Chapter 4: Divination Turtle Shell

"Infinite Equipment System?" A few cold, mechanical words exploded in Su Tan's mind. The voice came from inside his head.

It wasn't unpleasant to the ear, but it certainly wasn't pleasant either. It felt cold... mechanical, completely devoid of emotion, and genderless.

He opened his mouth, intending to ask the village chief if he had heard the strange voice, but he swallowed the words just as they reached his lips.

An image suddenly appeared in Su Tan's consciousness—a virtual screen. A set of red data was glaringly visible.

"Loading 0%... 1%... 2%..."

Seeing this, Su Tan was overjoyed. In the few days since he woke up, his world had been devoid of any light. It was a terrifying color. Being blind wasn't like the darkness of closing one's eyes... More accurately, it was a void, an unfillable emptiness.

This emptiness... was like a normal person keeping one eye open and the other closed. The feeling of blindness... was exactly like that closed eye. A void without any perception of color. It was maddening.

Now, color had finally appeared in his world. Even though it was just a set of loading data, a set of red numbers that he used to hate the most before losing his sight, it now brought Su Tan immense comfort. This thing was like a bonfire in the dark of night; nothing could be more comforting.

Su Tan's heart surged with excitement.

Fortunately, he had always been composed. He didn't show any unusual expressions. Suppressing his excitement, he did his best to continue the unfinished conversation with the village chief... until he saw him out the door.

One day later.

Su Tan's mood had improved significantly. Moreover, he had gained some understanding of this world. Yesterday, he had asked the village chief many questions. Combined with the miraculous abilities the village chief had displayed, he learned the name of this world, the country he was in, its affiliated city, and the village...

Su Tan suddenly realized a problem. It was highly likely that he was no longer on Earth. Instead... Instead... he had transmigrated!!!

Yes, transmigration.

This was a mythical world, a world where as long as you cultivated, you could soar through the skies and dive into the earth. He had possessed a blind man who shared his exact name, Su Tan. Tragically, however, he hadn't inherited any of the previous owner's memories.

It was truly hard to believe that things which only appeared in fantasy literature in his past life actually existed.

Initially, when Su Tan had this suspicion, he was still somewhat doubtful. But after the system finished loading, he slowly accepted reality and began learning how to live as a blind person.

What truly filled Su Tan with confidence for the future was the system. The Infinite Equipment System.

Since Su Tan was completely blind, the only thing he could see was the system's interface. Therefore, he studied it over and over again.

The system's functions seemed extremely simple. Aside from host information and the Warehouse, it had three Inventory slots. According to the description, these three special Inventory slots were incredibly miraculous. As long as an item was placed into the Inventory, the host would gain the corresponding ability.

For example, if Cloth Armor was placed inside, the host would gain Defense Power. If Swords and Blades were placed inside, the host would gain attack power.

Of course, aside from these items meant for fighting and killing, the host could still put in other objects. For instance, if Three Hundred Tang Poems was placed inside, the host could effortlessly recite its contents. If Medical Books were placed inside, the host would gain Medical Skill...

The Inventory also had limitations. It had levels—ranging from one to ten. The higher the level, the more advanced the treasures that could be placed inside. More Inventory slots would also be unlocked, and the abilities the host gained would naturally be stronger.

Besides the level restriction, placing items into the Inventory also cost Energy Value. The required Energy Value varied depending on the item's level.

So, how else could one obtain Energy Value? Su Tan had made a point to research this. There were two ways to obtain it: one from the system itself, and the other from the outside world.

The first way: every twenty-four hours, the system allowed the collection of 100 Energy Value. This meant the system automatically restored 100 Energy Value a day. If one was lucky and the system suddenly surged, it could trigger a miracle, yielding anywhere from two to ten times the Energy Value. Of course, the probability of this happening was too low—almost nonexistent.

The second way: obtaining Energy Value from people. As for how to acquire it... based on the brief description, Su Tan still didn't quite understand. Even if he did understand, given that he was completely blind, relying on the outside world to acquire energy seemed highly unlikely.

He thought, "The Inventory is Level 1, and the system is also Level 1... Every function is only Level 1."

With only those few functions to go over, Su Tan was already thoroughly familiar with them. If he weren't blind, he figured he would have developed a strong disgust for this low-quality interface.

He wondered, "I wonder if the clothes on my body can be equipped?" Didn't the system's introduction say anything could be equipped?

