Chapter 13: I’m Not a Gambling Dog
What is all this about?
The first two were manageable enough, and Xiao Xiao had already experienced the ferocity of those three vicious dogs before. As for the house-wrecking, Xiao Xiao had heard their owners collapse and curse in their rooms many times over it.
And that old record player, Xiao Xiao had heard it many times before. He remembered one Spring Festival when the record player was playing cheerful songs like “Gong Xi Fa Cai,” yet it somehow produced a feeling as if it came from the underworld…
But that butcher…
…Did the city’s will just accidentally expose important information?
Did that butcher really kill people? And could he be arrested at any moment?
Did I really think before that this butcher might be a pervert hiding in the streets, and it turns out my suspicion was actually true?
So, shouldn’t I call the police now?
……
……
If this had happened before all of this, Xiao Xiao would have called the police without hesitation.
However, in just these few days, too many incomprehensible things had already happened around him. He had even seen rat-men, so one more psychotic killer didn’t seem so unbelievable anymore.
Especially since the entire city was already filled with monsters, and the psychotic killer seemed to be on his side.
He didn’t call the police. Instead, he unexpectedly remained calm and quickly began to think:
“Anything detected carries the possibility of mutation, with certain substances in their bodies that are ‘abnormal’ to this city.”
“However, I cannot eliminate them before these things actually mutate.”
“Otherwise, this city would treat it as murder or other illegal behavior, deducting the points I currently have…”
“……”
He was accustomed to thinking under pressure, and at this moment he found his thoughts surprisingly clear: “Experienced ones like Yang Jia and Ruanruan are usually put under special surveillance or tracked after being detected.”
“Because once they are detected, these things often break through the critical point within just a few days and transform into mutated creatures.”
“But I’ve been living here for a long time, and they’ve always existed, always giving me this intense sense of danger, yet they’ve always remained this way, never turning into monsters like the rat-men…”
“So should I tell Yang Jia and the others about this now and get them eliminated as soon as possible, or…”
Recalling another option that Ruanruan had mentioned before, even I found it somewhat absurd: “Buy them?”
Could these three possibly become the special items that Ruanruan mentioned?
According to Ruanruan’s explanation, as long as something is detected to have “abnormalities” and danger, it can be purchased and strengthened to observe whether these things will undergo mutation.
If mutation occurs, they are cleaned up and exchanged for points.
If no mutation occurs, it can form into something possessing some special powers, which is exactly what collectors love most—”special items.”
Of course, the latter possibility is extremely low, which is also one of the reasons why the collector’s route is particularly difficult to walk and easy to go bankrupt.
Would I be so lucky as to see three items at once?
Just staring at the three flickering options on the screen, my heart was actually somewhat tempted: one hundred and thirty points, already spent 90 points, with 40 points remaining.
I can’t buy anything else, but those three dogs…
Xiao Xiao suddenly remembered the three ferocious dogs from his neighbor’s house—their robust builds, dark red eyes, and the way they always stared at him with drool dripping from their mouths…
By all accounts, spending thirty points to buy three vicious dogs was an extremely unwise decision.
But precisely in that painful memory, they had left too deep an impression on him, which was one of the reasons why Xiao Xiao didn’t want to tell Yang Jia or Ruan Ruan about this matter.
When a person has been affected by their fear for as long as four years, it forms a peculiar psychology.
Regardless of what these things were like in themselves, they had already acquired a unique concept in his mind.
There was also a vague thought: “Since these things once brought me such profound fear, then in a situation where the entire world has become monsters…”
“I will buy them, make them mine, and then bring fear to others……”
“……isn’t that very comfortable?”
“……”
This inexplicable sense of catharsis made Xiao Xiao unable to suppress the idea in his heart, even though he knew this could potentially be a losing investment.
It was just that he couldn’t tell Yang Jia and the others about this idea, and they would definitely not approve anyway.
“I’m not a gambling addict, I just feel it’s necessary to give it a try…”
After much deliberation, he became increasingly tempted: “I’ll just buy three vicious dogs first and observe them for a while.”
“If, after the fact, both of those two objects show signs of mutation or distortion, I’ll tell Yang Jia and Ruan Ruan to quickly dispose of them.”
“But what if……”
“What if these three objects truly have the potential to become special items, even if only one of them can, I’d have made quite a profit……”
“……”
With a hardened resolve, the decision was made.
Out of forty points, thirty were allocated to purchase these three adorable hunting dogs.
