This Arrow Struck Nothing

The security officer on the left had a cigarette butt clenched between his lips as he spun the communicator around his finger.

He narrowed his eyes at the asphalt road.

Only after Gan Ming's figure vanished at the end of the road did he speak.

"That kid's pretty sharp."

He flicked the cigarette butt onto the ground and crushed it beneath his boot.

His tone was not exactly approving, but it did not sound mocking either.

The security officer on the right remained crouched on the ground, not even looking up as he fiddled with something on his terminal.

"I guessed as much."

"Oh? You guessed it again?"

The one on the left leaned back against the railing and glanced sideways at him.

"You keep your mouth shut beforehand, then act like a prophet afterward. With that talent, you could be an analyst for an association."

"What do you mean, acting like a prophet?"

The crouching man finally looked up.

"Look at how he was dressed. His clothes were shredded, he reeked of the Lower District, and he could not even afford a full set of bracers..."

"You think someone like that signed up at the Awakening Center on a whim?"

The one on the left said nothing.

"Those who came out of the Lower District," the crouching man continued, "if they made it as far as the awakening ceremony, which one of them had not survived with their life hanging by a thread?"

"A fifty percent mutation rate is actually a good number to them."

"You've got a point."

The one on the left nodded, and there seemed to be a trace more appreciation in his voice.

"People who dare go to the Awakening Center were never afraid of death. They know exactly what they're doing. They aren't reckless idiots."

He lowered his head and slipped the communicator into his pocket, then suddenly laughed.

"Looking at it that way, Young Master Xue missed this time."

"Tch." The crouching man stood up and curled his lip disdainfully. "If he wasn't capable enough, who could he blame?"

"Us, of course."

"Then we'd really be getting screwed."

The two exchanged a look and chuckled.

Once they were done laughing, each returned to his previous position.

One leaned against the railing in the sun, while the other continued squatting there and playing with his terminal.

Neither of them mentioned Gan Ming's name.

They had seen far too many newcomers like him.

Even if only one out of ten came back alive, what did it have to do with them?

As long as they got their money, that was enough.

As for whether that newcomer lived or died afterward, that depended on his own luck.

About twenty minutes later.

Footsteps came from the edge of the Woodland.

The archer Xue Ping emerged from the bushes.

His expression was rather ugly.

It was the particular frustration of someone who had spent money and failed to get the job done.

His swordsman lackey followed behind him with his head lowered, not daring to make a sound.

The security officer on the left immediately straightened up from the railing.

"Young Master Xue!"

A smile instantly spread across his face.

Unlike the routine warmth he had shown Gan Ming earlier, this smile carried a hint of flattery.

"Why are you out so early today? Weren't there enough Pig Monsters to kill?"

Xue Ping ignored him. He walked to the railing, drained the half bottle of water in his hand, and casually tossed the bottle away.

The security officer on the right also came over and asked cautiously, "Did you reach level 14? How was today's haul?"

Xue Ping kicked the empty bottle to the roadside, then turned to look at the two security officers.

"The information you gave me was inaccurate."

The smile on the left security officer's face visibly stiffened.

"How was it inaccurate? Please tell us, Young Master Xue."

"That guy in rags, what was his name again... Gan Ming, right?"

Xue Ping planted one hand on his waist and jerked his chin toward the Woodland.

"You two told me he'd awakened today, and that he was level 1 when he entered, right?"

"That's right."

The security officer on the right immediately answered.

"The entry log states it clearly. Registered information: First Tier, level 1; the three basic equipment pieces plus an iron shortsword; no guild, no team. Didn't you check that log yourself?"

"I did." Xue Ping clenched his back teeth. "But I fired a full-power Piercing Arrow at him from less than fifteen meters away, and it didn't kill him."

The two security officers exchanged looks, clearly having not expected that.

Only then did Xue Ping begin explaining the details.

"That kid had just killed a Pig Monster and was crouched on the ground collecting the corpse."

