Wang Jie's Guess

They had arrived in less than a minute.

Yet the Wild Boar King was already dead.

There were only three people here.

If it wasn't the two officials who killed it, could it have been this pale-faced kid?

Impossible!

"Leng Yuan!"

Tan Lang gritted his teeth and roared each word through clenched jaws, his voice filled with fury.

"I need an explanation!"

He extended a thick finger toward the Wild Boar King's corpse on the ground, spittle flying everywhere.

"You people from the Professionals Association sure have some nerve! Your duty is to monitor the stability of this area and ensure that no abnormal situations beyond the Professionals' ability to handle occur! The rules are written crystal clear: as long as the monsters don't exceed Level 10, you're not allowed to intervene!"

"And now?"

He took a step forward, his imposing aura pressing down like a mountain. "You've openly violated the rules and killed this Elite BOSS before we could! What, do you look down on the Tan Lang War Band, or do you think we're easy to bully?!"

Lu Fei's expression changed at Tan Lang's roar and accusations, and he instinctively wanted to retort, but Leng Yuan spoke first.

Her voice remained as cold and calm as ever, without the slightest ripple.

"We didn't kill it."

"Bullshit!"

Tan Lang exploded instantly. Pointing at his own nose, he roared, "Do you take me for a three-year-old? This Elite BOSS just spawned less than a minute ago! Other than you, who else on the outskirts of Wild Boar Forest has the ability to do this?!"

The members of the War Band behind him also began shouting.

"That's right! Don't think you can do whatever you want just because you're wearing official uniforms!"

"You stole our BOSS and still want to deny it? No way!"

"Hand over what it dropped! Otherwise, don't even think about leaving this forest today!"

For a moment, the crowd was in an uproar.

Leng Yuan finally frowned.

She wasn't afraid of Tan Lang. She simply felt that this group was like a pack of mad dogs incapable of reason.

Trying to reason with them? That would be a complete waste of breath.

Just then, Tan Lang's eyes shifted, and his gaze fell once more on the silent youth who had not said a word from beginning to end.

Right, wasn't there a witness here?

Tan Lang forced out what he thought was a friendly smile, though it looked worse than crying, and walked toward Yang Yu.

He deliberately softened his tone. "Kid, don't be afraid. Big brother isn't a bad guy."

"You've been here the whole time, so you must've seen what happened just now, right?"

Tan Lang coaxed him patiently.

"Tell me, was this Wild Boar King killed by these two people in black?"

As he spoke, he used his gaze to pressure Yang Yu.

In his eyes, what other choice did a terrified high school student have when facing a vicious War Band leader like him besides nodding?

As long as the kid nodded and confirmed that Leng Yuan and her partner had broken the rules, he would have the moral high ground today.

Then, whether he forced them to hand over equipment or reported them to their superiors, he would be invincible.

At that moment, everyone's eyes focused on Yang Yu.

Leng Yuan and her partner also looked at him. They wanted to see how this frightened, dumbstruck youth would answer.

Yang Yu looked at the fleshy face before him, then at the hostile lackeys behind Tan Lang.

He found it somewhat amusing.

Another group of people who had misunderstood things?

Still, he had indeed killed this BOSS, and he didn't want others taking the blame for him.

Slowly and clearly, he uttered three words.

"No, it wasn't."

His voice wasn't loud, but it sounded exceptionally clear in the tense forest clearing.

The air fell deathly silent.

The smile on Tan Lang's face froze.

The members of the War Band behind him were also stunned.

A trace of surprise flashed through both Leng Yuan's and her partner's eyes.

"What did you say?"

Tan Lang dug at his ear, as though he thought he had misheard.

He bent down until his face was nearly pressed against Yang Yu's, then asked again, word by word, "Kid, I'll ask you one more time. What did you just... say?"

A cold killing intent spread from his body.

Yang Yu could even smell the foul stench from his mouth.

He frowned slightly and quietly took half a step back, opening up some distance.

