Ruthless Hand (Please Follow)

Other World.

Inside the temporary camp.

Fang Xing turned on a Smart Computer he had picked up from a secondhand market.

"Begin data transfer!"

His ten fingers flew across the keyboard as image after image appeared.

There were countless videos captured by the Simulation Bird Model Drone, as well as footage and audio recorded by the Beetle Monitor.

"Mm, it really is an ancient agricultural society... Even the farming techniques are primitive."

Most of the surveillance footage showed farming.

Watching the ragged "Farmers" toil with their faces to the soil and backs to the sky, sweat pouring down their bodies, Fang Xing fell silent.

Because these "Farmers" were at least First or Second Realm Martial Artists, and Uncut Jade Realm Martial Artists even appeared from time to time!

Fortunately, the local Uncut Jade Realm Martial Artists were not particularly alert. Or rather, they had never encountered simulated surveillance equipment, so they found no flaws.

Most of these martial artist farmers worked in silence, their faces numb and devoid of vitality.

Only on very rare occasions did they exchange a few words.

After gathering data for so many days, from lip movements to pronunciation, the information was complete.

All Fang Xing needed to do was have the Smart Brain perform the final integration, then learn this new language!

It's a pity I don't have a Learning Device, but it won't take me long to learn this language...

As an outstanding student shaped by exam-oriented education, Fang Xing was fairly confident in this.

Martial arts cultivation was, in truth, a form of evolution. The brain's memory and the activity of one's thinking both improved greatly as one's realm rose!

"Martial artists here can only farm or haul manure, unless they go out into the wilderness to adventure?"

As the secondhand computer sorted and analyzed the data, Fang Xing scanned the surveillance footage, trying to understand the martial artists' way of life in this world.

He had seen martial artists farming, transporting manure carts, and going on adventures. Most of them lived miserable lives; only Uncut Jade Realm Martial Artists lived somewhat better.

"Beyond that, there are people of even higher status..."

Fang Xing opened a piece of footage filmed from an extreme distance. It showed a slightly plump middle-aged man dressed in silk robes, styled like a Country Gentleman, going door to door collecting supplies: rice, ore, herbs, and even Crystal Sand like the kind Fang Xing possessed...

In the end, several large carts were packed full and taken away. The escorts were all Uncut Jade Realm Martial Artists, yet before this Country Gentleman, they were clearly a rank lower. They were exceedingly polite, even somewhat deferential.

This was not simply a difference in social status. More likely, it was a difference in strength!

This short, stout Country Gentleman seemed capable of killing several Uncut Jade Realm Martial Artists!

"Talismans..."

Fang Xing recalled the Talisman used by the leader of that four-man adventuring party, along with the image of the Golden Bell Shield. He quietly came to a conclusion.

"The urgent matter is to learn the local language first, then change clothes and attempt contact..."

He looked at the secondhand Computer Screen and saw that the decryption progress for "Other World Language" was still below ten percent.

"There's still time. Hm?"

Just then, the First Unit Drone that he had ordered to patrol and monitor sent back another image.

In it, a woman with torn clothes and bloodstains all over her body was fleeing in blind panic.

Judging by her direction, she would discover the temporary camp in a few minutes!

"Hmm? Another victim of that Wild Boar?"

Fang Xing frowned.

The beast monster nearby was extraordinarily powerful.

Aside from the leader of that previous four-man Uncut Jade Realm party, who had barely escaped with the power of a Talisman, every Herb Gatherer who encountered it had died without exception. It was practically a Herb Gatherer killer.

Even the Herb Gatherers' corpses had ultimately ended up in the Wild Boar's belly, leaving no remains behind.

There was no need to inspect this woman. She was surely some sort of Herb Gatherer too, driven into such a panic by that Wild Boar.

"But why did she have to run toward me?"

Fang Xing felt a headache coming on.

"Judging by her build and speed, she should be below the Third Realm—a Second Realm Martial Artist... She probably doesn't have anything dangerous on her either. Otherwise, if she had even one Talisman, she wouldn't have been driven to this state by that Wild Boar."

He sighed and let the Protective Suit cover his entire body, leaving not even his eyes, ears, mouth, or nose exposed. Then he picked up the Electric Baton. "Let's go take a look..."

Whoosh!

A figure flashed past as Xue Yuling used her movement technique to dart over a clump of thorny brush.

She was tall and slender, with fair skin. Her long, shapely legs had once made even Immortal Masters linger over them.

If she had not run into difficulties, she would never have ventured out alone to gather herbs.

"Damn it, I was tricked!"

"The purchase price for Vermillion Dragon Grass in Green Forest Market went up, and sure enough, harvesting it became even more dangerous... Those people up there don't want to leave us any room at all."

Xue Yuling gritted her teeth.

Competition in the market was too fierce. It was said that some female Immortal Masters specializing in seductive arts had even entered the business to compete for food.

She could still do business as a half-open-door woman, but it was only enough to barely keep herself from starving.

Buying Spirit Rice and pills to improve her martial arts was simply wishful thinking.

