The Most Suitable Route

Quiet alley, inside the bedroom.

Xiao Xiao carefully considered the three paths Yang Jia had mentioned. The Brawn path involved continuously enhancing one's physical attributes using Violence Factors. He had only used the lowest-level Violence Factor to strengthen his body, and already he possessed exceptional physical prowess. In moments of tension, he could even unleash power beyond his limits. What would the advanced version be like?

Becoming a superhuman, perhaps even impervious to bullets?

The Hunter path, on the other hand, leaned more towards assassination and stealth. Xiao Xiao immediately thought of Little Four.

This person, who seemed to appear anywhere at any time and possessed exceptional skills, seemed to be the most standard representation of the Hunter path.

As for the Seer, was it an advanced form of Extreme Sensitivity?

Because of sufficient sensitivity, one could always detect the malice hidden beneath others' disguises?

And as this sensitivity gradually increased, it would develop into a kind of insight that could perceive all sorts of subtle traces?

It had to be said that, having witnessed the strangeness of this city many times, Xiao Xiao found this extraordinary ability very tempting.

When people lack a sense of security, they always crave power.

However, the three paths Yang Jia mentioned did not include the Collector path.

But thinking about it, the other enhancement paths focused on improving one's own power, while the Collector path was more about relying on external objects.

The reason why an Outsider could not pursue multiple paths simultaneously was that each enhancement path placed a great burden on one's mind, making it difficult to reconcile two paths.

But the Collector path could be pursued simultaneously with any other path.

In other words, even though he already had three enhanced Demolition Hounds, it wouldn't affect his choice of a suitable path for himself.

Moreover, having only three first-time enhanced Demolition Hounds was far from qualifying for the Collector path.

From Yang Jia's words, it was clear that it was common for Outsiders to have one or more special items for self-defense.

Having analyzed all this, Xiao Xiao couldn't help but start considering what was suitable for him.

What am I lacking?

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

So, what am I most lacking right now?

More power?

He had already used the most basic Violence Factor to strengthen himself, so would it be a good choice to exchange for the intermediate Violence Factor and embark on the Brawn path?

Lost in deep thought, Xiao Xiao didn't even notice the arrival of night. He just vaguely felt that the Brawn path seemed to be his choice.

Until the sound of the television came from the living room outside, a distinctly plastic Mandarin voice saying, "You think you're tough?"

"What's the use of being tough?"

"To get ahead, you need power and connections..."

"..."

"?"

Xiao Xiao, who was preoccupied with violence, suddenly felt like he had been scolded.

He pushed open the bedroom door and walked out, only to see his mother sitting in the living room, cracking sunflower seeds and watching TV. Seeing him come out, she was clearly a little surprised and smiled:

"Oh, you're here. I thought you hadn't come back yet..."

"Have you eaten? What do you want to eat? Mom will make you something."

"..."

"No, I've eaten."

Xiao Xiao shook his head, glanced at the TV, and saw a handsome and roguish face talking arrogantly to a small fry, which made him feel even stranger:

"How old are you? Still watching these kinds of movies?"

"..."

"Hey, I'm just bored. These old movies are pretty good."

Mom picked up the remote control and turned down the volume a little, and smiled: "Besides, people say my son looks like him."

"Not really."

Xiao Xiao glanced at the TV, thinking, "99% at most..."

Shaking his head to dispel this strange feeling, Xiao Xiao returned to the bedroom and began to think again.

"What's the use of being tough..."

For some reason, this sentence was a bit magical and lingered in his mind.

Originally very interested in the Brawn path, he suddenly lost interest after being scolded like this. After thinking for a while, he could only decide to consider it more.

Right now, his understanding of this world was still too shallow, and such an important decision could not be made impulsively.

In any case, he currently had the low-level Violence Factor to improve his physical fitness, and he also had three enhanced Demolition Hounds to help him. Simple Aberrant Creatures could no longer threaten him.

Compared to the choice of path, there were more important things he needed to consider.

The unexpected freebie of three Demolition Hounds gave him the strongest guarantee at the moment, but it also made Xiao Xiao start to feel tempted:

That old gramophone that always plays eerie music, and the butcher in the meat shop at the intersection, could they also be enhanced into special items?

And considering that even the Demolition Hounds, which only cost 30 gold coins to redeem, have the ability to face the core of the Despair Swamp head-on after being enhanced, what about those two that cost even more?

