Chapter 3: That Which Does Not Kill Me Will Ultimately Make Me Stronger
When the two bottles of pesticide appeared, the expressions on the woman and the burly man’s faces were quite a spectacle.
Damn it!
Moron!
“This is your treasure?” the woman asked skeptically. “What are you planning? Poisoning someone?”
“Wrong! I want to kill myself!” Fang Qingyun replied with a face full of sorrow. “I was just dumped by a woman. She’s fallen for a lord’s heir. I’m in so much pain, I’ve decided to end my life.”
“Is that so?” The woman sneered.
She was a demon, with a keen sense of smell. She had already detected the scent of several women lingering on Fang Qingyun’s body. Would a man like this really commit suicide over a breakup?
She sneered, “Fine, then kill yourself right here in front of me!”
The burly man at her side wore a strange expression, struggling to contain his urge to cheer. Damn, you carried two bottles of pesticide around like they were gold bars, put on airs, and got us all caught by a demon. Serves you right! Just hurry up and die!
“You think I’m lying? Fine, I’ll drink it right now.” Fang Qingyun looked aggrieved as he unscrewed the cap of the pesticide bottle with determination.
“Drink! If you hesitate, I’ll make you swallow the bottle too!” the woman snapped impatiently.
She was agitated; the intervention of these two men had disrupted her plans. She needed to leave. Otherwise, she risked being exposed. Before leaving, she certainly couldn’t let Fang Qingyun and his companion go.
Fang Qingyun took a deep breath and declared loudly, “Farewell, cruel world! In the next life, I’ll become powerful and repay all the women who ever hurt me… all of them!”
Gulp!
Fang Qingyun downed the pesticide in one go.
The woman was stunned. The burly man too was dumbfounded. This scoundrel was shameless to the core—one word from him implied just how many women he’d had. Who would have thought he’d drink the pesticide so decisively?
“Is this real pesticide?” the woman asked, suspicious.
Fang Qingyun smiled nonchalantly and handed her the bottle.
As a Spider Demon, she was a master of poisons and easily confirmed the pesticide was real. She looked at Fang Qingyun’s calm demeanor and found herself momentarily lost in thought. This young man could face death so serenely? Her feelings grew complicated. If someone like him survived, he would surely become a formidable figure in the future. There was no doubt—the god of death favored those who could look death in the eye.
Was she erasing a future prodigy of humanity? Should she rejoice or lament?
Fang Qingyun chuckled lightly, “A dying man speaks kindly—beautiful lady, you should go now. My companion contacts me via text every day.” He pointed to the destroyed phone. “If he can’t reach me, he’ll come to my house. If you don’t leave, you’ll be in danger.”
“And them!” Fang Qingyun gestured at the two burly men. “Their arrival might attract the City Guard!”
The woman’s expression shifted slightly as she asked, “Would you really be so kind?”
Of course, she had already considered everything Fang Qingyun said. But hearing it from his lips felt somehow different.
He sighed, “In return, please leave my body intact.”
She reached out, and a strand of spider silk wrapped around Fang Qingyun’s arm. An odd power flowed into his body, carefully checking him over.
Her expression grew stranger. She was certain—the poison was taking effect, destroying Fang Qingyun’s body. He would be dead within five minutes. If she lingered two minutes more, unless he had access to the rarest magical elixirs—which only the highest nobles possessed—the boy would have no chance. In reality, he wasn’t even qualified to catch a glimpse of such a treasure.
“Fine, I promise you,” she said in a low voice. “You have character. Any last words?”
Damn you.
Fang Qingyun sighed again and shuffled over to the sofa, closed his eyes, and lay down as if quietly awaiting the arrival of death.
The woman regarded him for a long moment. She could see his body trembling, proof that the poison was fully taking effect, eating away at him. He was beyond saving.
Swish!
A strand of spider silk flashed through the air. The still-living burly man hadn’t even reacted before his head flew off, his face still frozen in confusion.
“Farewell,” the woman said, and left.
Fang Qingyun silently opened his eyes and heaved a deep sigh, cursing the woman’s ancestors down to the eighteenth generation in his heart.
Damn, she finally left! If she’d stayed any longer, his act would have been exposed. He never thought his reckless plan would actually work. Forced into a corner, he had no choice but to go through with it. It was his only chance to survive.
Gritting his teeth, his face deathly pale, Fang Qingyun watched as the system interface appeared before his eyes.
[Host: Fang Qingyun]
[Strength: 6]
[Speed: 5]
[Constitution: 4]
[Spirit: 4]
[Origin: 15]
Having drunk the pesticide, the violent poison was ravaging his body. His life was in grave danger, and the system began to activate.
[Origin +1]
[Origin +1]
[Origin +1]
“Faster, faster, please, faster!” Fang Qingyun urged in his heart.
He needed just 100 points to allocate an attribute. The pesticide in this world was far more potent than on Earth—death would come in three to five minutes. Judging by the rate his Origin was increasing, he could gain around 290 points. But Fang Qingyun dared not wait that long. What if he lost consciousness? What if he died suddenly?
Time ticked by. Fang Qingyun stared at the rapidly increasing Origin, his heart pounding in sync.
Hurry! He had to reach 100 before dying!
At last, his Origin reached one hundred! By now, his mind was already growing hazy. Almost on instinct, he allocated the point.
…Constitution +1.
[Host: Fang Qingyun]
[Strength: 6]
[Speed: 5]
[Constitution: 5]
[Spirit: 4]
[Origin: 0]
Crack!
Fang Qingyun felt a jolt run through his body. Where numbness and paralysis had overtaken him, sensation now returned. His mind cleared.
Just a moment ago, he’d almost forgotten how to breathe. Now, he felt like a newborn, greedily embracing the world.
He had won his gamble! Constitution truly enhanced his resistance to poison.
Fang Qingyun opened his eyes and smiled.
The first time, he’d allocated his only point to Strength and felt his physical condition improve. Back then, he’d thought if Strength made him stronger, Constitution must be even more specialized.
Why did martial artists rarely get sick? Why were the magical drugs they consumed deadly to ordinary people? Because their constitutions were powerful—no longer quite human.
Now, all his speculations had been proven right. Take the poison first, force the Origin to accumulate, then boost Constitution and use it to neutralize the toxin. Poison and Constitution—a golden pairing!
Wait! Strength also affects the body, so it might help against poison too. And Speed… Physical attributes affect each other. Damn, this system is like a benevolent father. Is poison my loving mother?
He looked at the discarded pesticide bottle and murmured, “From today on, you are my secret elixir.”
“With you by my side, I will ascend to the pinnacle of this world!”
Pesticide: “……”