Heavy Tomato User...
[Breakthrough.]
[You broke through to the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm.]
[Although you broke through to the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm, you paid a price.]
[The medicinal residue from six Low-Grade Body Tempering Pills has formed irreversible blockages in your meridians.]
[Pill Poison.]
[Without a high-grade pill to neutralize it, your cultivation will stop at Mid-stage Body Tempering for the rest of your life.]
Lu Ping stared at the words "stop at Mid-stage Body Tempering."
Six pills, half a year, and he had gone straight from the early stage of Body Tempering to the middle stage.
It was fast, but the price was even more outrageous.
In his previous life, he had saved money on takeout, and ten years later his medical report had been full of red arrows.
In this life, he had saved money by taking low-quality pills, and his meridians were full of medicinal residue.
Oh, no, that wasn't right. It wasn't because he was saving money; it was what he had earned by selling himself...
[Thinking back, you realize that the Third-in-Command's "affection" for you may not have been yours alone.]
[You piece together a few fragments from the gang members' gossip.]
[Before you, the Third-in-Command had at least three similar "young lovers" by her side.]
[The first stayed with the Third-in-Command for two years. His cultivation soared from mortal to Mid-stage Body Tempering, and then he died.]
[The second stayed for a year and a half and also died.]
[The third was a little smarter. He seemed to notice something wrong, and then he ran away.]
[Three days later, he was pulled out of the river with a gash across his neck, from his left ear to his right.]
[You understand.]
[Qian Cuihua isn't keeping lovers. She's raising gu.]
[The cultivators raised on Low-Grade Body Tempering Pills have their meridians blocked by Pill Poison and can never break through to Mid-stage Body Tempering.]
[And Mid-stage Body Tempering happens to be the highest cultivation level that poses no threat to Qian Cuihua.]
[Controllable, useful, and disposable.]
Reading this, Lu Ping felt a chill in his heart.
The favorable impression brought by the Friend of Women trait was real.
Qian Cuihua's "affection" for him was real too.
But genuine feelings and scheming had never been mutually exclusive.
She genuinely liked him, and she genuinely treated him as a disposable resource.
That boss in his previous life who had promised everyone a pie in the sky had also genuinely believed the company's prospects were bright, while genuinely treating every employee like a battery.
Lu Ping once again confirmed that human nature had never been any different, in either his past life or this one.
It was just that this cultivation world magnified it further.
[Day 365. Nineteen years old, one year of service. Generating trait...]
[Congratulations, you have obtained the trait: Heavy Tomato User (S-rank)—because you have read a large amount of Tomato content, you are immune to the vast majority of the world's poisons, knockout drugs, and bewitching Technique Methods. Invulnerable to a Hundred Poisons.]
Lu Ping stared at the trait, his whole body jolting.
S-rank!
Another S-rank! Its effect: Invulnerable to a Hundred Poisons.
The previous S-rank had been Salty Fish! Its effect: an unwavering Dao heart.
He had just been worrying about Pill Poison, and the system had already delivered the antidote.
Immunity to toxins.
Was Pill Poison a poison?
"The vast majority of the world's poisons"?
As long as Pill Poison fell within that "vast majority," this trait could directly neutralize the medicinal residue in his meridians.
And it wasn't just Pill Poison.
In a gang where someone might poison him or drug him with a knockout drug at any moment, the practical value of being Invulnerable to a Hundred Poisons was immeasurable.
Great System, I spoke too loudly before.
Lu Ping silently offered his compliments to the simulator, even using the Flattery trait.
Unfortunately, the simulator ignored him.
[Currently equipped: Flattery/Passing the Buck/Salty Fish/Friend of Women. Replace one?]
Passing the Buck was useful.
But he wasn't in a situation where blame was being dumped on him now. The jobs the Gang Leader assigned him were all things he could do, and the Third-in-Command had his back.
The situations where he could use Passing the Buck were rapidly dwindling.
Heavy Tomato User, meanwhile, protected his life, saved his life, and neutralized poison, all in one.
Replace it.
[Passing the Buck has been unequipped. Heavy Tomato User has been equipped.]
[Currently equipped: Flattery/Heavy Tomato User/Salty Fish/Friend of Women.]
[Heavy Tomato User activated.]
[The residual Pill Poison accumulated in your meridians from six Low-Grade Body Tempering Pills has begun breaking down at an accelerated rate. Estimated time until complete removal: seven days.]
[The ceiling on your cultivation has opened up again.]
[That evening, the Third-in-Command invites you to "drink tea" as usual.]
[You pick up the teacup and take a sip.]
[Heavy Tomato User activated.]
[The tea contains a trace amount of "Drunken Immortal Powder."]
[A knockout drug that renders people unconscious and unable to resist. It will cause you to lose consciousness completely.]
[You glance at the Third-in-Command. She is drinking tea from the same pot with carefree abandon, completely unaware.]
[Someone has tampered with the Third-in-Command's teapot.]
[Options appear.]
[A: Pretend not to know, feign unconsciousness from the poison, and see what the person behind this is planning.]
[B: Immediately warn the Third-in-Command that something is wrong with the tea and use the opportunity to gain more of her trust.]
[C: Drain the tea in one gulp and shout, "Good tea! Another pot!"]
Lu Ping wavered between A and B for a moment.
Who is behind this? What is their goal?
If the Gang Leader was making a move against the Third-in-Command, warning her would be a pledge of allegiance, and the Third-in-Command would fully accept him as one of her own.
The question was, if he became one of the Third-in-Command's people, could he bring down the Gang Leader?
Or would he be dealt with along with the Third-in-Command?
Why does the Gang Leader want to deal with the Third-in-Command?
Still, this incident confirmed for Lu Ping that with Heavy Tomato User, Drunken Immortal Powder had no effect on him.
This was a trump card.
Lu Ping chose A.
[You chose A.]
[You close your eyes. Your body collapses "limply" onto the couch.]
[The Third-in-Command falls too.]
[She crashes heavily onto the other end of the couch, her three-hundred-jin weight drawing a pained groan from the entire couch.]
[The room falls quiet.]
[After a while, footsteps sound outside the door.]
[Someone pushes the door open.]
[The newcomer stands on the threshold, looking down at the Third-in-Command sprawled on the couch, then at the "unconscious" you.]
[He chuckles.]
["Third Sister, sorry about this."]
[You recognize the voice: the Second-in-Command, Zhao Tiezhu.]
[Zhao Tiezhu closes the door securely.]
[Instead of killing anyone first, he begins searching the room.]
[The first drawer of the dressing table: rouge and face powder. He pushes it shut. The second: a few pawn tickets and a string of copper coins. He pushes it shut.]
[At the third drawer, he pauses for a beat, then takes out a thin booklet.]
[There are no words on the booklet's cover. Zhao Tiezhu opens it and takes a couple of looks, his mouth twisting to one side, then stuffs it into his robes.]
[Then he lifts the bedding.]
[In a hidden layer is a stack of silver notes, wrapped in oilpaper and neatly arranged...]