Shadow Hack Chapter 3: Opportunity For Advancement

Chapter 3: Opportunity For Advancement
Translator: Mercurial Editor: TheRealSeal
"Flux energy, do I really have the hope of awakening the flux energy?"
Signs of tears appeared in his eye at this moment.
Without flux energy, he would have forever remained an ordinary, inferior person. His future generations would also remain ordinary and the cycle would continue. Every commoner wanted to break free from this cycle, but the chances of being able to succeed were almost zero.
However, it wasn’t like there were absolutely no chances. For every one thousand people, if there were two or three who managed to awaken flux energy, it would have already been considered as a very high percentage and a great fortune.
Apart from this, if one has immense wealth or manages to get the assistance of someone influential, then that person could obtain a dimensional crystal, which was priced extremely high, and use its power to try to awaken flux energy. However, if the awakening fails, then the cycle of inferiority would continue again.
Only those, whose previous generations or parents have awakened the formidable flux energy, were the truly fortunate ones, the proud sons and daughters of heaven. They were the only ones who enjoyed the strongest innate bloodline genes carrying flux energy and so it was easiest for them to awaken it. Although this was a great benefit, it had no relation to Li Yunmu, not even a speck of relation.
Because both his parents as well as his previous generations were all ordinary people. Fortunately, the heavens were not unjust and didn't caused them to rot in the lowest rung of society feeling hopelessness and despair. Since the higher dimensional force was present everywhere in the world, everyone was born with a flux energy seed within their body.
As long as they experience some miracle or their family possesses sufficient wealth, then there was a faint chance of being able to change their fate and provide hope to their family’s descendants. And now, Li Yunmu had the opportunity to cash in on that chance.
He had only gained 1 experience point and the result was that the threshold of awakening was shaken, but since it was only 1 experience point, the threshold was loosened a little and he hasn’t awakened completely yet. Presently, he could only loosen the threshold by that much, but what if he obtained even more experience points, what happens then?
10 points, 100 points....
While Li Yunmu was getting more and more excited, from outside his room, the sound of his mom’s voice penetrated into the room:
"You brat, the meal is on the table, what time do you think it already is and you still have the mood to play games."
"Coming coming."
Li Yunmu excitedly replied, agreeing in a loud voice; not long after, within a comfortable small dining hall, the table was filled with three meat and two vegetable dishes and one soup.
"So sumptuous? What’s the occasion today?"
Li Yunmu didn’t wash his hand before quickly grabbing a sweet and sour pork chop and shoved it in his mouth. He loudly said in unclear voice:
"So good, so good."
Three meat and two vegetable dishes, this was quite normal in families that were wealthy, but normally, ordinary families didn’t dare to be so extravagant. Although in the dimensional age the land under human’s control was much greater compared to the dark ages, in the countryside areas, vast stretches of land were still occupied by variation beasts and dimensional beasts.
Thus, such a sumptuous evening meal would have cost at least 30 Fourth-Dimensional coins. At the slums, this amount was sufficient for the poor people to survive for a whole month; even in an ordinary household, three meat and two vegetable dishes were still considered quite extravagant.
"Naturally it is a happy occasion. Just now, your father sent a news that a few days ago, he was formally appointed as the camp captain when the camp isn’t moving."
His mom, He Jie, said unable to contain her happiness.
"Good news, this is really great news."
Li Yunmu’s brows rose because of excitement, great news was coming in wave after wave. Today was simply the most fortunate day of his life.
Until today, his father had been the deputy in the squad, but now, after being promoted, he would be a person with real, genuine authority. Although he cannot be compared to a government official, but within the army, he would have great authority.
"Good, but let’s not speak of your dad’s matter for now. The important thing is your exams which happened a few days ago, how did they go?"
He Jie wasn’t that easy to deal with, changing the subject, she inquired about his high school exams from a few days ago.
"Hey, mom, can’t we leave this disappointing matter for another time, it’s not like you don’t know how your son would perform, yet you still ask how it went, why not just let nature take its course."
Li Yunmu’s mood dampened after hearing about his exams, he didn’t want to talk about the matters of exams as he didn’t expect anything from them.
In this new age, an ordinary person has three routes that they could take.
The first route was following the same structure of society as was done before the dark ages. From primary school to middle school then going on to higher education. Normally, the lowest rung people would undergo education in a primary school for five years since it was free.
Afterwards, they would go out into the real world and seek a livelihood. Because of the tuition fee for middle school, these poor people couldn’t afford it, so their knowledge was limited and they could only take on the lowest and hardship filled jobs like janitors and other jobs like that.
