The Hunter who hid her deeds and fame

A door suddenly appeared.

It left not only Ren Ye and the others bewildered, but even the shadow exclaimed, "Huh? A door whose Star Source landing point I can't track?!"

Every class in the Star Gate legacy shared certain traits, yet each had its own potential for development.

Simply put, every player was unique, which naturally made it impossible to determine exactly what supernatural trump cards they possessed.

Dragging the little dwarf along, Mr. He sped through the air.

Creak!

As the two drew near, the door marked "Actor's Passage" abruptly swung outward. White light flashed inside, completely obscuring where it led.

"Chaotic Shadow-Flaw Mark!"

The true shadow suddenly straightened, swiftly crossing her arms before her chest.

Judging by the movement alone, it looked a lot like some ninjutsu from that miserable little country. In reality, however, the gesture... was a ritual movement from an assassination art in ancient Chinese martial arts.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...!

In an instant, the densely packed shadows on the stage began darting about chaotically, but they had only one target: Mr. He.

Pfft, pfft...!

Mr. He twisted and dodged as he fled through the air, but five shadows still passed through his legs, left flank, and left arm.

Whoosh!

Bang!

After the five shadows passed through his body, Mr. He pulled the little dwarf into the white light, and the door slammed shut behind them.

A voice abruptly rang out across the chaotic stage. "The performance is over-curtain call!"

As the icy cry echoed, the red curtains slowly closed. Everyone felt their surroundings distort, then found themselves standing in the apartment building's fifth-floor corridor.

The shadow stood motionless, while the New Year's Watchers eyed her warily.

Whoosh!

Ren Ye was even more decisive. Hauling his unconscious father with both hands, he ran straight to safety.

Minhuang Grand Theater, Minhuang Road.

A battered wooden door suddenly appeared in the ceiling of an empty Actor's Dressing Room.

Creak!

The door opened, and Mr. He and the little dwarf fell through the air, hitting the floor with a thud.

As the supernatural effect faded, Mr. He returned to his original appearance. His second-stage title was Theater Fiend, and he possessed an exceptionally powerful supernatural ability. As long as he removed the "Enter the Role" door from his Theater Stage Model beforehand and affixed it at his destination, he could travel straight there when he exited the stage.

However, the distance could not be too great, and the destination had to be a theater with a regular audience. That was why he had come to Minhuang Road in advance.

His clothes torn and his appearance somewhat bedraggled, Mr. He still gritted his teeth in bewilderment. "I really don't understand why someone as insignificant as Ren Ye... would attract the Fraud Merchants' Association's shadow, a ghost of unknown strength, and so many New Year's Watchers. Even if this Star Gate is extremely important, surely they wouldn't risk their lives like this?! The New Year's Watchers have broken the rules multiple times already. This isn't normal..."

From his perspective, he still did not know that Ren Ye possessed another crucial identity: the Heavenly Pardon-Blessed One.

That vital gap in information meant the two sides were directing their efforts toward entirely different things.

"...They're all gone. Only the two of us are left." Sitting on the floor, the little dwarf looked shaken, but deeply grateful as well. "Thank you, Mr. He."

Players in the Chaos Faction were impulsive and self-centered, their ranks rife with betrayal, scheming, and mutual sabotage... but that creed could not be called wholly wrong. Looking out for oneself was not inherently wrong.

It was simply that pursuing profit at any cost could also carry a heavy price. There were two sides to it.

Thus, Mr. He could easily have left the little dwarf to his fate. Copper Bell members like him were a dime a dozen in the Bell Society, and there was no need to risk his own life.

"Enough talk. That shadow is too troublesome. I definitely can't beat her." Mr. He rose, panting. "Let's go!"

The apartment building's fifth-floor corridor.

The shadow stood there blankly, seemingly sensing something carefully.

Whoosh, whoosh...!

The surrounding Star Source Fluctuation intensified as a large group of New Year's Watchers arrived.

Watching from hiding, Xu Peng quietly asked Gu Nian, "Our people are here. Should we arrest her?"

"Are you an idiot? How do you arrest a shadow? Besides, can you beat her?" Gu Nian said seriously. "I feel... even the second-stage New Year's Watchers who've arrived might not be able to beat her."

"Does that count as dereliction of duty, then?" Xu Peng asked blankly.

"Go lie down with Ren Ye's dad." Gu Nian had little patience for people whose brains didn't work.

Tap!

Just then, the dazed shadow seemed to finish sensing whatever she was searching for. She suddenly moved.

At Minhuang Grand Theater, Mr. He had just reached out to pull open the door when he suddenly froze.

"What's wrong, sir?" the little dwarf asked.

"...Get away from me! Quick, defend yourself!" Mr. He whipped around and roared.

Whoosh!

The little dwarf retreated at speed, instantly sacrificing three venomous insects and enveloping himself in green mist.

The apartment corridor.

The shadow abruptly swung her slender arm and clenched her right fist, her voice brimming with excitement. "Found you! Qi-Flow Flaw-Detonation!"

Several kilometers away, Mr. He turned abruptly toward the little dwarf, his hand still on the doorknob. "If I die... you...!"

