Chapter 194: Murder! Murder!

"Boss! Look over there!"

A man gathering supplies shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Shut the hell up. If you attract monsters, we'll... Holy crap! What is that? A magic circle?"

The boss had originally intended to scold his subordinate, but the moment he turned his head, he became just as dumbfounded.

He could swear this was the most shocking scene he had ever witnessed in his entire life.

A massive magic circle in the sky bathed the entire area in an eerie, violet glow.

"I... I think so."

The subordinate muttered blankly, his head craned upward.

Drawn by their shouts, the rest of the scavengers quickly gathered around.

One of the men asked eagerly.

"Have you been reading too many NovelBins? Anomaly my ass! What kind of anomaly could possibly outshine a Mana Tide?"

The boss cursed loudly.

"No, I just meant we should go see what's happening. If there really is a treasure, we can strike first and claim it."

The man quickly explained.

"Forget it. Have you completely forgotten the rules of survival in this other world? Don't let your imagination run wild, don't go poking your nose where it doesn't belong, and definitely don't let your curiosity dictate your actions. Otherwise, you won't even know how you died."

As the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat. This boss had absolutely no intention of dying today.

He had no idea what lay beneath that magic circle, nor did he want to know. All he wanted was to gather more supplies and hunt down a few more monsters.

Of course, there was one other thing he kept to himself.

Earlier, when he first learned about the potion that could trigger an evolution into a Witch, he had checked the pinned description. It clearly listed a trait for magic circle drawing correction.

So, the real question was this.

In a chaotic, dangerous place like District 666, who could possibly be using a massive magic circle?

There was only one answer. It had to be the renowned Tower Witch, Lan Qingyou, whose name echoed throughout The Abandoned Land and the entire Kalim Continent.

Go up there at a time like this?

Looking for treasure?

That wasn't looking for treasure! That was actively courting death!

"Listen up, you guys keep gathering materials. I'm heading back for a bit. Remember, whatever you do, do not go over there. That place is pure nightmare fuel."

After issuing his warning, the boss prepared to leave.

"Why are you heading back, boss? Just watch it a little longer. Honestly, after staring at it for a while, this magic circle is actually pretty beautiful."

The subordinate remarked.

"I'm done looking. I'm going back to use the Magic Desk to take a picture. I can sell it to that greedy merchant, Shang Chuan. It counts as intelligence, at the very least."

Even though he knew Shang Chuan had dealings and connections with that Witch, business was business. Valuable information could still be sold.

A picture of this scene alone would be enough to extract an entire day's worth of income for their whole group from Shang Chuan.

If he didn't exploit this opportunity for a quick profit now, when would he?

There was no doubt that this boss had a clear head and excellent analytical skills. Unfortunately, others were completely lacking in the brains department.

Much like the guy obsessed with NovelBin tropes, several scavengers saw the anomaly in the sky and immediately led their groups charging straight toward it.

It was still early in the morning, meaning there were plenty of people out gathering supplies and hunting monsters.

Consequently, a significant number of people witnessed this spectacular anomaly.

And so, while Lan Qingyou was diligently digging dirt, a portion of the nearby gatherers grabbed their various tools and blindly rushed over.

"I knew you fools would come running the moment you saw what was happening here."

She had known that activating the magic circle would turn it into a massive beacon, attracting all sorts of unwanted attention. However, it couldn't be helped. It was a necessary sacrifice.

Lan Qingyou strongly disliked dealing with endless fighting and conflict.

Therefore...

"Fire at will!"

Glancing at the dozen or so people who had arrived first, Lan Qingyou ruthlessly issued the attack command before turning her attention back to operating the Excavator and digging.

"It's the Witch!"

"Fuck! I should have known it was her!"

"Run!"

"Murder! Murder!"

The moment this vanguard group spotted Lan Qingyou dressed in her classic witch's robes and pointed hat, they instantly recognized exactly who she was.

The mere tales of the infamous Tower Witch's deeds were enough to strike fear into the hearts of these greedy thugs. Who among them would dare to fight such a monster?

Without a moment's hesitation, they all turned tail and fled.

But it was far too late.

Just as they tried to escape, several purple-clad knights wielding lances charged forward, riding atop ferocious Horned Lion Beasts.

A single devastating charge instantly wiped out six of them. The terrifying sight left the survivors trembling in sheer panic, wishing their parents had given birth to them with a few extra pairs of legs.

"Split up! Run for it! Save yourselves!"

One of the men screamed at the top of his lungs.

It wasn't out of any noble concern for his companions; he simply realized that staying clumped together made them easy targets. He wanted the others to scatter and draw the attention of those iron behemoths away from him.

After all, no one should expect any lofty moral enlightenment from this bunch of criminals.

Everything they did was purely for the sake of their own survival.

The others who heard his suggestion instantly understood his underlying motive.

He wanted to use them as bait, but little did he know he was also playing right into their hands.

In a synchronized display of self-preservation, the remaining eight or nine individuals bolted in completely different directions.

It was a highly practical tactic.

Unfortunately, aside from a lucky few, the rest were quickly slaughtered by the magic puppets stationed around the perimeter.

Ever since Lan Qingyou's race evolved from a human into a Witch, her physical constitution and Spirit stat had both seen massive enhancements. Whatever the exact reason, the range over which she could control her magic puppets had expanded dramatically—from a mere fifty meters to a staggering five hundred meters. It was a full tenfold increase.

These thugs were incredibly unlucky. By blindly rushing in, they effortlessly handed Lan Qingyou the achievement of taking an enemy's head from over a hundred meters away.

All the while, Lan Qingyou never directly participated in the massacre. She remained completely focused on digging her dirt.

Her magic puppets might be relatively weak, but while they couldn't handle the ancient trees, they were more than capable of taking out these scumbags.

After all, these puppets were powerful enough to exchange blows with war treants. Butchering a handful of scavengers who weren't even level ten—and who were heavily outnumbered by her forces—was as easy as breathing.

"Did you see that?"

"I saw it."

"I never expected to see something like that in another world."

"I mean, those steel machines are definitely a visual shock, but if you compare them to drones, it kind of makes sense."

While Lan Qingyou's magic puppets were busy exterminating the intruders and tossing their corpses out of the magic circle, another group was quietly observing the slaughter from a nearby hillside.

Originally, they had also intended to sneak in and snatch some easy loot.

However, just as they approached the glowing purple magic circle, they heard blood-curdling screams echoing from within.

Promptly, the group scrambled up the small hill to hide, silently observing the unfolding carnage through a pair of binoculars.

What they witnessed were people being chased down like stray dogs by terrifying, heavily armored metal cans.

"So, what do we do now? Should we still go in?"

"Go ahead if you want to die. I'm heading back."

With that said, one of the men hunched over and scurried down the hill at an astonishing speed. Seeing him retreat, the others quickly followed suit, not wanting to be left behind.

Similar scenes played out all around the perimeter of the magic circle. Countless scavengers hoping for a lucky break witnessed the utter ruthlessness of the Witch's iron guards and immediately abandoned their unrealistic fantasies.

Later on, the surrounding population even took to designating this area as the Witches' Forest or the Witch's Forbidden Zone, refusing to ever set foot near it again.

Still, this newly cemented reputation ultimately afforded Lan Qingyou a great deal of peace and quiet.