Skinny Dog

When Li Yèlái returned to the old apartment in his own clothes at night, it was already eleven o'clock.

Fortunately, Li Yèlái had told Li Yúnyān in advance that he was going to the new district to deliver an antique. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to explain why he was back so late.

After confirming that there were no bloodstains on his face and no smell of blood on his body, Li Yèlái knocked on the door.

Soon, the sounds of unlocking came from behind the bolted door.

Then, the door opened quickly.

A young girl with messy hair stood inside, looking at Li Yèlái with some anxiety. "You're back too late, what time is it?"

Li Yèlái had already prepared his excuse. "A rather valuable antique needed to be delivered, and the place was far away, in the new district. But the employer was very generous this time and paid a lot for overtime."

This wasn't entirely a lie. Taking private jobs was essentially working overtime. As for the employer, although the principal hadn't been received yet, the deposit had been paid.

One hundred thousand Giant City coins. Li Yèlái and Detective split it evenly.

Fifty thousand Giant City coins each, all deposited into their accounts.

This was a huge sum of money, bringing him one step closer to his goal of buying a new house.

Years ago, his mother had fallen seriously ill, and his father had left. Li Yèlái had sold the house his parents left behind, but it still hadn't cured his mother's illness.

After that, he and his sister could only rent this old apartment.

Now, he finally saw hope of buying a new house.

"Are you sure you're not being kept by someone?" Li Yúnyān asked suspiciously. "Why do I smell perfume?"

Good heavens, no wonder she was anxious?

This girl still suspects her own brother of selling his body.

She really is a biological sister!

As for the perfume, Li Yèlái must have gotten it on him when he was holding Cheese and rushing to the kitchen to break the curse.

Shaking off the soft feeling that came to mind, Li Yèlái could only say, "It might be a colleague's perfume. I rode back with her."

"Then she's quite nice to you, big brother. There's really no need to push yourself so hard. I'm earning money too," Li Yúnyān raised her beautiful eyebrows and said with a sly smile, "I'll support you!"

Although Li Yúnyān couldn't leave the house and was afraid of seeing outsiders, thanks to her excellent drawing skills, she had found an online job as an amateur artist.

The income wasn't much, but it was stable, relieving a lot of pressure for Li Yèlái.

Li Yèlái was her last remaining family member. She didn't want to burden him but tried her best to help him.

Li Yèlái felt a warmth in his heart, but his expression turned serious. "Hmph, I am the head of the household, how can I be like that?"

"Head of the household?" Li Yúnyān chuckled at his words.

She casually tossed a plastic fly swatter to Li Yèlái and picked up a wooden stick herself, striking a swordsman pose. "Here's a weapon for you. Let's be fair. The winner is the head of the household!"

Li Yèlái looked at the fly swatter in his hand and then at the wooden stick in his sister's hand. He didn't feel any fairness at all.

So, he put down the fly swatter and conceded, "Alright, when others are leeching off their parents, I'll leech off my sister. I'll become a first-generation rich person then."

"Look at you getting all happy. Then I'll take back my words," Li Yúnyān retorted. After chatting with Li Yèlái for a few more sentences, she urged him to rest.

Seeing Li Yèlái return to his bedroom, Li Yúnyān went to the balcony.

Under the night sky, Giant City was quiet and peaceful.

But in her eyes, the trees in the green belt were twisting their trunks wantonly.

Those walking on the street were not pedestrians, but grotesque monsters.

What flew in the sky were not the common birds, but terrifying creatures with fangs and claws.

This was clearly a hellish landscape.

Everything had changed three years ago.

In her vision, classmates, teachers, and friends had all turned into these unapproachable monsters.

Even the stray cats she often fed had become monsters with multiple eyeballs, no fur, and bloody flesh. Even the potted plants she kept at home had turned into indescribable, terrifying plants.

Everything had changed. Li Yúnyān didn't know if she had gone mad or if the world had gone mad.

And in this crazy world, only Li Yèlái was an exception.

He was still the same as always, still taking care of her as always.

Li Yúnyān sighed softly. "I only have you, big brother."

The next day, Li Yèlái rushed to the branch office from the antique shop after work.

Just as he had guessed.

As the authorities began their investigation into Wang De, his businesses and funds were frozen.

The white-dressed girl who had hired Li Yèlái and Detective was also implicated and could no longer pay the subsequent commission.

However, <Li Yèlái> wasn't at a disadvantage either.

He had obtained his second spiritual weapon during this operation.

