Water of Life!

"Oh?" Lin Ming stopped before Zhou Tianlang. The tip of the Silver Frost Spear lightly tapped the ground with a crisp tap that sounded especially clear in the silent camp.

He looked down at the bedraggled Zhou Tianlang, his gaze indifferent. "Now you know you were wrong? Weren't you just saying you'd use my blood to honor your brothers?"

"Th-that was a misunderstanding! It was all because Fourth Brother and the others were blinded by greed! I... I was deceived by them too!"

Zhou Tianlang hurriedly explained, forcing a smile uglier than a grimace.

"You're a magnanimous man, please don't lower yourself to our level! I swear I'll never oppose you again! And... and Miss Xia still needs protection. I can keep protecting her..."

He turned a pleading gaze toward Xia He.

Seeing Zhou Tianlang wag his tail and beg like this, Xia He felt a wave of revulsion, followed by sorrow. Was this truly the Gray Wolf captain who had once made bold promises before her, brimming with heroic spirit?

Lin Ming shook his head, seeming to find it rather boring. He raised his spear and pointed it at Zhou Tianlang.

"Your life belongs to me now. Your savings, your mercenary group—once I kill you, they'll be mine as well. As for protecting Miss Xia..."

He paused, his tone flat. "Do you think you still have the right?"

Zhou Tianlang's face instantly turned as white as paper. The shadow of death engulfed him like an icy tide. He knew begging was useless.

This young man had a heart of stone and killed without hesitation. He would not give him any chance.

In his despair, a surge of madness and resentment suddenly rose from the depths of his heart.

"No! You can't kill me!" Zhou Tianlang suddenly howled. His remaining left hand pointed at Xia He, whose expression was conflicted, while the last traces of cunning and malice flickered in his eyes.

"Xia He! Hand over the Water of Life, or I'll reveal its secret, as well as the real purpose of your transport mission! At worst, we all die together!"

"Water of Life?" Lin Ming raised a brow. This was the first time he had heard the term.

Xia He's body trembled violently, all color draining from her lovely face as she stared at Zhou Tianlang in disbelief.

"Zhou Tianlang! Do... do you know what you're saying?! The Water of Life is top-secret information! It concerns the rise and fall of Dragon Nation! And you actually..."

"To hell with Dragon Nation's rise and fall!" Zhou Tianlang sneered, cutting her off. His face twisted like that of an evil ghost from excitement and blood loss.

"All I know is that stuff can completely transform a person, even raise their realm without injury! It's priceless! Do you think the Gray Wolf Mercenary Group really accepted this mission just to protect a helpless researcher like you?"

He looked at Lin Ming, speaking rapidly with the frantic recklessness of a man with nothing left to lose.

"Kid, you were kept in the dark too, weren't you? What this woman is carrying is the Life Technology Research Institute's latest research product—the Water of Life! Just one drop can instantly heal someone gravely wounded and on the verge of death! Taken over a long period, it can even break through martial artist bottlenecks and improve one's talent! It's a true heaven-defying treasure!"

"The real mission we received was never to safely escort her to the next base city!"

Venom gleamed in Zhou Tianlang's eyes. "The real mission was to let her... die by 'accident' in the Wilderness! To die in the jaws of Mutated Beasts! Along with the Water of Life samples and information she carried, she was to disappear forever!"

"What?!" Xia He staggered back two steps as though struck by lightning. She only managed to keep from falling by bracing herself against the vehicle beside her. Her face was utterly bloodless, her eyes filled with shock, rage, and... deep despair and grief.

So... from the very beginning, this had been a trap designed to kill her! The so-called protection was merely a pretense for watching her and sending her to her death!

"Everything was originally planned out. We were going to use the Ironclad Rhino herd to create an 'accident'..." Zhou Tianlang panted heavily, staring fixedly at Xia He.

"Who knew some unexpected meddler like you would show up halfway through and ruin the plan! Now hand over the Water of Life! Otherwise, even if I die, I'll drag you down with me! And I've already sent news of you and the Water of Life through special channels!

