From Abyssal Invasion to Bursting Stars with a Single Sword

"Sure, sure, Mr. Lu, you're too kind," Yuan Hecheng quickly nodded in agreement.

"We have some Skill Crystal Cores on hand. You can take some suitable ones to use first. However, you'll need to bring your daughter over to select the appropriate Skills based on her Talent," Lu Heng handed him a list of the Skill Crystal Cores.

"Okay, I'll go back and bring her here right away. Should we come here?" Yuan Hecheng had now signed the contract, but he didn't know whether there were suitable Skill Crystal Cores for his daughter.

If there were no suitable Skill Crystal Cores, they would have to buy them elsewhere, which might not leave enough time.

After all, the conscription countdown only had a day and a half left.

...

An hour later, Yuan Hecheng arrived with a young girl.

The young girl was very cute and lively, also well-behaved and sensible.

Upon seeing Lin Zeyu at the door, Yuan Hecheng hurriedly said, "Yaoyao, say hello, this is Uncle Lin... or should you call him Brother instead?"

Lin Zeyu glared, saying, "Do I look that old?"

"Then just call him Brother Lin," Yuan Hecheng quickly agreed.

Yuan Yaoyao was a bit shy, she pursed her lips and smiled while edging back slightly, then called out softly.

Once seated, Lu Heng eyed the young girl, feeling she looked a bit familiar but couldn't recall where he had seen her before.

He was certain she wasn't a Peak Superpower User with Peak Combat Power from the future, as he hadn't heard of any Peak Superpower Users so young in his previous life.

"What Talent have you Awakened?" asked Lu Heng.

"Um..."

Yuan Yaoyao put her hands on her knees, picked at her nails a bit, and after a couple of hesitant sounds, she replied, "Metal Ion Reduction."

Hearing about her Talent, Lu Heng felt puzzled and glanced at Su Muyu.

Su Muyu got the hint, stood up, and left. After a while, she returned with a cup of blue liquid: "Copper sulfate solution."

Lu Heng pushed the blue solution towards her, saying, "Is this okay?"

Yuan Yaoyao didn't speak, just slowly stretched out her hand and dipped her right index finger into the copper sulfate solution.

After about ten seconds, she pulled her finger out, and a layer of crimson metal covered it.

This Talent was very special and would be valuable in the field of scientific research, but it didn't translate into great Combat Power.

Lu Heng continued, "Can you control this ability? To reduce when needed, and not react when it's not?"

Yuan Yaoyao shook her head: "When I touch water, a layer of something always coats my hands."

She wasn't too fond of this ability.

Any contact with water would leave a layer of metal on her skin.

It didn't need to be as concentrated as a copper sulfate solution; even normal tap water would trigger a reaction.

Because tap water also contained trace amounts of metal ions, they would be reduced by her Superpower and adhere to her skin.

Although the quantity was small, the buildup was noticeable.

It was manageable on her hands, but bathing was the most uncomfortable part.

Seeing her expression, Lu Heng smiled and said, "When you get to a higher Level later, you'll slowly learn to control this ability so that it won't react when not needed."

Hearing she would eventually be able to control this power brightened Yuan Yaoyao's mood.

Lu Heng then inquired, "Do you have any other Talents or abilities?"

"No... no, I don't," Yaoyao shook her head, her gestures becoming smaller.

"Are you sure?" Lu Heng pressed.

Yaoyao nodded with her head down, but Lu Heng felt she wasn't telling the truth.

Because just with the "Metal Ion Reduction" alone, it didn't display much Combat Power.

Moreover, at her current age, her physical condition was weak, and her Level was low, so according to the patterns of conscription from the Abyss Battlefield, it was unlikely she would be conscripted.

Therefore, there was only one possibility; either she wasn't being conscripted, or she was hiding some Talent with strong Combat Power.

Lu Heng continued, "What does your countdown say? Read the numbers out loud."

Yuan Yaoyao began to read out a series of numbers: "1 day, 8 hours, 12 minutes, 19 seconds, 18 seconds, 17 seconds..."

Lu Heng checked the time, and the countdown was exactly until twelve o'clock tomorrow night.

The countdown was correct; it was unlikely that the young girl would tell such a lie while constantly keeping track of the countdown.

