As the saying goes, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west; do not underestimate the young, middle-aged, or old when they're poor." The once fragile rookie, Qin Ming, who had just entered the Nightmare Space and relied on a handgun to get by, had transformed significantly upon reuniting.
With terrifying attributes, a robust physique, and as many as two S-level skills, Qin Ming, who once seemed like a lackey before the protagonists, now possessed the strength to overpower them head-on. He was no longer the small fry who could be bullied without daring to retaliate.
White-clad Jack, who was almost sent flying by Qin Ming's slap, staggered to stabilize himself and looked up at Qin Ming in disbelief. If not for Qin Ming's appearance remaining largely unchanged and his attitude still as unpleasant, Jack might have thought he had mistaken him for someone else.
"What kind of brute strength is this?!"
"Qin Ming? How did you become so tall?"
At this moment, the other three protagonists finally ran over. As soon as Hannah approached, she couldn't help but ask.
Qin Ming's eyes lit up upon hearing Hannah's voice and seeing her attributes. At this moment, Hannah's favorability towards him was displayed at 650 points! Clearly, the effect of this title task had chosen the female protagonist before him as the target!
"I've been working out."
"Huh?"
"Oh, you know, protein powder, nutritional supplements, height-increasing surgery! Don't mind these little details. What's your situation?"
As Qin Ming diverted the topic, Hannah and the others immediately became serious.
"We're pursuing the leader of the hunting organization's biker gang! This guy leads people to hunt small dinosaurs everywhere and steal dinosaur hatchlings, causing dinosaur riots near several cities!"
Taking out a map from her pocket, Hannah's expression was grim.
"His motorcycle units have appeared in these locations, but we're not sure where he is now. Qin Ming, you're just in time; we were about to split up to find him, and you can help. Oh, by the way, I also invited a few other friends to help."
"Other friends?"
"Yes, Feilong, Monkey, and Tank. You know Tank; we worked together to deal with the Bloody Butcher before, remember?"
Seeing the four-person team looking at him with confusion, Qin Ming's eyes flickered slightly.
Tank? He didn't recall encountering such a person during previous adventures.
It seems that the plot inheritance mechanism for adventurers re-entering the mission world is quite special...
Qin Ming quickly got into Hannah's car, not forgetting to pull Jack out and send him to another vehicle.
Facing the transformed and immensely strong Qin Ming, Jack found himself unable to compete in strength and was momentarily furious but speechless.
More importantly, Hannah didn't refuse Qin Ming's boarding, so he couldn't say much.
Ignoring Jack's scowl, Qin Ming quickly inquired about the previous information from Hannah in the car.
After some questioning, he soon confirmed the current situation.
The plot inheritance mechanism for these adventurers is indeed very special; it actually mixes the events that occurred to several adventurers entering the same space for the second time.
The adventurer codenamed Monkey, according to Hannah, had saved Jack's life.
The guy named Feilong also helped a lot in dealing with the first-level boss, Wes-Tyrone.
Most ridiculously, that Tank, in the memories of Hannah and others, not only charged into the second level and confronted the Bloody Butcher head-on, but he was also the boyfriend of Uncle Mustapha!
That's right! This guy completed the title task and successfully wooed Yellow Hat Mustapha!
Most importantly, from Hannah's words, Qin Ming also heard information about the last adventurer, a person codenamed Wild Wolf.
That guy severely injured her and Jack, almost taking them out; they barely managed to save themselves after a desperate struggle.
Seeing Hannah's expression turn hostile when mentioning the other party, Qin Ming's eyes gradually became strange.
He suspected it wasn't just "almost took them out," but that they had actually been killed. It's just that with multiple adventurers entering the same space, they were forcibly resurrected.
Goodness! He actually took out two protagonists in the novice situation! That guy's ruthless! Whose subordinate is he?
Compared to Qin Ming's multitude of questions, Hannah, who was concentrating on driving, actually had many questions herself.
And her first question wasn't about Qin Ming's significant physical change but...
"Qin Ming, who is that woman?"
"Huh? Kasamoto Eri, my girlfriend."
Screech!
Suddenly slamming on the brakes, Hannah widened her eyes at Qin Ming, her face full of shock.
"Your girlfriend?!"
"Yes."
"How can you have a girlfriend?"
"Why can't I have a girlfriend? I'm not missing an arm or a leg!"
"Get out!"
"What?"
"Get off my car! You're not welcome here! Go ride your girlfriend's horse!"
With Hannah shoving him forcefully, Qin Ming was thrown out of the vehicle, looking utterly dumbfounded.
As Hannah stepped on the gas and sped away, he instinctively turned to glance at Kasamoto Eri.
The sight of her sitting atop a horse, reins in hand, made her grin mischievously.
"Oh ho, someone's jealous. Come on, boss, if she doesn't want you, I do. Get up here."
She slapped the horse's rear, her expression full of mischief.
