Chapter 26: I want to get beaten up
Upon hearing Jiang Ming's name, Tang Xian let out a rare bitter smile.
The world is really small.
Recalling the last time he saw Jiang Ming, Tang Xian noticed in his data that he feared the hellhound, which suggested Jiang Ming must have had his own hunting team.
It seemed that his team had encountered the hellhound and the outcome was… not too good.
"Let's go with him," Tang Xian nodded.
Jiang Ming was willing to pay twice the price to buy the hellhound, likely to commemorate his deceased teammates.
Tang Xian didn't dislike Jiang Ming.
"This Mr. Jiang Ming seems to have posted another task as well, also concerning the hellhound. It requires hunting a hellhound in the northern forest, characterized by missing an ear and an eye, and notably stronger than the average hellhound. The reward is... one hundred purple organic crystals, my goodness!" the middle-aged woman exclaimed.
Having worked in the task department for so long, she couldn't imagine someone offering a price fit for a top-tier boss creature for an elite-level boss creature.
But Tang Xian understood and now had a clearer idea of why Jiang Ming's financial assessment was 'just getting by'.
Taking his entire fortune to avenge his teammates, it was natural that he wouldn't have much savings.
Given the location in the forest, he silently noted down this task.
While you need to register to submit a task, picking one up doesn't require registration.
Whoever completes it first gets the reward.
This was also why Tang Xian was targeted by the hunting team from Fortress 51 that day.
The reward for a task would be deposited into one's account in the form of hunting points.
In various mining companies, you could exchange points for equivalent minerals.
After completing all this, Tang Xian went straight to the passage to return to the lower level.
It was like wanting to shop as soon as you get your paycheck. What he wanted most now was to buy the coveted Cantonese cuisine boiler.
But before that, Tang Xian still had something he needed to do first.
...
...
This was Dong Ran's first visit to Decay Street. The people on the street were of all shapes and colors.
Most here had tattoos or ink on their bodies. Their gazes were uninhibited, as there were no seasons in the Pyramid. Basically, apart from the thickest cold-weather gear, any seasonal attire wouldn't seem out of place.
Dong Ran dressed quite coolly, and since her role was to seduce Tang Xian, he believed most people's first impression of her would be: "You're quite provocative."
Dong Ran felt somewhat nervous. She was a powerful warrior in the mine, but here in the Pyramid, she was no different from anyone else. She had heard of the chaos at the bottom level, and Decay Street was known to be accident-prone.
"See that fat guy over there, the one standing in the dark alley with the rooster's crest, he is greedy, lecherous, and violent. People in the lower levels have many dealings with underground organizations, and their characters are basically like this guy, passionate about money, women, and violence. Right now, his biggest need is to find an unlucky sod, like a gambler who's come out of the casino with a lucky win, and extort a sum of money, so he and the two next to him are squatting in the dark alley, waiting for their prey. I'll go provoke him."
"Ah? Why would you want to provoke him?"
"For the future of humanity."
"..."
Dong Ran was speechless; the line "for the future of humanity" was clearly nonsense. However, Tang had his reasons for doing things.
Dong Ran estimated that even a regular soldier would have to put some effort into dealing with such a big guy. Although Tang was well-proportioned and probably strong, this was like a lightweight challenging a heavyweight.
Tang Xian didn't explain much, only saying, "If I call for help, just show your ID card information to assist me. If I don't call for help, remember, you mustn't act on your own this time. No matter what happens, do not come to assist me unless I call out."
Dong Ran nodded, remembering Tang Xian's eyes the last time they killed a fox, and dared not act impulsively again.
After giving these instructions, Tang Xian made his way into the dark alley and walked up to the rooster-crested man, staring straight at him.
Being stared at like this, the rooster-crested man frowned and said in displeasure,
"Kid, what are you looking at?"
"Looking at you, what about it?"
"Keep looking and see what happens?"
Tang Xian didn't say "try me" and actually try it.
He glanced at the rooster-crested man's two companions: one was a thin man with a sinister gaze, the other was shorter with a crow tattoo on his neck.
The three were working together, a gang committing crimes.
"I feel like getting a good beating, preferably by three people," Tang Xian raised three fingers.
This odd request stunned the rooster-crested man and the tattooed man and the thin man next to him.
"Don't understand?" asked Tang Xian, thinking he had made himself very clear.
With a smack, he slapped him across the face.
Five finger prints were imprinted on the red-haired cockatoo's face.
"Do you understand now?"
From a distance, Dong Ran watched with her heart pounding. Had Tang gone mad?
"Looking for death!"
The cockatoo roared angrily, beckoning with his hand, and the thin tall guy and the tattooed man swung their fists, smashing them directly into Tang Xian's head.
What followed was essentially a one-sided beating of Tang Xian. The three of them completely surrounded Tang Xian, venting their anger at will.
Dong Ran's eyes widened, wanting to help but recalling Tang Xian's instructions. She was burning with anxiety, uncertain of what to do.
…
…
As the fists hit his body, Tang Xian felt like his bones were about to break.
Severe pain spread across his body, and those three didn't hold back at all, attacking as if they were aiming to kill.
The cockatoo, in particular, kept violently kicking Tang Xian in the abdomen, as if wanting to break his bones.
Crouched in the corner, Tang Xian protected his head, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His expression was hidden by his hands, so no one saw... he was smiling.
The pain was real, and so was the smile on his lips.
The messages coming from his sea of consciousness assured Tang Xian that he had bet correctly.
Although somewhat reckless, asking Dong Ran to do this would have been better, but it was less efficient. Getting beaten by one person was never as fast as by three.
[Successfully resisted ordinary human attack]
[Obtained 1 point of human resistance]
[Successfully resisted ordinary human attack]
[Obtained 1 point of human resistance]
[Successfully resisted ordinary human attack]
[Obtained 1 point of human resistance]
…
The continual appearance of these phrases in his sea of consciousness gave Tang Xian the strange illusion that getting hit felt rather good.
…
…
His last trip to the mining area had left Tang Xian with many unanswered questions.
For instance, in the eyes of the various boss creatures, he seemed like an extremely powerful entity.
And then there were those odd messages that emerged in his sea of consciousness.
The mining area could activate a human's potential, turning them into individuals with special talents.
But once you left the mining area, those talents would disappear along with it.
However, that wasn't the case for Tang Xian. Ever since he had entered the mining area and taken part in the Trial of the Chosen, he had never mentioned this fact to anyone.
His talent didn't vanish upon leaving the mining area and returning to reality.
On the day he fought the hellhound, Tang Xian believed that his combat abilities had awakened. This ability seemed to be of a growth type.
It required the accumulation of experience points. In short, to increase damage, he needed to keep attacking, and to increase resistance, he needed to keep getting hit.
Based on his own characteristics, he wanted to know if this combat ability was also effective outside of the mining area.
Now he had his answer.
His resistance against humans was continuously increasing. Naturally, his sense of pain was also diminishing.
Dong Ran looked at Brother Tang, worried because a normal person would be dead or crippled after such a beating. She decided to ignore Tang Xian's instructions and rushed in.
But at that moment, Tang Xian suddenly stood up.
He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at the three gasping men with some regret, saying:
"Please don't stop."
Smack! He finished speaking and delivered another slap to the cockatoo's face.