Chapter 6: Panel Information

While Luo Yan was still dazedly staring at the dim star in the center, a semi-transparent pop-up window suddenly emerged along its edge, displaying several lines of introductory text:

[Level: Aberrant]
[The form of the Energy Star represents your ability level. Its brightness indicates your “Energy Value.” When your “Energy Value” increases to a certain threshold, your “Ability Level” will change accordingly. At the same time, the star’s shape will also transform.]

At the very bottom, another line appeared:

[The brightness of the light represents Energy Value. Brightness can be increased by injecting photons into the star.]

With his extensive gaming background—he’d even been part of a top-tier speedrun strategy team in the past—Luo Yan instantly grasped the concept.

“So basically, that star is my personal status panel, and those flickering light dots around it are ability points…”

He tried focusing his gaze on one of the glowing dots, and just as expected, a new segment of text materialized before his eyes:

[Photon Count: 200]
[Photons can be obtained through combat, killing, completing specific missions, or absorbing cosmic energy. Each photon contains immense energy. They can be used to ignite stars and increase personal energy strength, or be spent to unlock genetic abilities and enhance specific talents.]

Combat and killing—so it’s basically a “kill monsters to level up” system?

Wait… how many people like me are in this world?

The sudden realization sparked a sense of unease in Luo Yan. He instinctively pulled his focus away from the panel and scanned his surroundings with heightened vigilance.

As his attention shifted, the semi-transparent interface began to fade. Whenever he wanted to pull it back up, it would reappear in sync with his mental focus—becoming more solid and visible the more he concentrated on it.

“This system is actually pretty well-designed,” Luo Yan thought, giving it a mental thumbs-up.

Though the interface was semi-transparent, it still partially obstructed his view, which could pose a risk in battle. This attention-based activation feature helped reduce that danger significantly.

After surveying the area again and confirming it remained deserted, he decided to find a more concealed location before continuing his exploration of the system.

His current position was too exposed. If danger struck now, he’d have no cover and would be at an immediate disadvantage.

“There’s a cave up there.”

With his body’s extraordinary eyesight, Luo Yan spotted a cave on a distant hillside nearly a kilometer away. After a moment of consideration, he decided it would serve as a temporary hiding spot. He also needed a higher vantage point to better observe the terrain and plan his next moves.

This place was nothing like his old world. Here, planning your route properly could mean the difference between life and death.

And as for the world itself? Aside from knowing it held some degree of danger, he knew almost nothing. He couldn’t anticipate what kind of threats might emerge. He’d have to rely heavily on his past-life experience to mentally fill in the blanks.

So yeah… situations like “outsmarting thin air” were going to happen.

The thought made him want to complain again about that conniving, twin-tailed loli. If only Nico had explained more about this world’s specifics, he wouldn’t be so passive right now…

“Let’s just hope I don’t run into anything dangerous.”

Luo Yan gave a bitter smile and shook his head. Just in case, he decided to draw his handgun. After all, he’d never touched a real firearm in his past life. If something really did happen, he probably wouldn’t react in time. Holding it now would at least save a few precious seconds…

Seconds that could mean the difference between life and death.

“Huh? Can I check equipment info too?”

As Luo Yan’s gaze swept across the handgun in his hand, a faint, hazy interface flickered into view. With a single focused thought, a semi-transparent panel appeared before him:

[Name: M2025 Handgun]
[Grade: C-Rank]
[Ammunition: 6.5mm Hollow-Tip Rounds]
[Effective Range: 200 meters]
[Muzzle Velocity: 500 m/s]
[Magazine Capacity: 15 rounds]
[Effect: The M2025, loaded with hollow-tip rounds, boasts high bullet velocity along with excellent lethality and armor penetration.]
[Note: Designed for self-defense against creeps. Blow out the brains of every lowlife who dares cross your path!]

“So that twin-tailed loli’s gift wasn’t completely useless after all…”

Luo Yan’s mouth twitched slightly after reading through the weapon’s detailed stats. Setting aside the weird footnote, this handgun was undeniably a high-end piece of gear.

He considered firing a test shot into the open field—but quickly decided against it. No need to attract unnecessary trouble. Instead, he simply disengaged the safety and chambered a round, just in case. If danger came knocking, he didn’t want to be fumbling around.

Fortunately, though he’d never handled a real gun in his past life, this body came equipped with astonishing innate talent.

The moment he picked it up, a sense of familiarity and instinctive ease washed over him. Relying purely on muscle memory, he completed a full series of loading and prepping actions smoothly.

It was as if the moment had awakened the combat instincts hidden within this body.

What surprised him even more was that the system included an aim-assist function. It could intelligently identify targets and help auto-correct aiming angles. Of course, it could be turned off for high-precision shots requiring manual control.

This really was a full-on cheat system.

Once he was fully prepped, Luo Yan dismissed the interface and set off again.

The path ahead remained deathly silent. Not a soul in sight. Not even a single insect. He started wondering if the creatures in this world had gone extinct.

Roughly ten minutes later, Luo Yan reached the vicinity of the cave.

He still didn’t quite understand what his current level—“Aberrant”—meant.

But after the journey so far, he had some initial impressions: his senses were far more heightened, and his physical abilities easily surpassed those of his past self.

Of course, he wasn’t arrogant enough to think he was invincible. Whether he was strong or weak ultimately depended on the world’s overall power scale.

Staring at the dark, eerie cave entrance, caution colored his otherwise charming features.

He slipped his slender hand into his chest and carefully retrieved the compact mirror Nico had given him, pulling it from the deep cleft nestled between his breasts.

Luo Yan remembered this mirror had a built-in light source.

[Angel’s Halo]
[Type: Intelligent Pocket Mirror]
[Grade: B-Rank]
[Diameter: 8 cm]
[Thickness: 0.5 cm]
[Effect: Made from molecular-hardened steel with a fully-sealed integrated design. Dustproof, waterproof, highly durable. Uses chip-based distributed LED lighting to adapt to any environment, perfectly recreating your makeup under any condition.]
[Note: The most reliable pocket mirror—because your beauty should never be late.]