Rebellion Against the Heavens

The pickup truck bumped along a gravel road for thirty minutes before finally stopping in front of a factory with half its structure collapsed.

Zhao Hu killed the engine and hauled two backpacks from the backseat, tossing one to Shen Wei and slinging the other over his own shoulders.

"Earth-Toothed Rat nests are usually deep in the mine cave. They aren't very active during the day, but they'll bolt if they feel vibrations," Zhao Hu said as he walked, carrying a Long-handled Battle Axe in his hand. "I'll lead the way, Shen Wei will cover the rear, and you stay in the middle."

The middle.

Li Zhengyang didn't say a word, following them toward the mine cave.

It was called a mine cave, but in reality, it was just a massive hole gouged into the mountainside.

It was dark inside. Zhao Hu fished two headlamps out of his pack, putting one on himself and giving the other to Shen Wei.

He didn't give one to Li Zhengyang.

"Stay close, don't fall behind," Zhao Hu said without looking back.

Li Zhengyang nodded, his right hand gripping the Mountain-Cleaving Blade.

Once inside, the light faded rapidly.

The range of the headlamps was limited. The rock walls on both sides were damp, and the ground was covered in gravel and standing water, crunching underfoot with every step.

Zhao Hu's pace was steady; it was clear he was an old hand. Every few steps, he would stop to listen for a moment.

Shen Wei followed at the rear, her Short Blade already drawn, her grip on the weapon practiced and professional.

After walking about a hundred meters, the mine tunnel split into two paths, one left and one right.

Zhao Hu crouched down to examine the ground, wiping at the dirt with his finger. "There are claw marks on the left. The rat nest is this way."

The three of them turned into the left fork.

After another hundred meters or so, Zhao Hu suddenly stopped.

"The nest is just ahead," Zhao Hu whispered. "Earth-Toothed Rats are sensitive to vibrations. As soon as something steps into their territory, they'll burrow up from underground. My plan is..."

He glanced at Li Zhengyang.

"You go first. Walk to that open area ahead and draw them out. Shen Wei and I will provide support from behind. As soon as they show their heads, we'll strike."

Li Zhengyang didn't speak.

Shen Wei added, "Earth-Toothed Rats are fast but fragile; they're easy to handle once they're out. You going alone makes less noise than all three of us, so they won't all swarm out at once. It'll be easier for us to pick them off one by one."

The logic sounded sound.

But Li Zhengyang looked at the narrow passage, then at the Battle Axe in Zhao Hu's hand.

A narrow passage, an open area ahead, drawing them out.

This was him being used as bait.

In the best-case scenario, this was a logical division of labor.

In the worst-case scenario, as an uncertified temporary member, if something went wrong, the agency wouldn't even have a record of him on file.

If he died in the mine cave, they could just blame it on the Earth-Toothed Rats, and it would be a clean slate.

Zhao Hu might not have had murder on his mind, but he was certainly playing a clever game by forcing Li Zhengyang to take the greatest risk while he sat back to reap the rewards.

Li Zhengyang looked down at the Mountain-Cleaving Blade in his hand.

"Fine."

The next second, he turned around.

He turned so quickly that neither Zhao Hu nor Shen Wei could react in time to understand why he had turned.

Then, the blade swung out.

Not toward the front, but toward Shen Wei.

The Mountain-Cleaving Blade slashed horizontally, from left to right, aimed directly at Shen Wei's neck.

The mine tunnel was narrow, and Shen Wei was standing toward the right wall with Zhao Hu on her left, leaving her with minimal room to dodge.

She couldn't avoid this strike.

Her Short Blade was only halfway up when the edge of his weapon arrived.

The Mountain-Cleaving Blade bit into the left side of her neck, sinking three inches deep.

As the blood sprayed out, Shen Wei's eyes widened, her mouth agape, but no sound came out.

Li Zhengyang pulled the blade back and quickly delivered a follow-up strike.

The second blow landed in the exact same spot, this time severing her windpipe completely.

Shen Wei collapsed, her Short Blade clattering to the ground with two sharp rings.

It had taken less than two seconds.

Zhao Hu froze for a heartbeat.

In his six or seven years in this business, he had seen people turn on each other, double-crosses, and stabs in the back, but he had never seen anyone this decisive or this ruthless.

"You motherf—"

Zhao Hu raised his battle axe.

Li Zhengyang did not give him the chance to finish his cursing, stepping over the corpse of Shen Wei to charge forward.

The mine tunnel was only so wide; the two could not pass each other, so the fight was entirely head-on.

Zhao Hu swung his axe down with fierce force, a full-strength strike from a First-Grade Martial Master, the blade whistling as it cut through the air.

Li Zhengyang sidestepped, the axe grazing his shoulder to strike the rock wall, sending sparks flying and showering his face with stone fragments.

He did not retreat, instead thrusting his blade backhand.

Zhao Hu pulled the axe back to block, the handle catching the blade, and as their strength collided, Zhao Hu took half a step back.

Zhao Hu was a First-Grade Martial Master.

Li Zhengyang was a Second Rank, a full grade apart.

After taking that half-step back, Zhao Hu's expression changed.

It was not because of anger over his killed teammate, but because he felt the gap in their strength.

This kid claimed to be a Rank-Eight Martial Warrior? What a load of bullshit.

"You..."

Li Zhengyang did not let him finish his sentence.

He slashed the blade upward, and Zhao Hu used the axe handle to block, successfully stopping it.

But Li Zhengyang's left hand had already formed a fist, slamming into his ribs.

A dull thud echoed.

Zhao Hu's sidestepping movement was a beat too slow, and he took the punch squarely, breaking two ribs; he heard the sound of his own bones shattering.

