22: idea

Hearing the latter half of the system's reply, Ning Ruogong slowly came to his senses. A second ago, he was still asleep when there were two of him, but now, the situation should be different.

"Are you there?" he asked, knowing no one would answer, but he felt a little melancholic when he didn't get a reply.

"Who am I?" he thought. "Am I Ning A or Ning B?" He tried to think. It didn't take him long to figure out the answer. He was neither Ning A nor Ning B.

The two halves were originally himself, so when they returned, it was still himself. Thanks to his brain's multitasking ability, he realized this not long after.

"So I got Synchronized Thinking?" he wondered. Although he could feel himself thinking very fast, he still wanted visual proof. "Status."

"[Status

Name: Ning Ruogong

Energy: 468

Skill: Synchronized Thinking

]"

It was right there. So, this also counts as a skill, huh? he thought.

He looked around at the fish to see if it was still swimming. The fish hadn't stopped at all. 'Hey, System. How long was I asleep this time?' he asked.

<You were unconscious for 13 days, 11 hours, and 21 minutes>

"Oh! That's not as long as I thought. Well, it's time to do my re-merging thing. Let me think of some things to buy from the Shop." "Hmm.. I certainly want to fly and do all sorts of cultivator things, but I need to figure out how to escape from here first. Let's see what ways there are to get out of the sea."

Ning Ruogong began to brainstorm what he could buy from the Shop to escape the deep sea.

"Hmm... how about control? That would certainly work," he thought. "Ah, but the same problem is what do I do once I control it. I won't be able to get back to land that way. Still, let's see how much it costs."

"Hey, System. How much does it cost to control this fish?" he asked.

<Controlling a fish costs 2000 Energy per minute>

"Huh? Per minute? You sell by the minute too? Can I get a bulk discount then?" he asked jokingly.

<Permanently unlocking 'Fish Control' will cost 26,700,000 Energy> "What? Why is it so expensive?" He was stunned. That was equivalent to 13,000 minutes of controlling this fish. He didn't need that much time to reach land and leave.

"Why is it so expensive? Is it because it's permanent?" he asked.

<Permanent unlocks increase cost>

<Fish Control allows you to control all fish you see>

"Oh, that's actually a pretty good ability. Should I use the temporary version?" he began to wonder. However, instead of considering what the temporary version could do, he started to think about what he would do once he had it.

"Where would I even go? I don't know the map, nor do I know the directions of the sea. So controlling a fish isn't a good idea," he thought.

"Hmm... a map... Hey, System. Can you give me a map of this planet?" he asked.

<There are 5 types of maps>

<Basic: Costs 150,000 Energy>

<Beginner: 1,500,000 Energy>

<Intermediate: 15,000,000 Energy>

<Advanced: 150,000,000 Energy>

<Omniscient: 1,500,000,000 Energy> "Woah! That's a lot. Why are there five types?" Ning Ruogong asked.

<Maps fall under the knowledge category>

<Knowledge products are sold based on the amount of information they provide>

"I see. Goodness, even the Intermediate Map costs more than all I've ever made. I guess I'll have to start with the Basic Map. Add Basic Map to auto-buy list," he commanded the System.

<Confirmed. 'Basic Map' has been added to the auto-buy list>

<Do you want to set the order of the list?>

"Only ask me this when there are multiple items on the list," Ning Ruogong said, a little annoyed.

<Confirmed>

"Let's see what other ways I can get out of here... Hmm." He thought for a while. Controlling this fish was impossible now. Jumping from one fish to another was also a very inefficient method.

"Can I create a human body? Can I escape? No, right? It would be destroyed in the water. I should save this idea for after I get out of here." he thought.

"Flying. Bad idea," he felt like he was in a rut. His skills and abilities weren't the most creative. What little he knew came from random shows played at the orphanage. He hadn't read as many books as non-orphan children, nor had he had the chance to watch different movies and cartoons.

"Well, if I wasn't an orphan, then a lot of things would be different.

I would have parents. I wouldn't have had such a mediocre childhood. Maybe I would have had a group of friends who would never leave me. Maybe I wouldn't have had to work at that stupid Zoo at 18 to survive. If that had never happened, I probably would never have died, and never would have been teleported to

"—" He suddenly stopped.

"Teleportation. That's it! Teleportation. I should teleport out of here. That way I don't have to think about how to get there, I can just go there," he thought.

"Hey, System. How much does it cost to teleport to a landmass?" he asked.

<Teleportation will consume Energy depending on the distance and target of the teleportation>

"Uh... I should just teleport to the closest location to land. Where is the shortest distance?"

<The closest distance is 1247 kilometers, at a depth of 324 meters, and it is moving

>

"Moving? Oh, right. The fish is moving. It's hard to guess based on that.

How much would it cost to teleport 1500 kilometers away?"

<For this fish, you would need to spend 12,000,000 Energy> He asked, "What do you mean 'this fish'?"

<You can only teleport by making the object you reside in the target of the teleportation>

"Uh... then I'll have to figure something out, this fish might take too much energy to teleport."