Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Qin Lan often found reading a girl’s thoughts difficult.
Right now, he thought it might be harder than facing an anomaly.
Given the choice, he would rather endure another beating from the two security guards than confront this troublesome problem.
“What a headache…”
Qin Lan sighed.
He was more frustrated than ever.
By all rights, he did not need to take responsibility for Su Xiaoyue’s sudden emotions or worry about this confusing mess.
“All I did was fail to tell her in advance. Why get angry? Am I not even allowed to share good news while keeping the bad to myself?”
“I had no choice but to join the Anomaly Hunter Bureau. There was no other path for me.”
Qin Lan raked a hand through his hair.
“And why should I care whether she’s angry? I didn’t do anything wrong… Fine, she did help me, but I’ll repay the favor later.”
“Yes, she looked after me at school because she was class representative. And she is pretty… Wait. What am I thinking?”
For Qin Lan, who had struggled alone in the slums from an early age, “romance” was an unfamiliar word.
He had always divided members of the opposite sex into only two groups: people he knew and people he did not.
While his peers fantasized that perhaps the campus beauty Su Xiaoyue secretly liked them, Qin Lan had been trying to figure out how he would feed himself after graduation.
Thus, he did not realize that a foolish young man had briefly touched the forbidden realm called “love.”
Naturally, the foolish young man had even less chance of understanding why the girl he cared about was truly angry.
When his result was stolen, Su Xiaoyue had fought urgently for justice on his behalf, briefly warming his heart.
Later, they exchanged contact information, and her warning saved his life. He was deeply grateful.
When Qian Youquan suddenly appeared, Qin Lan had felt something beyond hatred for an enemy.
He had disliked seeing someone else covet what his heart desired.
That was why Qin Lan had behaved less rationally than usual, even recklessly.
Normally, he should have concealed his wings as carefully as before, remaining dormant until he possessed enough strength to challenge Qian Youquan to an explosive one-on-one showdown.
But with Su Xiaoyue beside him, something in his brain seemed to short-circuit.
“Sigh…”
After thinking it over, Qin Lan composed a message he considered entirely appropriate. In reality, it could only pour oil on the fire.
[Thank you for all the help you’ve given me. I will repay this favor one day.]
[I will take responsibility for my own life. You don’t need to worry so much.]
After checking it repeatedly, Qin Lan sent the message.
“There. That should be fine.”
Half a minute later, Su Xiaoyue replied.
[Why should I care whether you live or die?]
Qin Lan stared at the screen, reread the sentence several times, and reached an astonishing conclusion.
“So I misunderstood her. She wasn’t angry at all.”
Even among the most hopelessly dense men in internet history, this thought process ranked near the top.
Satisfied, Qin Lan closed the chat window and planned his next move.
“I have nothing else to do, and [Talent Deepening] just arrived. I might as well study it while exploring instances in a Fallen Zone.”
…
A dim streetlamp. A sinister alley. Drizzling rain.
Faint unease permeated the narrow lane. The high walls on either side resembled giants watching their prey, exerting constant psychological pressure.
A tall, graceful figure stood beneath an umbrella at the end of the alley.
A mask concealed most of her face, but it left a pair of seductive eyes exposed.
“Hey, handsome. Do you think I’m beauti– Fuck! Why is it you again?!”
The Slit-Mouthed Woman’s gentle voice broke instantly.
Qin Lan paused.
“Wait. What a coincidence.”
He had merely chosen a Safe Zone exit he liked and wandered a few hundred meters beyond it, only to enter [Road to the Netherworld] again.
As long as an anomaly inside an instance was not killed, it remained there, waiting for the next participant.
Fate truly worked in mysterious ways.
“Do you… think I’m beautiful?”
Even though Qin Lan had experienced this instance before, the required sequence still had to play out.
The Slit-Mouthed Woman expected him to answer perfunctorily and pass her trial. Instead, Qin Lan narrowed his eyes and pulled out a crowbar.
“Ugly woman, fight me to the death!”
This time, Qin Lan had not come seeking death. He had come to fight.
He had already died to the Slit-Mouthed Woman many times. Reentering the instance would not reset the diminishing returns.
He might as well test the level his current strength had reached.
—
Name: Qin Lan
Race: Human
Strength: 3.2
Constitution: 2.6
Speed: 2.5
Spirit: 2.2
—
This was Qin Lan’s latest status panel after clearing [Terror Subway].
After the Conductor tormented him more than twenty times, his attributes had risen enormously.
As the final boss of a 3-Star instance, the Conductor had been powerful, and deaths at his hands produced greater gains.
In terms of physical ability alone, the current Qin Lan could already be called a martial arts expert.
Strength more than three times an ordinary person’s, combined with [Baton Secret Art: Three Strikes, Three Guards], gave Qin Lan the confidence to fight the Slit-Mouthed Woman.
By his estimate, her physical attributes should fall somewhere between 2.5 and 3.
How had he estimated them?
His neck and skull had engaged in several intimate, extremely close-range encounters with her mouth.
Back then, Qin Lan’s attributes had barely exceeded 1. He was an entirely ordinary person.
In the world of Dragon Ball, his power level would have been five — except he did not carry a gun, so he might not even have reached that.
Times had changed. Qin Lan could now see the Slit-Mouthed Woman’s attacks and even dodge them in time.
“You dare call me ugly?!”
“You’re dead!”
She tore off her mask. Her grotesque, stinking maw, packed with sharp and disorderly fangs, lunged viciously at Qin Lan.
It struck empty air.
“Hah. She really is fast, but I can handle it…”
Qin Lan rose, delighted by the change in his strength.
The dodge had been strained, and her attack had grazed his skin, but compared with being killed instantly, it was tremendous progress.
“How… did you do that?”
The Slit-Mouthed Woman turned in astonishment after missing.
She could not understand how a boy who had recently relied entirely on rules for survival, someone she could kill with a single bite, had changed so dramatically.
“An ugly person like you could never understand the world of handsome men like me.”
Qin Lan breathed out and rolled his wrist.
“Since I can keep up, it’s my turn now.”
“Let’s see what’s harder — your mouth or my big rod!”
After casually delivering that terrible line, Qin Lan’s expression changed. Brimming with murderous intent, he charged.
“Baton Secret Art — Three Strikes, Three Guards!”
He activated the skill copied from subway security.
The crowbar in his hand accelerated sharply and swung toward the Slit-Mouthed Woman’s face.
At first, she did not believe it could hurt her and made no attempt to dodge.
As a 1-Star anomaly, her physical abilities far exceeded an ordinary human’s. That strength had enabled her to hunt countless unfortunate victims.
Ordinary attacks could not harm her effectively.
“Once I endure this strike, I’ll tear you apart…”
Her eyes filled with resentment and anticipation of a full meal.
But Qin Lan’s attack was not ordinary.
“First strike, the legs — prevent escape!”
With a chilling crack, the crowbar abruptly changed course in mid-swing and struck her knee.
“Aaaah!”
[Abnormal Status: Stagger.]
The Stagger lasted only one second, but that was more than enough for Qin Lan to strike again.
His eyes calm, his movements precise and ruthless, he declared,
“Second strike, the mouth — prevent begging!”
The crowbar fell again, this time targeting her signature maw.
[Abnormal Status: Silence.]
The Slit-Mouthed Woman’s shriek stopped abruptly.
“Third strike, the head…”
Qin Lan drew a deep breath and gathered all his strength.
“Stop thinking!”
Bang.