Reborn One Week Before the Apocalypse

Chapter 79: Chapter 73: The Troubles of an Honor Student

’So a Space Treasure can actually be fused?’

Tang Mo was ecstatic. It was true that her focus was on her spiritual power.

But with this upgradable Jade Pendant, she wasn’t just a Spiritual Ability User anymore—she could also pass as a Space Ability User!

The Spiritual and Space systems were the two most precious superpowers in the post-apocalyptic world.

Spiritual Abilities had a wide range of applications, were the best reflection of one’s true strength, and were well-suited for solo combat.

Meanwhile, Space Abilities were best for survival and highly sought after by every team.

From now on, Tang Mo could claim to be a Space Ability User to hide the fact that she was actually a Spiritual Ability User.

Playing dumb to get the upper hand was perfectly in line with her character.

She had never been an ostentatious person. All she wanted was to live with dignity, and for as long as possible.

Tang Mo put the necklace back on, then absorbed all the remaining, multicolored Crystal Cores.

It was a considerable amount of energy. By the time the Crystal Cores were completely depleted, Tang Mo could finally feel her body reaching a saturation point for attribute values.

She hadn’t paid it much mind before, but after listening to Uncle Wen and taking the time to attune to her body, she realized that the issue of compatibility between attribute values and one’s physical form was something everyone needed to be mindful of.

’I need to get my body moving,’ Tang Mo thought to herself.

「The next morning」

When Tang Mo opened her eyes and habitually activated her ID Watch, she discovered that the ranking feature she had been eagerly anticipating was finally updated!

Seeing the small icon that had suddenly appeared on the interface, Tang Mo couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement.

Instead of tapping it right away, Tang Mo first checked her own attribute values.

She wasn’t the type to check her attribute value growth every day. That felt too calculating, as if all her hard work was just for the sake of a few numbers, and she didn’t like that.

It had been quite a while since she last checked her attribute values.

ID: Tang Mo

Life Value: 98

Strength Value: 82

Agility: 109

Spiritual Power: 211

Space: 0

Overall Strength: 500

500!

The number genuinely startled Tang Mo.

She hadn’t checked in so long that she hadn’t realized her attribute values had jumped so much.

In truth, Tang Mo was unaware that the Crystal Cores and abnormal treasures she had acquired recently were enough to put her on par with the scions of prominent families.

Moreover, she had been through numerous battles and had never once relaxed the strict demands she placed on herself.

Every single one of those attribute points was hard-earned and well-deserved.

Now that she had a clear picture of her own status, Tang Mo finally opened the rankings.

The Alliance encompassed all of Huaxia, so naturally, the rankings included everyone within its borders.

In the most conspicuous spot—first place—Qin Ling’s name was emblazoned for all to see.

Just like in her previous life, Tang Mo wasn’t surprised.

In her past life, Qin Ling had also solidified his reputation by taking first place for Huaxia’s highest Comprehensive Attribute Value.

He wasn’t just the Alliance’s youngest leader, but also its undisputed number-one genius.

With today’s ranking update, Qin Ling’s position was now truly unshakeable. He had used his strength to prove to everyone that he was the strongest.

Tang Mo continued scrolling down, name by name...

Her memories of her past life were already a bit blurry, and she didn’t recognize any of the names on the list, so she had no idea if the current rankings matched those from before.

She was looking for one person on the list: Lin Yu.

She remembered that Lin Yu had secured his spot as the top spiritual power user only after finding the Desert Flower, which granted 100 points to the Spirit Attribute.

’He’s not on the rankings now, which means the Desert Flower is still out there!’

’Even though I’m back at S Base, I haven’t given up on that flower. I’ll set out for it again.’

She scanned the names one by one until she reached the very last one. Only then did Tang Mo confirm her suspicion.

’This time, the rankings really are different...’

And how could she be so sure?

Because there, in 100th place—the very last spot on the list—Tang Mo clearly saw two words:

Tang Mo.

’I actually made it onto the rankings?!’

’This is no good! How am I supposed to keep a low profile now?’

Seeing her own name, Tang Mo’s first reaction wasn’t excitement, but unease.

But then she remembered her ”Space Ability User” cover story and was able to relax.

’It’s fine, it’s fine. I have a cover.’

The rankings had three columns: one for rank, one for name, and one for Comprehensive Attribute Value.

Tang Mo, in 100th place, had an attribute value of 500, while Qin Ling, in first place, had 1786.

That was more than three times her value.

’Is he even human? He’s a monster.’

If she didn’t have to remind herself that monster was her boyfriend, Tang Mo felt her imagination could have run even wilder.

’Maybe he’s an alien? Or his body was taken over by some mutant beast...’

She felt that she was already working hard enough, never slacking for a single moment.

But a day was still only 24 hours, yet some people could raise their attribute values to such an insane degree.

’It can only be the power of Talent, I guess...’

Tang Mo also noticed an interesting phenomenon: the attribute values on the rankings were extremely polarized.

The top twenty were all above 1,000. Aside from Qin Ling at 1,786, the others were all between 1,000 and 1,500.

As for the rest, the gaps weren’t nearly as large. For example, Tang Mo was only five attribute points behind the person ranked just above her.

’That’s just a matter of a few Crystal Cores.’

The rankings were updated in real-time every day at midnight, based on the big data fed back from the ID Watches.

If you slacked off for even a single day, the people behind you could surpass you at any moment.

Although Tang Mo wasn’t exactly thrilled about making it onto the rankings, now that she was there, she had no intention of dropping off.

Her lifelong principle might be to keep a low profile, but she hated losing.

This ranking was like a little whip held high behind her, constantly urging her to work harder. Tang Mo heaved a deep sigh.

It was just like being in school; top students always cared more about their rankings than the underachievers.

’Being an excellent person is exhausting.’

’Is this what they call the burden of success?’

Tang Mo was still mulling over her new troubles when a call from Qin Ling came in.

”One-hundredth place! My darling, you’re amazing!”

Qin Ling’s tone was full of sincere praise; he was genuinely proud of Tang Mo.

But why did those words, ”one-hundredth place,” sound so mocking to her?

Especially coming from the guy in first place.

”To celebrate, how about we have dinner together tonight?”

”No.”

”Then how about I give you a tour of the base?”

”No.”

”Come to my house and meet my grandfather.”

”...”

They had agreed not to go public yet, so Tang Mo naturally didn’t want to be seen around the base with Qin Ling.

Qin Ling was basically a huge celebrity now, drawing attention wherever he went. If she went shopping or had dinner with him, how could they possibly keep their relationship a secret?

”I have to go, I’m getting a call from Uncle Wen.”

A perfect excuse had just presented itself. Before Qin Ling could even pout, Tang Mo quickly said her goodbyes and answered Wen Jianshu’s call.