This chapter is broken. Please report this on discord.
[1] "Sharp Brother" (犀利哥): A 2010 viral internet sensation where a homeless man (Cheng Guorong) was ironically celebrated for his "boho-chic" rags and piercing gaze. Chen Shu sarcastically uses this to mock the criminals, framing their filthy, desperate appearance as a deliberate "high fashion" statement.
[2] "Huazi" (华子): Street slang for Zhonghua cigarettes, China's expensive "National Smoke" and a key status symbol. The criminal leader smoking Huazi in a ruin characterizes him as a thug desperately clinging to the material remnants of his past wealth and prestige.
[3] "No way, officer" (不是吧阿Sir): A classic phrase from Hong Kong TVB police dramas that became a viral meme for expressing exaggerated disbelief. By using this specific Cantonese term ("Ah Sir"), Chen Shu mentally frames his dangerous reality as a melodramatic TV scene, highlighting his detachment from the actual threat.
[4] "Face the wind!" (面对疾风吧): The iconic voice line of Yasuo from League of Legends, a character associated with arrogant, flashy players who often die needlessly. The System offers this dialogue to urge Chen Shu to act like a delusional anime protagonist, prioritizing "cool points" over survival.
[5] "Steady as an old dog" (稳如老狗): Gambling slang describing a "safe bet," characterizing someone with the weary, unshakeable stability of an experienced veteran. It's the direct antonym to "panicked like a dog," contrasting Chen Shu's frantic acting with his internal, cynical calm.
[6] "Mosaic" (马赛克): A meta-reference to Chinese media censorship which requires gore to be pixelated. The author breaks the fourth wall by stating the victim turned into a "mosaic"—dark comedy that acknowledges the graphic violence without actually describing the blood and guts.
Chen Shu did his best to imitate Wang Bage, trying to make himself appear as sleazy as possible.
Hopefully they won't see through it...
He sighed inwardly. Unfortunately, suave blood flowed through his veins, making it simply too difficult to act so sleazy. Carrying two large bags of daily necessities, he entered the abandoned factory with a completely natural expression.
The factory was utterly desolate, containing only a few rust-covered machines, while in the corner, several people were squatting together in discussion.
Group squat session? Chen Shu slowly walked over.
Holy crap—four Sharp Brothers![1] How long have they been living in this factory?
"Old Wang, you're back?"
A weathered-looking middle-aged man glanced over and said, "Perfect timing. Everyone's discussing our next move—you should join in."
Chen Shu nodded and squatted down.
A crew-cut youth frowned and said, "Brother Wen, we've even alerted the Spirit Suppression Bureau this time. This isn't going to be easy."
"Difficult or not, we have to do it!" The middle-aged man snorted and lit up a Huazi.[2]
"Think back to our old days, selling our lives in Alternate Dimensions for a measly hundred or two hundred thousand!"
The fat guy nodded and said, "Exactly! Ten million! That's worth how many times risking our lives? Besides, now that the captain's gone, we can't even enter Alternate Dimensions anymore."
"Just thinking about that Lord-level Azure-eyed Snake gives me cold sweats."
Listening quietly from the side, Chen Shu gradually pieced their story together: the four had once been part of a Beast Taming Corps, but became unemployed drifters after their captain died. Since raising Contract Spirits required enormous expenses and they could no longer earn money without access to Alternate Dimensions, they had resorted to desperate risks.
"Leaving the city is definitely out of the question now!"
After thinking for a long while, the middle-aged man said, "I'm planning to hide out in the countryside for a while!"
Since the scam victims were all from the urban district, they'd be much safer in the rural townships, and with none of their faces exposed, even the Spirit Suppression Bureau would have trouble catching them if they intentionally laid low.
"What about him, though?"
The fat guy suddenly looked at Chen Shu.
Of the five, only Old Wang's appearance had been exposed, making him a wanted criminal known throughout the city. Bringing him along would only be a burden.
All four suddenly turned to stare at him in unison!
Those sharp gazes made Chen Shu's expression freeze.
No way, officer...[3] I just infiltrated, and I'm already running into this kind of situation?
"Why don't we just bury him?"
The crew-cut youth rubbed his chin, making the suggestion.
All four were Beast Tamers—deciding the life or death of an ordinary person would be effortless.
