Chapter 8: Killing

The battle had only been going on for half a minute, and ten enemies had already been cut down by the father and son of the Meng family. This group of villagers, led by Zhang Cheng, was nothing but a rabble. They bullied kind, ordinary people and acted like wolves and tigers, but the moment they encountered tough opponents like the Meng father and son, they instantly turned cowardly, and most of them scattered in all directions.

"Dad, kill Zhang Cheng first," Meng Yifan shouted loudly, then leveled his Bird Gun and chased after Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng was a First Grade Intermediate Martial Artist, but his right arm had been severed by Meng Dayong, so his strength was greatly diminished, leaving him capable of only the strength of a First Grade Lower Stage Martial Artist. Meng Yifan rushed up, aimed at his back, and thrust his Gun Knife.

"You little brat, you've got some nerve." Zhang Cheng knew he had completely offended the Meng father and son. The villagers who had followed him were also terrified and could no longer be relied upon. He could not defeat Meng Dayong; his only chance to survive was to capture Meng Yifan as a hostage.

As Meng Yifan's Gun Knife struck, Zhang Cheng suddenly turned, dodging the thrust. His left hand formed a tiger claw, grabbing for Meng Yifan's neck, while his right leg executed a vicious and ruthless groin kick, striking toward Meng Yifan's crotch with lightning speed.

Meng Dayong was shocked and wanted to save his son, but he had just been intercepted by a few of Zhang Cheng's loyal subordinates, putting distance between him and Meng Yifan. It was too late to rush over to rescue him now.

Meng Yifan was not panicked. In his past life, he was a king among mercenaries who had survived nearly a hundred battles; his combat experience was extremely rich. He twisted the Bird Gun in his hands, using the butt of the gun to block Zhang Cheng's tiger claw, then lifted his knee to protect his crotch, thrusting it outward to block Zhang Cheng's groin kick.

"Boom!" Both of them exerted their True Qi. In the violent collision, Zhang Cheng's True Qi was thicker, and Meng Yifan was knocked back a few steps, but Zhang Cheng's plan to seize the opportunity to take Meng Yifan hostage also failed.

"How is this little brat's combat experience so rich?" Zhang Cheng's expression was ugly. From that single exchange, he already knew it was impossible to take Meng Yifan down quickly. At this moment, Meng Dayong had already rushed over, and Zhang Cheng dared not linger. He channeled his True Qi into his legs and fled quickly toward the distance.

The area outside the village was sealed off by fog, making it impossible to leave. Zhang Cheng could only run within the village. Just like that, Zhang Cheng ran in front while the Meng father and son chased behind. All three were First Grade Martial Artists, and their speed was very fast. Qinghe Village was only so big, and soon they had run a full circle around the village.

The more Zhang Cheng ran, the more desperate he became. His right arm had been severed, and although he had wrapped the wound with cloth strips, he was now running at full speed, and the wound could not stop bleeding. It bled continuously, and the more he ran, the weaker his body became. At this moment, his steps were already unsteady, and he was dizzy. He knew that if he kept running like this, he would die from excessive blood loss without the Meng father and son even needing to lift a finger.

Zhang Cheng begged for mercy: "Brother Meng, we are all from the same village, fellow townsfolk. Can you spare my life? From now on, I am willing to follow Brother Meng's lead. Whatever you tell me to do, I will do."

Meng Dayong was just about to sternly refuse. Zhang Cheng had tried to put them to death several times; today, no matter what, he had to slaughter this beast.

Meng Yifan hurriedly tugged on his father's sleeve and gave him a wink. Meng Dayong understood and said, "Zhang Cheng, it is not impossible to spare your dog life, but you must guarantee that the next time a demon or Wild Beast enters the village, you must obey my orders and fight them to the death."

Zhang Cheng hurriedly nodded upon hearing this and said, "Don't worry, Brother Meng, I will definitely listen to you from now on."

Although Zhang Cheng was still half-doubting, he really dared not run at full speed anymore. He already felt dizzy; if he kept running, he would die from excessive blood loss without the Meng father and son needing to act.

Zhang Cheng slowly slowed his pace, deciding to temporarily submit to the Meng father and son. In his heart, he had already made up his mind: once the Flying Tiger Demon arrived, he would immediately defect to the Tiger Demon, act as its accomplice, and lead the Tiger Demon to kill the Meng father and son.

