C22 He Had Upgraded and He Had Become Bald

To be on the safe side, Faang Cheng decided to check with the system before initiating the upgrade.

"Host, you are now able to proceed with the upgrade," the system announced in its usual icy tone. Without a second thought, Faang Cheng was about to click the upgrade button when he heard what sounded like a chuckle from the system.

"What the hell are you laughing at? Do you realize how creepy that is?" Faang Cheng griped, but the system fell silent and offered no response.

"Screw it, I'm upgrading!" he declared, and pressed the upgrade button.

"Congratulations, Host, on upgrading the system to level 2!"

As the system's voice echoed, Faang Cheng suddenly felt an intense heat surge through his body.

Visibly, his muscles swelled!

His clothes were incinerated by the wave of scorching heat!

And that particular area stood at attention.

Faang Cheng was speechless...

System!

Did you know this would happen?

Thank goodness he hadn't attempted the upgrade at home or, worse, in public.

Fortunately, he was already in his villa when the upgrade became available. Had it happened while dining at Director Zhao's...

Faang Cheng hadn't anticipated the upgrade's dramatic effects.

Had he received the notification then, he surely would have clicked the upgrade button on the spot.

And then...

He would have burst out of his clothes in front of everyone!

System: "Wasn't that avoided? Please, Host, promptly claim your system reward!"

With a resigned sigh, Faang Cheng faced the system.

What could he do? He had no choice but to indulge his system.

"First, I need to cover up," he muttered, glancing down at his towering presence.

Thankfully, no one else was present to witness the scene; otherwise, the misunderstanding would have been inevitable, and impossible to explain away.

Trying to tell someone that his transformation was the result of a system upgrade would surely have them reaching for the phone to call the mental hospital.

Opening the door to the walk-in closet in his room, Faang Cheng was taken aback.

Before him was an array of clothing for all seasons, meticulously organized by color. The sight left him dazzled.

"I suddenly feel like I have more clothes than any girl I know!" he quipped, as he casually grabbed an outfit to wear.

Covering up was the top priority at the moment.

Yet, once Faang Cheng donned his clothes, he was overwhelmed by an intense heat, prompting him to strip down to just his summer shorts.

"Why does this system upgrade feel like I've ingested some bizarre drug?" he griped.

No sooner had he finished his rant than his muscles began to ache as if in response to his complaints.

Faang Cheng collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony.

"System, I should never have bad-mouthed you. You're the boss!"

But once the pain subsided,

Locks of black hair cascaded to the floor.

The heat on Faang Cheng's body had dissipated, leaving him feeling considerably cooler, and a refreshing breeze wafted over his now-bare scalp.

A sense of foreboding washed over him.

With trembling hands, Faang Cheng reached up to touch his head.

"Oh no...!"

Bald as a cue ball.

He couldn't feel a single hair, not even a fuzz.

"System, I'm going to destroy you! Why didn't you warn me about the baldness?!"

Faang Cheng leapt to his feet and rushed to the mirror next to the wardrobe, only to be struck speechless.

His body was now muscular and tinged with a pale pink hue, his head shiny enough to reflect the overhead light.

Beyond that,

Faang Cheng noticed his facial features had improved significantly.

But no matter how handsome, the baldness was a tough pill to swallow.

"So you see, patience is a virtue, young man," the system finally chimed in after a long pause.

Immediately after, Faang Cheng detected a foul odor emanating from his body.

He glanced in the mirror.

Disgusting, mud-like substances began to emerge on his skin, slowly spreading.

"Damn it!"

In just the few seconds Faang Cheng was frozen in shock, the black muck had smothered his nose, the overpowering stench assaulting his senses.

Had it not been for his past part-time work at a landfill, the smell would have knocked out anyone else on the spot!

Without wasting another moment, Faang Cheng dashed for the bathroom.

Just as the bathroom drain was on the verge of clogging, Faang Cheng managed to rinse away the black muck clinging to his skin. Once clean, his skin glowed with a white, rosy hue, delicate and inviting, reminiscent of a peeled egg's smooth surface. The sight was so surprising that Faang Cheng couldn't resist pinching his own buttock in disbelief.

The softness under his fingers was nearly seductive, but he quickly snapped back to reality. An itching sensation on his scalp soon followed, and before long, his hair had not only grown back but had become fuller. The earlier burning feeling had vanished as well.

Simultaneously, his muscles returned to their normal appearance, yet with a slight flex, Faang Cheng could still make them stand out impressively.

"So that's it?!" he exclaimed.

Rushing to the mirror, Faang Cheng wiped away the condensation to get a clear view. The reflection that greeted him left him speechless; he barely recognized the man staring back. The image in the mirror was strikingly handsome, with sharp, chiseled features like those of a romantic lead straight out of a novel.

It was unmistakably his own face, yet inexplicably more attractive. He found himself captivated, unable to stop stealing glances at his own reflection.

"Still, that transformation was terrifying. If I didn't have nerves of steel, my heart might've stopped by now!" Faang Cheng muttered to himself.

Then, he noticed something new.

A book, resembling an ancient tome, had materialized in his mind. The system remained silent. With cautious curiosity, Faang Cheng attempted to probe the book with his consciousness, only to find it impenetrable.

"This book can only be utilized directly; it is not for mere observation," the system's prompt informed him, prompting Faang Cheng to take a bold step and open the book.

'If I must use it, so be it. The worst that can happen is losing my hair again! Surely, you wouldn't actually leave me bald, right?'

Meanwhile, the mud-soaked pants that had enveloped Faang Cheng were carelessly discarded to the side. Anyone witnessing the scene would have been aghast.

'Good heavens!'

A pair of designer pants, a limited edition worth tens of thousands, lay abandoned on the bathroom floor, filthy and foul-smelling. Oblivious to the value of what he had tossed aside, Faang Cheng proceeded to explore the mysterious book.

Suddenly, a white light flashed before his eyes, and it felt like his head had burst open.

But this sensation was fleeting, lasting only a few seconds.

Images resembling Taiji Eight Trigram Fist sprang into Faang Cheng's mind, stubbornly lingering despite his attempts to dismiss them.

"What is this?!"

As Faang Cheng spoke, one of the images seared itself into his brow as if branded there, and his hand began to move, sketching involuntarily.