For those people whose family’s condition was slightly better, they would continue to middle school. Those who graduate from middle school formed the most basic layer of the society. After their graduation, their lives were somewhat better than those unskilled laborers and they were accepted in the service industry and so on.
And finally, were people like Li Yunmu, whose background was slightly well to do. They had even more choices and could continue on to higher education after graduating from middle school. They would generally take up jobs in logistics related to the army and government. Regardless of the income they get, their positions were more honorable compared to the previous two.
But those who walk this road were bound to not have many accomplishments in future, all of them would have to work as dispensable civilian jobs within the city, with no great achievements, they could only take on the lowest rung jobs in society.
Originally, with Li Yunmu’s talent, in the future, at most he would be working as a logistics worker within the army and government, but now, he was clear that perhaps with the Super Shadow Hack System, he could possibly change his destiny.
The second route was to study in a military school to become ordinary soldiers. The treatment and salary of frontline soldiers were pretty good, but the probability of dying and losing one’s life was equally great. In today’s world, with variation beasts and dimensional beasts running amuck in the wild, not just one person, but the whole unit might have bad luck and get wiped out completely.
His dad, Li Zhongmin, had indeed walked this road. In addition, because he had produced a trace of flux energy, he could be considered to have taken the first step of flux energy awakening. Therefore, his dad entered the War God troops and his position was raised even higher compared to normal soldiers.
The third route was becoming a follower of a fluxer, taking the road of becoming a subordinate. Their treatment was even better compared to government soldiers and their position developed according to their master’s circumstances. They can even receive assistance from the fluxer and obtain dimensional crystals, thus greatly increasing the probability of awakening and turning into a genuine flux disciple.
However, there was a rigid condition that the person must attain at least half threshold of complete awakening. Otherwise, which fluxer would take a loser as a follower. Thus, Li Yunmu didn’t think about it, until now, he wouldn’t even dare to think about becoming a follower of a fluxer.
Naturally, there was a fourth route, but this path could only be said to be an extravagant hope for the common people, that was to genuinely awaken flux energy.
As for the routes that Li Yunmu could walk, he had two options, one was to become ordinary logistics staff, the other was to use his dad’s connection and enter the army and become a soldier.
He was not very good at former, he didn’t have sufficient assurance for latter, after all, it’s not like everyone who desires to enter the army can get into the army. With the intense competition and Li Yunmu’s family background, he didn’t have complete assurance.
"I knew this would happen. Fortunately, your father and I both didn’t have any great expectations for you. These few years, we have saved some money. Tomorrow, I will make a call to your father, asking him to use this money to create better relations with his old comrades and ask them for help."
His mother lightly sighed, but soon smiled again:
"Good, your path has already been arranged for you. Now, if your grades are not good then they are not good, eat quickly or the food will get cold."
"That’s great!"
Li Yunmu vaguely replied with his mouth filled, but a trace of emotions stirred in his heart. Perhaps he can’t compare with those proud sons and daughters of heavens, but he was already really fortunate to be born in this family in this age.
He silently swore to return to his room as soon as possible and seize every moment to kill waves of ants and caterpillars, maybe he could absorb even more experience, maybe he could even completely awaken his flux energy after gaining more experience. Even if he could only reach half awakening, then he could at least become a follower of a formidable person, which was also good.
However, at this moment, He Jie’s stellarcomm lit up. By the time, his mother completed her call, the expressions on her face had turned bad.
"Mom, what happened?"
Li Yunmu asked anxiously.
This era’s calling were quite costly. Ordinary families can use the stellarcomms for communication, but this time his mom had accepted the call, surely it must have been from his dad.
For both mother and son, their biggest fear was receiving Li Zhongmin’s message, not for any other reason, fearing that he may have met with some accident.
As someone who was stationed at the frontlines every day of the year, every year, he would have to face several attacks by dimensional beasts or variation beasts, they would be fortunate if they only had to face a small tide of beasts, but all of them dreaded to encounter an irresistible tide of formidable beasts, which could possibly annihilate the whole unit.
"There’s no problem, thank god that your father survived. Son, your father had been attacked by a tide of beasts; now, he has a little trouble, so I will have to go and see him at Heavenly Cloud City hospital. The distance to Heavenly Cloud City is quite far from here, so take care of yourself."
His mother said with slightly red eyes. She quickly ate her dinner and left soon after packing some light clothes.
Li Yunmu’s mouth was wide open, he wanted to say that he would go with her, but after thinking of the cost of taking train to Heavenly Cloud city, he couldn’t voice his thoughts