A Textbook Counterkill

Four people.

Their positions were carefully arranged: two in front, two in back, completely blocking the dirt road.

The two in front were sturdily built, dressed in black training uniforms, with weapons hanging from their waists.

The two in back were slightly thinner. One held a chain, while the other carried a machete.

Li Zhengyang did not stop. He continued down the dirt road.

When he was thirty meters away, one of the men in front spoke.

"Brother."

His voice was quite friendly.

The speaker was a man in his early thirties, with a round face and a neat buzz cut. He smiled pleasantly.

But his left hand rested on the hilt of the blade at his waist, tapping it now and then.

The aura of a Martial Master.

Second Rank.

Li Zhengyang swept his gaze over the other three.

A Rank-Nine Martial Warrior, a Rank-Eight Martial Warrior, and a Rank-Eight Martial Warrior.

Not bad.

"You came out from inside?" The buzz-cut man glanced at Li Zhengyang's backpack.

"Iron-Spine Lizard tail spines?" The buzz-cut man narrowed his eyes.

"Sharp eyes."

The buzz-cut man's smile remained, but his gaze changed.

"You took down an Iron-Spine Lizard alone?"

"Mm."

The buzz-cut man looked back at the other three, and the three of them exchanged looks as well.

Anyone capable of clearing out a Second Rank Demonic Beast alone definitely had the strength of a Martial Master.

The buzz-cut man himself was a Rank-Two Martial Master, and he had three helpers with him. Four against one—they could handle that.

More importantly, the tail spines in this kid's backpack would fetch quite a sum at the association.

Add in the cash and bank cards he might be carrying, plus the Alloy Spear on his back, which looked expensive at a glance, and this single job could keep them well-fed for months.

The wilderness around the wetland was paradise for Wasteland Hunters.

So-called Wasteland Hunters were, simply put, people who waited near mission sites and robbed Martial Warriors after they had exhausted themselves fighting Demonic Beasts.

Murder and robbery—the oldest profession in the world.

The buzz-cut man took two steps forward.

"Brother, let's discuss something."

"Go ahead."

"Leave the mission materials and hand over your valuables. We guarantee we won't hurt you. We're all just trying to make a living. There's no need to take things too far."

He was very polite.

He even sounded as though he were negotiating.

Li Zhengyang looked at the four men and sighed.

"Bro."

"Hm?"

"Actually, I lost money on this mission." Li Zhengyang's expression changed. His mouth drooped, and his brows twisted into a miserable frown.

"It was too hard in there. I used all three Recovery Potions I brought, and my phone fell into the water. I've got no strength left. My cards and cash are all in the bag. Take them. I really can't fight anymore."

As he spoke, he took the backpack off his shoulder and tossed it far away.

The backpack landed two meters in front of the buzz-cut man's feet.

The buzz-cut man stepped forward and bent down to pick it up.

The instant his hand touched the backpack strap—

Li Zhengyang gripped the spear shaft and exploded into motion.

The entire sequence took only a fraction of a second.

The buzz-cut man was bent over, his head lowered by half a body's height.

In that position, his neck was perfectly level with the spear tip.

Li Zhengyang did not aim for his throat.

He aimed for his chin.

The spear tip pierced up through the bottom of his chin, passed through his mouth, then drove another three inches upward into his skull.

The buzz-cut man froze.

His hand still rested on the backpack strap, his knees still bent, his entire body locked in that hunched posture.

Li Zhengyang pulled out the spear.

The buzz-cut man pitched forward and slammed face-first into the mud.

The other three were stunned by the sight.

Their strongest fighter, a Rank-Two Martial Master, had been instantly killed?

The three men's first instinct was to run.

The man with the chain immediately flung it outward, trying to buy himself time to escape.

Li Zhengyang jumped upward. The chain swept beneath his feet, striking the muddy ground and splashing up dirt and water.

He landed and charged forward.

Holding the spear in one hand, he thrust ahead. The spear tip punched into the chain man's right shoulder, and the crack of shattering bone was crisp.

The chain fell, and so did the man, dropping to his knees.

Seeing that he could not escape, the machete man rushed forward. He chopped downward, aiming for Li Zhengyang's shoulder.

Li Zhengyang blocked with the spear shaft. The machete bounced away, splitting the man's tiger's mouth. His hand went numb, and the weapon nearly slipped free.

Li Zhengyang gave him no chance to switch hands. He drew back the spear, then thrust it in reverse into the man's left chest.

The machete man staggered back two steps clutching his chest. His legs gave out, and he fell to his knees, dead or alive unknown.

Li Zhengyang turned to look at the last person.

The final skinny man stood where he was.

It was not that he did not want to move. His legs had gone weak.

Less than five seconds had passed.

A Rank-Two Martial Master and two Rank-Eight and Rank-Nine Martial Warriors had simply vanished.

How was he supposed to fight that?

"Big brother, big brother, I'm not one of them."

The skinny man dropped to his knees with a thud.

"I was hired to do odd jobs. I'm just a lackey. I didn't do anything. Please spare me, big brother."

Li Zhengyang walked over and placed the spear tip against his forehead.

At this distance, another two inches forward would kill him.

"How much money do you have on you?"

"Th-three thousand..."

"What about cards?"

"I have two. One has over five thousand, and the other has eight thousand..."

"Poor bastard."

The Rank-Six Martial Warrior tremblingly handed over his bank cards.

Li Zhengyang pushed the spear tip forward. It pierced his skull, killing him.

Li Zhengyang turned to look at the other three corpses.

He searched them for anything valuable.

The four corpses were left at the edge of the Northern Suburbs Wetland.

At night, low-level Demonic Beasts came here to forage. By midnight, the bodies would most likely be gnawed down until not even bones remained.

A natural crematorium.

The system displayed the results of this encounter.

The buzz-cut man's card: fifty-six thousand.

The chain man's card: twenty-two thousand.

The machete man's cash and cards: thirteen thousand.

The skinny man's: just over ten thousand.

Adding the sixty-thousand mission reward—

The total came to nearly one hundred sixty thousand.

This trip to the wetland had not been a loss.