Chapter 47: How High Is Your Potential Growth Value Anyway!?
Translator: Pluto Editor: Tehrn
Going downstairs was indeed a wise choice!
Anxiety, excitement, fear… These emotions burned through her entire body like fire. She had never felt so breathless before, and neither had her heart ever race so fast. Her feet had just touched the floor of the main hall, and Lin Sanjiu did not even have the time to decide on the direction to head, when someone pulled her arm forcefully, leading her into a room.
It was the meeting room where they got the table from.
As she just managed to hide herself, two irate figures appeared in the main hall the very next second. They immediately sped out of the main exit like a violent storm—as the meeting room’s door was blatantly opened, it simply did not cross their minds to take a look. Lin Sanjiu hid behind the door for some time, not daring to even try to catch her breath. She was relieved when she felt sure that the two duoluozhongs were not coming back. Hu Changzai, who was behind her, finally chided her, "Do you want to die! What sort of treasure is worth taking such a large risk? Huh?"
"I... I have no idea…" Lin Sanjiu took a deep breath and her lips curved upward uncontrollably, revealing a narrow dimple at the side of her face. She did not mention the crucial point to him. The moment she laid eyes on that choker, her Keen Senses rang out to her like wailing police sirens, leaving only a single thought in her mind: she must have it!
She took out a[Razor Blade]card. A simple thought flashed in her mind, and a well-crafted metallic choker fell out from the card. Even though the card was part of Lin Sanjiu’s ability, once the card materialized, it was actual, tangible matter. That was the reason it was possible for the Special Item to integrate with her card. Lin Sanjiu quickly caught the choker as the shiny golden orange glow it emitted lit up half her face, "It’s so beautiful!"
She didn’t know what metal the choker was made of, it had a bright, smooth luster, and light radiated from it like water ripples. A bold palette was utilized with its geometrical design, with sun gold color as its primary theme, it was contrasted with a delicate bright pink and a dash of aquamarine blue. Despite the brazen color combination, it was extremely beautiful.
Lin Sanjiu admired it for a while in her hands, then she converted it into a card.
[Pygmalion Choker]
Introduction:
The name of this choker is derived from a famous phenomenon in the psychology field: Pygmalion Effect, otherwise known as "expectancy effect". Just as people would display corresponding behaviors, being subconsciously affected by expectations from others, the wearer of the choker would also be influenced by their companions’ thoughts.
Instructions:
Fasten the choker after wearing. Note: Don’t force it if you have a thick neck. After that, invite your companion to come up with an ability or trait. You will then be able to express the ability or trait described by your companion.
Conditions to Note:
1. Only positive mental constructs will work. For example, "he can fly" is permissible whereas "he will sink in water" will not work.
2. Each mental construct can only be realized once. The ability or trait will last for 5 mins. It requires a 24hr recharge period after each use.
3. After a mental construct has been utilized, the strength of the exhibited ability is restricted by the wearer’s Potential Growth Value. A person who has a Potential Growth Value of only 5, can only elevate about 30cm off the ground even if he could fly. Nobody can use this item to take over the universe. (Please take note the numbers used are only for reference).
4. Once a wearer puts on the choker, it cannot be removed unless the choker is destroyed by brute force. The only other method to retrieve the choker is to chop off the wearer’s head. So, please take good care of your own head.
5. There are no limitations on the ways you can obtain companions and get them to provide you with their ideas.
Hint about spawning spots: This choker appears in locations where team battles occur.
As the card provided quite a lot of details, Lin Sanjiu had to swipe upward twice before she could reach the end of the content. Hu Changzai, who stood just beside Lin Sanjiu, tried to look away at first to avoid arousing her suspicion toward him. However, he finally couldn’t withstand his itching curiosity, so he secretly took a few glances at her card. After Lin Sanjiu had finished reading the card, she converted it back to the choker. Hu Changzai immediately urged, "Quick! Wear it on and let me help you test it out! I used to love watching superhero films!"
Seeing his uncommon, almost heaven-defying treasure, he assumed that it belonged to Lin Sanjiu without a doubt. Lin Sanjiu smiled at him without feeling the need to reject his assumption out of courtesy. After all, she risked her life to obtain the item. She could not control the excitement she felt, her fingers trembled slightly as she wore the choker.
"Click!" The choker’s metal clasp snapped together perfectly. She touched the moderately cold choker which was now around her neck, then she grinned at Hu Changzai, "Okay, what sort of ability will you give me…"
Before she could finish her sentence, there was a loud boom! A strong wind washed over them as they were buffeted by a rain of sawdust. They took a few steps back and turned to look. They discovered that the meeting room’s door had been obliterated. Amidst the cloud of sawdust in the air, they could see a large figure… it belonged to one of the previous duoluozhongs.
Compared to the average duoluozhong, it had an extremely hard mouthpart which was at
least one segment longer. With a single attack, the wooden door and even a portion of the wall disappeared, leaving only a large, serrated hole. The duoluozhong’s buzzing voice raised the goosebumps on their skins, "Great! I found you first!"
Lin Sanjiu stared at it and went into a fighting position.
"Take that thing off your neck, and I’ll grant you a quick death." Unexpectedly, the duoluozhong did not run away in fear even after seeing the choker; instead, it let out a cruel laugh. Lin Sanjiu suddenly thought of a possibility when she remembered what Marcie told her before. When people obtain a special item, they usually try to get hints about its usage from the item itself, just like the Ability Polishing Agent. If there were no hints, one had to try to activate it. Once the item has been used once, the user should be able to figure out its effect. However, for items that looked too dangerous or when the user had no clue on how to activate the item, the owner might not even be able to guess the name of the item… Likewise, she was sure that nobody could guess the crux to using this Pygmalion Choker was actually dependent on one’s companion. Thus, it was apparent to her that the duoluozhong in front of them had no idea about the effects of the item.
"Hey, Hu Changzai. Before this New World descended, what was the last superhero movie
that you watched?" Lin Sanjiu asked, unruffled by the situation.
A knowing smile appeared on Hu Changzai’s face. He wiped off the bloodstain and dust on
her spectacles and said, smiling, "Iron man."
"Okay, let’s test it out!" Lin Sanjiu beamed showing her dimple.
The duoluozhong had a faint inkling that things were about to get nasty. It swung its mouthpart, getting ready to charge forward. It saw Lin Sanjiu’s fist glow with a white light. Suddenly, he felt a blast of air currents like that of a tornado, accompanied by an explosive boom, and the blast hit him.
The duoluozhong did not even have the chance to attack. It disintegrated into fine dust just as with half the building. The remaining half of the building wobbled for a few moments as if it were drunk. Then, a few broken bricks, concrete pieces, and sawdust fell successively...
Hu Changzai sat on the ground, startled by the blast, he looked at the back of the woman in front of him. He only regained his senses after some time, muttering, "How… how high is your Potential Growth Value!?"