Chapter 018: [A New Skill]

"You've lost your mind!" Wei Jiaping leapt to his feet, shouting in exasperation, "Trading 'Eight Steps Ascending Dragon'? What if, after getting it, the other party reneges and refuses to help us?"

"Then consider it repaying the lifesaving favor from before," Wei Jiajia replied calmly.

"You..." Wei Jiaping was momentarily stunned, clearly not expecting his sister to say such a thing.

"Jiaping, we have no other choice." Wei Jiajia glanced at her brother and sighed. "Chen Xiaodao has been relentlessly pursuing us. If we don’t find outside help, sooner or later we’ll fall into his hands. Though he knows nothing of 'Eight Steps Ascending Dragon,' he will surely torture us, trying to force out the Wei family’s secrets. When that happens, do you really think you can hold out for long?"

Wei Jiaping fell silent.

How long could he endure?

He didn’t know, but having hardly suffered a day in his life, the mere thought made it clear—he wouldn’t last long. A few lashes and he’d obediently confess everything.

The thought sent an involuntary shiver down his spine.

Wei Jiajia noticed, and sighed inwardly, continuing, "This is the greatest calamity our Wei family has ever faced. If we cannot evade it, everything is lost. No matter how we choose, 'Eight Steps Ascending Dragon' cannot be preserved."

"A martial art as rare and precious as 'Eight Steps Ascending Dragon'—better to give it to the one who saved me than let Chen Xiaodao seize it!"

In truth, Wei Jiajia withheld one layer of meaning.

If she gave 'Eight Steps Ascending Dragon' to Su Jingxing and he reneged on his promise, she would immediately inform Chen Xiaodao.

Chen Xiaodao, president of the Blade Society and a seventh-grade martial artist, would surely target Su Jingxing if he learned of the technique’s existence.

It was as if Wei Jiajia had tossed 'Eight Steps Ascending Dragon' as bait, inciting Chen Xiaodao and Su Jingxing to a deadly struggle.

Whoever triumphed, Wei Jiajia would profit!

When it came to scheming, Wei Jiaping couldn’t fathom such depths.

He was only sixteen, and had never faced such grave upheaval.

Now, his mind was spinning with dizziness.

...

Crematorium.

In the restroom, Su Jingxing held a newly acquired card, lost in thought.

A skill card!

Another skill card, picked up from a corpse.

But as he examined the card and absorbed its information, Su Jingxing was stunned for a moment.

Hacker Mastery!

It wasn’t a martial arts manual.

The reward contained in this card was not a martial art, but a technical skill: hacking. By direct absorption, he could instantly achieve mastery.

Su Jingxing was dazed for a long moment before he recovered, feeling both complex and inexplicably excited.

Indeed, the scope of skill cards included all manner of skills, not just martial arts manuals. He had thought too narrowly before.

For ordinary people, computer skills are indeed a form of expertise.

Cooking, medicine, painting, sculpture, calligraphy, music—all are skills!

Theoretically, Su Jingxing could acquire any of these.

He hadn’t found them before, likely because the deceased were too ordinary, possessing limited or mediocre skills.

The golden finger wasn’t interested!

But this time, the hacking skill was different.

Su Jingxing could absorb it directly, mastering it in an instant.

After all, hacking is a mental skill, unlike martial arts manuals that require years of physical training.

By the same logic, if a scientist died and Su Jingxing picked up a skill card, he could instantly grasp the relevant technical knowledge.

Hacker Mastery was merely one example.

Though not a martial arts manual, this skill was extraordinarily useful.

According to Su Jingxing’s understanding, Yu Kingdom’s network security was not particularly strong.

With Hacker Mastery, he could infiltrate banking systems, government databases, research networks, and more.

If he wished, he could quietly siphon funds from banks.

But such dirty money was hard to spend openly, so he might as well forgo it.

What Su Jingxing wanted was legitimate, aboveboard money.

For instance—winning the lottery!

He could hack the lottery center’s system and control the winning numbers without any issue.

Ha!

The thought made him nearly laugh aloud.

"Not in time for this month, but next month’s first... no, second prize—I’ll reserve it in advance!"

First prize would attract too much attention; second prize was enough.

Fortunately, Su Jingxing’s rented courtyard only had a three-month lease—it was meant to be short-term.

Next month, after collecting his winnings, he could buy his own house!

Tsk, tsk!

Suppressing his excitement, Su Jingxing pressed the card to his brow, unlocking all hacking-related knowledge.

He had just finished absorbing it—

"Su! Su! Are you done yet?"

Outside, Kong Dabao’s voice rang out.

"Done," Su Jingxing replied after a brief hesitation, pressing the flush, opening the stall’s wooden door, and stepping out of the restroom.

"What’s the matter, Brother Dabao?" he asked as he came outside.

"Come, we’re heading into the city to collect bodies," Kong Dabao explained as he strode out. "The customer service just got a call. Black Tiger Gang and Flying Cloud Sect had a major brawl in the city a few minutes ago—over a hundred casualties. The captain wants us out there immediately to gather the corpses."

"Over a hundred casualties? That many?" Su Jingxing raised his brows.

"Heh, it’s not their first clash. This time, the scale’s just a bit bigger," Kong Dabao scoffed. "A hundred dead or wounded, and they’ll soon recruit even more! These gangs never lack manpower!"

Fair enough...

Su Jingxing kept silent, unable to argue.

Black Tiger Gang and Flying Cloud Sect were the two biggest factions in West District of Qinghe City.

The Blade Society and similar groups were mere subsidiary lackeys.

Both major factions had sixth-grade martial artists at the helm, sometimes even fifth-grade ones.

Their subordinates weren’t weak either.

Ordinary gang members were at least ninth-grade martial artists or on the verge of reaching ninth grade.

So, the gang wars between Black Tiger Gang and Flying Cloud Sect were a boon for Su Jingxing.

Martial artists dying meant more cards to pick up, more rewards to unlock.

Internal Energy Cards, Skill Cards—he could expect plenty!

...

Indeed.

Things unfolded almost as Su Jingxing predicted.

The crematorium’s corpse collection team, Squad One, all set out, hurrying to the site of the two gangs’ battle.

Su Jingxing, acting inconspicuously, passed by each body—twenty-seven in all, collecting twenty-seven cards.

Yes, after verification, Black Tiger Gang and Flying Cloud Sect’s clash had left twenty-seven dead and over a hundred injured.

This didn’t include those gravely wounded and rushed to the hospital.

The hospital cases were beyond him; the twenty-seven dead were gathered by Su Jingxing’s group and transported back to the crematorium.

The details were recorded by others.

Su Jingxing found a moment to examine the cards in a corner.

Strength Card, Internal Energy Card, Internal Energy Card, Skill Card, Skill Card...

"Hmm? Equipment Card? Another new card?"