Chapter 24: A Husky? A Celestial Hound!

Lang Jingcheng kicked toward Cao Yu.

Then his leg snapped in two.

This scene left everyone else present completely bewildered. Although the tide of battle shifts in the blink of an eye, this was just changing way too fast!

Cao Yu, however, seized the opportunity of Lang Jingcheng becoming a cripple and ferociously stomped his remaining good leg. With the "Immortal-Slaying Curse" applied, the leg was crushed without the slightest resistance.

"Ah...!!"

Lang Jingcheng’s face turned the color of pig liver from the agony. He clawed at the ground with both hands, frantically trying to crawl away from Cao Yu, but Cao Yu caught up in a few strides and stomped onto his back, creating a bloody crater.

This single stomp caused Lang Jingcheng to vomit blood uncontrollably, his life force fading rapidly. By the time he crawled to the stairwell of the second floor, he had no strength left.

Seeing this, Cao Yu couldn't help but reflect that his superpower was truly underhanded. Had Lang Jingcheng not fallen for the trap, chosen close-quarters combat, and left his body completely undefended, he would never have fallen into such a desperate situation so quickly.

If this guy had been determined to run, Cao Yu knew that chasing him down would likely have ended in a chaotic motorcycle chase through the city. The physical stats of a D-rank player were somewhat monstrous; while their speed might not have been much faster than his zombie physique, their reaction times were leagues beyond what he could compete with.

By now, Lang Jingcheng realized he was dying. He used every ounce of his remaining strength to flip over, looking at Cao Yu with eyes full of both hatred and resentment. A hoarse sound rasped from his throat:

"Give me a reason... give me a reason!"

Every wrong has a perpetrator, and every debt has a debtor; he didn't remember ever provoking Cao Yu. Yet, this person wanted him dead... He demanded a reason, otherwise, he could not die in peace.

Cao Yu approached him. He crouched down and replied:

"In this life, you reap what you sow."

With that, he swung a claw, shattering Lang Jingcheng's skull.

A D-rank player had just died like that.

[Player "How Am I Any Different From That Traitor Cao" has killed Player "Speaker of the Four Mountains"]
[Player "How Am I Any Different From That Traitor Cao" may randomly inherit one item from Player "Speaker of the Four Mountains". Item retrieval and inheritance in progress...]
[Player "Speaker of the Four Mountains" possesses no items. Inheritance failed.]

'Another broke loser.'

Cao Yu was not pleased. He Kang hadn't had any items earlier, and now Lang Jingcheng didn't either. How were these people even poorer than him, a player who had just left the novice stage?

What Cao Yu didn't know was that Lang Jingcheng had actually owned an item, but he had sold it on the black market to scrape together evolution points to raise his evolution level.

On the other side, the four figures in black leather jackets and motorcycle helmets had already finished off Lai Ran and the remaining four low-level thugs. Despite the commotion, no one came up to investigate; presumably, those downstairs had either been killed or knocked unconscious by some means.

Cao Yu twitched his nose; in his zombie state, he was highly sensitive to the scent of blood. He quickly determined that there were no dead bodies downstairs.

All knocked out, then... It must have been the work of the "Four Knights of the Motorcycle Taxis" behind him.

He had originally intended to kill everyone in one go, but now there was no need for that. With the leaders dead, his little sister's trouble was resolved, and there were no security cameras on the second floor of this coin-laundry shop... he had to run.

Cao Yu already had a bad premonition. Just as he was about to flee, a gruff voice called out to him:

"Number Six?"

Cao Yu: "..."

The bad premonition had come true. It was the voice of his eldest brother, Yang Jiao.

***

Cao Yu sighed inwardly... since his eldest brother already suspected it was him, running away now was meaningless. Even if he escaped now, Yang Jiao would corner him at home for questioning later; there was basically no way to lie his way out of it.

Since that was the case...

Cao Yu turned around, looked at the nearly two-meter-tall, impossibly burly figure among the "Four Knights of the Motorcycle Taxis," and gave a nod.

The burly man then looked at the alluring figure not far away and asked:

"Number Three?"

"..."

The alluring figure stiffened.

The burly man turned to the other two and asked:

"Number Two? Number Seven?"

Both remained silent.

The silence lasted for a full ten seconds. Everyone was left standing there in awkwardness.

The burly man—that is, Yang Jiao—was the first to break the silence: "Damn it!"

"There are no cameras here; I scouted it beforehand," Cao Yu said with a smile. "Big brother, we have to go."

"You say there aren't any, so there aren't any? We'll settle this when we get back!" Beneath his motorcycle helmet, Yang Jiao frowned and issued orders: "Hurry up, check everything thoroughly, and tamper with the bodies and the scene."

...

Ten minutes later.

Cao Yu, Yang Jiao, and the others left the scene from different directions. After winding through various streets, they secretly changed their clothes and burned the old ones, returning to the appearance of ordinary people.

By the time they finished all this, an hour and a half had passed.

Cao Yu retrieved his stored luggage and headed toward Mindong Street, where the Meishan Orphanage was located.

This series of actions couldn't really be called cautious, and the plan wasn't particularly meticulous, but Cao Yu didn't strive for perfection.

Firstly, Meishan District didn't have a city-wide surveillance system.

