The Most Suitable Route

In a quiet alley, inside the bedroom.

Xiao Xiao carefully considered the three routes Yang Jia had mentioned. The Strong Physique route involved continuously improving one's physical constitution with Violence Factor. So far, he had only used the lowest grade of Violence Factor to strengthen his body, yet he had already gained exceptionally excellent physical abilities. When tense, he could even erupt with powerful strength beyond his own limits. So what would the advanced version be like?

Would he become something like a superhuman, perhaps even someone who feared no bullets?

The Hunter route, meanwhile, was a strengthening path more inclined toward hunting and concealment. The image of Little Four had already appeared in Xiao Xiao's mind.

That person who seemed able to appear anywhere at any time, while also possessing superb skills, was probably the most standard example of the Hunter route.

As for the Insightful route, was it an advancement of Extreme Sensitivity?

Because one was sensitive enough, they could always detect the malice hidden beneath other people's disguises?

And as that sensitivity gradually increased, would it develop into an insight that could perceive all kinds of minute traces?

It had to be said that when he imagined such abilities beyond those of ordinary people, Xiao Xiao, who had already witnessed the strangeness of this city many times, was truly tempted.

When people lacked a sense of security, they always craved power more than anything.

However, among the three routes Yang Jia had described, there was no Collectors route.

But it was easy to understand after thinking about it. Most other strengthening routes focused on improving one's own power, whereas the Collectors route was more like borrowing the power of external objects.

The reason Strangers could not strengthen themselves along multiple routes at the same time was that each strengthening route placed an enormous burden on their minds, making two routes difficult to reconcile.

The Collectors route, however, could be pursued alongside any other route.

In other words, even if he already had three strengthened Demolition Hounds, it would not stop him from choosing a path suitable for himself.

Besides, having merely three once-strengthened Demolition Hounds was still far from enough to qualify as the Collectors route.

From Yang Jia's words, it was clear that it was very common for Strangers to carry one or several special items for self-defense.

After analyzing all this, Xiao Xiao began to deliberate over what exactly suited him.

What am I lacking?

Everything. Facing this enormous and twisted world, he had almost no ability to protect himself.

Then what was he most lacking at present?

More powerful strength?

He had already used the most basic Violence Factor to strengthen himself. Exchanging for mid-grade Violence Factor and embarking on the Strong Physique route seemed like a logical and decent choice.

Xiao Xiao was so deeply immersed in thought that he did not even notice night falling. He only vaguely felt that the Strong Physique route ought to be his choice.

Only when the sound of the television came from the living room outside did he hear an obviously artificial-sounding voice speaking in ordinary Mandarin: "Are you good at fighting?"

"What use is being good at fighting?"

"If you want to make your way in the world, you need power and connections..."

"..."

"?"

Xiao Xiao, whose mind was full of violence, suddenly felt as if someone had insulted him.

He pushed open the bedroom door and walked out. His mother was sitting in the living room, cracking melon seeds and watching television. When she saw him come out, she was clearly surprised as well and smiled.

"So you were here. I thought you hadn't come back yet..."

"Have you eaten? What would you like? Mom will make you something."

"..."

"No need. I've already eaten."

Xiao Xiao shook his head and glanced at the television. A handsome yet roguish face was arrogantly talking to a little thug in front of him, making Xiao Xiao feel even stranger.

"How old are you, still watching movies like this?"

"..."

"Hey, I have nothing else to do. These old movies are pretty good."

His mother picked up the remote and lowered the volume a little, smiling. "Besides, everyone says my son looks like him."

"We don't look that much alike."

Xiao Xiao glanced at the television and thought, At most, ninety-nine percent...

He shook his head, dispelling the strange feeling, and returned to the bedroom to resume thinking.

"What use is being good at fighting..."

For some reason, that sentence was strangely catchy and refused to leave his mind.

He had originally been very interested in the Strong Physique route, but after being struck by those words, he suddenly lost much of his enthusiasm. After thinking it over, he could only decide to consider it a little longer.

His understanding of this world was still too shallow. Such an important decision could not be made on a whim.

In any case, he currently had low-grade Violence Factor to improve his physical constitution, as well as three strengthened Demolition Hounds to assist him. Some simple Aberrant Creatures were no longer capable of threatening him.

Compared with choosing a route, there were more important matters that needed his consideration.

The unexpected free acquisition of three Demolition Hounds had given him his strongest safeguard so far, but it had also made Xiao Xiao start to wonder:

Could the Old Record Player that always played eerie music, as well as the Butcher at the meat shop on the corner, also be strengthened into special items?

The Demolition Hounds, whose exchange price was only thirty gold coins, had gained the ability to let him face the core of Despair Swamp head-on after being strengthened. What about these two, whose prices were higher?