Old Gramophone: 50 Points
Reclusive Butcher: 100 Points

This price is no burden for him now.

If both of these could be enhanced into special items, wouldn't he be hitting the jackpot?

Xiao Xiao felt a surge of excitement, but also thought it was unlikely.

According to Ruan Ruan, finding one such special existence was already a big win, but if he found three at once...

...how unlucky would he have to be, to have lived among these monsters for so many years?

Another point was that Xiao Xiao deeply realized that, for him at present, the greatest guarantee wasn't really these bizarre Enhancement Elements.

No, it was his condition.

The panic that had plagued him for four years, after he learned to focus and control his attention, had become his most valuable asset. Xiao Xiao found that he was increasingly skilled at using the time-stopping sensation brought about by that panic to solve problems. Moreover, when facing the Despair Swamp, he also discovered that this ability of mental explosion seemed to be very effective in diluting the impact of the Pain Substance on him.

So, what gives him the greatest sense of security is actually the exploration of this ability?

The former him was very wary of this issue.

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

Four years ago, Xiao Xiao had asked his parents for help, but at that time, their relationship was broken, they didn't believe him at all, and no one cared. Later, Xiao Xiao got used to it.

Since the doctor and his parents said he wasn't sick, then he would just pretend he wasn't sick.

He tried hard to adapt, forcing himself to learn to remain calm and normal under panic and torment, wasn't it just to prove that he wasn't sick, as they wished?

So, he was of course normal, the doctor said he wasn't sick.

He had just learned to adapt to some things early on, and now, the question might be...

...what kind of choice can better adapt to, or even utilize, this thing?

That night, Xiao Xiao fell asleep in this thought. The next day, he still took the subway to the dock to work as usual.

But unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived, the Foreman and the other workers were all surprised. Just as Xiao Xiao was curious, the Foreman came over and asked, "Are you okay? What happened to your hand?"

Xiao Xiao still had a large bandage on his hand, and said helplessly, "I was bitten by a dog, a neighbor's."

"?"

The Foreman also had a question mark on his head, and said, "Then you must remember to ask your neighbor for compensation, but it's good that you're okay."

Xiao Xiao felt that the Foreman was a little strange, and asked puzzledly, "What are you talking about?"

"Didn't something happen at the place where you delivered the goods yesterday?"

The Foreman shook his head: "Old Zhang and Old Li are both in the hospital. It is said that some madman buried a bomb in that street."

"Although it was finally removed, everyone around was frightened at the time, and many people were killed or injured in the stampede. It seems that two poor women were shot to death by someone taking advantage of the chaos."

"Because of this, those two took leave today, and I have been worried about you. There has been no news from yesterday to now."

"..."

"Bomb?"

Xiao Xiao was a little surprised. It seemed that they didn't know about the Despair Swamp, but instead thought there really was a bomb.

Was it deliberately acted like this, or did the city distort their memories?

As for the women who were shot...

...who did it? Someone took advantage of the chaos to kill people yesterday?

However, he didn't care much about other things, and just said casually, "I was lucky and left early, so nothing happened."

"That's good, that's good..."

The Foreman breathed a long sigh of relief, and said repeatedly, "Those two are fine, but if something happened to you, it would be really troublesome."

After hearing what he said, Xiao Xiao realized.

There are records of dock workers going out on assignments. The two workers were injured, which was a work-related injury and could be reimbursed, but he was temporarily transferred there.

If something happened, he would be responsible.

For the Foreman, Xiao Xiao was fine, which was equivalent to inadvertently avoiding a big trouble for him.

"Take a good rest today, and arrange some easy work for you..."

It was obvious that the Foreman was in a good mood. With a wave of his hand, he arranged for Xiao Xiao to help him monitor the registration of the warehouse, and muttered in his mouth:

"Those two bastards are really worrying. I have to visit them today. The trucks haven't come back yet. I don't know how much parking fee I will have to pay after this night..."

"..."

"That's really going too far..."

After a long while, Xiao Xiao sat in front of the warehouse door, enjoying the breeze from a fan, his legs crossed. He watched with envy as his fellow workers prepared to go and do heavy labor.

He had been planning to continue honing his skills, but the Foreman hadn't even asked before stripping him of his right to work.

Still, as long as he got paid, that was fine. Right now, what was most important for him wasn't really training his body.

It was figuring out what he needed most