The Ring Proved Its Worth

"Half-Day Flower, a poisonous flower found on the outskirts of Seven Colors Valley. Its toxins are mild and hard to detect, acting slowly and continuously harming the human body. It gradually makes the poisoned person lose strength and all bodily functions. After half a day, they become a toy at anyone's mercy."

"But Half-Day Flower's poison gradually fades after half a day. After a full day, the poisoned person returns to normal. So we'll make our move in twelve hours, when he's at his weakest. If he catches on beforehand, then we move early."

"When that kid went out carrying his things just now, I heard the heavy clinking of Iron Coins inside. There were at least two hundred."

"If we pull this off, the two of us can finally have some meat."

Two sharp-faced men hid behind a tree, their eyes narrowed as they stared at Cheng Shaofeng's shack.

On the wasteland, there was never any shortage of opportunists.

Like cockroaches, they could never be wiped out.

Zhang San and Luo Wu were such people. They were also Scavengers, but they had not been as lucky as Cheng Shaofeng and Wu Jie.

They had not found anything valuable for three days.

They had already eaten through the tiny bit of savings they had.

Zhang San recalled being poisoned once before. It had happened on the outskirts of Seven Colors Valley, a human forbidden zone. After inhaling the scent of this flower, he had felt like he was about to die half a day later. Then, after lying down for a day, he had come back to life, completely fine.

He had learned all of that through experiments on his own body.

Yesterday, with the two of them nearly at the end of their rope, they had once again harbored ill intentions. Covering their mouths and noses with wet cloth, they picked a Half-Day Flower and prepared to find some fat sheep in Salt Well Town.

The hunters were too alert to be their targets.

They had set their sights on Cheng Shaofeng, who had carried a bag to the store to buy things, and they had heard the Iron Coins inside his bag.

After discussing it, the two had directly placed the flower in Cheng Shaofeng's home.

Then they waited quietly for the fish to float belly-up.

Zhang San hid behind the tree and laughed sinisterly. "This poisonous flower has no effect on creatures with vigorous life force, like Raiders, but it's more than enough for ordinary people. If this job goes smoothly, we can make better use of this poisonous flower in the future. Heh heh heh~"

Luo Wu said, "But wouldn't it be too dangerous if the Town Chief found out?"

"That old bastard is already so old that his thing barely works. He can only entertain himself by tormenting the wives he just married. Haven't you noticed that his men have been patrolling much less lately? We just need to be careful not to get discovered. On the wasteland, it's perfectly normal for a Scavenger to die after being poisoned."

"Oh, right. Big brother really is amazing!"

"Of course! Who do you think I am? Heh heh heh~"

The two Scavengers lurking in the shadows were ready to rob Cheng Shaofeng.

Following their gazes, a faint wisp of white smoke drifted up from Cheng Shaofeng's tent.

"Burp~"

Only after eating a full two pounds of boiled beans did Cheng Shaofeng burp in satisfaction.

They did not taste like much, but they filled the stomach.

Otherwise, they would not have become the standard dry ration throughout the Colossus City region.

He drank more than half the bean soup, then poured the rest into a container and used it to put out the wood.

Cheng Shaofeng checked the time. It was only nine in the morning, and the hunters would not be back for a while. He could rest for a bit.

"Salt Well Town is three hours away from my place. If I rely solely on manpower for a round trip, I can carry too little and it's too slow. No, I need to get some kind of transport."

Getting up from the bed, Cheng Shaofeng left the shack again, intending to find a two-wheeled wooden cart.

At that moment, something flashed before his eyes, and a green damage number popped up in front of him.

Poison damage received, HP -1. Duration: a very long time

Before Cheng Shaofeng could panic, light flashed across his ring, and his health was full again.

At the base, he could see that his base health value was five hundred points.

"Huh? How did I... get poisoned?"

Cheng Shaofeng found it rather strange. He had somehow suffered a Poison Attack, and it was only one point.

"But... this damage isn't even as fast as my Life Recovery Speed. Does that mean I'm basically not poisoned?"

"Could the beans have expired? Or is this place too damp... and the microorganism count is over the limit? Judging from the duration, it's probably..."

He shook his head, planning to finish his business and head back early.

Outside, Zhang San and Luo Wu watched Cheng Shaofeng drag his bag out again and quietly followed behind him.

They saw Cheng Shaofeng buy a two-wheeled wooden cart from the store and load his belongings onto it.

Then he stayed in his shack for three hours. Once he heard hunters returning, he dragged the cart out again.

He bought a Mutated Dog that had just been killed from one hunter, a Two-Headed Deer from another, and finally a Mutated Blood Deer from the Hunter King Qianshou.

He loaded the three prey animals onto the cart and pulled it out of Salt Well Town.

He moved as swiftly as if he were flying.

Zhang San and Luo Wu exchanged a glance.

(〃°ー°)(°ー°〃)

Zhang San asked, "Why does he look completely fine?"

Luo Wu said, "He seems to be in even better shape, like he just ate a full meal."

Zhang San's face darkened.

"He must be pretending. He realized someone poisoned him and wants to run. Let's catch up, find somewhere secluded, and kill him. All those prey animals will be ours!"

"Let's go!"

The two quickly chased after him.

Twenty minutes later.

At a bend along a mountain road.

Cheng Shaofeng, pulling a cart full of prey, wiped away his sweat and opened his canteen for a drink.

"Dragging over three hundred pounds of stuff along mountain roads is really fucking exhausting."

If not for the cart's two severely worn tires, he would have probably exhausted himself to death on the road.

Suddenly!

Rustling sounds came from behind him as two men holding pry bars rushed over.

Zhang San and Luo Wu.

Cheng Shaofeng cautiously took a step back, standing behind the cart as he picked up the Rusty Mace from it.

"Zhang San, Luo Wu, why are you following me?"

Zhang San grinned. "What do you think we want? Everything on this cart belongs to us now."

Luo Wu said, "If you know what's good for you, leave everything on the cart and get lost. Since we're all Scavengers, we'll spare your life."

Cheng Shaofeng's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"What if I say no?"

Zhang San slowly approached with his pry bar. "Then you and your supplies can stay here together. I hear that in some settlements, human flesh is also a tradable commodity."

Luo Wu approached from the other direction, forming a pincer attack with Zhang San.

Yet both men moved carefully, their eyes fixed on Cheng Shaofeng's Wolf Tooth Club.

Luo Wu shouted, "I advise you not to court death. You can scavenge for more things after losing them, but once your life is gone, it's gone."

Zhang San said, "If I'm not mistaken... your limbs can barely exert any strength now, right? Before the poison fully takes effect, you still have a chance to live. Otherwise... heh heh~"

Cheng Shaofeng's gaze sharpened.

"You were the ones who poisoned me? No wonder."

He glanced at the two men closing in and asked, "If I put the things down, will you really let me go?"

Zhang San and Luo Wu exchanged a glance, delight flashing across their faces.

Zhang San said, "That's right. Everyone in Salt Well Town knows that us brothers are the most trustworthy. Put your Wolf Tooth Club on the cart, then get the hell out of here!"

Cheng Shaofeng nodded. "Understood."

He slowly placed the Wolf Tooth Club onto the cart.

"Move!"

Like demons baring their fangs, the two men lunged forward with their pry bars.

Bang!

Bang!

Two gunshots rang out from the mountain forest.