Zhao Hu gritted his teeth and retreated, trying to create distance, but the mine tunnel was too narrow, and the rock wall was right behind him.

"I'll pay an extra ten thousand!" Zhao Hu shouted. "The entire mission bonus is yours!"

Li Zhengyang's blade did not stop.

"Twenty thousand! I have savings in my account!"

As the second strike came down, Zhao Hu blocked horizontally with his axe, his arms going numb and the webbing between his thumbs splitting.

"What exactly do you want?"

Li Zhengyang finally spoke.

"Once I kill you, your money will naturally be mine."

Zhao Hu's axe was knocked away by the third strike.

The gap in Blood Qi between a First-Grade and a Second-Rank Martial Master was infinitely magnified in close-quarters combat.

Zhao Hu's Body-Protecting Astral Energy was a layer thinner than Li Zhengyang's, and he lost ground with every head-on collision.

When the axe flew away, Zhao Hu tried to run.

He ran toward the depths of the mine tunnel.

But the moment he turned, he took a blade to his back.

The Mountain-Cleaving Blade struck his left shoulder blade; it did not sever the bone, but it tore the flesh open.

Zhao Hu staggered two steps, bracing himself against the rock wall to keep from falling.

The second strike hit his waist.

The third strike hit the back of his neck.

By the time this strike landed, the blade was already notched.

The ten-pound Mountain-Cleaving Blade had been swung seven or eight times, and the edge was riddled with gaps.

Zhao Hu lay on the ground, his breath gone.

Blood spread across the gravel floor, and the scent of iron rushed toward him.

Li Zhengyang stood in place, catching his breath, feeling not a shred of guilt in his heart.

Using him as bait? Go to hell!

Besides, judging by the proficiency of these two, they had likely scammed many newcomers before; they were no good birds, so killing them was just.

He looked down at the Mountain-Cleaving Blade in his hand.

The edge was ruined, smeared with blood and bits of flesh; the quality was mediocre, and it was not very handy for killing people.

He tossed it aside.

Li Zhengyang flexed his wrist; he had gripped it too tightly, and it was a bit sore.

He rummaged through Zhao Hu's backpack, found the headlamp, and put it on.

A rustling sound came from the depths of the mine tunnel.

Earth-Toothed Rats.

The tremors from the fight just now had startled them out.

Li Zhengyang picked up the short blade from beside Shen Wei's corpse; the quality was mediocre, but it was better than being empty-handed.

When the first Earth-Toothed Rat burrowed out from the ground, Li Zhengyang finally saw what the creature looked like.

It was grayish-brown, about the size of a house cat, with exceptionally thick forelimbs, mud-caked claws, and two incisors protruding from its mouth.

A First Rank Demonic Beast.

Equivalent to the combat power of a Martial Warrior.

Li Zhengyang was currently a Rank-Two Martial Master.

A full major realm difference.

When he thrust the short blade down, the Earth-Toothed Rat hadn't even finished its evasive maneuver.

The tip of the blade pierced its head, penetrated through, and pinned it to the ground.

He pulled the blade out, and a second one emerged from beneath the rock wall on his right.

One strike.

The third and fourth emerged almost simultaneously, one from the left and one from the right, moving very fast.

Two strikes.

The fifth one burrowed from beneath his feet; the ground bulged, then exploded, sending gravel flying.

Li Zhengyang stepped to the side, waited for it to show its head, stomped on it, and bent down to finish it off with a blade.

Five of them, in less than two minutes.

He cut off the tails of the five Earth-Toothed Rats; the East City Office required proof to settle missions, and the tails were that proof.

He stuffed the five tails into his backpack.

Li Zhengyang casually pocketed the cash and bank cards belonging to the two of them, glanced at their other belongings, and tossed them aside as useless.

As for the two corpses, he didn't even look at them again.

Two Martial Warriors dying during a Demonic Beast clearing mission was perfectly normal.

Every year, a long list of names hung on the Casualty Bulletin Board at the office; two more or two less made no difference.

When he exited the Mine Cave, the sunlight outside was a bit blinding.

Li Zhengyang squinted, took off his headlamp, and threw it away.

The pickup truck was still parked in front of the factory building.

The car keys were in his pocket, but he didn't have a driver's license and didn't dare drive it.

He took out his phone and hailed a ride with an app.

Ten minutes later, the car arrived.

The driver was a talkative middle-aged man who, seeing him come out of the mining area alone with a large backpack, curiously asked a question.

"Young man, what are you doing here? Exploring?"

"Working."

"There's still work to be done in the mining area?"

"Temporary."

The driver didn't ask any more questions.

He returned to the East City Office at two in the afternoon.

Li Zhengyang walked to the front desk, where the girl named Liu Ting was still working.

"Mission complete, settling up." He pulled the five Earth-Toothed Rat tails from his backpack and placed them on the counter.

Liu Ting looked at the tails, then at him, and flipped through the records in the system.

"There were three people in your team; why are you the only one back?"

"Oh, their gas was leaking at home, so they went back to turn it off and asked me to hand these in."

Liu Ting looked at him, pausing for two seconds.

"The bonus will be deposited into the account of the team leader, Zhao Hu, to be distributed by him."

"Zhao Hu said to deposit it directly into my card."

"Fine."

Exiting the office, Li Zhengyang looked down at his phone.

The ten-thousand-yuan mission bonus had already arrived, and combined with the bank cards he had taken from the two, he had forty thousand in hand.

Just as he was immersed in the joy of making money.

The next second, his phone rang.

An unfamiliar number.

He answered.

"Li Zhengyang? Speedy Loan Treasure reminds you that your loan is three days overdue. Please repay it as soon as possible, otherwise, additional interest and penalty fees will be incurred..."