Closing In

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A [Potion-making] skill book?!

Qin Ran froze when he saw Norbien's private message.

Although he had been talking with Le Mei the Alchemist, Qin Ran had not let down his guard around Norbien. His gaze had followed Norbien until he left the Harvest Tavern.

Qin Ran had thought that another of Norbien's probes had come to an end.

But the message told him that Norbien was done probing—and was already eager to close the net!

Why?

Money could turn anyone's head!

Qin Ran glanced at his balance of over 100,000 Points and 37 Skill Points, then gave a knowing chuckle.

The Underground Game did not expressly forbid players from killing one another.

The penalties were severe, but if a killer was not caught, nothing would happen to them. Instead, they would take everything their victim owned.

To Qin Ran, that rule practically encouraged players to kill each other.

Fortunately, few people actually did it.

For one thing, the penalty if caught—"all attributes -1; all Points, Skill Points, and equipment confiscated!"—was enough to put players off.

For another, attitudes ingrained by years of living under the Federation made it hard for most people to accept killing a real person. They might slaughter countless people in a dungeon, but calling them "just NPCs" was enough to ease nearly everyone's conscience.

There were exceptions to every rule, though.

Norbien appeared to be one of them.

His malicious intentions were already plain to see.

Qin Ran needed a [Potion-making] skill book, and Norbien just happened to have one.

That coincidence alone was suspicious.

Of course,

it could have been a genuine coincidence.