“I said your ring is nice. Are you deaf?”
“I gave you a chance to take it off and hand it over, but you made me do it myself.”
Xu Mo’s dagger performed a quick flourish in the air, neatly slicing the ring from the severed hand as it flew through the air. The ring landed perfectly in the center of his palm.
Huang Jiahao stood frozen for a moment. He saw a line of blood burst across his wrist, and for some reason, his right hand was suddenly airborne.
Within his worldview, it was fundamentally impossible to imagine that this girl from the Outer City would strike so directly!
It was so sudden, so ruthless, and so utterly without warning.
It wasn't until that moment that a wave of unbearable, searing pain flooded Huang Jiahao’s mind.
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
A scream that sounded barely human erupted from Huang Jiahao’s throat. He collapsed onto the floor, his legs thrashing wildly as tears and snot streamed down his face.
Xu Mo, meanwhile, took the ring, wiped it on his clothes, and casually slipped it onto his own finger.
Yes, he recognized this Huang Jiahao; the guy was one of the minor characters in the plot. Seeing him trying to get handsy with his character, Xu Mo had simply possessed her and seized control of the body.
Witnessing this brutal scene, Bai Feifei surprisingly didn't feel much shock.
The moment she heard Xu Mo’s voice in her mind, she had a premonition that if this “Old-Timer” took charge, things were going to get very messy.
“Don't get worked up. Killing him doesn't count as slaughtering the innocent,” Xu Mo said casually to Bai Feifei. “Besides, I haven't even killed him yet.”
Bai Feifei: ...
The surrounding crowd instantly broke into an uproar. Everyone stumbled back, creating a wide berth as they stared in shock at this sudden, violent maniac.
The lackeys surrounding Huang Jiahao were so terrified their legs were shaking, and they began shouting hysterically.
“How dare you strike here! You attacked someone from the Inner City!”
“Murder! It's murder!”
“Is anyone going to do something? Where are the examiners?!”
Usually, these sycophants followed Huang Jiahao around, bullying anyone they pleased. Anyone who even dared to give them a defiant look would end up beaten and bloodied. But now that their master was the one bleeding, the situation far exceeded their mental fortitude. Not a single one of them dared to step forward to show their loyalty.
The guy whose dagger Xu Mo had snatched looked like he was seconds away from wetting himself.
Huang Jiahao continued to roll on the floor, screaming in agony. His gaze shifted from initial shock to terror, and then suddenly, his eyes turned blood-red, burning with a furious rage.
“How dare you!”
“A lowly wench like you... dares to lay a hand on me? I am the protagonist of this era...”
As he spoke, he began to look delirious, as if possessed. A sinister aura emanated from his body, and his eyes grew increasingly crimson.
Xu Mo, being the closest, could clearly see a green jade pendant floating up from the man's neck.
This time, it was Xu Mo’s turn to be a little surprised.
“Holy crap, you already have that thing around your neck?”
“What a coincidence...”
In many of the playthroughs he had completed, a major catastrophe would eventually strike Dawn City, leading to its destruction by a terrifying anomaly. This insignificant character, Huang Jiahao, was the fuse for that destruction. He was stupid and greedy, and his will had been corrupted by a powerful aberration. That was the only reason Xu Mo even knew this minor NPC.
And that jade pendant was intimately connected to that aberration’s corruption!
This time, because Xu Mo hadn't killed Qiao Jin and had followed the “proper recruitment process,” he had run into this spoiled brat right here.
The jade pendant on his chest vibrated slightly. Huang Jiahao used the blood from his severed hand to smear the pendant, stammering out:
“I’ll kill you... I’ll kill you! Do you have any idea...”
Who was Xu Mo? As an absolute Old-Timer of this game, how could he possibly sit quietly and wait for the villain to finish charging their power bar?
Controlling Bai Feifei’s body like a nimble swallow, he lunged in front of Huang Jiahao in an instant. A cold silver flash swept toward the man's throat!
