Chapter 4: Small Influence of the Evolution System

Jin Yu thought the quiet hum of his fridge sounded a bit different, maybe softer. He stopped trying to sweep up his old noodles and wondered if it was always like that.


Ever since he helped the lady find her cat, Jin Yu has paid more attention to everything around him. He saw the chipped paint on his walls more clearly. He noticed how the sun came through his dusty window a little differently each day.


He looked for anything strange, thinking that the little bits of “evolution energy” might be doing something.


The old cash register at his job used to be slow and sometimes wouldn't scan things properly. But lately, it felt a little faster. Sometimes, items were scanned almost instantly, which was very unusual.


Even Mr. Dela Cruz, a grumpy customer who always complained about the slow register, hadn't said anything negative in a few days. Jin Yu thought he even looked a little surprised.


Outside his place, his neighbor’s sad plant looked better. A bright purple flower had opened up among the brown leaves. Jin Yu looked at it one morning, feeling a bit worried and very interested. These small changes felt like more than just luck.


Jin Yu finally sat down to really read the “Instruction Manual.” He had just looked at it quickly before. But now that he knew the system was real, he read it carefully.


It told him the basics – scanning, upgrading, and Evolution Points. Then it talked about stranger things. “Levels” were like steps to become stronger, and Earth was on the “Basic Level.” To go to the next level, he needed many Evolution Points – the manual vaguely mentioned a figure for upgrading Earth to the "Lower Plane": 10 Evolution Points.


Jin Yu's eyes widened at that. Ten points. That felt like an eternity away, earning just one every seven days, but the possibility of changing the entire planet, even to a "Lower Plane," was a staggering thought. It dwarfed the idea of upgrading his fan or his ramen cooker. He made a mental note: Save up for Earth upgrade. Ten points.


The manual also said: “Energy from space helps everything grow. People with the Evolution System help this energy work through upgrades. Keeping things balanced is important for everything.” Jin Yu was confused. Space energy? Keeping balance? This was bigger than just his phone.

The book also said there were other people with the system, maybe even on Earth. It warned him not to tell people too soon, because they might not understand or might want to use it for bad things.


This made Jin Yu feel a little scared. He wasn’t the only one with this power.

Days went by slowly. Jin Yu did his usual work, but he kept thinking about the system. He did the math in his head. Ten weeks. Almost three months to get enough points to even attempt upgrading Earth to a "Lower Plane."


It felt like a monumental task, but the potential reward was equally immense, even if he didn't fully grasp what a "Lower Plane" entailed.


He wrote down every small, strange thing he saw – the register working better, the flower growing, a light feeling in the air near a broken street light – as if these observations were clues to the larger workings of the system.


Then, one evening, as the sky turned orange and purple, Jin Yu saw something that made him feel cold inside. He was walking home when he saw a young man trip near the market. Nothing special. But as the man fell, some heavy wooden boxes next to him started to fall over too.


For a short moment, Jin Yu saw the man’s hand move a little, and the boxes seemed to… stop in the air. They stayed there for a second, just long enough for the man to get out of the way before they crashed down loudly.


Nobody else seemed to see it. People kept buying and selling things. Jin Yu stood still, his heart beating fast. He thought about what he saw. He was sure. The boxes stopped falling.


He quickly scanned the area with his phone, but the system didn’t show anything strange. Just normal things at the market.


Had he just imagined it? Was he going crazy? It was a scary thought. But he remembered those boxes hanging in the air too clearly. The image solidified his resolve.


If others could somehow influence the world around them without even a visible upgrade, then his goal of upgrading Earth, however distant, felt a little less impossible.


The next week felt very long. Jin Yu kept looking at his phone, waiting. He had a new focus now. Saving up. Ten points for Earth. He still wondered what he should upgrade in the meantime with the single point he would receive.


Should he pick something useful for every day? Or should he try to see if he could make the little changes he saw happen more often? But the long-term goal of upgrading Earth now sat firmly in his mind.


[Remaining Time: 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, 10 seconds.]


Finally, as the time counted down to zero, a new message popped up on his screen, different from before:


"[The world around you is changing: There is a little more energy in your area (Sector 7). You will get a little more Evolution Points (+0.3).]"


[Ding! Evolution Point Generated! +1 Evolution Point Earned.]


[You currently have 1.3 Evolution Points]


Jin Yu stared at the message, his mind working hard. Sector 7? That was where he lived. And what made the energy go up? Could it be what he saw at the market? Maybe these small increases would help him reach his goal of ten points a little faster.


The usual “+1 Evolution Point Earned” message came after, but the first message made him very curious and a little worried. The world was changing around him in small ways that almost no one else noticed. And he had a feeling that upgrading his shoes was just the very, very start of something much, much bigger. Ten Evolution Points. Upgrade Earth. The thought echoed in his mind.


[End of Chapter 4]

Chapter end