Chapter 33: He is slandering me!

[Page 1/3]
【Deceased】
【Cause of Death: Shot by a xenophobic gunman】
【Death Reward: Skin Perception Enhancement *1】
【Returning to the Main World...】

The scenery shifted, and the sensation of solid ground returned. When Xu Wang opened his eyes again, he was back at the summit of Xishui Mountain in the wasteland world.

"Woof!"

No sooner had Xu Wang revived than a black shadow lunged at him!

"Hey! What kind of monster are you!"

Xu Wang instinctively threw a right hook, knocking the flying shadow to the ground. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Tie Zhu, looking at him with eyes full of resentment.

"Ah! So it’s you. Why on earth did you jump into my fist? Don't you know how dangerous that is?"

Xu Wang said this with a straight face, making Tie Zhu feel even more aggrieved. But this was not the time for accusations. A starving Tie Zhu had dug up an iron bowl from somewhere and was now nudging it toward Xu Wang, tapping it with his paw to make a clanging sound.

Xu Wang had died twice, and Tie Zhu had gone at least 48 hours without food. Xishui Mountain was a desolate wasteland where even birds wouldn't land; the dog couldn't find anything to eat. He had spent the time simply waiting for Xu Wang to revive. Given his state of starvation, the fact that Tie Zhu hadn't eaten Xu Wang or the raiders was a testament to his "civilized" nature.

"Honestly, you’re such a big dog now. If you were hungry, you should have told me sooner instead of just sitting there with your mouth shut. I’ll let it slide this time, but don't let it happen again."

Xu Wang manipulated his personal terminal, and a yellow-packaged bar, similar to a Snickers, appeared in his hand. This delicious bar was a piece of pre-war Federal technology. One bar provided enough energy to satisfy an adult's needs for three days. It was one of the supplies Teddy had given Xu Wang before he set off.

Tie Zhu couldn't believe how shameless Xu Wang was. It was clearly the human who had forgotten to feed him, yet he had the audacity to blame the dog. But as a dog with little say in the matter, Tie Zhu just had to accept his bad luck. As a husky capable of tearing down a house and everything else, he felt his canine dignity had been deeply insulted.

"Well? You want it or not?" Xu Wang unwrapped the bar and waved it in front of Tie Zhu.

"Woof!"

Tie Zhu immediately snapped to attention and let out a bark. Xu Wang nodded, hesitated for a moment while looking at the bar, and then, under Tie Zhu’s wide-eyed gaze, took a bite himself, followed by another.

Watching the bar shrink to half its size, Tie Zhu grew anxious and started barking urgently. Xu Wang shot him a glance and tossed the remaining half to the dog. "What are you yelling for? As your master, I was just testing it for poison. You don't even thank me, and you're barking at me? Did a dog eat your conscience?"

Tie Zhu stopped barking and snatched the rest of the bar, swallowing it in a few gulps, fearing that if he were any slower, his shameless master would eat the rest too. True to its pre-war origins, even half a bar was enough to wipe away the hunger in Tie Zhu’s belly.

[Page 2/3]

Xu Wang, on the other hand, was feeling quite full and even let out a burp. After all, he had just eaten a large steak in the other world before he died. Noticing Tie Zhu’s gaze, Xu Wang pointed a finger at the dog’s head. "Hey, hey! Watch that look in your eyes! I didn't hog it all! You know I can't bring food back from the other world."

"Anyway, let's move on from that. Let me see how I should die next."

Xu Wang poured some pure water into Tie Zhu’s bowl before walking over to the raider lying under the tree. As he approached, he noticed something was wrong. The raider was motionless, showing no reaction to his presence.

"No way? Did he just die?" Xu Wang found it hard to believe. He gave the body a kick and checked for a heartbeat and breath. "He actually died? That’s so fragile..."

Xu Wang looked at the deceased raider with a mix of envy and regret. The guy had only contributed one attribute point before kicking the bucket, which put Xu Wang in a bit of a low mood. But since he was dead, Xu Wang could only comfort himself and start looting the corpse with tears in his eyes.

Xu Wang was a scavenger with "principles." When the raider was alive, he wouldn't steal his belongings, as that would be robbery—and Xu Wang didn't consider himself a robber. But now that he was dead, it was a different story; looting him was just scavenging, which was perfectly fine.

Unlike other raiders, this burly man didn't have any gear coins on him. Instead, Xu Wang found a few tubes of a paste-like substance. He didn't know what it was, so he squeezed a bit out to check. It was pitch black with gray granules inside. One tube was half-empty and had teeth marks on the aluminum casing, suggesting it was some kind of food, though the ingredients were a mystery.

"Tie Zhu!" Xu Wang called out. The dog trotted over, tail wagging. "Want a bite?"

Xu Wang squeezed a bit of the unknown black paste and held it out. Tie Zhu sniffed it curiously, then turned his head away.

"What is this, even a dog won't eat it?" Xu Wang was curious enough to lick some off his own finger. "Hmm..."

As soon as it hit his tongue, Xu Wang frowned. It was astringent and bitter. Still, since it was food, he decided to keep it. He capped the tube and tucked it into his subspace pouch.

[Page 3/3]

He would ask other wastelanders what this was when he ran into them.

After looting the body, Xu Wang finally turned his attention to his death reward.

【Skin Perception Enhancement】

It was a name that gave no clue as to its purpose. Xu Wang summoned it. In his right hand, it appeared as a mass of shifting, dotted lines. When he brought it near the personal terminal on his left hand, the flashing text provided an explanation:

【Skin Perception: Change your external image through various methods to alter others' fundamental perception of you. The higher your perception attribute, the more effectively you can alter others' perceptions.】

"Whoa! Good stuff!" Xu Wang knew exactly what this was for the moment he read the description. The ability to change how others perceived him was a powerful skill indeed. Although he could travel through the heavens, he was essentially an undocumented person in every new world. This ability would allow him to forge identities and navigate these worlds much more effectively.

Furthermore, this skill would be incredibly helpful for his "death-seeking" missions. As long as his perception attribute didn't fail him, he could even disguise himself as a villain, making it much easier to be killed by the righteous protagonist!

A dozen interesting ideas flooded his mind. Without hesitation, he assigned the [Skin Perception] enhancement to his perception slot. Xu Wang now had four enhancements, with only his intelligence attribute lacking an enhancement ability. He had to keep working hard!

Xu Wang was full of motivation.

"Tie Zhu!" Xu Wang called, tossing another delicious bar to the dog. As Tie Zhu caught it, Xu Wang added, "Good dog, give me a high-five!"

Tie Zhu didn't know why Xu Wang was suddenly so enthusiastic, but his canine nature made him bark happily. The dog lunged forward, raised his paws, and high-fived Xu Wang.

But just as their paws met, Xu Wang let out an exaggerated, blood-curdling scream! He flipped backward, carefully adjusted his trajectory, and went tumbling toward the edge of the cliff, yelling all the way!

Tie Zhu was terrified. He dropped the bar, rushed over, and grabbed Xu Wang’s clothes, trying to pull him back. Xu Wang, however, didn't appreciate the effort; he struggled, spat at the dog, and finally tumbled over the edge of the cliff!

From below the cliff, Xu Wang’s scream drifted up: "Tie Zhu! You have such a cruel heart! You actually murdered me!"

Faced with such a massive, unjust accusation, the dog’s eyes went round. He let out a mournful howl!

Slander! He’s slandering me!!!