The Born Killer

Old Wu saw Lu Hao frozen and thought he was scared, so he patted him on the shoulder.

"What's wrong, kid? Scared? What's there to be afraid of? It's just one stab. Think of it as stabbing a radish."

Lu Hao snapped out of his thoughts and returned to the present. Looking at the pig carcass in front of him, blood pouring out, he no longer found it gruesome or disgusting. This was the very resource that would make him stronger.

"Uncle Wu, I'm fine. It's just that the first time takes some getting used to. I'll be fine after this."

"Then shall we carry on?"

"Yeah, let's keep going. I really need this job," Lu Hao explained.

After all, he could earn a steady stream of Slaughter Points here, and there was no risk involved. This place was practically paradise for Lu Hao.

Old Wu glanced at Lu Hao, but said nothing more.

And so, one pig, two pigs, three pigs...

Outside, the sun began to set. At last, the young man in the slaughterhouse stopped.

"You killed 57 pigs in all. You were born for this line of work, kid. You were a little clumsy at first, but by the end, you didn't look like a newcomer at all."

Old Wu looked at the young man before him as he spoke.

He'd thought the boy would quit after his first kill. Most people couldn't stomach a pig's squeals. And just as he'd expected, after killing the first pig, the kid had frozen on the spot.

Old Wu had to snap him out of it. But then the kid acted like nothing had happened and started slaughtering pigs like crazy. He'd killed 57 in a single afternoon, and the more he killed, the more into it he seemed to get. Did the kid have some kind of psychological problem?

"Uncle Wu, I just wanted to get used to it quickly so I'd be ready to start work tomorrow."

Lu Hao had no idea what Old Wu was thinking. Each pig he killed earned him another 2 Slaughter Points, and he already had 114. Tonight, he'd get to see what they could do.

Just then, the owner of the slaughterhouse came over.

"How's it going, Xiao Lu? Getting used to the work?"

"Boss, it's going great. Can I start officially tomorrow?"

The owner glanced at Old Wu. When Old Wu nodded, he said, "No problem, Xiao Lu. Come in tomorrow afternoon. Work hard, and we'll treat you right here."

After chatting with the owner for a while, Lu Hao headed home. He planned to take a shower and try out his Slaughter Points.

After Lu Hao left,

"Boss, that kid's not normal. You didn't see him this afternoon. At first, he was too scared to kill a pig, but he got more and more practiced. He was born for this—born to kill. What if he's got some kind of psychological problem and decides to slaughter me like a pig one day?"

"No, Old Wu. You're overthinking it. The kid's just in a tough spot and has nowhere else to turn, so he came here. It's only natural he got over his fear so he could earn some money."

"He probably thinks of every pig as a walking pile of cash. That's why he's not afraid. That kid's going to go far."

Lu Hao didn't know Old Wu had already pegged him as a born killer with psychological problems. But even if he had, he wouldn't have explained himself. After all, this was the path he intended to take. If he wanted more Slaughter Points, he had to kill.

When he got home, Lu Hao slipped into the washroom before his mother returned and started showering. After slaughtering pigs all afternoon, he reeked of blood—worse than he had that morning.

As he showered, he opened the panel to take a look.

[Slaughter Point System]

[Host: Lu Hao]

[Vital Blood: 170/179 cal +]

[Spirit: 220/269 Hz +]

[Storage Space: 1 cubic meter]

[Slaughter Points: 114]

He had 114 Slaughter Points, and his Vital Blood had recovered to 170 cal. His mental power recovered more slowly; it was only at 220 Hz.

Lu Hao focused his awareness on the plus sign beside his Vital Blood.

[Spend 100 Slaughter Points to increase your maximum Vital Blood by 1 point?]

It worked—and it raised his maximum Vital Blood.

Once his maximum Vital Blood broke through the 179-point threshold, he would undergo a second bone tempering. That would make his foundation much stronger.

Lu Hao didn't raise it right away. He wasn't at his peak yet, so he planned to wait until his mental power had fully recovered before breaking through the threshold and beginning his second bone tempering.

Then Lu Hao focused his awareness on the plus sign beside his mental power.

[Spend 100 Slaughter Points to increase your maximum mental power by 1 point?]

He could increase his mental power too, and it cost the same 100 Slaughter Points as Vital Blood.

But mental power wasn't very useful at the low ranks. Besides, a second bone tempering would surely boost it somewhat. For now, his main focus was improving his Vital Blood.

Lu Hao carefully tested things further and found that Slaughter Points could be used not only to raise his maximum stats, but also to restore what he'd used up.

One Slaughter Point could restore ten cal of Vital Blood or five Hz of mental power.

A smile spread across Lu Hao's face. With this recovery ability, as long as he had enough Slaughter Points, he could get through the low ranks quickly. Advancing at the low ranks required bone tempering, which consumed Vital Blood. He could replenish it with Slaughter Points, making the process much faster.

And rapid recovery could also make him a perpetual Vital Blood machine, just like Fang Ping.

But he wouldn't reveal that ability like Fang Ping had. In the early stages, Fang Ping's endless supply of Vital Blood had caused him no end of trouble. It wasn't until he reached the high ranks that people stopped probing into it.

Lu Hao tried spending two Slaughter Points: one to recover Vital Blood and one to recover mental power.

A force from who knew where instantly gave Lu Hao ten cal of Vital Blood and five Hz of mental power.

[Vital Blood: 179/179 cal +]

[Mental Power: 230/269 Hz +]

His body absorbed only nine cal of Vital Blood; the remaining one dissipated into the air.

Since he couldn't tell where the energy came from, Lu Hao stopped paying attention to it. As long as he grew stronger, he'd find out sooner or later.

He had just finished washing up and getting dressed when he heard the door open. His mother was home. Thankfully, he'd cleaned up in advance; otherwise, she would have noticed the overpowering stench of blood.

If she found out her son had slaughtered 57 pigs in one afternoon, who knew what kind of trouble that would cause?

"Mom, you're home. Was there much going on at the bureau today?"

Lu Hao had thought he might feel awkward coming home, or that there might be some distance between them. But the words came naturally. His soul had merged with the original Lu Hao's; they were one and the same.

"Nothing major, just the usual work. You must be hungry, Hao'er. I'll go make you something to eat."

Bai Qiuyao saw Lu Hao come out of his room. As she answered him, she watched his expression.

Ever since Tian Bai had died six months ago, Lu Hao had been training like a madman. He wanted to avenge his brother, and Bai Qiuyao had been worried he might lose himself in his training.

Seeing signs that Lu Hao was finally coming out of it, Bai Qiuyao felt much more at ease.

Lu Hao sat quietly on the sofa, watching his mother bustle about.

Only now did everything finally feel real to Lu Hao. The strangeness and distance he'd felt toward the world after transmigrating vanished in that moment.

He was Lu Hao, Bai Qiuyao's son, the only child left in this family. If anyone tried to destroy their little family, he'd show them his fists.

His job was to protect this little family.