Enforcer

Metal ×88

Wood ×70

Stone ×86

So poor!

The two of them had only dropped this much loot. Zhu Jiusi glanced at it disdainfully, then turned and headed south after them.

Bright Moon Illuminating People had said the man was to the east or west, but the scent came from the south and west. Either he was lying, or someone had changed direction.

It didn't matter. At night, the mountain forest was the Mountain Boar's territory. Not one of them would get away!

Following the scent, Zhu Jiusi chased them to a small grove, then abruptly stopped.

The scent ended here. The two men were inside, and they weren't running anymore.

A strong smell of blood wafted from within, too.

Blood, fresh bamboo, freshly turned soil...

Those two had set a trap!

Retreat!

Zhu Jiusi turned and left without hesitation.

In Journey Survival, you never fought a battle without preparation. If the enemy was ready, you made a strategic retreat.

There were plenty of chances to kill, but he would never give the enemy an opportunity to outwit him. Not once!

"He left?" On a large tree in the grove, Thin Monkey stared in astonishment.

That Wild Boar had just blown up the valley, killed Bright Moon Illuminating People and the other man, then immediately come after them.

He'd clearly figured out the truth and was already at their doorstep, just one step away from charging into the grove. And now he'd turned around and left?

"He... knows... trap!" A strained voice came from the tree beside him.

"There's an old saying: 'He who understands the times is a hero.' He knew he couldn't kill us, so he left without hesitation!"

Thin Monkey's lips curled slightly as he shot the man beside him a disdainful look.

Woren admired the strong. Ever since the Wild Boar had shown off his strength, he'd found a lofty explanation for every little thing the boar did.

Yet the more he worshipped the boar, the more he wanted to use underhanded tricks to drag him down and kill him.

I admire you so much. Let me kill you.

That was probably the sort of twisted thinking he had.

He really did leave!

Thin Monkey lowered the binoculars in his hands and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He'd quietly swiped them while Bright Moon Illuminating People was covering his eyes and howling.

Through the binoculars, he'd watched the Wild Boar leave without looking back, then turn west, presumably to hunt down the other two.

"Go! Right now!"

Thin Monkey jumped down from the branch and headed east. He'd return at once to investigate the cause of the village's zombies, get the Soul Jade to upgrade his vehicle, and then do everything he could to improve his strength.

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

Even if he couldn't exchange for a manual, it would still be good to find a way to learn cultivation in this instance.

There were warriors in the neighboring town, the sort who really could shatter rocks with one punch!

As he walked, Thin Monkey was already considering how to get more points from the village chief. If he hadn't figured out the cause but had dealt with the zombies, would that count?

He'd already lured all the village's zombies into the valley, where the Wild Boar had blown them up. Surely that counted as dealing with the corpse outbreak?

As Thin Monkey thought it over, he kept a certain distance from Tanaka Banichi.

He was working with Woren, but still staying on his guard.

That Woren was too twisted, with even fewer scruples than him.

At most, a few days ago, when he'd been starving to the point of desperation, he'd entered an instance, seen a woman with tender, fair skin, and couldn't resist cutting off one of her thighs to fill his belly.

But Woren could devour a woman's corpse while having sex with it.

Thin Monkey was going over his plans as he walked when he suddenly froze. The hairs all over his body stood on end, his nape turned cold, and it felt as though a beast were staring at his back.

He turned around one frame at a time, only to see a Wild Boar appear from nowhere, its pig eyes fixed on the artery in his neck.

The instant he turned, the boar suddenly charged and slammed into him.

Thin Monkey screamed and bolted, but his foot caught on something. He stumbled and pitched forward, falling flat on his face.

He scrambled to his feet, but the Wild Boar had already charged into him, ramming him in the lower back.

With a crack, agony tore through his back, and he collapsed limp to the ground.

The Wild Boar's charge had snapped his spine.

Thin Monkey gasped in short, shallow breaths. He couldn't even turn over, and could only roll his eyes in terror at Zhu Jiusi.

He couldn't understand it. He'd clearly seen the boar head west. So why had it appeared to the east, right along the path he had to take?

He opened his mouth to ask.

But the Wild Boar gave him no chance. Its tusks pierced his neck, then hoisted him up and slammed him back down. Another corpse now lay in the wilderness.

Metal ×70

Wood ×65

Stone ×30

Basic Healing Pill ×5

That bastard had been skimming the offerings all along!

After killing one man in an instant, Zhu Jiusi immediately turned and chased after Woren.

When Woren saw the Wild Boar suddenly appear, he'd turned and fled. He hadn't even considered standing with Thin Monkey to fight it.

Zhu Jiusi collected the loot on the ground, then opened his stride and gave chase.

He was just about to catch up when a shadow flickered in the woods beside him. An old man holding a wooden staff slowly walked out and raised it to block his way.

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

The moment the old man appeared, he looked down at Zhu Jiusi from on high.

"Did you blow up the valley?"

No names, standard-issue clothing, that kind of bearing—Enforcers!

In his previous life, during three years of the last round, Zhu Jiusi had only seen an Enforcer once.

The man had been a charlatan, making a living by telling fortunes to Path Seekers. His predictions had never come true, and nobody cared.

Then his luck had suddenly exploded, and he'd made three accurate predictions in a row, altering the course of an entire instance.

That was when the Enforcers appeared. In front of every survivor in the instance, they shackled the charlatan through the shoulder blades and took him away.

Zhu Jiusi looked at the three before him.

He'd seen most of the laws in his previous life and was certain he hadn't broken any.

Journey Survival wouldn't care if he blew up a valley, or even destroyed an entire Secret Realm.

The laws were explicitly written. The only hidden prohibition was against Path Seekers mastering divination and fortune-telling skills.

Zhu Jiusi would have understood if they'd come to ask about the Six Ren Divine Mechanism Disk. But asking about the valley was wrong.

Zhu Jiusi narrowed his pig eyes slightly. "Was it me? Am I a Path Seeker? Did I steal supplies? Or are you trying to steal my points?"

He took up a fighting stance.

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

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

Zhu Jiusi stepped back and dodged the old man's hand. His eyes lit up.

Bullshit!

When had Enforcers ever explained why they were making an arrest? They would simply bind you through the shoulder blades with a chain and take you away.

Abusing public office for private gain!

Zhu Jiusi reached his conclusion at once.

If Journey Survival was a country, its laws were unquestionable national law. Break one, and Heavenly Tribulation would descend immediately.

The Enforcers were the police. They were living beings too, and couldn't avoid having private interests.

Perhaps the Earth Vein Node he'd blown up had affected their private interests!

The chains they used to bind people belonged to the rule system. They couldn't use them now, so they had to handle it themselves.

People had blown up this Secret Realm in the last round! Why hadn't the Enforcers come out to arrest them then?

"You insignificant pig demon! How dare you flee!" The old man furrowed his brows and shouted coldly. He looked at Zhu Jiusi as if he were already dead, then reached for him again.

Zhu Jiusi snorted like a pig. "The laws? I have some too!"

A scroll unrolled with a clatter. Zhu Jiusi pressed his snout straight against the Memorial to the Throne.

The page changed, and the scroll turned into a memorial.

There was no need to write on a memorial. He only had to deliver it aloud.

Zhu Jiusi spoke in a clear voice. "Your servant, Master of Cloud Stack Cave, acting on Heaven's behalf to inspect the realm and impeach wrongdoing, has discovered a lawbreaker in the Valley of the Dead. Using the Enforcement Division's name to abuse power for private gain..."