014 BUG Skill

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"What? Are you scared?"

Yang Tang let out a soft laugh. "Let's talk over there." Then he took the initiative to get up and walk toward the shade of another tree.

Seeing this, Liu Yu and Glasses wanted to stand up as well, but were each held down by one of the henchmen of that scoundrel (see Chapter 006).

The scoundrel himself followed behind Yang Tang into the shade.

"Speak. What do you want?"

The scoundrel didn't respond immediately. Instead, he pulled out a cigarette case, shook out two cigarettes, and offered one to Yang Tang.

"No, thank you. I never smoke," Yang Tang waved his hand. "If you have something to say, say it."

With a raised eyebrow, the scoundrel tucked one cigarette behind his ear, lit the other, and took a deep drag before speaking. "I've been watching you for a while and noticed you're pretty ruthless and clever—just the kind of talent Brother Hua needs. So, how about it? Join me."

Yang Tang was silent.

"Not interested?" The scoundrel narrowed his already slanted eyes. "Basic salary is one dollar a month. If you do well, it could be two dollars or even more."

Yang Tang smirked. "Is that ten bucks a dollar or a hundred bucks a dollar?"

The scoundrel was taken aback, then let out a strange cry. "Damn, you really know what’s up. Of course it’s the biggest bills!"

"Actually, I wish I didn’t," Yang Tang shook his head. "I don’t know how capable this Brother Hua of yours is, but if even a newcomer like me can get a dollar a month, then the money from protection fees won’t be enough to cover salaries. The rest must be coming from vice, gambling, or drugs."

"Heh, you—" The scoundrel looked amused.

But Yang Tang cut him off. "Don’t interrupt, Luo Jian. Listen. All this analysis is just my own speculation. Has nothing to do with you. But if you butt in, that’s a different story."

The scoundrel was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "Alright, go on."

"If it’s vice, first of all, you need someone in the official circles. Otherwise, even if you have a place, the police will raid you every day. And here in Mist City, a small-time official won’t cut it. You need at least someone with a bureau-level background to feel secure. I don’t know if your Brother Hua is that capable."

At the mention of "bureau-level," the scoundrel was lost. Apart from being loyal and brave, he knew little about Brother Hua’s connections.

"Second, gambling is banned throughout China. If you want to make big money from it, you need even more connections. Again, depends on Brother Hua."

Hearing Yang Tang repeatedly mention "official circles," the scoundrel grew annoyed. "Without a big backer, a small one won’t do?"

"How small?" Yang Tang asked.

"How about a section chief?"

Yang Tang pulled a wry face. "If you only want to run one or two streets, that’s fine, but count me out."

This left the scoundrel dazed. As far as he knew, Brother Hua’s territory was just a few streets, and the salary offer he’d just made was pure nonsense. He just wanted to pull Yang Tang in—like a pyramid scheme: once you step in the mud, good luck getting clean again.

"So after all this, you’re just not interested?"

"Like hell I am!" Yang Tang was getting impatient. "You think being in the underworld is so easy?"

The scoundrel protested, "Aren’t I doing it now?"

"You? You’re just a street punk," Yang Tang scoffed. "In China, if you want to make it in this world, besides fighting and killing, there’s one thing more important…"

"Don’t tell me, 'official connections' again!"

"Nonsense!" Yang Tang suddenly felt that for someone as dumb as Luo Jian to have survived this long without being sold off was pure luck. Maybe this Brother Hua was a fool as well? "You only look for connections once you’ve made a name. Otherwise, who would care about a nobody like you?"

"Then what’s most important?" The scoundrel was already being led around in circles.

"The most important thing… Let me ask you: If Brother Hua ordered you to attack someone, would you do it?"

"Yes!" The scoundrel didn’t hesitate.

"And if he told you to kill?"

"Kill?" This time, the scoundrel hesitated, but after a few seconds, nodded heavily. "If he says kill, then kill!"

Yang Tang rolled his eyes. "Then you’ll end up in prison—or even facing the firing squad."

"Executed? Isn’t that a bit much?"

"Why not? You kill someone—you pay with your life. Who else should they shoot if not you?"

"But… but…"

"What but?" Yang Tang looked at him with disdain. "You go in, Brother Hua still has other followers. Get it? That’s the most important thing."

The scoundrel was left dumbfounded.

Yang Tang said nothing more, patted his shoulder, and walked back to the basketball court.

Whether the scoundrel ever came to his senses or when he left, Yang Tang didn’t know. He played basketball until his usual time, then returned to the dorm for a nap.

