Chapter 58: The Half-Awakened

Stretching out his leg, Kong Zhe wiped away a layer of dust from the floor. As he gazed at what lay beneath, realization dawned—there was no magical array here at all, merely a hexagram traced by a ring of festive colored lights. As for where those lights had come from... one glance around the warehouse revealed heaps of discarded boxes; finding a few bulbs would hardly be difficult. Besides, the girl was the younger sister of Xue Feifei, that mad scientist, constantly exposed to tinkering and gadgets. Naturally, she would be adept at such things.

Kong Zhe couldn’t help but laugh and shook his head; he had actually been fooled by her little tricks for a moment.

“Hm?”

Just then, pain pricked his palm, as if bitten through. He frowned, instinctively loosening his grip. Tuantuan seized the opportunity, wriggled fiercely, and finally broke free, tumbling to the floor. Without time for words, she wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and scrambled to her feet, dashing off.

“Ouch!”

She hadn’t run far before tripping over a bamboo pole.

Then, as if replaying his previous life, the chain reaction began. Two seconds later, half a steel rod hurtled toward Kong Zhe, whistling through the air.

This time, however, Kong Zhe was prepared. Blue light flashed beneath his feet; he leaped backward in a swift retreat.

A moment after he vacated the spot, the steel rod plunged into the floor with a thud, its tail still trembling.

Cold sweat beaded Kong Zhe’s brow as he stared at the steel rod. He was certain—had he remained where he stood, he would have been impaled. The way it fell, the angle, the force, all mirrored the previous life. Was this the inertia of history?

“Ah!” Xiaolei cried out, clearly recalling the scene from the last lifetime when Kong Zhe had been pierced. Only when she saw him standing safe in the distance did she pat her well-developed chest in relief.

Tuantuan had just lifted her head from the ground, startled by the steel rod. But she quickly masked her expression, stood, and pointed at Kong Zhe with a forced laugh. “Not bad, my nemesis—so you managed to dodge my long-planned attack!”

Kong Zhe rolled his eyes; long-planned, indeed—did she think no one saw her surprise just now?

“Even if you dodged this attack, don’t get cocky. I—I haven’t used my full strength yet!” Tuantuan grew annoyed at Kong Zhe’s indifferent expression, pointing and shouting at him.

“Tch!”

Kong Zhe merely snorted, making his disdain plain.

That look truly wounded Tuantuan; she puffed out her cheeks, hot air snorting from her nose, and gave a cold humph before drawing a rod-shaped item and charging at Kong Zhe.

“Take this!”

Watching her approach, Kong Zhe frowned slightly. Though convinced she was a classic case of adolescent delusions, she was still second in Jincheng among awakened ones, having earned at least two silver chests. Who knew if the object in her hand was some special equipment? He’d best be cautious, lest he be caught off guard again.

“Uh…”

But soon Kong Zhe was stupefied. The item she wielded was no weapon at all, but a plain automatic umbrella.

“Ya, hey, ha… Take my poking attack…”

Tuantuan dashed up and, pressing the umbrella’s button, extended it a segment. She began circling Kong Zhe, poking at him incessantly.

---

“Swoosh, umbrella sword… Demon King Smashing Strike…”

Tuantuan lost herself in her imaginary assault. Catching a glimpse of Kong Zhe’s dumbfounded expression, she burst into triumphant laughter. “Hmm-hmm-hmm, scared now, aren’t you? Too frightened to speak… Haha…”

Kong Zhe felt goosebumps rise all over, shivering involuntarily. Watching her imperious act, he struck her head with a hand chop.

“Augh!”

Tuantuan squatted down, pained, unable to laugh any longer, clutching her head with tears in her eyes. She glared at Kong Zhe, aggrieved. “Ugh, that hurts… You bastard, how could you be so cruel!”

“Tuantuan, are you alright?” Xiaolei hurried over to check on her.

“I’m… fine, don’t worry!” Tuantuan clutched her stomach, feigning a blood-spitting gesture. “It’s just three or four broken ribs, nothing major!”

“Huh?” Xiaolei tilted her head in confusion, unable to fathom how a head strike could break ribs.

“My loyal companion, originally I meant to save you, but who knew after all these years his skills would improve so much… Now it’s over—I’m his hostage too.”

