5: Let me do it again!

Now, five years have passed.

Su Qingxue has graduated from Ninghai University's support department, reaching professional level thirty. While not top-tier, she is definitely considered excellent among her peers.

Currently, she is at home, diligently preparing for an examination, aiming for a stable civil service position—a secure, iron rice bowl.

Preferably one that doesn't involve fighting monsters on the front lines.

As for Lin Yu, he is still going crazy in that junkyard.

She has already graduated from university, but he hasn't even entered the door of the College Entrance Examination.

They are already people from two different worlds.

Lin Yu has completely degenerated into the lowest shadow of this city, a failure whose very survival is problematic. All he can probably do in this life is muddle along, waiting to die.

She gently patted Lin Yao's back, her movements tender, but her mind was exceptionally clear.

The reason she maintained her "best friend" and "good sister" relationship with Lin Yao naturally had her own considerations.

Lin Yu's talent was a fact.

Such genes might be hereditary.

As long as Lin Yao didn't fall into the same incurable madness as her brother, her future achievements would likely not be low.

Investing in a future powerhouse in advance was a sure-win business.

At this moment, she looked at the blurry container in the distance, a helpless, soft laugh remaining in her heart.

She took Lin Yao's hand and gently comforted her, "Alright, stop crying. He's not worth it."

"But... he's my brother..." Lin Yao choked out.

"He's only your biological brother." Su Qingxue's tone was calm, yet carried an undeniable sense of reality. "Look at what he's doing now—does he act like a brother at all? He'll only drag you down, drag down Uncle and Auntie."

She took a tissue from her bag and handed it to Lin Yao.

"Wipe your face, it's all tear-streaked."

"Your most important task now isn't to worry about him, but to take care of yourself. The Professional Awakening Ceremony is coming soon, and that's what will decide your entire life."

Su Qingxue's words were like a bucket of cold water, dousing Lin Yao's confused heart.

Yes, her own future.

She couldn't go on like this anymore.

"Sister Qingxue, I..."

"I know you're sad." Su Qingxue interrupted her. "But people need to look forward. You can't live in his shadow your whole life. You need to have your own path, your own life."

She took Lin Yao's wrist.

"Let's go, I'll take you home. It's dirty and stinky here, not a place you should be."

Su Qingxue led the distraught Lin Yao out of the factory area.

A white new energy car was parked by the road, its body sparkling clean, a stark contrast to the surrounding environment.

Su Qingxue pressed the key, and the car lights flashed.

She skillfully opened the passenger door, helped Lin Yao in, and thoughtfully buckled her seatbelt.

Sitting in the driver's seat, she started the car.

The warm air conditioning dispersed the chill and stench from outside the car.

The car smoothly drove out of the abandoned area, leaving the rusty container and the stubborn figure inside far behind.

Su Qingxue glanced at Lin Yao's pale profile in the rearview mirror, calculating in her mind.

Once Lin Yao awakened her profession, if her talent was good, she could use her family's connections to help her secure some good resources.

This favor would eventually come in handy.

As for Lin Yu... that name could now be completely struck from her life plan.

The car merged into the city's traffic, and neon lights flickered across Lin Yao's face through the window.

She leaned against the window, watching the rapidly receding streetscape outside, and tears silently fell once more.

Su Qingxue didn't try to persuade her again.

Some things, one needs to figure out on their own.

She believed Lin Yao was a smart girl who would eventually understand that abandoning a burden that had lost its value was the wisest choice.

The sound of the car engine gradually faded, finally disappearing completely into the cluttered background noise of the factory area. Lin Yu didn't look back; he just stood silently until the last trace of external commotion quieted down.

He turned and walked back into the rusty container.

He closed the iron door, isolating everything outside.

Wasted a few minutes?

He forgot.

Perhaps it was these few minutes that would make him miss something.

He walked to the simple workbench made of wooden planks in the corner and sat down.

On the workbench, pebbles, sand, and scrap metal were scattered. He casually picked up A Small Pebble the size of a pigeon's egg and held it in his palm.

A faint but pure energy flowed from his body, down his arm, into his palm, enveloping the unremarkable pebble.

Five seconds later, the pebble disintegrated into specks of light, and a gray card quietly formed, falling before him.

【A Small Pebble】

Then, he picked up a second pebble.

Repeat.

The third.

Repeat.

His movements were mechanical, precise, without any superfluous steps. Like a programmed production line, he steadily produced these worthless discards.

One minute, twelve cards.

One hour, seven hundred twenty cards.

Time in his world was cut into units of "cards."

He didn't know how long it had been when, as he was about to create the next card, the thousands of 【A Small Pebble】 cards in the cardboard box at his feet suddenly began to tremble slightly.

A buzzing resonance echoed within the cramped container.

Today's quantity was still far from the limit.

The effect of the potion had worn off.

Lin Yu stopped what he was doing and pulled out a small brown medicine bottle from under the workbench. He unscrewed the cap and drank the last bit of light blue liquid inside.

He casually tossed the bottle into the corner, where hundreds of identical empty bottles were already piled up.

This was the last bottle.

As the potion went down, a cool sensation spread from his esophagus to his limbs and finally into his brain. The dizziness and stinging pain caused by excessive mental exertion were quickly smoothed away.

The cards in the cardboard box at his feet also stopped trembling and became stable again.

He picked up a pebble again and continued making cards.

The rising and setting of the sun outside had nothing to do with him.

He only knew that he had to prepare enough "fuel" for the day before midnight.

When the numbers on the old electronic clock on the wall jumped from 23:59 to 00:00, a translucent panel, visible only to him, appeared in the air before him.

【Professional Skill Refreshed】

Lin Yu stopped his movements.

On the panel, two skill icons lit up simultaneously.

【Card Innovation】: Delete X cards, choose one to obtain from X+1 random cards. (Limited once daily)

【Mirror Copy】: Obtain a temporary copy of an already owned card. (Limited once daily)

This was the root of all his mad behavior.

Possessing the 【Card Innovation】 skill.

He could produce all theoretically existing cards in this world at the lowest cost.