Pfft!

Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft!

Before he could finish, five clouds of bloody mist burst from Mr. He's body in succession—his legs, left flank, and left arm, exactly where the shadows had passed through earlier.

His bones shattered section by section, flesh burst apart, and blood sprayed across half the Actor's Dressing Room.

Both his knees split open, exposing stark white bone. A gaping hole burst in his left flank, and his left forearm snapped clean off... his entire body looked as though explosives had been planted inside it.

Earlier, five first-stage New Year's Watchers, along with the second-stage Red Dog and Ren Ye, had only managed to leave him badly battered. Now... his breathing was faint, and his life was rapidly draining away.

Nearby, the little dwarf, untouched by the explosions, first froze in bewilderment. Finally, trembling all over, he tentatively called, "S-sir?!"

"I... I'm going to die... you... contact the person Old Yin introduced... there are still two players from the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate we haven't found... they're important... to the future... to the Bell Society... you have to keep investigating." Mr. He was so weak that he seemed liable to die at any moment.

Whoosh!

The little dwarf suddenly charged out of the green mist. With his body, which stood less than 1.2 meters tall, he hoisted Mr. He onto his shoulders, scooped up his severed left forearm, and said with deliberate emphasis, "You saved me just now. Now I'll save you...!"

With that, three nonvenomous Gu Insects crawled into Mr. He's body. Carrying him, the little dwarf rushed out of the theater onto the street, then sprinted away.

Rain poured down. Not daring to stop for even a moment, the little dwarf pulled out his phone as he ran and dialed a number. "I need you to help me save someone. He's badly injured, and the New Year's Watchers will be putting him on their wanted list soon. But... I have forty-five pieces of Star Source and over a dozen items... if that isn't enough, I can go rob someone right now. Please, you have to save him, no matter what... I'm figuring out how to get to you now."

The apartment building's fifth-floor corridor.

The shadow sensed again, then waved her little fist excitedly. "Still not dead... interesting, interesting. You're worthy of a grand death ceremony."

Everyone's hair stood on end at her words.

The shadow suddenly turned toward Ren Ye, who was hiding in the darkness, and unexpectedly drew a finger across her throat. "Hurry up and grow stronger! Then we can have a fight."

"?!"

Ren Ye froze for a moment and silently cursed, Are you out of your mind?!

As her words faded, the shadow dropped to the floor, flattened, and shrank, finally becoming an irregular line that darted along the wall and vanished.

Once she left, Red Dog's strength gave out completely. He lay on the floor, panting weakly and pressing a hand over the wound at his waist. "I... I think she clearly meant no harm. Ren Ye, don't be scared. If you can clear the Qingliang Prefecture Star Gate... you definitely won't be weaker than her."

"Not just no harm. I actually think she was helping us." Gu Nian paused, then continued with clear logic. "Or... rather, helping Ren Ye. After all, the first time she intervened was in University Town."

"I've heard of the Fraud Merchants' Association's Hunter for a long time, but most people who've seen her use her supernatural abilities are dead. We have very little information on her, so we need to document this encounter carefully." Huang Wei took a breath, then immediately turned to Xu Peng. "Fake-medicine peddler, give me two pills."

Xu Peng did not refuse. He simply walked over with a vacant stare. "Five hundred Source."

"...!" Huang Wei stared at him incredulously. "Have you lost your mind?!"

"You have two choices. Either kill me or pay up," Xu Peng replied stubbornly.

"Fuck your mother!" Huang Wei flew into a rage. "...Fine. I'll take it."

Fifteen minutes later, thirty or forty New Year's Watchers removed the Wordless Stele that provided spatial isolation, left a few people specifically to handle the aftermath, and quickly departed.

Ren Ye was carrying his father and about to get into a car when someone suddenly shouted from inside Xinyuan Spa, "Love rises with the bell, but when it stops, longing lingers. What you owe me... you'll have to repay!"

Hearing the shout, Huang Wei immediately extended his perception, but detected nothing unusual.

"That spirit has probably already left." Huang Wei paused. "Quick, head back to the office first. I need to go to Shanghai Headquarters... Director Yan is about to explode."

With that, the group quickly left.

About fifteen minutes later, the trendy old man emerged from the spa in a backward baseball cap, an oversized T-shirt, and cargo pants.

"You're really not charging me?" Little War Wolf turned toward the dozen female attendants and the plump owner lining his path to see him off, frowning. "I... I never take a free ride."

"Sir, as long as you're healthy, that's all that matters. It's on the house!" The plump owner thought, Just fucking leave already. What rotten luck today. She had nearly called the police earlier.

"I'll come again sometime..." Little War Wolf waved reluctantly.

The attendants watched him, silently repeating, An ironclad rule! No customers over sixty-five. No exceptions, no exceptions...!

As the car drove smoothly along, rain pattered against its windows. Ren Daguo slowly woke, his eyes clouded with confusion.

"You're awake?!" Ren Ye asked delightedly.

"Where am I?" Ren Daguo abruptly turned to look around.

Huang Wei whipped around and stared at him solemnly, saying each word distinctly. "I suspect... you're a player!"