Chapter 3
"Ling'er, quickly close the gate of the Fortress…" Xu Shenji rushed back to the Mountain Fortress at a breakneck speed.
"Dad, how come you're back alone? Where's the young Master?"
"Alas, that naive boy is already dead. If not for my unrivaled ingenuity, strategic brilliance, and most importantly, my quick feet, you would have lost your father."
Xu Shenji suddenly slapped his forehead, a pained expression showing on his face.
"Dad, the dead can't be brought back to life; you shouldn't be too upset." Xu Ling'er sighed softly.
"Upset? Why would I be upset? I'm upset about that horse, what a pity... sigh..." Xu Shenji perked up, "We have to leave the Fortress. Take whatever you see. I remember there are some soybeans in the kitchen."
...
As he was galloping on the horse, Cheng Dalei was sweating profusely. Lin Shaoyu and his men were closing in quickly. If they catch up, chances are he would be left with no way out but death.
Ding, you have acquired a lottery draw. Would you like to draw now?
"Draw, draw, draw..." Cheng Dalei whipped the horse.
Ding, a vigorous young man, are you going to 'draw' on the horse or are you going to draw a lottery?
"I will draw your uncle!" Cheng Dalei exploded in anger, "Is this system trying to kill me? Even now, can't it be more straightforward? I want to draw the lottery!"
Ding, lottery draw begins.
A capsule-toy machine appeared in his mind. As the capsule swiveled, Cheng Dalei became increasingly anxious. Every second felt unbearably long.
Looking back, Lin Shaoyu was getting closer. His eyes turned red and he held his spear forward. If he catches up, there was no doubt that he would fatally wound Cheng Dalei.
"System, can you speed it up a bit? I don't have much time."
Finally, a capsule fell from the capsule-toy machine. The capsule opened slowly, flashed brilliantly, and then disappeared.
Ding, congratulations. You have obtained the unremarkable but excellent hunter, Qin Man.
Huh, so the lottery can even draw live people.
But where was the person? His surroundings were barren, not a soul in sight. Could it be that the person would descend from the sky, or should he chant a spell, and then...
"Go, Pikachu!"
"I summon you in the name of Sakura."
"All Overwatch heroes, all Overwatch heroes...are you coming or not!"
"Let the gathered hope direct towards a new horizon, become the shining path! Synchro Summon, Noble Knight!"
"Balala Energy, transform..."
Behind him, he could already hear heavy horse hooves. Lin Shaoyu gritted his teeth, his eyes turned bloodshot, and the spear was held high in his hand. The horse carriage was only a horse's length away.
"Boss, there's no need to panic, Qin Man is here, and there should be no harm."
Above the mountain path at a distance, stood a hulking eight-feet tall man. His square face and wide eyes were complimented by a large stick in his hands. He had the air of a single hero who could keep ten thousand enemies at bay.
So this was the way, Cheng Dalei thought, but had no time to give it much thought as he swiftly drove the horse carriage past Qin Man.
Lin Shaoyu charged towards him, looking as if he would collide with Qin Man.
"Quickly move aside, I can't stop the horse!"
"Dismount!"
With a deep growl, Qin Man hit the horse's head with his great club. The running horse reared its forelegs, Qin Man sidestepped slightly, reaching out to grab the horse reins. His facial muscle tensed, revealing lines as rigid as those of rocks.
"I told you to dismount."
With power rising from the ground, uniting his waist and the horse as one, Qin Man was able to flip the charging horse over with a loud thud.
Cheng Dalei gasped as he saw the scene, struggling to control the racing horse. Such great strength this man possesses.
Huang Sanyuan led his men and arrived at the scene, only to be taken aback by the sight before them. He summoned his courage and said, "Hey, we are under the command of the City Lord of Black Stone City. If you don't want to die, let the man go. Otherwise, once the army arrives, they will level this place to the ground."
Qin Man tossed a stone at Huang Sanyuan with his club. With a swoosh, the stone hit Huang's mouth, knocking out a tooth.
"Scram!" Qin Man spoke laconically.
The group of people were filled with fear and finally understood the power of Qin Man. They quietly retreated.
Qin Man dragged his club to Cheng Dalei's side and raised his fist in a traditional salute, "Boss, I, Qin Man, have come to pledge my allegiance."
Cheng Dalei focused his attention on Qin Man, an additional piece of information appearing in his mind.
Name: Qin Man (The Unknown Outstanding Hunter)
Age: 31
Skill: Plum Blossom Spear (Three buds)
Hidden Attribute: None
A hunter living in the vicinity of Blackstone City, he joined the Frog Fort as he was wanted by Black Stone City.
Cheng Dalei suddenly understood that the system can't have rewards appear out of nowhere. It will always arrange a reasonable way for them to appear.
Originally, Qin Man was a hunter living near Black Stone City with his wife. However, after the City Lord heard about the beauty of Qin's wife, he sent his men to capture Qin's wife while Qin was out. Out of desperation, his wife jumped off a cliff. When Qin returned to find his wife's lifeless body, he killed several guards in a fury and became a wanted man in Black Stone City. Thus, he came to seek refuge in Frog Fort.
Facing the man of iron, his face bearing a painful expression, Cheng Dalei could not bear to ask any further. For himself, this might be just a character background, but it was Qin Man's real-life experience. Cheng Dalei sighed lightly, it was indeed tough to survive in this world...
Just then, the skinny horse that Cheng Dalei had left behind unexpectedly trotted towards them on its own accord.
"Big Brother Qin, get on the horse, let's go."
...
"Ling'er, carry that pot on your back. Look around and see if there's anything else you can take."
"Dad, I can't carry any more."
"You think I'm not finding it tough? But we need these things to survive when we go down the mountain." Xu Shenji scolded his daughter.
"How about I give you a horse?" Cheng Dalei had just returned to the Fortress and saw the scene: Xu Ling'er carrying a pot, and several cloves of garlic hanging around her neck. Xu Shenji was even more exaggerated, he did not let go of the Taishi Chair.
"Boss…you didn't die!" Xu Shenji was taken aback, then he choked up: "I'm relieved now that you didn't die, Boss. I know you must think that I am worthless, and you don't have to drive me away, I aremre leaving on my own."
"Go on, go on." Cheng Dalei waved his hand, "but when I registered, I used the name Xu Shenji. They are looking for this person at the foot of the mountain right now."
"You!" Xu Shenji's eyes widened at once, he drew a deep breath and said, "Although I'm old, there are still a few tough bones in me. If they dare to give you a difficult time, they can grind my old bones to dust."
Cheng Dalei gave him a cold glance and threw the reins of the horse carriage to him.
"This is Qin Man, get acquainted with him. Ling'er, feed the horses. Brother Qin, cook. Think Tank, lock the people in the horse carriage in my room." Cheng Dalei took a deep breath, "Tonight, I will have my wedding night."
After assigning the tasks, Cheng Dalei started inspecting the system interface. He had just completed another mission but was too anxious to claim the reward.
Fortress: Frog Fort (run-down beginner Fortress)
Population: 4
Skill: None
Ding, you have completed the primary phase of the mission to steal the Bandit's Lady. Award: one of the individuals in the Fortress will awaken a hidden attribute.
It was an attribute reward, and there were a total of four people in the Fortress. It's uncertain who would receive this reward.
"Boss, something terrible has happened. Something terrible!"
Xu Shenji rushed over in a hurry. Cheng Dalei instinctively shifted his focus onto him, and suddenly froze.
It turned out that it was this old fox, Think Tank, who had awakened a hidden attribute.