Meng Yifan wanted to kill Zhang Cheng to gain Experience Value. The rule he had figured out was that it was best for him to deliver the final blow to gain the most Experience Value. If Zhang Cheng died from blood loss on his own, it would be a bit awkward, and he might not get any Experience Value at all, which would be a huge loss.

Therefore, Meng Yifan signaled his father to pretend to spare Zhang Cheng, making him lower his guard and stop running.

"Brother Meng, it was my fault in the past. From now on, I will definitely be obedient. Just watch my future performance."

Zhang Cheng greeted them with a smile, but he did not expect Meng Dayong to strike him with a blade right away. This gave Zhang Cheng a huge fright, and he hurriedly used his left hand to wave his Hammer to block the blow.

But just at this moment, Zhang Cheng suddenly heard a loud bang, and a bullet pierced through the air.

The distance between the two sides was too close; Zhang Cheng had no time to dodge. The bullet drilled into his head through his right eye, blowing off Zhang Cheng's skull and splattering his brains. His body twitched a few times, and he fell to the ground dead.

Before Zhang Cheng died, his eyes revealed a look of confusion. He did not know why the Meng father and son had lied to him. If they wanted to kill him, they only needed to follow him for another lap, and he would have bled to death. There was absolutely no need to lie to him; wasn't this just like taking off one's pants to fart—an unnecessary act?

"Ding! Team hunt of a First Grade Intermediate enemy successful. You have gained 40 points of Experience Value." In Meng Yifan's mind, the game's notification sound rang out once again.

There were forty-five thugs who besieged the Meng family. Fourteen were killed by the Meng father and son, and the others ran away. In this battle, Meng Yifan killed five people, and Meng Dayong killed nine. Meng Yifan gained a total of 45.8 Experience Value.

"Enemies without a grade give too little Experience Value," Meng Yifan complained in his heart. He also knew that if he wanted to gain a large amount of Experience Value, he had to kill graded enemies. It was the same principle as playing a game: the more powerful the monster killed, the more Experience Value gained.

"Strange, if this is really a game world, killing monsters can gain Experience Value, but why don't they drop equipment?"

Meng Yifan was completely baffled. He even carefully searched Zhang Cheng's corpse, but apart from the Hammer in his hand and the tattered clothes on his body, nothing good was dropped at all.

"If a game like this, where monsters don't drop equipment, were on Earth, surely no one would play it."

"Is this really a game world? Or is it another world?"

"I only clicked on a game on my phone on Earth and transmigrated to this world. I wonder if I can still go back?"

"Was I the only one on Earth who clicked on the game and came to this world, or did many people come?"

Meng Yifan had too many doubts and questions. Unfortunately, no one could answer them for him. He asked the Game Panel many times, but he received no response at all. Everything would have to be explored by himself.

The proficiency of the Savage Bull Strength was currently Level 1 (144/300). Meng Yifan was now a First Grade Low Stage Martial Artist. It was obvious that if he raised the proficiency of the Savage Bull Strength to 200 points, he could become a First Grade Intermediate Martial Artist. Unfortunately, he only had 45.8 Experience Value now, and he was still short by 10.2 Experience Value, which was a bit awkward.

Meng Yifan and his father had killed five Big Dog Bears. He already knew the rules of the Flying Tiger Demon: when Wild Beasts entered the village to eat people, the villagers could not resist, otherwise the village would be slaughtered.

Wild Beasts coming to eat people, yet they couldn't resist—what kind of bullshit rule was this? Meng Yifan did not regret killing the Big Dog Bears, but since he had killed five of them, he would have to deal with the wrath of the Flying Tiger Demon.

Meng Yifan did not know if the next one to come would be the Flying Tiger Demon or other Wild Beasts. He now had a strong sense of crisis and urgently wanted to improve his strength.

"Dad, those thugs who besieged us are all bastards who participated in trading children to eat. They followed Zhang Cheng in doing all kinds of evil and harmed many villagers. They all deserve to die," Meng Yifan said.

Meng Dayong also nodded, agreeing with Meng Yifan's words. Birds of a feather flock together; those people who followed Zhang Cheng were indeed not good people. If the magistrate were to judge them, they would all have their heads chopped off.

Meng Yifan said decisively: "Dad, wait a moment and help me hold the line. I'm going to slaughter all those thugs."