Her Head Had Been Caught in a Door Since Childhood (Thanks to Cold Leaf Alliance's Vain Promise for Becoming Alliance Leader!)

Chen Jinnan had dropped quite a bit of equipment: one Green Submachine Gun, two White Pistols, and a white shield, along with a small amount of ammunition.

"The captain is already gone."

Ruolin gritted her teeth. "Is it really appropriate for us to discuss dividing up his belongings here?"

Axe fell silent at once, probably because his conscience had been condemned.

Ling Baiwei merely furrowed her delicate brows and said nothing.

At last, Zhang Ruolin turned her gaze toward me. "Ding Han, what do you think?"

I spoke my mind directly. "First of all, the scene when the captain died was truly horrifying. In my judgment, he most likely died for real. In other words, we only have one life in Star Abyss World. Once we die, that's it. We might not even wake up in the real world, so..."

After a pause, I looked at everyone. "If I were Chief Helmsman Chen, I'd hope everyone would take my equipment and let it continue to shine, helping our teammates survive in Star Abyss instead of wasting resources by getting hung up on unnecessary things."

"That makes sense."

Ling Baiwei nodded immediately. "I support Ding Han's idea."

"Since that's the case..."

Ruolin said, "Then let's divide it up. I believe the captain would be happy to see this too."

"Mm!"

So everyone took what they needed.

Ruolin took the green-quality submachine gun, while Ling Baiwei took the two pistols. Axe put away the white shield, and as for me, I gathered up the remaining ammunition—around three hundred 9mm rounds, which happened to fit my Roarer.

Zhang Ruolin grabbed a handful of sand and scattered it over Chen Jinnan's pool of blood.

Each of us took a handful as well, thoroughly covering the blood he had left behind.

"Let's Go."

Ling Baiwei was feeling a little down. "That car is still outside. We should head back to Creek City."

"Mm, let's head back."

Everyone nodded in turn.

This time, I led the way back, carrying the Roarer in my arms as I walked ahead. After climbing out of the insect nest cave, the sun was still high in the sky, so we headed across the grassy woodland toward that old Santana.

"Rustle..."

As we walked, footsteps sounded ahead.

"Be careful, someone's there," Zhang Ruolin warned.

"Mm!"

I nodded and raised the muzzle slightly.

The leaves ahead swayed, and three people emerged. All three had green health bars above their heads. The leader gave off an efficient, capable air, with sharp, intimidating eyes and a fierce-looking face. His ID looked familiar—he was clearly one of the ruthless players in the top three of the regional rankings!

[One Blade Into Soul] (Starry Sky Super Weapon · Sword Specialization · Tier 1)

Level: ???

Guild: None

He was the guy ranked second in the region!

Behind One Blade Into Soul were two others. One was Zu'an Liberal Arts Top Scholar, an advanced Psionicist—a young man around twenty-five with a faintly vicious look on his face.

The other was a girl in combat gear. She looked rather young, not yet twenty, and held a Sniper Rifle glowing with blue light across her arms. She was Bunny Critical Hit, the Firepower Specialist on the regional rankings.

Three formidable players, all ranked in the top ten of the Creek City regional leaderboard!

"..."

One Blade Into Soul glanced at me, and I glanced back at him.

Neither side spoke.

Then One Blade Into Soul's gaze swept across Zhang Ruolin and Ling Baiwei before landing on Axe.

Axe was a brute. He glared right back.

"Hmph..."

One Blade Into Soul gave a faint smile but still said nothing.

The groups passed each other. Though the atmosphere was somewhat tense, both sides remained calm and did not actually make a move. Neither side even pointed their guns at the other.

The old Santana was still parked in the woods.

Axe took out the key and started it, while I sat in the front passenger seat.

"Did that One Blade Into Soul seem like he wanted to make a move just now?" Ling Baiwei finally couldn't help asking.

"More or less."

I nodded. "The look in his eyes was a little hostile. If there had been three of us instead of four, he might've made a move."

"One Blade Into Soul has quite a reputation. During the closed beta, he was the guild leader of Ragnarok."

Zhang Ruolin said, "I heard he's from Yangzhou, surnamed Huang. He had ties to the underworld in his early years, then had one of his lackeys take the fall for him. In any case, he's bad news. We should avoid provoking him if we can."

Axe nodded. "That's about right."

I didn't say anything either. Sitting in the front passenger seat, I took out the Dragon Blade Skill Tome from my Dimensional Storage Space and brushed my hand over it. Data floated into view—

[Dragon Blade] (B-Rank Skill Tome): Deals up to 200% attack damage to a target, consumes 3 Essence Points. Requires Profession: Super Weapon Master.

One of the Super Weapon Master's basic skills, it could amplify damage to a certain extent. Though its damage wasn't particularly high, it still counted as a main damage-dealing skill in the early stages. More importantly, like Step Slash, it was a mandatory skill. Without learning Dragon Blade, Explosive Charge and second-tier skills afterward would be locked and unavailable to learn.

I used the tome directly. The silver-glimmering manual instantly turned into a streak of light and appeared in my skill bar.

Afterward, I poured in a large amount of Skill Experience and raised Dragon Blade straight to Lv. 10. Ringtones rang continuously by my ears as I consecutively gained 1, 2, and 3 points of Strength, for a total increase of 6 Strength.

My power accumulated bit by bit like that.

After confirming the upgrade, I reached Level 12.

