Captain, I Think He's Trying to Scam You

Hearing someone approach, Mu Yi briefly considered whether he should leave.

But before he could reach a decision, a fierce wave of cold swept over him, piercing straight into his bones.

Mu Yi instantly sensed danger and darted away from his spot as fast as he could.

The very next instant, a huge, long-handled scythe gleaming with cold light sliced through the air, shooting toward the cliff's edge with a whoosh.

Then it abruptly stopped, swiftly changed direction in midair, and hurtled straight toward Mu Yi's new position.

Fuck, since when were weapons this smart?

Mu Yi had no time to think. He hurriedly dodged again.

This time, the blade whistled past his bangs before embedding itself in the trunk of an ancient tree by the cliff with a thunk.

Mu Yi turned toward the sound and finally got a clear look at the weapon attacking him.

It looked much like the Grim Reaper's scythe, but was formed entirely from ice. Both its handle and its blade glowed a chilly blue-white.

Suddenly, with a sharp crack, a layer of pristine ice crystals began spreading outward from the Ice Scythe embedded deep in the trunk.

The crystals spread at an astonishing speed. Within seconds, they had engulfed the entire tree, branches and leaves included.

Mu Yi stared, a little dazed. He hadn't sensed any pheromones. Then what was this? Magic?

Immediately afterward, a fresh chill closed in at high speed, snapping him back to his senses.

Sensing something, he raised his head and looked to one side. At that same moment, a tall, dark figure appeared in his field of vision like a ghost.

The figure then approached him at an uncanny speed, reaching him in practically the blink of an eye.

"!!"

Mu Yi's heart lurched, and he hastily backed up several steps.

Only after putting a safe distance between them did he see what the hell had rushed into his face.

Despite making an entrance like a ghost, it was definitely a person.

And a pretty damn good-looking one at that.

He had the face of a meticulously polished, high-end character model, his sharply defined features even more sculpted than a statue's.

Mu Yi didn't know whether he was of mixed ancestry, but both his hair and eyes were unusual colors.

His hair was gray-white, slightly wavy, and rather long, with his ponytail casually gathered into a bun at the back of his head.

His eyes were a distinctive gray-blue, with very small pupils that gave him an aggressive air even without any expression.

What was more, Mu Yi sensed no pheromone fluctuations. He was a male Beta, yet his physique surpassed that of the vast majority of Alphas.

His frame was tall and broad. Even a conservative estimate put him over 192 centimeters, meaning Mu Yi, at 185, had to tilt his head slightly to meet his eyes. That really pissed him off.

So he lifted his chin at the man and asked, none too pleasantly, "What do you want?"

The man looked hard to mess with, but spoke quite casually-or, more accurately, down-to-earth.

"Oh, an ordinary person?"

Zhong Xuezhi looked Mu Yi up and down, habitually raising his eyebrows and curling his lips as he spoke. That subtle shift in expression softened much of his aggressive air.

Mu Yi, however, frowned. What did he mean, ordinary person? Were there fucking extraordinary people, too?

Seeing him stare without saying anything, Zhong Xuezhi could only cut straight to the point. "Sorry, but what you're holding is my prey."

Mu Yi lowered his gaze to the glowing mushroom hanging upside down in his hand, playing dead.

He still hadn't quite figured out the situation, but why would he give away something already in his possession?

So he looked up with a smile and replied, "Yours? I'm clearly the one who caught it."

"Hmm?" Zhong Xuezhi arched an eyebrow and smiled as well.

"Buddy, we marked that thing and tracked it all the way here. We spent the whole night wearing it out. You're just swooping in to steal the catch."

Perfectly unapologetic, Mu Yi replied, "Marked it? Try calling its name. Will it answer you?"

His meaning was clear: whoever held it owned it.

At that, Zhong Xuezhi's smile faded a little. He was silent for a moment, then said seriously, "If we can't talk this out, we'll have to settle it by force."

As he spoke, he briskly raised his hand and summoned the Ice Scythe back from where it was buried deep in the tree.

At the same time, his teammates all arrived and lined up behind him, looking ready to fight at any moment.

Mu Yi's eyes shifted as he quickly sized them up. There were five people facing him, each carrying a weapon, ranging from blades to firearms.

