1890: I'm in Hextech Brawl in America

Chapter 10 Hextech Rune Unlocking

He tried to force a smile, but perhaps because he hadn't smiled in so long, the smile had an eerie, forced quality to it.

Seeing the old man's uneasy yet eager-to-be-friendly demeanor, Fang Jianqiu sighed inwardly and took the initiative to speak:

"Sir, are you here to see me?"

This time, the initiative to ask finally eased his unease. The Chinese student nodded and stammered, "..."

"Young man... uh, no, hero, thank you so much for your help. This is a small token of our gratitude. We hope you... will accept it."

The old man raised his hand and handed over a fresh, juicy cabbage.

Fang Jianqiu looked at the cabbage, nodded, stood up, and accepted it. He didn't pretend to refuse, as that might embarrass the old man.

"Sir, I appreciate your kindness. Please accept this as a welcome gift from me, a newcomer!"

Fang Jianqiu packed the cabbage into a burlap sack, then took out a tobacco pouch and handed it to the old man.

If it were a return gift, then this old man would definitely have displayed the backbone of the Chinese people, going back and forth between refusing and pulling.

Only by saying it's a gift for meeting him, and by emphasizing "face" and "rules," can you get him to accept it smoothly.

Although it was only a twenty-cent item, for these frugal Chinese laborers, they wouldn't even be willing to buy it on credit for a single cent.

Fang Jianqiu watched the old man leave with light steps before finally sitting back down on the bed.

Old Man Xiao, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke:

"Young Master Fang, someone like you is truly a rare find."

He repeated what he had said before, but this time his tone seemed much stronger.

Fang Jianqiu waved his hand dismissively and continued his conversation with Old Man Xiao.

......

The night grew deeper.

The noise in the labor camp gradually subsided, and the few dim kerosene lamps went out one by one.

As everyone finished eating and washing up, the entire barracks was filled with the sound of snoring.

Seeing that Old Man Xiao yawned again, Fang Jianqiu finally suggested taking a break, and he himself rolled over and lay down on the wooden board.

Fang Jianqiu's expression was somewhat grave.

From Old Man Xiao, he learned a lot about the plantation's inner workings and current situation.

All I can say is that the pack of cigarettes was excellent value for money.

"Accelerating the learning process remains the top priority!"

Overthinking is pointless; strength is the only true measure of success.

Once he unlocks two Hextech Scopes, or even just the first one, the "More Versatile Scope," he'll be extremely confident he can leave this place.

After all, in this era, not knowing how to use a gun is still too deadly.

If you unlock "Draw Your Sword"...

That wouldn't be called running away, that would be called soloing a dungeon.

Fang Jianqiu thought to himself silently, then fell asleep and didn't wake up until the next day.

"On the second day after my time travel, while the moon was still hanging in the night sky, I got up to tighten screws... no, I meant to chop sugarcane."

Amidst Lin San's shouts, Fang Jianqiu followed the main group to the sugarcane field.

For breakfast, he and the others each contributed a fixed amount of rice, which was cooked by a chef. He added half a piece of salted pork to his meal. That was his breakfast for the day.

Although it was simple, it was at least a hundred times better than the swill porridge provided by the plantation.

The group arrived at the sugarcane field and began working by the moonlight.

Fang Jianqiu was in a different field than yesterday, but he wasn't confused. After Old Man Xiao's explanation, he knew that the laborers changed areas very frequently in order to prevent them from secretly colluding and causing trouble.

After slightly stretching his waist, Fang Jianqiu plunged into the sugarcane-cutting line.

Thanks to the thorough stretching he did yesterday, his body showed no signs of soreness. With the help of digesting his food, Fang Jianqiu worked tirelessly, like a machine, constantly digging into the fields.

Before they knew it, the moon had set and the sun had risen, and the number of foreign overseers patrolling the dirt road had increased.

Fang Jianqiu carried another bundle of sugarcane toward the pile. On the way, he opened the Hextech page.

The experience bar that he was most concerned about had increased significantly again!

At this rate, I should be able to unlock my first Hextech item before noon today.

Fang Jianqiu was thrilled, but he didn't show it on his face. He simply stacked the sugarcane neatly and then returned to the field.

Just then, he caught a glimpse of a thin, familiar figure out of the corner of his eye. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was the child who had overturned the corn bucket yesterday. Not far from him was the mute girl whose clothes were still stained with blood.

The child was picking up scattered sugarcane on the ground when Fang Jianqiu looked over, just as the child looked up to wipe his sweat.

The two exchanged a brief glance, and the child paused for a moment before revealing a genuine smile.

Fang Jianqiu returned a slight smile.

The mute girl noticed the child's movements, looked at Fang Jianqiu, then immediately moved closer to the child, staring at Fang Jianqiu warily.

Seeing this, the child quickly whispered something to the mute girl. After listening, the mute girl waved apologetically to Fang Jianqiu and bowed to him repeatedly with her hands clasped together.

Fang Jianqiu was in a bit of a predicament, so he could only wave his hand vigorously to indicate that everything was alright before continuing to walk towards the sugarcane field.

The mute girl behind him rummaged inside her clothes for a while, then handed something to the child and pointed at Fang Jianqiu. The child nodded vigorously.

......

Fang Jianqiu wielded his sickle with precision and ruthlessness. The sugarcane in front of him was very thick, and it would probably have taken him two strokes to cut it in the first place, but this time, Fang Jianqiu swung his sickle and chopped it down with one powerful swing.

The recoil from the knife handle made his wrist go numb, but he didn't care.

Just because the empty experience bar in front of him was finally filled!

"Ding-a-ling!"

With a pleasant thud of coins falling, the experience bar was emptied again, and then the previously dull Hextech runes began to glow.

A luxurious golden light appears, the [More Versatile Scope] has been unlocked!

Without the slightest hesitation, Fang Jianqiu made a decision and chose the rune worth more than two thousand sugarcanes.

An indescribable feeling spread through his body.

A moment later, another interface appeared out of thin air next to the rune selection interface:

[Personal Panel]

[Hero Name: Fang Jianqiu]

[Hextech Rune: More Versatile Scope (Gold Tier)]

[Skills/Effects: Mastery of Ancient Martial Arts; Proficiency in Firearms;]

Another interface has appeared? But it's quite intuitive.

Immediately afterwards, Fang Jianqiu suddenly began to recall the images of the foreigners with guns he had seen in the past few days. At first, he couldn't make much sense of them; he was just watching for the spectacle and could at most distinguish between long guns and short guns.

Now, when those images flash by again, countless data points, parameters, and even the pros and cons of different gun-holding postures instinctively surface in my mind.

The feeling of suddenly having this knowledge flood your brain is a little strange, but not bad.

This at least proves that the Hextech rune has started to take effect!

Then I thought of the 100% hit rate within 100 meters.

Fang Jianqiu felt even more confident.

You have to understand, in this era, even those cowboys who spent their entire lives with guns...

It is also generally true that the hit rate is half at 20 meters, and the bullets are fired at 50 meters.

It's absolutely accurate within 100 meters; you could say it's like Arthur Morgan himself.

"The runes are unlocking faster than I expected. Next up are the Prismatic Runes!"

"Only with that life-stealing is Arthur Morgan truly real."

With such surging emotions, Fang Jianqiu was about to throw himself into the slaughter of sugarcane.

Just then.

A furtive figure suddenly flashed past in the corner of his eye, creeping towards him.