Chapter 11: Becoming Booth

Ou Xiaolu felt as if he had been dreaming for an eternity—a long, winding dream in which he was a young hero brimming with justice, unwittingly drawn into the battlefield between North and South.

Driven by loyalty, Ou Xiaolu had joined the Southern forces, but this army stood against the sweeping tide of history, and was swiftly crushed by the Northern military. At the brink of defeat, the Southern commanders devised a desperate plan: select several formidable warriors to infiltrate the Northern capital and assassinate the emperor, whose surname was Lin.

Ou Xiaolu was among those chosen for this mission. Compared to the legendary assassin Jing Ke, Ou Xiaolu was luckier; with the help of his companions, he managed to approach the Northern emperor. Yet by then, the emperor had already discovered their presence.

At that critical moment, Ou Xiaolu abandoned the customary notion of fighting to the death with a sword. Instead, he drew the weapon given to him by the Southern general—a revolver capable of firing five bullets—and killed the Northern emperor.

Though the final outcome was still a decisive Northern victory, they had lost their leader, and the escaped Ou Xiaolu earned the title of "Godslayer."

Suddenly, Ou Xiaolu snapped back to reality. He struggled to sit upright, only to find a face smiling at him from the interface. The face appeared to belong to someone of East Asian descent, though the features were more pronounced and rugged, with a soldierly air, as if the man had just returned from the battlefield.

Without any prompt, Ou Xiaolu immediately understood. He began making minute adjustments to the face, transforming it so that it bore no resemblance to his own.

Once satisfied with his changes, he released his hold. Instantly, the face shrank back, morphing into a full body image. Now, he was clad in the ancient military uniform from a century past, grasping a long sword in one hand, the other resting at his waist where a revolver hung.

But the clothing soon shifted—a black suit, then a hippie outfit, then a gray suit, changing several times until the figure stood attired in a suit and sunglasses. The revolver was now concealed beneath his arm, the sword reduced to a metal hilt hidden in his right sleeve.

Surveying the figure, who was slightly taller than himself, Ou Xiaolu said, "From now on, your name will be Booth."

As soon as the words were spoken, Booth in the interface winked at Ou Xiaolu. All the screens normalized, and Booth, lowering his sunglasses, stepped out from the system to stand behind Ou Xiaolu.

"Greetings, original," he said.

Ou Xiaolu nodded. "How many interfaces do you have?"

"Only two. One for personal attributes, and one for inventory," Booth replied.

"Open the attribute interface. Let me see."

Without a word, Booth summoned the interface before Ou Xiaolu.

[Booth (Ou Xiaolu’s avatar, supporting role), ID: 101, Level: 0, Experience: 0/500, Combat Power: 730, Health: 100, Mana: 100.]

[Skills: Lion King Sword Technique (blue grade, includes secret move), Basic Internal Energy, Twelve Grips of Capture, Grasshopper Step Lightness Skill, Soul Reaping Five-Shot (can attack spirits)]

[Equipment: Understated Brand-name Sunglasses, Lion King Light Sword of Continuous Strike, Deadly Godslayer Revolver]

Ou Xiaolu was quite satisfied with these attributes; at least Booth’s skills and equipment were not lacking.

After settling matters with his avatar, Ou Xiaolu finally turned to examine the long-awaited completion rewards. When Booth was not out on missions, exploring the world, he would follow his own whims, acting or relaxing according to his programmed personality, requiring no oversight from Ou Xiaolu. As Ou Xiaolu busied himself, Booth had already vanished.

Selecting "World Completion," the reward pack flashed five streaks of white light. If it were before, perhaps Ou Xiaolu would have lamented how poorly this luck matched his surname, but with an avatar now, he paid it little mind. Glancing at his spoils, he stored them in his inventory.

[Coral Reef, Space Card, White Grade, Residential Space Card; ten cards of the same type can be combined into a marine-themed living space.]

[Miraculous Sea Grass, Item Card, White Grade, a life-saving herb for marine creatures; restores 30 health when consumed.]

[Coral, Item Card, White Grade, a complete piece of coral; can be crafted into weapons or sold.]

[Essence of Seawater, Item Card, White Grade, an ingredient for alchemy.]

[Mysterious Potion, Item Card, White Grade, a potion infused with mysterious powers; restores 50 combat power when consumed.]

None of these items were particularly remarkable. Ou Xiaolu glanced over them quickly, ended the time-stop state, and prepared to report to the administrative building.

He had barely exited the time-stop when a sharp scream erupted from next door. Curious, Ou Xiaolu peered through the broken wall and saw the beautiful woman from the adjacent room, clad in pajamas, leaping about wildly.

Looking closer, Ou Xiaolu was bemused to discover a small mouse scurrying back and forth under the bed, utterly unfazed by the woman's presence.

Surveying the floor of room 301, Ou Xiaolu was no longer surprised that mice appeared so early. The woman was attractive, but lived slovenly; the floor was littered with leftover fries and chips, and he even saw a trampled bun, strawberry jam smeared everywhere.

He wondered how she managed to survive in such conditions.

Seeing nothing truly amiss, Ou Xiaolu decided not to intervene. He picked up his luggage and prepared to leave.

At that moment, the woman noticed him and shouted, "Help me! Get this mouse out!"

Ou Xiaolu glanced at her, said nothing, grabbed a pen from the table, and tossed it at the mouse.

The mouse, perhaps accustomed to the woman's antics, ignored her screams and thrown objects and showed no intention of fleeing.

So when Ou Xiaolu threw the pen, the mouse didn't even try to dodge.

If it were the old Ou Xiaolu, the pen might have merely bounced off the mouse, but with his new avatar, he could wield its power effortlessly. With a flick of his wrist, the pen flew like a dart and pinned the mouse to the floor.

Ou Xiaolu was momentarily stunned—he hadn’t expected his avatar’s existence to so instinctively influence his habits. Quickly regaining composure, he adopted an air of nonchalance, glanced at the woman out of the corner of his eye, and casually opened the door to leave.

Only when he reached the second floor did he hear another piercing scream from room 301.