"I fired from behind and to the side. The angle, distance, and timing were all perfect. The Piercing Arrow hit him in the waist."

He gestured at the spot on his own side.

"Anyone else would have died from that shot, or at least been left lying on the ground. But he was fine."

He paused and exhaled irritably.

"He turned around, hid behind a tree, and in less than half a minute, his health was fully restored."

"A newbie of what level, wearing three gray-grade pieces, took a Piercing Arrow from me and stayed standing... do you think that's normal?"

Upon hearing that, the security officer on the left pondered for a moment and scratched the back of his head.

"Then maybe... his innate talent is pretty tough."

"Pretty tough?"

"Think about it. Someone who dared enter the Woodland wearing only three crude pieces of equipment—if his talent was no good, wouldn't he just be throwing his life away?"

The security officer on the right chimed in as well.

"Exactly. People like that usually have damage reduction or recovery built into their talents. Otherwise, he wouldn't have lasted until the moment you made your move."

"The information we provided was accurate. His level, equipment, and entry time—none of it was wrong."

"As for how strong his talent is... that's outside the scope of our access permissions. You know that too."

Xue Ping said nothing, but the anger remained on his face.

Of course he knew those two did not have much authority.

Even if they could check talents, so what?

All that information had been submitted during registration at the Awakening Center. Whether it was true or false was another matter.

All the security officers could access was the basic data in the entry records. It was not as though they could strip someone naked and inspect him for Xue Ping.

But angry as he was, there was indeed nothing he could pursue over this.

The information had been accurate.

He simply had failed to kill the target with one arrow.

Seeing Xue Ping remain silent, the security officer on the left stepped half a pace closer with a smile.

"Young Master Xue, don't take it to heart."

"That kid's just a poor bastard from the Lower District. He hasn't even joined a guild."

"All the broken equipment on him put together isn't worth two hundred credits."

"So what if he survived? What could he possibly do?"

The one on the right echoed him.

"Exactly, exactly. If he makes it out alive, that'll already count as good luck."

"A low-level lone player like him isn't even worth a blade of grass in this city. Who would care about him?"

That was true enough.

An undocumented nobody who had crawled up from the Lower District, freshly awakened, with no background, no influence, and no money.

Even if he knew Xue Ping had made the move, so what?

Who could he turn to?

Report it to the Security Bureau?

In the Fallen Zone, everyone was responsible for their own life and death. It was written in black and white.

Find a guild?

He had not even joined one.

Besides, what guild would dare provoke Xue Ping?

Right. If he ran, then he ran.

If an ant slipped through your fingers, you would not crouch down and search the ground everywhere for it.

Only then did Xue Ping's expression improve somewhat.

He pulled another bottle of water from his ring, unscrewed it, and gulped down a couple of mouthfuls.

"Fine."

He wiped his mouth and shoved the bottle back into his ring.

"It's still early. I'll go back in and kill a few more Pig Monsters for fun."

With that, he turned and headed toward the Woodland.

The swordsman lackey hurried after him.

The two security officers stood by the railing and watched Xue Ping disappear back into the trees.

After the two had gone far away, the security officer on the left spat, took out another cigarette, and lit it.

"This guy really has a temper."

"His father's the only impressive one."

The one on the right crouched back down and pulled out his terminal again.

"Anyone would be upset after spending money and failing to get the job done."

"True."

The one on the left took a drag, smoke scattering in the afternoon sunlight.

"But that kid... Gan Ming. Do you think he was really level 5?"

"Who tells the truth normally?"

"Yeah."

"Would you?"

"I wouldn't."

"If you say it out loud, can that still be called the truth?"

The one on the right tilted his head and thought about it.

"Unless he's a complete idiot. For someone from the Lower District, if even thirty percent of what he says is true, that's already impressive."

The one on the left chuckled softly and put the matter out of his mind.

No matter what level that kid was, it had nothing to do with either of them.