Enforcer

Metal ×88

Wood ×70

Stone ×86

So poor!

Zhu Jiusi glanced at the loot with disdain, having only managed to scrape this much off two people. He changed direction and gave chase toward the south.

Bright Moon Illuminating People had claimed the targets were to the east and west, but the scent was drifting from the south and west. Either he was lying, or someone had changed their path.

It didn't matter. The mountain forest at night was the home turf of the Wild Boar; none of them would escape!

Zhu Jiusi tracked the scent all the way to a small grove, then came to an abrupt halt.

The scent stopped here. The two of them were inside, and they were no longer running.

A thick, pungent smell of blood wafted from within.

Blood, fresh bamboo, overturned soil...

These two had set a trap!

Retreat!

Zhu Jiusi turned and left without a moment's hesitation.

In Journey Survival, one never fights a prepared battle. If the enemy is prepared, then a strategic withdrawal is in order.

There would be plenty of opportunities to kill, but he would never give the enemy a chance to scheme against him—not even once!

"He left?" In the grove, perched high in a large tree, Thin Monkey spoke in astonishment.

That Wild Boar had just blown up the valley, immediately slaughtered Bright Moon Illuminating People and his companion, and then turned to hunt them down.

He had clearly figured out the truth, stood right at the threshold, and was just one step away from rushing into the grove—yet he turned and left?

"He, knows, trap!" A strained, awkward voice came from the tree next to him.

"There is an old saying in the Middle Kingdom: 'A wise man submits to circumstances.' He knows he cannot kill us, so he leaves decisively!"

Thin Monkey curled his lip, casting a look of contempt toward the other side.

This Woren was a sycophant of strength. From the moment the Wild Boar displayed its combat prowess, the Woren could provide a high-minded explanation for any action it took.

Yet, the more the Woren worshipped it, the more he wanted to use underhanded means to drag the Wild Boar down and kill it.

I admire you so much, let me kill you.

That was likely the extent of his twisted psychology.

He really had left!

Thin Monkey lowered the binoculars in his hand and let out a quiet sigh of relief.

He had quietly swiped these while Bright Moon Illuminating People was covering his eyes and howling.

He had watched through the lenses as the Wild Boar left without looking back, turning toward the west, presumably to hunt down the other two.

"Go! Leave immediately!"

Thin Monkey jumped down from the branch and headed east, intending to return to investigate the cause of the zombies in the village, obtain the Soul Jade to upgrade his vehicle, and then find every possible way to increase his own strength.

The old man in the village had said that there really were immortals in this world.

Even if he couldn't eventually trade for a secret manual, finding a way to cultivate in this dungeon would be good enough.

There were samurai in the nearby town who could truly shatter mountain rocks with a single punch!

As Thin Monkey walked, he was already considering how to squeeze more points out of the village chief—if he didn't investigate the cause, would solving the zombie problem count?

He had already lured all the zombies in the village to the valley to be blown up by the Wild Boar; surely that counted as him handling the corpse riot?

Thin Monkey pondered while keeping a certain distance from Tanaka Banichi.

He cooperated with the Woren, yet he remained wary of him.

This Woren was too twisted, even more devoid of a bottom line than he was.

At most, a few days ago when he was starving to the point of madness, he had seen a fair-skinned, tender woman upon entering the dungeon and couldn't resist hacking off a thigh to fill his stomach.

But that Woren could engage in "activities" with the woman's corpse while gnawing on her flesh.

Thin Monkey was mapping out his next plan. As he walked, he suddenly froze, feeling the hair on his body stand on end and a chill creep up the back of his neck, as if a wild beast were staring at his spine.

He turned his head frame by frame, only to see a wild boar appearing from nowhere, its pig eyes locked onto the carotid artery in his neck.

The moment he turned, the boar suddenly erupted into a charge, slamming into him.

Thin Monkey shrieked and scrambled to run, but his feet tangled, and he tumbled to the ground, face-planting into the dirt.

He struggled to rise, but the wild boar had already crashed into him, slamming its head into his lower back.

With a crisp "crack," a sharp, agonizing pain shot through his spine, and he instantly collapsed, paralyzed on the ground.

The wild boar's charge had snapped his vertebrae.

