【Strengthening Tendons and Bones】
【Quality: White】
【Type: Passive Skill】
【Effect: Slightly increases maximum Stamina, slightly increases maximum HP】
【Description: With this, you will better understand the flower language of a steel wool scrubby.】
Ignoring the strange description at the end, Bai Xiaodu couldn't wait to equip it.
Creak, creak. His bones vibrated, and his muscles tightened.
Suddenly raising his hand, a gust of wind whistled past from his punch, and an uncontrollable smile spread across Bai Xiaodu's face.
The driver, who was waiting patiently beside him, was startled and looked at him with a face full of fear, as if worried he was going to silence him to keep him quiet.
Immersed in his power upgrade, Bai Xiaodu didn't notice the driver's expression.
Although the description only mentioned a “slight increase,” he felt as if his strength had increased significantly out of thin air.
Perhaps because his base attributes were too low, even these white-tier titles were enough to multiply Bai Xiaodu's strength several times over.
Feeling his flank, his muscle groups hadn't ballooned in size; instead, they had tightened and hardened considerably.
Great, my capital for charming rich older women is still intact. Bai Xiaodu was even more satisfied now.
He took a deep breath, letting his breathing return to normal.
Looking at it this way, killing living beings in the real world yielded even greater benefits than he had imagined.
While it couldn't compare to the grey gifts given when Affection reached certain thresholds, it was an extremely good supplement.
Remembering the chips dropped from killing mechanical civilization creatures back in the game, an eager look rose in Bai Xiaodu's eyes.
If he remembered correctly, the Explorers Association's missions included low-difficulty combat quests that he could take on.
He would ask President Liu about it when he had time.
Although he didn't care at all about the corpses strewn all over the ground beneath his feet, out of basic humanitarian concern, after all...
Bai Xiaodu bowed slightly.
“Rest in peace.”
He easily climbed back into the truck and pulled the driver up. Unexpectedly, he pulled so hard that the driver's hand hurt, leaving Bai Xiaodu to scratch his ear in embarrassment.
Better get out of here quickly. I'm covered in blood.
Pulling the gear lever, Bai Xiaodu suddenly realized that if he wanted to go back, he had to reverse along the same path.
Well, there was no helping it. Those corpses would have to be run over once more.
The sound of tires crushing flesh and the crack, crack of breaking bones echoed.
The driver looked at him as if he were a pervert who, after committing a crime, had to desecrate the corpses all over again.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Bai Xiaodu quickly pressed his hands together in prayer.
“Rest in peace once more.”
Once they were completely out, he took out the driver's phone to look up directions.
The driver's gaze turned even stranger, his face filled with hesitation. In the end, seemingly unable to hold back his urge to speak, he said tremblingly,
“Um, little brother... Actually, where I parked earlier, you could have turned directly onto the main road and driven straight to the Explorers Association in one go.”
His wine-red eyes blinked. Bai Xiaodu looked up at the mush in front of them, which was now completely unrecognizable.
To be honest, he felt a bit like gagging.
“Why the hell didn't you say so earlier?”
The driver hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping.
“I... I thought you liked doing that...”
Bai Xiaodu silently shifted the gear lever again.
Crack... crack...
Tonight, some people were destined to get no sleep.
The cleaners specifically sent to handle the aftermath, the government workers consoling the devastated family members,
and the Jackal Gang.
...
Taking a shower, vigorously scrubbing his tail with a shoe brush, and blow-drying it, Bai Xiaodu had a thoroughly refreshing sleep.
He was just like a scumbag who, after finishing the deed, comfortably closed his eyes and lay back, leaving his partner to clean up the mess.
The first thing he did upon waking up was contemplate his outfit. Standing stark naked in front of the mirror,
he wondered what style Director-General Shen would prefer.
An innocent and lively student vibe? A mature, adult-like look? Or a cold, niche handsome guy style?
Fine feathers make fine birds. No matter who he met, as long as the other party displayed enough value,
Bai Xiaodu would immediately show them his utmost respect in proportion to that value.
If it could make him look more pleasing to Director-General Shen's eyes, Bai Xiaodu was more than willing to dedicate his entire morning to picking out clothes.
“Good boy, hmm...”
Actually, this phrase was a bit strange and impolite when used on humans.
Because that was how owners spoke to their pet dogs.
But who cared?
A fox was basically a dog anyway.
Just a bit more cunning.
Bai Xiaodu quickly changed into a loose set of white casual clothes.
