Old Gramophone

"I always felt that the sound from that gramophone made me feel uncomfortable, oppressed, and hopeless."

"How come it sounds pretty good now?"

Because of the videotape, Xiao Xiao always had a creepy feeling, but he didn't expect that in this moment of confusion and unreality, the sound of this Old Gramophone would give him a sense of mental relaxation.

[Type: Old Gramophone]
[Status: Tradeable]
[Price: 50 Points]
[Introduction: Even the most pleasant music played by this gramophone can exude a sense of sorrow, causing slight psychological discomfort to the opponent.]
[Note: The temptation of built-in BGM, isn't that strong enough?]
[……]

"Tap, tap, tap..."

As Xiao Xiao looked at the second-floor window, lines of text began to appear on the computer screen behind him.

Information about the Old Gramophone popped up line by line, the dark red text seeming to carry a certain temptation.

"In any case, I already have the Pain Hound, and I've enhanced my Extreme Sensitivity..."

Xiao Xiao thought silently, "I've already embarked on this path, and I've finally gained the peace and sense of reality I've always longed for."

"In that case, why hesitate any longer?"

"..."

He couldn't accurately describe the complexity of his inner feelings at this moment. It was hard to say whether it was the content of the videotape that made him feel suspicious deep down, or whether it was the side effects of the Extreme Sensitivity element enhancement that made him a little neurotic.

But Xiao Xiao calmed down and decided to continue his enhancement plan.

The Old Gramophone was originally what he intended to acquire, and the music it played at the right time further strengthened Xiao Xiao's idea.

Only 50 Points, it's not expensive.

He's not a gambling addict.

It's just because he bet on three dogs, and he succeeded, so it's necessary to try something else.

Thinking like this, the corners of his mouth gradually tightened, and Xiao Xiao muttered to himself, "Buy it."

"Swish..."

As Xiao Xiao secretly made this decision, the words "Purchase Successful" immediately appeared on the computer screen.

He didn't even need to press the confirm button himself.

And then, the dim music behind the white curtains across the street instantly disappeared, disappearing cleanly. Even with Xiao Xiao's current hypersensitivity, he could no longer hear even a trace of sound. The whole street was as quiet as a tomb.

"Does it mean I could listen for free before buying, but after buying, I'm not allowed to listen anymore?"

Xiao Xiao was a little surprised, and then he heard a burst of festive and cheerful music suddenly ringing behind the second-floor curtains:

"Good luck is coming, our good luck is coming..."

"Good luck is coming, our hearts are happy..."

"..."

"Why is good luck coming?"

"Playing 'Good Luck' late at night, is that appropriate?"

"..."

Xiao Xiao never expected that at such a serious and meaningful moment for himself, this Old Gramophone would pull such a stunt.

After such a commotion, the restlessness in his heart completely disappeared.

Watching the surrounding neighborhood plunged into darkness, before long, the lights lit up, many people shouted and cursed at the top of their lungs, and there were scenes of shoes and some stick-like rubber objects being thrown out fiercely. Xiao Xiao's face completely darkened:

"Is the gambling addict route really cursed?"

"How come I feel like this Old Gramophone is even more unreliable than those three dogs? Is this thing actually used to attract hatred?"

"..."

But fortunately, just like his dogs are raised by the neighbors, and they destroy the neighbors' homes.

That Old Gramophone was not placed at home in the first place. Although it was highly likely that his purchase caused it to play 'Good Days' in the middle of the night, it was not his family that was being scolded by the neighbors and having their windows smashed by some kind of rubber stick-like object...

"Close... close..."

He muttered silently in his heart several times, and almost shouted it out.

Finally, that 'Good Luck' song filled with sorrowful flavor disappeared into the night, and the surrounding neighbors quieted down.

At this time, Xiao Xiao turned back and saw that the text on the screen had changed again:

[Transaction Completed]
[The Old Gramophone now belongs to you. When you need it, it will randomly play music that helps you defeat your opponents.]
[Friendly Reminder: No need to carry it around, you don't want to become a man who fights with a gramophone on his back, do you?]

[……]

"?"

Xiao Xiao frowned. He felt like this introduction was a little strange.

Random playback helps him defeat his opponents with music, meaning he doesn't even have the power to choose the tracks?

Doesn't need to be carried around?