A faint sense of joy rose in my heart. Killing monsters outside the city really did improve one far faster than endlessly waiting for daily quests within the city. Unfortunately, the consumption was simply too great. The thousand 9mm rounds had already been used up, and if I wanted to go out and kill bugs again, I would still have to worry about stocking up on bullets.

By then, the Essence Furnace had also reached Level 8. It was a little slow, but every level almost provided an increase of 10 combat levels, which was quite terrifying.

The concept of Overall Combat Level was extremely important. It represented a player's actual strength. It was said that in the late game, once one's combat level reached a certain threshold, they could even withstand an Orbital Bombardment without dying. And once combat level reached some absurd degree, one could even survive at the center of a nuclear explosion.

In short, the higher one's Overall Combat Level, the better. It was the foundation of a player's survival in Star Abyss!

The old Santana jolted along as it headed back to Creek City.

I glanced at my phone. Lu Xiaobei had sent me three Voice Calls, but I hadn't answered any of them. She hadn't sent another message after that.

I was somewhat speechless, unsure how she was doing now.

Two hours later, at dusk, we finally entered Creek City.

Right then, I sent Lu Xiaobei a WeChat message: "I fell asleep and didn't hear it. How are you now? Do you need me to come over?"

Not long afterward, a message came back: "Come over. She's still here at the urban management squad, and her attitude is extremely arrogant and awful."

...

I was even more speechless. That message surely hadn't been sent by Lu Xiaobei, but by someone from the urban management squad.

"Axe, drop me off when we pass the urban management squad. I won't be going to Health Road with you."

"Alright."

Axe nodded.

Soon, the bloodstained Santana stopped by the roadside. After getting out, I waved goodbye to Zhang Ruolin, Xiao Bai, and the others. Then I glanced in the direction of the urban management squad before walking into a tobacco and liquor shop nearby.

"Handsome, what would you like to buy?" The shop owner was a plump, charming middle-aged woman.

"A pack of Gold Liqun."

I looked at the price on the shelf. A pack of Gold Liqun cost thirty yuan. It was a little expensive, but I couldn't worry about that right now. I added, "And give me a whole carton of Gold Liqun too. Can you give me a discount, boss?"

"I really can't make it any cheaper."

The owner smiled. "To be honest with you, handsome, tobacco controls in Creek City have been especially strict lately. Our purchase prices are high too, and our retail profit on each pack isn't even one yuan."

Yeah right, like I'd believe that...

I grumbled inwardly, but still took out 330 yuan and handed it over. "Then you can throw in a lighter, right?"

The owner tossed a lighter over.

I put the loose pack in my pocket and tossed the carton into my Dimensional Storage Space.

At the urban management squad, in an office at the end of the corridor.

The moment I walked in, I saw Lu Xiaobei. She was sitting on a bench, her face full of indignation. When she saw me, a trace of surprise appeared on her face. "Ding Han..."

"Don't say anything. I'll handle this." I frowned and spoke quietly.

"Oh..."

She lowered her head without another word.

There was a man in an urban management uniform in the office. He stood up and said, "You're her friend, right? I'm Wang Jin, deputy captain of the urban management squad. Your friend often sets up a stall in the old town to sell things. Usually, we turn a blind eye to it, but recently Creek City issued orders to regulate the old town tourist area, so there's nothing we can do."

He frowned at Lu Xiaobei. "Your friend here is something else. We merely confiscated her goods, and what did she do? She publicly accused us of abusing our authority, exploiting the people, and being a scourge that undermines a harmonious society. What kind of talk is that? What kind of talk is that?"

Holy shit...

I looked at Lu Xiaobei speechlessly, thinking, You're seriously impressive.

She widened her beautiful eyes at me, looking completely justified, as though every word she had said was perfectly reasonable.

"Captain Wang, don't get angry yet."

I skillfully pulled out the loose pack of Liqun and offered him a cigarette. After lighting one for him, I lit one for myself as well. Even though I didn't know how to smoke, for Lu Xiaobei's sake, I could only go all out.

"Captain Wang."

I frowned. "There really is something wrong with my friend. Can we talk somewhere private?"

"Sure."

The two of us went beneath a tree outside the door.

I continued, "Captain Wang, I'll take the liberty of calling you Brother Wang. Honestly, this matter can't entirely be blamed on my friend..."

As I spoke, I pointed at my head and lowered my voice. "There's something wrong up here."

"Huh?"

Wang Jin froze. "Really?"

"Why would I lie? Her head got squeezed by a door when she was little!"

"No wonder..."

Wang Jin nodded in complete agreement. "Otherwise, what ordinary girl could be as arrogant and overbearing as her?"

"Exactly, exactly..."

"Brother Wang, my friend has no one to rely on in Creek City. As her friend, there's not much else I can say. I can only ask you to be a little more understanding..."

As I spoke, I looked around. After confirming there was no one nearby and no surveillance cameras, I took out that carton of Gold Liqun cigarettes from the Dimensional Storage Space and slipped it into Wang Jin's coat. "Her mind doesn't work right, and she'll probably keep setting up stalls in the future. Please turn a blind eye when you see her... It isn't easy for a girl to make a living out here..."

"Fine."

Wang Jin nodded, quietly accepting the cigarettes. With a smile, he said, "You're doing a pretty good job as her boyfriend, kid. Let's forget about this one. From now on, I'll have the brothers on the squad avoid provoking that little madam."

"Alright, thanks, Brother Wang!"