Chapter 289 - 288: Delivering Food Is Indeed Not Easy (Part 1)

Chapter 289: Chapter 288: Delivering Food Is Indeed Not Easy (Part 1)

Old Tang whistled, leisurely delivering the package. He easily and happily collected his share of Gang Contribution for the order. The client, a lady, was quite classy, even bowing politely as she saw him out.

Old Tang shot a subtle yet predatory glance at her neckline. His cunning gaze slipped through the opening and took a thorough, ravenous look around before he reluctantly pulled it back.

’Not bad at all.’ Old Tang went downstairs with a spring in his step and leisurely mounted the top-tier electric motorbike, the best one available for exchange in the Jingtuan Outer Sect.

In the era of the Space City, intra-city transportation ran almost exclusively on electrical power. This was a requirement at least in a relatively backward minor city like Tumu Castle, in order to meet the ecological balance coefficient.

But for an electric motorbike, this thing’s specs were seriously impressive.

As his butt hit the seat, he sank into its soft, springy comfort. The support and contouring were fantastic. It wasn’t just a premium leather seat; it also had ventilation. Smooth and cool, it even let the air circulate around his crotch. Honestly, it was better than a shampoo girl’s thigh.

’Delivering food like this is a real treat!’

But... not everyone was able to enjoy such treatment.

’Heh heh, that kid must be scrambling by now.’ Old Tang lifted his wearable device for a look. The order queue was clearly populated with a long list of cherry-picked, high-quality jobs.

Good locations, reasonable distances, large quantities, and high Gang Contribution. Most importantly, they were all lined up like girls in a salon, practically begging to be picked. It was a deeply satisfying sight.

It wasn’t Old Tang’s own quick reflexes that had snagged these orders; there was another secret at play.

’There are so many pros in the Outer Sect who do nothing but train their reflexes. It’d be a miracle if that kid managed to snatch a good order. The only ones he might grab are the tough jobs, the difficult customers, the deliveries in places full of bullshit.’

Old Tang drew on his vast experience, letting his imagination run wild. The more he thought, the more he chuckled to himself. ’It’d be hilarious if he grabbed an order in the Dog Gang’s territory. That bunch of dog-walkers are bored to death and love bullying the weak while cowering from the strong. A bookworm from the countryside? No way he could handle those old hounds!’

Do people who harm others for no personal gain, who deliberately make trouble for no reason other than to be an asshole, really exist in this world?

No?

If you think not, you’ve just been lucky. The people you’ve met have been of a higher caliber, or you’re simply too naive to have encountered them yet.

In all honesty, they really do exist.

While not numerous, such people stand out in a crowd—exceptionally, distinctly. They reek for miles upwind, and they are utterly unavoidable.

Because they’ll come right up to you on their own.

The dog-walking geezer charged forward, slipper in hand, a smug look on his face. He just loved teaching these fresh-faced kids a lesson, showing them the kind of cruel tricks an old scoundrel learns.

His own Teddy was plump and sturdy. While technically a small breed, it was an absolute brute compared to other Teddies. He didn’t expect the dog to take his target down alone, but it was excellent for pinning him down. Better yet, it could coordinate with him, creating a pincer attack.

After all, just because you can solo a boss without taking damage doesn’t mean you can beat a group of minions.

"You young punks, always going on about ’opening secret realms’ and ’dueling one-on-one.’ Pah! The Saints have spoiled you all rotten! Back in my training days, when did we *not* use superior numbers? Maodou, get him!"

"GRR-WOOF!!"

The Teddy had none of a pet’s charm. Baring its fangs and drooling, it looked utterly vicious as it lunged ferociously at Shi Tiexin. Behind the snarling beast was the geezer’s gleeful old face, his belly jiggling with every step as he charged forward, slipper in hand. His fighting stance, however, looked sloppy.

But the man-and-dog pincer strategy didn’t work.

Shi Tiexin was, admittedly, startled. He’d never seen anyone walking a dog inside a secret realm. But to assume he was some greenhorn who only knew how to fight one-on-one was a serious underestimation.

He had just experienced true, large-scale battle in the previous world-line—especially the fight to the death against Fujiwara Jizhen. That was an experience no secret realm duel could ever replicate.

Having killed, he now possessed a genuine killing intent.

Having walked the tightrope to the very brink of death, he was naturally calmer and his senses were sharper.

Such an experience forges a subtle but unique quality, an instinct that cannot be trained into existence and is difficult to suppress.

After his initial shock, Shi Tiexin centered himself. The Mind Force in his brain spun into high gear. ZZZT! The steadily growing energy surged through his neural pathways, making the world before him seem to slow down.

In that first instant, Shi Tiexin ran a series of calm analyses.

Mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry—all four major disciplines kicked in at once. In a split second, Shi Tiexin made his decision. He took a deep breath, then suddenly let out a deafening roar like a clap of thunder. His Mind Force, infused with his study of Rhetoric, took effect.

The sudden roar startled the Teddy. Laced with a faint killing intent, the sound was like the threatening bellow of a jungle beast, causing the domesticated dog to stop short and leap aside.

The next moment, Shi Tiexin kicked off the ground. With two loud CRACKS from the base of his thighs, the propulsive force of his Chamber Burst ability sent him WHOOSHING forward in a sudden acceleration, straight toward the still-gleeful dog-walking geezer.

He shot past the Teddy like the wind, his speed ramping up until he was like a war chariot barreling straight for the geezer.

The geezer was startled by Shi Tiexin’s ferocious charge.

Among low-level fighters, momentum is key.

Once, the punks from Fengming First Middle School lost the battle of presence against the veteran brawlers of the Iron Tyrant.

Today, this geezer who loved hiding behind his dog to launch sneak attacks could not possibly withstand the overwhelming killing intent of the Black Venerable.

"Maodou!" The geezer, caught off balance, cried out for his Teddy in a panicked and futile shout.

"WOOF!" The Teddy loyally pounced. Small four-legged animals are indeed superior to humans in short-burst acceleration, and with a WHOOSH, it clamped its jaws onto the back of Shi Tiexin’s right leg.

The geezer’s lips curled into an instinctive grin. He loved nothing more than watching some rookie shriek and scramble in a panic after Maodou bit them.

But the sight that filled his vision wasn’t what he expected. It was a massive fist.

BAM!

The geezer staggered backward, dizzy and unable to stay on his feet as the world spun around him.

"GRRRRRR!" The Teddy was tearing savagely at his flesh. Shi Tiexin could feel the individual fibers of his leg muscles ripping apart. This excruciating pain was the geezer’s ace in the hole, the very thing he relied on to terrorize others.

An ordinary young person without specialized training would never have been able to withstand such agonizing pain.

But while the pain caused the veins on Shi Tiexin’s forehead to bulge, his eyes remained locked on the geezer.

’This bit of pain? It’s nothing!’

He wrapped both hands around the geezer’s head and forced it down. Simultaneously, he drove his right knee upward. The motion flung the Teddy still latched onto his calf into the air along with his leg. Accompanied by the crackle of Chamber Burst, the all-or-nothing knee strike slammed squarely into the geezer’s face.

CRACK!

Liquid splattered.

Without a sound, the geezer was ejected from the secret realm.

With the disappearance of the Beast Tamer, the Teddy whimpered, released its grip, and dropped to the ground, as if repelled by some unseen force.

"I’ll send you on your way!" Following through on the motion, he stomped his right foot down hard. With a sickening CRUNCH, the Teddy’s spine collapsed. Its limbs splayed out as its body was flattened against the ground.