Options suddenly appeared before Chen Shu's eyes.
[Option 1: Shout loudly, "Big brother, don't kill me!"]
Reward: Small amount of Beast Taming Power[Option 2: Say in a low voice, "You want to kill me? You can try! Face the wind!"[4]]
[Option 3: Pretend to be terrified to try winning the criminals' sympathy.]
Chen Shu's expression froze, his eyes darting back and forth as he thought it through. In the end, he decided to choose Option 3—compared to attributes, skills were clearly superior.
"Brother Kun, looks like you scared him stupid?"
The fat guy laughed. Chen Shu's dazed appearance did indeed look like he'd been frightened senseless.
The lead middle-aged man spoke up, "Stop wasting words. Do it. We'll head to the countryside this afternoon."
"Little Xiao, you handle this!"
The thin youth hearing this froze for a moment, then nodded.
"Wait!" Chen Shu cried out in alarm, "You can't kill me!"
"Look, you've even scared his voice into changing." The crew-cut youth wore a mocking smile. "Give us one reason we shouldn't kill you. Everyone needs to have some value, after all."
"Because..." Chen Shu's face showed fear as he spoke. "Because... because killing people is... impolite."
"Hahaha!"
Hearing this, all four burst into laughter, like a pack of hungry wolves surrounding a helpless little white rabbit.
"Little Xiao, show him your impolite side!"
The thin youth nodded and stood up, his eyes vicious and malicious, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
Chen Shu trembled as he got to his feet, stumbling toward the factory exit, playing the part of a terrified man to perfection!
"Old Wang, bro... stop running..."
The youth crossed his arms, like a cat toying with a mouse.
Chen Shu barely made it to the factory entrance when he suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground.
"Are you scared of a beetle this big?"
The youth summoned his Contract Spirit: a half-meter-long black beetle with razor-sharp mandibles, continuously vibrating wings, and a ferocious gaze.
One look and you could tell this was an evil-natured Contract Spirit!
"Little Black, you get to eat your fill today."
The youth smiled and stroked the beetle's back.
[Reward Obtained: Violent Sitting Kill +1! Skill damage increased!]
Chen Shu's body hit the ground, looking panicked as hell on the outside, but inside his heart was steady as an old dog.[5]
A Level 5 Beast Tamer dares to show off in front of me?
Chen Shu spoke up, "Your beetle is quite big, but mine is even bigger!"
Before the youth could even react, a massive shadow instantly enveloped him.
"What the—" He instinctively looked up, only to see a round, plump yellow butt—and that became the last thing he saw in his life!
BOOM!
As the Golden Slime's nearly ten-meter body crashed down, the man was instantly crushed into a mosaic[6] without even letting out a scream, and with its host's demise, the black beetle died on the spot.
"What the hell?!"
The other three felt the tremor and looked up to see an enormous slime leap into the air.
Violent Sitting Kill activated!
"Holy mother—what the hell is that thing?!"
The three men's expressions changed drastically, cursing their parents for not giving them two more legs as they scrambled and rolled, barely dodging the slime's attack.
Chen Shu inwardly thought it was a pity—if only he could have killed one more.
"Damn it! He's not Old Wang!"
The crew-cut youth called Brother Kun cursed furiously and instantly summoned his Contract Spirit.
A Black Boar appeared, snorting and squealing, its eyes filled with rage.
The other two reacted just as quickly, summoning their respective Contract Spirits.
A Blue Bird flew at low altitude, and a humanoid creature covered in flames stood upright.
"Hm? A Fire Elemental Spirit?"
Chen Shu's gaze landed on the flaming creature. It was indeed a special-type Fire Elemental Spirit—its bloodline range was extremely broad, spanning from F-rank all the way to S-rank.
The middle-aged man's eyes held killing intent as he said, "A Silver-rank Beast Tamer actually dared to come here alone?!"
"Brother Wen, are you sure he's only Silver rank?"
The fat guy stroked his Blue Bird, feeling that if the slime sat on it, shit would literally be squeezed out.
"Yeah, he's Silver rank!" Brother Wen could sense Chen Shu's Beast Taming Power level.
But his gaze continuously shifted to the ten-meter giant slime, and his eyes began to show doubt.
"Should be... probably... maybe Silver rank!"