Cheng Shuili felt the alarm bells ringing in her heart.
Wang Sanqiang's movements were too natural—so natural that they felt deliberate.
She tapped her fingers lightly against the baseball bat, ready to strike at any moment.
"Of course."
It was a polite response, but far too casual, so casual that it lacked any sense of caution.
Chen Qingshan turned around without any defenses, pointing toward the underside of his vehicle, "It's just a red and blue wire, I'm not sure how it broke..."
The moment Chen Qingshan turned his back, the smile on Wang Sanqiang's face vanished. He first shot a fierce, warning glare at Cheng Shuili.
Then, staring intently at Chen Qingshan, Wang Sanqiang's right hand darted toward his waist, and a cold glint flashed...
Cheng Shuili's baseball bat was faster than his knife.
"Bang!"
The solid wood struck Wang Sanqiang's wrist with a heavy thud, and the sound of bone snapping was clearly audible.
The dagger slid off Wang Sanqiang's other hand, eventually falling onto the snow and splashing up a small spray of red.
"Ah!" Wang Sanqiang let out a pained cry, staggering backward.
Only then did Chen Qingshan react. His face turned deathly pale, yet his tone carried a hint of excitement: "Damn, such a thing actually happened? This is my first time encountering this!"
Cheng Shuili: "???"
What on earth was this big idiot marveling at?!
"Back off!"
Cheng Shuili commanded sharply. Simultaneously, she lunged forward, sweeping her baseball bat toward Wang Sanqiang's knees.
She only used fifty percent of her strength for this blow, but the bonus from her attribute points was enough to shatter a normal person's leg bone.
Wang Sanqiang barely dodged to the side, pulling another small knife from his boot with his left hand.
"You bitch!" he cursed viciously, having completely dropped his earlier facade of friendliness, "I only wanted to kill that old geezer!"
Before Cheng Shuili could say anything, Chen Qingshan took offense. He raised his hand to push the car door, slamming it hard into Wang Sanqiang's face, "You're the old geezer! I'm only twenty-eight this year!"
Cheng Shuili was genuinely taken aback. Chen Qingshan looked like he was well over thirty!
He was practically pushing forty!
Twenty-eight? Disbelief was written all over Cheng Shuili's face.
Chen Qingshan grew anxious. He threw a standard military-style punch, landing it squarely on Wang Sanqiang's temple, making the man see stars.
Wang Sanqiang swayed for a few steps, shaking his head violently to clear it, only to have Chen Qingshan land another heavy punch on his face.
That did it for Wang Sanqiang. He went completely still and collapsed backward into the snow, kicking up a cloud of white.
Chen Qingshan took one look, saw the trouble was solved, and immediately turned to Cheng Shuili with a sincere and earnest expression: "I really am twenty-eight this year!"
Who cared how old he was?
Cheng Shuili finished him off with her dagger.
【Killed player Wang Sanqiang. Obtained 25% of player Wang Sanqiang's supplies!】
The man's off-road vehicle vanished before them, leaving only a portion of his supplies scattered on the snow.
Chen Qingshan was dumbfounded, his speech incoherent, "You... you... you just killed someone like that?"
"What else?"
Cheng Shuili glanced at him. This twenty-eight-year-old uncle was truly strange.
Military-style combat, a mechanic, and a face full of beard while insisting he was twenty-eight!
"It's true you saved me, but you can't just kill someone like that, right?"
Cheng Shuili moved the items to her shopping cart load by load, sneering when she heard this: "If I didn't kill him, he would have died anyway. Better he drops some supplies to make a contribution to me."
"What? Do you think I shouldn't have killed him?"
Cheng Shuili narrowed her eyes. She had initially thought he was a talent worth cultivating, but she hadn't expected him to make such a fuss over killing someone.
Her current four-person squad did lack someone with a deep understanding of vehicles. If his temper matched, she had intended to add him as a friend.
After all, everyone's vehicle had moments where things went wrong.
That was why Cheng Shuili had saved him earlier.
"No, no," Chen Qingshan shook his head, "I'm just wondering why you stabbed him in the heart? Shouldn't you have cut his throat?"
Friends who killed often knew that the throat was the most obvious target, while the heart was hidden in the chest cavity. Most people had it on the left, very few on the right, making it highly uncertain!
Chen Qingshan was just confused about that.
Cheng Shuili fell silent for a moment, then gave him another long look.
Was this someone who had trained before?
Lesson learned.
"Want to add me as a friend? Benefactor, ask me for whatever you need. I'm a person who knows how to repay a favor."
Chen Qingshan waved his hand, leaning against the open car door, his eyes filled with nothing but sincerity.
Cheng Shuili was silent for a moment.
Might as well add him. More friends meant more options.
Friends who did auto repairs were rare.
She moved the last of the supplies into her shopping cart, sat in the driver's seat, and gave him her ID.
"My ID is Angry Crow Takes Flight. What's yours? I'll accept it."
Chen Qingshan plopped straight down onto the snow.
His mouth hung open wide enough to fit an egg, and his lips moved twice before sound came out.
"An... Angry Crow Takes Flight?!"
His voice had even cracked.
"You're the Crow?"
Chen Qingshan lunged forward, pressing himself against the windshield, staring fixedly at Cheng Shuili, not worried at all that she might suddenly drive away.
"Otherwise?"
Cheng Shuili had guessed his reaction would be intense, but not this intense.
The emotions in this man were too complex—shocked, helpless, and carrying a hint of not-so-subtle anger.
It was as if Cheng Shuili had scammed him out of his supplies.
Had she?
Cheng Shuili thought about it carefully. She wasn't a bad person. She always did business with a conscience and always ensured value for money.
And when she went to trade, most people saw she was number one on the leaderboard, a big shot who had been announced to the world, and blatantly raised prices on her.
"I am Qingshan Trek."
Cheng Shuili: "..."
So she really had scammed him.
Chen Qingshan looked like a helpless old man now.
What to do?
The enemy he had sworn to teach a lesson and reclaim his supplies from yesterday had suddenly transformed into his savior!
The resentful gaze made even Cheng Shuili feel a bit guilty.
She coughed twice, "Hurry up and move your car. You've delayed me for a long time."
"Ah, okay, okay!"
Chen Qingshan agreed subconsciously, and the next moment, he and that mismatched vehicle vanished.
The Highway Merge had ended.
Cheng Shuili looked at the road that had returned to silence and let out a genuine sigh of relief.
Come to think of it, she couldn't be blamed. It was their organization that wanted Chen Qingshan to make sacrifices. Every wrong had its perpetrator, right?
Cheng Shuili chuckled, stepped on the gas, and continued forward.
The road was quiet for only a moment before her private messages started pinging incessantly. Cheng Shuili guessed it was Chen Qingshan messaging her.
She opened them, and sure enough.
【Qingshan Trek】: Benefactor, if you need anything, just say it. I'll help where I can, and if I know it, I'll tell you!
【Qingshan Trek】: Except for the base prices when we haggle.
【Qingshan Trek】: I really am twenty-eight; I just look a bit aged.
Cheng Shuili didn't reply. She wasn't much of a talker, and it was enough to just see the messages.
As for whether Chen Qingshan was twenty-something or thirty-something?
None of her business.
Rate on N.U.
