The Oriole Behind

"Brother, did you hear something?" Little Fatty asked, wading through the water.

They had just emerged from the Fierce God's cave and were instantly teleported to the middle of this lake.

Tang Fei stopped, cocked his ear to listen carefully for a moment, and said, "No. What did you hear?"

"I must have misheard," he said, glancing nervously at the Skull Hammer he was carrying. "Ever since I started carrying this hammer, I've felt off. I'm so scared I'll turn into a monster by accident. Now I'm even hearing things."

"You'll get used to it," Tang Fei glared at Little Fatty. "I'm telling you, you have to use it well. You're not allowed to lose it on purpose."

"Brother, how can you think that of me?" Little Fatty said indignantly. "If you want me to use it, I'll use it. Why would I deliberately lose it?"

"That's true," Tang Fei nodded. "You're not like Old Man..."

Old Man would totally do that. If he didn't like something, he'd deliberately break it or lose it, just like a husky.

Such poor character!

"Brother, why did you say your name was Lu Yu just now?" Little Fatty asked. "Godfather didn't go in with us."

"I was afraid the Fierce God would seek revenge on me," Tang Fei said. "What if he's a real god and checks the Book of Life and Death at King Yama's place? He'd find me out."

"Oh. That's setting up a diversion, like digging extra traps when hunting," Little Fatty said, enlightened and looking at Tang Fei with admiration. "Big Brother really thinks of everything."

"If a man does not plan for the distant future, he will find sorrow near at hand."

"But why did you use Godfather's name? What if the Fierce God goes looking for Godfather?"

"I was too nervous and didn't think of anyone else," Tang Fei said. "Next time, I'll use Monkey."

"Brother, please don't use Monkey. He's my friend," Little Fatty said earnestly.

"Alright, alright, I'll make up a name next time," Tang Fei compromised.

Little Fatty was stubborn. If he didn't agree, he'd keep bringing it up.

"Thanks, Brother," Little Fatty said happily.

The two of them climbed ashore, dropped the pulse gun and hammer they were holding, and lay on the beach, gasping for air.

This tomb raiding trip had been quite thrilling. They had thought the explorers from New Star had already left, and they could just swoop in and pick up the spoils.

They hadn't expected to encounter the Fierce God and almost lose their lives there.

Fortunately, the Fierce God only had a wisp of divine sense. If his true form were still alive, they would have been smashed into meat paste with a single blow.

Tomb raiding? Leave the great heads for me.

But, fortune favors the bold.

Seeing the Skull Hammer, Tang Fei felt the trip was absolutely worth it.

The Phoenix had traveled all the way from New Star to search for the tomb, but ended up not finding it and almost losing her life.

And he, with just a little bit of effort, guess what?

He picked up a divine artifact.

"Hehehehe," Tang Fei chuckled uncontrollably.

Little Fatty was terrified and quickly got up from the ground, staring at Tang Fei. "Brother, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Tang Fei said. "Are you hungry?"

"I'm starving," Little Fatty said. "I'm about to die of hunger."

"Impossible," Tang Fei said. "You're built like a camel. You could go a week without food or water and be fine."

"..."

Tang Fei was also hungry, so he decided to drink some water to fill his stomach first.

Using their most practiced posture, they propped themselves on their hands on the ground and stuck their heads into the lake to drink.

"Giggle giggle, doesn't he look like a dog drinking water?" A woman's voice suddenly sounded beside their ears.

"Who?" Tang Fei rolled over, grabbing the pulse gun on the ground.

Little Fatty had been jumpy ever since encountering the Fierce God. Hearing a woman's laughter in the middle of the night made his fat jiggle.

Forgetting his hunger, he grabbed the pulse gun beside him and started scanning their surroundings warily.

Gun in hand, flesh doesn't tremble.

A gun is a man's greatest reliance, his firmest support.

Just talking tough isn't enough.

A group of people emerged from the dense forest in front of them. There were men and women, some as young as their twenties, and others in their forties and fifties.

They were wearing the same long-distance travel suits as the Phoenix had when she landed, though the colors and styles varied.

Tang Fei had tested them before. These suits were breathable and sweat-wicking, kept them cool in the heat and warm in the cold, and offered a degree of physical protection. They were also simple and convenient for combat, without any obstruction.

