Chapter 21: Next Door
Chapter 21: Next Door
“For Gōjū-ryū Kenpō, I used 1 unit of Growth Value at the Elementary Level, 2 units at the Intermediate Level, and it took 4 points all at once to reach the Advanced Level…”
He then tried to boost his Competitive Kendo. As expected, it also cost 4 units of Growth Value to reach the Advanced Level.
Sure enough, while his body felt the strain, he spent another 4 points to raise Competitive Kendo to the Advanced Level.
At that moment, his Strength, Stamina, and Speed attributes each increased by 0.1. Besides that, he got an unexpected surprise: his previously unchanged Stamina Attribute rose by 0.1 after both skills reached the Advanced Level.
Name: Nishizuka Tsukasa
Age: 17
Occupation: Primary Fate Devourer
Fate Grade: Bronze
Strength Attribute: 2.8
Stamina Attribute: 3.9
Speed Attribute: 2.6
Stamina Attribute: 1.7
Mind Attribute: 2.5
After a quick look at his status, Fang Jing felt he still had some energy left.
This was because he had been taking good care of his body recently.
Unlike the original owner who used to study day and night with poor sleep and bad habits, Fang Jing now paid attention to exercise, rest, and recovery, which helped restore his health.
After all, without a healthy body, he couldn’t keep strengthening himself.
“Well, I used 8 units of Growth Value, leaving me with only a pitiful 3 points. Next, I’ll put them all into the three remaining basic skills…”
There was a reason he didn’t choose to advance his Judo skill. Fang Jing had noticed a curious pattern.
He found that every time a skill leveled up, it increased the corresponding attribute by a certain amount, but no matter how many levels it gained, it only ever added 10%.
“It seems that learning more skills, rather than specializing in just a few, allows for faster improvement. However, raising a skill to a certain level also boosts the Stamina Attribute.”
Fang Jing still didn’t know the exact use of the Stamina Attribute, but since it existed, it must have some important role.
He didn’t rush to strengthen himself further but decided to rest. Forcing improvements put too much strain on the body, and there was no need to push too hard. Since he still had points, he didn’t need to worry about it too much.
Fang Jing checked the time and saw it was almost past 9 p.m. The couple next door seemed to be arguing again.
They had been quarreling for several days now, always starting around 9 p.m. and going on endlessly.
“Alright, I’ll just remind them a little. All this noise is really annoying.”
He thought for a moment, then took off his glasses, put on his jacket, and went out. Fang Jing had noticed that after his physical changes, Nishizuka Tsukasa’s original nearsightedness had improved.
He planned to visit his neighbors and at least ask them to lower their voices.
Knock, knock, knock!
The nameplate on the door read “Tanaka.” He knocked several times, but no one answered for a while.
After a long wait, the door finally opened a crack.
A woman’s tired face appeared.
“Um… Can I help you?”
“You must be Mrs. Tanaka! Sorry to bother you. I’m Nishizuka from next door in room 405. Could you please keep your voices down a bit? It’s already past 10 p.m.”
“I’m sorry, we didn’t realize we were being so loud.”
The middle-aged woman bowed her head apologetically.
“We’ll be more careful. I’m really sorry.”
“It’s alright, I just wanted to mention it. If everything’s fine, I won’t disturb you further.”
Fang Jing didn’t want to make things complicated. For him, it was just a small reminder.
It’s best for neighbors to get along peacefully.
Actually, there weren’t many tenants living on the fifth floor—only two or three households. The other rooms were empty.
The Tanaka family in room 406 was relatively familiar, but from Fang Jing’s perspective, he didn’t pay much attention to their situation. After saying what he needed to, he turned around and went back to sleep.
The middle-aged woman closed the door quietly and retreated into the house.
Turning around, she saw her husband still drinking, and her expression twisted with anger.
“You! Still drinking here? You lost your job, and yet you’re so relaxed!”
She lowered her voice, her face filled with rage.
Tanaka, the head of this rented household, was a balding man in his forties.
His own company hadn’t been doing well, and recently, to cut staff, the company fired Tanaka, claiming he couldn’t perform his duties.
At Tanaka’s age, it was almost impossible for him to find another job.
Especially in this country’s corporate culture and industry rules, lifelong employees like him typically stayed in one field without learning other real skills. He couldn’t even work at a Convenience Store—they wouldn’t hire someone his age.
In this country, due to “lifetime employment” and “seniority-based promotion,” many people stayed in one job their whole lives. When suddenly laid off, these people, after working half their lives in one position, found themselves lost and disoriented.
Moreover, at their age, many had to pay off large mortgages and various debts while supporting their families. In such conditions, many unemployed middle-aged people ended up as homeless.
Tanaka’s wife cried, believing their family was basically ruined.
She was a typical housewife with no job or special skills. Once Tanaka lost his job, the whole family would fall into a desperate situation.
Unlike his sobbing wife, Tanaka silently drank Shochu. He poured glass after glass, drinking by himself, ignoring his crying wife.
Tanaka’s wife, tired from crying, went back to her room to rest.
After his wife fell asleep, Tanaka began to act strangely.
He took out a black Wooden Buddha Statue from somewhere and placed it on the table. Sitting on the Tatami, he stared intently at the statue as if mesmerized.
The quartz clock on the wall ticked away. Around midnight, Tanaka suddenly stood up and went to the Kitchen, where he found a sharp kitchen knife.
Holding the knife, Tanaka walked to the room where his wife was sleeping.
He raised the knife high. In his eyes, she was no longer his wife but a dull piece of meat—dismember the old woman! Cut off her ankles, joints, chop off her arms and legs! Slice off her ears and nose! Gouge out her eyes! Mix her bloody guts and intestines together!
A voice, as if whispering right by his ear, softly urged him.
Tanaka, as if persuaded, became possessed. When he reached his wife’s side, he quickly grabbed a pillow and pressed it over her face. At the same time, he brutally brought down the knife.
Squelch! Thud!
In the quiet bedroom, dull sounds repeated.
[A group formed out of interest] 7978 77617
Chop, chop.
Chop, chop.
The sound of splattering blood spread. There was no struggle, only the repeated noise of the knife stabbing into flesh. The kitchen knife tore through internal organs again and again, and the destruction continued.