This time I chose Paladin.

Chapter 33 + Heart's Image: The Ruins of Empathy +
"Once I get out of the shelter, if I can't draw well, I'll go learn public speaking!"

"Stop using such a cliché. First, you need to consider how we're going to reach the shelter before sunset..."

Not long after Nie Weiyang moved towards the direction of the alarm, he heard these two voices.

He had just checked himself thoroughly because the New World system was so crappy that they always stuffed something into players' pockets every time they opened a Vault. After a previous experience with him, he had to check himself every time he entered. While other Vaults might be fine, in the Heart and Chaos Vaults, serious problems could arise.

This caution paid off, as Nie Weiyang actually found something that inexplicably appeared on his clothes. It was a lightweight, detachable badge fixed to his coat. On it was a frontal, bare-headed photo of him and some text. The overall design was simple and elegant, appearing to be a piece of equipment.

【[Shelter Work Badge]-
■■■■■■■-
Name: Nie Weiyang
Department: ■■■ Boundary Disaster Shelter-4701
Position: Administrator
信息码：20-18-1-9-12-2-12-1-26-5-18】

Why is there a dot before the word "administrator"?

Nie Weiyang observed it and found that the thing could actually be expanded into a word by the external mental power: [temporary].

…The people here are really good at using their mental power.

It seems that his main task is to take off this 'temporary' one.

Nie Weiyang thought as he hurried through the grayish-white bushes and reached the main road. He saw a car stuck in a mud pit beside the asphalt road. Two young people, a man and a woman, and a little boy were surrounding it in the drizzle. The two adults looked worried, while the child was pulling at the grass nearby, pulling out foxtail grass and circling around it.

"Can this car really be gotten out..." The young man looked aggrieved and called the woman to help him. The two of them tried their best to push the car forward, and at the same time asked the people in the car to start the engine, trying to get the vehicle out of the mud pit.

However, this was of no use. After the two were covered in mud and water and turned into terracotta warriors, the wheel only moved about five centimeters away from its original position. They had almost no strength left, and their fingers gradually slipped away.

"Xiao Rui." The young man suddenly shouted, and the young woman also gave a wicked smile.

"Huh?" The boy who had been picking at foxtail grass turned around.

The two men suddenly leaned sideways and let go! With a muffled thud, the boy was doused in mud and water, turning him into a terracotta warrior. Amidst the laughter that followed, the boy froze for two seconds before bursting into tears.

"Ravi, Amo! Why are you two messing with him?" A middle-aged man with graying temples appeared from the driver's window and yelled at the two of them, "You're still his parents!"

"None of your business?" the young man, Ravi, immediately retorted, "You're not his father!"

"I'm your father!" The middle-aged man slammed the car door angrily.

He roared, opened the door, got out, and walked to the back of the car: "I was thinking of giving you a lesson, but you two are so young and you can't even push a cart?! Ah Mo, you drive! This bastard and I will push the cart!"

"Then you are an old dog!" Ravi thought quickly.

The middle-aged man, nearly choking with anger, raised his foot and kicked. He was a full head taller than the lanky Ravi, and even more muscular. Seeing the situation was getting worse, the latter turned around and ran away. The boy called Xiao Rui was stunned and forgot to cry. He collapsed and shouted, "Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me!"

Nie Weiyang, who was not far away, said: "......"

...What a devilish family where the father leaves the son and they laugh.

He shook his head, walked over quickly, grabbed the back of the car, lifted it up with one effort, and pushed it out of the mud pit.

This real display of force made the father and son stop. Amo, who was in the car, also poked her head out, and Xiao Rui's eyes widened: "Huh?" Nie Weiyang pushed the car a short distance away to prevent it from sinking back into the pit. His slightly pale skin, black hair mixed with white, and black clothes with silver armor were really eye-catching. The iron shield on his back and the long sword at his waist gleamed in the cold light. Although the long sword didn't look very practical for combat, the three people under the car had no intention of underestimating him.

After pushing the car, Nie Weiyang glanced at the three people in the reflection of the car window.

No badge.

He clapped his hands, turned around before the three of them could ask, and spoke first: "Identity."

The silver badge against the black clothing was unmistakable, and the "Administrator" tag was particularly striking. Nie Weiyang could sense three... no, four mental energies landing on the badge, reading the compressed information within the black dots.

Is the spiritual power in this place so widely released?

You know, except for some special professions, mental power must reach 50 points or more before it can be released... But the mental power of the people in front of me is obviously less than 30 - maybe the middle-aged man has a little more, but it's only about .

"My name is Noli, and I'm a chef. This is my son Ravi, a painter. My daughter-in-law Amo is a gardener. My grandson Jerry, also called Xiaorui, has not yet been assigned a job by the central government." The middle-aged man Noli introduced his family.

Not to mention the important information of "centrally assigned occupations", this family's combination of Chinese and Western styles is really not very common.

Also, why no last name?
Nie Weiyang looked calm and said, "Go to 4701?"

"Yes. Thank you very much for your help," Noli replied, then suddenly lowered his voice: "Are you..."

"Nie Weiyang, the temporary administrator of Shelter 4701." Nie Weiyang said, while observing the other party's reaction.

Sure enough, after hearing the first half of the sentence, these people didn't say anything. But when they heard the second half, Noli's expression changed slightly. Ravi and Amo, who got off the car, looked at each other with expressions of... confusion, uneasiness and surprise.

"Are you a Source?" Xiao Rui asked loudly. He approached Nie Weiyang curiously and said, "Aren't all Sources in the Central City? Why did you come here..."

Noli covered Xiao Rui's mouth and pulled him behind him, then gave Nie Weiyang an awkward smile: "Sorry, sir, he is still young and doesn't understand these things."

'Source', a new word.

The only difference between Nie Weiyang's second half of his sentence and the information these people already had was that he had an additional surname...

Does 'source' refer to a surname, or some deeper 'source'?
Nie Weiyang did not ask rashly, but said calmly: "Let's go, time is running out."

These people were clearly in a hurry. Although they'd been interrupted by Ravi's rudeness, they probably didn't want to waste time chatting with strangers. Nie Weiyang naturally opened the passenger door. These people didn't show any surprise or dissatisfaction with his behavior, but instead sat in other seats in the back seat as usual.

Obviously, the 'Source' was of higher status than them and might even have the power to requisition their supplies and equipment, and they had no objection at least to this extent.

If only one person had no opinion, that would be normal, but if everyone had no opinion...

This is the mental state that humans can have when they adapt to high-pressure internal and external control, or even when wartime regulations are implemented for a long time.

　Thank you very much for reading this!! (Strange Rabbit bows vigorously)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)