“Make it cheaper.” Zhu Yan haggled. “Five hundred Bone Coins—come on, you know he’s a dying man. Besides, look at it this way: you’re the teacher and I’m the student. We have a teacher-student bond…”
“Eight hundred Bone Coins. That’s the lowest I’ll go.”
“Six hundred.”
“...Fine.”
After chewing for a while, the Slime finally agreed.
Damn, I still paid too much.
Zhu Yan cursed inwardly.
“Jin Rongxu.” The Slime chuckled.
It flipped through the thick book in its hands, quickly yanked out a page, and passed it to Zhu Yan.
“Same old rules. If you want to investigate his family, that’ll cost extra.”
Zhu Yan hummed in acknowledgment and lowered his head to read the words on the paper.
“[Jin Rongxu’s Information]
Name of subject: Jin Rongxu
Relationship with inquirer: Target of the inquirer’s looting and killing; the inquirer’s direct superior
Abilities: Mind Reading Lv. 7, Paranormal Grafting Lv. 7, HP Bar Chains Lv. 7”
Holy shit.
Those three abilities looked terrifyingly powerful. The first one alone made Zhu Yan break out in a cold sweat.
What did [Mind Reading] mean?
It could read people’s thoughts. Wasn’t that the kind of cheat ability that only appeared in female-oriented web novels?
If Jin Rongxu could read minds, then hadn’t he been reading...
Zhu Yan thought of Jin Rongxu’s gaze that day and couldn’t help feeling a lingering fear.
Fortunately, he had drunk the Witch’s potion. Fortunately, that thing could alter thoughts.
There hadn’t been anything unusual in Jin Rongxu’s gaze. Zhu Yan could still pretend he knew nothing and continue lying low.
Still, he would have to ask Dragonfly later how to use the potion if he wanted to keep modifying new memories.
As for [Paranormal Grafting] and [HP Bar Chains], he would have to spend money to investigate those two abilities as well.
“Special identity: Captain of the Eighth Action Team, Rapid Response Division, under the Core Combat Department of the Human Alliance
Player level: Level 8
Living relatives: Jin Zhongheng, Jin Ligeng, Lin Xiu, Zheng Jie, Jin Qiuxiao
Benefactors: Jin Ligeng, Jin Zhongheng, Zhang Qinhe”
Of those names, Zhu Yan was familiar with only two.
One was Jin Ligeng, Director Jin’s name.
During the morning meeting, Director Jin’s nameplate had been placed in front of him, and Zhu Yan had glanced at it a couple of times.
The other was Zhang Qinhe.
He was Director Jin’s colleague and currently the leader of the Internal Control Department.
When he had taken the microphone to speak, Zhu Yan had casually memorized his name.
Zhu Yan continued reading.
“Total assets after deducting debts: approximately 690,000 Bone Coins.”
Silence.
Silence was tonight’s Cambridge.
Zhu Yan stared motionlessly at that line. Then the Slime’s voice, mixed with a foul stench, wafted over his head.
“Oh, look at him. He really is that rich.”
That was equivalent to approximately 69 million in human currency.
Was that even fair?
The moment Zhu Yan thought of his own bank account, he suddenly felt that he had been paid far too little.
“Foolish child.” The Slime wriggled its mouth, fanning the flames. “Not many people can amass a fortune like that in times like these, unless they were already rich to begin with.”
“So? Do you want to investigate these three abilities? I can give you a Hunter’s discount, and I’ll throw in one person’s information for free.”
“I do.”
The Slime charged Zhu Yan 240 Bone Coins.
It rummaged around for quite some time before handing him the second sheet of paper. Almost as soon as he got it, Zhu Yan began reading.
“[Mind Reading] Lv. 7: Just as the name suggests, this ability can read the thoughts of players and horror creatures at Level 7 or below. It is a passive ability. If it isn’t switched off, then it is active.”
“When Mind Reading is active, neither players nor horror creatures will notice. This also makes it an excellent tool for testing levels!”
“If you discover that something’s mind is completely blank, then it may not be a living creature—or its level may be higher than the ability’s level.”
That was absurdly overpowered.
Fortunately, he had used a puppet and taken that potion today.
Zhu Yan thought expressionlessly.
