Temptation

After staring blankly for a moment, the soldier immediately began efficiently counting Lin Zhen's spoils.

Each D-Rank Snake Fangs was worth one hundred points. After several minutes of counting, the results were in.

Lin Zhen had brought out a total of seventy-one Snake Fangs, worth seven thousand one hundred points!

Added to the two hundred points he had earned earlier, that made 7,300 points!

Just as the soldier was about to announce the result, Lin Zhen suddenly picked up one of the fangs. "Look carefully. This one isn't D-Rank."

The soldier took it and examined it, then glanced at Lin Zhen in disbelief. Still, he corrected himself. "That's right. This fang came from a C-Rank Mutated Beast. Your total score should be 8,200 points!"

Upon hearing the result, the members of the Demon Hunter Squad nearly went mad.

Zhao Liang danced around Lin Zhen excitedly. "Little Linzi, you're incredible! Our squad's points have surpassed Demon God's now, hahaha! Not only do I not have to pay out of pocket, I'm going to make a fortune! Even if we get nothing from Yilan, this trip was still worth it!"

Shi Lei smiled, his dark face even turning a little red.

Gao Yan also sighed as he patted Lin Zhen's shoulder, filled with the sentiment of the new generation replacing the old.

Ye Tiancheng ran over to show off in front of Demon God's group. "Captain Zhou, what goes around comes around. Just a moment ago, you wanted to collect money from us. Now it's your turn to have a headache, isn't it? One hundred million, hehe! I wonder if you can scrape that together. If you can't, we'll report you to the Martial Artist Association. Don't forget, you aren't the only ones with video evidence. We have it too!"

The faces of Demon God's members could not have looked any worse. Zhou Tie looked as if he had swallowed shit, wishing he could crush Ye Tiancheng to death in one grip.

"That kid must have cheated! He's only a Level Eight Warrior. How could he have killed so many D-Rank Mutated Beasts, including even a C-Rank one? He wasn't in a team either. How did he do it?" Hua Xiaofeng shouted indignantly.

Lin Zhen shot him a cold smile. "No matter what you say, it won't change the fact that you have to pay up. Rather than wasting your energy, you should think about where you're going to get the money."

Demon God's members had nothing to say. No matter how unwilling they were, they did not dare deny it. They gathered together to discuss how they would pay.

A moment later, they reached an agreement. Zhou Tie would pay forty million, Hua Xiaofeng and Kong Shan would each pay twenty million, while Li Mengxi and Ruo Ruo would each pay ten million.

The eighty million from Zhou Tie and the other two was transferred quickly, but when it came to Li Mengxi and Ruo Ruo, the two women found themselves in a difficult position.

It was not that they could not come up with ten million each, but that was practically all they had. If they paid it out, then their nearly year-long excursion into the wilderness would have been almost entirely for nothing. They were only Warrior Level, after all. Even when they earned money normally, little of it ended up in their hands. Besides, Martial Artists spent lavishly, and ten million was no small sum for them.

On the Demon Hunter side, the money was divided according to their shares. Shi Lei received twenty million, Ye Tiancheng received eighteen million, Zhao Liang fifteen million, Gao Yan twelve million, and Lin Zhen received thirty-five million.

The money from those four had all arrived. Lin Zhen was still short twenty million, waiting for Li Mengxi and Ruo Ruo to transfer it.

Ruo Ruo pulled Li Mengxi over to stand before Lin Zhen. She first lowered her head for a while, brushing her hair behind her ear. Then she raised her head, revealing a pair of watery eyes as she looked at Lin Zhen. "Lin Zhen, you and Mengxi have known each other since childhood, right?"

"That's right." Lin Zhen nodded.

"I heard you were very close, and that you like Sister Mengxi too, right?"

Lin Zhen fell silent for a moment. "What are you trying to say?"

"I mean, Mengxi and I are both girls. We aren't very strong, and we don't have much money either. Could you... could you give us some more time?"

Lin Zhen said nothing, merely looking at Li Mengxi and Ruo Ruo.

Ruo Ruo continued, "If you agree, once we get back to the city, we can treat you to a meal and take you out somewhere. I think you and Mengxi still have a chance."

Lin Zhen smiled and turned to Li Mengxi. "Sister Mengxi, don't you have any money?"

"I have some, but this is all I have..." Li Mengxi spoke softly. She truly did not want to hand over the money.

The members of Demon Hunter watched Lin Zhen with amused expressions. If Lin Zhen agreed, they would not say anything. This was Lin Zhen's private matter, after all.

Only Zhao Liang curled his lips in annoyance. "She was hugging some guy just now, but the moment the tables turned, she came running over to seduce Lin Zhen. What the hell is that?"

Shi Lei tugged Zhao Liang. "Don't talk nonsense. That's Lin Zhen's business."

As for Lin Zhen, Shi Lei had begun to feel that he was impossible to see through. He had no idea how Lin Zhen had managed it. Killing so many monsters in the Testing Area would be difficult even for him, a Level Three War General.

Perhaps the future development of the Demon Hunter Squad would depend on Lin Zhen.

Just when everyone thought Lin Zhen would agree, Lin Zhen smiled at Li Mengxi instead. "Sister Mengxi, as your neighbor, I'd have no problem treating you to dinner. But before that, I hope you two will pay me the money you owe me. I don't want to take such a trivial matter to the Martial Artist Association. That wouldn't be good. What do you think?"

Li Mengxi raised her head to stare at Lin Zhen in disbelief. Was this still the Lin Zhen she knew?

Wasn't the Lin Zhen she knew supposed to be happy for days just because she smiled at him? Wasn't he supposed to grant whatever she asked for?

He did not seem that short of money now, so why could he not agree to such a small request from her?

Could it be that he no longer liked her?

It must have been because of what happened with Zhou Tie earlier that he was upset. But nothing substantial had happened between her and Zhou Tie yet. If she tried a little harder, could Lin Zhen return to her side? Looking at it now, Lin Zhen seemed to have quite a promising future too.

Li Mengxi's thoughts were a tangled mess, but Ruo Ruo beside her shot Lin Zhen a vicious glare. "You cheapskate! No wonder you'll stay single until you die!"

"That's none of your concern. Besides, I may not stay single forever."

"Tch! Let's see what kind of woman you find in the future. Our Mengxi is a Martial Artist and she's this beautiful. You couldn't find someone like her even with a lantern. You'll regret it someday. By then, it'll be too late even if you beg us. Sister Mengxi, pay him!"

The two women reluctantly transferred the money to Lin Zhen. Once he received it, Lin Zhen did not say another word to them and walked straight back to the Demon Hunter group.

"Brother, well done! I thought you wouldn't be able to resist the temptation and would agree. If you had, I really would have looked down on you." Zhao Liang punched Lin Zhen lightly, his face full of satisfaction.

"Brother Zhao, you underestimate me too much. Do you think I'm the kind of guy who can't move when he sees a woman?"

"I do."

"Damn it! You looking for a beating?"

"Come on, then! Lin Zhen, I've wanted to teach you a lesson for ages. I figure in another two months, I won't be able to teach you one anymore. While you haven't grown strong yet, I'll beat you black and blue. When you become a War God later, I'll have so much face telling people about it, hahahaha!"

Zhao Liang and Lin Zhen laughed and roughhoused. In this team, Lin Zhen was still closest to Zhao Liang.

"Silence! All squads, listen up! Those who have qualified to enter Yilan, follow me. Those who have been eliminated, leave immediately. No loitering here!"

At the military Officer's command, most of the Martial Artist squads turned and left. Including Demon Hunter and Demon God, a total of eight squads had qualified to enter Yilan.