That was why she had no choice but to come here. Who would have thought she would encounter a Wild Boar Demon Beast that seemed to have advanced a minor stage? Not only had her entire team been wiped out, but she herself had been reduced to such a miserable state.

Almost... If I can run a little farther, there'll be a river. Then I can jump into it and escape!

Xue Yuling was not sure whether the Wild Boar Demon Beast was still behind her, but having suffered hardships since childhood, she always considered the worst possibility.

The rivers of the Great Wilderness were exceptionally dangerous, but they could wash away her scent. At this moment, they were her only path to survival!

Suddenly!

The grass ahead rustled, and a silver-white humanoid monster jumped out!

"What the hell is that?"

Xue Yuling gave a sharp cry, but the ruthless nature she had developed while struggling at the bottom left her no room for hesitation. With a flick of her hand, three cold flashes shot out like falling stars and struck Fang Xing squarely in the chest.

"Hidden weapons?"

Fang Xing froze, then saw three darts fall to the ground. Their sharp blades gleamed blue, clearly coated in a layer of deadly poison.

Fortunately, he wore the Nano Protective Suit. It had not been pierced at all and had even absorbed much of the impact, leaving him with only a slightly stifled feeling in his chest.

"You actually tried to kill me first. No matter what world this is, that means whatever comes next counts as self-defense!"

Fang Xing shouted as the Electric Baton came down in his hand.

"What kind of strange cry was that?"

Xue Yuling could not understand Fang Xing's language at all, but that did not stop an Iron Judge Pen from appearing in her hand. She blocked the Electric Baton with it, her move exceptionally precise.

The tip of the pen even trembled slightly as it pointed toward several vital acupoints on Fang Xing's body, clearly concealing an extremely fierce counterattack.

This set of Splashing Wind Pen techniques would have been a peerless martial art in the mortal martial world!

Clang!

Feeling the force transmitted through the Judge Pen, Xue Yuling relaxed. "This freak is so weak..."

But in the next instant, she saw with horror a burst of electric sparks flash from the black staff in her opponent's hand!

A terrifying current surged into her, sending her flying backward. She fell to the ground and began convulsing.

"A Blood Refined Magic Item? You actually have a Blood Refined Magic Item?"

Looking at the humanoid monster approaching her, Xue Yuling confirmed that the other party should also be human and hurriedly cried, "My lord, spare my life..."

Combined with her delicate face, she truly looked pitiful enough to stir anyone's sympathy.

"What are you saying? I can't understand you!"

Fang Xing could only guess at those few words. He vaguely caught something like "you," but he knew she was begging for mercy.

Unfortunately...

"The prettier the woman, the more trouble she causes... So die!"

Fang Xing thrust out his baton.

Crackle!

A stream of silver-white electricity burst from the tip of the Electric Baton and struck Xue Yuling squarely in the forehead.

"That seller was lying. They clearly said it could knock down an elephant, yet this woman can still talk... Better shock her a few more times, just in case."

Fang Xing prodded her with the Electric Baton and, only after confirming that she was truly dead, put on rubber gloves and stepped forward to search the body.

What the woman did not know was that he had the drone's surveillance overhead. He naturally knew that the beast monster had long since given up the chase.

Yet the "path to survival" she believed she had chosen had instead become a road to death.

If she came back to life, would she be furious enough to die all over again?

"Wait... This is my first time killing someone, right? Shouldn't I throw up or something?"

Fang Xing seemed to realize it only now. He took several deep breaths and calmed himself.

Well...

Perhaps the experience of crossing into another world had been too unbelievable, combined with inheriting the previous owner's memories and enduring the suffering of Biochemical Humans...

In any case, he found that he was not particularly nervous or afraid...

After a few deep breaths, all that remained was calmness. Calmly, he began searching the corpse.

"Not a bad figure..."

"Loot... A pair of Judge Pens, one money pouch, three Jade Bottles... Hm? There's even a book?"

Fang Xing picked up a book.

The paper quality was poor, and it was bound with thread. The pages were yellowed and bore traces of insect damage and grime.

Four flowing characters in Other World Language were written across the cover. Fang Xing could not recognize a single one.

"Good stuff..."

Far from being disgusted, he said, "This is excellent research data. Giving it to the Smart Brain for analysis will greatly speed up the decryption process!"

As for the money pouch?

After opening it, he found only three grains of sand identical to the kind he had obtained before.

"This looks... kind of like currency serving as a general equivalent? So that means I have seven coins in total?"

Fang Xing stroked his chin, then looked at the Jade Bottles.

The seals of two bottles had already been opened. He did not dare smell them rashly, much less swallow anything inside. He planned to test them later with poison test strips and lab mice first.

The last bottle had a wax seal over its mouth. It looked completely intact and unopened.

Three characters in Other World Language were engraved on the bottle, and he still could not read them.

What are the chances that the intact bottle contains a poison trap?

If it's a trap... People in this world wouldn't just eat loot taken from an enemy's body, would they?