Starting with Proficiency Panel-Chapter 487: See the truth in 2 hours (Leisure new book content)
The body slipped, and he fell onto the bed in a daze for half an hour, only then did he stagger up.
He still had to go to work.
Forcing himself to endure the headache, he took a quick shower, relieving it slightly, then stuffed the paper roll into his pocket and headed out.
While waiting for the bus, Li Qing finally took a breath; the pain had lessened considerably, allowing him to focus on other things.
This was due to excessive mental exhaustion, he better watch the time next time.
Li Qing exhaled deeply, the line he had sketched out in his mind settled clearly within his consciousness, moving distinctly at his will.
Seems pretty easy.
"Mommy, look, that person looks like a panda!"
"Hush, don’t talk! That’s smoky makeup!"
Li Qing snapped back to reality, glanced at the mother and child standing beside him, and the woman pulled the bear child a few steps away when she noticed his gaze.
He pursed his lips and turned to see everyone around secretly eyeing him with peculiar looks. When his gaze swept over them, they all turned their heads aside.
That’s odd, could it be that just because I have bags under my eyes from not sleeping well last night, I’m discriminated against?
When the bus arrived, Li Qing skillfully made his way to the back and sat down in a swoop, then tilted his head and pretended to sleep.
God knows why these old folks crowd the bus early in the morning, making it hard for us young ones.
Oh, I’m not young anymore; from today, I’m officially middle-aged.
Thinking of this made Li Qing a bit sad; goodness, he still hasn’t accomplished anything, somewhat disappointed with his life.
He instinctively touched the paper roll in his arms, showing a trace of excitement.
He hadn’t settled his mood since last night.
After eight stops, Li Qing slightly recovered his energy, and he braced himself to get off the bus, walking a few hundred meters to wait for the elevator at the company building.
Silently observing the people waiting for the elevator, if it were not for yesterday’s encounter, he would be just like these people many years later, being held captive by life, doing meaningless work day in and day out. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦
Though Li Qing knew many people were in the same situation as he was, unwilling yet choked by life.
There’s just one month until the school semesters start.
"Hey Brother Qing, what are you daydreaming about?"
A crisp voice came from the side, pulling Li Qing back to reality. He turned his head and saw the person coming, smiling and greeting: "Morning, Luo Rui."
This was the company’s newly hired finance graduate. A lively young girl often comes to chat or ask him for help.
This requires a mention of Li Qing’s current work. He was doing system hardware and software maintenance for a pharmaceutical company. Although not as technically demanding as a software developer, it was an indispensable role once the company grew.
He managed everything from network setup, server maintenance, daily office hardware and software to the company’s system informatization.
This role is one of those one carrot, one pit jobs; if the company doesn’t undergo huge changes and if personal expectations aren’t too high, it seems you can see it till the end.
"Morning!"
Luo Rui showed a sweet smile, then raised her hand, saying: "I bought two buns, want one?"
"Thanks, I already ate."
Luo Rui hesitated seeing Li Qing’s face: "Brother Qing, when did you get so avant-garde, putting on smoky makeup?"
Smoky makeup?
Li Qing instinctively touched his eye sockets: "Is it that bad? I didn’t sleep well last night..."
"Stayed up last night?"
Luo Rui showed a trace of an ambiguous smile: "Was it..."
Li Qing chuckled silently: "What on earth is your little head thinking? Last night... uh, I got too absorbed in studying and didn’t realize it until dawn."
Li Qing checked his phone; it was nine fifteen, fifteen minutes left.
Luo Rui scrunched her little face: "Seriously."
She thought there might be some gossip to listen to; she’d been at the company for half a year now, and though Li Qing liked joking around with colleagues, he never had a girlfriend.
Listening to Luo Rui chattering beside him about the troubles she encountered at work yesterday, which caused her to work overtime until seven, and then asking Li Qing to check her office computer and more.
Li Qing casually agreed while recalling the first step he practiced last night in "Basic Meditation Technique."
Once in the elevator and clocked in at the company, Li Qing went directly to his server office space, flopping onto his chair.
That’s right; thanks to the company’s local server setup, his workstation was moved into a small partition inside the server room—a single-person, single-room. Though the server noise was incessant, it was nicely soundproofed, so hardly any noise could be heard.
After performing daily system maintenance, ensuring no server anomalies, and solving a few minor computer issues for colleagues, he slumped over his workstation, holding a mirror and staring at himself.
Seeing himself through the mirror made his expression dazed at first glance.
In the mirror, he wore glasses, his face pale terrifyingly, and his eyes blackened like he had smeared black smoky makeup—a picture of extreme exhaustion.
So much so that many colleagues chuckled when seeing him go out to solve problems earlier.
"Consuming that much Spirit?"
Li Qing blinked, finally setting the mirror aside. Resting and slacking off all morning, eating and taking a two-hour break revived his Spirit.
Once more, he opened the paper roll, clicked "Magic Origin," and concentrated on reading.
This book explained the basic structure of Magic very clearly; Li Qing judged this book was made for beginners.
Magic originated from so-called Gods, akin to those Western mythological legends. Gods observed all things in the world, turning their acquired insights into a book, thus creating the mysterious Magic Book of "Primordial Magic." Subsequently, humans like Adam and Eve, driven by greed, stole the book, leading to Magic spreading across human society.
But according to those archeologist old Mage scholars, though this legend remained unreliable, it could serve as one piece of evidence.
This legend mentioned many Magic Holy Artifacts existing in the present world.
Another legend described Prometheus seeing humans struggling on the Barbaric Land, and out of compassion, stole fire and shared it, leading humans to gain Extraordinary Power and dive deep, creating a flourishing Magic era that has been passed down to this day...
Li Qing read on with great interest, and unknowingly, it was already six o’clock, time to get off work.
After coming back to reality, Li Qing quickly packed up, clocked out, and left.
Leaving the company, he randomly picked a fast-food restaurant for dinner, then eagerly returned home, set the alarm, and directly lay on the bed to sleep.
