43: The tenth floor boss was actually myself?

When Li Qiang kicked open the heavy stone door of the tenth floor, he was stunned.

The vast, deathly silent hall was devoid of any monsters.

Only a giant mirror, as smooth as obsidian, stood quietly in the center of the hall.

Moreover, this floor turned out to be a solo dungeon.

"What's the trick? Playing god or ghost?"

Li Qiang carried his power hammer on his shoulder and walked cautiously to the front of the mirror.

His figure was reflected in the mirror. That face, looking a bit wretched because he had just struck it rich, was replicated perfectly.

Wait, something was wrong.

The "him" in the mirror had a corner of his mouth hooked into an incredibly eerie smile.

The next second.

A figure that looked exactly like him, but was pitch black all over with eyes glowing with an ominous red light, slowly stepped out of the mirror.

"A knock-off?" Li Qiang looked at the shadow opposite him and sneered, "This is getting boring, developers. You think copying a skin can stop your Brother Qiang?"

Shadow Li Qiang did not speak.

It silently and slowly pulled out from its crotch... a handful of fine, snow-white lime powder that emitted a choking smell.

The smile on Li Qiang's face instantly froze.

"Holy crap?"

"You motherfucker..."

The battle erupted fiercely amidst a national curse!

Li Qiang roared, swinging his power hammer as he prepared to charge. Why be polite to himself? Just rush in and be done with it!

However, the Shadow Li Qiang opposite him was faster.

The shadow did not retreat but advanced, suddenly performing a sliding tackle!

But this slide wasn't for an attack; it was to use its heels to fiercely kick the sand and dirt on the ground toward Li Qiang's eyes!

"Damn! You're playing dirty!"

Caught off guard, Li Qiang's face was covered in dust, and his vision was instantly blocked.

"Go to hell!"

Relying on his senses, Li Qiang raised his hand, preparing to cast the Fireball Spell he had just learned.

But just as his hand went up, Shadow Li Qiang seemed to have predicted his move and threw a dark object directly from its chest.

It was a smoke bomb homemade by players using dragon dung and wet leaves.

The pungent thick smoke exploded instantly, making Li Qiang's eyes water uncontrollably, and the fire elements he had just gathered dissipated immediately.

"Despicable! Shameless!"

Li Qiang shouted in rage; he had never fought such a frustrating battle in his life.

How did this shadow know his own tricks better than he did?

No!

It knew how to use these underhanded tactics even better than he did!

"Look! A UFO!"

Just as Li Qiang was furious and about to risk everything in a head-on clash, the shadow opposite him suddenly pointed behind him and let out a cry of surprise.

"Where?"

Li Qiang subconsciously looked back.

Bang!

The other end of the power hammer smashed solidly onto his toes.

"Awooo—!!!"

Li Qiang clutched his foot, jumping in place from the pain, tears nearly coming out.

He pointed at the indifferent Shadow Li Qiang and cursed loudly: "Do you have even a shred of an expert's grace?! You're a BOSS! Using these kinds of tricks, have you no shame?!"

Shadow Li Qiang withdrew the hammer and spoke slowly, its voice raspy and full of mechanical mockery.

"I have no face."

"Besides, these fighting styles..."

"Didn't I learn them all from you? My original body."

Li Qiang completely broke down.

Being defeated by someone else's dirty tricks is called being inferior in skill.

Being defeated by your own dirty tricks is called reaping what you sow!

He looked at the calm, efficient version of himself across from him, who used all those dirty tactics with mastery; finally, a hint of realization appeared on his bruised and swollen face.

To defeat yourself, relying on martial ethics won't work.

The only way is to be... even more shameless than yourself!

With a "thud."

Li Qiang suddenly threw his power hammer aside, fell to his knees, hugged the shadow's thigh, and began to wail loudly.

"Big brother! I was wrong! Stop hitting me!"

"I have an eighty-year-old mother at home and a three-year-old child to feed! I'm just a laborer, I just want to earn some milk money!"

"I have elderly to support and young to raise, I don't want to die, big brother!"

That crying was so heart-wrenching that those who heard it would weep; it was more tragic than if his own father had died.

Shadow Li Qiang was stunned.

Its AI core, composed of data, experienced a logical conflict for the first time.

In the database, Li Qiang was a reckless man unafraid of death, a greedy and shameless bandit.

But who was this coward hugging its thigh and crying?

The AI lagged for a tenth of a second.

Now!

Li Qiang, kneeling on the ground, suddenly looked up!

On his face covered in tears and snot, a flash of incredibly savage ruthlessness appeared!

"Puh—!"

A flame he had been holding in his mouth, compressed to the extreme, mixed with saliva and shot out like a poisoned hidden weapon, hitting the shadow's face dead center!

[Self-created Skill: Fragrant Speech (Flame Spray Version)]!

Boom!

The shadow's face was blasted by the flames. Although it didn't cause much damage, it fell into a brief state of stiffness and confusion.

"Playing dirty with me? You're still too green!"

Li Qiang, like a mad dog backed into a corner, suddenly sprang up!

Eye poke!

Throat lock!

Groin kick!

A set of combo techniques he had mastered since fighting for jobs at construction sites was executed smoothly and in one breath!

"I was fighting while you were still just a pile of data!"

"I've suffered more losses than you've seen bugs!"

Li Qiang choked the shadow's neck tightly, frantically attacking the opponent's lower body with his knees, looking like a demon.

In the face of absolute, bottomless rogue tactics...

The AI-optimized tactics collapsed completely.

Shadow Li Qiang's body began to turn transparent, transforming into points of black light.

It looked at this man who was more "himself" than it was, and in its eyes of data streams, a hint of relief seemed to flash.

The shadow dissipated completely.

A seed emitting a faint blue light, pulsing slowly like a heart, floated in the center of the hall.

[Item: Mana Seed (Tier 1)]

[Description: A gift from the Tower of Truth. After consumption, it can forcibly open a mana vortex in the physical body in reality.]

[Reality Synchronization Rate: 10%]

Li Qiang's breathing instantly became rapid.

He reached out with a trembling hand, grabbed the seed, and without a second thought, stuffed it directly into his mouth.

The seed melted upon entry, turning into a warm current.

The next second.

In the real world, inside the fully-paid-for renovated apartment, Li Qiang, lying in the gaming capsule, suddenly shuddered.

A surge of hot air exploded in his lower abdomen!

That feeling of being filled with power was a hundred times stronger and a hundred times more real than the muscles he had built from a day of moving bricks!

Just then.

A golden System announcement resounded throughout the server.

[Server Announcement: Congratulations to player "Also a Ruthless Person" for being the first to clear the tenth floor of the Tower of Truth! Reward: 10,000 Contribution Points!]

[Version Update: New map "Silvermoon City Trade Route (Periphery)" has been unlocked!]

[Whisper of Game Master Su Mu: Since you have initially mastered magic, it's time to see what the real magic world looks like. Go, take the goods you brought from Earth, and give those arrogant elves a little commercial shock.]

In the game, Li Qiang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at the new, golden-glowing coordinates on the map, revealing the smile of a classic unscrupulous merchant.

"Silvermoon City..."

"I heard... the rich women there, oh no, the mages... are all very wealthy?"