After My Girlfriend Dumped Me, I Awakened the Dao System

Chapter 4 : First Steps: Repairs & Small Opportunities

"Don't just stand there like a statue, i***t! Get inside, fast!" Xiao Yu shouted inside Adrian's head.

Adrian flinched. The red eyes were still staring at him from behind the bushes in the yard. "What is that, Xiao Yu? What kind of creature is that?"

"Just a stray dog exposed to leftover energy that leaked during your synchronization earlier. But if you stand still, it'll bite your throat, and you'll die as the most embarrassing host in history," Xiao Yu replied with a dismissive tone.

Adrian backed away slowly, his hands still trembling. He quickly went inside the house and locked the door, gasping for breath.

"Adrian? Why were you running?" Evelyn asked from the kitchen.

"It's nothing, Mom. Just startled by a mean dog outside," Adrian answered, trying to normalize his heartbeat. He quickly went to his room and locked the door.

"Now what?" Adrian asked, sitting cross-legged on his hard bed.

Xiao Yu's transparent figure appeared in front of him, floating with a bored expression. "Now you learn to breathe. Sit straight. Don't slouch like that, do you want to turn into a shrimp?"

Adrian straightened his position. "And then?"

"Close your eyes. Imagine a flow of warm water circulating below your belly button. Breathe in slowly, hold it, then release. Do that until you stop feeling like a loser," Xiao Yu commanded.

Adrian closed his eyes. He tried to focus, but the image of Sophia's face insulting him at the restaurant kept reappearing. "Damn it, I can't focus. I keep thinking about what they said."

"Oh, so you'd rather wallow in self-pity than get strong? Go ahead. I'll just go back to sleep for another hundred years and wait for you to rot here," Xiao Yu said cynically.

"Shut up! I'm trying," Adrian snapped. He took a deep breath. This time he forced his entire mind to follow Xiao Yu's instructions.

After a few minutes, Adrian began to feel something. A warm spot appeared in his stomach. The warmth slowly spread to his spine, making his previously shivering body feel comfortable.

"There, like that. Don't force it; just let the flow move on its own," Xiao Yu whispered, his voice slightly softer this time.

Adrian continued for hours. He didn't realize that morning had already broken. When he opened his eyes, he felt his body was incredibly light. The fatigue from staying up late and the suffocating heartache seemed to evaporate.

"I feel... different," Adrian muttered, looking at his hands.

"Of course, you feel different. You've just cleared some of the dirt from your energy pathways. But don't get too happy yet; those are just baby steps," Xiao Yu replied, sitting on top of Adrian's stack of technical books.

"Xiao Yu, I need money. Mom can't keep working overtime at the factory, and I have to pay tuition next semester," Adrian said seriously.

"Use your brain, Adrian. You have the system. You have the ability to see the structure of things. Why don't you use it?"

"You mean?"

"Look at that junk laptop in the corner of your room."

Adrian turned toward the old laptop that had been completely dead for six months. He approached and touched the cracked plastic casing.

"Activate Insight," Xiao Yu commanded.

Suddenly, Adrian's vision changed. He no longer saw the laptop as a dead object. He saw faint blue electrical pathways inside it. At one point near the processor, there was a blinking red color.

"That's a broken circuit, right?" Adrian asked in awe.

"Yes. Now, try to channel a little Qi into your fingertip. Imagine your finger is the most precise soldering tool in the world. Connect that circuit," Xiao Yu instructed.

Adrian focused his energy. He felt the tip of his index finger become hot. Very carefully, he touched the blinking red section. As soon as contact was made, the red color turned bright blue. The electrical pathway inside the laptop flowed perfectly again.

Adrian pressed the power button. The laptop screen lit up instantly. "It worked! It really worked!"

"Of course, it worked. I'm a high-level system, not some child's toy," Xiao Yu said proudly.

*

One week later.

Adrian stood in front of a small cafe, waiting for someone. Inside his backpack was a high-end gaming laptop that he had found in the campus trash and repaired in the same way.

