An Mu sighed. “As long as I gaze at a player for more than ten seconds, they will trigger my Death Rule.”
“The initiative for this rule is in my own hands; I can make whoever I want trigger it.”
Zuo Lin'an remarked, “Isn't ten seconds too long? Five seconds seems more appropriate.”
An Mu shook her head. “My dad said a longer duration increases the margin for error. He was worried I might accidentally gaze at a criminal I couldn't kill for too long and trigger the rule by mistake.”
Zuo Lin'an frowned, finding the reason a bit forced.
But considering An Wen was likely just worried about his daughter, he had extended the duration just in case.
An Mu continued, “Actually, I wanted to set the same rule as Xu Youyou at first, but after thinking it over, my dad realized it wouldn't work. If a response is required, I'd have to communicate with them.”
“Xu Youyou is a guy, so it's fine for him to talk to those male criminals, but I can't.”
“A woman like me would definitely be targeted by many. Normally, I'd barely have time to hide, let alone actively initiate a conversation.”
“Once I did that, my identity would probably be discovered quickly, and I'd be killed. Or more likely, I'd be directly imprisoned and then...”
“That's why my dad chose a rule for me that doesn't require any communication to trigger.”
An Mu let out a long sigh. Evidently, her experiences in Sin Hunter City still left her with lingering fear.
“Aside from the rule, my dad also took into account that I'm not suited for direct combat against criminals, so he specially prepared poison for me, using poisoning to execute the Death Rule.”
Poisoning.
It was indeed very convenient.
However, its level of cruelty fell far short of Xu Youyou's, let alone Zuo Lin'an's.
But it had its advantages.
That was... once An Mu officially became a Human-Specter Symbiont, she could execute it remotely!
This would prevent many players from using specter items to repel her.
Zuo Lin'an thought for a moment. “Your Death Rule must have some limitations, right?”
“Otherwise, you could just hide in the dark from a distance, gaze at players for ten seconds, and then execute them remotely with poison. That way, no player would be able to do anything to you; they'd just have to wait for death.”
Hearing him say this, An Mu instantly deflated.
“As expected of you, Zuo Lin'an. You guessed it.”
“My rule does have limitations. Specifically, I cannot move while gazing at a player, and I must be within ten meters of them.”
Xu Youyou commented, “Two limitations? But on second thought, they aren't as restrictive as one might think.”
“Instructor An said before that only martial artists at the First-Rate martial artist rank or above can perceive a specter in concealment.”
An Mu said, “True, but in my previous dungeon, I encountered a player who possessed a consumable specter item that could see through a specter's form when it got close.”
“It was that time I was almost instantly killed by a Second-Rate martial artist using a specter item. Fortunately, I dodged quickly.”
Zuo Lin'an said, “Then you were quite lucky.”
Martial artists practiced different cultivation techniques and martial arts. Some Second-Rate martial artists who specialized in qinggong might actually be faster than First-Rate martial artists who specialized in other areas.
An Mu waved her hand. “Anyway, let's not talk about that. Let me ask you guys, how many criminals did you kill in Sin Hunter City before?”
Zuo Lin'an and Xu Youyou exchanged a glance.
“Ninety.”
An Mu was instantly shocked.
“Ninety? Really ninety?”
Xu Youyou asked, “What's wrong? Is there something off about that?”
An Mu fell silent for a moment before saying, “Do you know how many people I had to poison to death to get my specter body to fully form?”
Her tone made both Xu Youyou and Zuo Lin'an sense that something was wrong.
“How many?”
An Mu went frantic. “Three hundred! I poisoned three hundred people.”
Zuo Lin'an was also surprised. “How is that possible?”
An Mu explained, “My dad said it's because my method of execution isn't cruel enough. The specter aura generated after each kill is very minor, incomparable to how you guys killed them one by one with your own hands.”
Xu Youyou felt something was off.
Because his method of execution wasn't as cruel as Zuo Lin'an's, yet the number of kills required was the same.
What was the deal with that?
Perhaps sensing his confusion, An Mu explained.
“I heard about your situations from my dad.”
“Both your Death Rule and Zuo Lin'an's are classified as extremely cruel. However, even within the same extremely cruel category, there are still differences in intensity.”
Xu Youyou came to a sudden realization. So that was it.
It was like an exam where a score of ninety or above was considered excellent.
Both ninety and one hundred were excellent.
But one hundred was clearly much higher than ninety.
Therefore, even though both he and Zuo Lin'an only needed to kill ninety criminals for their specter bodies to form, the level of cruelty of his method of execution still couldn't compare to Zuo Lin'an's.
An Mu sighed, still feeling quite unwilling in her heart.
To kill all three hundred people, she had stayed in Sin Hunter City for several days and almost...
Forget it. Comparisons were odious; she couldn't compare herself to these two freaks.
The three of them continued to chat casually.
The vehicle soon drove out of the desolate territory. By now, some green weeds could be seen outside the window, and before long, many farmlands and a distant city came into view.
About five minutes later, the specter bus stopped at a remote, deserted bus stop. An Mu stood up and bid them farewell.
Xu Youyou waved his hand. “An Mu, if anything comes up, just message us in the group chat.”
“Okay.”
The bus started up again and, about three minutes later, stopped at a familiar station.
Only then did the two of them stand up and get off the bus. As soon as they stepped off, they saw a familiar figure standing not far away.
The familiar figure wore a slightly loose, classical-style qipao dress and high heels. Her pitch-black long hair was pinned back with a pearl hairpin.
“Auntie!”
Xu Youyou jogged over.
Zheng Mei turned around, revealing a face as stunning as a blazing rose.
“You're back?”
Zuo Lin'an dragged his suitcase over. “Aunt Mei.”
Zheng Mei smiled and nodded. “Good, good, good. It's great that you're here. I just finished making lunch and was waiting for you. Let's head back quickly.”
The two walked on either side of her, chatting and laughing all the way to a nearby car. After they got in, Zheng Mei started the vehicle and drove off.
“How many days are you staying this time?”
Zuo Lin'an replied, “The Daily Dungeon opens once every seven days. We definitely have to head back before the next dungeon starts.”
Although opening their dungeons wasn't strictly mandatory, Zuo Lin'an and the others were currently novice bosses, so it was best not to miss any opportunities in the early stages.
Accumulating more Contribution early on would also allow them to go to Sin Hunter City sooner to acquire their second rule.
Xu Youyou added, “Right, right. So we'll stay for five or six days. That leaves us a day to head back and arrange the next dungeon.”
Zheng Mei said, “True. You're dungeon bosses now, so you can't neglect your duties.”
A gentle smile hung on her face.
Zuo Lin'an could tell that she looked incredibly relaxed now, as if a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
It was probably because she no longer had to worry about Xu Youyou.
Rate on N.U.
