Kill a Thousand by Mistake, Let None Go

"Damn it, the treatment is way too good, isn't it?"

"Yeah, we work hard for a month and can only afford two Green Grade paper talismans. That newcomer starts with Blue Grade jade talismans!"

"A Blue Grade Offensive Jade Talisman can take on level 20 monsters."

"And a Blue Grade Defensive Jade Talisman can even withstand several hits from a level 20 BOSS."

"Plus a Purple Grade Escape Talisman—it's a perfect match for us players."

"Right, as long as you escape to a safe distance and break combat, you can log off immediately. One more talisman means one more life!"

The players envied it, but if they were actually asked to sign a Guard Contract, none of them would ever agree.

Fourth Elder, smiling, took the jade talismans and handed them over, giving each person five Defensive Talismans and two Escape Talismans.

"Alright, take these for now to keep yourselves alive. If they're not enough, come ask me for more."

"We'll go hit up Second Elder and Fifth Elder for some extras too." Fourth Elder added.

Third Elder turned and left, tossing out a parting remark: "If you fail to train a qualified guard this time, don't expect to get a single one from me in the future."

Gao Linzhi took the two types of jade talismans and placed them into his Game Backpack.

After checking them, a game prompt appeared:

[Blue Grade Defensive Jade Talisman (100/100), five pieces. Can be brought into the real world. Automatically resists attacks below Blue Tier 100 times. Can be recharged repeatedly; each recharge reduces max durability by 10 points.]

[Purple Grade Escape Talisman (10/10), two pieces. Can be brought into the real world. Pre-set a safe point. Automatically teleports you back to the safe point when encountering fatal danger. Usable 10 times. Maximum distance 30 kilometers. Can be recharged repeatedly; each recharge reduces max durability by 1 point.]

Seeing this, Gao Linzhi felt a wave of relief.

With this, he now had more means to protect himself in the real world.

He then followed Fourth Elder and continued on.

Meanwhile.

In a large courtyard house in East Wolf Village.

The players of Xu Corporation were standing together in the living room, heads bowed, staring at the floor, not daring to breathe loudly.

Like they were all being punished standing up.

"So you're saying that woman has such high talent that the village's Fourth Elder would rather offend our company players to protect her?" A young man spoke with a fake smile.

He was none other than the high school student who had yelled at the players earlier at the village entrance, ordering them to farm the BOSS—the heir of Xu Corporation, Xu Tianlang.

Though he looked young, his eyes were vicious and ruthless. In his hand, he toyed with a gleaming Steel Dagger.

"That's what Fourth Elder said, young master." Lao Qi and Lao Ba replied cautiously.

"Then I'm very curious—in the real world, why didn't you restrain her immediately?"

"Why did you give her time to move freely?"

"Why didn't you shove a micro bomb up her ass right away!"

"Are all you people in the security department just dead weight?"

The more Xu Tianlang spoke, the more vicious he became!

The dagger flew out, aimed at Lao Qi and Lao Ba.

It moved as if alive, circling around their left ring fingers with a single twist.

Two fresh fingers, dripping with blood, fell to the ground.

Lao Qi and Lao Ba gritted their teeth against the pain, not daring to let out a single cry.

In their hearts, they hated Xu Tianlang to death, but not a trace showed on their faces.

Damn it, damn it, damn it!

Dogs in the real world, dogs in the game too—were people born under a bad star only meant to be dogs?

Everyone else was silent as cicadas in winter.

Lao Qi struggled to explain: "She said she needed to use the bathroom. We sent someone to follow her, but she disappeared immediately."

"We logged in right after to chase her."

"We didn't expect her luck to be so good. She logged in and ran, and somehow ended up heading straight for East Wolf Village."

"Very good, very good. So all of you together couldn't outrun her alone?" Xu Tianlang said coldly.

"Her physical fitness is excellent. Vice President Xu, who's in charge of team building at our company, loves marathons and often trains employees on 20-kilometer runs. Plus, her talent is probably very high..."

"I hate marathons," Xu Tianlang took a deep breath, calming his emotions, then asked, "What about her family?"

"That woman has a hard heart. We threatened her with her parents, but she said..." Xu Qi, enduring the pain, quickly repeated Lin Qing's earlier words.

Xu Tianlang paused slightly, then laughed:

"Interesting. Woman, you've successfully caught my attention!"

Everyone's hearts trembled.

They all knew Young Master Xu's habits—this was him making up his mind to cruelly torture Lin Qing to death.

Young Master Xu was shrewd, highly intelligent, and strong in execution.

Extremely vicious, ruthless in his methods; anyone working under him had to focus 120% of their attention.

"Right, the report mentioned two people were present at the time. Where's the other one?" Xu Tianlang calmed down and continued asking.

"The other one is called Gao Linzhi, an ordinary programmer. He's good at writing novels, made some money, and has a lazy temperament. We've got people watching him."

"He's been staying at home the whole time. Considering that a player only drops a Game Poster after death, we've determined he's just a passerby who missed his chance." Lao Qi quickly replied.

"Foolish!" Xu Tianlang said coldly. "Do I need to teach you this again?"

"Better to kill a thousand by mistake than let one go!"

"Immediately bring that person—and any living thing that has come into contact with the crime scene, even if it's a fly—back here and lock them up!" Xu Tianlang said flatly.

A bunch of indecisive fools!

Always worried about attracting reporters and online backlash, not realizing that times have already changed!

"Yes, Young Master, we'll go grab him right away!" The group hurriedly obeyed.

An hour later.

In the village center, within the Fourth Elder's courtyard.

Gao Linzhi and Lin Qing were listening intently as the Fourth Elder explained the basics of being a guard.

Just now, the Fourth Elder had taken the two of them to visit the Second Elder and the Fifth Elder.

The Second Elder specialized in Medicine Making, the Fifth Elder in Artifact Crafting.

The Fourth Elder intended to get them some equipment and medicine—nothing too demanding, just a full set of Purple Quality gear.

Purple Quality pills included those for boosting basic stats, restoring health, healing wounds, detoxifying, and warding off hunger...

This treatment for guards couldn't be called bad.

Things that players would need to grind for half a year to obtain, they were getting equipped with right from the start.

Yet those two elders refused, saying the Fourth Elder should bring the pair along for half a month before talking again.

It made the Fourth Elder curse the two old misers out loud.

Gao Linzhi guessed that the Fourth Elder had brought guards before, and those two had suffered no small losses.

For example, players would find someone to sell off the equipment and medicine, then log off and run away, never coming back online.

No matter how powerful a Guard Contract was, could it still take effect in another world?

So the Fourth Elder brought the two back to his own courtyard—the one in the village center.

He began teaching them the fundamentals of being a guard, imparting basic guard skills.