Plus, it was her first time being conscripted, so she probably wouldn't be able to state the exact countdown number accurately.

That meant she truly was conscripted.

Therefore, there was only one remaining possibility—she concealed a Talent with great combat power.

Lu Heng adopted a serious tone and said, "You lied."

At these words,

Yuan Yaoyao's body stiffened, and beside her, Yuan Hecheng looked puzzled and defended his daughter, "Mr. Lu, Yaoyao is very sensible and well-behaved."

Lu Heng fixed his gaze on the young girl's expression, but her head drooped lower and lower.

"There's only a little more than a day left on the countdown. The survival rate for conscripts in the Abyss Battlefield is less than 30%, which means after the countdown ends, there is a 70% chance you won't return, and you'll never see your father again. Are you sure you want to keep lying?"

Yuan Yaoyao's body started to tremble, she pursed her lips, and tears were about to fall.

"Mr. Lu, Yaoyao is very sensible, she wouldn't lie," Yuan Hecheng continued to defend his daughter.

Lu Heng raised his hand to interrupt him and said, "Let her speak for herself."

Yuan Yaoyao wiped her tears with her hand and nodded in acknowledgment, "There is another Talent on the data, but I think I might have a mental illness."

Yuan Hecheng did not know about this, and he hadn't ever imagined his daughter lying to him, "What's going on?"

Having two initial Talents was extremely rare, it was one in ten thousand.

Lu Heng asked, "What is the other Talent?"

Yuan Yaoyao gripped her skirt with both hands and after a long while, she finally replied, "Mechanical Heart. I can hear the refrigerator and rice cooker at home talking; I'm sure I also have a mental illness."

Hearing this, Yuan Hecheng's expression changed as well, and he helped to clarify, "Yaoyao's mother left us due to mental illness, so..."

Lu Heng raised an eyebrow when he heard it was the Talent "Mechanical Heart."

This Talent was very distinctive, exactly as she described.

Superpower Users with this Talent, it was said, could hear machines speaking. In their eyes, all machinery had "life."

Of course, if one doesn't understand this Talent and only hears the description, it does indeed sound like a mental illness.

After a moment's consideration, Lu Heng explained, "The 'Mechanical Heart' Talent can indeed hear machines speaking; this is normal, not a mental illness. Moreover, this ability is powerful if used correctly."

If it was the Talent "Mechanical Heart," then her conscription wasn't surprising.

The Abyss Battlefield conscripted Superpower Users based on their combat power, Talents, and skills.

In his previous life, someone had proposed a theory that the same Superpower User entering different Abyss Battlefields would have different combat power ratings.

For example, the "Mechanical Heart," if it entered the Evil God's Burial Ground, that Talent's rating would be very low, because there wouldn't be many mechanical units to utilize the Talent.

Conversely, if it entered the Cyber World, then the "Mechanical Heart" would take off, given a very high rating.

This theory had never been confirmed, but Lu Heng thought there was some truth to it.

According to this theory, Yuan Yaoyao was very likely to be conscripted into a world with mechanical units.

If it was a world without machines, then her Talent rating would be very low, not reaching the score required for conscription.

Therefore, the Abyss Battlefield that conscripted her could only be a world with a substantial number of mechanical units.

Moreover, according to the lack of news in his previous life about Yuan Hecheng having a daughter, Yuan Yaoyao probably didn't survive the last time.

After all, she was just a ten-year-old girl and had no other survival skills; surviving in the Abyss World was truly difficult.

Seeing this little girl, Su Muyu felt very sorry for her and took the initiative, "Let's help her."

Lu Heng picked up the Crystal Core list and said, "Let's see if there are any suitable Skill Crystal Cores. By the way, how many Skill Slots?"

Yuan Yaoyao stretched out three fingers, "Three."

"You aren't lying this time, right?" Lu Heng teased.

"I'm not lying. I... earlier..." Yuan Yaoyao puffed out her cheeks, wanting to explain.

"Brother Lu is just teasing you. Behave," Yuan Hecheng quickly started flipping through the Crystal Core list.

All he wanted now was to prepare a few life-saving Skills for his daughter. He asked for nothing else but for his daughter to be able to survive and return from the Abyss World.