He was now being called over by <Yáng Chén> to get familiar with its abilities.

With a chime, <Dual Blade Knight> directly appeared on the training ground, drawing the attention of several handlers who were still training.

This was the spiritual weapon <Li Yèlái> obtained from <Wang De>, a bell containing the '<Undead Summoning>' ability from the Nether Path.

According to official scans, the bell contained a pile of ashes.

These ashes belonged to a powerful knight from the disaster zone—<Black Source City>.

After death, he was specially processed into ashes.

"Based on the analysis of the spiritual residue, this knight likely possessed the strength of a spiritual user close to the Fourth Awakening in life," <Yáng Chén> said, standing beside <Li Yèlái>. "The knight summoned through the ashes only has less than 30% of his original strength, but theoretically, it's equivalent to a Second Awakening spiritual user."

In other words, by obtaining this spiritual weapon, he could summon a Second Awakening knight as a helper.

This was the most straightforward way to increase strength—calling for backup!

"Of course, you could also choose to sell this bell. The ability to summon a knight is very rare, so you'd have no trouble finding a buyer. But I suggest you keep it. A Second Awakening knight can help you solve many problems," <Cheese> said.

Today, she was still wearing a loose hoodie, concealing her ample curves.

<Yáng Chén> also turned to <Li Yèlái> and said earnestly, "You've encountered <Void Realm> creatures and the afflicted, and even come into contact with forbidden items. You should understand the dangers involved. With this knight's help, you'll be much safer in future operations."

<Li Yèlái> nodded. It was true.

<Cheese> and <Yáng Chén> were genuinely looking out for him.

If <Li Yèlái> had this bell when dealing with <Void Realm> creatures, he wouldn't even need to act himself.

"Furthermore, although we don't currently understand how this ash summoning is refined, if we solve this technical problem, we can help you capture more monster ashes to fill the bell and increase your combat power," <Yáng Chén> continued. "Ultimately, becoming a handler means facing many dangers. Don't miss any opportunity to strengthen yourself. I don't know what you're trying to buy, but the stronger you are, the better you can accumulate merit points."

"I know," <Li Yèlái> nodded again. "I plan to keep it."

Sharpening the axe doesn't delay the chopping. Although <Li Yèlái> really wanted to save up points to quickly buy the Anti-Spiritual Helmet.

But if his own strength increased, he could acquire merit points more efficiently.

This was the safest route.

"Excellent!" <Yáng Chén> continued. "But with that said, you need to get familiar with your spiritual energy consumption. If you notice your Soul Well showing signs of collapse, immediately stop using any spiritual weapons and notify us! This is very important; once it's twisted, it's truly over!"

<Li Yèlái> nodded solemnly. Spiritual users using spiritual weapons carried the risk of distortion.

The more advanced the spiritual weapon, the stronger the temptation to distort.

Fortunately, <Crimson Longsword> and the summoning bell were not high-level.

The summoning bell's low level was due to the low level of the ashes it contained.

However, using two spiritual weapons simultaneously posed a considerable risk of distortion.

He had to be cautious.

He wondered if '<Mr. Shadow>' could still save him if he became distorted.

"Oh, right, yesterday was your first time taking a private job, how did it feel?" <Yáng Chén> asked.

"It was very dangerous and sudden. If <Cheese> hadn't coincidentally attended the banquet and provided support, <Detective> and I might not have made it out alive," <Li Yèlái> said, still feeling a bit of lingering fear, and then said to <Cheese>, "Thank you."

If <Cheese> hadn't been there, the spear knight wouldn't have committed suicide and would have continued to hinder <Li Yèlái> and the others.

At that time, <Li Yèlái> would have had to truly make a deal with '<Mr. Shadow>'.

"No need to mention it, you saved me too," <Cheese> said, patting <Li Yèlái>'s shoulder.

Then, as if recalling the scene from yesterday when <Li Yèlái> rescued her, <Cheese> squeezed <Li Yèlái>'s shoulder hard and whispered, "Consider yourself lucky!"

<Li Yèlái>'s mouth twitched, and he didn't respond, implicitly acknowledging it.

<Yáng Chén> looked at the two of them strangely and said, "This is the danger of forbidden items. A ninety-year-old man, relying on a forbidden item, could put three spiritual users like you in danger. Based on the information you provided, it should be a Class C forbidden item."

"Only Class C?" <Li Yèlái> was shocked. "It could fulfill almost any wish! How could it only be Class C?"

