Xu Laoba

Cao Xiaochun was somewhat puzzled. Over the past five days, aside from the girl next door knocking on his door once, no one had come looking for him.

And judging by the rhythm of that knocking, whoever it was clearly meant trouble!

Could it be her boyfriend?

After thinking it over, Cao Xiaochun still got up and opened the door. It was not like he had done anything, so he had nothing to fear from anyone looking for trouble.

He casually opened the door, only to find a monkey face staring back at him. If Cao Xiaochun had not found it strangely familiar, he would have slapped him on the spot!

"Xiaochun, you mustn't do anything foolish. At worst, your brother will take care of you from now on."

The moment Xu Laoba entered, he hurriedly tried to console him. His good friend had run into something like this—anyone would feel awful in his shoes. He had wanted to come over right after school that day.

But before he could even leave the school gates, his family stopped him. Before he could catch his breath, he was dragged into a dungeon and began his leveling journey.

Cao Xiaochun glanced at him, let out a heavy sigh, and said calmly.

"Don't worry. I'm fine."

The story of how he had met Xu Laoba was quite legendary. Their parents had known each other, but because the original Cao Xiaochun had been too honest, the two had never been particularly close.

Until one day, when he left early for school and passed a Yonghe Soy Milk Shop, he saw someone lying at Xu Laoba's feet. Xu Laoba himself stood ramrod straight, his collar gripped by a punk as he was slapped across the face, utterly too afraid to fight back.

People nearby said he had already been slapped for half an hour. Unable to bear watching any longer, Cao Xiaochun did not step in himself and simply called the police, saving him anyway.

From then on, Xu Laoba stuck to him like a burr. But after spending time together, they became good friends.

Especially when Cao Xiaochun's parents had their accident. If Xu Laoba had not used the influence of his bank president father, it would have been basically impossible for Cao Xiaochun to sell all his shares.

When they reached high school, they happened to be assigned to the same class. Xu Laoba's title of "Yonghe Station God" even followed him into high school, but Cao Xiaochun never looked down on him for it.

Yeah, he had also been the one who said on the field that Cao Xiaochun had been born defective...

Perhaps because of that, Xu Laoba had awakened the Cursed Mage class. Though it was not as good as Li Hanyi's Demon Contractor, classes specializing in weakening spells were all ruthless schemers, and many large-scale dungeons liked having them around.

"Xiaochun, I know this has hit you hard, but don't worry. With your brother here, none of it is a problem. So what if you awakened as a Gu Master?"

"You can still level up as usual. Once you reach the Gold Tier and undergo another enhanced class advancement, maybe a miracle will happen?"

Seeing that the lights in Cao Xiaochun's living room were on and the curtains had been drawn, Xu Laoba knew his brother must be feeling awful. He immediately patted his chest and made his guarantee.

He had come today because he guessed Cao Xiaochun might be too devastated to level up. There was only one day left, so he had specifically come to take Cao Xiaochun into a dungeon. At the very least, he needed to reach level two before taking potions to prepare for the upcoming exam, right?

Xu Laoba had already paid a high price to hire a team. If they worked hard, Cao Xiaochun should be able to reach level two before tomorrow!

"You're overthinking it. I'm really fine." Seeing how concerned Xu Laoba was, Cao Xiaochun felt touched, but some things really needed to be explained clearly.

"What do you mean, fine? You're even hiding it from me?"

"Why are you turning on the lights and drawing the curtains in broad daylight? You need to let the sunlight in!"

Before Cao Xiaochun could explain, Xu Laoba rattled off his words, then slowly walked over to the curtains and gave them a sharp pull!

Swish!

The girl across the hall, wearing pajamas and brushing her teeth, froze. Having just woken up, it seemed as though a holy light flashed across her chest!

"Huh? When did the landlord start keeping a monkey?"

"Ah!"

The girl was initially confused, but when she saw Xu Laoba standing there frozen and followed his gaze, she immediately let out a scream, threw down her toothbrush, and ran back into her apartment!

"Stop staring. She's gone!" Seeing Xu Laoba's expression, Cao Xiaochun's mouth twitched. He got up, shoved him, and said irritably.

"Tsk! People nowadays really have no decency. Who would've thought a beauty would even guard against a blind man?"

Coming back to his senses, Xu Laoba shook his head, looking as though his heart had been crushed.

"Anyway, back to business. Let's go level up first, or there won't be enough time."

"There's no need. Take a look at my panel..." Cao Xiaochun sighed. Left with no choice, he directly opened his status panel. This was the most straightforward explanation.

[Cao Xiaochun. Black Iron Tier]

[lv4(50/400)]

Strength: 20

Speed: 27

Spirit: 136

"Damn, so you haven't been depressed after all!" Hearing Cao Xiaochun's words, Xu Laoba was somewhat puzzled. He casually cast a Detection Spell, and as he examined Cao Xiaochun's panel, his eyes widened in shock.

"Is that nonsense? Do I have to go around wanting to die?"

Cao Xiaochun rolled his eyes and spoke flatly. Was that even something a human would say?

"Hehe, true. With your personality, you wouldn't go that far." Xu Laoba smiled. He was clearly genuinely happy about Cao Xiaochun's state.

"No, wait. Why is your spirit so high?" After confirming again that Cao Xiaochun had reached level four, Xu Laoba noticed something was off.

Cao Xiaochun's spirit had actually reached 136. Even mage-type classes would need to at least reach the Bronze Tier to possibly have a panel like that!

"I awakened a hidden class, after all. Isn't it normal for it to be a little special?"

Cao Xiaochun did not want to say much about this, so he casually came up with an excuse to brush it off.

"True, it is a hidden class after all." Xu Laoba thought about it, but in consideration of his brother's feelings, he sensibly did not press further.

"Actually, it's good that you've reached level four. Otherwise, entering the dungeon today would have been pretty dangerous."

"You don't know yet, do you? Yesterday, the military discovered during an investigation that part of the Dark Forest seemed to have suffered massive destruction. The monsters in a huge area—even the trees—had been gnawed completely clean!"

"And most importantly, the lords of the Dark Forest, the Binuoxiu sisters, have stopped respawning!"

"No one knows where they went. Everyone suspects that a new boss has replaced them."

The two casually sat down on the sofa as Xu Laoba shared the recent gossip he had heard.

Normally, after a dungeon lord was killed, it would respawn after a couple of days and revive in the same place. But that rule seemed to have been broken yesterday. At least for now, no one knew why the Binuoxiu sisters had vanished.

Hearing this, Cao Xiaochun's brow twitched. It seemed he had caused quite a commotion this time. He needed to come up with a suitable excuse soon. Since he had subdued the Binuoxiu sisters, they were not meant to be kept as collectibles.