Was I the Clown All Along?

Boom!!

An enraged roar rang through the valley, followed by a visible storm that swiftly leveled the entire place.

Huge trees and rocks were sliced in half in an instant. The terrifying destructive power was simply horrifying.

The monkeys' shrieks throughout the valley abruptly fell silent.

"It's over!"

He casually summoned Flying Blade and drove it straight through Old Monkey King's head. Yang Zixuan stared blankly, then slowly took out an umbrella and opened it. "Patter, patter, patter..." A torrent of bright red blood rained down.

Such terrifying power naturally couldn't escape the principle of equivalent exchange.

As constant notifications rang in his ears, informing him that his strength was being weakened, Yang Zixuan furrowed his brows and took a bottle of silver potion from the Prop Catalog. It looked quite similar to the [Yellow Talisman Water] Mad Dog had given Xu Tong earlier. Both had the effect of dispelling negative effects.

But the one in his hand was clearly far more potent and higher-grade than [Yellow Talisman Water].

After gulping down the potion, he glanced back at the nearby woods, then sat down on a rock with a cold expression, as if waiting for someone.

In his spare time, he even took a cigar from the Prop Catalog and held it beneath his nose, inhaling its scent a few times.

The cigar's distinctive aroma gradually softened Yang Zixuan's cold expression.

Then, without rushing, he took out a lighter and slowly toasted the cigar. When it had burned evenly to a char, he raised an eyebrow and casually tossed it forward.

The charred tip traced a fiery red streak through the air, landing squarely in Xu Tong's hand.

Xu Tong and the others emerged from the woods. Seeing the valley wiped flat, Mad Dog and the others couldn't help clicking their tongues in amazement.

Xu Tong held the cigar beneath his nose and took a sniff. Unlike cigarettes, the aroma of fermented tobacco was as rich as a cup of hand-ground coffee.

Yang Zixuan took out another cigar and leisurely began to toast it. As he did, he said, "I'm a loan shark. I've seen all kinds: poor people, mistresses, kept women, bosses, students, people who needed emergency cash, people selling luxury goods, people desperate to save their lives. I can stand by the road, take one look at someone, and judge them pretty accurately."

Yang Zixuan seemed completely unconcerned by Xiong Tao, who was slung over Mad Dog's shoulder. He took a deep drag from his cigar and fixed his gaze on Xu Tong. "I never thought I'd misjudge you."

As he spoke, Yang Zixuan actually laughed. There wasn't a trace of anger on his face; instead, he laughed from the bottom of his heart, staring at Xu Tong as if he'd found a priceless treasure. "Come back. From now on, you'll be the third. I can also make the call to give you another three hundred Script Points and two Prop Cards."

To show his sincerity, he even took out two Prop Cards and held them up. They gleamed with an unusual sheen, marked with the distinctive patterns of rare Prop Cards.

Mad Dog's mouth fell open. He was practically drooling with envy. With such generous terms, he would've agreed on the spot.

"What's this guy up to? You killed his third-in-command, screwed over his second, and made him suffer a huge loss, and now he wants you to join? There's got to be a catch."

As envious as he was, Mad Dog couldn't understand why Yang Zixuan would do this. Shouldn't he have rushed over to rip Xu Tong limb from limb? Wouldn't that make more sense?

Xu Tong ignored Mad Dog. He knew this was inevitable.

When he'd joined Jie Team, Yang Zixuan had sized him up, but Xu Tong had been sizing Yang Zixuan up too.

He was a competent player, but also a shrewd businessman. As the leader of the Farming Team, he cared about only one thing: profit.

Cutting his losses in time, or even turning them into a gain—that was Yang Zixuan's first priority.

Of course, this peaceful outcome depended on both sides being evenly matched. If Xu Tong hadn't tied Yang Guanjin, Mad Dog, and even Old Bart and Captain Wang, who was still unconscious, to his side;

if he hadn't had Zhou Huasheng and Xiong Tao as his trump cards, he knew that what awaited him wouldn't have been a cigar, but Flying Blade and Xiong Tao's iron fists.

"Let's talk about what you're willing to pay for your teammate."

He put the cigar in his mouth. As he exhaled clouds of smoke, he realized he was starting to like the thing. At the same time, he opened his hand, revealing a Paper Doll in his palm.

Xiong Tao's soul was trapped inside the Paper Doll. If Xu Tong wanted to kill him now, he only had to squeeze his fingers to end Xiong Tao's life for good.

"One agreement, two hundred Script Points, and one special item."

Yang Zixuan offered his terms almost without hesitation, as if he'd already calculated the price of his miscalculation while toasting the cigar.

He took out a contract that shimmered with a pale golden hue.

"Is that... a Contract item?" Mad Dog was a little surprised. It wasn't rare, but it wasn't something you could just get your hands on, either.

"It's my fault, too. If I'd used this earlier, you really wouldn't have had a chance to escape me."