“[Paranormal Grafting] Lv. 7: This ability allows the user to transplant the tissue of a horror creature onto their own body, granting them limb regeneration, bone blades, and finger guns.”
“Please note: The graft cannot last indefinitely. The horror creature’s tissue can remain in the body for only seven minutes.”
Even if Level 7 only corresponded to seven minutes, that was still incredibly powerful.
In an instance, let alone seven minutes—even seven seconds could save someone’s life.
“Please note: This ability carries a risk of rejection.”
“If your willpower is weak, there is a chance that you will be assimilated by the horror creature. The exact probability depends on the weakness of your willpower.”
All right, Jin Rongxu didn’t look like someone with weak willpower anyway.
This ability was so powerful that Zhu Yan couldn’t help feeling envious.
No wonder they had gone through countless selections to choose it from the combined power of the Human Alliance.
Combined with [Mind Reading], wouldn’t passing any instance be easy?
He wouldn’t even need to fish around for clues...
“[HP Bar Chains] Lv. 7: Once this ability is activated and locked onto teammates, the user can share their life bars, senses, and damage with their teammates, including mental damage.”
Fuck, it even had a health-lock cheat?
Zhu Yan couldn’t hold back anymore.
Although [Paranormal Grafting] had side effects, [HP Bar Chains] greatly transferred and reduced them.
“Please note: Once this ability is activated, injuries will spread from one person to the entire team.”
“If even one person collapses, the entire team may be wiped out.”
Got it. If a teammate’s health bar was depleted, Jin Rongxu would die too.
But even Jin Rongxu’s teammates had been carefully selected. Under normal circumstances, it would probably be nearly impossible for them to get him killed.
Zhu Yan’s expression darkened.
He still hadn’t handed over the Level 13 saber. Against Jin Rongxu, whose player level was only 8, it would be more than enough.
These abilities did indeed give Jin Rongxu excellent protection.
The first directly screened the people around him. The second was packed with offensive power. The third buffered the second ability’s side effects and could even serve as a defensive measure.
The quickest and easiest way for Zhu Yan to deal with him was to use the Level 13 saber and kill Jin Rongxu in a single strike.
If he chopped off his head, surely even a health-lock cheat couldn’t reduce damage of that magnitude, right?
Zhu Yan pulled out his phone and took photographs, then returned the two pages of information.
“This time, you can give me one person’s information for free,” he reminded the Slime calmly. “Give me Jin Ligeng’s.”
...
Clutching the phone containing the photographed information, Zhu Yan hopped aimlessly down the completely red staircase of the Nightmare Bookshop.
Guan En’s voice came through the receiver, his tone especially stern.
“Zhu Zeyu, I know you do whatever you want. That’s fine in an instance, but what did you mean by acting like that in front of Captain Jin?”
“Captain Jin filed a report and obtained special approval for you. Starting tomorrow, you’ll be staying inside the Human Alliance until you enter your next instance.”
“The team needs training before it can come together. Zhu Zeyu, are you listening?”
Damn it. Once he became Jin Rongxu, the first person he would deal with would be Guan En.
“I heard you.” Zhu Yan answered in an unusually gentle voice. “I’m really sorry, Officer Guan. I was just too exhausted. At that moment, I felt like I could collapse at any time...”
Only a few hours remained before the Four-School Passage closed.
Zhu Yan still had to go back and ask about how to use the potion he wanted to learn about. After that, he would have to return to the dormitory and continue altering his memories, preparing to move into the 【Human Alliance】.
He hadn’t been to the art student’s place yet, either.
But he probably wouldn’t have time in the next few days.
He could deal with it after returning from the dungeon.
Remembering the “excessive weakness” they had detected earlier, Guan En’s tone softened.
“All right. Get a good rest. I’ll be waiting at the main gate at eight tomorrow morning.”
“You’ve probably gotten a feel for Captain Jin’s personality by now.” He paused, then sighed. “The Alliance isn’t like the outside world. Don’t provoke anyone you can’t afford to cross.”
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
nto another world, I bought a slave for the first time, never expecting the silver wolf girl to be so cute... Lin Feng: I know it's cold, but you don't have to sneak into my bed! Yuna: Just sharing body warmth, if you dare do anything naughty, I'll definitely...
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