<Li Yèlái> thought it could be used as a wish-granting machine and should be at least Class B.

"The rating isn't based on its abilities, but on the danger it can cause and the probability of it going out of control. Without someone sacrificing or making a wish, this altar could remain dormant underground for a hundred years. Even if it goes out of control, its attack range is limited to the vicinity of the wish-maker, which is why it's rated as Class C."

<Yáng Chén> continued, "The Class B forbidden items hidden in <Black Prison> beneath our feet are the real threats. They can cause terrible harm even if left unattended. They are all difficult to handle. In the future, when it's our turn to be stationed in <Black Prison>, you'll have to be careful."

The duty of guarding <Black Prison> was rotated among the official handler teams.

This was also one of the stable ways for handlers to earn merit points.

Speaking of which, it would soon be the First Team, <Li Yèlái>'s team, that would be stationed in <Black Prison>.

He would earn another batch of merit points then.

<Li Yèlái> nodded and asked, "Will there be any problems with me destroying the forbidden item last night?"

"The existence known as <Ghost Immortal>, which was behind the forbidden item, did not make a move, so there should be no problem," <Yáng Chén> mused. "However, some high-level officials expressed regret over a usable forbidden item. But that's nothing."

In fact, the higher-ups were already a bit troubled by the bad luck <Li Yèlái> had been displaying.

Li Yèlái was afraid that if he left the Giant City, he would run straight into the King of the Forbidden Zone.

Yang Chen didn't mention this.

After all, he thought it was highly unlikely. Even the unluckiest person had to follow logic, right?

Why would the King of the Forbidden Zone leave the Forbidden Zone for no reason? To take a stroll?

Moreover, if he were truly that unlucky, the authorities could have set up traps and gathered dozens of troops to try and surround the King of the Forbidden Zone.

Yang Chen grumbled inwardly, but outwardly he said, "Train hard. Once you notice any changes in your Soul Well, whether it's another awakening, advancement, or signs of distortion, you must inform us."

Seeing Li Yèlái nod, Yang Chen turned to Cheese and asked, "You're about to undergo your third awakening. Are you planning to use a potion?"

After the battle last night, Cheese discovered that her Soul Well had begun to expand and stretch, strengthening her connection to the Void Realm. This was a sign of an impending breakthrough.

"Of course, Captain. I've already prepared the potion. I'm not planning to leave it to chance," Cheese quipped.

Her first awakened ability was Verbal Hypnosis, and her second was Compulsory Suggestion. Both were support-oriented abilities. If her third awakening randomly granted her something like Language Comprehension or Beast Speech, she felt she would die of frustration.

Therefore, she had spent a fortune to purchase a specific potion.

"Which one? The Blight Curse from Border City No. 1, or the Word Spirit from Lava Mine City?" Yang Chen asked.

"Word Spirit. It's more offensive," Cheese replied, patting Li Yèlái beside her. "In a few days, I'll show you what output looks like! You'll have me to carry you."

Li Yèlái glanced down at Cheese's thigh and thought he already had, but he still nodded in response. "Uh... okay."

In the following days, Li Yèlái commuted between home and the branch.

Through constant training, he gained a detailed understanding of his current abilities.

As a first-awakening Myriad Faces Psionic, his ability was Myriad Faces.

Currently, Myriad Faces only had one Facial Mask.

It was Xiang Yu's Facial Mask, which possessed weakness detection. It was a Facial Mask on the Spirit Eyes path.

This Facial Mask had brought Li Yèlái rapid improvements in combat experience and psionic techniques.

Simultaneously, it allowed Li Yèlái to master Single-Handed Eighteen Thrusts and Hegemon's Spear Throw.

This gave Li Yèlái strong close-combat capabilities and a powerful throwing ability.

To the outside world, Li Yèlái was already a formidable operative among first-awakening psionics.

He possessed two psionic armaments and had killed Void Realm creatures.

In reality, Li Yèlái had obtained a second Facial Mask after killing The Skinner.

However, due to his resistance towards Mr. Shadow, Li Yèlái had not accepted that Facial Mask and did not know its path.

"It seems I need to try it when I get the chance," Li Yèlái mused, carrying his large black umbrella towards home.

He suddenly stopped.

Because at an intersection ahead, a young man holding a black umbrella in the crowd smiled at him. "Is that you? The young man who destroyed the Ghost Immortal altar."

Li Yèlái looked at his own large black umbrella, then at the young man's black umbrella.

He couldn't help but laugh. "What's it to you?"

"Skinny Dog!"