Turning right out the door brought him straight to the lobby of the Explorers Association. Even though he had only met them for the first time yesterday, Bai Xiaodu greeted the staff with extreme familiarity.
Instead of being put off, they seemed somewhat flattered and eagerly returned his greetings.
The ones who looked down on mortals the most were those who had just trained their first spell to the Proficient rank.
They were often eager to distance themselves from their status as commoners, rushing to squeeze into the high society of transcendents.
Bai Xiaodu didn't have this issue. As long as they didn't cross him on fundamental matters of interest, he treated everyone with politeness.
Of course, it could also simply be that his Charm attribute was so high that it was automatically filtered by their brains' cognitive lenses.
“Director-General Shen usually works on the third floor. Those rooms are all hers, so please make sure not to wander into them randomly.”
He didn't say anything, but as he turned around, a small pack of cigarettes worth several hundred credits naturally slipped from his sleeve into the staff member's hand.
Bai Xiaodu stepped into the elevator.
The doors opened to a completely quiet floor, spotlessly clean.
Following the signs on the doors to the largest office area, he stood straight, wondering how to start the conversation.
“Come in.”
Director-General Shen's voice remained calm and cold.
Well then.
Bai Xiaodu naturally had to show his superior sufficient respect. He quickly and silently opened the door, stepped inside, let his tail droop, and stood obediently to the side.
She was still dressed in that same suit, looking incredibly formal.
However, her solid black blazer was draped over her chair, leaving only her form-fitting pure white undershirt and dark red tie on display.
Her beautiful, slender white fingers held a document, but Director-General Shen didn't write any comments on it directly.
Instead, she tapped it absentmindedly, almost poking a hole through the paper.
Bai Xiaodu waited patiently for his superior's further instructions.
With a twist of her slender, pale fingers, the entire document was flipped over. Director-General Shen's pale blue eyes remained calm and unruffled.
But Bai Xiaodu couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.
Because that document was filled with the most vicious remarks against him and formal complaints swearing to sue him to the bitter end.
Having almost wiped out an entire sector, now that things had reached this point, the Jackals certainly wouldn't dare provoke him again.
So these remarks were likely from those heartbroken, so-called families of the victims?
Tsk, what a pain.
But he couldn't possibly hunt them down to their homes and kill them all one by one.
Bai Xiaodu didn't consider himself a true psychopath.
President Liu talked such a big game about covering the sky with one hand, but in the end, his bottom line is still incredibly flexible.
That old fox.
In the end, everything still required Director-General Shen's approval.
Confirming that Bai Xiaodu had finished reading the words on the document, Director-General Shen tapped the paper once more with the tip of her pen.
Her words were clear and resonant, her face majestic and authoritative.
“The trouble you've caused isn't small. It's going to be very difficult to clean up the mess now.”
“Protecting you is a hassle. Our Explorers Association isn't some tyrannical organization; after all, we ultimately serve the Federation.”
When public outcry grew too loud, cutting ties cleanly to preserve one's reputation and career was the most common recourse.
Bai Xiaodu knew that this paper held not only those people's grievances and complaints, but also the decision of whether his future lay in career advancement or behind bars.
Power really is a wonderful thing. Just with the stroke of a pen, one can completely alter another person's future destiny.
When will I be able to sit in a position like this?
Having finished speaking, Director-General Shen focused her gaze, observing Bai Xiaodu's reaction.
The latter merely kept his head lowered.
His silver-white ears slowly drooped to the sides, a look of grievance appearing on his face.
“At first, I never thought I would kill anyone, let alone so many people.”
“Before this, I had only ever killed chickens to cook for Grandma. Really. Knowing I was going to see you, I kept telling myself I had to sleep, but my teeth were chattering the entire night.”
“I know I did something wrong. I come from a poor background. Even if the other side wanted to kill me, I shouldn't have retaliated so fiercely. It's a thankless task for the Association to shield me. But I remember you said that if I felt sad or scared, I could come to you for comfort.”
“Before I learned spells, I worked in nightclubs and gyms, relying on nothing but my decent-looking face. The pay might have been slightly higher, but besides Grandma, no one took me seriously. They constantly gossiped about me and bullied me behind my back.”
“Ever since I heard you say those words, I felt that you were a good person just like Grandma—at least, you were willing to truly look at me. So, after the call hung up that night... in my heart, I've always thought of Director-General Shen as a very, very kind older sister and senior.”
Rate on N.U.
