Ultimately unable to come up with an excuse, Asmon could only go home for the time being. Fortunately, the design of his Panerai was relatively low-key, and aside from its particularly large size, it didn't stand out much.
Asmon lived in an old residential neighborhood. The location was decent, but the layout of the complex was outdated, with many twists and turns. Just as he was about to round the final corner, several figures emerged ahead, blocking his path.
The leader was someone Asmon knew very well.
"Daniel?" Asmon took a slight step back. These people clearly had ill intentions.
"Miss Jessica heard you're going to the same school as her and wasn't too happy about it, so I figured I'd come and persuade you." Asmon was only 175 cm tall, while Daniel was a full 10 cm taller, exuding an overwhelming presence. Combined with the four burly young men beside him who looked anything but friendly, Asmon had almost no chance of escaping.
Though he was used to these people bullying others, Asmon never expected things to escalate to violence.
"Fuck it, I'll fight!" Asmon opened his attribute panel, ready to allocate the unused attribute points, when he suddenly received a notification:
[Seeking peace through struggle ensures peace, seeking peace through compromise ensures destruction: You've had enough of these people's bullying. Now is your time to fight back. For this, the system is providing an additional 5 attribute points and a danger aura bonus.]
The sudden system prompt calmed Asmon down.
He quickly checked the attributes of the four thugs and found they all had strength between 12 and 13 and agility around 10. In comparison, Asmon's strength and agility were both only 9, meaning he should have been completely outmatched.
Daniel's attributes, however, were surprisingly weak: both strength and agility were at the average level of 10, and his health status was subpar. The hostility of the other four was at -5, while Daniel's was as high as -70. It seemed the four were just hired help.
Asmon immediately allocated his 10 attribute points, splitting them evenly between strength and agility.
A warm surge flowed through his body. With strength and agility now at 14, he was already far above the average person. Against two of them, he had a chance, but with four, the threat was still significant.
Asmon didn't choose to fight all four head-on. Instead, he charged straight at Daniel.
Despite his tall and imposing frame, Daniel's combat ability didn't match his physique. Caught off guard, no one reacted in time as Asmon punched him squarely in the stomach.
"Ah~" With a scream, Daniel's legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees, his face pale as paper. Asmon immediately seized the opportunity to wrap an arm around his neck.
"Tell them to fuck off, or I'll snap your neck!" Asmon growled at Daniel.
"Get him! He won't dare do anything!" Daniel completely ignored Asmon. Tonight's events had humiliated him, and three years of habitual dominance made him instinctively look down on Asmon.
"You think I won't?" Asmon tightened his arm, making Daniel's neck creak ominously.
Fear surged in Daniel's heart. He wanted to speak, but no sound came out.
The four men opposite inexplicably felt a chill and involuntarily stepped back.
They usually just did things like debt collection or protection rackets. At most, they'd rough someone up. They'd never seen anything like this.
Before coming, Daniel had only said the target was a student. They thought it would be another routine beating and debt collection. Now, it was clear this was no ordinary student.
"Fuck off! If you don't, he might end up paralyzed from the waist down. None of us want that!"
Asmon had no intention of actually strangling Daniel, but he could tell the four men were all bark and no bite. His display of strength far beyond any one of them, combined with his reckless demeanor, had already scared them.
He loosened his grip slightly to avoid actually putting Daniel in danger.
"Asmon, you'd better fucking kill me here today..." Before Daniel could finish, Asmon punched him hard in the stomach again from behind. With 14 strength, the blow left him speechless.
Seeing this, the four men eventually chose to retreat to the mouth of the alley, though they didn't dare leave entirely.
Asmon released Daniel's neck, grabbed his collar, and slapped him twice across the face.
"Get lost! Don't come looking for trouble with me again." With that, he threw Daniel to the ground. The pain in his stomach hadn't subsided, and Daniel struggled to stand up against the wall.
"Oh, and you think Jessica actually likes you? She just enjoys the process of you chasing and fawning over her. If you'd beaten me into the hospital today, do you think she'd lift a finger to help you out of trouble?"
Asmon shook his slightly sore wrist and walked out of the alley after saying this.
The fact that Jessica only saw Daniel as a lackey and a simp was common knowledge in their class. No one had ever pointed it out, though. Whether Daniel was oblivious due to his infatuation or pretending not to know because of his father's status, Asmon didn't care. But after hearing those words, Daniel's friendliness rating dropped straight to -100.
According to the system's definition, this was basically the worst possible relationship between two people under normal circumstances. A rating below -100 meant the other party might consider killing him, while the lowest possible, -150, meant a life-or-death feud.
