Chapter 17

5-point limit.

This way, I can continuously use the Iron Wire Fist in battle!

Of course, this is a good thing, but Wu Xiaode was still a bit surprised.

"He gave you a lot of soul power?"

"Of course, we Crow Spirits can absorb souls. For us, murder and arson are the true paths to improvement—I gave you more than half to boost your strength. How about that, generous enough, right?" Crow Old said with a haughty tone.

"Thank you, but is there really no one in the world with more than 10 points of soul power?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"There are, but they are extremely rare," Crow said.

"What happens at midnight?" Wu Xiaode asked curiously.

"I really can't tell you. This is something we spirits taboo. You must explore it yourself—or you can ask other practitioners to know," Crow said cautiously.

"Alright," Wu Xiaode looked around at the mess and the five corpses and said, "This is over, let's go."

He turned into a crow and flew out the window, then flew back and landed in front of the poker table again.

At Xia Huilan's former company, the boss had the secretary bring something over, but no one knew what it was.

Wu Xiaode's gaze fell on the heavy black briefcase.

He thought for a moment and reached out to open it.

The case was filled with large denomination bills.

"Your life is secure now," Crow said, looking at the pile of cash.

"It's strange, in this era of electronic payments, why would someone carry so much cash?" Wu Xiaode said, puzzled.

"You obviously haven't done this before," Crow sneered.

Wu Xiaode thought for a moment and suddenly realized, "Cash leaves no trace, while electronic payments do."

"Not bad, you catch on quickly—start using cash from now on. With your boxing skills, you can make a name for yourself in the underworld," Crow said.

"Do you think I enjoy killing?" Wu Xiaode said.

"After all, you're wanted. You know, there's no place for you under the sun," Crow said.

"What's the point of all this violence? It's just the strong bullying the weak. I might go live in the mountains with Sister Lan," Wu Xiaode said.

"So, what's your life goal?" Crow asked with interest.

"To survive," Wu Xiaode said with unwavering determination.

Black wings sprouted from his back, and he was about to transform into a crow when the floating Book of the Dead, which had been motionless in mid-air, suddenly trembled.

Wu Xiaode stopped his transformation.

The Book of the Dead quietly opened, revealing lines of icy script:

"Since the reset of time, you have earned the admiration and respect of the Undead, Humans, and Heroes."

"Conditions met."

"Now, activate the limited-time mission!"

"You have one hour to gather the admiration and respect of 1,000 living beings."

"Complete the mission, and this book will unlock new abilities."

"If you fail, the book's abilities will remain at their current level, unable to improve further."

"Begin!"

Wu Xiaode quickly read it and couldn't help but want to curse.

—At least give me some time to react. Why suddenly give me such a difficult mission?

The Book of the Dead displayed another line of icy script:

"Note!"

"The Cyclops, a powerful being from myth, has begun to suspect the changes in time."

"This book must concentrate all its power and take a risk to upgrade immediately."

"Only a successful upgrade can avoid the Cyclops' scrutiny."

"This is the backlash of fate."

"Remember, you only have one hour!"

Wu Xiaode gritted his teeth.

He returned in the afternoon at six, and it wasn't even midnight yet.

He had only been there for less than six hours.

—The Cyclops has already noticed something?

The shadow of death loomed over his heart, like a heavy iron curtain pressing down, making him feel powerless to resist.

Wu Xiaode bent over, gasping for breath, trying to ease the suffocating sense of despair.

"Damn it..."

He took a deep breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and picked up the black briefcase, heading towards the window.

"What do you plan to do?" Crow asked.

"With this much money, maybe many people need it," Wu Xiaode said.

He retracted his wings, picked up the briefcase, and walked to the window, leaping out.

Thud!

Wu Xiaode landed unharmed on the ground and quickly crossed the street, about to hail a taxi when his phone rang.

"Zhao Junyu?" Wu Xiaode answered the call.

Zhao Junyu's voice came through:

"Those people are skilled and have complex connections. I advise you to wait for me before making a move."

"You don't need to come. I've already taken care of them."

"Yes, I'm on my way—wait, what did you say?" Zhao Junyu's voice rose.

"I've already killed the mastermind. If you have time, come clean up the mess on Binjiang Road. We'll talk later."

Wu Xiaode hung up the phone.

Zhao Junyu calling was very considerate, and he owed him a favor.

This person is worth befriending.

Wu Xiaode thought to himself and quickened his pace.

After walking down the street for a while, he finally saw a beggar in a corner.

Wu Xiaode opened the briefcase, took out a stack of money, walked up to the beggar, and squatted down, saying,

"Don't come out to beg when it's raining. Find a place to eat and rest."

He handed the money to the beggar.

The beggar, with a scruffy beard, stared at him for a moment, then suddenly stood up and said,

"Do you want to help more people?"

"Of course!" Wu Xiaode said.

—If I can spend some money to earn their gratitude and help them, that would be the best choice.

"Follow me," the beggar said.

"Alright," Wu Xiaode said.

The beggar led the way, and Wu Xiaode followed closely. They walked through the streets and alleys, gradually moving away from the bustling areas.

