Master of Kaidan
Chapter 91 "Goodness" is rewarded with goodness

Chapter 91: Chapter 91 "Goodness" is rewarded with goodness

"At least Columbia’s mobile payments aren’t very widespread. Hmm, maybe the timeline here is just a bit slower than my own?" Feng Xue counted the cash in his hands, casually stuffed it into his pocket, and nonchalantly tossed his phone onto the comatose ATM.

After half a day of countering robbery attempts, he had floored about a dozen black-painted ATMs that tried to extort him. His proficiency with his new clothing’s abilities had also improved—

The more naturally he behaved, the better he blended into the surroundings. If he himself felt out of place, his awkward actions would draw more attention.

It’s like seeing penguins in a penguin house is common, and visitors usually can’t tell the penguins apart. But if one penguin suddenly started acting coy and embarrassed, it would surely attract the visitors’ interest.

Though Feng Xue was now dressed in a splendid suit, he had to become ’just another penguin’. It wasn’t easy, but after spending enough time in Infinite City and witnessing all manners of bizarre outfits, a bit of self-hypnosis did the trick.

However, blending in didn’t mean he’d be ignored. As a street thug accustomed to highway robbery, Feng Xue, who appeared very ordinary, was the perfect target.

Consequently, Feng Xue’s wallet began to bulge—not that he had renounced humanity in less than three months of crossing over. So for those black-painted ATMs trying to rob him, he simply gave them a beating and, rather ’kindly,’ called an ambulance for each of them after taking the money.

Casually asking pedestrians for directions to his destination, with the element of ’Treasure’, few refused his inquiries.

Soon, with enough funds gathered, Feng Xue spent all his money at supermarkets and bookstores. Behind him, he carried a massive backpack filled with things like Homer’s Epic, Weapons Atlas, Historical Records, and blank notebooks for jotting down notes. He also added some fantasy-themed works like Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Apart from these, he bought plenty of Skill Books like ’Handyman’s Handbook,’ ’From Novice to Expert,’ ’Encyclopedia of Woodworking,’ ’How to Become a Blacksmith,’ and so on.

Through constant Refining, Feng Xue had confirmed that books, as carriers of Knowledge, contained the most ’Identity’.

Different books required different uses. With works like Historical Records and Homer’s Epic, his plan was to break down the stories and Refine them in batches of a few pages, possibly creating artefacts like the Twelve Gold Men or King’s Treasure. Inexpensive notebooks were filler material. The blank pages meant he could write anything, offering great value for money and guessing the hidden rules of Refining.

The textbooks, though the least cost-effective, held the highest hopes because Feng Xue intended to Refine them as a whole.

Being technical manuals, they had a whiff of ’Skill Books’, and whole-book Refining might increase the chances of creating one. But, considering the massive amount of information in each book, he went to the children’s section for ’pseudo-Skill Books’ like ’108 Questions About Magic’ and ’Harry Potter’s Magic Laboratory’.

"Right, I should also get books like ’Mysticism,’ ’Demonology,’ and ’Black Magic.’ Though they are nonsense, their serious style might produce good items."

Feng Xue pulled out his notebook and recorded the shopping list. After some thought, he still didn’t dare add the Book of the Undead to the list.

However, he could look for something like D&D’s Thousand Spells—the payoff would be huge if he could create a Magic Book!

While walking, Feng Xue jotted down his inspirations, not rushing to check the door’s status because he knew well that it was surely being strictly guarded right now.

He had five more days; three to break through that door and if that failed, he would just memorize the location and return once he had amassed enough ’Identity’.

For the remaining two days, Feng Xue intended to spend it all on strengthening himself. After all, reality, like anywhere else, was not just for acquiring ’Identity’; it was also a vast materials repository.

Here, grabbing a handful of dirt from the ground had a good chance of being Refined into a magical item.

Of course, there was no guarantee whether it would produce something harmonious or absurd.

Having packed his massive backpack, Feng Xue found a love hotel where no ID was required. Though it was a bit strange for one person to go there alone, Feng Xue, using the perk of ’Blending into the Environment,’ was easily checked in, although god knows what the receptionist imagined.

...

Entering the room, Feng Xue locked the door, turned on the TV, switched off the mood-setting channels, and connected to the local news, which was the last thing most guests would watch here. His face darkened when his own photo and a news flash repeated on the local news channel—

"Early this morning, Jeston Prison was hit by a major terrorist attack, resulting in 32 deaths and hundreds injured. The leader, Han Meimei, is currently at large and extremely dangerous. Skilled in Disguise, if you see this person, please immediately call..."

"Damn... hey, wait, this might be a good thing?" Feng Xue was about to curse, but the potential tag this situation might bring made his smile turn twisted.

As expected, after about half an hour, he began to feel components separating in his flesh, and after a peculiar sensation of currents coursing, Feng Xue received a new tag.

However, the tag wasn’t what he imagined like ’Terrorist,’ ’Escape Prisoner,’ or ’Lawless Madman.’ It was a more intriguing tag—

’Demon.’

"What’s going on? Why would a tag for ’Demon’ form? Could it be because the victims’ families see me as the main culprit? But even so, it should have been a tag like ’Murderer’ or ’Mortal Enemy,’ why ’Demon’?"

Feng Xue furrowed his brows, unable to comprehend the logic behind the tag’s formation. Sensing the weight of ’Identity’ transmitted by the tag, by Jeston’s standards, it felt like only about five or six portions.

"Having had more interactions with Jeston, he should be considered strong-cognition. So, conservatively estimated, the ones providing ’Identity’ for the ’Demon’ tag should amount to about 5-10 people. Wait a second, this number..."

Feng Xue slapped his forehead as realization dawned on him. He finally understood where the tag came from!

"Indeed, what goes around comes around!"