Chapter 3: This System Is Quite Impressive

“???”

Chen Jin blinked as he stared at the task that had just popped up.

No way... this must be a dim-witted system, right?

What a joke—who gives such an easy task?

Even beginner quests in games are tougher than this!

Aren’t my parents just downstairs?

Oh, right, Old Chen hasn’t gotten off work yet.

Though Chen Jin grumbled inwardly, he still wanted to verify whether this so-called ancient system was real.

He felt like he was dreaming, but after pinching his thigh several times just now, the slight pain confirmed everything happening before his eyes was genuine.

Still, this old system... was a bit strange.

“Mom~~”

Chen Jin headed downstairs and saw Su Wanyu, who had just finished a phone call, standing there. He couldn’t help but ask, “When is Dad coming home?”

He opened the system’s virtual panel.

The way it opened was unusual—almost like telepathy. As soon as he thought about it, the panel would pop up.

It was quite smart, but not overly so.

“Huh, 50% completed?”

A progress bar showing 50% completion appeared under the task section.

That was very user-friendly.

So the task really meant what it said: accompany your parents, not just your mother.

“Why, are you eager for your dad to know you scored 293 on your final exam?”

Su Wanyu waved her phone, oblivious to the virtual panel in front of Chen Jin. “I’ve already arranged for your English teacher!”

“Starting the fourth day after New Year, you’ll go to her place for tutoring!”

“No way, Officer...”

Chen Jin imitated a TVB drama accent, and just thinking about the upcoming English cram sessions wiped away all his holiday cheer.

The second day of the new term was a week away; that week would be spent buried in books and exercises.

That was because his mother was a teacher and their schedules overlapped.

“Go study. Today, memorize 50 English words. I’ll quiz you tonight!”

Chen Jin: “...”

Dragging his body like a living corpse, Chen Jin went upstairs. They lived in town, and his mother taught at the town’s central elementary school.

“Abandon, a-b-a... abandon, to give up!”

“Abdomen, a-b-d... abdomen, the belly!”

“...”

Chen Jin listlessly read from the book, but his mind wasn’t on it; his ears perked up, listening to the sounds downstairs.

His father, Chen Xianqi—yes, the same name as the singer Ren Xianqi—was a clinic doctor who usually finished work on time unless scheduled otherwise.

Right now, all his thoughts were on the old system that had just popped up.

Going downstairs earlier had been a test.

He wanted to see if his mother could perceive the virtual panel, and it was proven that only he could sense it. This made Chen Jin even more hooked, desperate to complete the ridiculously simple task to see what reward awaited.

This so-called “comeback old system” was actually pretty impressive.

What if it granted him proficiency in English? No more tutoring needed!

“Chen Jin, you’re only this capable. What good is mastering English? Wouldn’t a few billion in rewards be better than good English?”

Suddenly Chen Jin felt like his brain was fried by English, and the idea of becoming fluent was far-fetched.

Who needs billions and bicycles anyway?!

Hiring a stunning translator with black stockings by day and a voice interpreter by night would be way cooler.

Muttering like this, Chen Jin didn’t know how much time passed before he heard familiar sounds downstairs.

Despite the name Xianqi, Chen Jin thought his dad was better looking than the singer Ren Xianqi.

At least he had thick eyebrows and big eyes—bigger than those of the singer.

He was a decent-looking middle-aged man, the kind of handsome older gentleman who could father a son with such good looks.

Ah yes, at eighteen, Chen Jin was in that prime self-absorbed, sunny youth stage.

Tap tap tap!

Chen Jin went downstairs and saw a man in his forties with a well-maintained figure lounging on the sofa, scrolling through his phone.

If not Chen Xianqi, then who?

“Dad!”

Chen Jin called out and instinctively glanced at the virtual interface before him.

A “ding” sounded in his ear.

[Task]: Put down work and accompany your parents at home. (Completed)

[Please claim your reward]

“Hmm!”

Without looking up, Chen Xianqi replied, his phone clearly more interesting than the son he saw every day.

Chen Jin turned and headed upstairs to claim his reward. The longer he stayed, the more his mother’s anger would be aimed at him, not the father who just lay there.

This was the phase where the anger shifted, and Chen Jin’s ability to gauge the situation had improved significantly since adulthood.

Sure enough, before he reached his room, Chen Jin heard his mother’s eternally unchanging scolding: “All you do is come home and lie on the sofa! It’s like you don’t care about your son at all. Do you even know how he did on his finals?”

Enough—no need to listen further; the tone was sharp.

“Claim!”

Chen Jin stared at the system panel and muttered instinctively.

Whether this thing was useful depended entirely on the reward.

Ding!

[Congratulations, host, you have received a reward—Voice Modification!]

[Voice Modification]: As a seasoned actor, voice control and expression are fundamental skills. Over the next month, your voice will be subtly transformed, including reconstruction of all vocal organs such as lungs, vocal cords, cavities, pharynx walls, and diaphragm.

“Whoa, is it really this powerful?”

“A voice can actually be changed?”

Chen Jin was skeptical about the reward, but suddenly he felt a tightness in his throat.

It was as if his whole body was being massaged, and something was beginning to change.

“Wait, didn’t it say the transformation would be gradual over a month...? Huh?”

Chen Jin blinked, thinking he had hallucinated because his voice... really did sound a little different.

He involuntarily said, “Hello!”

“Ha ha, this is interesting!”

Though Chen Jin sensed only a slight change, to his ears the voice was somewhat... pleasing?

Previously, his voice was a bit sharp and brash; now it sounded more comfortable.

“No way, this system is legit!”

“It really gives tangible rewards!”

Now Chen Jin began to take the virtual panel seriously.

Despite its flaws and age, it truly gave real benefits!

At that moment, a new task appeared.

[You come home and see your parents, their hair white and their faces worn, and you can’t help but feel a surge of sorrow!]

“Couldn’t you just give me a compliment for once?”

“What sorrow? My parents are still young!”

[Task]: Spend more quality time with your elderly parents.

“Where’s the reward? And how do they define ‘more quality time’?”

Chen Jin was puzzled by the system’s task when his mother’s fierce roar echoed from downstairs: “Chen Jin, come down!”