repeatedly, then quickly closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
The researchers carefully observed the condition of the divine flower.

No response.

"next."

In less than a minute, the young man's extraordinary dream was shattered.

"No, no! I haven't used my full strength yet, I'm still building up my emotions—please, give me one more minute, no, even thirty seconds!" The young man was anxious; the opportunity to become someone of high status was right in front of him, and he really didn't want to give it up so easily.

He was the first among this group to break free from the hallucinations; he must be special.

This extraordinary opportunity was prepared just for him!
The researcher remained unmoved; over the past three days, he had seen far too many cases like the one before him.

He then gave a wink to the Talos member who was standing beside him, acting as a guard.

“Please follow the rules.”

The guard stepped forward, and his fully armored body, over two meters tall, immediately brought the young man to his senses. He became as docile as a lamb, as if all his strength had been drained from his body.

"next."

Take this person away.

The team continued.

The second was a hesitant blonde woman who followed the researcher's instructions and concentrated.

Still no response.

"next."

Having learned from past mistakes, the blonde beauty didn't dare to cause any trouble and left dejectedly.

The third was a silent man. He walked silently to the divine flower, spent a few seconds admiring it carefully, then closed his eyes and placed one hand on his chest.

The divine flower twitched slightly, not by much, but it did move.

The researcher perked up and quickly took notes.

"Hello, Mr. Damon, please proceed to the waiting area, where someone will arrange the next steps of your itinerary." The researcher's attitude had changed.

"Thank you." The man nodded gently, bowed deeply to the divine flower before him, and walked towards another exit amidst the envious gazes of the crowd.

In their eyes, even if this person doesn't become extraordinary in the end, they will definitely receive special treatment from the authorities because they are recognized by the divine flower, and thus embark on a completely different life.

This batch of people finished quickly, and the results were promptly delivered to Leon.

Leon then distributed the data to the investigators, asking them to analyze the commonalities among those who could cause the divine flower to react abnormally.

Over these three days of analysis, a common theme has emerged.

That is, "psychics" are more likely to make the divine flower react.

This so-called spiritual communication refers to the mystical notion of being able to sense nature and animals.

What investigators need to do now is to find more similar commonalities within and outside this overall framework.

Does it count if we both like drinking coffee?

"This is probably a common trait among the Amis."

"Aren't there any Buddhists here? I feel that Buddhists would be suitable as well."

"According to your logic, many religious sects emphasize living in harmony with nature or even nature worship. Wouldn't nature worshippers or environmentalists be more suitable?"

During the discussion, Leon received a phone call from the President himself.

“Leon, we can now arrange for the first batch of contacts from Japan, but the principle remains the same: prioritize Amis and vetted Japanese citizens.”

"I will faithfully carry out your instructions."

"Don't forget to rest, or your father will have a problem with me."

"Completing your task is an honor for me. I feel no fatigue, only excitement and even more excitement."

"Haha, I love hearing that."

Leon hung up the phone with a forced smile.

He was originally a person who valued his personal time a lot. Even after becoming the executive director of the Extraordinary Countermeasures Department, a busy and important department, he always went to get off work and left work on time and never worked overtime.

Until the Kyoto Giant Incident occurred.

He actually started taking Kang Sheng pills like those investigators to concentrate.

I really wish I had a high-quality ox or horse that could share 90% of the workload.

Thinking this, his gaze drifted to Heisei Ryu and Kurosaki Chimei.

These two were the cattle and horses he was looking for.

To be precise, only Pyeongsang Dragon is one.

However, we still need to observe him more, because Pyeongsei Ryu is, after all, someone who came from the Japanese official system.

One of the key reasons Leon was placed in this position was to keep an eye on these people and ensure that Amer's interests were prioritized, that they were informed, and that they had command authority.

But then again, delegating authority can sometimes be a form of wisdom.

Focusing on what you should focus on can help you avoid overworking yourself and increase your efficiency.

"The Minister of Defense has already personally sent the person over?" That's incredibly fast. Leon even suspected that the other party had timed their arrival perfectly.

It's clear that Japan really wants to seize this opportunity, and I wonder how much benefit it has conceded under pressure from the President.

"Let them in."

Leon instructed the researchers to begin preparations to welcome the new batch of candidates.

(End of this chapter)