"It won't be long before more people, stronger people, come looking for you! For the Water of Life, and for the Chen Household's twenty-million bounty! You... can't escape!"

He screamed hysterically, trying to use this information to sow chaos and win himself a slim chance of survival—or at least... drag them down with him.

Yet Lin Ming's reaction shattered his last shred of hope.

"Oh." Lin Ming merely responded flatly, as if he had heard something as ordinary as what they would be having for dinner.

He did not even glance at Xia He. His gaze remained on Zhou Tianlang, and his brows furrowed slightly with apparent impatience.

"Are you done?" Lin Ming asked.

"You..." Zhou Tianlang choked.

"If you're done, then be on your way."

With a flick of Lin Ming's wrist, the Silver Frost Spear turned into a cold streak of silver light. Like lightning tearing through the night, it instantly pierced Zhou Tianlang's heart before the terrified man could react!

Pfft!

The spear tip burst through his body, trailing a spray of scorching blood.

The madness, resentment, and terror on Zhou Tianlang's face froze instantly. He lowered his head to look at the spear tip protruding from his chest, then painfully raised his head and glared at Lin Ming. A wheezing, leaking sound came from his throat.

"You... you'll... regret this... the news... has already..."

"Too noisy." Lin Ming spoke the two words expressionlessly, then violently twisted his wrist!

Dark golden blood vitality erupted within Zhou Tianlang's body, instantly pulverizing his heart and surrounding organs into a lump of pulp!

Zhou Tianlang's body stiffened. The light in his eyes completely went out, and his head drooped weakly.

[Killed a second-rank, ninth-level martial artist. Kill Points obtained: 9000. Higher-rank kill bonus (minor): 21000 Kill Points. Total obtained: 30000 Kill Points.]

The cold system notification sounded. Thirty thousand points—not bad.

Lin Ming pulled out the Silver Frost Spear and flicked the blood droplets from its tip. His calm gaze swept over the surrounding mercenaries, who had long since been frightened senseless and collapsed to the ground. Some had even lost control of their bladders.

To cut the grass, one had to pull up the roots.

Without the slightest hesitation, he moved through the camp like a ghost.

Every flash of cold light from the Silver Frost Spear brought a spray of blood and ended a life. Screams, pleas, and wails rose one after another, but soon all of them returned to deathly silence.

When the last mercenary trying to flee was pierced through the back by the Silver Frost Spear and nailed to a withered tree, no one in the entire camp remained alive except Lin Ming and Xia He.

A blood stench so thick it could not be dispersed filled the night wind. The campfire illuminated corpses sprawled in every direction and blood flowing freely over the ground, turning the place into a living hell.

Lin Ming withdrew the Silver Frost Spear and took out a rag, carefully wiping the blood from its shaft. His movements were slow and meticulous, as if he were tending a precious work of art rather than a weapon that had just drunk the blood of more than a dozen people.

Xia He stood there blankly, staring at the slaughterhouse before her. She smelled the nauseating blood, heard the excited roars of Mutated Beasts in the distance, drawn by the scent of blood.

Her body trembled slightly, her face pale as paper. Her stomach churned violently, and she nearly vomited. Yet she forced herself to endure it, biting down hard on her lower lip until she tasted blood.

It was not that she had never seen dead people before. But this was the first time she had witnessed such a close-range, brutal, and... efficient, cold-blooded massacre.

And the young man responsible for it all was calmly wiping his spear, as though he had merely swatted a few flies to death.

After cleaning the spear, Lin Ming casually threw away the rag, picked up Silver Frost, turned around, and walked toward the darkness beyond the camp without even looking at Xia He.

"W-wait!" Xia He suddenly came back to her senses, her voice trembling with urgency.

Lin Ming did not stop, as though he had not heard her.

Xia He gritted her teeth. Ignoring the blood and corpses all over the ground, she stumbled after him and stepped in front of him.

She raised her head and looked into Lin Ming's eyes, which were so calm that not a single ripple stirred within them. Taking a deep breath, she tried to make her voice sound steadier. "W-where are you going?"

"Leaving." Lin Ming's answer was concise.