Seeing no other choice, Qin Ming climbed onto the horse. As she led the way, Kasamoto Eri chuckled, "Having a high favorability score isn't always a good thing. See? She turned on you just like that. But don't worry, leave this to me. I'm an expert in these matters!"
Watching her smug expression, Qin Ming couldn't help but purse his lips.
She really was an expert—at least compared to him.
With his current appearance, unless a woman had very particular tastes, there was no way she'd develop feelings for him.
Compared to him, everyone was a romance expert!
As the convoy returned to their base, the four protagonists began organizing their gear.
A moment later, the door swung open, and several adventurers who had found their way here through their own means made their grand entrance.
There was Flying Dragon—a tall, thin man with sharp eyes, casually playing with a throwing knife in his hand.
Then there was Monkey—surprisingly a woman—dressed in leather armor.
Lastly, there was Tank—a burly man over two meters tall. What stood out most was that he was wearing an all-too-familiar piece of equipment: the Bloodthirsty Butcher's little red vest, something Qin Ming recognized immediately.
The five adventurers, aside from the one with a grudge against the protagonist group, quickly gathered together.
They exchanged glances but didn't greet each other. After all, they were competitors this time.
The mission required them to take down a boss from the hunting organization. But there were only so many bosses available. The faster ones would get the kill; the slower ones would get nothing. There was no time to waste.
Until the main objective was completed, everyone was a potential enemy.
With four protagonists and four adventurers, they could each pair up and head to different areas.
Jack teamed up with Monkey, an old friend who had once saved his life.
Mustafa's partner was, of course, his boyfriend, Tank.
Flying Dragon was paired with the burly Mace.
As for Qin Ming…
Out on the road, the roar of an engine filled the air as a Cadillac sped toward them from the distance.
Inside the car sat Hannah… and Kasamoto Eri.
The two were chatting and laughing, clearly having a great time.
Behind the car followed a warhorse, and on its back sat Qin Ming, his face stiff and expressionless.
He couldn't understand how things had turned out like this. With Hannah's favorability at 650—already at the level of deep romance—shouldn't they be getting along great?
So why was Kasamoto Eri in the car while he was stuck on horseback?
And it wasn't just Hannah. Whether it was Sun Ji from Three Kingdoms Chronicles or other female characters from different worlds, every single one of them got along with Kasamoto Eri far better than they did with him.
What the hell? Was his title fake? Or could Kasamoto Eri somehow share its effects?
Qin Ming, now exiled to horseback, was utterly bewildered.
Meanwhile, at the front, Kasamoto Eri was effortlessly winning Hannah over with her easygoing chatter.
She was doing so well because she had cracked the ultimate social cheat code—badmouthing Qin Ming.
High favorability didn't mean there wouldn't be conflicts. On the contrary, the higher the favorability, the easier it was to argue!
And in those moments, if a friendly, like-minded person showed up and started roasting Qin Ming alongside them, wouldn't that instantly create a bond?
That was how you formed an inner circle! That was how you found common ground!
Of course, Kasamoto Eri would never admit this to Qin Ming. She knew his personality too well.
If he ever found out that she was secretly badmouthing him just to win people over, he wouldn't let her off so easily.
Ever wonder why, despite their high favorability, all the female characters still kept butting heads with Qin Ming? There was a reason for that!
In Qin Ming's mind, if he made a mistake, then everyone should talk things through rationally.
But if he didn't make a mistake? Then what was there to discuss?!
Everyone around him had suffered under his logic—especially Kasamoto Eri. The two of them couldn't go a day without bickering at least three times! Unless, of course, she managed to run away fast enough!
Even now, in the world of dinosaurs, Qin Ming hadn't changed. In just three sentences, he had somehow pissed off Hannah, whose favorability toward him was already off the charts. That was practically a talent in itself.
As the car and the horse patrolled along the main road for a full day and night—taking a break only to have a barbecue under the stars—by the next noon, they finally found traces of the biker gang.
From a distance, they spotted the roaring horde of bikers. Among them, a truck was heavily guarded, packed with small dinosaurs and hatchlings.
Hannah's eyes lit up. Without hesitation, she floored the gas pedal and sped toward them.
In the passenger seat, Kasamoto Eri quickly pulled out her machine gun, resting it on the window and getting ready to fire.
After spending a day and night together, the two had grown incredibly close—a good thing.
The bad thing? Somehow, the plan to help Qin Ming mend his relationship with Hannah had backfired. Kasamoto Eri had gotten along great with her, but Hannah's attitude toward Qin Ming had worsened. Qin Ming had no idea why.
Watching the car charge ahead, he yanked the reins and rode after them without hesitation.
As he charged forward, the weapons mounted on his warhorse came to life, unleashing a storm of bullets.
In an instant, overwhelming firepower rained down, causing the unsuspecting bikers ahead to scream in panic.
At that moment, the bikers weren't the real outlaws—Qin Ming's group was!
After all, the bikers were only using rifles and submachine guns, while Qin Ming had outright brought cannons and grenades!
Compared to them, he and his group were the real reckless maniacs!
(End of chapter)