Sense of a Collapsing World

Xiao Xiao was still a bit unsure how to proceed.

Mainly because his understanding of this world and the enhancement paths was still too shallow. He didn't understand the underlying logic, so he was hesitant to take risks.

If he enhanced these three cute dogs, to what extent would their strength increase?

And what were the key internal factors for a successful enhancement?

Xiao Xiao didn't understand any of this, so he felt like every Point he spent was a gamble.

Unfortunately, he couldn't ask Ruan Ruan about these questions.

These enhancement designers clearly detested this kind of gambling approach. And asking Yang Jia wouldn't be appropriate either.

He already owed her a hundred Points, and now he was going to use another hundred Points to enhance three dogs? That sounded a bit excessive.

It was like borrowing money to get a foot massage!!

He arrived at work, changed into his work clothes, and started another day of earning money and training.

He had just lent Nuo Nuo two thousand yuan, which was a full four days' wages for him. He wondered if she would pay him back.

But it didn't matter if she didn't. He could just take her dogs. These three Demolition Hounds might be a bit silly, but they were purebred and worth a lot of money...

While Xiao Xiao was lost in thought, he suddenly discovered a new path to wealth.

These three dogs were so obedient. What if he stole them, sold them, and then secretly ordered them to run back, and then sold them to another buyer...

...This snowball would quickly lead to wealth, right?

With this idea in mind, he dawdled until noon. After lunch, Xiao Xiao sat on the sofa in Warehouse No. 2, enjoying the air conditioning.

The Foreman walked past him with a temporary container dispatch sheet in his hand, glancing sideways.

If he saw anyone else sitting there enjoying the air conditioning, he would probably start yelling. Even though the air conditioning was always on when he wasn't around, he just couldn't stand the sight of someone coming here to freeload.

But since it was Xiao Xiao, it was fine.

This kid who worked like his life depended on it had finally learned to rest. He even felt a sense of relief...

"Hey, kid, there's a delivery job. Go run it!"

Huang Mao, however, couldn't stand Xiao Xiao's lazy appearance. He flicked his cigarette butt and came over to tell him.

There were often delivery jobs from the docks, but they paid extra. Most of the money ended up in the Foreman's pocket, so no one wanted to do them and preferred to stay here and rest.

This delivery job was originally Huang Mao's turn, but he came over to send Xiao Xiao instead.

Xiao Xiao glanced at the temporary dispatch sheet left by the Foreman on the table and silently followed him out. As soon as they had loaded the goods onto the truck, they saw the Foreman walking over with a group of people.

Seeing Xiao Xiao on the truck, he asked curiously, "Why are you going?"

Xiao Xiao said, "Huang Mao said his foot hurts and asked me to take his place."

"Foot hurts?"

The Foreman chuckled coldly and didn't ask any further. He waved to the rest of the people and said, "Come on, everyone, follow me. There's a temporary cargo transfer in the West Warehouse. We need to finish it in three hours."

All the stevedores were shocked. They thought they would have a relaxing afternoon, playing cards and chatting, but who would have thought that a temporary cargo transfer would suddenly come up? This was too tiring.

Huang Mao immediately ran towards the truck: "Foreman, we agreed this morning that I would go out to deliver the goods..."

"Gānlín niáng..."

The Foreman grabbed him and dragged him back: "Didn't you just say your foot hurt and you couldn't deliver the goods?"

Huang Mao protested: "If my foot hurts, I can't move containers either..."

"Gānlín niáng, if you can't move them, have your Uncle Wang come over and move them for me..."

The Foreman grabbed him and threw him into the crowd, cursing: "You're always thinking about slacking off. Do you really think it's that easy to fleece me?"

"I'm at least half a capitalist..."

"..."

In the envious eyes of a group of workers, especially Huang Mao, Xiao Xiao followed the truck and drove out of the dock.

Xiao Xiao didn't need to worry about where to deliver the goods. He just had to follow them to the destination and unload the goods.

Although this trip didn't pay much, it was much easier than staying at the dock for three hours to handle an urgent cargo transfer.

Soon, they arrived at a shopping mall in the Lower District. The goods were unloaded, signed for, and the job was done in just over an hour.

It was still early, so Xiao Xiao, the truck driver, and another stevedore rested by the roadside.

They all had the same idea: they would definitely not go back before the work at the dock was finished.

