Chapter 35

 Chapter 35: Wheelchair Drifting?!

As the welcome party of the Game Design School came to an end, the students who were fortunate enough to witness this event left the Science Hall, returning to their dorms. They seemed like migratory birds bringing the news to other students on campus.

Around the same time, the welcome party of the School of Music in the Grand Hall also concluded.

The online broadcast of "University Talent Show" for the preliminary rounds was also nearing its end.

However, as other students engaged in enthusiastic discussions, those who missed the Game Design School's performance tonight understood how much they had missed out on.

Those who attended profited, those who didn't regretted it!

Especially the students who stayed in their dorms to watch "University Talent Show" were filled with regret.

While they could watch "Undercover Trainees" and "In Your Eyes" online later, the more they watched, the more they felt bad about missing the live experience. Even though the video could showcase the holographic effects, it paled in comparison to being there in person.

Soon, the campus forum on the campus network was flooded with discussions about the Game Design School's welcome party, and it completely took over all the sections.

"The Game Design School's party was really fantastic! Where can I watch the recording?"

"People who didn't attend tonight really missed out. I had no idea that the projection equipment in the Science Hall could create such stunning effects!"

"Annoying! I went to the School of Music for its prestigious reputation, but I didn't expect their performance this year to be the same old routine. It's not interesting at all. I wish I had gone to the Science Hall!"

"I'm speechless; I don't know why my brain decided to stay in the dorm and watch 'University Talent Show.' I regret it so much!"

"Can we ask the Game Design School to perform it again? 'Undercover Trainees' and 'In Your Eyes' can be transferred to our student drama society, and they can perform it every now and then!"

"Hurry, the recording of the welcome party is up. Everyone, go and give it a thumbs up!"

"Where's the link? I'm going to rewatch it right away!"

In the backstage of the Grand Hall, Li Zihan looked at the discussions on the campus network with mixed feelings.

He had already felt a sense of disappointment when he performed his act, as he was the last one to go on stage during the latter part of "Undercover Trainees." The audience was engrossed in their phones, laughing away, and hardly anyone paid attention to him.

He was bouncing and jumping on the stage, trying to warm up the crowd, but it was as if he were an unnoticed clown.

However, now, looking at the overwhelming enthusiasm for the Game Design School on the campus network, he suddenly felt a sense of balance within himself.

After all, it wasn't just him who was overshadowed.

Every single performance tonight, including the popular "University Talent Show," had been completely overshadowed.

And from the current trend, it seemed that the hype for this welcome party would continue to spread further. How big it would become, no one could predict.

Li Zihan looked at the rapidly increasing views and likes for the shows "Undercover Trainees" and "In Your Eyes" on the video-sharing platform, and his expression gradually turned into a sardonic smile.

"Anyway, I'm not the only one who got overshadowed.

"Everyone else who bumped into you will die!"

...

Meanwhile, the cast and crew of the Game Design School's welcome party had entered a state of complete relaxation.

After such a long period of intense rehearsals, everyone's nerves had been on edge. Now that it had come to a successful end, everyone had finally let go and relaxed.

People made different choices; some decided to go out for a celebratory dinner, some just wanted to return to their dorms to rest, and others who were no longer single immediately went out with their partners to have fun while boasting about their firsthand experience of every detail of this welcome party.

As for the biggest hero of this welcome party, Lu Zhixing, he was currently…

…..

Lucky Draw.

In his field of vision, as the Welcome Party concluded successfully, his role as the "humble and vengeful campus superstar" was finally completed.

[Main Quest Roleplay Task 2 - The humble and vengeful campus superstar is completed!]

[Rewards: Freedom to gather materials from this Welcome Party!]

Seeing the reward information appear in his field of vision, Lu Zhixing breathed a sigh of relief.

He had finally completed another roleplay task!

It was a bit unfortunate that the rewards were different this time, as there were no points given.

Last time when he completed a roleplay task, he had 673 points remaining, and even though he didn't draw more, he used some points to gather some necessary materials from the "In Your Eyes" stage. So, he spent more than 200 points.

Fortunately, the role of the "campus superstar" gave a lot of roleplay points, and at this point, Lu Zhixing had reached a new high with 834 points. However, he couldn't break through the 1000-point threshold due to the lack of additional point rewards.

But with the opportunity for "freedom to gather materials," it was still a great deal for Lu Zhixing.

He roughly went through his mind and found that the so-called "freedom to gather materials" was indeed very free. He could essentially transfer the entire Welcome Party, including the model of the Science Auditorium, the holographic projection equipment on stage, the performances by the students at the Welcome Party, and even some scenes from rehearsals and the audience at the event, among other things.

He could also make some modifications to these contents to a certain extent.

For example, he could change the Science Auditorium into a different performance venue. The materials provided three different venue templates that he could easily switch between. He could also freely change the appearance of the actors and the audience, just like the character templates he had seen before. Whether they were randomly generated or freely combined, it was all possible.

However, there was one limitation: the actors and audience he saw were all young people, students in appearance, and there were no character templates for middle-aged or elderly individuals.

In summary, with this reward, Lu Zhixing could comfortably transfer the relevant content from the Welcome Party to the game.

"Let's try drawing two life skills?"

"Just draw twice, even if I don't get suitable ones, I can't draw more. I need to save some points for gathering materials."

Currently, Lu Zhixing had over 800 points, but he couldn't spend them recklessly. Drawing a skill cost 10 points, and the current price for life skills had reached 60 points. He planned to draw twice, spending 130 points, and saving the rest.

If he could draw skills that would be advantageous for the role of a part-timer, that would be better. If not, he had to control himself and not draw again.

[Exchange successful!]

