Late at night.
Xi Shenlian had left the hotel.
He was wearing a gray suit and walking aimlessly through the streets of Shinjuku District.
It was also at this moment.
After thirty days and thirty nights of frenzied activity, followed by six days and six nights of rest, he finally had the leisure to appreciate the dazzling nightlife.
His calm gaze swept over the fashionable men and women.
Although this was a bustling district, with all kinds of lights that never stopped even in the dead of night,
in every corner,
all kinds of dirty and chaotic affairs could still hide in the shadows.
Pickpockets concealed among the crowds, snatching people's belongings everywhere.
Addicts hiding in corners, secretly taking and selling drugs.
Middle-aged men and women holding their phones and flirting with their lovers.
With his extraordinary vision and hearing, Xi Shenlian saw and heard all kinds of stupidity and shady dealings hidden within the surging crowds. His heart remained largely unmoved, filled only with a faint sense of indifference.
An indifference that said, What the hell does any of this have to do with me?
The only thought in his mind was, Should I find some monsters to grind for experience?
Yes.
He wanted to find some monsters and test his skills.
In this life and his previous one, Xi Shenlian had never truly fought anyone.
Therefore, when it came to his individual strength, he still had a question mark in his mind and could not quite figure out his exact position.
But there was a problem.
Where could he find monsters to grind and practice against in modern society?
Could I go into a primeval forest and kill some ferocious beasts?
There really are monsters in this world's primeval forests that can rival modern weapons...
The world in this life.
Every so often, he could hear news of some sea monster attacking ships in one region or another.
Although Xi Shenlian did not know the specific circumstances,
it was said
that many of those things were calamities caused by Awakened and various lost civilizations.
As for the stronger monsters,
judging from information such as the news,
they could directly withstand various modern weapons and fight armies head-on.
They absolutely counted as one of the opponents Xi Shenlian needed most!
However, those monsters basically stayed in places rarely visited by humans, making them extremely time-consuming and troublesome to find.
Besides,
monsters were ultimately just monsters.
Put plainly,
they were merely things driven by human civilization into remote wildernesses.
Compared to exchanging blows with monsters,
Xi Shenlian was more eager to know how strong he was among humanity.
So,
after weighing the pros and cons, he abandoned that option.
...It's a little too far and troublesome, and those places are all practically devoid of people.
Next,
he changed his line of thought.
Should I go to some war zone and casually join one of the factions there?
That probably wouldn't work either... There would be a lot of trouble afterward...
In this world,
Awakened were generally not permitted to participate in conventional wars.
That was because their involvement could easily turn a battlefield into a slaughterhouse in the truest sense.
It could drive the battlefield casualty rate to an unbearable level!
Therefore, they often served a role similar to nuclear warheads.
They were placed there,
but no one used them!
Once the Awakened of both sides entered the fight,
everyone had to prepare themselves.
Prepare for the possibility that your army would be slaughtered today, his city destroyed tomorrow, and the casualty rates of both sides would skyrocket...
Therefore,
even if he took the initiative to go to a war zone,
Xi Shenlian could probably only serve as a decoration, unable to enter the fight directly.
That situation clearly did not fit with his desire to have a truly great battle.
As for whether he could accept participating in a war and killing people,
he felt that he did not really care.
Or rather,
he was actually somewhat curious.
Curious about what killing felt like...
And so,
after daydreaming for a while,
Xi Shenlian could not help looking up at the sky.
His eyes were filled with worry.
He looked up and sighed.
Damn...
There isn't even a single monster...
There isn't even anyone for me to show off against and slap in the face!
Is this the emptiness, loneliness, and coldness of an invincible protagonist's life?!
Where is this powerful and vigorous life of mine supposed to go!!!
He felt heartache and helplessness.
As expected, an outstanding and exceptional chosen one of heaven like me can't follow the crowd and walk that mediocre path of showing off and slapping faces... My radiance is like the sun in the sky, a resplendent solar blaze. How could petty weaklings dare provoke me...
The deeper he thought,
the more reasonable it seemed.
After giving himself a round of consolation,
Xi Shenlian ultimately stopped dwelling on the issue of monsters.
"Hmph!"
"How could I possibly envy something as trifling as showing off and slapping faces?"
Despite saying that, his words were still filled with a faint sadness.
It was the sadness of being unable to show off to his heart's content.
By coincidence,
just as Xi Shenlian passed through the bustling area crowded with people and walked past a quiet alley in a relatively secluded location,
he suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps from inside the alley.
His footsteps paused slightly.
Deep inside the alley,
he saw a girl in a black dress fleeing in a sorry state.
Behind the girl was a group of men dressed in highly professional and distinctive clothing. One glance was enough to tell that they were gangsters, and they were pursuing her relentlessly.
Judging by the current situation,
from the rapidity of the girl's breathing, she could probably run for only another minute or two before running out of strength.
*?*
What is this, an act from some hero-saving-beauty script?
Seeing this scene,
at this moment,
Xi Shenlian felt as if he had triggered a quest—the traditional hero-saving-beauty quest.
Defeat the minor enemies to obtain dropped items, followed by the beautiful girl's gratitude?
But rescuing a stranger and all that...
As a scumbag who completely did not care about the lives of outsiders, Xi Shenlian genuinely could not work up any interest.
Besides,
the girl perhaps did not think a stranger would risk his life to help her. And since Xi Shenlian appeared weak and alone, he did not look capable of helping her either. Thus, she did not call out to him at all, merely fleeing desperately with an expression of unwillingness.
Forget it. What does it have to do with me...
Subconsciously,
Xi Shenlian wanted to continue pondering the meaning of life.
His feet also began moving forward again.
However, that group of gangsters ultimately did not forget their role as randomly spawned monsters.
They promptly used their taunt skill.
"You little bastard up ahead!"
"Stop that woman! Don't let her escape the alley!!"
"Otherwise, I'll beat you to death!!"
Although their target had already run out of strength,
even if she really escaped, they could quickly catch her again.
But openly capturing someone on the street could easily blow the situation up completely.
Therefore, the leader of the gangsters immediately tried to intimidate Xi Shenlian, who happened to be passing the entrance of the alley, into stopping their target.
However,
what he did not know was that those few brief sentences had successfully triggered the challenge instance of Earth's hidden ultimate boss.
They caused Xi Shenlian's feet, which had originally been about to move forward, to turn directly in another direction, toward the inside of the alley...
Thanks to Datang Ya for the 1,500 Qidian Coins!
P.S.:
This book got a new-book recommendation slot today. As expected, I still have to kill a few people to celebrate. Consider it a lucky start...
Before you continue