"Are we almost there?" Wu Xiaode asked.

It had been ten minutes.

He only had sixty minutes in total!

"We're here, just ahead!" the beggar shouted.

"How many of you are there?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"Dozens."

Wu Xiaode didn't say anything more.

Fewer than expected, but beggars can't be choosers!

A few more minutes passed.

The beggar finally stopped.

They stood under an abandoned bridge, surrounded by the wilderness, with a remote construction site in the distance.

Under the bridge, about twenty beggars were standing or sitting.

The beggar ran up to a large, muscular beggar and said, "Brother, we've got a fat sheep!"

All the beggars turned to look at Wu Xiaode.

"Oh? A fat sheep?" the beggar leader looked at Wu Xiaode suspiciously.

"Yes, he just took out a bunch of money from that black briefcase. There's probably more inside!" the beggar said, trying to please him.

"Hehe, little brother, bring out your briefcase," the beggar leader said.

The other beggars gathered around.

Wu Xiaode was stunned, feeling ashamed that he had been too naive.

—This is my own fault for being too hasty.

Even if he gave all the money to these people now, they wouldn't admire or respect him.

They saw him as a naive student.

Those who prey on the weak don't admire the weak.

So,

How can I make a group of beggars respect me?

No,

They are more like a criminal gang than real beggars.

...What a waste of time.

"Little brother, open the briefcase, don't play games," a beggar said.

The beggar's dagger glinted in the light, casually waving and pointing at Wu Xiaode's chest.

Wu Xiaode couldn't take it anymore.

He stepped forward, not even using soul power, relying on his physical strength, which was several times that of an ordinary person, and the combat experience he gained from the Ancestral Spirit, and slapped out with all his might.

Smack!

The dagger flew out of the beggar's hand.

Wu Xiaode slapped the man to the ground and said calmly, "I hate it when people point knives at my chest."

He flexed his wrist and walked towards the crowd.

Another minute had passed.

Wu Xiaode's anger grew.

Damn it, how can I immediately earn the admiration and respect of 1,000 people?

He suddenly stopped and looked down.

The ground.

Was moving.

The earth was trembling rhythmically.

An earthquake?

No, not that.

"Strange..." Wu Xiaode muttered.

In the distance, two police officers walked side by side, one of them speaking into an earpiece,

"The road is blocked, the holographic image is activated, no one is allowed to enter."

The beggars immediately froze when the police appeared.

Wu Xiaode had a hunch.

But what was that noise just now?

The two police officers stopped about twenty meters in front of Wu Xiaode.

"Wanted criminal Wu Xiaode, surrender now," one of them said.

"What if I say no?" Wu Xiaode asked.

He watched them warily, ready for them to draw their guns.

One of the police officers smiled and said, "Alright, you're not a real wanted criminal, and we're not real police, but someone does want to catch up with you."

Not police!

Wu Xiaode was surprised, a sense of danger rising in his heart.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Heavy footsteps echoed in the darkness.

A nearly four-meter-tall, completely steel-made humanoid figure emerged from the darkness, standing in front of Wu Xiaode.

This was a real mecha.

It was covered in a thick, dark metal, equipped with various weapons, and moved like a normal human.

If it were shrunk to human size, you might think it was a human in a costume!

But it was far from as fragile as a human body.

Nothing could destroy it, whether it was knives, guns, or natural disasters.

The weapons it carried turned it into a walking war machine, capable of reaping the lives of all living beings like a grim reaper!

Wu Xiaode was indeed impressed by this giant.

After all, such sci-fi-like steel giants were only seen in movies.

In reality, he had never heard of such a thing.

Xia Huilan and her colleagues' technical knowledge included information about this giant.

—From the "92025 Type Advanced Humanoid Combat Machine Curved Bearing Design Style·Revised" background knowledge.

It was a standard combat mecha.

Wu Xiaode knew about it, but this was the first time he had seen a real mecha!

"Chinese Literature, Zhao Ziyang?"

A teasing voice came from inside the mecha.

"Li Zheng? Are you piloting the mecha?" Wu Xiaode asked, disbelievingly.

"Calm down, humans have been inventing cars for centuries. Do you really think human technology would develop so slowly?" Li Zheng asked.

Wu Xiaode thought about it and realized it made sense—

He had seen a Cyclops.

Humans could invent cars and then spend a few centuries inventing mechas.

But even after a thousand years, humans couldn't create a Cyclops!

So what's so impressive about a mecha?

Besides, Sister Lan's research was much stronger than this!

The logic was sound,

The reasoning was correct,

So,

What's the problem?

"You think I won't recognize you just because you're in a mecha?" Wu Xiaode said, raising his head and laughing coldly.

Li Zheng was a bit surprised.

This kid had just looked like a country bumpkin who hadn't seen anything, but the next second, he acted like he had seen everything.

Unlike the beggars—

They were already frozen in shock.

One of them tried to sneak away but was shot in the head by the "police" officer.

"You people, some of your organs are still good. Don't die so quickly."

"Right, dead bodies aren't worth much."

The two "police" officers said meaningfully.