Calculating that You Yi would likely be delayed for a while, Xin Meng decided to resolve the situation before he arrived.
He observed the weapon without revealing his intentions, but it seemed that Cheng Jiali noticed his scrutiny; after all, women tend to be more attentive. She whispered a few words to Li Chuer, who glanced at Xin Meng and then turned his body to the side, avoiding Xin Meng’s gaze.
This was a bit tricky, as the weapon’s special function posed a significant risk of harm to Xin Meng. This meant that even direct contact could be very dangerous, let alone trying to snatch it away and destroy it.
If he entrusted it to Qi Xiaokui, it might just transfer the danger to her. Xin Meng was in a dilemma and ultimately decided to observe a bit longer.
The extent of the weapon’s power and the type of harm it could inflict on him were all unknown; the scanning results came back empty, and the system could not identify it.
The group continued to move forward under Li Chuer’s lead, but unfortunately, they did not encounter any other NPCs along the way. It seemed to be a route issue, as they were surrounded by farmland; looking around, there wasn’t even a scarecrow, let alone any real people.
Xin Meng frowned, pondering whether he should find an opportunity to guide them, when suddenly he heard the man named Zhang Qinghe say, “It seems like there’s someone in the cornfield!”
Xin Meng turned his head to the left and saw a small cornfield, but there was no sign of movement.
“Where is there anyone?” Wan Xing looked around cautiously for a long time, only to find the leaves swaying in the breeze; there were no people, not even a bird in sight.
Zhang Qinghe scratched the back of his head, “Maybe I was mistaken… I thought I saw a shadow moving just now.”
Li Chuer seemed a bit concerned; after all, Zhang Qinghe was known for his keen eyesight and hearing, so his words were worth noting. However, ordinary NPCs wouldn’t hide in such a place. He thought for a moment and asked Xin Meng, “How many people are left in your team?”
Xin Meng replied, “Three.”
Li Chuer pondered for a moment and continued, “Where are they?”
Xin Meng shook his head, “I have no idea. We took on individual side quests and split up; who knows where they went?”
“However,” Xin Meng revealed an ambiguous smile, no longer looking at the cornfield, but instead pulled Qi Xiaokui to continue walking forward. Once they reached the front of the group, he turned back and said to the five people waiting for his next words, “One of them is a psychopathic killer, so be especially careful.”
A psychopathic killer?
Li Chuer and the others were left in confusion by Xin Meng’s statement; they had never encountered such a teammate—of course, if they had, it was likely that this group wouldn’t be standing here.
Thus, Xin Meng casually recounted Shen Tukou’s actions of killing other teammates, omitting many of the crazed details, which instead made it seem like he was exaggerating.
“What psychopathic killer? I think you’re overreacting. Even if he enjoys killing, with so many of us here, how could we be afraid of him?” Wan Xing scoffed disdainfully.
However, Xin Meng shook his head, pulling Qi Xiaokui a few steps further while displaying a fearful and uneasy expression. “He won’t confront us head-on; he’ll just hide and ambush us. He might be in the cornfield right now. I don’t want to run into him; let’s hurry and leave.”
Now even Li Chuer showed a look of disdain, thinking he had overestimated this person. He hadn’t expected to be intimidated by a murderer, especially with so many people on their side.
He began to reflect on whether he had misjudged Xin Meng. Could it be that this kid had made it through so many challenges purely by luck? After all, there are indeed people who are exceptionally lucky, who can take on the easiest tasks and turn dangers into opportunities, living well without any real skills. Perhaps this kid was one of those.
If Xin Meng, or even Qi Xiaokui, could know his thoughts, they would simply tell him, “You’re living in a dream.”
The world is vast, and such people might exist, but in this cruel game, relying on luck to survive is nothing short of a delusion. Li Chuer had simply not experienced enough games to recognize this basic truth.
But he believed that his thoughts were correct, and his attitude towards Xin Meng became more dismissive. To re-establish the hierarchy, he directly commanded Zhang Qinghe, “Hezi, go check the cornfield.”
Zhang Qinghe didn’t think much of it, responding affirmatively as he pulled out a handgun and walked over.
Of course, aside from Xin Meng, no one else had any expectations for the outcome; they were secretly watching Xin Meng’s joke unfold. Qi Xiaokui, who had a basic understanding of Xin Meng, remained silent, obediently following him, doing whatever he said, while secretly enjoying the show of others.
Li Chuer had even prepared sarcastic remarks to mock Xin Meng, but unexpectedly, just as Zhang Qinghe reached the edge of the cornfield, a figure suddenly burst out, swinging a massive machete directly at his neck. Zhang Qinghe was caught off guard and took the blow squarely; the blade sank into his soft flesh, wedged between his vertebrae, and warm blood gushed out, splattering the assailant’s face!
Blood trickled down his cheek, and a red tongue flicked out, licking over his lips as if the blood was some delicacy, revealing an expression of ecstasy.
