20: Real system

“Oh, I see the light again,” Ning A said, looking at the water outside.

“Hmm… Oh, is it time again?” Ning B couldn't help but wonder when he saw the light from above starting to grow brighter.

Ning A said, “It will do it again.”

The fish they were inside suddenly spewed out a large stream of blood-red liquid from its head, and the red liquid flowed onto the surface of the water above, dyeing the entire surface red.

Although the liquid was not blood, it smelled exactly like blood, attracting many fish and birds. The giant fish would wait for a while until the fish gathered, and once there were enough fish, it would immediately leap out of the water and devour all living creatures in the entire area.

The Ning Couple felt the frolicking of various fish inside the giant fish's belly, but they weren't sad at all; instead, they were quite happy. With so many fish inside the giant fish's belly, it meant more energy for them.

Although the giant fish's body did not have as much energy as they had hoped, it could still generate about 100,000 energy per day.

Now, they had been inside the giant fish for over a month, roaming the seabed, watching the giant fish kill and eat everything in its path.

The Ning Couple was amazed by the diversity of marine life. And their numbers were incredibly large. Even after witnessing so much death and predation, they were still surprised by the number of fish and other aquatic animals they could see every hour.

“How much longer?” Ning B asked impatiently.

“It should be any time now,” Ning A said calmly.

“Ah… I can't wait, Status,” Ning B shouted.

[Status, Energy: 9,986,148, Mission: Collect 13,852 more energy, Reward: You have unlocked the Shop, Shop: Locked]

After a month inside the giant fish, they had almost unlocked the Shop. In a little while, they would be able to unlock it.

“Oh my goodness, we still need almost fourteen thousand energy,” Ning B said, feeling depressed.

“Yes, but the fish just ate its fill, so it can replenish energy now. Just wait and see,” Ning A said.

As time passed, they grew increasingly anxious about everything. The longer time elapsed, the slower everything seemed to progress.

“How much longer?” Ning B was getting a little anxious.

Before Ning A could answer, a prompt sounded in his mind.

<Congratulations>

<Energy System is changing>

<Current state set as Checkpoint>

<Use 10,000,000 energy to unlock Shop>

<Please wait>

<Please wait>

<Please wait>

<Unlock successful>

<Shop is permanently unlocked>

The Ning Couple was speechless for a moment, not knowing what to say. When he could speak, Ning A said,

“Uh… Status.”

[Status, Name: Ning Ruogong, Energy: 0, Skills: None]

“What?!” The Ning Couple was extremely surprised and confused. Different information was sent to them simultaneously, making it impossible for them to process.

“What happened?” They tried to understand what had just occurred, but they couldn't get any answers. 0 energy? System change? Skills? Permanently unlocked? Checkpoint? Their understanding couldn't keep up with the speed at which questions flashed through their minds.

The two calmed down slightly and began to address the various issues head-on, while Ning A began to ask the system various questions.

“System, why do I have no energy?” he asked.

<All collected energy has been consumed to unlock the Shop>

<Please gather energy again>

“Then, if I have no energy, how can I still feel, touch, smell, and perceive various different things?” he asked.

<You, before exhausting all energy, were saved as your Checkpoint>

<This means, if you lose energy, you will not lose the unlock>

<All unlocks you made before unlocking the Shop are now permanently unlocked>

Upon hearing this, the Ning Couple was overjoyed. They had suffered in the forest before; after using Parasitism on the wolf, it consumed a lot of their stamina, and the Parasitism skill was locked, requiring them to wait until their stamina recovered to a certain level and exceeded the unlock level before they could use it.

Now, even if their stamina was 0, they didn't have to worry about losing their minds and stamina. This was truly an amazing gift from the system.

“So, why did the system change?” Ning B asked.

<You have passed the initial phase of the system, during which your goal was to unlock the Shop>

<Now, the true system has been revealed to you>

“True system? So, all the system information we knew before was fake?” Ning B looked at the system's answer with a bewildered expression.

<No>

<The previous system was a tutorial designed to teach you how the system works>

<Now that the Shop is unlocked, you will see the true power of the system>

The Ning Couple fell silent. The true system was finally going to appear? Although they didn't understand what this meant, they were still a little excited.

“Then what about the missions? How were they replaced by skills?” Ning A asked.

<Missions were the primary method to teach you how to collect energy>

<Now that you know, these missions are no longer needed>

<Skills are techniques and abilities you purchase from the Shop>

“Ah? Skills and abilities can both be bought in the Shop?” Ning A asked in surprise.

“Wait! Are they superpowers? Can I get superpowers using the Shop?” Ning B asked.

<Yes>

“Oh my goodness,” Ning A exclaimed after hearing this. If he could also fly and fight like those cultivators, then he would truly be incredibly happy in the future.

“Okay, then tell me now, what can be bought in the Shop?” Ning B asked, and the system simply replied,

<Nothing>