Chapter 50: A World Where No One Was Hurt

“Oh~ Only enough for a small item, huh~”

“Then I’ll keep it—let it be a keepsake. I actually like this design.”

Saying this, Wu Wang slipped the ring into his pocket.

The Gentleman Penguin’s eyes nearly bulged out.

With a light flick of his cane, he precisely blocked Wu Wang’s wrist, pinning it down.

Then he smiled and said, “I’m not an unreasonable man. Seeing how pitiful you young fellow looks, how about this?”

duang~

The moment he finished speaking, the question-mark box beneath his feet popped open.

Five assorted items flew out—weapons, armor, skill scrolls, and even a consumable.

“You may choose one of these five to exchange. Very fair deal, wouldn’t you say?” The Gentleman Penguin smiled with uncanny sincerity.

But above his head, a thought appeared—

【All of these are just junk gathering dust in my warehouse—I was already wondering how to get rid of them.】

Wu Wang glanced over and saw that nearly all these items were rated 【Fine】.

He couldn’t help but twitch his lips.

He remembered clearly: during the reward draw in the settlement space, it had been explicitly stated that the minimum rarity was 【Epic】.

This shady penguin was clearly setting a trap—he wouldn’t even pull out an 【Epic】 item!

Oh, wait.

There was one 【Epic】 item after all.

Wu Wang spotted a familiar cup of flower tea.

“Have you decided yet, young man? Which one will you pick?” The Gentleman Penguin maintained what he believed was his most benevolent smile.

The word “pick” instantly reminded Wu Wang of a certain giant corporation’s habitual trick in the real world.

He blurted out in reply: “You’re not going to tell me these are hero fragments, right? That I need to collect a hundred to exchange?”

The Gentleman Penguin: “?”

Holy shit! Why didn’t I think of that method before?

This kid is no ordinary fellow!

His heart’s even blacker than mine!

“Hahaha, of course not! I run a business with integrity.”

Even as he spoke of integrity, the Gentleman Penguin’s inner thoughts had shifted to—【Next time, try this method—I’ll make even more profit!】

No sooner had he finished speaking than he noticed the young man’s gaze wasn’t on the displayed items.

Instead, it was fixed on the question-mark box beside him, wrapped in colorful gift ribbons.

Instantly, a chill crept up his spine.

The Gentleman Penguin involuntarily shivered.

Before he could even wonder why he felt like a thief was eyeing him,

Wu Wang spoke.

I enjoy the thrill of the unknown. How about this, Noble Teng Xun • Adolf? Let me reach into the box myself—whatever I pull out is mine, no cheating. What do you say?

“Deal!”

The Gentleman Penguin, as if fearing Wu Wang would change his mind, snapped the box open with a sharp clap.

His smile grew even brighter.

He knew he couldn’t possibly lose.

The box’s interior space was nearly infinite; the section holding 【Epic】-rank items was far beyond the reach of this young fool.

He was too weak.

So weak that, had he not been in this world infused with that particular aura, the Gentleman Penguin wouldn’t have even glanced at him.

And if his luck was bad, he might even pull out something worse than these five items.

Of course, not 【Poor】 or 【Common】.

Those things didn’t deserve to enter his precious box.

Wu Wang smiled too.

Because he knew he wouldn’t lose either.

Walking up to the Gentleman Penguin, he slowly extended his right hand into the question-mark box.

It was the hand inscribed with the Abyss God’s Mark.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump—

Under the Gentleman Penguin’s confused gaze, the question-mark box began to shake violently.

Meanwhile,

Wu Wang’s face turned deathly pale.

The Abyss God’s Mark drained more of his life force, sending out crimson tendrils to explore.

But since the question-mark box wouldn’t vanish or flee this time, no tendrils wrapped around it—externally, nothing seemed amiss.

Moments later, Wu Wang withdrew his hand.

Clutching a purple scroll pulled back by the tendrils, he exclaimed joyfully: “Wow! Epic!”

The Gentleman Penguin: “?”

Wait, bro! You actually pulled an 【Epic】?