Huang Jiahao’s body jerked, narrowly dodging the strike. His body rose into a standing position with an utterly irrational, gravity-defying movement.
It was obvious that his physical reactions were no longer entirely under his own control. It was as if some mysterious power had possessed him to fight on his behalf.
But who didn't have a sub-fighter?
Xu Mo was faster! His moves lacked any trace of elegance, but every strike was lethal. He grabbed the man by the collar and swung his body around like a sack of grain!
Boom!
In the eyes of the onlookers, Bai Feifei’s slender frame violently swung a grown man through the air in a full circle before slamming him into the chairs!
Several chairs shattered instantly, sending plastic shards flying. Xu Mo didn't waste a single movement, plunging the dagger down with clinical precision.
Psh—
Huang Jiahao’s legs gave a final kick, and his struggling body went still. His blood-red eyes rapidly faded into a dull gray.
How... is this... possible...?
He was a member of the Huang family. He had lived like an emperor since birth and had even awakened an innate ability. His family viewed him as the hope for their future ascent to the peak.
Just a year ago, he had obtained a jade pendant. Within that pendant resided an unimaginably powerful existence.
That being told him that he was the protagonist of this world, and that it would help him reach the summit—the very top of this world.
His peak life had only just begun. Everything in the world should be his for the taking, and every beauty should be his to enjoy!
Wasn't he the protagonist of the world? How could a protagonist die so unceremoniously...?
And yet...
Xu Mo tilted his head to avoid the spray of blood. He flicked the storage ring and sucked the still-vibrating jade pendant into its space.
“Phew—” After finishing, he let out a long breath. “Good thing I was fast, or I’d have had to waste a rewind.”
Xu Mo wasn't entirely clear on the specifics of the pendant, but he knew that with Bai Feifei’s current physical capabilities, she absolutely couldn't handle the power that could potentially destroy Dawn City.
Fortunately, he was fast enough, and Huang Jiahao was pathetic enough.
He looked up. The venue, which had been noisy because of the commotion, was now eerily silent. Everyone was staring at her as if she were a monster.
Right then, a shocked voice rang out from in front of her.
“Bai Feifei?!” Wan Qianhong stood there, looking at “Bai Feifei” in disbelief.
“What... what are you doing?!”
She had always felt that Bai Feifei was a girl with talent and character, even if her personality was a bit odd, switching seamlessly between polite and rude.
But she never could have imagined that this girl would dare to commit public murder at the testing venue!
Looking at the shock and slight disappointment in Wan Qianhong’s eyes, Bai Feifei couldn't help but feel a twinge of shame.
It was painful to let down someone who appreciated you.
But Xu Mo, naturally, had no such psychological barriers. He wiped the blood off on Huang Jiahao’s clothes and said with a smile:
“Oh? It looks like he suffered from poisoning.”
“Poisoning?” Wan Qianhong repeated subconsciously.
“Invasive metal poisoning. It looks terminal. Don’t worry, I won't charge you contribution points for this one.”
Wan Qianhong: ?
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
A piercing scream rang out without warning. It came from the girl who had been following Huang Jiahao.
She had been frozen in terror by what happened, and now that she had finally processed it, her mind had completely snapped.
“Hey, what are you screaming for? Be quiet. You're not the one who got poisoned.” This sudden shriek gave Xu Mo a start, and he looked at her with bewilderment.
But the girl just clutched her head, eyes shut tight, and continued to wail at the top of her lungs with the vacant beauty of a mind wiped clean.
Xu Mo found the noise genuinely annoying. He casually tossed the dagger toward her.
In an instant, the light in the venue dimmed. Everyone’s movements slowed down, as if they had stepped into a swamp.
The thrown dagger was frozen in mid-air by an invisible force, vibrating slightly, as a voice filled with indignation echoed through the space:
“You certainly... have a lot of nerve!”
Rate on N.U.