Thin Monkey gasped in short, ragged breaths, unable even to roll over, and could only watch Zhu Jiusi in terror with wide, rolling eyes.

He could not understand it; he had clearly seen the Wild Boar heading west, so why did it appear in the east, right on his path?

He opened his mouth to ask.

But the Wild Boar gave him no chance; its tusks ruthlessly pierced his cervical vertebrae, tossing him up before slamming him down. Another corpse was added to the wilderness.

Metal ×70
Wood ×65
Stone ×30
Basic Healing Pill ×5

That grandson had been skimming off the top of his offerings all this time!

Zhu Jiusi killed the man instantly and immediately turned to chase after the Woren.

Upon seeing the Wild Boar suddenly appear, the Woren had turned and fled, without the slightest intention of fighting alongside Thin Monkey.

Zhu Jiusi collected the supplies from the ground and set off in pursuit, his four hooves pounding the earth.

Just as he was about to catch up, a shadow flickered in the nearby woods. An old man holding a wooden staff walked out slowly, extending the staff to block his path.

Behind the old man stood a man and a woman, one dressed in white and the other in black, looking like an Earth Deity accompanied by Black and White Impermanence.

The moment the old man emerged, he looked down at Zhu Jiusi from a position of superiority.

"The valley—did you blow it up?"

No name, standard-issue attire, this temperament—an Enforcer!

In Journey Survival A-5 Enforcement Division, Zhu Jiusi had only seen one in the three years of his previous cycle.

He had been a charlatan who relied on fortune-telling to scam meals from Path Seekers; his predictions were never accurate, and no one cared.

Until his luck exploded, and he correctly predicted three things in a row, altering the course of an entire instance.

Then the Enforcer appeared, and in front of all the survivors in the instance, he chained the charlatan's shoulder blades and dragged him away.

Zhu Jiusi looked at the three people before him.

He had seen most of the laws in his past life, and he was certain he had not violated any.

Never mind blowing up a valley; even if he blew up the entire Secret Realm, Journey Survival would not care.

The laws were explicitly written, and the only hidden rule was that Path Seekers were not allowed to master divination or hex-casting skills.

If they had come to ask about the Six Ren Divine Mechanism Disk, Zhu Jiusi could understand, but asking about the valley was wrong.

Zhu Jiusi's pig eyes narrowed slightly: "It was me. Path Seekers? Are you here to rob supplies? Or do you want to rob points?"

He had already assumed an attacking stance.

The old man glanced at Zhu Jiusi, expressionless: "Journey Survival A-5 Enforcement Division. Path Seeker, Master of Cloud Stack Cave, you have wantonly destroyed a Secret Realm. Come with us!"

As he spoke, he reached out to grab Zhu Jiusi.

Zhu Jiusi stepped back, dodging the old man's palm, his eyes lighting up.

Bullshit!

When had an Enforcer ever stated a reason for an arrest? They would simply pierce the shoulder blades with iron chains and leave immediately.

Abusing power for personal gain!

Zhu Jiusi concluded immediately.

If Journey Survival were a country, the laws would be the unquestionable national statutes; any violation would result in an immediate Heavenly Tribulation.

The Enforcers were the police department, but they were also living beings, and personal interests were inevitable.

Perhaps blowing up that Earth Vein Node just now had touched upon their private interests!

The iron chains they used to bind people belonged to the rule-based system; they couldn't use them now! They had to do it by hand.

This Secret Realm had been blown up by someone in the previous cycle! Why hadn't they come out to make arrests then?

"A mere pig demon, how dare you flee!" The old man furrowed his brows and shouted coldly, looking at Zhu Jiusi as if he were a dead pig, and reached out to grab him again.

Zhu Jiusi snorted: "Laws? I have them too!"

With a rustle, a Scroll unfurled, and Zhu Jiusi's snout slammed directly onto the "Memorial to the Throne."

The page transformed, and the Scroll turned into an official memorial.

A memorial did not require writing; one could submit it orally.

Zhu Jiusi spoke in a resonant voice: "This subject, Master of Cloud Stack Cave, acting on behalf of Heaven to patrol and investigate, hereby impeaches the lawless. I have observed those acting unlawfully in the 'Valley of the Dead,' using the name of the Enforcement Division to engage in corruption and power-tripping..."