Yang Zixuan gave a bitter smile and rubbed his forehead. He'd misjudged Xu Tong, thinking he was just a timid, spineless fool who could be dealt with by signing a simple temporary team contract.

If he'd noticed even the slightest sign that something was off, they wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state.

"Fair enough."

Amid the swirling smoke, Xu Tong studied Yang Zixuan. He was even calmer and more composed than Xu Tong had expected. But...

Xu Tong was just like him. Neither of them liked being someone else's subordinate.

Yang Zixuan tossed over the contract. Mad Dog picked it up and took a look. The terms had already been written out.

It was a non-aggression pact. Once both sides signed, neither could attack the other.

Unlike the loose terms of a temporary team contract, this pact had serious binding force. Each signer had to put up fifty Script Points as collateral. More importantly, breaking the contract would bring a punishment so severe that no one could bear it.

All their item abilities would be sealed, and their earnings from this Script World would be reduced to 10%. On top of that, an alarm would go off on them every two minutes, revealing their location to everyone.

The instant someone tried to break the agreement and attack, the pact would immediately judge the situation. If they were the one breaking it, all their item abilities would be sealed at once. If they were judged to be the victim, they would receive a random teleportation opportunity to escape the battlefield and save their life.

Of course, the cost of the random teleportation would be paid by the party who broke the agreement: those fifty Script Points.

The agreement would remain in effect until the current Script Space ended. Afterward, ten Script Points would be deducted from each side, and the remaining forty would be returned.

Yang Zixuan had already pressed his handprint onto the contract. All Xu Tong had to do was add his own.

"Sign it. We've made out like bandits!"

Mad Dog handed the Contract to Xu Tong, unable to contain his excitement. He leaned close and whispered, "We've made a killing this time."

Xu Tong took it and casually pressed his handprint onto it. He even smiled at Yang Zixuan. "This stuff tastes pretty good. Where'd you get it?"

As he spoke, he took out a bell and lightly shook it in his hand. The Paper Doll trembled, and a wisp of blue smoke rose from it, returning to Xiong Tao's body.

"Sorry, it's from my personal collection. But if you like it, you can have this box of cigars. And if you're willing to consider my offer, I guarantee I can get you as many cigars of this quality as you want."

Watching Xiong Tao slowly get back to his feet, Yang Zixuan smiled as he brought out a box of cigars and handed it to Xu Tong, along with the Prop Card in his hand.

He'd never turn down a gift offered freely. Xu Tong tossed the Prop Card and the cigars into his Prop Catalog, then passed the contract to Mad Dog.

"Your turn!"

"Huh? I have to sign too?"

Mad Dog froze. He hadn't expected Xu Tong to suddenly hand him the contract.

Seeing the shock on Mad Dog's face, Xu Tong narrowed his eyes to slits. He took a drag from his cigar and, through the smoke, looked at Mad Dog with an almost amused expression.

He pointed to the blank space and said, "Of course. Look, there's room for you here. He's part of their team, so the captain's signature is enough. But you and I aren't on the same team."

Xu Tong's words made Mad Dog's face turn red, then pale. He looked utterly stunned, as if he couldn't believe Xu Tong would suddenly say something like that.

He glanced at Yang Zixuan and saw that Yang Zixuan was watching him too. "That's right. Since you two aren't on the same team, you have to sign this contract too—unless... you've got something to hide!"

At Yang Zixuan's words, Mad Dog let out a cold snort.

He'd risked his life, gone around in circles, and gambled everything alongside Xu Tong. But at the last moment, it turned out he was the clown all along?

Looking at the contract in his hand, Mad Dog couldn't help sneering. "Fine. Fine. I thought we were brothers who'd been through life and death together. I never thought... I never thought you'd be waiting to pull this on me."

Yang Guanjin and Old Bart stood behind them. They couldn't understand what Xu Tong and the others were saying, as if some force had naturally blocked their conversation from them.

But when they saw Mad Dog's expression grow darker and darker, Old Bart was about to step forward and try to talk things out. Yang Guanjin grabbed his arm and shook her head, telling him not to interfere.

"I'll sign!"

Mad Dog let out a long sigh and slowly reached out his hand. He looked as though he wasn't signing an equal contract, but submitting to some inexplicable humiliation.

Yet just as his finger was about to touch the contract, Yang Guanjin, standing behind them, seemed to sense something. Her pupils tightened as she looked up toward the nearby woods. "Watch out!"

The instant her warning rang out, a crushing sense of suffocation hit them.

Xu Tong whipped around and saw a massive bow aimed at them from about forty meters away.

The bow's spine appeared to be made from a huge black ox horn, while the pale bowstring was clearly a thick sinew ripped straight from a beast. It was almost as wide as a human thumb.

The bow was drawn to its full curve, an arrow nocked and the string taut. The hand gripping the enormous bow was corded with bulging tendons and veins, and the arrow was aimed straight at Xu Tong's chest!!!