Speaking of which, among these three options, only these three hunting dogs were affordable to buy, the other two items were out of reach.
Moreover, those two items had such high prices and gave off an unreliable feeling.
The old record player’s ability was merely to make the opponent feel a bit down, what use could that possibly have?
What if the opponent is in a bad mood and beats me up even harder? Isn’t it common for people to want to hit others more when they’re angry?
And that butcher……
……to be honest, his combat power is the highest on the surface, and Xiao Xiao fears him the most.
Who wouldn’t fear a butcher who spends all day holding a chainsaw cutting up large animals?
But this person has already broken the law, right? What if I just bought him and then he gets arrested by the Security Bureau? Wouldn’t that be a complete loss?
While analyzing the situation in his mind, Xiao Xiao completed the transaction.
Watching helplessly as the score displayed in his field of vision showed only forty points remaining, it flickered once, leaving just ten.
Text appeared:
【Transaction Complete】
【Three adorable hunting dogs now belong to you. They will appear on the battlefield whenever you need them.】
【Friendly reminder: Don’t bring them to your own home, or your neighbors will sue you…】
【……】
“This belongs to me now?”
Xiao Xiao stretched his head out through the window, straining to catch a glimpse of the three hunting dogs.
Then he saw that the three hunting dogs were also crowded in the corner of the fence at that moment, each one stretching their necks as far as they could, staring at him through the window.
Looking at their eyes, they seemed both familiar and strange.
Unlike before, they didn’t bark incessantly at the sight of me. Instead, they were quiet and calm, tilting their heads, and I could even faintly see their tails behind them, attempting to wag toward me.
If one were to describe this moment, it would be a bewildered face quietly gazing through the window at three simple, honest faces.
……
……
“It does seem to have become much friendlier……”
Xiao Xiao felt more confident now. If he were to walk past them again, they probably wouldn’t bark fiercely at him like they did before.
After purchasing these three vicious dogs, he also discovered new information pop-ups appearing:
【Name: Moe Moe Hunting Dog of Three Conditions】
【Status: Can be Enhanced】
【Cost: 100 Points/Time】
【Remarks: After enhancement, their ferocity will far exceed your imagination, and moreover, their house-wrecking abilities will also be beyond your expectations…】
【……】
“There’s a vague feeling of being taken advantage of……”
Xiao Xiao’s heart sank slightly. The price of strengthening was considerably higher than he had anticipated.
Although the description was tempting, it would cost a full hundred points. How many rat-men would he have to kill to earn that back?
Moreover, even if I spent these hundred points, it would only be to strengthen them and see the effects, and in all likelihood there wouldn’t be a particularly cost-effective improvement.
However, having already purchased them, I couldn’t possibly not strengthen them.
Otherwise, I would have just bought three hunting dogs with these three points?
Or ones whose house-wrecking ability is stronger than their combat capability?
Xiao Xiao suddenly felt a vague sense that the pressure was getting a bit too much, so he quietly withdrew and sat back down in front of the computer.
In the courtyard not far away, the three vicious dogs saw him disappear from the window and simultaneously let out a disappointed growl, their frantically wagging tails drooping down as well.
As if their hearts were extremely dejected, they turned their heads and began digging in the soil of the courtyard again.
Thinking about it carefully, Xiao Xiao also found this matter quite strange—the nature of this purchase was somewhat difficult to understand.
I have already made a deal with this city. At the city’s level, these three dogs actually already belong to me and are exceptionally loyal to me.
Even if I am subjected to the city’s malicious attacks again in the future, they will not participate in the transformation.
But at the “reality” level, or rather, in terms of this city’s laws and cognition, these three dogs actually still belong to my neighbors. If I want to take them back and raise them myself, I have to be careful that the neighbors call the police and arrest me.
If I had to describe it, it would be that beneath the reality level, the will of this city has constructed another set of logical systems.
If you think about it that way, you’re not at a loss after all.
It’s not that you spent your own money, and the three hunting dogs still belong to the neighbors—rather, these three hunting dogs are actually yours, but the neighbors are just helping you raise them…
That feels much better.
He quietly calculated: at least in this twisted and vast foreign land, he now had three dogs.
It’s just that the points I have left on hand are only ten.
I still need to adapt as quickly as possible. After all, compared to the ubiquitous terror and malice in this world, a buffer of ten points is already quite thin.
The gambler’s route really isn’t viable…