Why didn’t you get a Legendary?!

He stared at the question-mark box in confusion.

From the box, he sensed a feeling of grievance—as if it hadn’t deliberately moved the 【Epic】 storage space.

Was this really just an accident?

“R-Really… congratulations…”

The Gentleman Penguin’s lips twitched.

Just as he was about to tearfully take back the ring and leave this sorrowful place, he noticed something odd about the scroll in Wu Wang’s hand.

After a closer look, he broke into a relieved smile.

This time, he genuinely laughed.

“Hahaha, you’ve got incredible luck! This scroll requires another skill to activate—and that skill? Exactly what my crimson-tendril thief stole.” The Gentleman Penguin beamed with self-satisfaction.

The last time he lost money on a deal was when he dealt with that human who’d slashed through the Nightmare Dungeon with a sword… No! That guy was stronger than a monster!

Since then, he’d never suffered a loss across countless worlds.

He’d thought this time might be the one he’d finally get burned.

Turns out, the item drawn was a useless scroll—so it was just helping him clear warehouse trash. Not a loss at all.

“Is that so? What a shame.”

Wu Wang sighed and shook his head.

Inside, he was laughing like mad.

【Heavenly Palm Technique (Epic): After performing a double jump with 【Cloud Ascension Step】, free-fall downward with palms facing down to deal massive damage to the target.】

【The more double jumps performed, the higher the damage. Stamina cost increases cumulatively with each jump.】

【Note: Have you heard of a palm technique that descends from the heavens?】

The Gentleman Penguin felt he’d won.

Wu Wang felt he’d won too.

A world where no one was hurt had been achieved!

Oh, the question-mark box inside was deeply wounded—but unfortunately… it wasn’t human.

The man and the penguin had just begun to smile.

Then a prompt appeared before Wu Wang—

【You have completed the main quest.】

You may remain in this dungeon for a maximum of 2 hours.

Would you like to leave the dungeon now?

Without hesitation, Wu Wang selected “No.”

He still had things to do in this village.

He’d said it before: human-blood buns aren’t easy to swallow—they’ll choke on them eventually.

Two hours…

Should be enough to get most of it done.

He stowed the 【Heavenly Palm Technique】 scroll into his backpack.

He couldn’t learn it in front of the Gentleman Penguin—otherwise, even an idiot would notice something was off and connect him to the crimson-tendril thief.

He also checked his ammo count, then gently lifted his second sister and laid her flat on the altar table, so she wouldn’t catch a chill lying on the ground.

Then he turned and walked away, as if resolved to something.

“Hey, kid! Catch!”

The Gentleman Penguin’s voice came from behind. Wu Wang instinctively turned and caught the two objects thrown his way.

One was the dagger he’d used to stab his heart to seek the Yin-Yuan God; the other, a piece of coarse hemp cloth.

"Seeing how unlucky you are, I'll offer you a little bonus—take a look at the dagger and map's effects; they last only two hours."

With that, the Gentleman Penguin placed the traded ring inside his top hat.

He raised his cane and drew a circle on the ground.

The circle looked pitch-black, like a wormhole, its other side utterly obscured.

The entire penguin leapt straight into the circle.

Then it vanished completely.

He came quietly, left quietly, waved his sleeve, taking not a single cloud with him.

Wu Wang glanced down.

【Cursed Dagger • Modified: When used in an area rich with resentment, it releases the bound spirits trapped within.】

【Coarse Hemp Map • Modified: Reveals the location of all living beings within a designated area—restricted to Yin Yuan Village—duration: two hours.】

"Heh, you heartless penguin, you're so generous, I almost feel bad for swindling you," Wu Wang sighed, shaking his head. "But thanks anyway—now no one can escape."

The next instant, his gaze hardened.

He picked up Akka and loaded round after round into the magazine, grinning with that familiar, manic smile—the same one he’d worn back in the Escape from School Radio Studio.

"Big sister, your hometown is a terrible place."

"I'm a terrible person too."

"Worse still—I don't regret it."

"Some debts can only be repaid in blood. This place will soon become a true wasteland..."