Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Bai Fuling raised the wooden stick, and the red bar above the Dark-Circled Pixel Character's head increased.

Bai Fuling lowered the wooden stick, and the red bar above the Dark-Circled Pixel Character's head decreased.

After going back and forth several times, the red bar above the Dark-Circled Pixel Character's head finally stopped dropping and stabilized at a state of having increased by one-tenth.

Bai Fuling nodded, full of confidence: Good, he had already figured out the truth from the red bar above the character.

Through his repeated experiments, he had scientifically and rigorously proven how the NPC named [Liao Zhiqiu] reacted to items.

The wooden stick was a more useful item than the rose! If more testing was needed, more contact would be required—like combat.

Unfortunately, his HP hadn't fully recovered yet, he had no handy weapon, and he didn't know this person's combat ability either.

So, to avoid a GG, Bai Fuling could only regretfully put down the wooden stick and temporarily give up this opportunity to test the NPC.

Seeing the black-haired raincoat-clad youth in front of him put away the wooden stick, Liao Zhiqiu's involuntarily furrowed brow relaxed again.

His heart, which usually remained unperturbed by others, had been slightly annoyed by the repeated actions of the person before him just now.

But Liao Zhiqiu was a simple, unflappable person.

When his gaze fell on the other's harmless, animal-like eyes, the churning annoyance subsided again.

Forget it, why bother arguing with a fool? No need. Just treat him like a stray cat or dog he'd encountered before that would snarl and snap.

He had always had endless patience with small animals. Even if hissed at or scratched by a lame stray cat on the street, he would gently pick it up and take it to the hospital.

Bai Fuling watched helplessly as the red bar above Liao Zhiqiu's head dropped—Wait, he hadn't finished testing yet, how come the progress was completely gone!

After all that effort, only to return to square one again, Bai Fuling couldn't help feeling annoyed. He turned around, ready to go loot a trash can to reward himself—

At that moment, Liao Zhiqiu called out to him: "Come with me."

What? Bai Fuling looked at the dialogue box, slightly stunned. There was actually a follow-up? Had a special quest been triggered?

Alright, looking at it this way, the previous interaction wasn't a total waste.

Bai Fuling happily turned around and approached the Dark-Circled Pixel Character. But no matter how long he waited, he didn't see a yellow quest marker appear above the other's head.

Liao Zhiqiu, holding the withered grass bird's nest with one arm, walked towards the other side. After a few steps, he stopped again, waiting for Bai Fuling to catch up.

...Because they hadn't reached the quest location yet, so there was no quest prompt? There were no more text guides on the left either. It seemed sometimes having a game interface that was too free wasn't good either. Bai Fuling thought it over but still stepped forward to follow.

The fixed trash cans at school could be looted anytime, but random quests could disappear any moment. So, at most, he could come back to loot trash late at night. As long as it wasn't midnight yet, it wouldn't have refreshed.

Bai Fuling closely followed the Dark-Circled Pixel Character.

The other led the way with ease through a small path, used a wire to open a dilapidated iron gate from a very hidden corner, and walked out.

Passing through the gate and crossing a narrow alley, a main road appeared before them—they had actually left the school!

So that was it, this was showing him the ditch-school path on the first day. Bai Fuling's eyes sparkled. No wonder there was no quest prompt, because this wasn't a special quest but a map exploration guide!

According to common RPG game locations, the next places to visit would be the supermarket, library, lab building, hospital, church, and park. Each location had different functions, and there would be more locations to discover in the future.

Just as Bai Fuling was thinking this, he saw three people appear from nowhere, blocking the way ahead.

"Finally caught up with you, kid... it was worth waiting for you for a few days."

The leading NPC was very tall, and the three question marks in the name slot of the dialogue box were red.

A random encounter?! Bai Fuling looked at Liao Zhiqiu beside him.

"..." Liao Zhiqiu didn't even frown, calmly looking back at the few people before him. He slightly turned his body and handed the withered wood bird's nest he was holding to the person beside him. "Hold this, stand further away."

Bai Fuling took it without hesitation, then quick as lightning, put the three bird eggs on it into his backpack.

