Not Every Bald Head Was a Monk...

Looking at the messages on WeChat and several missed calls, Xu Nan felt a warmth rise in his heart.

So his senior really did care about him.

He had only disappeared for a little while, yet she had sent so many messages... Wait!

Xu Nan looked closely and saw that the time on his phone had somehow reached 2:30 in the morning.

And Zhang Yingluo had started messaging and calling him at exactly two, when he was supposed to be on night watch.

"Lost Paradise and Earth have different time flows!"

"I was only gone for an hour and a half at most."

Xu Nan realized things were bad. If he made his senior and the others worry enough to mobilize everyone to look for him, that would be awkward.

After all, Maple Leaf Forest was huge, and he had gone to another plane. Searching for someone in the middle of the night would be exhausting and potentially dangerous.

He was about to reply quickly when part of Zhang Yingluo's message caught his attention.

The wanted criminal was named Wu Ke, a crazed serial killer. He had been wanted for some time, with a special team pursuing him. He had been spotted near River Bend Park last night...

The man was around 1.7 meters tall, male, bald, fond of wearing tight black clothing. His face was clean, but there was a mole near the corner of his eye...

Xu Nan considered Zhang Yingluo's description for a moment, then suddenly turned on his flashlight and shone it at a nearby stream.

He aimed the flashlight at the figure in the stream and sent her a photo.

"Is this what your guy looks like?"

Bzzz!

His phone vibrated—It's him! Where are you? Why didn't you answer? Be careful, stay away from him!

Zhang Yingluo sounded extremely anxious.

She called him, but hung up almost immediately. Xu Nan guessed she was worried that making a call would create noise and endanger him.

Xu Nan had only noticed the man just now. The moonlight tonight was decent, and a shiny bald head had suddenly appeared in the stream. It was impossible to miss.

He had actually run into a wanted criminal. Xu Nan felt a little nervous.

But thinking about it carefully, he had burned even that terrifying Chalk Warrior into ashes. No matter how formidable this wanted criminal was, he looked severely injured and unconscious now. He should be fine, right?

He quickly communicated with Zhang Yingluo. When he sent his location, he discovered that after returning from Lost Paradise, he had been teleported to somewhere near Maple Leaf Forest.

This place was not far from River Bend.

Zhang Yingluo replied—Hide. I'm coming right away.

Xu Nan looked at the unconscious bald man and pondered. "Should I call the police?"

After all, civic awareness had seeped into his bones. Faced with this situation, Xu Nan's first instinct was not to play hero himself, but to call the police.

Zhang Yingluo replied decisively, "No. Wait for me."

Xu Nan was somewhat worried. He could probably guess what his senior was thinking, but this was still a wanted criminal, and possibly a professional.

If he did not call the police, would that count as harboring a fugitive?

"Forget it. Even a girl like my senior isn't afraid. What am I, a grown man, afraid of?"

"Xu Nan, show some manliness. You've watched so many American movies—put on some superhero spirit!"

He gave himself a little pep talk.

Considering that the wanted criminal might have accomplices, he set up three Magic Alarms nearby to improve their safety a little.

He also quietly cast Level 1 Monster Summoning. This time, luck was on his side, and he summoned a Nightingale to scout the surrounding area. Xu Nan ordered it to keep watch on its own, then focused all his attention on the bald man in the stream.

The man looked seriously injured.

But Xu Nan still did not dare approach. From a distance, he cast an Appraisal Technique.

Wu Ke / Male / 32 years old / Level 4 Black Knife Warrior / Near death...

"So he isn't a monk. I thought all bald heads were monks."

Xu Nan had been puzzled before. If the man had been a lawful monk, how could he have become a wanted criminal? It seemed that not every bald head was a monk.

Then Xu Nan frowned. He knew a little about the Black Knife Warrior class. It had been recorded in his bloodline knowledge, and it was an extremely dangerous profession.

Even in Pro World, Black Knife Warriors were considered only less dangerous than cultists, a class despised by all.

They took pleasure in killing their own kind and gained power through bloodshed.

There were many advancement paths for Black Knife Warriors, but most chose either Red Road Exile or Blood Kill Hunter. The former's advancement quest required slaughtering at least one village of innocent people, while the latter carried even greater blood debts.

In short, they were no good.

Xu Nan made up his mind to wait for his senior to arrive so they could discuss how to deal with this wanted criminal together.

But at that moment, the Quest Card that always loved stirring up trouble popped out again—

Ron Sorcerer Bloodline Awakening Optional Quest

Quest Name: Refusing to Save

Quest Description: In this dangerous world, being too kind can easily hurt yourself. Sometimes, refusing to save someone is the best way to protect yourself...

Seeing this, Xu Nan felt that the quest description made quite a bit of sense. If some overly compassionate person encountered a dying wanted criminal, they might actually save him and let him harm society again.

But the very next second, the quest's tone suddenly took a sharp turn:

...So, let us carefully observe the miserable state of someone near death! Closely observe every detail of the dying Wu Ke's body for 30 minutes. If the dying person completely dies or leaves the near-death state during that time, the quest fails!

Xu Nan gave a dry laugh and immediately wanted to reject the quest.

What the hell was this? Refusing to save him was one thing, but it wanted him to go over and watch? Did it think a wanted criminal was not a person?

What if the man stopped breathing while Xu Nan was watching? Not only would he fail the quest, he would get himself into trouble.

Xu Nan was not doing something like that.