Although Xiao Xiao had come to work at the dock with the goal of training himself, he also felt that he should respect this job.

He must slack off whenever he had the chance. This was the most basic respect for work.

The streets were lively. For them, a group of construction workers who faced tall, cold warehouses and a bunch of old men every day at the dock, it was an unattainable world. They watched the exquisitely dressed and beautiful girls walk proudly down the street, and the elegant ladies with shoulder bags spend an afternoon in coffee shops, while smoking and sighing: "Damn, that woman's legs are really long..."

Xiao Xiao couldn't fully integrate into their circle of conversation, but he couldn't help but think.

The same scenery might indeed appear different in the eyes of different people. For example, he was just thinking, what if you peeled off those glamorous human skins...

...would there be a slimy tentacle monster hidden underneath?

Lost in his thoughts, a group of girls dressed in revealing clothes, some even with tattoos reaching their necks, walked across the street. They strolled past him, arms linked, laughing loudly.

The smoking dockworkers quickly averted their eyes. They dared to look at the elegant ladies in the coffee shop with fiery gazes—come out and fight me if you dare?

But they didn't dare to look too closely at these scantily clad, sexy young delinquents—because they really would fight.

Xiao Xiao, however, suddenly paused, his gaze landing on Nuo Nuo, who was wearing a white dress and walking among the group of young delinquents, her neck draped around by a girl with tattooed arms.

He looked over, preparing to say hello.

Unexpectedly, Nuo Nuo saw him, her face immediately turning awkward. She deliberately looked away, pretending not to see him.

Xiao Xiao retracted his greeting, watching as they walked into the alley behind the mall, laughing loudly.

Inside the coffee shop, a refined woman wearing sunglasses and elegant clothes sat by the window. The sunlight fell quietly on her, creating one of the most pleasing scenes in the city.

She also held a coffee, watching the group of young girls laughing and joking as they passed by the glass window, especially noticing the fear on the girl's face in the middle.

The coffee nearing her lips paused slightly, as if she was lost in thought.

"Just another bunch of truants..."

Outside the coffee shop, the dockworkers waited until the laughing girls were out of sight before muttering, "If I had that kind of opportunity back then, I would have studied hard."

The person next to him laughed, "Isn't it because you didn't study hard back then that you ended up doing this?"

"If I had known I'd be doing this now, I would have studied hard back then..."

The driver laughed, "But it's too late for us to say that. Xiao Xiao still has a chance. Hey, where's Xiao Xiao?"

While they were chatting, Xiao Xiao felt something strange in his heart. He followed the group of girls to the second-floor platform next to the mall. Being near them would inevitably lead to being discovered, especially since Nuo Nuo didn't want to acknowledge him on the street. His reappearance would seem inappropriate. Therefore, he stood silently on the second floor, listening to the girls below him, giggling and talking about something.

"Didn't you say it was two thousand?"

Nuo Nuo's voice sounded like a panicked little animal, "I already gave it to you. Let me go back..."

"Who said it was two thousand?"

The high ponytail girl with tattoos reaching her chin said with a grin, "Besides, isn't your family rich? Is two thousand a big deal to you?"

"I really don't have any money..."

Nuo Nuo pleaded, "My mom only gives me money once a month. This money was borrowed from my neighbor..."

"Then borrow more..."

A girl's voice next to her became fierce, "Aren't you supposed to apologize to us? Shouldn't an apology have some sincerity?"

"..."

"Just kids bullying someone?"

Xiao Xiao listened for a moment on the second floor and understood what was happening below. He shook his head and prepared to leave.

He didn't expect that the world had become a paradise for monsters, and he could still see things like this. He was somewhat uninterested. He had seen a mother wanting to chop up her own child with a knife, seen a high school classmate crawl out of human skin, and endured four years of painful torture. In this twisted and absurd city, he even subconsciously felt that this was just a trivial matter.

"Please, spare me..."

At this moment, Nuo Nuo's cries rang out from below, "I agreed to everything you said, why won't you let me go..."

The sound made Xiao Xiao stop silently.

Perhaps it was indeed just a small matter, and they were all monsters, part of this vast city. Perhaps everything that happened between them was just some objective law in operation.

But the despair and pain in the little girl's cries made Xiao Xiao unable to ignore it.

This was the only thing he felt was real right now.

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