In the afternoon, it was back to back classes and practice tests, the endless cycle of preparing for the college entrance exam.

Evening came. Sitting in the cafeteria, Yang Tang was still pondering—today should be the seventh day already—why hadn’t the skill solidification finished? Or was it all just a dream?

After evening study, the realization he sought still hadn’t come. He felt a bit dejected, but didn’t let it show, so his three roommates wouldn’t notice.

Back in the dorm, the four quickly washed up and went to bed.

No idea how long he’d slept, but suddenly, a realization dawned: "Physical enhancement complete. Skill [Scar Hand] solidification complete!" And then his consciousness entered the golden mist again.

This time, right in the center of the golden mist stood a statue, divine and man-shaped, unmistakably resembling Yang Tang himself.

The entire statue was crystalline, like glass, and above its head hovered a large six-pointed star. Each line glowed with soft white light, and in the center of the hexagon was a small, irregular six-sided shape. Yang Tang noticed it but didn’t pay much attention.

"Where’s the solidified skill?"

The realization surfaced: "On the statue."

Sure enough, as the thought faded, a small spot on the statue’s left back muscle flashed, looking like a skill icon.

At the same time, another realization arose: "[Scar Hand] tenfold enhanced skill, cooldown time three seconds, mysterious two-stage assassination—one strike severely wounds the target. Active skill, instant cast, zero mana cost."

What?! Was he seeing things, or had the realization glitched? How could the cooldown be just three seconds?

Yang Tang’s mind was a tangle of question marks and exclamation points.

Another realization came: "[Scar Hand] can devastate targets because it's fast and always hits a vital point. The weakened version, at one-tenth power, loses speed and doesn't hit vitals—so cooldown drops from 300 to 30 seconds. When the skill was exchanged and enhanced tenfold, cooldown dropped further to three seconds!"

Wait, wait, wait… The new realization jumbled his thoughts, but after careful reflection, Yang Tang finally understood.

[Scar Hand] was the assassin’s ultimate move in "Xuan Yuan Sword Online"—incredibly powerful, with a long cooldown. Its strength came from always hitting vital points. Imagine: Is it more devastating to swing with fifty kilos of force and always strike the neck, then wait 300 seconds, or to hack an arm with five kilos of force ten times in a row? Clearly, the first is deadlier—and in a sneak attack, maybe even fatal.

So, when the skill was weakened and the cooldown shortened to thirty seconds, that was reasonable. But this "reasonable" adjustment turned out to be a huge advantage for Yang Tang. With a tenfold exchange, not only was the skill’s power restored, but the cooldown dropped to a terrifying three seconds!

"If only future dreams could be exchanged at tenfold, too!"

"Tenfold exchange is not allowed in official dreams!"

A cold splash—more like a blow to the head—reminded Yang Tang to pay attention to the [Aimed Shot] plaque floating in the eastern sky above the statue. If a tenfold enhancement to [Scar Hand] produced such godlike results, what about the shooting skill?

Unfortunately, having been skeptical all along, Yang Tang hadn’t accumulated much merit or sin except for saving He Jiani (see Chapter 011), so he couldn't exchange for [Aimed Shot] yet.

Frustrated, Yang Tang turned his focus back and decided to test [Scar Hand]'s power.

"How do I activate [Scar Hand]?"

"Just use your mind."

Yang Tang tried, but nothing happened.

"This skill is active. You must first lock onto a target with your mind before you can use it."

Yang Tang felt a headache. In this mist, where was he supposed to find a target?

"By the way, I asked before: the next official dream starts at the Lantern Festival. Are there any other requirements?"

"For official dreams, the first dream requires ten Reincarnation Points, the second twenty, the third thirty, and so on."

"Reincarnation Points?"

"Two merit (or sin) can be exchanged for one Reincarnation Point, but Reincarnation Points cannot be exchanged back for merit (or sin)!"

Damn, what kind of rip-off rule is this?!

"So, to open the first dream, I need at least twenty merit (or sin)… Wait, how much merit (or sin) do I have now?"

"You currently have forty-one merit!"

"You currently have one point seven sin!"

Yang Tang was dumbfounded. "…So little?"

In other words, if he wanted to exchange [Aimed Shot] and unlock the first dream, he’d need at least eighty more merit points. But the Lantern Festival was just days away, and saving a life (He Jiani) only gave ten merit—far too little!

"Geez, how many old ladies do I need to help cross the street for that?"

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PS: At last, I’ve caught up with the second update!