"Who are you?"
Hearing a human voice rather than a monster's roar, Luo Zhe's wariness eased slightly. As the other person slowly emerged, Luo Zhe felt a quiet sense of relief.
His stomach was still churning, and he was worried that if they got into a fierce fight right then, he might end up spraying his undigested food all over his opponent.
Still, since it was a human, the military district's surveillance system meant he didn't have to worry about a sudden attack.
Even so, Luo Zhe remained on guard. He held his War Blade firmly and stared intently in the direction of the newcomer.
Chen Gu had once told him that in the Wilderness Zone, humans posed a far greater threat than monsters!
"Hey, Brother Zhe! I'm Wang Meng, from the Southeast Military Region. I've wanted to meet you for ages. I can't believe I ran into you here."
Only when the skinny young man had completely emerged from the alley did Luo Zhe catch a glimpse of him in the fleeting beam of a distant searchlight. The young man held a large black hammer in one hand and a Hexagonal Shield in the other. He wore an excited smile, and from the way he moved, he seemed eager to hurry over to Luo Zhe.
"Stop! Whatever you need to say, say it from there." Seeing that the other man was getting closer, Luo Zhe quickly raised a hand to halt him.
After hearing the introduction, though, Luo Zhe couldn't help taking another look at him. He hadn't expected this skinny young man to be from the Southeast Military Region, one of the few major military regions in the Huaxia Nation.
As for why someone from the Southeast Military Region had come to the Northern Military Region to take the Martial Artist Combat Assessment, Luo Zhe had no intention of asking. Knowing too much wasn't always a good thing. He merely lifted his chin and asked, "What do you want? Hurry up and tell me. I still need to finish the assessment."
Faced with Luo Zhe's almost cold attitude, Wang Meng didn't seem bothered. He just smiled and said, "Here's the thing. I sneaked out without telling my family to take the Martial Artist Combat Assessment. But I think I overestimated my abilities. I ran into two Tiger Mastiff Hounds just now. If I hadn't run fast, I'd probably be dead."
"Look, I almost got disemboweled." Wang Meng wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, still shaken, then turned around and showed Luo Zhe his back. Three bloody gashes ran across it.
Blood was still dripping from the wounds, which were so deep that bone was faintly visible.
Seeing that, Luo Zhe couldn't help but think more highly of him. To keep a straight face with injuries that severe—he was one tough guy.
"I'm sorry about what happened to you, but I can't help you much. The Communication Watch on your wrist has an emergency function. I can protect you until the rescue team comes to take you away."
He was from the Southeast Military Region, had sneaked out of his family's home, and looked to be barely twenty. He was obviously some rich kid. Luo Zhe had no interest in playing bodyguard.
Besides, the guy was badly injured. If anything happened to him, Luo Zhe would be in serious trouble!
He wasn't afraid of trouble, but it was better to avoid clingy nuisances like this. No need to make life difficult for himself.
"You..."
Luo Zhe was about to speak when he saw the other man take a black card from his pocket.
Luo Zhe recognized it. He'd seen one online before. Apparently, it was a special bank card issued by Huaxia Bank exclusively to the big shots in the major military regions. It had no spending limit, and Huaxia Bank covered every purchase. Only twenty-five of these cards had ever been issued.
Well, the guy looked so small and skinny that he almost seemed malnourished, but he clearly had quite a background.
"Brother Zhe, I know who you are. I heard about you on the way here. You're one of only two Quasi-Martial Artists in this group who were recruited into the Extreme Martial Arts Hall ahead of time. I believe in your abilities." Wang Meng looked at Luo Zhe with earnest eyes. "So I'd like to hire you to protect me until this Martial Artist Combat Assessment is over."
"I refuse!" Luo Zhe rejected him without hesitation.
As if! It was obvious this guy was trouble!
He didn't know his limits and had no idea what he was getting into, yet he'd dared to sneak off and take the assessment without telling his family. He was clearly nothing but trouble. T
"Sorry, I have things to do. I'm leaving!" Luo Zhe turned around and started to walk away.
"Ten million!" Wang Meng named a figure with complete seriousness. "And I don't need you to help me pass the Martial Artist Combat Assessment. I won't interfere with your assessment either. Just protect me until dawn, when the assessment ends."
