24: Chapter 24 New Skills

Jiang He saw the profiteering look in Qiao Wu's eyes, and the little curiosity he had was suppressed.

This guy's schemes were too deep.

"Forget it, forget it, I'm not interested." Jiang He waved his hand, turning to leave.

"Don't go, young man!" Qiao Wu stomped his feet in anxiety.

Whoosh! A brilliant light flashed.

Dozens of blind boxes of varying sizes appeared on the ground.

"Give it a try," Qiao Wu rubbed his hands together, his voice filled with seductive urgency. "Small bets are fun, big bets build a fortune. A man's gotta take a gamble, right?"

Jiang He really couldn't resist; he picked up a blind box and weighed it in his hand.

"Old Qiao, the way you do business... it's not very honest."

"This weight..."

[Ding! Would you like to top up 1 Yuan to upgrade the quality of the blind box?]

"???"

This thing... can also trigger a top-up?

He had intended to find an excuse to leave, but now? Only a fool would walk away.

"This one... I'll take it."

Qiao Wu was overjoyed. "100 silver coins."

"100 silver coins?" Jiang He looked pained. "Old Qiao, what's the difference between this and robbery?"

"Young man, this is already the lowest price. 100 silver coins, not a penny less."

Jiang He sneered inwardly: Fine, a hundred it is. I'm making a huge profit anyway.

Anyway, he had over 3,000 gold coins sitting in his backpack.

In-game currency was divided into three types:

100 Copper Coins : 1 Silver Coin

100 Silver Coins : 1 Gold Coin

He had been saving since Novice Village, and now he could finally spend some.

He pretended to be incredibly pained as he handed over the 100 silver coins.

Once the box was in hand, Jiang He didn't rush to open it. Instead, he crouched down again and began rummaging through the pile of blind boxes.

[Ding! Would you like to top up 1 Yuan to upgrade the quality?]

[Ding! Would you like to...]

...

One on the left, one on the right...

As long as it triggered a top-up, he took them all!

"This one, this one, and that one."

He pointed them out, his movements quick and efficient.

Qiao Wu's smile almost split his face to his ears. He was ecstatic: A business that doesn't open for three years can feed one for three years once it does. Today, he had finally met a real sucker.

"That's 1,000 silver coins in total (equivalent to 10 gold)." Qiao Wu settled the bill in a second, terrified that Jiang He might change his mind.

As soon as Jiang He paid, Qiao Wu turned and bolted without a moment's delay.

"Old swindler... let's see who makes the killing this time," Jiang He chuckled.

Mist Forest · Outskirts

Jiang He leaned against a rock.

Ten blind boxes were lined up in front of him.

He rubbed his hands together and opened the first blind box.

[Obtained: weapon advancement card * 5]

"Holy crap."

Jiang He was so excited he almost threw the box.

It was worth it—an absolute steal.

The weapon advancement card was a material he had been dreaming of.

This time, he had really hit the jackpot!

The next seven blind boxes opened one after another in soft glows of light.

[Dragon Emperor Bracers]

[ruby (Rare) * 1]

[Dragon Emperor Battle Armor]

[Life Gem (Rare) * 1]

[ruby * 1]

...

They were all decent equipment and socketing gems.

Until the very last blind box.

A faint white light flashed.

Inside the box lay a... scroll?

[Special Skill: Invisibility Technique]

Class: Universal

Level: No Limit

Effect: Can hide for 10 seconds after activation; reveals self immediately after attacking.

"..."

Jiang He stared blankly with his mouth slightly open, even forgetting to breathe.

His state of mind was completely shaken.

A special skill?

Invisibility?

This wasn't just any skill.

This was clearly his exclusive assassination technique.

Although his ranged attack efficiency was very high,

Melee combat was more satisfying, and the key was that it could trigger critical hits and paralysis effects.

If he used Invisibility for a sneak attack...

He glanced at his Strength stat and swallowed hard...

Composing himself and humming an out-of-tune melody, Jiang He set off toward the map marker.

Twenty minutes later.

The grayish-white mist grew thicker, and the surroundings were terrifyingly silent.

He had reached the coordinates.