“Eh? Then I’m a hostage as well…”

With that, the two girls clung to each other, as if lamenting their impending tragic fate.

Kong Zhe had no time for her antics. Arms crossed, he said, “Hey, kid, let me see your status panel.”

Most questions had been answered, but there were still peculiarities about this brat he couldn’t figure out. For instance, why, as an awakened one, did she qualify for the protection mission? What was that blue flame? Why did her aura surge? He needed to see her panel to find answers.

“Wha… What?” Tuantuan’s eyes widened. She crossed her arms over her chest, defensive. “Isn’t that the same as asking me to strip for you?”

Awakened ones’ panels were strictly private, especially for females, since the panel displayed a personal thumbnail showing current equipment. Without gear, it showed the figure unclothed, so her complaint was not entirely unfounded.

“Tch, what’s there to see on your puny frame?” Kong Zhe sized her up with contempt.

Tuantuan was barely one meter fifty, as flat as a board—anyone would mistake her for a grade-schooler, not a high school student.

“You!” Tuantuan, incensed, leapt up and punched him in the chest.

“No saying I’m short!”

---

Five minutes later, Tuantuan had capitulated. Tears streamed down her face, her head covered in lumps as she lay across Xiaolei’s lap, burying her whole face in Xiaolei’s soft chest, as if only this could ease her misery.

---

Kong Zhe had no time for her. He was now frowning at Tuantuan’s panel.

“A half-awakened? Never heard of that before…”

He muttered to himself.

After a moment, Kong Zhe pieced together her situation.

Tuantuan’s panel showed she was a half-awakened, meaning she possessed both the attributes of an awakened one and the traits of an ordinary person, split evenly between the two. That’s why she qualified for the escort mission.

Her biggest difference from awakened ones was that, though she had a panel, there was no experience bar—she couldn’t level up, forever remaining at level one.

Moreover, she had no profession, no skills, only one innate talent:

Imaginative Demon Flame (Level 1): A mysterious flame that can be shaped at will, enveloping the body and simulating the aura of powerful beings to intimidate enemies. The higher the simulated level, the faster the mana is consumed. Currently, it can simulate up to level fifteen.

This ability looked impressive, but in truth, it was purely for intimidation, with no offensive power whatsoever.

Still, the simulation was so convincing, and Tuantuan’s performance so lifelike, that first-time witnesses could easily be fooled—just as Kong Zhe had been.

He couldn’t quite grasp what this meant; he’d never heard of half-awakened ones in his previous life. Was her awakening incomplete?

Kong Zhe shook his head—perhaps his low status in his former life meant he never learned of such things, just as he hadn’t heard of Su Meiqin’s hidden profession before.

Still, this kid’s talent was remarkable. Kong Zhe was the first to awaken after the apocalypse; Tuantuan followed as Jincheng’s second, earning a silver chest. If not for him, she would have been the city’s first.

Her global ranking was lower, beyond three hundred, so she received no rewards.

Tuantuan awakened about half an hour after him. In those thirty minutes between their awakenings, over three hundred people worldwide had awakened. Kong Zhe could only smile wryly—there was never a shortage of geniuses in this world.

Yet ninety-nine percent of these prodigies would die before they could grow; only those like Su Meiqin, who combined luck, courage, temperament, and talent, could hope to survive and become humanity’s champions.

“Hey, kid, where’s your chest?”

As a half-awakened, Tuantuan had received a chest but couldn’t open it herself. Her silver chest remained untouched in her inventory.

“You!” Tuantuan was furious, pointing at Kong Zhe in despair. “You villain, you’ve seen my panel and now you want to steal my chest! Truly rotten!”

Kong Zhe laughed and shook his head.

“Don’t slander me—I’m not trying to steal it. You can’t open it, right? Give it here, I’ll open it for you!”

He was being truthful. Having understood her situation, Kong Zhe had already decided to make her one of his protected candidates. After all, she was a ready-made awakened one; though she couldn’t level up, her physique alone put her above ordinary people.

Moreover, her special talent was incredibly useful for this mission. It might not fool humans for long, but for magical beasts with low intelligence, who rely on instinct, her simulated aura would terrify them. When Tuantuan used her ability, most beasts would turn tail and flee.

In a sense, Tuantuan was even more suited for this mission than Xiaolei.