"DING. Detected the item mentioned by the host: one set of low-quality clothes. Will you spend 100 Energy Value to equip it?" The system operated on semi-voice control; the moment Su Tan expressed his doubt, it immediately provided an answer.

"100 Energy Value?" Su Tan looked at the energy balance in the upper left corner. 200... After the system activated, he had collected it once, and he collected it again this morning, making the balance 200.

Su Tan pondered for a moment. He wondered if he should equip it. There were only three Inventory slots! Would it be too much of a waste? After thinking for a while... he decided to go through with it. Resource waste aside, he just wanted to see if the system's functions were real or fake.

"Equip!"

"DING! Equipping... Equip successful! Congratulations to the host for equipping [Low-Quality Item: One Set of Ordinary Linen Clothes]. Warmth Attribute +1. Defense Power Attribute +1."

With the attribute bonuses, Su Tan felt a slight change in his body. His muscles seemed to tighten a bit, and he felt noticeably warmer... He could feel that he had grown stronger! Even though this strengthening... didn't seem to be by a large margin, it proved that the system's functions truly existed.

Su Tan was pleasantly surprised. He was thrilled for quite a while before finally calming down. He even began to fantasize about the future.

He thought, "According to the village chief, as long as one's cultivation reaches a certain level, not to mention restoring one's eyesight, even being reborn from a single drop of blood isn't impossible. This system... I hope it can help me."

However... it seemed a bit early to fantasize about the future. Before that, he had to figure out how to live independently.

Su Tan straightened his clothes and got out of bed. It was early morning again. Of course... this had no impact on him. Whether it was the vibrant morning light or the beautiful scenery of a setting sun, he couldn't see any of it.

It had been four or five days since he transmigrated, and he was gradually getting used to it. The first day was filled with breakdowns and despair... The second day was panic and helplessness. The third day, he started to accept his reality, and by the fourth day... he decided to make the best of it.

The appearance of the system and the care provided by Old Chen, the village chief, gave Su Tan a tremendous sense of security and confidence. Without the system and the village chief, Su Tan could have eventually come to terms with it, but it definitely would have taken a very long time.

Getting up, Su Tan skillfully put on his shoes and groped his way to open the door, letting the morning air wash away the stale smell in the room.

Compared to his stumbling around on the first day, Su Tan was now doing much better in this space. These past few days, aside from studying the system, he had been familiarizing himself with the layout of the house—where things were placed, the bowls and chopsticks, the tables and chairs, and the clothes... He had figured it all out by feeling everything inch by inch.

It could be said that he had touched every corner of this house. After a few more days of getting familiar, moving around the room would definitely be no problem for him, even without eyes.

Now that he understood the structure of the house, Su Tan planned to open the old blind man's... oh... no, the previous body owner's private property today. A wooden box.

According to the old village chief, it contained all of his belongings—a miscellaneous collection of fortune-telling props. The original Su Tan used to make a living by telling fortunes for others. Sometimes, those seeking divination gave money, and sometimes they gave rice. No matter what he received, he basically gave it all to the old village chief.

CREAK.

He opened the box. A smell of dust mixed with yellow talisman paper wafted out. As usual, Su Tan reached out his hand, slowly feeling around the items inside.

The box wasn't large, about the size of a standard briefcase from his past life, only made of wood. Going by touch alone, there seemed to be a few books placed on top. The covers felt a bit worn and pillowy; they were probably on the verge of falling apart. He was blind, so what was the point of keeping books?

Su Tan moved those books aside and felt strings of... something like jars of copper coins. Was it a Magic Staff used for chanting spells?

CLINK CLANK...

Su Tan rummaged through the entire contents of the box. Aside from books, there were only props for performing Daoist rituals. There really wasn't anything valuable.

However... just as Su Tan was about to close the box, his hand... brushed against something hard. He casually picked it up and felt it carefully.

"A palm-sized turtle shell. Useless," he muttered.

Turtle shells were one of the props used for divination. Just as Su Tan was about to toss the turtle shell back into the box, the mechanical voice rang out in his mind once again!

"DING. Discovered a Top Grade Level 1 item, a basic Divination Turtle Shell item. Will you equip it?"

"Huh?" Su Tan's heart stirred.

He had never encountered an item that prompted the system to proactively announce its name. After all, over the past few days, whether he touched tables, chairs, or even kitchen knives, the system had never made a sound.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that this turtle shell was definitely a treasure.