Before him, there was nothing.

"Huh? Where's the mob?" Jiang He looked around warily.

Just as he was wondering,

A demonic wind swept in, accompanied by bursts of mist that enveloped him.

Within the mist, a figure slowly walked out.

"Husband..."

"This humble one has waited for you for a long time."

"Hurry and embrace me."

The voice was ethereal and seductive, piercing straight to the soul.

A woman dressed in ancient attire appeared not far away.

Jiang He's breath hitched, and his heart pounded.

This game really knows what it's doing, doesn't it?

Even NPCs are starting to use seduction tactics?

But when he saw the ID, he was nearly scared to death.

[Hidden Boss · Phantom Fox Demon · Ah Li (Lv40/Weakened State)]

HP: 400,000 / 800,000

Attack Power: 15,000

[Prompt: Transformed from a fox demon, she hides in the Mist Forest all year round, specifically killing male players who pass through here.]

Damn, gender discrimination?

Jiang He snapped out of it; the fox demon was now less than five meters away from him.

15,000 damage?

Are you kidding me?

Could he even survive a single hit?

He just wanted to run away now. Whoever wanted this quest could have it; he was definitely not doing it!

At this moment, he even imagined Zhao Yun, Xiao Yao, and Xiao Xue standing in the Novice Village waving at him.

He'd only been in the main city for half a day, and he was already going back?

"H-hello, beautiful sister," Jiang He said subconsciously.

The fox demon was taken aback.

"Beautiful sister?" She then covered her mouth and chuckled. "This husband's tongue is quite sweet. When I eat you later, I'll try to be as gentle as possible."

Listen to how philosophical her words were.

Being gentle while eating him.

Jiang He was on the verge of cursing her mother.

If he could have withstood even two hits, he would have attacked already.

Seeing the fox demon closing in,

Jiang He steeled himself and slashed out with his dagger.

-8000

"Damn it, as expected, not a single man is good. You say one thing but mean another. I'm going to eat you!"

Jiang He hit her with a Blood Speech Technique and immediately followed up with Invisibility Technique, intending to flee.

But before he could take two steps, he felt a massive pressure appear out of nowhere, pinning him firmly to the ground.

The fox demon flickered to his side: "Blood Speech Technique? You're a Priest?"

Jiang He was shocked. "Y-you know my class?"

The fox demon sighed. "Go. I have two rules for who I don't kill: I don't kill women, and I don't kill Priests."

At this moment, Jiang He's worldview was on the verge of collapse.

Was he still playing a game?

Even a BOSS has compassion?

Suddenly, a game notification popped up:

[Obtained Favorability with Phantom Fox Demon · Ah Li: +1 (Triggered Hidden Memory)]

Background Story:

A thousand years ago, Ah Li was an ordinary spirit who was later taken in as a battle pet by a Priest.

After a hundred years of cultivation, she took on human form.

Following the Priest, she learned many skills. The man and the fox often partnered to infiltrate the manors of high officials and the deep courtyards of the imperial palace to steal treasures.

But she made a fatal mistake: she actually fell in love with a human.

On the day she opened her heart, the Priest vanished without a trace.

Since then, she has been waiting bitterly in this Mist Forest for four hundred years.

Due to past karma, she has a natural inclination not to kill female or Priest targets.

And she extremely loathes male players.

After learning the background story, Jiang He smiled wryly.

So even a BOSS has a love life?

Forget it. Since she's letting him go, he should leave as quickly as possible.

Just as he turned around, the sound of footsteps came from behind, accompanied by someone shouting:

"Young Master Zhang, our people said they saw that kid enter this forest."

"Jiang He, you little bastard, get the hell out here!"

Soon, over thirty people rushed into the forest.

Zhang Zixuan walked forward angrily. "Jiang He, you fucking dare to play me? I don't want this piece of junk wooden stick anymore."

He threw the equipment directly onto the ground.

Jiang He snorted coldly. "Sorry, Young Master Zhang, no refunds once sold. I told you that."

Just as Zhang Zixuan was about to make a move, the person behind him suddenly warned:

"Young Master Zhang, look! It's a BOSS!"