Pick any one of those weapons, and it would have been illegal to collect or carry around in his original world.

Suddenly, Mu Yi felt more excited than ever. This was clearly one hell of a thrilling world.

At the same time, though, he felt a pang of regret. A shame he couldn't fight them right now.

The man was right. If he really fought them, he wouldn't have much chance of winning.

He wasn't afraid of powerful opponents, let alone death, but right now, he was full of curiosity about this brand-new world and wanted to see a little more of it.

So, holding the mushroom, Mu Yi backed toward the cliff one step at a time and smiled. "Unfortunately, now isn't the time to play with you..."

As he spoke, he leaned backward without hesitation, right before the five people's stunned eyes.

"See you next time-"

His body suddenly went weightless, cold wind roaring past his ears. It was even more exhilarating than his last leap off a tall building.

Mu Yi couldn't resist closing his eyes to savor it for a few seconds before considering how to land safely.

From his earlier observations, this cliff wasn't one smooth, sheer face. Its walls were thick with vegetation of all kinds.

There were also quite a few projecting rock paths midway down, like a spiral staircase winding upward.

He only needed to find a suitable landing point partway down and set up an electric net.

But when he opened his eyes, a drifting gray-white feather filled his vision.

Mu Yi: "?"

Had there been a bird just now?

While he was puzzling over that, the daylight suddenly dimmed. A huge shadow had descended over him from above.

Mu Yi jolted. The source of that shadow was actually the male Beta who had confronted him earlier.

For some reason, the man now had a pair of enormous wings on his back, beating as he dove swiftly toward Mu Yi.

He was just as fast as before. Before Mu Yi could react at all, he felt something tighten around his waist, followed by another rush of wind.

And then the cliff's edge was back in view.

"Buddy, surely there was no need to jump off a cliff?" A slight vibration came from the chest against his back, instantly bringing Mu Yi to his senses.

He lunged forward, all the defensive electricity around him bursting outward at once, crackling and sizzling as the arcs collided.

That move scared four of the five people facing him into retreating in one go. They all recoiled and exclaimed in unison, "Advanced Variant!"

Zhong Xuezhi's expression also turned serious at once. He swiftly folded away his wings and summoned the Ice Scythe again.

Then he pointed its blade, streaming with cold vapor, straight at Mu Yi's neck.

"I knew it. What ordinary person would dare enter Dread Gloom alone? You're no simple case."

One completely unfamiliar term after another popped up, leaving Mu Yi irritated.

They'd gone out of their way to haul him back when he jumped off the cliff, and now they looked ready to slaughter him. Were these people all fucking schizophrenic?

"If you're going to fight, get on with it. Quit yapping." He lifted his chin at Zhong Xuezhi, openly challenging him.

If he couldn't escape, he might as well have a good fight!

But when he quietly tried to channel the pheromones inside him, he discovered that they had suddenly begun surging around out of control.

Not only that, the electricity around him started flickering repeatedly, as if it had a faulty connection.

Then everything spun before his eyes, making him stagger unsteadily several times.

Mu Yi: "?"

Zhong Xuezhi: "?"

The sudden turn of events left both sides of the standoff somewhat bewildered.

Mu Yi especially. He raised his hand and smacked his forehead hard. Damn it, why did he keep getting dizzy?

Half a second later, he abruptly looked down at the Prismatic Mushroom still playing dead in his hand.

Fuck, it was poisonous...

The realization came too late. It was already too late for anything. Mu Yi barely had a few seconds to experience the dizziness before his vision suddenly went black.

Then, right in front of Zhong Xuezhi, he executed a textbook 360-degree turn, smoothly collapsed, and lay flat.

Zhong Xuezhi: "..."

After several seconds of silence, one of the teammates behind Zhong Xuezhi spoke hesitantly. "Captain, I think he's trying to scam you."

[For reassurance: both are virgins, and this is the first love for both.]

[Note: although the protagonist's pheromones can take physical form and have offensive capabilities, he is still an ordinary college student from a peaceful world. Having just arrived in a world of supernatural powers, he needs to understand its combat mechanics before he can quickly find his footing. So this leans toward progression, not mindless invincibility!]