[Quest complete. The previously provided attribute points are permanently retained as a reward. New funds acquired: 200,000 dollars.]
Asmon felt a surge of satisfaction, but as he came back to his senses, he was also a bit surprised. Reflecting on his actions just now, they were nothing like the pushover he used to be.
Partly due to the quest requirements, but also as an outburst of long-suppressed frustration, his handling of Daniel had been smooth and decisive.
But afterward, he felt a twinge of worry: while he didn't care, his parents still had to live in Hail City long-term. If they were constantly harassed, it would cause a lot of trouble, especially since the security in this area wasn't great.
"Guess it's time to move..." Asmon thought, looking around at the dark, chaotic environment.
"You've got some skills. How'd you end up crossing paths with these guys?" Just as Asmon was lost in thought, a cool voice spoke up behind him.
Turning around, he saw a stunning short-haired beauty with an incredible figure. She wore a blue-and-white T-shirt that stretched tightly over her chest—easily a C-cup—and a pair of blue shorts that showed off her smooth, bare legs. No stockings, just white sneakers, as if she'd just finished a workout and happened to pass by.
"Talia, police."
Asmon's heart skipped a beat. Did Daniel have backup like this?
[Talia
Youth
Healthy
Strength 13
Agility 14
Stamina 15
Energy 12
Focus 12
Friendliness: 25
Obedience: 0]
Seeing the positive friendliness rating, Asmon relaxed. The hostility of Daniel and his crew had been negative, so this 25 clearly meant his earlier worries were unfounded. The female officer's attire also confirmed she wasn't here on official business.
"I'm Asmon, just finished the High School Exam. You..."
Before Asmon could finish, Talia seemed to know what he was about to ask.
"Relax, I'm not here to cause trouble for you." Her words immediately dispelled Asmon's concerns.
"Those thugs are notorious around here. They mainly make a living through violent debt collection. I was out for a run and saw them cornering you. I was about to step in, but then you suddenly exploded with this aura that even scared me."
"Aura?" Asmon thought. So this was the danger aura the system mentioned. No wonder the four had acted so uncharacteristically for thugs, according to the officer's description.
"Still, thank you. Is there anything you'd like to know?" Asmon wasn't entirely convinced she'd just happened to pass by. This wasn't a common route for joggers, and if she'd approached him, she must have had a reason.
"You're really just a High School Exam graduate?" Talia seemed more curious about Asmon's identity, then suddenly realized he might not trust her.
"Here's my badge." She pulled out her police ID.
This only reinforced Asmon's belief that the beautiful officer hadn't just been passing by—who went jogging in shorts with their phone strapped to their arm and brought their badge? And despite the near-fatal fight earlier, she hadn't intervened.
"I really just finished the High School Exam. Here's my ID. See for yourself." Asmon confirmed her identity and showed his ID, though he didn't hand it over. Preston didn't take it either, just verifying that Asmon was indeed only 18.
Putting his ID back in his wallet, Asmon noticed her glance at his wrist—more specifically, at the Panerai.
'Living in this rundown neighborhood but wearing a watch worth thousands? Or is it a knockoff?' Talia wondered silently.
She'd recognized the brand but assumed it was a basic Luminor, underestimating its value. Even so, it clashed starkly with the shabby surroundings.
"Did you take out a loan?" Preston asked.
She'd almost pegged Asmon as a reckless teen who'd borrowed money for luxury goods. These four were infamous in the debt collection scene, and combined with his ordinary clothes and living conditions but expensive watch, it was hard not to jump to conclusions.
Hearing this, Asmon frowned, mentally deducting points from the officer. He understood why she'd think that, but being instantly labeled a deadbeat based on appearances still pissed him off.
Newly wealthy but still stuck in a poor man's mindset, Asmon was hypersensitive to judgment.
"No. We had a conflict. The guy on the ground wanted to beat me up, but I fought back." Annoyed as he was, Asmon kept his tone neutral.
Preston asked a few more routine questions, still suspecting Asmon might be in debt. Before leaving, she warned, "Those four are dangerous. If they come after you again, call the police. And if you borrowed money, you don't have to pay interest over 36%." Then she strode off on those long legs.
"So condescending..." Asmon scoffed. He knew she meant well, but her assumptions made it hard to like her, further fueling his desire to change his circumstances.
Pulling out his phone, he scrolled through news articles while brainstorming excuses for his sudden wealth. Then he remembered an incident from middle school when he'd lost 2,000 dollars of his father's money and nearly been beaten to death by his mother.
He opened his browser, typed "Bitcoin" into the search bar, and smiled.