Chapter 96

Fang Yue stared at these guys with a black line across his face, understanding they were all players.

Those refugees at the village entrance had actually entered the game—and were hiding here to ambush me?

Are you kidding? Why ambush anyone else but me?

I've 46.6 points of Control Power as the Night God of War—cutting through you rookies is like slicing a child with one stroke.

Don't say seven, even a hundred of you show up, I'm not afraid.

If I'd known you were players, I wouldn't have used Starfire Blade Technique just now—wasting my lifespan!

Holding the blade in one hand and raising the Human Soul Torch high with the other, Fang Yue asked: "Tell me, why did you ambush me? And how did you get into the village?"

Fang Yue remembered clearly that when Shi Wuliao and other first-wave players arrived, Gu Yue Cun had barred them from entering.

Now these troublemaking players can just stroll in? This upgrade in treatment is too fast—even though Gu Yue Cun did suffer heavy losses that night and is desperately short on hands…

"Night Patrol Brother, I'm Shao Ting—we're all refugees, just entered the village tonight!"

"We didn't mean to ambush you. We saw you walking alone at night, fearless because of your skill—you clearly are a legendary master!"

"So we wanted to become your disciples. Those few idiots just now? They were rushing to kneel and kowtow to you, eager to take you as their master—never expected you'd… Ah, what a pity… such a shame! They were actually talented, you know."

Fang Yue: …

Fang Yue stared at Shao Ting with a strange expression; the players beside him and on the wall also stared blankly at Shao Ting, as if saying: Dude, you're an incredible liar!

Seeing Shao Ting still gazing at him with eager, hopeful eyes, Fang Yue pointed at his own forehead.

"Look at my head—does it have the words 'idiot' written on it?"

Shao Ting froze for a moment, then shouted: "Brilliant~ Wow~! So you're Brain Brother! Actually, I'm not lying—my real surname is also Brain! Maybe we even share bloodline!"

"Brain Shao Ting?"

Shao Ting immediately knelt again: "Thank you, Master, for naming me!!!"

I'm straight-up calling this professional!

Fang Yue was stunned—this guy's face is thicker than a wall!

If I kill him now, is that self-defense? Would it be okay?

Sensing Fang Yue's hostile gaze, Shao Ting lunged forward, tackling his leg and sobbing with tears and snot.

"Master Brain, I'm so miserable—I'm incredibly miserable! Since childhood, I've been alone and orphaned, my parents dead early—I ate dirt and grass, and still managed to survive."

"But in my eighteen years of hard growth, I never did a single bad thing, never broke any rule."

"Because my dream is… to become a great hero!"

"A hero who serves country and people, punishes evil, and spreads positive energy!"

"Plus, I'm virtuous, kind, honest, and hardworking—with extraordinary talent, rapid learning ability, and unmatched endurance. I just need a good master to guide me onto the right path."

"I thought I'd never find one—but today, I found him: the fated one—you, Master Brain!!!"

Slap!

Fang Yue sheathed his blade and clapped his hands together.

"Brilliant~ Wow~"

"Tears and voice trembling, tragic backstory, plus outstanding virtues—amazing! Extraordinary!"

"I must say, your words moved me—I'm giving your dream a like!"

As he spoke, Fang Yue gave him a thumbs-up.

The others were instantly shocked, whispering among themselves.

"Huh?"

"No way, no way—there's no way a dumb NPC got moved by this story?"

"Damn! Why didn't I go hug his leg?"

"Uh, if I go and take you as my master now, is it still too late?"

While they were still discussing, suddenly—CRASH! —a figure shot past them like a blur.

BOOM! The wall behind them shuddered, then came the sound of something sliding down along the wall.

With the dim light of the torches, everyone stared closely.

They saw a human-shaped indentation newly formed in the wall, surrounded by fine, spiderweb-like cracks.

Shao Ting lay beneath the wall, clutching his chest, face twisted in pain, a number floating above his head.

78!

Even so, he still gazed at Fang Yue with deep emotion and excitement.

"Bra—Master Brain?! Why?!"

"Is this your initiation test? Fine! I, Brain Shao Ting, accept the challenge!"

"Come on! Kick me harder! No matter how many times you kick me, I can take it! Beating is love, scolding is care—it's my master's discipline!"

Eww—

A wave of disgust rose from the crowd; everyone felt nauseated.

This guy really gets into character, doesn't he?

Just to become a disciple? Is this really necessary?

Fang Yue's mind stirred—he sensed this guy might know something about the game's secrets, otherwise he wouldn't be this desperate to take him as his master.

But… teach players? Be someone's master?

Qing! Fang Yue drew Cold Moon Blade and pointed it at Shao Ting.

"Fine. Come here. This time, I'll slash your neck with one strike. If your head doesn't fall off, I'll not only take you as my disciple—I'll give you this blade."

In the firelight, under the moonlight, Cold Moon Blade gleamed with chilling radiance, making everyone's neck feel cold.

Sensing Fang Yue wasn't joking, Shao Ting shuddered and stammered: "H-how about we train tomorrow, Master? I'm not in a hurry! There's plenty of time—we can continue tomorrow!"

Saying this, Shao Ting struggled to his feet and stumbled away clutching his chest, glancing back nervously every so often, terrified that Fang Yue would rush over and chop his head off with a single slash.

Only after running far away, when the sky had gone pitch-black and he could no longer see the small firelight behind him, did Shao Ting finally shift from a sprint to a jog, hissing in pain.

"Dammit! Could it be that my way of taking a master was wrong? Isn't that what the strategy guide on the forum said? There were clearly successful cases."

"Could it be that my aptitude is too high, my circumstances different from that person's, and I ran into some red-eyed monster jealous of my outstanding talent?"

"Sigh, one cannot generalize about the talent between people. Mediocre folk only know to envy the gifted — how sad, how lamentable!"

Just as Shao Ting was thinking this, he suddenly saw a firelight ahead approaching from afar — he could faintly make out a patrol squad in matching uniforms walking this way.

He'd heard… that if one earned merit, one could also worm one's way into the village's Patrol Team and learn martial arts.

His heart stirred, and Shao Ting sped up, rushing over…

"Who?!"

"Halt!"

"A ghost?!"

"Quick, use the ghost-detecting talisman!"

"No, just kill it outright!"

The last voice was the loudest, startling Shao Ting into a shudder — he dropped to his knees before even getting close, then immediately wailed.

"Oh heavens! Oh earth! Honored lords of the Patrol Team, you must see justice done for me!! Boohoo! Just now there was some weirdo over there — you could tell at a glance he wasn't a good person. He killed so many of us refugees, so brutally violent! Honored lords of the Patrol Team, you must see justice done for me!"

End of today's 3rd update.

(End of chapter)