Human Meat Shadow Clone

Half a month passed.

It was time to collect the monthly relief payment again.

Six thousand ryō a month—by Lin Chongshu's standards, that was less than two thousand yuan.

At that moment, he sat at the table wolfing down grilled meat, with a plate of sliced fruit beside him.

This single meal cost three hundred ryō. The original owner of this body would not even have dared to dream of it.

After half a month of bullying, he had drained those brats' attributes dry.

His formerly frail body, which looked like it could be blown over by the wind, had begun to fill out. There was even some real strength in his arms now.

His appetite had grown as well. Two crackers used to last him all day, but now he felt starved if he went a meal without meat.

The system was good and all, but it still fell short. How much easier would it be if it could make me stronger out of thin air? Why did it have to force me to inherit the Will of Sand?

Lin Chongshu chewed his grilled meat as he pulled up the panel for a look.

[Name: Lin Chongshu]

[Strength: 3.7]

[Mental: 4.1]

[Agility: 3.4]

[Constitution: 3.9]

[Speed: 3.1]

[Shukaku's Power: Sand Manipulation (Proficiency 4)]

Those brats' attributes had not been high to begin with. Once he had drawn them to their limits, there was nothing left to squeeze out.

He had considered going after Gaara. That kid was full of good stuff, but ever since he had lost control and killed someone that day, he had not appeared again.

Yet whenever Lin Chongshu considered Gaara, the sight of that mess on the ground that day made a chill run down his spine.

"Dammit, dammit. I'm starting to become fearless too. Am I really going to turn into a genuine Sunagakure native?"

The one thing worth celebrating was that his Sand Manipulation had improved considerably over the past half month.

Even though he still could not cultivate chakra, the amount of sand he could control was now about the size of his palm.

Besides Gaara, he also wanted to bully a ninja and obtain any type of chakra attribute he could cultivate. But for now, that was nothing more than wishful thinking.

As he ate, someone knocked on the door.

This time, the knocking was very soft.

A small, skinny figure poked half his body through the doorway and called weakly, "Brother Shu..."

Lin Chongshu set down his chopsticks without turning around. "Did you bring the money?"

The door opened, and five brats filed inside. This time, though, the red-haired Fatty hung back at the very end.

The boy in front took out six hundred ryō from his pocket and placed it on the table, his hand trembling slightly.

Lin Chongshu picked it up, weighed it in his hand, and nodded.

He had calculated it before. If he bought nothing but discounted food close to expiration, three thousand ryō would be enough for a month. The original owner had learned that number through bitter experience.

So the rule he set for these kids was simple: whenever they collected their monthly money, each of them had to lend him six hundred ryō.

They had refused at first, but after Lin Chongshu had a nice chat with them for several days, they all agreed.

After collecting money from two of them, it was the third one's turn.

The boy had barely stepped up to the table when his eyes reddened. "Brother Shu... can I not lend it to you this time?"

His voice carried a sob. "I still have a grandmother... There's one more person in my family. I-I need the money more..."

Lin Chongshu narrowed his eyes at him. "You have a grandmother? Then your family should be getting a pension too, right?"

"Huh?" The boy froze.

"I forgot about that if you hadn't mentioned it." Lin Chongshu set his chopsticks down on the table. "Then you need to lend me twelve hundred."

The boy's face instantly turned pale.

Jiro Hijikata poked his head out from behind the others, his face flushed red. "Lin Chongshu, don't go too far! When you were weak, you didn't directly extort money from us!"

Lin Chongshu laughed. "How is that the same?"

Before he finished speaking, several grains of sand drifted before Fatty's eyes.

He blinked, and before he could rub them away, Lin Chongshu's foot had already slammed into his chest.

Fatty toppled backward, hitting the ground with a dull thud.

"Don't underestimate my Will of Sand, bastard!" Lin Chongshu planted a foot on his chest and bent down. "Hurry up and lend me the money!"

At his current level, Lin Chongshu could already beat Fatty flat in a direct fight with nothing but his fists.

After that kick, Lin Chongshu waited, but the system gave no response.

He felt a little disappointed. Ever since he had nearly drained this bunch of their attributes, the system had become stingier and stingier.

Before, it would at least give him 0.1 Strength. Now it did not even make a sound.

Once all the money had been collected, the five brats obediently stood in a row.

Jiro Hijikata climbed up from the ground clutching his chest and returned to the line as well.

Lin Chongshu picked up a sheet of paper from the table. It was the training schedule he had written last night.

Think I can't get anything else out of you? As if I don't have a way.

His panel could not display other people's attributes, but as long as their training paid off and they became stronger, he could keep drawing more from them by bullying them again.

"Starting today," Lin Chongshu said, raising the paper, "you will run five thousand meters every day, split into five runs."

The boy he pointed at turned green.

"You will do strength training. Two-hour sets, with half an hour of rest between them."

"You will do core training. One-hour sets, with a fifteen-minute rest between them."

The brats looked at one another.

Other people's bullying amounted to getting beaten up or cursed at. Lin Chongshu was different. His bullying involved corporal punishment.

"What are you standing around for?" Lin Chongshu leaned back in his chair. "Get started! My Human Meat Shadow Clone Technique!"

Naruto had the Nine-Tails and could cheat his way through training. Lin Chongshu had nothing, so all he could do was pile on more people.

After arranging the training, Lin Chongshu sat at the doorway and watched the brats laboriously run laps outside.

Under the sun, several crooked figures swayed back and forth.

The entire afternoon passed just like that.

The sun began sinking in the west, dyeing the entire orphan district a dusky yellow.

One brat dragged himself over, his legs trembling so hard he was panting as he spoke. "Brother Shu... I can't run anymore... Can I switch to strength training? My legs are about to break..."

Lin Chongshu glanced at him. "You think you get to pick exercises based on your foundation? Can't run anymore, huh? Come here."

The boy hesitantly walked over.

Lin Chongshu slapped him across the face, making stars burst before his eyes.

He waited, but the system still did not react.

Lin Chongshu grabbed the boy by the collar. "No effect? Were you not trying hard enough? Did you slack off?"

The boy covered his face, tears welling in his eyes. "I tried... I really tried. I've never run this long in my life..."

He sounded so aggrieved that it did not seem like an act.

Lin Chongshu stared at him for two seconds, then released his collar. "Fine. Then I'll try again."

He took a step back, then suddenly kicked the boy to the ground. "Don't be nervous. Relax a little. It's normal to feel a little dizzy at first."

The remaining kids watched Lin Chongshu return to his violent state. Thinking he was dissatisfied with their training, they became even more afraid to stop and hurriedly trained harder.

At that moment, in the distance, a ninja with white cloth wrapped around his head, the left side of his face covered by a white veil, and a Sunagakure forehead protector watched from afar.