A Bet on a Martial Arts Manual

Newcomer Feng Wo Wudi stepped forward and shouted angrily, "Old Fourth Gu, insult us again and I swear I'll quit the Militia Team!"

"Quit my ass!"

Old Fourth Gu wore a vicious expression. "You signed the contract, so you're people of Ancient Pool Village now. If you dare quit, I'll beat you every time I see you until I beat you to death."

Old Fourth Gu's threat was no empty talk. Quite a few veteran players present had heard that Old Fourth Gu had once hunted down a Born One within the village.

Seeing the tense atmosphere, Dugu Feng from the team hurried forward and pulled Feng Wo Wudi back.

"Forget it. This isn't an ordinary game. If an NPC really hunts us down, there's nowhere to report it. Wait until your level is higher, then go get revenge on him..."

Feng Wo Wudi regained his senses as well and said red-faced, "Then I'll let him off this time."

Seeing that Feng Wo Wudi no longer dared argue, Old Fourth Gu cursed, "Coward!"

At that moment, Gu Chenghu emerged from the bushes ahead with Lin Yi.

"Old Fourth Gu, I could hear you cursing from far away. The Corpse Fiends in the valley haven't even been lured out, yet you've already brought the Monsters outside in."

When he saw Gu Chenghu, Old Fourth Gu stood up with an unpleasant expression. "Gu Chenghu, why aren't you guarding the village? What are you doing here?"

"I had nothing to do, so I brought the members of our team out to find some Monsters to kill."

Old Fourth Gu glanced at Lin Yi beside Gu Chenghu. "Taking a Born One out to kill Monsters? Since when have you, Gu Chenghu, treated Born Ones so well? Have you already forgotten the lesson from that Born One before?"

Gu Chenghu mocked him in return. "None of your business. You'll be doing well enough if you can lead the Militia Fifth Team properly. Don't let the members of the Militia Fifth Team grow strong, only for the first thing they seek out to be trouble with you rather than Monsters and Ghost Spirits."

"You needn't worry about that. If they really have what it takes, I'd be happy for them."

After a pause, Old Fourth Gu glanced at Lin Yi. "Born One, what's your name?"

Lin Yi first looked at Gu Chenghu before answering, "My name is Green Mountains Never Age."

"Another damn strange name. Are you here to kill Corpse Fiends in the valley too?"

"Yes."

"Good. You've got guts. Do you dare compete with a member of the Militia Fifth Team? If you win, this martial arts manual will be yours."

Old Fourth Gu took out a martial arts manual. It was Swift Steps, the White Quality martial art Dugu Feng had once obtained.

Just as Lin Yi was about to speak, Gu Chenghu stopped him.

"Old Fourth Gu, what trick are you playing?"

"No trick. I just want to test the courage and ability of the Born Ones in your Second Team. Gu Chenghu, one question: do you dare compete?"

"First tell me what we're competing in."

Old Fourth Gu said, "Naturally, we'll compete to see whether you can kill a Corpse Fiend alone. You, Gu Chenghu, actually came out in person to help a Born One level up, so this Born One should have some ability. I won't make things difficult. Dugu Feng, come out."

Dugu Feng in the crowd looked somewhat at a loss and pointed at himself. "Huh? Me?"

Old Fourth Gu cursed, "You. What the hell are you dawdling for? I've fed you so much experience. It's time to see whether you're a mule or a horse."

Dugu Feng naturally understood the situation. He had originally been a reserve member of the Second Team, and now Old Fourth Gu was making him compete clearly because he wanted to slap Gu Chenghu in the face.

He hurriedly said, "Captain Old Fourth, I'm not suited for this, am I? I only just reached Level 6. Fighting a Level 5 Corpse Fiend would be pushing it."

"What are you afraid of? The Born One competing with you probably hasn't even reached Level 5. Besides, if you win, this martial arts manual will be your reward."

Upon hearing that, Dugu Feng's eyes widened. Although he also knew the martial art Swift Steps, he had spent a hefty sum buying it from his friend Chang Kongkuo.

After all, in Apocalypse World, even a random martial art manual was currently worth several million yuan.

Hearing that Old Fourth Gu was using Swift Steps, which they had spent several hard days obtaining, as a reward, Dugu Feng could no longer hold himself back.

If he resold it, he could instantly recoup his investment.

Dugu Feng first looked at Gu Chenghu, then at Lin Yi. He muttered an apology in his heart before saying, "Captain Old Fourth, I'm willing to give it a try."

"Good."

Old Fourth Gu looked at Gu Chenghu with a cheerful grin. "Gu Chenghu, what do you say? Even your former team member has agreed. Are you too afraid to accept the challenge?"

Gu Chenghu did not agree immediately. Instead, he quietly discussed it with Lin Yi. "Qingshan, are you confident?"

Lin Yi fell silent. He had never seen a Level 5 Corpse Fiend, but logically, it should not be much different from a Level 5 Shocking Pig.

Could his current Level 3 attributes deal with a Corpse Fiend?

Most likely... no problem.

Lin Yi's Health Points now exceeded one thousand, and his swordsmanship was superb. With the boost from Natural Swordsman, his close-combat ability had increased tremendously.

Whether or not he could defeat a Corpse Fiend, Lin Yi could at least guarantee that he was stronger than Dugu Feng.

Gu Chenghu smiled. "Fine. Since you think there's no problem, I'll accept. But the stakes are a little too small. I'll add something."

As he spoke, Gu Chenghu turned his head. "Old Fourth, I've long heard that you have plenty of good things on you. How about this? We'll keep the same bet, but the two of us will place a wager too. I'll bet two Green Quality Monster Beast materials against you. If I lose, the two materials are yours. Gather a little more and you might be able to forge a Spiritual Artifact. If I win, hand over the Divine Water."