Of course, you had to grab the chance when it was right in front of you! Once something was in his hands, there was no reason to give it back for free. Players were meant to hoard everything.

Bai Fuling was delighted to see the three extra bird eggs in his backpack, feeling satisfied. Considering the limited backpack capacity, he didn't stuff the probably useless bird's nest inside.

After handing over the bird's nest, Liao Zhiqiu discovered the bird eggs had mysteriously vanished a second later: "..."

He raised his eyes, seeming to want to ask something, but the three unwelcome visitors opposite didn't give him a chance to continue the conversation.

"You've offended someone you shouldn't have, tough luck for you. The boss said we have to teach you a lesson!"

Liao Zhiqiu turned his head, his expression unchanged, still very indifferent. He smoothly pulled out a sharp dagger with a handle wrapped in bandages from his waist. The blade reflected a cold glint.

Bai Fuling stood behind watching, with great interest.

Understood, this was the combat tutorial mode! The first day's guidance was really comprehensive, covering both the map and gameplay.

Was it turn-based, card-based, or free combat? Bai Fuling watched intently.

Oh oh, they're fighting—three against one, a melee, so it's free combat! Bai Fuling watched with relish.

The Dark-Circled Pixel Character wielded the knife with one hand, white blade in, red blade out, each strike steady, accurate, and without hesitation.

Although the three people before him were tough-looking, they were no match for his ferocity. After a few moves, they were ultimately defeated.

"Aren't you afraid of going to jail for murder?!"

The leader touched his chest, his hand covered in blood, grimacing in pain. Originally thinking it was just about teaching a kid a lesson, he didn't expect this seemingly young guy was actually trying to kill them!

Liao Zhiqiu only stared back calmly, blood smeared on his cheek, one arm seemingly injured and dislocated from a blow, just hanging limply.

He didn't speak, just stared, his other intact hand still gripping the blood-dripping sharp dagger. Blood soaked the bandages wrapped around the handle, dripping down drop by drop.

Those people started to back away. They had nothing against him personally anyway, just doing a job for money. Moreover, there was still that blood-covered raincoat weirdo beside them who hadn't made a move yet... he also looked like someone who didn't value his life!

The leader spat and left a harsh remark: "Damn, we didn't bring proper weapons this time... you got lucky!"

Hearing this, Bai Fuling nodded: Understood, this combat tutorial guidance shows that equipment is very important.

Equipment—well, he wasn't exactly empty-handed now, he still had a wooden stick. Looting trash cans at the start was indeed useful.

Those red-named NPCs cursed a few more times, stepping back as if to leave.

Bai Fuling watched their movements, stunned for a moment.

Wait, how come they're leaving without dropping any loot? Normally, after a combat tutorial ends, there should be beginner rewards to pick up.

Could it be that after watching the combat tutorial, it was now his turn to step up and practice? In any case, he couldn't just let the NPCs leave for nothing!

Bai Fuling made a quick decision, pulled out his wooden stick, stepped forward, and swung.

The leader was trudging along when he suddenly heard a swishing sound, followed by a sharp pain at the back of his head. He whipped around and saw the figure in the raincoat, who had been standing motionless like a carved statue earlier, now right behind him.

"You—" Rage boiled up inside him as he raised his fist to strike back.

The grown man’s clenched fist packed a punch, landing a dozen or more punches in succession. The wound on his chest from the earlier stab tore open, causing searing pain, but he was certain his opponent must be hurting even more!

—Yet the raincoat-clad figure didn't even flinch.

The figure lurched backward a few steps, unsteady on his feet.

But after whipping out a bird egg and cramming it into his mouth, he sprang back to life and charged again.

The leader: ???

The bloodied, expressionless figure in the raincoat looked especially terrifying in the narrow alley.

Especially since he had a handsome face stained with blood, his large, dark eyes seeming even more eerie.

Although his strikes were wild and without any technique, no normal person could take such a relentless beating—wait, why does this guy fight like a metronome, without even stopping to breathe?!

The burly leader couldn’t take it anymore. One maniac was plenty, but now there was another even more bizarre one!

His two underlings had long since slipped away when they saw the situation turning sour. Blustering, he yelled a few curses and tried to flee, but the figure in the raincoat lunged at him, savagely whacking him again with the stick!

