On the way, Lin Yingzhen kept asking Xiao Yang questions until he started getting a little fed up. He brushed her off with a casual excuse.
"Nothing much. I just practiced martial arts for a few years. Yeah, you know Wudang Mountain, right? I practiced Lightness Skill there for a few years!"
His words sent Lin Yingzhen into thought. As she pondered, she suddenly realized something was off and jerked her head up.
Clearly, she had caught on that Xiao Yang was pulling her leg!
She puffed out her cheeks, then fell silent.
Xiao Yang was happy to leave things that way.
How else could he explain it? Was he supposed to tell Lin Yingzhen that he'd spent the past few days in a dungeon full of skeletons, frantically leveling up and killing monsters? That would be even more ridiculous!
He was glad she'd gone quiet.
They finished the shopping without taking too long. It was only two or three in the afternoon, and the sun was still fairly warm. Xiao Yang drove Lin Yingzhen along the narrow cement road.
In the distance, a group of children had gathered in the dry rice fields alongside the road, apparently playing.
Xiao Yang spotted them at once. They seemed to be roasting sweet potatoes in the dry fields.
But they were far too close to a pile of dried rice straw.
From a distance, Xiao Yang shouted, "Don't play with fire there! Go on, get out of here! I'll tell your families when I get back!"
At his words, the kids scattered like birds and beasts, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Watching this, Lin Yingzhen giggled. A long time ago, they'd seemed to get into a similar situation. No, the trouble they'd caused back then had been much worse.
But how to put it? One particular person had forgotten, even though she still remembered it all.
Thinking of that, Lin Yingzhen, sitting in the cargo bed of the tricycle, shot a fierce glare at Xiao Yang, who was driving the battered vehicle with a swagger.
Leaning against the railing, Lin Yingzhen stretched out. She really had grown into a beauty over the years: fair skin, delicate features, a tall, shapely figure, and the unique youthful energy of a young woman.
It wasn't that Xiao Yang had completely forgotten his childhood playmate. It was just that, after all these years, the gap between his memories and reality felt too unreal whenever they met.
In Xiao Yang's memories, his childhood playmate was a grubby little kid with a runny nose who liked following him around—a good buddy.
That image just didn't match the beautiful young woman standing before him now.
Just then, Lin Yingzhen, leaning against the tricycle railing, suddenly smiled, as if she'd recalled something from the past.
Xiao Yang noticed, but pretended not to.
A month ago, he—a down-and-out college graduate—wouldn't have dared get close to someone as beautiful as Lin Yingzhen. Back then, the two of them really weren't a good match.
One was a dejected, miserable college student; the other was a young, beautiful rich girl.
A month later, things had changed a little, but one thing remained the same: the two of them still weren't a good match.
He had transcended the ordinary and could no longer afford to get involved in romance. More importantly, he had too many problems hanging over him, and he could end up dead in a dungeon or somewhere else any day. They might not even be able to recover his body.
There was no need to hold a good woman back.
That evening, Xiao Yang stewed himself a big pot of mixed soup. This meal was much more lavish: meat, vegetables, and some cured pork. He ate a huge bowl and was thoroughly satisfied.
But after all that, he suddenly had nothing to do. He glanced out the window. It wasn't too late yet, and since he had nothing else to do, he might as well get some exercise.
Xiao Yang opened the door to his basement and strode into the depths of the gloomy corridor. Since he had nothing to do, he might as well kill a boss for fun.
He hacked his way through the place and reached the Skeleton Warrior's door without hesitation or preparation.
Skeleton Warrior Race: Bone Undead Rank: Common Level: 14 Health: 40 Attack: 16 Defense: 8 Agility: 6 Traits: Bone Physique, Undead Mind, Heavy Weapon Mastery Player: Screaming Emperor (Elite Killer) Number: 1 Affiliation: Plane 33214 Race: Normal Human Level: 8 Experience: 30/1000 Health: 200 Strength: 13 Defense: 12 Agility: 11 Remaining Attribute Points: 4 Talent: Dungeon Delver. Servant: Skeleton Rogue Skill: Heavy Strike (+1) Traits: Tough Skin, Life Infusion, Weak Fire Elemental Resistance Evaluation: A powerful Newbie Adventurer.
These were Xiao Yang's stats. How should he put it? His stats were already nearly on par with the Skeleton Warrior's. His health in particular was five times the skeleton's, and he was more than five levels higher. Elite Killer had also been activated.
In this situation, it was hard to say who the real boss was.
After Xiao Yang entered the boss room, the Skeleton Warrior, bound in chains, began to struggle. It seemed to be triggering a cutscene. This was when players usually took a moment to prepare potions, check their gear, and apply buffs.
But that was for ordinary newbie players.
Their Dungeon King, Xiao Yang, didn't care about any of that. He charged in and delivered a fierce Justice's Condolence. The strike dealt eight base damage, plus four damage from the Strength conversion granted by the Blackrock Prison Armament Manual, for a total of twelve base damage. Heavy Strike doubled that, and after the Skeleton Warrior's defense reduced it, the blow landed for a whopping eight damage. And that wasn't all: Elite Killer added another five points of unavoidable damage.
Thirteen damage—a mighty blow. It stunned the Skeleton Warrior, still struggling to break free of its chains, and nearly took a third of its health. Worse yet, the flinched state was triggered.
It wasn't that the undead had no emotions. Their minds were simply sluggish and dull. But even the dullest creature would be frightened and shaken after taking a blow that nearly cost it half its life.
And that was that.
The Blackrock Prison Badge's effect activated. The next second, a horrifying damage number—forty—popped up, and the remaining two-thirds of the Skeleton Warrior's health was taken in one go.
The Skeleton Warrior died peacefully. It hadn't even managed to break free of its chains before it simply keeled over.
The lesson was clear: don't pose unless you have to. If the Skeleton Warrior hadn't had to break free of those chains, it wouldn't have died so miserably.
Xiao Yang scooped up the green orb that dropped from the Skeleton Warrior, shook his head, and struck a cocky pose.
"Pathetic!"
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