Old Gramophone

"Before, I always thought the sound from that record player made me feel awful—oppressive and despairing."

"Why does it sound pretty good now?"

Because of the videotape's influence, Xiao Xiao always felt a prickling unease in his heart. Yet he never expected that, at this moment of bewilderment and helplessness, when everything felt unreal, the sound of this old gramophone would actually soothe his mind.

Type: Old Gramophone

Status: Tradable

Price: 50 points

Description: No matter how joyful the music played by this gramophone is, it can still give off a mournful feeling and cause the opponent slight psychological discomfort.

Note: The temptation of built-in BGM—surely that's strong enough?

"Tap, tap, tap..."

As Xiao Xiao looked toward the second-floor window, lines of text began appearing on the computer screen behind him.

Information about the old gramophone appeared line by line, the dark-red writing seemingly carrying a certain temptation.

"No matter what, I already have Pain Hound and the Extreme Sensitivity enhancement..."

Xiao Xiao thought silently, I've already set foot on this path, and I've finally obtained the peace and sense of reality I'd always yearned for.

"If that's the case, why hesitate?"

"..."

He couldn't accurately describe the complexity in his heart at that moment. He couldn't tell whether the videotape's contents had caused some doubt to arise deep within him, or whether the side effects of the Extreme Sensitivity enhancement had made him overly neurotic.

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

He had originally planned to buy the old gramophone, and the music it happened to play only made him more determined.

It was only 50 points. It wasn't expensive.

He wasn't a gambling addict.

It was just that he had gambled on three dogs and won, so he might as well try something else.

Thinking this, Xiao Xiao's lips gradually pressed into a line, and he muttered, "Buy it."

"Whoosh..."

The moment Xiao Xiao made the decision, the words "Purchase successful" immediately appeared on the computer screen.

He hadn't even needed to press the confirmation button himself.

Then, behind the white curtains across the street, the hoarse music instantly vanished. It disappeared completely. Even in Xiao Xiao's overly sensitive state, he could no longer hear the slightest sound. The entire street fell as quiet as a graveyard.

"Could it be that I could listen for free before buying it, but after buying it, I'm not allowed to listen anymore?"

Xiao Xiao was somewhat surprised. Then, from behind the curtains on the second floor, a burst of jubilant music suddenly rang out:

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

"Good luck is coming, our hearts are full of joy..."

"..."

"Why is good luck suddenly here?"

"You're playing 'Good Luck Is Coming' in the middle of the night. Is that appropriate?"

"..."

Xiao Xiao had never expected that, at such a serious and meaningful moment, this old record player would pull something like this.

After that interruption, the restlessness in his heart completely disappeared.

As he watched the surrounding streets sink into darkness, lights soon flickered on one after another. Many people cursed at the top of their lungs, and some even hurled shoes and certain stick-shaped rubber objects out. Xiao Xiao's face darkened completely:

"The gambling-addict route really is cursed, isn't it?"

"Why does this old gramophone feel even less reliable than those three dogs? Is this thing actually meant to draw aggro?"

"..."

Fortunately, it was just like how his dogs were raised by the neighbors, with the neighbors' homes being the ones they tore apart.

The old record player hadn't been placed in his home to begin with. Although his purchase had most likely caused it to play "Good Luck Is Coming" in the middle of the night, it wasn't his home that had to endure the neighbors' curses or have its windows smashed by some rubber club-shaped object...

"Turn it off... Turn it off..."

He silently repeated it several times in his heart, and nearly shouted it aloud.

At last, the mournful "Good Luck Is Coming" disappeared into the night, and the surrounding neighbors quieted down.

Only then did Xiao Xiao turn back. The writing on the screen had changed again:

Transaction complete

The old gramophone now belonged to him. Whenever he needed it, it would randomly play music that helped him defeat his opponents.

Friendly reminder: You don't need to carry it with you. You don't want to become a man who fights while carrying a gramophone on his back, do you?

"?"

Xiao Xiao furrowed his brows. Why did this description feel so strange?

Music that would help him defeat his opponents would be played at random. In other words, he didn't even have the right to choose the song?

He didn't need to carry it with him?

Did that mean this old gramophone couldn't be summoned to the scene when needed, unlike the three dogs?