Pain, blood loss, and panic overwhelmed the leader, and he blacked out, eyes rolling up.

...

Bai Fuling looked at the NPC finally lying before him, satisfied. He had been frantically tapping the attack button, gulping down bird eggs from his backpack whenever his health dropped low, and capitalizing on the enemy's vulnerability to keep hitting—finally, he'd taken him down!

Each bird egg restored 50 HP, making it a top-notch healing item for him at this stage.

Bai Fuling dropped the wooden stick and got up to collect the loot.

The items weren’t just lying on the ground... Well, it seemed that to feel more realistic, he had to search for them himself.

Bai Fuling happily rifled through the clothes, watching the little notifications pop up beside him:

Obtained [Money × 200]

Obtained [Lighter × 1]

Obtained [Cigarette Pack (Remaining: 3) × 1]

Obtained [Stained Map × 1]

After finishing his search, Bai Fuling got to his feet, satisfied.

Not far away, Liao Zhiqiu had already popped his dislocated arm back in and was using the edge of his undershirt to wipe the blood off the blade. He wiped slowly and meticulously before removing the bandage from the handle to tie around his arm and stem the bleeding.

He looked up and saw from a distance the raincoat-clad youth bouncing around, chasing the leader down to pummel him, and after knocking him down, going through his pockets eagerly.

Liao Zhiqiu: "..."

He remained silent for a moment before finally speaking calmly, "...They were targeting me. You didn’t need to step in and pull their aggro."

"What?" Bai Fuling was too busy looting to hear the distant voice. He stood up and brought up the next topic, ready to continue exploring. "Where to next?"

"The clinic," Liao Zhiqiu replied.

The clinic? The clinic! Bai Fuling immediately went on high alert. Would he trigger forced medical treatment again once inside?!

But the injuries on his body were mostly healed by now.

After eating grass along the way and downing a few bird eggs, his health bar had recovered by half. The fracture debuff had already disappeared... He probably wouldn’t be chased around for forced medical treatment like before, right?

"Let’s go," Liao Zhiqiu said flatly. "It’s just around the street corner." He took the lead and walked ahead.

Bai Fuling stood still, wooden stick in hand, hesitating whether to follow.

As he watched the back of the Dark-circle Pixel Character, a sudden idea flashed in his mind.

Wait a minute.

Right now, the combat mode had ended, but the dark-circle NPC’s health bar hadn’t automatically recovered, which meant there might still be plot progression to unlock.

Obtaining items from enemies meant looting after defeating them, while obtaining items from allies required building rapport to receive gifts—earlier, when he was searching for loot, the other party had been silently watching him, which must have been a hint!

He understood—now was the time to continue testing the actual function of the NPC’s red bar!

—Truth be told, he just wanted an excuse to see if he could get some gold coins by hitting him.

A player’s itchy hands couldn’t be restrained. Since he was playing a game, why not mess around a little while passing by? An orderly life might be structured, but a chaotic one was far more fun.

Bai Fuling gathered his thoughts and immediately seized the opportunity, controlling the on-screen character to charge forward enthusiastically with the wooden stick.

When the gust of wind hit, Liao Zhiqiu hadn’t yet reacted, only feeling a sudden burst of pain!

"Thud!" Something hard struck him on the head without warning!

"?!" Liao Zhiqiu stumbled, his vision instantly darkening. He tried to focus, widening his eyes as he turned to look back.

In his half-blurred vision, the black-haired raincoat-clad youth held a blood-stained wooden stick, a smile on his face, his eyes still as pure and dark as a small animal’s. The sunlight spilling into the alley illuminated the crooked Angel Halo accessory on his head, scattering a few beautiful white rays.

The raincoat-clad youth opened his mouth, his voice clear and bright: "Hey, can you drop some gold coins now?"

Liao Zhiqiu: "...??"

Bai Fuling watched as the red bar above the other’s head began to rise rapidly, nodding in satisfaction: This progress is increasing fast!

Whatever this thing was, once it filled up, it should drop something.

—Since it can drop loot, can it drop gold coins directly?!

Author's Note:

Bai Fuling: Where are the gold coins? (Tapping and hitting)