Even If I Kill You, Your Stuff Is Still Mine!

At the entrance to the Abandoned Aviation Auto Parts Factory.

Lin Hui's RV gave a low rumble. The barrel of the roof-mounted 25 mm autocannon slowly rotated, finally locking onto the heavy ambulance nearby with suffocating menace.

Creak-

Almost the instant the cannon aimed at it, a faint sound came from beneath the heavy ambulance.

Tang Chuan moved faster than a rabbit. He abandoned the driver's seat, slipped through the escape hatch in the undercarriage, and rolled clumsily into the shadows of the nearby ruins.

That RV could crush even a Tier 3 White Thorn. His vehicle was nothing but a tin can in comparison.

"Wang Bin! Open fire! Cover me!!"

Hiding behind an iron pillar, Tang Chuan screamed at Vice President Wang Bin, who had yet to get out of his vehicle.

But the vehicle remained silent.

A few seconds later, the window rolled down. Wang Bin, a lean, muscular man with dark skin, poked half his head out and raised both hands high. Not only had he shut off his engine, he even tossed his Assault Rifle straight out the window.

"President Tang, I might not be smart, but I'm not a fucking idiot."

Staring at the pitch-black muzzle of the autocannon, Wang Bin swallowed and shouted toward Lin Hui:

"Boss Lin! I surrender! I want to live!!"

"You traitor!!" Tang Chuan's face trembled with rage. His facade of cultured refinement had completely fallen away, revealing the scumbag underneath.

Watching the black RV slowly approach, he felt death bearing down on him. His instinct to survive instantly overwhelmed his pride.

Tang Chuan picked up his radio and hastily said:

"A misunderstanding! Brother Lin! This is all a misunderstanding!!"

"Just now... my Extraordinary Item went out of control! Really! You know Extraordinary Items all have side effects..."

Lin Hui rested one hand on the window ledge, still holding a half-finished can of cola, and watched the performing clown with amused eyes.

"Oh? Out of control?"

Seeing that Lin Hui was willing to respond, Tang Chuan thought he had a chance and hurriedly rattled off his sales pitch:

"Yes, yes! Brother Lin, look, the process might have been messy, but the outcome was good! That tier-three monster died, didn't it? You could call this... unconventional teamwork!"

"And I'm useful! Really useful! I awakened the Spirit Art specialization, and my Spirit Art is Mire. Whether we're fighting monsters or other players, I can support you!"

Watching Lin Hui's expression, Tang Chuan gritted his teeth and pulled a small box wrapped in black velvet from inside his clothes, holding it high:

"To show how sorry I am, I'm willing to give you this Extraordinary Item! It's a rare item!"

"Brother Lin, another friend means another way forward. I used to be a surgeon at the First Municipal Hospital. I'm an excellent doctor..."

Looking at the black box, Lin Hui raised an eyebrow slightly.

"An Extraordinary Item? Is that what made the Tier 3 White Thorn suddenly attack my RV?"

"Yes, yes! It's called the [Eye of Scapegoating]! Just spare me and it's yours. From now on, I'll follow your every command!" A glimmer of hope flashed in Tang Chuan's eyes.

He believed no one could resist an offer like that.

In this apocalypse, gaining another teammate with a specialization and another lifesaving item was an incredible bargain.

And yet.

Lin Hui merely gave the cola can a gentle shake, tilted his head back, and drained the last mouthful.

"President Tang, you... aren't someone I like."

The smile on Tang Chuan's face instantly stiffened. "Brother Lin! What do you mean? I'm giving you the item! Can't you just let me go and forget about me?"

"I don't think you understood."

Lin Hui put his hand back on the autocannon's firing button, a faint smile curling his lips.

"What I mean is..."

"Even if I kill you, your stuff is still mine."

"I'm a clean freak. I don't want to keep trash around that might stab me in the back at any moment."

The instant he finished speaking, Lin Hui pressed down hard without the slightest hesitation!

"You're asking to die!!!"

The hope in Tang Chuan's eyes instantly turned into venomous madness.

