“As long as you say ‘exit system’, you can leave.” After Shadow gave the answer, he heard Ethan Brooks’s voice saying ‘exit system’.

Shadow looked at the spot where Ethan Brooks had left and muttered to himself, “Facing pressure, he doesn’t get confused. Facing temptation, he can still keep a clear mind. But I don’t understand—why did he choose not to draw a card at first, but then drew one anyway? I’ll ask next time.”

Ethan Brooks exited the system, and the scene before his eyes returned to the messy old house. His dad, Ethan Bruce, came out of the bathroom wearing big shorts and bare-chested, saying, “Go to bed early. You’ll be starting school in a few days. I’m heading to the park to play some chess with a few old guys. I heard they’re all playing for stakes now.”

Ethan Brooks ignored his dad going downstairs and looked down at the ‘goji berry’ in his hand, deciding to give it a try.

Boil water, find a thermos cup, brew the ‘goji berry’.

After a series of steps, the ‘goji berry’ turned the water in the thermos cup red.

Ethan Brooks used the air cooler to cool the water down so it wasn’t too hot to drink, and then began his ‘medicine trial’.

The red ‘goji berry’ water, carrying a hint of warmth, entered Ethan Brooks’s body. The room, which had felt a bit hot, now seemed less so because of the goji berry water, and then a coolness spread through his internal organs.

This coolness made Ethan Brooks’s whole body feel refreshed, and then… there was an urge from his lower body, which quickly sent him rushing to the bathroom.

When he left the bathroom again, Ethan Brooks felt especially clear-headed and refreshed, as if his invisible internal organs had undergone a thorough cleaning, and the filth that had accumulated inside had just been swept away by the goji berry water.

This… actually works? Ethan Brooks looked at the goji berry water in the thermos cup, really wanting to drink another cup right away, but recalling the soul-stirring scene in the bathroom just now, he figured if it happened again… he might be completely drained.

“So comfortable! I’ll let the old man try some later.” Ethan Brooks sprawled out on the bed, enjoying the refreshing feeling in his internal organs, and also feeling a mosquito feasting on his face.

Slap.

Ethan Brooks instinctively slapped his own face. The bloodsucking mosquito didn’t have time to escape and was instantly sent to the afterlife under his palm. Ethan Brooks suddenly realized that not only did his internal organs feel refreshed, but he also seemed to have become much more sharp-eared and clear-sighted.

From a traditional Chinese medicine perspective, the internal organs are connected to the senses—for example, the liver connects to the eyes…

‘Mission complete: Demon King Task [Eliminate Your Enemy], reward: 1,000 Demon King Points, Dragon Elephant Power.’

Ethan Brooks heard the voice of the Overlord System in his mind and was stunned, thinking: What’s going on? How did I suddenly complete a mission? Did Dad kill someone outside? Because of the father-son connection? So it counts as my achievement?

“Enter system.”

Ethan Brooks muttered softly, and then saw Shadow in his mind projecting a beam of light, replaying over and over the scene of him killing the mosquito just now.

It works like this? That counts too? Ethan Brooks complained inwardly.

Shadow had to reassess Ethan Brooks. This kid is pretty good at exploiting loopholes. Just because there was no time limit on the enemy, he deliberately let a mosquito bite him and then killed it to complete the mission.

Ethan Brooks quickly figured it out. The mosquito came to suck his blood, which definitely counts as an enemy, and killing it counts as eliminating your enemy. So this ‘enemy’ doesn’t necessarily mean a person!

A thousand Demon King Points! Why hold back? Ethan Brooks reached for the magic cards on the offering table. With a thousand Demon King Points, he immediately chose to exchange for a ten-card draw, but this time, not even a glimmer of gold appeared.

What’s going on? Ethan Brooks began to doubt his own judgment. Aren’t the ads on Douyin always saying a ten-card draw guarantees a gold card? There are ten cards here—doesn’t that imply the same rule?

Shadow couldn’t help but sigh at Ethan Brooks’s bad luck. After drawing all ten magic cards, there should at least be some kind of consolation prize.

“Do you wish to receive the Dragon Elephant Power?”

The system’s prompt made Ethan Brooks temporarily forget to reflect on his overly aggressive draws. He quickly replied, ‘Receive’, and immediately felt a warm current enter his body, and the system’s voice sounded in his ears again.

“Acquired Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique, now possesses Level 1 Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique.”

“Dragon Elephant Prajna? A Buddhist technique?” Ethan Brooks looked at Shadow and asked, “Isn’t this the Overlord System? Why are you giving me a monk’s technique as a reward? And it’s a martial arts technique? Don’t you have any xianxia (immortal cultivation) techniques? Like the ‘Great Nurturing Heavenly Demon Sutra’ from ‘牧神记’?”

Shadow knew this was his chance to assert his presence: “If I gave you a demonic cultivation technique, would you be able to protect yourself? In a few days, if people found out you were a demon cultivator, you’d be wiped out immediately.”

Ethan Brooks recalled a famous slogan from King of Glory—‘Develop cautiously, don’t be reckless.’

Chapter 9: On the Importance of Putting Paper in the Bathroom

The cards were drawn, the mission rewards claimed, and Ethan Brooks had no reason to stay in the system space. He immediately chose to exit, ready to study the ‘Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique’ he had just obtained.

Shadow watched Ethan Brooks leave and only then remembered that he had once again forgotten to ask why, after saying he wouldn’t draw cards, he suddenly decided to draw one.