Who else but Shen Tukou?
“Ahhh!” Cheng Jiali screamed, covering her mouth!
“Hezi!” Li Chuer and Wan Xing shouted in anguish, but no one dared to step forward.
Zhang Qinghe’s body fell to the ground, his gun clattering beside him, drawing Shen Tukou’s attention. He looked down and was instantly delighted, quickly bending down to pick up the gun.
“This is bad; he got the gun!” Li Chuer realized the danger and immediately shouted, “Run!”
At this moment, Xin Meng had already pulled Qi Xiaokui and dashed four to five hundred meters away.
Moreover, the distance from Shen Tukou had already exceeded the optimal range for a handgun, leaving Shen Tukou regretting that he had set him as the first target. But it was fine; there were still three little mice left, enough for him to enjoy.
However, his luck wasn’t particularly good; the first person he chose was Li Chuer.
At first, Li Chuer was also panicked, but when he saw the gun’s muzzle pointed at him, he calmed down, drawing the large knife hanging at his waist to block in front of him. As the gunfire erupted and bullets flew towards him, he swung the large knife with all his might, forming a blue net in front of him.
The bullets struck the back of the knife, and before the violent impact could reach his wrist, they silently vanished.
As if such a thing had never existed.
Shen Tukou was taken aback.
He, not believing in evil, fired three or four more shots at Li Chuer, but the results were invariably the same; those bullets hit the blue knife as if they were sinking into the sea, disappearing without a trace.
At this moment, Li Chuer launched his counterattack, running towards Shen Tukou while swinging his knife. Wan Xing followed closely behind him, using him as a shield, wielding an ordinary knife. As they reached Shen Tukou, Li Chuer leaned to the right, allowing Wan Xing to bypass him and directly pounce onto Shen Tukou, bringing him down, and the two began to grapple.
Xin Meng watched the struggle intently; Wan Xing and Shen Tukou were rolling together, while Li Chuer tried to help but couldn’t get involved, standing helplessly on the side. Xin Meng keenly noticed that the blue knife had just grazed Shen Tukou’s hand, but… it left no mark.
To confirm his suspicion, he deliberately shouted at Li Chuer, “Li Ge, why aren’t you helping? Hurry up and chop him to death, or we’ll all die!”
Li Chuer was furious, thinking to himself that Xin Meng was just blabbering; with him running so fast, no matter who died, he wouldn’t be among them!
But he had no choice; he really couldn’t do nothing. There were things he hadn’t told anyone, and Wan Xing didn’t know either. If his inaction caused Wan Xing to lose faith in him, that would be even worse.
So he pretended to swing the blue knife, occasionally accidentally hitting the two of them, but indeed, he caused no injuries to anyone.
This knife doesn’t work on players?
Moreover, it seemed that Li Chuer didn’t want anyone to know.
Xin Meng continued to stir the pot, “Li Ge, why aren’t you using more strength? Chop him on the back! Chop harder!”
“Dammit, Li Ge, hurry and help!” Wan Xing, pinned under Shen Tukou, was gradually losing ground and shouted hoarsely at Li Chuer.
“Li Ge!” Cheng Jiali also called out anxiously.
Li Chuer’s expression darkened as he shot a fierce glare at Xin Meng, who had caused this series of troubles, and raised the knife in his hand.
Just as Xin Meng thought this weapon was nothing special and lowered his guard, Li Chuer gave him a big “surprise.”
The knife came down hard.
It didn’t land on Xin Meng, nor did it land on Shen Tukou’s back, but rather on the ground beside them.
Like cutting through tofu, the sharp blade silently sank into the ground, slicing open a long, narrow black space. That blackness was unfathomable, a hundred times darker than night, with not a sound within, not even the air moved, resembling a black hole that devoured life. Only after staring for a while could one occasionally catch a glimpse of faint blue electrical currents of data flowing within, very dim.
The long knife swept horizontally, cutting through the ground, and the soil, stones, and wild grass on that patch of earth were all decomposed and vanished, as if the characters in the drama had finally broken through the fragile floor, revealing an abyss deep enough to shatter bones.
Shen Tukou was initially unaware, as there was no special sound; it was only as the black area expanded that it inevitably caught his peripheral vision. He turned his head to take a look and was instantly horrified!
This brief pause gave Wan Xing the opportunity; he, accustomed to the scene, took advantage of the moment to punch Shen Tukou in the temple, stunning him, then executed a rolling side kick, sending Shen Tukou tumbling towards the abyss!
“No—!” Shen Tukou frantically waved his hands, trying to grab onto the ground beside him, but Li Chuer immediately thrust the knife beside his hand, causing another large chunk of ground to disappear. His last hope was gone, and Shen Tukou fell into despair, quickly vanishing from sight.
Xin Meng stared in disbelief at the darkness, the database running wildly!
Gone! It’s all gone!
That entire section of data, including Shen Tukou, had completely disappeared!
