Soul Mark

Ling Chu raised an eyebrow slightly.

A treasure map?

That sounded rather tempting.

Brave the World nervously observed Ling Chu's expression. After all, he was up against the number one on all three leaderboards, and he had prepared a backup plan in case the assassination failed.

That treasure map was the most valuable thing he had. The first thing he did upon arriving on this island was find a hidden spot to stash it. If he successfully killed Ling Chu, he would naturally dig it up and take it away. But if he slipped up, the map would serve as a bargaining chip for his life.

Ling Chu sneered inwardly. This guy had some brains, knowing to leave a contingency.

"You're in no position to negotiate with me, are you? Who's to say you didn't just make up that map on the spot?"

"It's absolutely real! We can sign a delayed System Contract, but you have to let me go first!" Brave the World said.

System Contracts could only be used for barter transactions. For example, Ling Chu could exchange any resource for the treasure map in his hands, and they could set a deadline for the trade. Within the specified time, if he didn't hand over the treasure map, That Thing would be automatically deducted by the system and delivered to Ling Chu's ship warehouse.

But the system couldn't regulate whether Ling Chu actually let him go, so Brave the World wanted to sign a delayed contract with her. If he died at her hands before the trade deadline, Ling Chu naturally wouldn't get the treasure map.

"No need for all that trouble. I have a more convenient method than a System Contract."

Ling Chu activated her newly acquired Soul Mark skill. She happened to want to test how it worked, so she'd use him as a guinea pig.

As the skill activated, a Soul Thread, visible only to Ling Chu, emerged from her fingertip and connected to Brave the World's forehead, forming a faint Diamond Mark.

"Hand over the treasure map," Ling Chu said.

But as the words fell, the Diamond Mark vanished, and the skill activation failed.

Ling Chu guessed that the skill description said "establish a fair Soul Contract." Since she had only unilaterally demanded Brave the World hand over something without specifying what she would give in return, the system deemed it unfair, so the skill didn't work?

Her little scheme foiled, she had no choice but to reactivate the skill.

"Hand over the treasure map, and I'll let you leave."

"This is my class skill. Whoever breaks the promise will have their soul dissipate instantly."

Though Brave the World couldn't see the Soul Thread, he felt a chill on his forehead. The Diamond Mark reappeared and sank into both their foreheads.

The skill activation succeeded.

Ling Chu released her grip on Brave the World. Under her watchful eye, he couldn't pull any tricks.

Brave the World completely abandoned the idea of assassinating Ling Chu. With teleportation, so many Skeleton Henchmen, and even a skill to forge Soul Contracts, he had to admit defeat this time.

Hanging his head, Brave the World led Ling Chu to a shrub he had marked. The mark was so well-hidden that without his guidance, Ling Chu would never have found it.

A Skeleton Henchman picked up a shovel and dug a couple of times, quickly unearthing a small wooden box. When the box opened, inside was a piece of parchment.

The parchment depicted what seemed to be a shipwreck. At the broken middle of the ship sat a Treasure Chest, and in the upper right corner of the paper, coordinates were drawn. It was indeed a treasure map.

"Can I go now?"

Brave the World asked timidly.

"Mm."

Brave the World turned and bolted away, his lame lion following.

Ling Chu watched quietly, not bothering to remind him that he was running straight into the territory guarded by that Sulfur Giant Lizard.

"Follow him. Don't expose yourself."

If you can't find the book by searching the title, try searching the author's name—maybe it was just renamed!

Ling Chu waited until he had run a distance before speaking to Hemlock.

Hemlock acknowledged the order, silently drifting behind Brave the World. When he wasn't looking, Hemlock possessed the hand crossbow strapped to his waist.

Before long, beastly roars echoed faintly from deep in the jungle, shaking the leaves with a rustling sound.

Ling Chu had long since returned to her own Sailboat, roughing it in the cabin for a night to rest and recharge.

When she woke the next day, the unlucky DEBUFF from the Gambler's Coin had disappeared, and Ling Chu noticed that the Soul Mark on her forehead was also gone.

There were two possibilities: Brave the World was dead, so the mark naturally vanished. The other was that he had already left the island, meaning their contract was fulfilled.

Ling Chu leaned toward the latter, because Hemlock hadn't returned yet. She had a strange connection with her Ghost Servant, and she could sense his general direction—not far from her.

It seemed she had found a special use for her Ghost Servant...

Ling Chu began preparing to hunt the giant lizard. Just as she was about to message National Server Little Luban, he proactively sent her a message.

"Big shot, your dagger and bullets are done. See if you like them?"

Ling Chu took the new dagger from her ship's warehouse that Little Luban had traded over. The blade looked like it was forged from ice, emitting a faint, translucent blue glow under the sunlight, and felt icy to the touch. She gripped the dagger with both hands and swung it a few times. The feel was excellent.

[Ice Crystal Dagger]

[Quality: Rare]

[A dagger forged from Rare Ice Crystal Ore. It can freeze objects that come into contact with the blade. Agility +1.]

"I'm very satisfied with the dagger. Thanks for your hard work."

National Server Little Luban: "Glad you like it. It was worth staying up all night. Thanks to your rare material, I'm close to advancing to Blacksmith Level 2."

It seemed that a blacksmith's class advancement was related to the number and quality of equipment crafted?

National Server Little Luban said a few words to her, then went to catch up on sleep.

Ling Chu messaged Lingering Wind and Fading Moon again: "Awake yet?"

Lingering Wind and Fading Moon was a bit exasperated: "Did you finish off those five Mana Potions I gave you already?!"

Ling Chu: "No, this time I need Paralysis Potion. Have you brewed any?"

Lingering Wind and Fading Moon didn't waste words and sent her two Paralysis Potions: "Only managed to brew two. Sending them to you first."

"Two is enough. Take your time with the rest, no rush," Ling Chu said.

Lingering Wind and Fading Moon looked at the words "no rush" she'd sent and found them hard to believe—could this really come from the mouth of the spendthrift who'd downed ten Mana Potions in a single day?

Lingering Wind and Fading Moon, sporting dark circles from staying up all night brewing, couldn't help adding: "Use them sparingly."

"Mm."

Ling Chu closed the chat window. She called over Round Head and handed him the shotgun and bullets. According to Titch, aside from himself, Round Head was the best shot among these skeletons.

Her ship hadn't been upgraded yet, and the space was too small. Last night, only Ling Chu had slept in the cabin; the Skeleton Henchmen had stayed on the island and gathered quite a bit of charcoal for her.

This charcoal, grown beside lava and carbonized by volcanic ash, burned for a long time. Right now, her small sailboat relied on wind power, but after future upgrades it would definitely become a steamship, and then coal would be in high demand.

Ling Chu gathered all her Skeleton Henchmen. Before setting out, she checked her equipment again, coated her dagger and arrows with Paralysis Potion, and switched to the title "Desperado" just in case.

After walking twenty minutes toward the Sulfur Giant Lizard's direction, she arrived nearby. Ling Chu no longer heard the beast's roars from last night. Pushing aside the grass ahead, a bloody scene came into view.

The Sulfur Giant Lizard was sprawled over the Golden Lion's corpse, chewing and eating in large mouthfuls.