A beautiful day starts with feeding the dog.
If that dog doesn't jump on your wounds, then it truly is a beautiful day.
Zhang Jie winced, clutching the gunshot wound Hades had pressed with a paw, and sighed helplessly at the excited German Shepherd in front of him.
"Your dad's not home, so you're this arrogant, huh?"
Hades tilted its head, tail wagging like a propeller, completely unaware it had almost sent Zhang Jie to heaven just now.
Energetic furballs are always so enthusiastic; it directly brought a toy to Zhang Jie, wanting to play.
"Please! I'm injured right now, I can't play with you, go wait over there."
Hades didn't care, so Zhang Jie could only helplessly throw the frisbee, which at least meant he didn't have to move.
John's small villa was practically undefended for Zhang Jie; after all, he had a key, and Hades could open doors by itself.
This dog was a bit too smart, even opening the fridge to steal food and turning on the air conditioner by itself.
"Sooner or later, I'll have to buy my own place..."
Zhang Jie muttered, rubbing Hades' head, "...and then get a dog even smarter than you."
Hades snorted disdainfully and ran off with its food bowl.
Well, he'd just been scorned by a dog.
After leaving John's house, Zhang Jie strolled leisurely down the street. His wound still throbbed, but at least it didn't affect his movement.
He needed to rest and recover.
After all, he wasn't Superman; he couldn't just get up like nothing happened after being injured. These gunshot wounds, knife wounds, and blunt force traumas were real. Couldn't they see the bruises all over his body?
They say scars are a man's glory and medals, but Zhang Jie felt they weren't necessary. After all, they hurt too much. But there was good news: his pain tolerance proficiency seemed to have increased a bit. Although it was still Lv1, it was close to 86.
[Pain Tolerance: Lv1 (86/100)]
This was one of the few pieces of good news, he supposed.
He didn't know if these proficiencies were a standard for a normal person's improvement and adaptability, or if he had other hidden abilities.
At least Zhang Jie hadn't seen any yet, but the only benefit was that visualizing his proficiency was a fantastic ability for him.
At least he could see his growth and correct his mistakes in time.
Although it didn't provide too direct a change in combat power in actual combat, the things he learned were real.
Correcting his mistakes through the proficiency panel to improve his strength—wasn't this the biggest cheat?
Yes, I, Zhang Jie, also have a cheat!
Alright, if he didn't practice for a long time, his proficiency would also decrease, like shooting... [Shooting: Lv3 (35 → 30/100)]
[Handgun: Lv3 (12 → 9/100)]
[Rifle: Lv2 (89 → 83/100)]
...Not touching or firing a gun for two days, and his proficiency dropped a bit. What kind of system is this?
Only instinctive shooting increased a little.
[Instinctive Shooting: Lv1 (25 → 35/100)]
Oh, this isn't a system, it's just a proficiency panel... Damn it!
Why don't I have a system cheat!
Just then, he caught a familiar figure in his peripheral vision.
It was an elderly Black man with white hair, wearing a well-tailored grey suit, a waistcoat, a white shirt, an immaculate tie, and gleaming leather shoes.
"Holy crap?" Zhang Jie almost blurted out, "Morgan Freeman?"
But the next second, he shook his head.
"Impossible, this is the world of 'John Wick,' not 'Bruce Almighty'..."
He stared at the back for a few seconds. The other person seemed to sense his gaze, turned his head slightly, and a faint smile played on his lips.
Zhang Jie immediately averted his gaze and quickened his pace, leaving.
Was that a hallucination just now?
He actually felt a vague sense of threat; an old Black man actually gave him a sense of danger. This was simply incredible.
As soon as he returned to his apartment, Zhang Jie was blocked at the door by Mrs. Schneider.
"Zhang!" The old lady stood with her hands on her hips, her eyes sharp, "Max is coming home today, you need to clean up your room!"
"Huh?" Zhang Jie was stunned, "What does her coming back have to do with me?"
"Of course it has to do with you!"
Mrs. Schneider glared at him, "I don't want my granddaughter to know her neighbor is a—"
She lowered her voice, "—killer!"
"Fuck!! That's not fair!"
Zhang Jie's mouth twitched: "I don't even have guns all over the living room..."
"But you definitely have a lot of dangerous items hidden in your room!"
Mrs. Schneider narrowed her eyes, "I'm warning you, Zhang, my Max is a good girl, don't lead her astray!"
"Good girl?"
Zhang Jie raised an eyebrow, "How old is she?"
"24, just graduated, works on Wall Street."
Mrs. Schneider said proudly, then seemed to remember something, "Damn it, you pauper! Don't even think about her!"
"Wall Street?" Zhang Jie laughed, completely ignoring the latter part. What a joke, who wouldn't care? That's Angelina Jolie!
"Then she's probably seen more 'dangerous items' than I have."
Mrs. Schneider was unmoved: "Anyway, put away your guns, knives, grenades, bombs, poisons, sniper scopes, tactical vests, night vision goggles, suppressors, C4 explosives—"
"Wait!" Zhang Jie interrupted her, "Where would I get all that stuff?!"
"Don't think I don't know!" Mrs. Schneider snorted, "That long black bag you brought back last week, that was a sniper rifle, wasn't it?"
Zhang Jie: "..."
Damn it!
And so, under Mrs. Schneider's supervision, Zhang Jie began his "killer trace elimination plan."
Guns stuffed into a secret compartment under the bed.
Mrs. Schneider: "Why do you have a secret compartment under your bed?!"
Tactical dagger hidden in the freezer.
Mrs. Schneider: "Who would be bored enough to rummage through the freezer?!"
Grenades temporarily stored at John's house.
Hades: "Woof?"
Bloodstains need to be cleaned... Wait, where did the bloodstains come from?
"That's ketchup!" Zhang Jie argued, pointing at the red stain on the wall.
Mrs. Schneider sneered: "Ketchup splashes onto the ceiling?"
Zhang Jie: "...I cook rather aggressively."
In the evening, a red Chevrolet coupe slowly pulled up on the lawn outside the apartment.
The car door opened, and a long leg clad in black stockings emerged, high heels rustling softly on the grass.
Immediately after, a tall young woman stepped out, with slightly curly blonde hair, a professional outfit outlining her capable curves, and a faint smile on her red lips.
"Grandma, I'm home."
Mrs. Schneider immediately beamed and rushed to meet her: "Max! My darling!"
Zhang Jie stood at the door, silently sizing up this "Wall Street good girl."
Max's gaze swept over him, meeting Zhang Jie's eyes for a second, a meaningful smile playing on her lips.
"This is?"
"Oh, this is Zhang, your neighbor."
Mrs. Schneider quickly introduced, "He's a... um... freelancer."
"Freelancer?" Max raised an eyebrow, "What a coincidence, so am I."
Zhang Jie: "..."
I don't believe you for a second!
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