Kill

[Enemy killed, Slaughter Point +189]

Lu Hao stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the scene before him.

No, man, you talked such a big game, I really thought you had some kind of ace up your sleeve, but this is it?

Thought he was a king, turns out he was just bronze.

Lu Hao muttered to himself, scanning the surroundings. Blood was splattered everywhere; it looked like the logistics crew coming to clean up the mess later was going to have a field day complaining.

Lu Hao walked toward the area where he had come from.

Passing through two rooms, Lu Hao saw a pile of household trash; this was where Lu Bo had been living. After a quick search, Lu Hao found a black box containing two heavy gold bars and a few bottles of pills.

Lu Hao opened them to check; they were just ordinary Blood Vitality Pills, Organ Protection Pills, and Healing Pills. There was nothing else.

Taking these and photographing the scene, Lu Hao headed outside. Those two gold bars must have been the motive for Lu Bo's murder.

As for the gold, it would have to be handed over to the Detective Bureau, who would then contact the victim's family for distribution. His own biggest gain was the Slaughter Points, which would allow him to temper four more bones.

He arrived at Viper's car.

"Taken care of?"

"Yeah, it's done. Let's head back to the Detective Bureau. It wasn't quite what I imagined," Lu Hao said.

"How so?"

"I originally thought these fugitives would be on the same level as the fighters in the Duel Arena, or at least have some combat awareness. But I didn't even have to try, and the guy just died."

"It felt like I was expecting a big boss, but in reality, it was just a low-level mob I could kill with a flick of my wrist."

Lu Hao recounted the encounter to Viper.

"Haha, that's normal. You shouldn't assume that typical criminals were always like this. Most were ordinary people or low-level martial artists who became criminals after a moment of greed or a sudden change in circumstances."

"How much real combat experience could they have? They just stepped into the martial arts world and committed crimes without even understanding how things work. Anyone with a bit more knowledge wouldn't be out here so openly killing for money."

"That's why the purpose of these missions is to temper students like you from the Martial University. Otherwise, they'd just send a mid-grade martial artist to crush them all. The Detective Bureau's real enemies are the Evil Cults."

"Those people are the true targets of the Detective Bureau. The Evil Cults have many low-to-mid-grade members, and even a few high-grade ones. Those people are far more dangerous."

Lu Hao nodded. He hadn't expected that the mission he thought would be fraught with danger would turn out to be no challenge for him at all.

Back at the Detective Bureau, Lu Hao submitted the mission and handed over the recovered gold to the staff.

Upon reaching the lobby, Lu Hao's phone showed a deposit of 200,000 yuan. It seemed the Detective Bureau worked fast; they had transferred the reward without even verifying the specific details. Weren't they afraid of people filing false reports?

He continued to the mission selection terminal. This time, he found a mission involving a high-stage Grade 1 target. This mission was more detailed.

Name: Bai Yifan Gender: Male Age: 38 Strength: High-stage Grade 1, trained in basic combat techniques, possibly carrying short weapons, and suspected of potentially breaking through to the peak of Grade 1. Case: As an employee of a pill company's retail store, he killed his supervisor in a fit of rage after an argument and fled with a large quantity of pills. Latest News: Bai Yifan has been spotted hiding in Shihe Village on the outskirts of Magic City. Reward: 400,000 yuan in cash.

High-stage Grade 1, possibly breaking through to the peak of Grade 1. Hmm, this is a good target. I hope he really can break through; after all, the more Slaughter Points, the better.

Lu Hao accepted the mission and headed toward Shihe Village.

Upon arriving at the location, Lu Hao found that the situation here was not much better than the unfinished building from last time. Although a few people could be seen scattered about, the population was very sparse.

Isn't a place like this a paradise for criminals?

"Uncle Wang, why doesn't the government just clear out these suburban villages and unfinished buildings? Wouldn't that leave criminals with nowhere to hide?"

"Little Lu, you can't just look at things on the surface. Think about it: if the government demolished these places, those criminal martial artists would just hide in the city. Think of the collateral damage to ordinary people when they try to arrest them there."

"Oh, right. I'm used to having power and forgot about the lethality martial artists pose to ordinary people."

The car stopped outside; it would be too conspicuous to drive into the village. Lu Hao got out and slowly crept in, intending to find Bai Yifan's exact location before making a move.

It took a full hour and a half for Lu Hao to locate Bai Yifan. I have to say, this Bai Yifan is truly a rat; he was hiding in a cellar beneath an empty house.

If Lu Hao hadn't noticed traces of human activity while scouting the area and waited here for a while, seeing Bai Yifan come out to grab supplies, he probably would have been hidden away successfully.

Since he had found Bai Yifan, the next step was to take action.

The good news was that there were no outsiders near Bai Yifan's location. The bad news was that Bai Yifan was hiding in the cellar and wouldn't come out.

Lu Hao didn't know what the situation was like inside the cellar. If there were any traps, Lu Hao was only a Grade 1 martial artist, not invulnerable; he could get hurt, and he might even capsize in the gutter.

There was no other way. For safety, Lu Hao sent a message to Viper, saying he planned to stake out the place for a while. He didn't believe Bai Yifan would stay inside forever. Since he had come out earlier, it meant he would come out again; it was just a matter of time.

And so, Lu Hao began his wait in a concealed spot in the room.

One hour, two hours, three hours...

There was no movement inside. Lu Hao almost couldn't resist rushing in, but his reason suppressed his anxiety. When doing things, one must have patience and stay calm.

Half an hour later, finally, Lu Hao stared at the cellar door before him, which had at last shown some movement as Bai Yifan tested the way out and finally emerged.

Seeing this, Lu Hao erupted into action, slashing his blade directly toward Bai Yifan.

"Clang!"

The sound of weapons colliding rang out; Lu Hao saw that Bai Yifan now held a rod in his hand, which had blocked Lu Hao's attack.

Lu Hao leveraged the air to propel himself forward, continuing his assault with a second slash. This strike reached the level of a trump card, with over 50 units of vitality bursting forth from the blade.

Bai Yifan continued to use the rod to defend, but he had not expected the power of this move to be so great that he could not withstand it at all; the broadsword, along with the metal rod, hacked toward Bai Yifan's chest.

Bang, bang!

The sound of vitality colliding and exploding echoed out.

Lu Hao saw his blade, along with the metal rod, strike against a piece of inner armor, which had already been torn open by the vitality, revealing the lacerated flesh beneath.

Blood trickled from Bai Yifan's mouth as his right hand produced a medicinal pill, ready to consume it.