"Are you sure this will sell?" Adrian asked internally.

"Don't ask me, ask your buyer. You already posted it on the forum for eight thousand Yuan, right?" replied Xiao Yu.

A young man Adrian's age approached. "You posted on the forum? My name is Rendy."

"Yes, I'm Adrian. Here's the item. Please examine it first," Adrian said while taking out the laptop.

Rendy checked every corner of the laptop. He started up some heavy programs and his eyes widened. "Insane. This is so smooth. Even though it's an old model, why does the performance feel like new?"

"I performed some optimizations on the system and hardware," Adrian replied calmly.

"Incredible. To be honest, I went to three repair shops and they all said the machine was completely dead. How did you fix it?"

"A small secret trick," Adrian replied with a slight smile.

Without hesitation, Rendy took out his phone. "Okay, I'll take it. I'll transfer the money now. Eight thousand Yuan, as agreed."

Adrian looked at the notification on his phone. His bank balance, which had previously only had fifty Yuan left, increased drastically. His hand trembled slightly as he looked at the number. This was the most money he had ever possessed at once.

"Thank you, Adrian. If any of my friends need service, can I contact you?" Rendy asked.

"Of course, here's my number," Adrian replied.

After Rendy left, Adrian sat on a park bench near the cafe. He stared at his phone screen for a long time. "Xiao Yu, we just earned eight thousand Yuan in just one hour."

"Don't be so tacky. That's just pocket change. In my old world, that amount of money wasn't even enough to buy a single dust-cleansing pill," Xiao Yu scoffed.

"But for us, this can pay the rent for the next three months," Adrian countered emotionally. He immediately called his mother.

"Hello, Mom? Don't work overtime today. Please come home early. I'm going to buy us a nice dinner," Adrian said, his voice almost cracking with relief.

That night, at the simple dining table, Evelyn looked at Adrian confusedly. "Adrian, where did you get the money to buy all this food? And that laptop, did you really fix it?"

"Yes, Mom. I started a small online repair service. It turns out many people need it," Adrian replied.

Evelyn smiled, even though her eyes were teary. "I always knew you were a great kid. Your father would be proud to see you now."

Hearing his father's name, Adrian remembered the message at the bottom of the wooden chest. He knew his journey was still long. This small success was only the beginning.

"Xiao Yu, I want to do more than just sell used goods on forums," Adrian said when he returned to his room.

"Then what do you want?" asked Xiao Yu, who appeared in the window.

"I want to open my own place. A small kiosk near campus. I want to build a reputation. If I keep going like this, people like Lucas and Sophia will always see me as just a lucky scavenger," Adrian declared firmly.

"Good. At least you have ambition. But remember, the higher the tree, the stronger the wind. Do you think those who are after this system will just sit by and watch you succeed?"

Adrian fell silent. He remembered the black flame symbol on his fence. "I will be ready. I won't let anyone step on me again."

The next morning, Adrian walked towards the old shophouse area near campus. He saw a neglected small kiosk with a 'for rent' sign on the door.

"This place is enough," Adrian muttered.

Suddenly, a luxurious black sedan stopped on the roadside, right next to Adrian. The car window slowly rolled down, revealing a middle-aged man in a very neat suit and an eagle-like sharp gaze.

The man looked Adrian up and down, then smiled coldly. "So, you're the one who has recently been messing up the energy frequency in this city?"

Adrian froze. He felt tremendous pressure just from the man's gaze. His heart pounded rapidly, and for the first time, Xiao Yu was struck completely dumb, as if he too was terrified.

"Who are you?" Adrian asked, his voice caught in his throat.

The man didn't answer. He just tossed a silver business card towards Adrian's feet before the car sped away quickly. Adrian picked up the card. Only one name was written there: Victor Liang.

"Adrian," Xiao Yu whispered in a trembling voice. "Don't open that kiosk now. Run. We have to leave this place right now!"