Little Wang watched as Cao Cheng's expression changed.
Terrified, he stumbled back a step, his legs going weak as he nearly collapsed to the ground.
"Tell me, what happened? Why did you fight with your classmate?" Cao Cheng smirked.
He hadn’t run into Aunt Wang these past few days, and his point-grinding had been lacking.
Now that he’d finally caught them, he’d squeeze every drop out of this pair of siblings—anything less would be an insult to Aunt Wang.
Besides,
he’d just broken through a thousand points in emotional value. Feeling good, he might as well mess with them a little.
"It… it was my classmate, I… we got into a fight," Little Wang stammered, on the verge of tears. It was too scary.
"Don’t be scared, come on, sit down and talk." Cao Cheng pointed to a small step nearby and sat down first.
Little Wang shuffled over and slowly lowered himself.
Cao Cheng raised an eyebrow. "You actually sat down?"
Little Wang shot back up.
Cao Cheng chuckled. "Just messing with you. Sit, sit, don’t be so formal with me."
[Ding~ Negative emotions +20!]
Nervousness.
Anger.
Embarrassment.
All counted as negative emotions.
This kind of grinding… with system notifications every second, it was pure bliss.
……
As Little Wang stammered through his explanation, Cao Cheng pieced it together.
Last night, just a dozen or so hours ago, Little Wang and his classmate had gone to an internet café to play shooters. Everything was fine at first.
Then his classmate asked: "You’re really retaking the year? What’s the point? Just wasting time."
A simple enough question.
But Little Wang snapped.
Maybe it was because of Cao Cheng… no, because of Aunt Wang’s constant nagging lately—Little Wang was extra sensitive about the topic.
So he blurted out: "Screw you, mind your own damn business."
That tone? Pure Aunt Wang energy.
Naturally, an argument broke out, escalating into a fight. Both sides got hurt.
The matter was still being handled.
It wasn’t just about the fight.
They’d wrecked a row of computers in the café—tables toppled, monitors shattered.
This morning, Aunt Wang and the other kid’s parents had gone to the café, even involving the police to discuss compensation.
Fuming, Little Wang had gone to his sister, told her everything, and brought back a Muscle Man for backup.
Cao Cheng glanced up at Sister Wang.
She forced an awkward smile. "Cao Cheng, I wasn’t really going to fight. I just wanted to scare them."
Cao Cheng grinned. "Really?"
"Really."
Cao Cheng’s face darkened. "I don’t believe you."
"……"
Then, just as quickly, he laughed again. "Of course, we’re from the same neighborhood. Grew up together, more or less. Wouldn’t actually hit you."
The siblings nodded eagerly. "Right, right, of course."
Cao Cheng raised an eyebrow. "Besides, my banter with Aunt Wang? That’s between us elders. Has nothing to do with you kids."
"……?"
Playing the elder, huh?
Flexing seniority?
Dropping family hierarchy jokes?
The siblings wanted to curse, but they held it in.
After all, that Muscle Man was still lying over there, motionless. No telling if he was dead or alive.
Looked bad.
No movement at all.
"Whatever. I’ll pretend today never happened. We’re still cool. Go on, scram." Cao Cheng waved them off.
"Thank you, thank you."
Sister Wang hurriedly bowed.
As she turned to leave, Cao Cheng called out again: "Leave the Muscle Man here. I’ll have a chat with him."
"Uh—" Sister Wang’s face stiffened.
"Problem?" Cao Cheng countered.
"N-no, no problem."
Sister Wang grabbed her brother and bolted.
But they didn’t go far—just around the corner, peeking from behind a wall.
……
Cao Cheng lit a cigarette.
Looked down at the unconscious Muscle Man.
Honestly?
He’d made a decent haul off the Wang siblings, but compared to this guy? Chump change.
This dude’s negative emotions were spiking in 30s, nonstop.
No name tags from the system, but Cao Cheng guessed he was probably faking it.
The rapid growth? Probably pain.
Pain amplified negative emotions like nothing else.
Cao Cheng felt like he’d cracked the system’s true playstyle.
This guy…
was almost rivaling the top-ranked "Fourth Sis."
"Out cold, huh? Guess I’ll have to splash water on him. Eh, nothing around here… might as well use piss. Haven’t gone since morning—should be nice and yellow—"
[Ding~ Negative emotions +50!]
"B-bro, bro…"
The Muscle Man’s eyes snapped open, his face a patchwork of colors.
Right cheek—white.
Middle—black shoe print.
Left—dirt from when he’d faceplanted earlier.
Looked like a damn Neapolitan ice cream.
"Awake?" Cao Cheng sighed, disappointed.
The Muscle Man’s face twitched.
The hell you disappointed for?
You were really gonna piss on me?
You animal.
"Bro, I was wrong. I’m sorry." No one around to see, so the Muscle Man swallowed his pride, apologizing through the pain.
Truth was, Cao Cheng had held back.
No real beef here—no need to go overboard.
These days… fights might not cost much, but murder? Still illegal.
Not worth it.
Really not worth it.
"Wrong how?"
"W-wrong… it’s that bitch’s fault! She’s the one who called me! I didn’t know it was you, bro! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have come if you paid me a hundred times! Broooo—" The Muscle Man whimpered.
Cao Cheng raised his voice: "So you’re saying that bitch dragged you into this? Not your idea?"
"Not at all! Not at all!"
Cao Cheng sighed. "Y’know… I kinda liked your tough-guy act earlier. How about a fair rematch?"
"No, no, bro, I can’t—I won’t—"
"I give you a chance… and you waste it." Cao Cheng grabbed his hair, shaking him. "You waste it!"
"Ahhh—! Hurts, bro, hurts… I’m sorry!" The scalp-tearing agony had him begging again.
Cao Cheng let go, yanking his collar instead. "The hell? You got tattoos? Some kinda gangster?"
"N-no, no!"
Cao Cheng snorted. "Remember this—next time, bring more guys. This was barely a warm-up."
"I wouldn’t dare—"
SLAP
Cao Cheng backhanded him.
"I said bring more! What’s this ‘wouldn’t dare’ crap?"
"Y-yes, yes, I’ll bring more!"
"Oh, so now you’re brave?"
"N-no, no no… bro, please, stop messing with me. I’m really sorry."
After a while,
the negative emotions plateaued, hitting some kind of cap.
Only then did Cao Cheng ease up.
Besides,
no rush.
This era was crawling with punks. Streets were full of ’em.
Today’s incident was a wake-up call.
Turns out, beating people up generated more negative emotions than mahjong.
If he’d known earlier…
Hell, he’d have gone full gang boss.
Then again,
just a thought.
Future richest man in the world? No point going dark side.
Even for emotional value, not worth it.
"Get lost."
"Y-yes, thank you, bro, thank you…"
The Muscle Man wobbled to his feet and ran.
As he passed the corner, he nearly collided with the siblings.
Sister Wang had heard every word—he’d called her a bitch?
This bastard.
"You son of a—" Sister Wang started.
"Fuck your mother~~" Muscle Man was the first to strike, stepping forward and slapping her without warning.
The sharp smack left Sister Wang stunned.
"?"
Not only had he called her a bitch,
but he actually hit her?
"I’ll fucking kill you!" Sister Wang instantly 'snapped,' lunging at him to claw at his hair.
"Ah—! Let go, you damn hag!" Though Muscle Man was no match for Cao Cheng in a fight, he was oddly skilled when it came to handling women.