Old Gramophone: 50 points

The reclusive Butcher: 100 points

These prices were no burden to him now.

If both of them could be strengthened into special items, would he not make a massive profit?

Xiao Xiao's heart surged with excitement, but he also felt that it was unlikely.

According to Ruan Ruan, finding even one such special existence was already a huge gain. If he suddenly found three...

How unlucky would he have to be to have lived among this group of monsters all these years?

There was another point as well. Xiao Xiao had come to deeply realize that, for him at present, were these strange and bizarre Enhancement Elements really his greatest safeguard?

No. It was actually his illness.

The panic that had tormented him for four years had become his most valuable asset after he learned to focus and control his attention. Xiao Xiao discovered that he was becoming increasingly skilled at using the sensation of time stopping brought about by that panic to solve problems. At the same time, when facing Despair Swamp, he had also discovered that this Mind Burst ability seemed able to effectively dilute the impact caused by the Pain Substance.

In that case, was the thing that could give him the greatest sense of security actually the exploration of this ability?

In the past, Xiao Xiao had been very reluctant to consider this issue.

After all, he had been tormented for four years. Even now, he was still deeply trapped in that torment of panic.

Four years ago, Xiao Xiao had sought help from his parents, but at the time, their relationship had already broken down. They did not believe him, and no one cared. Later, Xiao Xiao grew used to it.

Since the doctors and his parents all said he was not sick, then he would simply act as if he was not sick.

He had worked hard to adapt, forcing himself to remain calm and appear normal under the panic and torment. Was that not precisely what he had done to prove, as they wished, that he was actually not sick?

So of course he was normal. The doctors had said he was not sick.

He had merely learned to adapt to certain things early on. And now, perhaps the problem lay in...

What kind of choice would allow him to adapt to this better, or even make use of it?

That night, Xiao Xiao fell asleep while thinking about this. The next day, he got up and took the subway to the docks for work as usual.

Unexpectedly, the moment he arrived, Foreman and the other workers all looked astonished. Just as Xiao Xiao was wondering about it, Foreman came over.

"Are you all right? What happened to your hand?"

Xiao Xiao still had a large adhesive bandage stuck to his hand. He said helplessly, "I was bitten by a dog. My neighbor's dog."

"?"

A question mark appeared above Foreman's head as well. He said, "Then remember to get your neighbor to compensate you. But it's good that you're all right."

Xiao Xiao found Foreman somewhat strange and asked in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"Something happened at the place where you delivered goods yesterday, didn't it?"

Foreman shook his head. "Old Zhang and Old Li were both hospitalized. Apparently, some lunatic planted bombs in that neighborhood."

"They were finally defused, but everyone nearby was terrified. The resulting crush and trampling caused quite a few casualties. It seems two unfortunate women were even shot and killed by someone who took advantage of the chaos."

"That's why those two took the day off today. I've been worried about you too. There hasn't been a word from you since yesterday."

"..."

"Bombs?"

Xiao Xiao was somewhat surprised. It seemed they knew nothing about Despair Swamp and instead believed an actual bomb had gone off.

Had someone deliberately staged it this way, or had the city distorted their memories?

As for the women who had been shot...

Who did that? Had someone really killed people in the chaos yesterday?

But he did not care much about the other matters. He simply said, "I was lucky and left early, so nothing happened to me."

"Thank goodness, thank goodness..."

Foreman let out a long sigh of relief and repeatedly said, "Those two are one thing, but if something had happened to you, that would have been a real problem."

Only after hearing this did Xiao Xiao understand.

The dockworkers' assignments outside were all recorded. Since those two workers had been injured, it counted as a work-related injury and could be reimbursed. But he had only gone there after temporarily switching shifts.

If something had happened, he would have had to bear the responsibility himself.

To Foreman, the fact that nothing had happened to him meant that Xiao Xiao had inadvertently saved him from a major headache.

"Take it easy today. I'll arrange some light work for you..."

It was obvious that Foreman was in an excellent mood. With a grand wave of his hand, he assigned Xiao Xiao to watch over the warehouse registry. He continued grumbling curses.

"Those two bastards never let anyone have any peace. I still have to visit them today, and the truck hasn't even been driven back yet. After sitting there all night, who knows how much more parking fees we'll have to pay..."

"..."

"That's really unfair..."

After a while, Xiao Xiao sat in front of the warehouse, enjoying the breeze from a fan with his legs crossed, enviously watching the workers who were preparing to do heavy labor.

He had originally planned to continue tempering himself, but Foreman had stripped him of the right to work without even asking.

Still, having a salary was enough. At present, the most important thing for him truly was no longer tempering his body.

It was figuring out what he needed most...