Under the threat of death, he unleashed potential he had never shown before. He plunged his hands into the ground, draining every last bit of his Mental Strength in an instant!

"Specialization-[Spirit Art: Mire]!!"

Rumble!

The concrete ground within fifty meters of Tang Chuan instantly collapsed and liquefied!

The once-solid ground became an abyssal swamp, churning with black bubbles and reeking of foul odors. This time, its depth and viscosity were several times greater than before!

"Hahahaha! An RV that heavy! Sink, damn you!!"

Tang Chuan laughed wildly, his face twisted.

The laws of physics told him that the heavier something was, the faster it sank in a swamp!

"As long as I trap you... I can escape..."

"And you'll sink underground! You'll drown!!"

And yet.

The next second.

His wild grin froze on his face as though someone had doused it with liquid nitrogen.

The instant the black steel behemoth drove into the mire, it did not sink at all. Instead, it remained perfectly steady, as though cruising down a smooth highway!

Its four broad tires, gleaming with a dark sheen, rolled over the mud as easily as solid ground.

[Modifier active: Never Wears Out]

[Trait 2 triggered: Constant Traction. Maintains 100% traction on any terrain, ignoring terrain!]

Even if the ground beneath it was quicksand, snow, or a mountain of blades and a sea of fire.

As long as I want to move, no road can stop me!

Hiss-

The engine gave a deep, powerful roar.

Rather than slowing down, the RV accelerated through the resisting sludge, throwing black mud into the air. Like a black warship cutting through the waves, it charged straight toward Tang Chuan to crush him!

"No... impossible..."

Tang Chuan's legs buckled, and he collapsed into the mud.

His entire understanding of the world fell apart.

What the hell kind of vehicle is this?

Why can't even a mire created by Spirit Art trap it?

"Nothing is impossible."

Lin Hui's cold voice came through the loudspeaker.

"In your next life, take a better look at who you're messing with."

Bang!

Lin Hui gave him no further chance to speak.

He extended the Axe Gun out the window without even bothering to aim carefully.

A single shot rang out.

A bloody hole appeared between Tang Chuan's brows. His face, frozen in shock and terror, tipped backward as he fell heavily into the mire he had created and slowly sank.

In the passenger seat, Su Qingqian's beautiful eyes went wide. She had thought the RV beneath her would sink into the mire, never expecting it to ignore the terrain entirely.

It's so powerful!

How did it do that?

Even with Machinery Specialization, she could not think of an explanation.

Su Qingqian looked at Lin Hui curiously, but never voiced her question.

After all, she was only an employee.

If her boss did not volunteer the information, she did not dare ask.

"A guild should leave this world together..." Lin Hui's lips curved upward as he continued operating the roof-mounted autocannon, aiming at Vice President Wang Bin's vehicle.

Seeing this, Wang Bin was scared out of his wits.

"Don't kill me! I'm a good person! I'm strong! I can be your dog!!"

Lin Hui ignored him.

Wang Gou had taught him a lesson earlier: killing anyone who bore him a grudge outright could save him a great deal of trouble.

Just as Lin Hui was about to press the firing button.

"Roar-!!!"

A roar deeper and more powerful than that of the female White Thorn suddenly came from the wilderness.

Immediately afterward, an enormous white blur flashed past.

Squelch!

Wang Bin, who was closer to the wilderness, suddenly went rigid.

A massive blade as thick as a spear pierced straight through his vehicle and his chest, hoisting his entire body into the air!

Blood dripped down the bone spike.

As the dust cleared, a male White Thorn nearly four meters in size slowly emerged, its bone armor gleaming with a metallic sheen.

Its scarlet eyes did not spare the corpse hanging from its tail a glance. Instead, they fixed on the black RV and the puddle of mangled flesh inside the warehouse that had once been the tier-three female White Thorn.

Watching the enormous creature slowly straighten up, Lin Hui tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

It was a male White Thorn.

And...

It was a more fully evolved Tier 3 White Thorn. Judging by its presence and appearance, it probably was not far from tier four.