Gacha games can't save this bizarre world.

Zhao Hao frowned: This child's drawing skills... still have a lot of room for improvement. How about this, since he likes to draw, I'll pay for a tutoring class!

Little Hughman: Jamaican DVD~~~

After lunch, it was time for Zhao Hao and Elena to have some private time. Taking advantage of the lively atmosphere, the two went shopping and also wanted to check out the quality of the hotel beds...

On the way back, the two chatted, and Elena talked about her family's "displacement" when she was a child, especially how they spent Christmas in different places every year.

She also talked about the Christmas legends from her time in Europe.

Let's not even talk about the origin of Christmas; they've taken over someone else's holiday.

Even the legend of Santa Claus has a certain degree of borrowing.

Legend has it that Santa Claus was a real bishop in Turkish history.

Saint Nicholas was born in Pantra on the Mediterranean coast at the end of the 3rd century AD.

Although born into a wealthy family, he was kind and charitable from a young age, often helping the poor. Saint Nicholas liked to give various gifts to the local poor anonymously.

After his death in 346 AD, he was hailed as a saint, and his life story later evolved into the legend of Santa Claus.

But in Europe, there is another legend, one that is even older than the one about Christmas. That is Kraps.

Kraps was entirely red, including its long, forked tongue, its demonic cloven hooves, and its curled goat horns. It was chained, carried a birch branch, had a basket on its back, and wore a robe.

Legend has it that Santa Claus gives gifts to obedient children, but what about the naughty children?

The bad kids are under the control of Krampus. He will whip them with birch branches, and even chain them up, put them in a basket, and take them away to kill or eat them!

Zhao Hao didn't pay much attention to the story at the time, since the two names seemed a bit out of place to him.

Nicholas the Barrel? And Captain Crump?

However, as soon as they got off the bus, Zhao Hao heard shouts and yells coming from a nearby alley.

Zhao Hao didn't want to meddle in other people's business during the holiday, but then he thought that since it was a holiday, he might as well do a good deed.

It's really going too far to be bullied during a holiday.

Zhao Hao patted Elena on the shoulder, "Wait for me for a little while..." and walked into the alley.

There, three white teenagers were beating up a thin black teenager.

The three white kids were kicking and shoving the black kid while cursing, basically telling him to stay away from basketball in the future, or they would beat him up every time they saw him.

"Hey, three little brats?" Zhao Hao shouted.

The three white children stood firm. Two of the accomplices were intimidated by Zhao Hao's tall and strong appearance, but the leader, who was also tall and strong, had a fierce look on his face.

"Bullshit! I advise you to mind your own business!"

"Slap!" Zhao Hao took a single step and walked from four or five meters away to his face, then slapped the kid across the face, sending him spinning twice in the air before crashing to the ground.

The four people present neither saw how he arrived nor how he made his move. They heard a crisp sound, and then the boy in the lead spun in the air.

It took the boy who was leading the group four or five seconds to come to his senses after falling to the ground. He then sat up, using his hands to support himself, looking bewildered.

what happened?

He instinctively touched his nose, his hand covered in blood, and then a sharp pain began to throb on half of his face.

"Damn it, can't you even have a moment of peace on Christmas? Are you looking for trouble?" Zhao Hao cursed.

"Look at you, you look pathetic, your face is all dark and you're like a dead man. Get out of here!"

The two underlings shuddered and quickly pulled their leader away. The leader was about to utter some threats, but the intense pain on his face stopped him.

Zhao Hao watched the three scoundrels run away in a sorry state, muttering to himself, "Three short-lived devils together?! How strange..."

Then, looking at the slumped child in the corner, a Black man, about fourteen or fifteen years old, Zhao Hao noticed he was quite thin, but not small. He helped Zhao Hao up and Zhao Hao discovered the child was actually quite tall, around 1.77 meters. He was just incredibly thin, like a stick.

"Don't wander around on Christmas, hurry home." Zhao Hao turned to leave.

The Black boy behind him, clutching his torn clothes, quickly thanked him, saying, "My name is Jordan, thank you, sir!"

Zhao Hao had only taken two steps when he suddenly stopped.

What's your name?

The Black boy was a little confused: "Jordan, Michael Jordan..."

"Ahem~" Zhao Hao cleared his throat, walked over and put his arm around Jordan's shoulder. "It's fate that we met. Young man, I see you have extraordinary talent. You're destined to be a sports prodigy... How about signing with our company? Have you heard of Pipi Shrimp Future Company?"

Jordan was stunned: Pipi Shrimp Company? Isn't that the company that sells that drug? I've heard of it, but I've heard it's not very legitimate!

However, Zhao Hao's celebrity collecting obsession kicked in, and he wasn't about to let the Jordan he'd already got slip away. He managed to persuade the kid to call Gou Quan after the holiday, promising to train him to play basketball in the future.

Jordan got excited as soon as he heard about playing basketball and stopped having any doubts.

他现在15岁高二，非常热爱篮球。然而因为身体素质和个头问题，刚被校队的教练从一队下刷到二队，然后还被二队的白人队友揍。他太难了！

He even started to doubt himself, "Sir, can someone like me really play basketball?"