[Life Skill - Burst of Physical Strength: You can burst out with astonishing physical strength in a short period. This skill will not place an additional burden on your body. This skill has a fixed 4-hour cooldown and cannot be eliminated by other skills.]

[Exchange successful!]

[Life Skill - Accelerated Recovery: The speed of your body's recovery is significantly increased.]

"Hmm? Not bad!"

Lu Zhixing carefully examined the descriptions of these two skills. The Burst of Physical Strength was an active skill with a 4-hour fixed cooldown, and it had no negative effects, making it usable regularly. As for Accelerated Recovery, it was a passive permanent effect.

With these two skills, Lu Zhixing could consider doing more physically demanding work, which his small and frail body might not have handled well before.

After obtaining these two skills, Lu Zhixing still had 704 points remaining, and he didn't plan to spend them. He would wait until the completion of the "part-timer" roleplay before gathering materials.

Lu Zhixing walked out of the Science Auditorium and heard a child's voice calling out, "Uncle Lu!"

Lu Zhixing turned to see Cheng Ting waving at him.

"Call me big brother!"

Lu Zhixing corrected the way Cheng Ting addressed him and crouched down to ask, "So, do you like the gift?"

Cheng Ting nodded, "Yeah, I like it!"

Cheng Shu sighed, "Your stage play was excellent, especially the last line, 'His life still has unlimited possibilities, and he has to live an extraordinary life.' I think the child's mother probably thought the same way.

"Little Ting has finally let go of his emotional baggage, thank you, Xiao Lu."

Lu Zhixing shook his head slightly, "No, I should thank Little Ting. This stage play is not just a gift from me to Little Ting, but also a gift from both of us to all the children."

Cheng Ting happily said, "Uncle, I have a small wish."

Lu Zhixing asked, "Oh? What's your wish?"

Cheng Ting asked, "Uncle, could you play with me in a wheelchair? I want to see you spin in the wheelchair, can you teach me?"

Lu Zhixing's face stiffened, and he instinctively looked around. Fortunately, most of the people who knew him had already left the area, so no one he knew would see him.

"Cough, cough. No problem!"

Lu Zhixing readily agreed.

……

In the evening, Lu Zhixing and Cheng's father and son first arrived at their rented house, took a wheelchair, and then followed Cheng Ting to play in the vicinity. They showcased their wheelchair skills in a less crowded area and explored the nearby night market, tasting some local snacks.

Of course, when Lu Zhixing performed wheelchair tricks, he didn't forget to remind Cheng Ting: "Dangerous moves, children, please do not imitate."

They strolled in the nearby night market until after 10 o'clock, when Cheng Ting reluctantly agreed to go home and rest.

"Goodbye, Uncle! I will definitely remember your words and study hard to try and get first place!" Cheng Ting sat in the car and waved to Lu Zhixing.

Lu Zhixing nodded, "Good, I'm waiting for your good news. Say it again, call me 'Brother'!"

Watching Cheng's car drive away, Lu Zhixing finally relaxed.

This matter has come to a conclusion here, and he can finally get some rest.

However, one thing is worth noting: tonight, while he was playing with Cheng Ting, his "working man" role increased slightly.

Lu Zhixing is not sure if this is because of his actions related to his role as a caregiver (even though he didn't receive payment), or because he went to the night market and food stalls, places associated with working people. In any case, his progress in the "working man" role has increased a little.

At this point, the "working man" role progress has reached 35%, and the cumulative progress obtained is not negligible.

Lu Zhixing estimates that the next two days are the weekend, and if he can intensively play the role of a working man for two days, perhaps the role progress will be completed.

Thinking about this, he called Qian Ziqiang, the courier from Jingxi Express he had contacted earlier, and secured a daily wage job as a package sorter in the warehouse. He will go to the warehouse early tomorrow.

Then, Lu Zhixing, in his wheelchair, prepared to go back and rest.

However, at this moment, he suddenly heard a familiar voice nearby.

"Hmm? What are you guys talking about? The person in front looks a lot like that 'Stranger'? No way, I don't think so. How do you see that?"

In the night market, Xu Jing seemed to have just finished her night run and came here to find something to eat. She held her phone with a selfie stick and was live-streaming.

The night market was bustling with people, and Xu Jing didn't notice Lu Zhixing at first, but the viewers in her live stream chat once again played the role of "sharp-eyed viewers."

When Lu Zhixing had taken the wheelchair earlier, to avoid being recognized, he deliberately changed out of the clothes he wore at the welcome party and put on a hoodie and a mask.

But unexpectedly, even though he was wearing a different color hoodie and mask from when he portrayed the "Big Tree," the viewers in Xu Jing's live stream chat recognized him at a glance!

Of course, Lu Zhixing was not sure if these viewers truly recognized him or were just trying to deceive the streamer.

But regardless, Xu Jing was approaching curiously, holding her phone.

Lu Zhixing felt a slight "gulp" in his heart.

Meeting again! This persistent ghost!

Fortunately, Lu Zhixing is a seasoned pro, and he quickly calms down.

"You want to catch me off guard again? I'm sorry, but I've come a long way since then!"

Lu Zhixing certainly won't give her another chance to capture him. He immediately sways his wheelchair and disappears into the crowd.

"Huh?"

Xu Jing was startled, and she hurriedly followed, unknowingly picking up the pace and breaking into a jog.

But she never expected that even though she was running as fast as she could, the wheelchair was always faster. It not only swiftly maneuvered through the crowd, weaving left and right but also suddenly drifted into a dark alley at one point.

By the time Xu Jing caught up, there was no trace of him.

Lu Zhixing looked back and chuckled to himself, "You think you can catch me? My burst of energy and advanced wheelchair skills aren't for nothing!"

He wheeled away.