Then how was he supposed to use it?

Surely he wouldn't have to strike a pose indicating that he was about to fight, only for the music to begin playing somewhere outside the frame?

Such an absurd scene—just imagining it was...

...too cool.

What man could refuse a BGM belonging exclusively to him?

Xiao Xiao would never admit that he had indeed been tempted to buy it by that line in the description.

As he thought this, more information began appearing, seemingly introducing the old gramophone:

Item: A story-filled old record player

Status: Can be enhanced

Cost: 500 points

Note: After enhancement, it will gain more playback functions. If you're lucky, it might even learn to tell dirty jokes...

"Is telling dirty jokes really appropriate? This isn't some pulp novel..."

Xiao Xiao felt even more cheated. Why were the descriptions of these special items becoming increasingly unreliable?

He had already used up all his luck, hadn't he? Was that why he had really bought something unreliable this time?

Besides...

His gaze fell on the enhancement points required by the old record player, and his brows drew together slightly.

500 points?

The three dogs had only needed 100 enhancement points—for all three of them. Why was the old gramophone five times more expensive?

Could it be...

He faintly realized that his earlier guess had been correct: there were indeed many kinds of Pain Substance.

Moreover, as far as the city was concerned, these different Pain Substances differed in rarity and importance.

That was why the old gramophone cost five times as much for the same enhancement.

But...

...was spending five times the money really just for the chance to hear it tell a dirty joke?

Xiao Xiao found it somewhat ridiculous and increasingly felt that he might have lost this gamble.

At the same time, while he was staring blankly at the descriptions, on the second floor across the street, behind the white curtains...

A delicate and elegant old record player was radiating a peculiar luster.

The vinyl record spun quietly, but because the needle wasn't touching it, it produced only a faint scraping sound.

After a long while, a slender, snow-white hand reached over and slowly lowered the suspended needle.

The quiet, hoarse music, blending into the night, began to drift out once more.

Over the course of one night, Xiao Xiao spent 110 points.

He enhanced his Extreme Sensitivity element and bought the second special item in his shopping cart: the old gramophone.

That left him with only a little over 400 points. He was starting to look rather poor.

By then, he had spent 60 points on the initial enhancement of his Violence Factor, 30 points to buy three loyal house-destroying hunting dogs, and another 110 points that day on Extreme Sensitivity enhancement and the old gramophone.

A total of 200 points had been spent on himself.

However, the three house-destroying hunting dogs had received one free enhancement, so shouldn't that make it 300 points?

By that calculation, he could already be considered a standard veteran.

Still, he had to save the points he had left.

Once he accumulated more than 600 points, he could undergo the second enhancement on the Observer route.

As for the butcher in the meat shop...

...he'd better wait and see whether the Guard Hall arrested him first!

Come to think of it, from the perspective of saving points, wouldn't buying a chainsaw for a few hundred yuan have the same effect?

With these wild thoughts swirling in his head, Xiao Xiao slept deeply through the night.

He kept feeling as though faint music were drifting beside his ears. Its sleep-aiding effect was quite good, allowing him to sleep very soundly.

He had slept for less than ten hours, but when he got up the next day, he was already full of energy.

However, after washing up and heading to the docks for work, he suddenly developed a strange feeling.

It was as if the Extreme Sensitivity enhancement had made the world exceptionally clear when he looked at it, while also adding a touch of mystery. On the way to the subway, he couldn't shake off a strange feeling, as though someone had been watching him the entire time.

The sensation was odd. He turned around countless times, but all he saw were indifferent pedestrians, with nothing suspicious among them.

Yet whenever he turned back around, he could always feel that gaze fixed on him.

The strange sensation persisted until Xiao Xiao reached the subway station. There, he suddenly felt it as though it had become tangible, somewhere close by.

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

The moment she saw him turn toward her, the girl immediately lowered her head. Her cheeks flushed faintly as she silently nudged a ball of paper on the ground with her toe.

Oh, it was just another passerby captivated by his looks. Nothing worth making a fuss over.

Sometimes, Xiao Xiao was actually a little troubled by it.

Being too handsome meant he was always harassed by various gazes whenever he walked down the street. He only wanted to be a quiet person...