A Valiant Life
chapter-6

"Encyclopedia? Looks like it's the fabled gift from heaven. Let me give it a read."

"Encyclopedia, come out," Lin Fan lifted his arms and shouted.

However, after waiting for a while, nothing happened. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes.

Suddenly, a heavy looking encyclopedia appeared in his mind.

"Looks like this is it. Doesn't seem like anything special. I better go check it out."

Lin Fan was feeling a bit worried. He knew that in this skeptical society, if people found out about the encyclopedia, they would want to examine it.

So, for his own safety, he vowed to not tell anyone about it even if it killed him.

"What kind of powers does this encyclopedia have?" Lin Fan flipped to the first page and realized that there was not even a contents page. He furrowed his brows and wondered if this was just some sort of joke.

...

First page: Godly scallion pancake

The page was filled with pictures of scallion pancakes, all of which almost looked real. At the bottom of the page, there was also a row of words that had been recorded down. Lin Fan could understand the words as they were about the origin of the scallion pancake, the recipe and other facts about it.

He continued to flip the pages of the book.

The second page, blank.

Third page, blank.

...

Lin Fan immediately just flipped to the last page of the book, expecting it to be empty. It turned out that there were words inscribed.

"What the hell? Who created this joke of a book? The content page wasn't on the first page. It's on the last page. Whoever did this deserves an award," Lin Fan complained. Is this a joke? If he hadn't looked as thoroughly, he would have missed it.

Lin Fan carefully analyzed it and realized the categories on the contents page were a little complicated. He flipped to the page on food and realized it was divided into Chinese and Western food and in these categories, there were numerous sub-categories.

Thousands of dishes, dishes from all different corners of the world and the godly scallion pancake was one of them. Also, all these delicious dishes had many different variations which in turn had even more different variations. Lin Fan suddenly felt that his life had just become more interesting.

There were categories for martial arts, music, languages, sciences, arts, mathematics, medicine, crafts, appraisals, finances, drama, and singing…

Lin Fan could not believe his eyes after seeing so many categories. As he was preparing to rest for a moment, he saw a category which stunned him.

Isn't this defying nature?

Categories for martial arts, immortality, smelting tools, heroism…

Lin Fan suddenly felt like his stomach had a stone pressing down on it and he was unable to take a single breath.

If I unlock this category, would I still be human?

"Could this be the introduction of the Encyclopedia?" he said to himself.

Encyclopedia: Able to contain all the knowledge in the universe. As you unlock more pages, you will be able to learn more.

Encyclopedic points: If you complete certain tasks, you can obtain encyclopedic points. Another way of obtaining encyclopedic points would be to impart knowledge to others.

Usage of Encyclopedic Points: The usage of a fixed amount of Encyclopedic Points allows selective unlocking of pages. Without using Encyclopedic Points, pages will be randomly unlocked.

Encyclopedia tasks: Completing tasks and earning encyclopedic points would cause a new branch of knowledge in the encyclopedia to open.

Since the host is the first user, the knowledge on the first page is related to the occupation of the host.

Host: Lin Fan

Occupation: Scallion Pancake Hawker

Knowledge from the first page: Godly Scallion Pancakes

Mission: Gain a small amount of reputation (incomplete)

Reward: The second page of knowledge will be unlocked and +10 Encyclopedic Points.

At this moment, Lin Fan finally realized what this encyclopedia was and he felt a burst of anguish.

"F*ck the scallion pancakes. Why did I start with the scallion pancake business? If I was ambitious and trained day and night to become immortal, I would have unlocked the Encyclopedia page for immortality."

"I just let this once in a lifetime opportunity slip away like this. Even if I was a just back-end office worker in a bank, I would have unlocked the banking category. Then, the money would be flowing in endlessly. What a pity!"

Lin Fan was lying in bed when he suddenly realized how many opportunities he had lost. Regretting it was useless now, and he could only go back to making an honest living by selling scallion pancakes, hoping that the second page's knowledge would be more interesting. However, trying to complete this first mission was a pain in the ass.

