Chapter 88: Chapter 0088: Intelligence
âWith over three hundred experience points, I could upgrade my fighting skills or my item creation abilities⊠or my spirit oppression.â
The faux-sleeping Su Lu studied the skill category in his attribute bar, pondered quickly: âUpgrading item creation abilities requires 150 points, and upgrading fighting skills requires 160 points, but fighting skills add attributes. Spirit oppression can wait⊠itâs not urgent right now.â
Truth be told, Su Lu was greatly interested in the abilities to craft magical items.
But the crux was, he lacked the materials; even possessing a high level wouldnât be of any use.
Although fighting skills doesnât increase spirit, the boost to other attributes was rather considerable.
Castors were susceptible to close combat. If Su Lu remedied this weakness, anyone who dared to try and behead him would find their face smeared with blood!
âItâs quite a dilemmaâŠâ
Su Lu felt pain in his teeth.
After advancing to the second professional rank, the gain in experience points sharply decreased. It seemed necessary to retain some experience points on hand in case of an emergency.
Anyway, on-the-spot upgrades are always possible, there are never any wastages.
The train thundered into the station.
Su Lu, carrying his suitcase, stepped off the train, stared at the somewhat familiar, yet somewhat unfamiliar Nia City, remained silent for a while, sighed deeply and didnât say anything, merely left the station.
Having spent four years there for his studies, this place felt like his real âhometownâ after traveling between worlds, yet everything disappeared, the moment he finished university.
Well, he did get a shop after all, but that was essentially Rodâs.
He didnât go to the shop, nor to the abandoned factory.
According to what Rod had taught, these two âlocationsâ had already been exposed, they werenât covert anymore.
Even though he wasnât a wanted criminal, completely exposing his whereabouts to the observation of the Eleventh Bureau wasnât a pleasant thing either.
Su Lu flagged a carriage and arrived at Zoro Street, inside an underground boxing ring.
The liking to watch blood battles seemed to be an inherent dark tendency of humans. Every city in the Federation almost had an underground boxing ring or similar prohibited places. Apparently, they drew good business and formed a huge scale.
You would never know, which of those men and women on the stands, shouting hysterically, waving betting tickets and tearing each otherâs collars, were well-dressed gentlemen or solemn ladies in broad daylight.
After uttering the secret code and entering the boxing ring, a horrifying wave of sound swept over.
The competition had already begun. Inside the iron cage, a short boxer was already engaged in a fight with a bear-like muscular man.
At a glance, Su Lu knew this was unrestricted combat, except for no weapons, there was no ban, and there werenât any weight class divisions.
When they really started fighting, it would be fists to flesh, kicks to blood, the entertainment value was extremely high.
âBlack Bear! Iâm betting on you!â
âShortie, do not lose, Iâm betting on you!â
Outside the iron cage, the spectators shouted crazily, waving betting tickets, a string of obscene language coming one after another.
Su Lu felt like he had entered a modern heavy metal bar, the massive sound caused his heart to tremble, he knitted his eyebrows and told a guard beside him: âIâm looking for Old Dog!â
Old Dog was the manager of this underground boxing ring. Of course, he was only the face that was presented to the public.
Hence, he also ran a lot of grey area businesses under the guise of his role and the protection offered, maintaining a pretty good reputation.
According to Rod, âThose in this line of work, though very greedy, would have been killed long ago if their reputation wasnât good.â
As he had followed Rod to replenish some materials on a few occasions before, this guard actually recognized him, didnât ask many questions, and led him to an office behind the boxing ring.
After closing the office door, the noise levels decreased significantly.
âHey! Isnât this Rodâs little brother?â
Sitting behind the desk was a fat merchant, with a half-bald shiny head, always a trace of a smile on his face. However, it wasnât sincere at all, rather it resembled a foxâs grin.
Seeing Su Lu, Old Dog stood up: âHavenât seen you for a while, what are you here to buy? Materials? Firearms? Or information? Iâll give you a discount!â
He was vaguely aware of the âInner Worldâ, affording a good amount of respect to Rod and Su Lu.
âIâm here for the letter! And I also want to buy some information!â Su Lu utterly ignored the discount.
If he believed this crooked merchantâs words, then heâs a fool!
The fact that the other party doesnât sell to him at a higher price was already tolerable.
Even if he was in awe of transcendent powers, it wouldnât change the merchant nature of the other party.
âOh, right, the letter!â
Old Dog opened a drawer, rummaged inside, and took out three letters: âThese were sent via special channels, absolutely not been read before, you can check!â
Su Lu received them and checked the wax seals.
Actually, it wasnât really necessary, because his means of communicating with Rod was usually coded language.
âThree letters, three Silver Hawks, even the Stephen ones would do!â
Old Dog smiled with narrowed eyes.
Su Lu directly tossed a Golden Dragon coin over: âDid anything special happen in Nia City recently? Since the art gallery incident?â
âIf you put it like that, there is indeed something! Need a drink?â
Old Dog picked up a glass of beer filled with hops.
Su Lu gave him a disdainful look, inside the glass, the white beer hops almost occupied two-thirds of the volume: âThank you, I donât need it!â
âAlas⊠young manâŠâ
Old Dog took a sip of the beer: âBill Abbot is dead!â
âBill? That coal merchant?â Su Luâs recalled an image of a groveling merchant:
âSuicide! Jumped from the roof of his own company building during peak office hours, it even made the headlines! Caused a massive uproar⊠after all, his business was good, life was in order, there was no reason for it.â Old Dog replied.
Bill was a survivor from the art gallery incident, saved by him and Rod.
âI didnât expect⊠the curse to be revived so soon?â
A chill ran through Su Luâs heart: âCould it be that the seal from last timeâŠ
âAnd the others? You know what Iâm referring to, more eerie, weird events!â He continued to ask.
âThe othersâŠâ Old Dog revealed a toothy grin: âIn a redwood forest in the west suburbs, hunters have reported sightings of humanoid beastsâŠâ
âIn Nisper Lake, itâs rumored that a water monster has appeared⊠but thatâs been around for several years now, thereâs only a fuzzy photo as evidence.â
âOther than that, itâs a peculiar trend thatâs risen in the upper-class circles, a strange rumorâŠâ
Old Dogâs smile grew wider, showing his black and yellow teeth: âThis one needs extra payment!â âWhat rumor?â
Su Lu nodded in agreement.
âRegarding⊠a painting, allegedly those who view it will be cursed. This caused much distress among many gentlemen and ladies. It also boosted my business significantly.â
Old Dog polished off his beer.
âAs expected⊠the horror has spread.â
Su Luâs countenance turned grave: âAre the local Goddess Church of Light and the Federal Eleventh Bureau all useless?â