America's No.1 Demon Cultivator

In an unnamed alley, which you can find many of in Los Angeles.

Or in various modern cities, where there are many such places in the shadow of tall buildings.

Two black men stood in front of Xiu Nuo, one of them occasionally glanced toward the entrance of the alley, while the other said nervously, "If you don't want trouble, hand over the money."

Xiu Nuo looked at these two nervous guys and couldn't help but laugh, "Is this your first time doing this job?"

These two really lacked the psychological quality of those he had encountered on the street.

"Cut the crap!" the black man raised his fist, "If you don't want to feel how tough it is, hand over the money! We just saw you!"

"Could you at least carry a knife?" Xiu Nuo said helplessly, "Not even having a knife shows a lot of disrespect, you know?"

The black man was so thrown off by Xiu Nuo's composure that he thought for a moment and replied, "Uh, I'll be prepared next time."

But just as he finished speaking, he grew agitated, "Shut up, Asian guy! I'm the one robbing here! Get it, robbing!"

Xiu Nuo shook his head and then raised his fist and smashed it against the adjacent wall.

With a crack, the bricks crumbled, and an indented fist mark appeared on the wall.

Xiu Nuo smiled and looked at the two black men, "If it's a fist like this, it indeed might be tougher than a knife, right?"

"Holy Shit!" the black man's mouth dropped open to an exaggerated extent as he stared dumbfounded at Xiu Nuo's fist and then at the wall.

Then the black man turned and ran, shouting, "Call 911! Quick, call 911!!! These eastern people are stealing our jobs with this stuff!"

Xiu Nuo frowned in the back.

With a push, he was already in front of the two black men.

Scared, the two immediately sat down on the ground.

Xiu Nuo, unsatisfied, looked at them, "Have some professional ethics, will you? Running off without robbing anything?"

The two black men swallowed hard, and one of them started to speak, "There might be some misunderstanding here, sir, I mean, I mean... it's nice weather today, isn't it?"

Xiu Nuo looked displeased, "Gentlemen, be professional, please. Otherwise, I'm embarrassed to make a move."

The other black man seemed to understand something.

He turned his pockets inside out right away.

Those empty pockets were much cleaner than his face.

"We have nothing, sir. Really, we aren't lying to you."

"I'm not the one robbing."

The other, seeing Xiu Nuo like this, grew anxious, "Don't mess around! The police can be here in ten minutes! We...."

He wanted to say they could definitely hold out until the police arrived, but considering his body in contrast to the wall, he just couldn't get the words out.

He couldn't understand why this slim, small-looking eastern man's punch was so terrifying.

Could it be...

The black man quickly stood up, raised his fist, and smashed it against the wall.

Then came a scream.

"It's real! Shit! It's real!!"

Xiu Nuo watched with a full forehead of question marks, thinking this black guy must be crazy.

Why smash the wall for no reason?

"Forget it." Xiu Nuo waved his hand, and said, "Next time remember to bring a knife when you go out, you have to be tough."

Saying this, Xiu Nuo turned and left.

The two black men were still confused.

"What did he just say? Did I hear wrong? Was he giving us career advice?"

"Uh... seems like it."

"That's not right." The black man hadn't recovered yet, "Shouldn't he be teaching us to be good people?"

"Maybe his English isn't good?"

"Did he look the least bit unconvincing when he threatened us?"

"So next time... should we bring a knife?"

"No, I think even with a knife, the outcome would be the same." The black man grimacing and waving his hand seemed to have made up his mind.

"We should find a gun! This damn place doesn't have guns; there's not even the freedom to rob!"

The other black man nodded repeatedly, "Exactly! You're a genius!"

...........

At the entrance of the alley, Xiu Nuo turned and walked out, then looked at Li Yang who had cautiously followed him, "Didn't I tell you to wait for me?"

Li Yang was looking at Xiu Nuo in utter shock, "How did you do that?"

"What?"

"That punch."

"Uh, kung fu." Xiu Nuo used the term everyone else had been using.

"Stop joking." Li Yang grinned, "We come from the same place, it's okay to fool these foreigners. Those who learn kung fu get beaten up on the stage."

Xiu Nuo shrugged, "Maybe they're not skilled enough. Let's not talk about this, what's the deal with these two guys? They don't even rob properly."

"I told you, they're just homeless. They're not real robbers."

"Then why did they try to rob?"

"Maybe it was a whim. These people do weird things on a whim, and of course, it's even better with the temptation of money."

"So why are there so many homeless people here?"

"Uh, well..." Li Yang thought for a moment, then said, "There are many reasons. You see, those Asians and Latinos, they are usually illegal immigrants with no work cards, unable to find work or don't want to be exploited by ruthless bosses, so they end up homeless."

"As for those black people and white people you just saw, their situations are a bit more complicated. I had a neighbor who was laid off by his company, then his wife divorced him, and he went bankrupt because he couldn't afford the alimony and ended up homeless."

"A month ago, I had two white neighbors, one because of credit bankruptcy, which is scarier than bankruptcy from divorce, and the other because his wife cheated with a…"

"Wait a second." Xiu Nuo stopped Li Yang, "Why is it always divorce? Is it that terrifying?"

"Uh... how am I supposed to explain this?" Li Yang thought for a moment, then said, "I don't really understand either, you'd have to ask a white person since I've never been married here. All I know is, for two kids you have to pay fifty percent of your income as child support. Also, if your wife was financially dependent on you when you got married, besides paying child support after the divorce, you also have to provide her with alimony to maintain her standard of living."

"To maintain her standard of living?" Xiu Nuo looked puzzled, "What about me?"

"Who cares about you, just try harder. The third case I didn't get to tell you involves a man with two kids and a wife—seventy percent of his earnings went to them. He couldn't handle it and directly chose to become homeless."

"Apart from those guys who divorced, there are some who are lazy, some affected by the economy who filed for bankruptcy protection. Such people generally end up with credit bankruptcy, making employment very hard thereafter. Oh, there is also another type—those veterans coming back from the battlefield. The United States doesn't take care of them, they themselves get PTSD, and end up homeless."

Xiu Nuo rested chin in hand, "So, what do homeless people rely on to survive?"

"Relief points. Oh, and I've heard there are also relief grants—quite a bit of money. But to be honest, I've never seen it."

"Doesn't anyone think of making a comeback?"

"Sure, but it's basically impossible. Besides, if you're already homeless, you probably didn't have much to make a comeback from. Does having a job count as a comeback?"

Xiu Nuo pursed his lips, he suddenly thought of a way to enhance his own skills and accumulate merit, although he wasn't sure if such a thing existed in this world.

But, why not try it? After all, it's free.