Attain a small amount of reputation? How much is considered a small amount?

"Forget it, I'm just going to try having my own scallion pancakes and see how it goes. After seeing those people eat my pancakes, they looked like they tasted heaven. Could these scallion pancakes really be that good?"

Lin Fan felt heavy hearted as he accepted the reality that the encyclopedia was part of his life now.

It was really a gift from heaven. If he was to tell the world that his life was being taken over by the aliens and that he needed help, he would be a fool indeed.

Lin Fan felt a tinge of pride. The most awesome thing in the world was now his.

Hard work and more hard work, that's what he needed to become the most powerful person in the world.

"Enough talk. It's time to make some scallion pancakes."

Lin Fan went to work and started preparing the scallion pancakes. He was getting excited from it.

"Hey, not bad. It looks good and the smell is pretty good, but is it really that delicious?"

Lin Fan opened his mouth and took a bite.

Lin Fan was stunned. His eyes softened and his saliva started to flow out.

"This is really too delicious, I can't believe I made this!"

Lin Fan was shocked, he felt like he was going to collapse.

At this moment, he finally realized why everyone had reacted like that. The scallion pancake was really too delicious.

"Hmm, I never thought that I could make such a delicious pancake. Only heaven could reveal such knowledge to me." Lin Fan sat on his bedside as he savored the taste of the scallion pancake. His heart was content.

"I, Lin Fan, promise to be the best scallion pancake maker in Shanghai. I will make everyone fall in love with my scallion pancakes."

"No, this goal is too small. I, Lin Fan, will become the best at everything and earn a lot of money. I'll start in Shanghai and I'll make my ancestors proud when my business expands to my hometown."

Lin Fan was bubbling with excitement. Lin Fan had finally found his purpose.

"Brat, what's all that noise you're making? Be a little more realistic with your dreams, will you?" Elder Wang, who was nearby, exclaimed.

The old Lin Fan would have listened but things had changed.

Lin Fan retorted, "This is my dream. Now shut your mouth before I take one of my scallion pancakes and shove it down your mouth, you old man."

"You little..."

"Forget it, Elder Wang. Don't say anything else. He must have been really affected by the stiff competition in Shanghai."

"Fine, if not for you, I would have taught him a lesson!"

Lin Fan snorted in disdain. What a b*stard...

At that moment, his iPhone 4 rang.

Lin Fan knew no one would call him. It was a group message notification from WeChat.

"Attention: Students' gathering will be held on October 1st. We will be celebrating Teacher Xia's birthday as well. Be there or be square!" said 'A rich man', which was a WeChat username.

"Everyone must be present."

"It's Teacher Xia's birthday. This is too important to be missed. You should reschedule your appointments that day if you have any."

"What will you do, Lin Fan? It's okay if you don't sell your scallion pancakes for 2 days. I'll just reimburse your two days worth of income.."

"Haha."

"+1."

"+2."

As he saw the messages, Lin Fan's fingers started typing.

"If you want to buy 2 days' worth of scallion pancakes, you'd have to sell your house to be able to afford it."

"Haha, Lin Fan you are so funny."

"Shanghai isn't a good place to do business. Come to where I am, I'll hook you up with a job."

"You guys should stop teasing him. Surviving in Shanghai isn't easy. But honestly speaking, we're all still young. Selling scallion pancakes at this age when you could be doing so much more is such a waste of your youth."

"Wang Zhen, you're one to talk. Although it isn't a glorious business, it seems easy to get on the news..."

"Youngster in Shanghai only makes $100 a day by selling scallion pancakes."

"Haha, you would have to live on the streets in Shanghai if you're making just $100 a day."

...

Lin Fan decided to not look at his phone anymore. He was just going to get teased further.

Is the meetup on the 1st of October? I can't wait to shove my scallion pancakes down their throats.

Hmmph!

I, Lin Fan, have been blessed by heaven, unlike these people. It's only July now, I still have plenty of time to make it big.

But onto more important things. I need to raise the price of my scallion pancakes tomorrow, or else I'll end up making a loss...