Chapter 9: The Keyboard Fiend

“One, two, three, four, hmm...”
Li Changlu unapologetically counted the number of people, including Xiao Qing in the tally.
“Or maybe…” Li Changlu pondered aloud.
“Brother, that’s not appropriate, absolutely inappropriate,” the scholar hastily quashed Li Changlu’s idea.
An F-ranked quest, done by four people?
Are you out of your mind from hunger?
Why not just explode on the spot?
This damned easy familiarity—sure, that black guy doesn’t understand our customs, but do you not realize these are just polite words?
“It’s indeed inappropriate, I agree,” Li Changlu replied to the scholar with a cheerful smile. “There are a bit too many people—so maybe…”
The scholar breathed a sigh of relief; finally, this overly friendly guy had come to his senses and remembered to save face.
“How about we stay at the tavern and wait for your triumphant return?”
“You can do it, you’re the best, we’ll cheer for you.”
The scholar could not comprehend how a person could be so shameless; mouth agape, he stared at Li Changlu in shock, his mood utterly shattered.
Quests could be done in teams, but…
Four players?
What kind of nonsense is that?
Even Blackwa was embarrassed, whispering to Li Changlu, “Li, don’t beg like this. We can wait for the next quest refresh, it’s just an F-ranked quest, and there’s… well, too many monks.”
“That’s called raising the price, please, and our monk doesn’t eat meat,” Li Changlu corrected Blackwa’s idiom, then suddenly lowered his voice, pointing at Blackwa and addressing the scholar, “That’s my cousin. Something’s off here, you can tell by how he stumbles over his words; he hasn’t got many days left.”
“He’s had a hard time—died in frustration while alive, and after death…”
He finished, covering his mouth and sobbing mournfully.
His crying was truly pitiful.
In truth, Li Changlu wasn’t deliberately antagonizing the scholar. He understood that his and Blackwa’s lives were already hanging by a thread; perhaps missing this opportunity meant they’d simply vanish, and not even their graves would be found.
Besides, he could see clearly that this F-ranked quest was…
Catching a keyboard monster.
Such a weak creature.
They were everywhere; catch one, guaranteed, so hot.
Faced with such temptation…
After all, people are selfish, and Li Changlu was no exception; he wasn’t so noble.
The scholar could fill his belly alone, but Li Changlu had Blackwa with him—survival comes first, not honor…
“Hey, there’s another F-ranked quest over there!”
Just then, the scholar seemed to spot something, delightedly pointing at the quest board and urging Li Changlu, “Brother, quick, take the quest.”
Li Changlu had just turned to look when a sinking feeling struck him.
The loyal are often butchers, the heartless always scholars.
He never imagined that all his effort at performance would fail to move even a scholar.

Not only did he fail to move him, but the scholar even found an excuse to slip away…
I spent so long weaving this story, haven’t even performed yet.
You damned dog, trying to run?
Li Changlu grabbed the fleeing scholar, but the scholar wasn’t weak either, struggling to break free from Li Changlu’s grasp.
“Fish die, net breaks; rabbit dies, dog cooks. Too fierce, too brutal,” Blackwa hurried to pull the two apart.
Li Changlu had not expected the scholar to be so strong—he nearly got shoved to the ground.
Every day, suppressed by girls, now almost flattened by a scholar.
Where’s my dignity?
But…
Fortunately, he managed to steady himself against the quest board and avoided embarrassment.
Suddenly, a faintly glowing ring of dust appeared around his hand.
Was this the feeling of acquiring a quest?
For the first time, Li Changlu felt a chill, cold and refreshing.
Did he really stumble into a quest by accident?
It felt great.
He had never accepted a quest before; he felt a tremor run through his body, and in his mind, a yellowed quest card appeared.
Why the tremor?
Li Changlu figured it was a man’s instinct, perhaps?
Sure enough, a low-level quest—the paper itself looked like something a shut-in had tossed aside for ages.
Congratulations, your demon power has reached the required level for quest acceptance. Congratulations, you’ve received a quest card.
In his mind, a stiff, mechanical prompt sounded, half dead.
Quest name: Capture the fox demon, Ah Zi
Quest location: Northeast Gate Market
Difficulty: E
Reward: Old Papa’s secret boxed meal, Wang Puppy’s crushed ice
Extra reward: ???
Damn.
Why is the reward a boxed meal, and Old Papa’s at that?
And what the hell is Wang Puppy’s crushed ice?
Who the hell eats that?
Also, just how much does this fox like chicken, running off to the market?
You’re a monster, right? Why not just catch yourself and cook yourself?
Wouldn’t you taste good?
But something didn’t feel right.

Li Changlu then realized he had unexpectedly accepted an E-ranked quest, and suddenly felt a chill run through him.
F-ranked was already life-threatening, now E-ranked, and more…
He couldn’t cancel the quest—forced purchase, forced sale?
Whose damned idea was this?
But soon, his blood began to boil.
Excited, he grabbed Blackwa and said, “Old Black, I got an E-ranked quest.”
Blackwa asked again in disbelief, “E-ranked?”
“Yes, E-ranked. Capture the fox Ah Zi.”
“Did the scholar beat you senseless? Gone stupid? Even a big, tough demon like me isn’t qualified for E-ranked quests, yet you, a battle weakling, managed it?”
“That’s exactly it. Quick, quick, look at my demon power level.”
Blackwa refused to look.
“Damn, am I about to cheat? I swear my fingers are slowly turning gold!”
Li Changlu gazed at Blackwa expectantly, hoping for confirmation.
“Hurry up, I feel like I’m about to explode, about to transform—I knew I was the chosen one.”
Blackwa stubbornly turned away, refusing.
“What are you dragging your feet for? This is your chance to rise with me—I’ll drive, I’ll carry you to victory.”
Blackwa wore an expression that said—
If you ask one more time, I’ll let you taste the foreign black devil’s fist, believe it or not.
Li Changlu was getting worked up, forgetting that Blackwa couldn’t see demon power levels. Monsters who could see demon power were rare, almost like a special talent.
Some strong demons could sense the intensity of demon power, but not the exact number.
Meanwhile, some weak monsters, though feeble, could clearly perceive the numerical value.
Li Changlu, agitated, anxiously asked the surrounding monsters.
“Which bastard can see demon power?”
“Which master can check demon power for me?”
“Son begs father to check demon power!”
He truly was desperate; after all, being able to accept an E-ranked quest meant his demon power couldn’t be low. Maybe not off the charts, but at least better than Blackwa’s.
No more being called a monster by other monsters every day…
How could Li Changlu not be excited?
“Son, your demon power is one!”
Someone answered Li Changlu, with a voice sweet, beautiful, and clear.