But when he saw the quest reward clearly, his eyes could no longer move away.

Quest Reward: 5 Shame Points; Class Specialty—Instant Spell

Instant! Spell!

The moment Xu Nan saw those four words, he accepted the quest.

Wasn't it just watching a dying bald boss? It should not be that difficult, right?

From the moment Xu Nan accepted the quest, he could clearly see Wu Ke's health.

Health: 3/96

Based on his total health, the near-death range should be between 1 and 15 points.

"He's about to die. How did he get hurt this badly?" Xu Nan moved closer and muttered to himself.

He shone his flashlight over the Bald Head Boss from head to toe and found several bullet wounds on his chest and abdomen. It was clear that even a Level 4 Black Knife Warrior could not contend with modern weapons. He could not even withstand firearms.

Xu Nan did not know much about guns, nor did he know what kind of weapons the Armed Police or military had used to beat a professional with far greater physical abilities than ordinary people into this state.

Looking at Wu Ke's miserable condition, Xu Nan was still rather shaken.

"So this is how I'm supposed to observe him."

Xu Nan silently glanced at the Quest Card. Besides Wu Ke's health, there was now also a countdown timer, beginning at 30 minutes.

Xu Nan sat there and stared fixedly at the bald man.

A minute later, Wu Ke's health dropped by another point, falling to 2!

Xu Nan suddenly realized that if he did nothing, this guy might really die!

A wanted criminal deserved death, but what about his quest?

Zhang Yingluo was probably still on her way. If the man died like this, Xu Nan would have a hard time explaining it to his senior too!

He struggled painfully for another minute. Wu Ke's health flickered again and dropped directly to 1!

Once his health hit zero, he would leave this world.

Xu Nan knew it was time to make a decision.

Gritting his teeth, he spent two Shame Points to purchase the priest's Level 1 spell, Greater Heal, across classes!

The reward for completing the quest was four Shame Points, so the investment would pay off. Xu Nan comforted himself with that thought.

The next second, he faced the bald man and began chanting softly!

He cast Greater Heal!

The bald man's health shot upward!

In one breath, it jumped from 2 to 17!

Xu Nan was horrified.

The bald man groaned and actually woke from unconsciousness. He looked at Xu Nan with gratitude in his eyes, as though he wanted to say something.

But in the next second, Xu Nan pulled a fruit knife from his backpack and stabbed it into the bald man's abdomen.

The fruit knife dealt 2 points of damage, perfectly bringing the bald man's health back to 15—the heavily wounded, near-death state required by the quest!

Bald Head Boss: "??"

He stared at Xu Nan, his face full of confusion. His voice was weak.

"Brother... save me... Did you use a healing spell on me just now? Are you a priest?"

Xu Nan remained silent and stared at him with wide eyes.

That gaze made even Wu Ke, the Bald Head Boss, feel a chill in his heart.

In truth, Xu Nan was only trying to complete the quest and ensure he met the requirement of careful observation!

But in the bald man's eyes, the scene became increasingly unfathomable.

Though he was near death, he still had enough strength to speak. "Y-you, save me... I'll reward you handsomely. I also have ways to help you obtain even more power."

Xu Nan remained unmoved, simply staring.

The bald man spoke for a while. Later, he was probably exhausted, or perhaps his health was dropping too quickly and he had no strength left. He could only stare back at Xu Nan.

Before long, Wu Ke's health dropped below 5 again.

Xu Nan suddenly began chanting softly and cast another Greater Heal.

Whoosh!

Wu Ke's health instantly rose from 5 to 20!

Xu Nan frowned and struck three times in quick succession.

20 - 2 - 2 - 2 = 14.

Much better. Xu Nan smiled faintly.

The joy that had just appeared on Wu Ke's face turned into bewilderment. He felt like he could barely breathe.

He looked at Xu Nan and asked blankly after a long while, "Brother, what are you trying to do?"

Xu Nan shook his head without speaking and continued staring at him. There were still more than ten minutes left.

Wu Ke despaired.

But this time, perhaps because Xu Nan had stabbed him so many times, Wu Ke's health dropped even faster.

With five minutes left on the quest countdown, his health was about to hit zero again.

Xu Nan sighed softly, his face showing compassion and reluctance.

Though Wu Ke was half-conscious, he seemed to sense the cold gleam of the fruit knife. Gasping for breath, he said, "Brother, just finish me off."

Xu Nan shook his head, continued chanting, and cast Greater Heal for the third time!

Who knew that this time, Greater Heal would trigger a burst-healing effect!

Wu Ke's health shot from 2 all the way to 32!

The two stared at each other in a daze. After a long moment, Xu Nan suddenly sprang up, pinned Wu Ke's bald head down, and began frantically stabbing his abdomen!

"Xu Nan! I found you!"

Qin Lele appeared by the stream, but the next second, her face turned deathly pale with fright!

Under the moonlight, Xu Nan was pinning down a gleaming bald head, his face twisted as he wildly stabbed with a fruit knife!

As he stabbed, he muttered, "Get the hell back down! Get the hell back down!"

After a long while, Xu Nan finally stabbed away the extra health from the burst healing and brought him back into the near-death state required by the quest.

He wiped away his sweat.

Two figures entered the corner of his vision.

Zhang Yingluo and Qin Lele were staring at him in shock.

Xu Nan wiped the sweat and blood from his face, left the fruit knife embedded in the bald man's abdomen, and looked at them silently.

"How long have you been watching?"

...!