Just a bit tight in the crotch, a little constricting.

Judging by their attire, these people had come from New Star.

They were all holding various high-tech weapons and spread out in a fan formation, surrounding Tang Fei and Little Fatty.

Tang Fei inwardly cursed, thinking of the idiom "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."

He had thought he was getting a good deal from the Phoenix, only to find someone else lurking in the shadows, waiting to snatch it all away.

These people were clearly prepared and had likely been waiting for them on shore for quite some time.

He and Little Fatty had just emerged from the cave, barely escaping death, and before they could even catch their breath, they were surrounded.

After encountering the Fierce God, he had vomited blood three times, leaving him feeling weak.

Little Fatty didn't know how to cultivate, and Tang Fei feared they wouldn't be able to fend them off.

"The young man is quite alert," a young woman with snow-white skin and a head full of braids said. "It seems Old Earth isn't lacking in talent."

Tang Fei recognized the voice; it was the same woman who had just insulted him, saying he drank water like a dog.

You sound like a chicken when you giggle, he thought.

"Who are you people?" Tang Fei asked, staring at the woman.

"Why don't you tell us first? Who are you?" The woman with braids grinned at Tang Fei, then looked at Little Fatty, tutting in admiration. "Look, they're holding pulse guns! If I'm not mistaken, these are the Phoenix Empire's latest West Wind III models. I haven't even gotten my hands on one yet, and they already have them. How envious."

"So what if they have pulse guns? I doubt they know how to use them," a middle-aged man with blond hair and blue eyes quipped. His accent was strange; he was clearly a foreigner.

After the Great Cataclysm, travel became difficult, and communication between East and West ceased. Tang Fei and Little Fatty rarely went out, so this was their first time seeing a living foreigner.

He had, however, seen plenty of unclothed paper figures in the magazines the Old Man collected.

"Oh? Mr. Simon looks down on people, does he?" the woman with braids said with a smile.

"Look at their clothes and how they carry themselves. They're clearly common folk from Old Earth who somehow got their hands on a couple of guns and are now showing off. I bet they don't even know where the power button on a pulse gun is," the young man said, filled with contempt for Tang Fei and Little Fatty, these refugees from Old Earth.

This was the typical attitude of the "nobles" from New Star towards the remnants of Old Earth.

They despised you for being poor, hated you for being ugly, resented you for being bad, and looked down on your ignorance.

Tang Fei and Little Fatty, being mere adolescents, were even less likely to be taken seriously.

"No matter who they are, they're the ones we're looking for. Our stealth flight devices spotted them three days ago and have been tracking their movements," the woman with braids said, pointing to the Skull Hammer on the ground emitting a cold, silver glow, and then to Tang Fei's dark cloak. "They didn't have these before, so it seems this is their latest acquisition."

Tang Fei's scalp tingled.

They had been monitored for three days? That was exactly when he and Little Fatty had been wandering all over the mountains!

Stealth flight devices? What were those?

He was a Qi Control Realm expert, with senses far beyond those of ordinary people. He could detect the slightest disturbance within dozens of meters. How could he have sensed nothing this time?

At what altitude were they monitoring them? Or were they using close-range stealth surveillance without him noticing?

This feeling of technological superiority made him angry and filled him with a sense of helpless disappointment.

This is the price of being uneducated...

"It seems they've entered the Great Tomb and even brought back gifts," Simon said with a sly smile, though his tone was tinged with regret. "A shame, really. They won't get to enjoy them while they're still warm before they change hands."

He looked at Tang Fei and said, "You see the situation now. If I were you, I'd hand over whatever you took from the Great Tomb immediately."

He then pointed to the lake behind them. "Of course, put down the pulse guns you're holding first. I'm not sure if you know how to use them, but still, put them down."

"Then, you'll walk step by step into the lake. Once we've taken what we want and left, you can crawl out of the water. Only then will you be safe."

He looked at Tang Fei and asked, "What do you think of my proposal?"

Bang!

Tang Fei pulled the trigger without hesitation.

"Click!"

A crisp sound followed, and the blond-haired, blue-eyed man was torn to shreds by the pulse gun.

Blood and flesh splattered everywhere, a messy death.

As for Tang Fei, you could call him poor, you could call him ugly.

But you couldn't steal his things.

If you tried to steal his things, he'd fight you to the death.