Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1040 - 504: The Scammer’s Straw (Part 2)

Having experienced failure for the first time, Gong Liang, after a painful reflection, decided to find some backing for himself. He paid protection money to the mafia to continue his business, which gradually grew, eventually even opening a factory. However, when the factory business was doing well, a local warlord snatched his success, forcing him to give up all his wealth just to barely save his life.

With the experience of the second failure, Gong Liang realized that the mafia was not a reliable backer. After another painful reflection, he switched to paying protection money to the local warlord. He rose again, entering the shipping business, and was on the verge of becoming a shipping tycoon when his benefactor fell, leaving him to be taken down by government officials, turning him into a mediocre, penniless businessman who spent two years in jail.

After the third failure, Gong Liang reflected painfully and realized it wasn't his fault but the circumstances. His Scammer abilities weren't at fault; he should have been living well. Although he was eloquent and prone to telling little lies, he hadn't done anything heinous. Each time he was close to success, a high-ranking person would take everything away from him irrationally.

Gong Liang felt that if he couldn't solve the problem, he should tackle the people causing it. So, he formed alliances, intending to change the situation as a strategist. He continued his business, accumulated wealth, networked widely, and no longer pledged allegiance to a single boss, secretly observing which power had the most potential.

Gong Liang thought he was doing the right thing this time.

Then reality hit him with an even harsher lesson.

Gong Liang offended a superior over a small matter.

The superior mocked Gong Liang's ignorance and arrogance, saying he thought himself clever, hoping to balance all sides just because he had a silver tongue and some talent. He sneered, asking if Gong Liang really thought a man of no origin and no background could rely on so-called abilities to climb in this world?

This time, the superior did not give Gong Liang a chance to escape. Instead, they wanted to use Gong Liang as an example to teach a lesson to those they considered similarly ignorant and presumptuous enough to try changing the world.

They shattered Gong Liang's bones, pulled out his nails, cut off his tongue, and peeled off his skin. They demanded he reveal to whom he was loyal among the power struggles, where he had hidden money, and to give up his business strategies even after multiple failures and how he started again.

Gong Liang said that he remembered lying in a pool of blood before he died, his whole body numb with pain, lacking even the strength to moan, only able to stare blankly at the superior he had once offended, looking down at him with disdain.

That person asked the follower inflicting the torture, "Have you cleaned out all the money?"

The follower replied that they had.

He then asked, "Has everything been confessed?"

The follower handed over a piece of paper. The person glanced at the contents and sneered disdainfully, "I originally thought I raised a dog, but it turned out to be a dog that recognized numerous masters. Does he really think he can turn from a dog into a master just because he has a little wit and can talk well?"

Gong Liang recalled that the person finally squatted down, speaking to him condescendingly, word by word, "Actually, you don't have to die, but I want you dead. Who asked you to presumptuously equate yourself with me? Even now you still look at me with those detestable eyes. Let me tell you, you must remember your identity; even in the next life, you cannot forget it. This way you might live longer."

Then Gong Liang had his eyes gouged out, and in anxiety, fear, and resentment, he breathed his last.

Gong Liang's obsession was very complex, even to himself he felt it was complicated.

He couldn't tell whether it was more hatred or more fear, or if it was his doubt in his own abilities that led to his failure to endure.

The Scammer is self-assured, at least in terms of eloquence. In Gong Liang's words, even the mighty Bi Fang, blessed Qilin, would falter in terms of eloquence against a Scammer. This was a Scammer's talent and also what they took the most pride in.

Yet it became the token of Gong Liang's failure in the first life, the symbol of his suffering, and even before dying, people trampled on the thing he was most proud of.

Since then, Gong Liang began to fear his own ability.

He forgot quickly. In the second life, he still had some memories of the first life. Living under the shadow of the first life, even if he lived long, he spent his life cautious and insignificant, timid and afraid of taking risks.

A Scammer turned into someone with social anxiety, afraid to socialize or talk. The shadow of the first life made him instinctively fearful whenever he wanted to show his abilities. He tried to overcome this fear, but while the physical torment was temporary, the mental torment continued to haunt him as he never forgot.

Gong Liang even sighed, believing that when a spirit fails, the hardest success is in the second life. Spirits that survive the shadow of failure yet have to remain in the human world to reincarnate are the most painful. Thus, he was very surprised that Shi Dadan succeeded on the second attempt.

He sighed, saying no wonder Dang Kang; the auspicious beast indeed has a buff.

To this, Shi Dadan only returned a simple smile, saying his ordeal wasn't as severe as Gong Liang's, and he wasn't subjected to such dreadful torment. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

Now, Gong Liang is in his third life.

He is one of the rare spirits who lived considerably long in both the first and second lives. Using Zhao Cheng'an as a unit, Qin Huai estimated that his two lives combined were equivalent to Zhao Cheng'an reincarnating 10 to 12 times.