Secondly, Meishan District had a customary special system, the so-called "jianghu" rules. Simply put, the ruling class of Meishan District did not treat gang warfare or the deaths of gang members as ordinary criminal cases. In the eyes of most of the ruling class and the public, it was best if those in gangs just wiped each other out. Consequently, the investigative efforts for such crimes were generally lackluster. They would investigate, but not thoroughly. As long as you weren't caught in the act, if a gang member died, it was a waste of life—purely their own fault.

It was precisely this rule that attracted many "rogue players" to the area, and over time, a massive player black market had emerged.

...

11:30 PM.

Cao Yu returned to the Yang family home—or more accurately, the home of Yang Jian, the second of the seven siblings.

Aside from those still in school, the other siblings each had their own careers. Yang Jian had loved martial arts since he was a child. After high school, he started working at a private martial arts gym on Mindong Street. Over time, he became close with the gym master's daughter and eventually married into the family, helping to run the gym. Four years ago, the old master passed away from illness, and Yang Jian formally inherited the position, running the gym quite successfully.

Yang Jian's wife was virtuous, gentle, and kind—the perfect wife and mother. She took excellent care of Yang Jian's younger brothers and sisters, even inviting Cao Yu and Yang Chan to live at the gym. Among the seven siblings, only Cao Yu and Yang Chan were young enough to require a guardian. Over time, this place had become Cao Yu's home.

As for why such an excellent gym master's daughter had taken a fancy to Yang Jian years ago, when he was broke, jobless, and homeless... beyond the fact that his martial arts were truly formidable, there was another important reason.

*Knock, knock.* Cao Yu tapped on the door.

The door opened, and Cao Yu’s eyes were met by a young man with a handsome, heroic, and extraordinary appearance. His every gesture exuded a charisma that could make a young girl's heart race. This was one of the reasons Yang Jian was favored by the gym master's daughter.

"Second Brother, have the others returned?" Cao Yu asked.

"They have," Yang Jian smiled. "Your sister-in-law is asleep, so let's discuss things in the gym on the first floor. By the way, have you eaten dinner? If not, I can make you some noodles."

"I've already eaten," Cao Yu said. "We should think about how to handle Big Brother's accountability first."

"..." Yang Jian sighed softly. "I was chosen by the Evolution Game proactively; Big Brother shouldn't hold me accountable. But you, Sixth Brother... I know you care about our little sister, but you were impulsive."

"Second Brother, it wasn't entirely for our little sister," Cao Yu shook his head. "I have my own goals."

"Woof."

At that moment, a muffled dog bark suddenly sounded. Cao Yu looked behind Yang Jian to see a silvery-white husky wagging its tail as it ran over, warmly welcoming Cao Yu back.

"Long time no see, Xiaotian." Cao Yu crouched down and laughingly patted the dog's head.

This dog was a birthday gift he had bought for Yang Jian two years ago using his saved allowance. At the time, Yang Jian had been left completely bewildered. Giving a dog as a birthday present... that wasn't exactly common behavior.

Cao Yu observed the husky and found that after two years of being raised by Yang Jian, the dog seemed to be getting more and more spiritually intuitive.

"Sixth Brother, there's a question I've wanted to ask for a long time," Yang Jian couldn't help but say. "Why did you name a dog 'Xiaotian'? Wouldn't 'Dabai' have been better?"

"It sounds quite domineering, doesn't it?" Cao Yu laughed, while inwardly grumbling: Big Brother is called Yang Jiao, Second Brother is Yang Jian, and Little Sister is Yang Chan... the three of them are biological siblings... damn it, it’s hard not to make associations!

"By the way, Second Brother," Cao Yu stood up. "What player path are you on?"

"The Immortal Path," Yang Jian smiled. "It's a pity I didn't awaken a superpower. But I think the Immortal Path suits me well; I've practiced internal martial arts since I was a kid, so it’s a professional match."

"And how is your cultivation talent?" Cao Yu continued to ask.

"It's decent," Yang Jian replied. "Level Five."

His cultivation talent... it was a bit frightening to say out loud. If his Sixth Brother found out, he would probably start saying those strange, mystical things to tease him again. So, it was better to keep it hidden.

"Then, have you obtained any spear-type items from the dungeons?" Cao Yu asked expectantly. "Like, for instance, a 'Three-Point Double-Edged Spear'?"

Yang Jian: "?"

He sighed helplessly: "Sixth Brother, why are you starting again... Never mind, let's go gather. Don't let Big Brother wait too long."

...

In the lobby of the gym on the first floor, the nearly two-meter-tall Yang Jiao stood by the window. He stared at the four of them with overwhelming pressure, his face showing undisguised anger.

His voice sounded heavy as he began:

"I called Number Four and Number Five earlier and bluffed them, only to find out that, like you, they had secretly become players behind my back and were planning to come back in the next few days to kill people."

"..."

The four of them were shocked.

This... were all seven siblings players now?

Cao Yu had already felt that killing people tonight and coincidentally running into Yang Jian and the others jumping out to steal the kills was dramatic enough. But now, learning that all seven siblings had become players... ah, well... perhaps this was what they called "saturation-level rescue."

So saturated that the little sister, who was supposed to be the one being rescued, had picked up a hammer and joined the fight herself.

"Number Four bought an invitation from the player black market, and Number Five joined the Research Institute's demi-human player project. They are far away, so I'll deal with them later. But you lot..."

Yang Jiao looked at the four of them one by one and sneered:

"Is being a player some kind of ideal career with high pay, low work, and no danger! Have I not said that our little sister's situation is for me to handle? Does my word still mean anything at all!"