Old Fourth Gu raised his brows. "Divine Water? So this is what you've had your eye on."

Within Ancient Pool Village, Divine Water was a true treasure. Whether ordinary people or Born Ones consumed it, it could raise their attributes.

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However, Ancient Pool Village produced very little Divine Water, and it was mainly supplied to the Village Chief and the Three Village Elders.

The Divine Water in his possession had been granted to him earlier by the Village Chief.

Old Fourth Gu was somewhat uncertain, so he called Dugu Feng over.

"Dugu Feng, are you sure you can win?"

Dugu Feng said with a bitter expression, "Captain Old Fourth, if I say I'm not sure, will you cancel the bet?"

To be honest, although Dugu Feng knew that he was a higher level than Lin Yi, Lin Yi had previously obtained a Green martial art, an archery technique.

He did not know how powerful a Green martial art was, but it definitely could not be underestimated.

So Dugu Feng truly had little confidence.

Old Fourth Gu could not be bothered listening any further and cursed directly, "Get lost. You have to win this wager anyway. If you lose my Divine Water, you'll work for me to pay off your debt from now on!"

Then Old Fourth Gu stepped forward and said, "Fine, Gu Chenghu. You have faith in your team member, and I'm no worse. We'll bet as you said."

Once the wager began, Old Fourth Gu ordered his Militia subordinates to lure out two Corpse Fiends.

Meanwhile, several Born Ones such as Qian Duoduo and Wang Zilong curiously gathered around to watch.

The chubby Qian Duoduo said, "Brother, I saw you last time. You were pretty cocky, huh? So who gave you the guts to compete against Brother Dugu? His archery is unmatched in our team. He never misses."

This fat guy again. Lin Yi looked up at him but did not bother responding.

Wang Zilong also walked over and said in a low voice, "Brother Qingshan, good luck. Actually, we all want to see Old Fourth Gu get humiliated. Also, Corpse Fiends are Monsters formed when Militia corpses are contaminated by some kind of ghostly aura. Their weak point is the neck. Oh, and Corpse Fiends run extremely fast..."

"Thanks, brother."

Lin Yi nodded. He had never fought a Corpse Fiend before, so this information was quite useful to him.

Soon, the first Corpse Fiend was lured over.

The Corpse Fiend's body consisted of shattered limbs and incomplete bones, covered in rotting chunks of flesh and writhing maggots.

Logically, the flesh on a Corpse Fiend should have long been decomposed by microorganisms, yet this one still had plenty of flesh on it. It simply looked utterly disgusting and terrifying.

As the Corpse Fiend approached, an intense stench spread through the air.

The smell was like a mixture of thousand-year-old feces and dead rats.

Lin Yi's face turned a little pale as he looked toward Dugu Feng, Wang Zilong, and the others.

Although these people had been fighting Corpse Fiends for several days, they did not look much better than him. Every one of them pinched their noses and retreated several steps.

Old Fourth Gu said, "All right, who's going first?"

Gu Chenghu seemed extremely confident and said with a smile, "Let Dugu Feng go first. If Qingshan makes a move, I'm afraid you'll surrender immediately."

Old Fourth Gu said, "What a joke. Me, surrender? Since your team member has never seen a Corpse Fiend, we'll start first. Dugu Feng, go ahead and show your former captain what you can do. Also, neither of you is allowed to use Protective Talismans or medicine in this match."

"Yes."

Dugu Feng stepped forward first. With a flick of his wrist, a bow and arrows appeared in his hands.

Old Fourth Gu ordered, "Release the Corpse Fiend!"

The two Corpse Fiends that had been lured over were bound in chains by members of the Fourth Squad. Once one of them was released, it immediately charged toward Dugu Feng.

Drawn by the temptation of human flesh, the Corpse Fiend was like a zombie sprinting through an apocalypse movie. It moved incredibly fast and covered more than ten meters in the blink of an eye.

Dugu Feng held his breath, his expression grave as he repeatedly drew and nocked arrows.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The arrows flew through the air. Quite a few struck the Corpse Fiend, but they did not slow it down in the slightest.

Dugu Feng was not surprised at all. Seeing the Corpse Fiend already closing in, he hurriedly put away his bow and arrows, then took a shield and a long saber from his inventory and assumed a defensive stance.

Boom!

Mud scattered beneath his feet!

The Corpse Fiend slammed into him viciously, knocking the shield-bearing Dugu Feng back three meters.

"What tremendous strength!"

Lin Yi, watching from nearby, could not help speaking out.

Although he did not know how Dugu Feng had allocated his points, a Level 5 Corpse Fiend had nearly sent Dugu Feng flying after accelerating. This showed that the Corpse Fiend was stronger than Dugu Feng.

If he could not match it in strength, then once they entered close combat, Dugu Feng would likely be beaten relentlessly.

Sure enough, the battle unfolded exactly as Lin Yi had predicted. The Corpse Fiend crazily pounded against the shield, forcing Dugu Feng back again and again.

Of course, the shield's defense was ultimately limited. In less than a minute, several claw marks from the Corpse Fiend had appeared on Dugu Feng's body.

However, Dugu Feng's Agility Attribute was very high. Under the Corpse Fiend's repeated lunges, he could swiftly evade.

Whenever he caught an opening in the Corpse Fiend's attacks, Dugu Feng could also slash at its neck.

At this rate, the mindless Corpse Fiend should lose, but only if Dugu Feng's Endurance was good enough to last that long.

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