Soul Patch

Chapter 15 Who Attacked Me?

After being bound to the system, there were no more system tests, and Wenjie lived a comfortable life.

Going to work, getting off work, eating, sleeping...

One day, Wenjie clocked in and strolled home slowly in the sunset.

He stopped as he passed by the ancient trees in the park.

He clearly remembered that rainy night when the ancient tree was struck by lightning and caught fire!

But the ancient tree is standing here perfectly fine now... Could it be that I was seeing things? Was I hallucinating because I was struck by lightning?

According to the elderly people in the park, this ancient tree is very old.

Both urban planning efforts aimed to convert this area into commercial land, but the park has been preserved to this day because of this ancient tree.

Wenjie reached out and touched the cracked, rough trunk of the ancient tree. The trunk was really thick; it was probably too thick for the three of them to even wrap their arms around it.

A red ribbon was tied to the tree trunk, and the bottom of the ribbon was painted white, probably to prevent insects and ants from biting and damaging it.

The ancient tree has endured thousands of years of vicissitudes without being harmed by natural disasters or man-made calamities. On the contrary, it has become more lush and prosperous. How could those ants, insects, and birds possibly shake it?

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the green leaves of a tree crimson with gold edges. A gentle breeze blew, and the leaves swayed in the wind like a tree full of prayer scrolls.

At this moment, system information flashed before my eyes:

[Start System]

[Accept system-assigned tasks?]

【no】

Wenjie refused the system task.

[Warning: If you refuse to complete the system-assigned task three times, some system functions will be locked, including but not limited to the inability to repair personal records and the increase of unknown errors.]

Then what else should he choose?

【accept】

[Should I retrieve task-related data?]

【Yes】

As soon as Wenjie entered the apartment building's hallway, the system entered a new interface:

[System Task: A. Beginner Difficulty; B. Intermediate Difficulty; C. Advanced Difficulty]

[Random rewards for completing beginner-level tasks: Thinking skills/IQ/EQ/Skills]

[Random reward for completing intermediate difficulty missions: Patch type]

[Random Rewards for Completing Advanced Difficulty Missions: System Function]

[Including but not limited to identity invocation, plug-ins, scenario applications, timeline/spatial axis extension, personality modeling and analysis, system big data invocation, etc.]

Having completed the system test, he assumed the subsequent tasks would be similar to the test.

But I didn't expect the system to have so many tricks up its sleeve. While completing the test questions, I came across the patch type and learned that it could be surprisingly effective in critical situations.

But when he saw the words "timeline," his eyes lit up instantly.

Now we can only reenact the events based on the time points provided by the target.

If the timeline is extended, is it possible to return to any time and space he specifies?

For example, the day his father had the accident?

cough cough cough

A brilliant idea popped into his head, startling him so much that he choked on his saliva and coughed violently. Could the timeline extension be bidirectional?

Not only can you go back to the past, but you can also reach the future?

future?

Wouldn't that mean you could predict what's going to happen? Wenjie slapped his thigh. Why would he need to worry about the whims of some bureau? He could just buy a lottery ticket and become a millionaire in no time! Wenjie fantasized about the high-difficulty task—the timeline reward.

Then... do you want to try it?

I don't know how difficult it will be, but if it's slightly harder than a test question, I guess I can handle it...

[Default selection: A, Beginner Difficulty]

Depend on!

Wen Jieguang's eyes turned red with envy as he stared at the timeline, forgetting just how domineering the system was.

[Please select patch type: A. Persuasion type B. Intimidation type C. Punitive type D. Violent type]

【D. Violent Type】

What's there to hesitate about? Violence is the best option; it allows you to protect yourself when you retreat and save others when you advance.

Wenjie felt he had mastered the Soul Patch system.

I don't know where he got his confidence from!

—Testing the waters with a new mission—

The system instantly switched scenes: a vibrant spring park landscape unfolded before Wenjie's eyes, with green willows swaying along the banks and shimmering blue waters...

Wenjie recognized this place; it was the artificial lake in the wetland park from noon, where he had thrown his backpack.

Right now, Wenjie is standing on a large rock by the artificial lake, directly opposite the suspension bridge.

The suspension bridge spans an artificial lake, and a woman is walking gracefully across it.

Wenjie looked around and saw that the people playing in the park were either hidden by bushes or blocked by the park's facilities.

From his vantage point, it seemed he could only see the woman on the bridge!

Wenjie was almost certain that the woman on the bridge was the target of this mission.

Will she be in danger? For example, what if a serial killer is following her?

Wenjie picked up a piece from beside him, held it in his hand, and ran towards the suspension bridge.

The woman walked to the middle of the bridge, stopped, and leaned against the railing, as if admiring the scenery.

As Wenjie ran, his vision darted around, making it difficult to see clearly. But as he got closer, he suddenly realized he recognized the woman.

Especially the profile of him leaning against the bridge railing, that's something that happened just a few days ago. Where have I seen him before?

The beautiful figure in the middle of the bridge climbed over the railing and jumped off.

All of this happened in an instant.

Uh... Wenjie's thoughts were scattered by fright.

She's going to jump into the river!

No... she's already jumped into the river!

"Help! Someone jumped into the river!"

Wenjie shouted as he ran wildly toward the bridge.

He rushed to the bridge railing and saw the figure struggling and splashing in the artificial lake.

He quickly took off his coat, climbed over the railing, and jumped down.

As I watched the water get closer and closer, I cursed inwardly: I'm terrified of heights!

With a "plop," he plunged into the water, his entire body diving several meters below the surface of the lake.

Wow, that suspension bridge is really high, and that artificial lake is really deep.

The river water was still a bit cold, and Wenjie was enveloped in a chill.

He surfaced and swam toward the spot where the water was churning not far away.

To be honest, he's only a half-baked swimmer.

But today he swam incredibly fast, a speed he never seemed to achieve at the swimming pool before.

It turns out that the system's skill bonus of +1 is really quite effective!

He quickly swam to the location of the woman who had fallen into the water. The water had returned to calm, with only tiny ripples disturbing the surface as he swam.

The person... sank.

He took a deep breath and dived underwater.

Sure enough, the woman was seen slowly descending, her beige dress swaying gently in the water, giving her a somewhat ethereal appearance.

Wenjie quickly moved closer to her, put one arm around her waist, and used the other hand to paddle frantically while kicking and treading water.

Finally, the two people surfaced.

(End of this chapter)