AWACS - An American With A Chinese System
Copyright© 2025 by PT Brainum
Chapter 65
I could take 3 new active skills, or do three upgrades, and I was trying to figure out what I should do. I asked Scribe to show me the list of available new active skills.
Pick a New Active Skill:
~入木三分 mark wood three deep (0/2)
~自由自在 naturally you naturally free (0/1)
~后起之秀 youngster to start with grace (0/1)
~难得糊涂 problem should be muddled and scratched out (0/2)
~心甘情愿 delighted and helpful (0/3)
Scribe blinked each one, so I could see that they were category 2, category 3, and finally two category 4. Scribe recommended naturally you for my meeting with the System Administrator. It thought I would like mark wood three deep as the fun choice, and didn’t have any other suggestions.
I took the option best for the meeting.
自由自在 naturally you naturally free (1/1)
- be at leisure, nothing can harm you, no problems can reach you, you are free, unrestrained, and feel content, cost 50000 points per second
I did some quick math, 3 billion points would net me about 16 minutes of invulnerability. I gave it a quick try, for just a second. It was hard to let it go, as it felt amazing. It was like what I imagined being high felt like, everything was warm and happy, and I felt like I was embraced by the universe that would protect me from everything forever.
I was going to have to try hard to not use that ever again, except in the most dire of emergencies.
I asked for the next set of active available skills.
Pick a New Active Skill:
~万水千山 ten thousand waters, thousand mountains (0/4)
~一路平安 whole journey quiet and safe (0/1)
~名落孙山 score lower than Sun Shan (0/2)
~树倒猢狲散 tree falls macaque scatters (0/1)
~学好三年, 学坏三天 learn good three years, learn bad three days (0/1)
Scribe recommended whole journey for my meeting, and tree falls as the most useful, and learn good three years as the most fun.
I again picked the one for the meeting.
一路平安 whole journey quiet and safe (1/1)
- when making a planned trip longer than 1000 lǐ there are no lines, your luggage is always safe, there are never delays, you always arrive early, and you get free upgrades during your entire journey, active until you return to your home, return to your starting point, or two weeks whichever comes first, cost 10000 positive points 10000 negative points, must be paid before trip begins, includes up to four travel companions
I remembered that a li was half a kilometer, and China was definitely further than 500 km. I’d have to set that up before I went to my meeting. Twenty one hours left.
0/1,000,000,000 (130) Level
1,440,000/10,000,000,000 positive points
3,934,731,400 neutral points
1,717,952/10,000,000,000 negative points
38/39 Active Skills
41/42 Passive Skills
47,605 Bonus Neutral Points
Active Skill Upgrades: 3/10
Upgraded Skill Pick: 8/10
Both new skills had no upgrade options, so I asked Scribe to show me any active skills that could be upgraded. There weren’t any good options.
What I really needed to do was review all my skills, and everything they did. Make sure that I was fully ready to meet the System Administrator.
I spent the next hour doing that, and just as the sun was fully up, I realized I was much too tired and went to bed.
When I woke it was twelve hours until my meeting time, and I really needed to pee. I went thru my whole morning routine, and made a nice breakfast, kicking up my cooking skill with my points. It was mindbogglingly delicious.
It was nearly 4 pm in Portland, so I headed there.
I dropped out of my transport tunnel after flying at 50x, landing behind the building. Walking around to the front, I saw no one I recognized on the marquee for tonights show. I walked in, and bought a coffee, not seeing anybody who I knew, and knowing that I wasn’t overly welcome, I left again.
I saw a phone store, so I headed down and bought a new phone sim for my San Diego phone, to get my phone to work again, and resent the text. My new skill should protect me, so I didn’t bother trying to hide my location.
I waved down a taxi, and had it head to the FBI building. I wanted my truck back.
The ride was long, and full of slow slow traffic. I should have just flown there, but I was really just wasting time, so it didn’t really matter.
The parking garage was unmanned, as I didn’t get there until after 5. I let myself in, and headed down to where I had found my truck last. It was still there, it had a boot on the tire, which was chained to a nearby support pillar in the underground parking lot. No one was around, at least that I could see. My head was on a swivel, and my ears were alert just in case my new freedom skill wasn’t quite enough for the FBI.
As I walked up to the truck, the chain fell off, and the boot opened. That new skill was doing its job very well.
I unlocked the truck, climbed in and drove away. The gate at the top of the ramp opened as I drove out the exit. I was free, my truck was free, and I didn’t have to worry about it anymore.
That still didn’t do much for my worry over my meeting.
Five hours remained.
I headed to the local Costco, and loaded up with stuff for the island. I took my time and killed two hours and a hot dog and soda.
I flew back to the island, and summoned the truck to its parking spot. There wasn’t anything that I had to stick in the fridge or freezer, so I left my stuff in the pickup bed.
I wandered around the new house spot for a bit, imagining where I was going to put everything.
Finally I decided I’d put it off long enough, and set my location for the Beijing airport. The moment I decided to go, an arrow popped up in my vision that pointed to where I needed to be.
I took it leisurely, and was there in five minutes. I stood off to the side, having shifted into a nice suit, looking at the spot where the plane had been parked. When I died.
My stomach was roiling, and I felt like I needed to pee. I was outside, standing in the shadow of the terminal building, out of view of anyone inside the building, or working as a ground crew for the aircraft as they moved around, taking off and landing.
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