"I can pay you upfront, too!"
Luo Zhe stopped, his expression uncertain.
Honestly, the offer was tempting.
The guy might be trouble, but Luo Zhe was short on money. Manuals, weapons, and equipment all cost money, and even the Martial Arts Training Hall at home needed all kinds of training machines. Those were all real expenses.
Protecting him until dawn seemed easy enough, and ten million would be his. That didn't sound like a bad deal. But if the guy went out of his way to provoke a whole pack of monsters, Luo Zhe wouldn't be able to handle them either.
"I promise I won't go looking for trouble or provoke any monsters I can't beat." Seeing Luo Zhe hesitate, Wang Meng hurriedly swore, "And my abilities aren't bad compared to the other Quasi-Martial Artists taking the assessment. If I hadn't run into two Tiger Mastiff Hounds, I'd have been fine in a normal one-on-one fight."
Seeing that Luo Zhe was tempted, Wang Meng quickly raised the offer. "Twenty million! All upfront!"
Fortune favored the bold! Let's do it!
Grinding his teeth, Luo Zhe nodded. "Deal! But I want you to transfer the money to my account first. And you have to promise not to get more than five meters away from me. Otherwise, the deal's off!"
Wang Meng smiled and nodded. "No problem."
Hiss!
Perhaps he'd nodded too vigorously and pulled at the wound on his back. Wang Meng sucked in a sharp breath, the muscles in his face twitching.
"Actually, I'm not afraid of dying." Wang Meng found a place to sit and rest. He moved slowly, and it was clear his injuries were affecting him badly.
Hearing that, Luo Zhe couldn't help rolling his eyes. Of course you're not afraid of dying. You're so badly injured, yet you're stubbornly staying here until the assessment ends. How could you possibly be afraid of death?
But worried that the other man might not be able to hold out, Luo Zhe hesitated, then took off his undershirt, leaving only his combat vest. He tore the shirt into strips and handed them over. "Now that I've taken your money, I have to protect you. Use this to bandage your back and stop the bleeding for now."
"Thanks."
Wang Meng smiled and took the strips, slowly bandaging his wounds. "To be honest, I'm not afraid of dying. Even before I set out on the path of a martial artist, I'd already prepared myself to die in battle.
"But I'm the only child for three generations in my family. And when I was born, my mother unfortunately died in childbirth from excessive blood loss. So my dad's always tried to stop me from following in his footsteps and joining the military. He's even more against me becoming a martial artist."
"His greatest wish is for me to be a good-for-nothing rich kid, spending all day raising birds, walking dogs, and listening to comedy shows, then getting married early and having ten or eight chubby sons." Wang Meng looked up at the sky. With no clouds to obscure them, the stars filled the heavens, shining brilliantly. "But I've never been satisfied with that. I think I'm a martial arts genius! That's why I sneaked out this time—to prove myself and see for myself just how brutal monsters are. But I overestimated my abilities. Maybe I really am not cut out to be a martial artist."
"Brother Zhe, to be honest, I envy you." Wang Meng turned to Luo Zhe, his eyes gleaming with an expression Luo Zhe couldn't understand. "You have such talent as a martial artist, and someday you'll have the chance to go into the Wilderness Zone and see the wider world out there."
"But even with all my ability and enthusiasm, I can barely survive in a little wilderness town like this on my own." Wang Meng gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "I really want to make it to the Wilderness Zone beyond the Base City on my own and see the world out there."
Luo Zhe opened his mouth, then realized he didn't know what to say. Here in Monster Town, he could use his strength—far beyond that of an H-Class Monster—to keep Wang Meng safe.
But once they reached the real Wilderness Zone, who could guarantee they'd make it out alive?
"Hahaha!" Wang Meng suddenly burst out laughing and pulled a face at Luo Zhe. "Brother Zhe, you don't really think I'm sad, do you? Not a chance!"
"When the assessment's over, I'll go home and inherit the family fortune my dad left me. I'll be a rich kid who does nothing but eat and wait to die! Only an idiot would become a martial artist! Hahahaha!"
Suddenly, Luo Zhe really felt like hitting someone.
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