Chapter Thirty-Nine: Zhao Bai, the King of Luck

In that instant, Tu Shanbai’s body grew visibly before their eyes, stretching from a petite, awkward figure barely one meter thirty into a tall young woman of one meter seventy, nearly as tall as Xiao Zhang himself. Yet, the girl had clearly forgotten one crucial detail: while her body had grown, her clothes had not. And so...

This time, what came spraying out of Xiao Zhang’s mouth was not just beer, but a double stream of nosebleed as well...

Talk about bad luck—when it rains, it pours.

It was at this precise moment that Mo Xiaoxiao returned from her shower. “I’m done,” she called out.

But the scene she walked into—tear-streaked little girl in tattered clothes, Xiao Zhang with blood running from his nose—left no room for doubt. Her mind instantly conjured up the image of a lecherous man bullying a little girl. Given her innate loathing for perverts, plus her already foul mood from having been tied up by two brats, she needed no further prompting.

With a flurry of practiced moves, Mo Xiaoxiao knocked Xiao Zhang flat on his back. Clearly, she had training—no wonder even the wild Zhao Bai never dared provoke her.

Neither Xiao Zhang nor Tu Shanbai had time to react. One was already laid out on the floor, the other simply too slow to process what was happening.

“Big sister, please don’t hit big brother!” Tu Shanbai finally came to her senses and rushed to intervene.

“Bai Bai, did he bully you? Your sister will make him pay for you.”

Xiao Zhang was in a bind—should he fight back or not? “Big sister, you’ve already flattened me, sitting on top of me and beating me! How much more revenge do you want?”

“No, no, sister, big brother just wouldn’t let me drink beer!” Tu Shanbai cried out.

Mo Xiaoxiao paused, fist raised. “He didn’t bully you?”

“No, no!”

Mo Xiaoxiao pointed at Tu Shanbai’s bare chest. “And this?”

“Oh, I forgot to change my clothes!” With a wave of her hand, Tu Shanbai conjured a perfectly fitted outfit onto her body. Before Mo Xiaoxiao could say another word, Tu Shanbai reverted to her childlike form. “Oops, my magic’s all used up!”

Now a bit awkward, Mo Xiaoxiao helped haul Xiao Zhang off the floor. “Why didn’t you explain sooner?”

Xiao Zhang, clutching his swollen cheek, stammered, “You didn't give me a chance to speak!”

“Sorry ab—” Mo Xiaoxiao was just about to apologize when Zhao Bai suddenly bounced up from the sofa.

“Phew.” Zhao Bai stretched lazily. “I’m part of the System now too!”

Then he noticed Xiao Zhang’s half-swollen face and Mo Xiaoxiao’s simmering anger. Thinking the secret was out, he hurried to say, “Sister Mo, Xiao Zhang didn’t mean to slap your butt!”

“What?” Mo Xiaoxiao froze at his words.

Seeing the situation, Zhao Bai decided to confess. “Those times Xiao Zhang pinched your butt were really accidents! Only the last slap was on purpose! Sister Mo, please, be the bigger person and forgive him!”

Xiao Zhang was utterly speechless.

And so, Mo Xiaoxiao promptly swelled the other half of Xiao Zhang’s face.

Once she’d beaten Xiao Zhang into a proper pig-head, Mo Xiaoxiao finally calmed down and asked, “Xiao Zhang, have you seen my phone?”

“Probably lost it,” Xiao Zhang replied, rubbing his bruised face.

Seeing Mo Xiaoxiao about to flare up again, Zhao Bai seized his chance. “Sister Mo, calm down! When morning comes, I’ll take you to buy a brand new phone!”

Quietly, Tu Shanbai slipped a packet of spicy strips to Xiao Zhang. That violent big sister was just too scary. “Big brother, sister is really terrifying!”

“It’s fine. Go talk to her, and she’ll calm down.”

Timidly, Tu Shanbai went to comfort Mo Xiaoxiao. “Sister, please don’t be angry.”

Mo Xiaoxiao really had nothing left to be angry about, so she chatted idly with the cute little girl.

Xiao Zhang used the opportunity to pull Zhao Bai outside. “Come on, let’s go for a walk.”

Catching his drift, Zhao Bai followed him out into the faint morning light. They found an empty lot.

“How does it feel?” Xiao Zhang made a gesture for a cigarette.

Zhao Bai pulled out a pack and handed one over. “Feels great, but the skill the System gave me seems a bit useless.”

“What skill?”

“Here.” Zhao Bai glanced around, then lifted his hand towards a shared bike parked by the roadside. With a slight tug, the bike floated slowly over to him.

Xiao Zhang was stunned. “Damn, that’s actually pretty awesome!”

At this point, Zhao Bai dropped the act. “Well, I am pretty lucky. Drew an S-rank skill on my first try!”

“Where’d you get that skill?” Xiao Zhang asked.

“From the starter pack!” Zhao Bai let the bike down. “Don’t you have one?”

Xiao Zhang felt like fate was playing a joke on him. He didn’t even have a skill bar. “You didn’t clear the introductory dungeon?”

“Nope!”

“Alright then!” Xiao Zhang was speechless. Was this guy the true protagonist, and he was just a background character? He didn’t even really know how the skill system worked, since he’d never had one. Who knew if Bai Bai could set him up with something?

“So how are skills ranked?” asked Xiao Zhang.

“You don’t know?” Zhao Bai looked at him wide-eyed. “Don’t tell me you haven’t drawn a skill yet!”

Seeing Xiao Zhang’s exasperation, Zhao Bai took it as confirmation and explained, “I don’t know all the details, since the System hasn’t published the full criteria. But generally, skills go from E to S. But skills can level up—the weak ones can become powerful over time.”

“Like VN’s W?” Xiao Zhang offered, “Not much damage early, but later it shreds tanks like paper!”

“Pretty much,” Zhao Bai nodded.

“So why’s your skill S-rank?” Xiao Zhang pressed.

Zhao Bai scratched his head and admitted, “Because the System rated it as S.”

He also told Xiao Zhang he hadn’t just drawn one skill, but three—though the other two were still locked.

Xiao Zhang couldn’t help but ask, “Are they all S-rank?”

Zhao Bai nodded sheepishly. “Don’t worry, man—I’ll have your back in the dungeons.”

“Does being a punching bag count as an S-rank skill?” Xiao Zhang joked, touching his now-healed face. “Look how fast I recovered!”