Does that mean this Old Gramophone, unlike the three dogs, can't be summoned to the scene when needed?

How does it work then?

It can't be that he strikes a pose to show he's about to fight, and the music just starts playing from off-screen, right?

Such an absurd scene, thinking about it is really...

...too cool.

What man can refuse his own personal BGM?

Xiao Xiao would never admit that the reason he decided to buy it was indeed because he was attracted to that introduction at the time.

Thinking to himself, he saw more information appearing, seemingly an introduction to this Old Gramophone:

[Item: An Old Gramophone with a Story]
[Status: Can be Enhanced]
[Cost: 500 Points]
[Note: After enhancement, it will have more playback functions. If you're lucky, it might even learn to tell dirty jokes...]
[……]

"Telling dirty jokes? Is that even reasonable? It's not like it's a pulp novel..."

Xiao Xiao felt even more like he was being scammed. How are the introductions for these special items getting more and more unreliable?

His good luck must have run out, so he really bought something unreliable this time?

Also...

His gaze fell on the points required to enhance the Old Gramophone, and he frowned slightly.

500 Points?

The enhancement points for the previous three dogs were only 100 Points, and that was for three of them. Why is the Old Gramophone five times more expensive?

Could it be...

He vaguely realized that his previous guess that there were many types of Pain Substance was actually correct?

Even for the city, there are differences in the rarity and importance of these different Pain Substances?

So, for the same enhancement, the Old Gramophone is five times more expensive.

But...

...spend five times more money just so you can tell a dirty joke?

Xiao Xiao felt a little exaggerated for a moment, and he increasingly felt like he might have lost this gamble.

Just as he was staring at these introductions in a daze, on the second floor across the street, behind a white curtain.

An exquisite and elegant Old Gramophone was emitting a different kind of luster.

The vinyl record rotated quietly, but because the needle was not in contact, it only emitted a slight rubbing sound.

After a long while, a snow-white slender palm reached out and slowly pressed down the suspended needle.

The quiet, hoarse music that blended into the night sounded again.

Overnight, Xiao Xiao spent one hundred and ten Points.

He enhanced his own Extreme Sensitivity element and bought the second special item in his shopping cart: the Old Gramophone.

As a result, he only had four hundred Points left, and he was starting to feel a bit poor.

At this point, he had undergone the initial enhancement of the Violence Factor for sixty Points, spent thirty Points to buy three loyal home-wrecking hounds, and today he spent another one hundred and ten Points to enhance his Extreme Sensitivity and buy the Old Gramophone.

A total of two hundred Points spent on himself.

However, the three home-wrecking hounds were a freebie, so he should count it as three hundred Points?

All in all, he could already be called a standard veteran.

However, he still needed to save the remaining Points.

Once he accumulated more than six hundred Points, he could carry out the second enhancement of the Seer path.

As for the butcher in the meat shop...

...wait and see if he gets caught by The Guard Hall first!

Speaking of which, from the perspective of saving Points, wouldn't it be the same if he just spent a few hundred bucks to buy a chainsaw himself?

Harboring these whimsical thoughts, Xiao Xiao fell into a deep sleep.

He felt as though there was faint music in his ears, which had a good sleep-aiding effect, allowing him to sleep very soundly.

He only slept for less than ten hours, and when he woke up the next day, he was refreshed.

However, when he went to the docks to work after washing up, he suddenly had a strange feeling again.

It was as if he had been strengthened by Extreme Sensitivity, making his view of the world become exceptionally clear, but with a touch of mystery. On the way to the subway, there was an lingering sense of strangeness, as if someone was constantly staring at him.

This feeling was very strange. He turned his head countless times, but all he saw in his field of vision were indifferent pedestrians, with nothing suspicious.

But when he turned back, he could always feel that gaze fixed on him.

This sense of strangeness lingered until Xiao Xiao arrived at the subway station, when he suddenly felt it as if it were tangible, not far away.

He turned around abruptly and saw a girl staring blankly at his profile.

As soon as she saw him turn around, the girl immediately lowered her head, her cheeks slightly red, and silently kicked a crumpled piece of paper on the ground with her toes.

Oh, just another passerby who was attracted to his looks. This wasn't worth making a fuss about.

Sometimes Xiao Xiao was actually a little troubled.

His looks were too high, and he was always harassed by various gazes on the road. He just wanted to be a quiet person