Zhao Hao pressed down hard on his shoulder: "Of course you can! Not only can you, you can play really well! Get your act together, show some spirit! What's the difference between a person without dreams and a salted fish? Tell me, do you want to play basketball?!"

"miss you!"

"Speak louder!"

"miss you!"

What are you thinking about?

"I want to play basketball!"

"I can't hear you!"

"Coach, I want to play basketball!" He knelt on the ground, covered in injuries, and cried bitterly.

Good heavens, this is a live pyramid scheme on the street.

It's all Elena's fault for overdoing the emotional encouragement; she almost provoked DeAndre Jordan to dunk on the spot.

Jordan, who had been overwhelmed by reality and was about to give up his basketball dream, is now being supported by people who say he is a genius!

The kids are going crazy with joy!

Once emotions surged, all doubts vanished.

"Okay, it's settled then! Oh, by the way, these basketball shoes are for you, consider them your Christmas present! See you in a few days..."

Jordan stared blankly as Zhao Hao, arm in arm with Elena, disappeared around the street corner. Everything that had just happened felt like a dream!

If it weren't for the basketball shoes in his hand, he wouldn't have been able to tell whether they were real or fake!

Jordan: I'm a signed player now?!

Christmas was indeed a good day; I had a good haul.

Besides Tyson, Zhao Hao has also acquired Jordan. His sports empire is gradually becoming complete!

However, what no one knew was that after nightfall, a monster with pointed horns on its head and hair all over its body appeared near the home of the boy who had beaten Jordan during the day, carrying a basket on its back.

Dressed in the red and white outfit of a lazy Christmas doll, it crawled down the chimney on the roof...

The next day, all three boys disappeared.

Over the course of that night, more than eighty children went missing in the Liberty City area!

Clappus, the other side of Santa Claus in legend, is a legendary evil spirit, far superior to any monster.

It appeared simultaneously in Europe and North America on Christmas Eve, causing hundreds of children to go missing and thousands more to be beaten and bruised. It became a widespread supernatural event…

Moreover, rumors suddenly began to circulate in the underworld that Kraps was an evil spirit awakened due to the resurgence of psionic energy, and this was just the beginning, with more to come.

Furthermore, some say that Krampus carries a key to a mysterious realm, within which lies a secret treasure.

By the time Zhao Hao heard the news and was still wondering if he could make a move, it was already too late.

The Shadow Organization held another meeting, during which Satan's messenger, Johnny Cassel, claimed that he had obtained the key to the Mysterious Realm from Kraps. That key was one of the keys to the Dark Fairy Tale World—a large black wardrobe.

Zhao Hao: Wow, you're really fast!

Now, if you include yourself, the Shadow Organization already holds seven keys to the dark fairy tale world...

Zhao Hao felt he should probably keep an eye on the movements of the Shadow Organization; he sensed they were about to cause trouble.

I'm really not cut out to be an undercover agent; it's better not to do it at all.

What good ever comes from being an undercover agent? Three years after three years, it's like being in an endless hell! Don't get yourself into that mess.

Time flies, and the end of the year is just a few days after Christmas.

December 31st, the last day of the year.

Zhao Hao checked in early in the morning and received the end-of-month reward for the Mysterious Placement event, plus 550 Fate Points, bringing his total to 978 Fate Points.

Yeah, I still need to do a ten-pull.

Let me wash my face first, and make sure it's clean and white.

"System, grant me a ten-pull of Black Iron!"

The Sword Art Online Virtual SAO Code Helmet, a Black Iron 2-star item card... is a game helmet that contains the core code.

It's basically useless!

"An inauspicious start, a disastrous beginning!"

[Liu Sheng Huo Jian], a Black Iron 4-star ability card... a sword technique that can bring people back to life?

At first, Zhao Hao thought he had gotten a good deal with a 4-star Black Iron ability card. After all, none of his ability cards were higher than 4-star Black Iron.

However, upon looking at the attributes, they were dumbfounded. A single sword strike could heal the target's wounds? Clear toxins from the target's body? Restore the target's vitality? It could even suppress curses?!

To be honest, this sword skill is a bit fantastical; no wonder it was rated as a 4-star Black Iron sword skill.

But this effect is just too funny! Is it some kind of Compassionate Sword Technique?

[Goblin Engineering - Repair Miracle Wrench], Black Iron 4-star item card... The creation of miracles in Goblin Engineering is a mercy and gift from the god of craftsmen.

There's a chance that forcefully striking damaged or malfunctioning machinery will repair it. The greater the force, the more spiritual energy is consumed, but the better the effect!

Zhao Hao: "That was a merciful sword technique for living beings, and now you're using a repair wrench on inanimate objects... Hahaha~ Haha~ Ha~ (Clown laughter)"

【Dream Box】, Black Iron 4-star item card... Zhao Hao knew its origin; it was a prop used by the dream thieves in the movie "Inception".

I never expected it to be rated 4 stars (Iron)! Is it even more technologically advanced than androids?