Then he looked Tan Lang in the eyes and repeated in a matter-of-fact tone, "I said, they didn't kill it."

This time, everyone heard him clearly.

Tan Lang's face visibly changed from stunned disbelief to livid blue, then to a purplish red like pig liver.

He felt like his lungs were about to explode from rage!

Was there something wrong with this kid's brain?!

Tan Lang had offered him an easy way out, yet not only had he refused it, he had slapped Tan Lang across the face instead!

"Good! Good! Good!"

Tan Lang laughed in extreme anger, saying "good" three times in a row. Even the finger pointing at Yang Yu trembled slightly.

He gave Yang Yu a deep look, then shot a venomous glance at the calm-faced Leng Yuan.

He knew that if he kept causing trouble today, he wouldn't gain anything.

With that damned kid refusing to cooperate, he had lost his most important "evidence."

"We'll see about that!"

He squeezed out the words through gritted teeth, then waved his hand sharply.

"Let's go!"

With that, he turned without looking back and stormed off with his equally baffled and furious subordinates.

On the dim forest path.

Tan Lang walked at the front, his face so gloomy it seemed ready to drip water. Dead branches and fallen leaves crunched beneath his feet.

Behind him, a lackey with a scarred face cautiously moved closer and lowered his voice. "Boss, are we just letting this go? That was an Elite BOSS! And those two officials, along with that suicidal kid, showed you no respect at all!"

Another lackey indignantly chimed in, "Exactly, Boss! I think we should've just attacked them! There were so many of us. Were we really afraid of those three? If we took them all out, no one would know. And if they dropped anything good, wouldn't we strike it rich?"

"Idiot!"

The handsome youth walking beside Tan Lang, his younger brother Wang Jie, coldly rebuked him.

The scar-faced lackey choked, shrank his neck, and didn't dare say another word.

Tan Lang stopped and looked back at his brother. The anger on his face eased slightly as he asked,

"Xiao Jie, what do you think is going on? Did those two officials really not kill the Wild Boar King?"

An icy coldness flashed in Wang Jie's eyes, one that did not suit his age. He shook his head and analyzed,

"Brother, I've heard of those two, especially that woman named Leng Yuan. She's famous in the Professionals Association for being an iceberg—rigid and obsessed with rules. The chance of her openly breaking regulations over a Level 10 Elite BOSS is very small."

"Then... who killed it?" Tan Lang frowned. "Don't tell me it was that shabby kid?"

"Of course not."

Wang Jie's lips curled into a contemptuous smile. "That kid was probably just a rookie who had only recently left the city. He likely got lucky and happened to pass by when the BOSS died, then got scared stupid. The person who really killed the BOSS probably took the loot and left long ago."

"Fuck!"

Tan Lang punched the nearby tree, shaking loose a shower of leaves. "I don't care who it was. Whoever dared steal my BOSS better pray I don't find out!"

"Brother, why be in such a hurry?"

Wang Jie's gaze grew even colder. "No matter who killed it, those two officials need to be dealt with. We all work for the same boss, yet they don't know how to behave at all! But there's no need to confront them head-on. Isn't their job to monitor and deal with monsters above Level 10? As long as we use that thing, they're dead for sure! As for that rookie, just spread the word among the brothers."

As Tan Lang listened to his brother's analysis, the anger on his face gradually faded, replaced by approval.

"Xiao Jie, you're right! As expected of my little brother. Your brain works better than those idiots'!"

He patted Wang Jie on the shoulder and burst into laughter, as though all the humiliation from earlier had vanished.

"Come on! Don't let this little matter ruin our mood! I'll take you to run a Dungeon first. You're a B-rank Shadow Walker, so your leveling speed can't fall behind! Our Wang family can't spend our entire lives doing dirty work for others!"

Seventy percent of the protection money they collected had to be handed over.

Part of the income from wild monsters and Dungeons also had to be handed over.

That was why Tan Lang had been so furious after feeling that his BOSS had been stolen.

"Mm." Wang Jie nodded.

The group marched grandly toward the Dungeon.