Chapter 36

Fu Qian glanced at the middle-aged man who came out after looking at the stele.

He was slightly overweight, with an average appearance, and was wearing loose fitting clothes. His hair was a bit sparse in front, and he had a smile on his face that made him look, at first glance, like a twenty-five-year-old programmer.

As soon as he had left the group, he had noticed someone following him. He hadn’t paid any attention to it at first, but, to his surprise, that person had relentlessly pursued him all the way here.

Although he seemed harmless, the man who just emerged moved without making a sound, and he was so light on his feet it was as if he had no mass—he was clearly adept at skulking and stealth.

Being targeted by such a character usually didn’t bode well.

“I must say, you’ve surprised me quite a bit.”

The middle-aged man looked at Fu Qian, his eyes gleaming like a cat toying with a mouse.

“On the surface, you don’t show off or stand out, but in reality, your level might be the highest in your team. Even I almost lost track of you.”

“So unassuming and patient, you’re bound to achieve great things given time. Of course, that’s assuming you have any time left.”

“You flatter me.”

Fu Qian kept his eyes on the invisible barrier, dismissing the man with a noncommittal remark, as if he hadn’t heard the latter’s ominous last sentence.

His reaction clearly wasn’t what the middle-aged man had expected, and he narrowed his eyes.

“I’m actually a bit curious, can you tell me why you left your group and came here all alone? What are you trying to do?”

“Running away.”

“Running away?”

This response clearly surprised the middle-aged man.

“Yeah, the atmosphere here is a bit oppressive. I need to go home and rest.”

Fu Qian’s tone was as matter-of-fact as if he needed to urinate urgently.

…

“An exploration mission led by President Li Weixuan himself, something countless people can’t even beg for, and yet you want to go home?”

The smile on the middle-aged man’s face turned cold.

“If that’s really the case, you don’t need to worry anymore, because soon I will be sending you on your way.”

“You can, of course, try to run, or you could pull out your Arrow Bell to see if President Li Weixuan can come to save you in time.”

Arrow Bell?

Fu Qian thought for a moment. He had overheard his team members chatting about it earlier; it was a survival tool provided by the Academy for each student venturing out, similar to a flare gun used for signalling distress.

Since many forbidden areas render communication devices completely ineffective, in a life-or-death predicament, one can activate it to seek help and mutual support.

“No need, I don’t have to call anyone for now.”

Fu Qian waved his hand dismissively and, frowning at the middle-aged man, asked the question that he was truly concerned about.

“What weapon are you planning to use to kill me?”

What weapon?

The middle-aged man was visibly confused, his expression screaming, “Are you insane?”

“Aren’t you interested in why I want to kill you?”

“I’m not interested, and are you sure the one you want to kill is actually me?”

Getting no response, Fu Qian sighed.

“What do you mean?”

The middle-aged man’s eyes hardened.

“Just guessing, but from the moment I left the group, you’ve followed me all the way here. There were countless opportunities to strike, yet you chose to follow me to this remote place.

Now you want to make your move, not through ambush but by boldly showing yourself, telling me I’m about to die, almost as if you’re intentionally creating pressure to make me run.”

“You even reminded me that I could use the Arrow Bell to call for help. These actions don’t seem like those of an assassin.”

“Is your actual target still deeper within the ruins? Are you trying to create a diversion?”

“You hope to drive me as far away as possible, then use the Arrow Bell to attract President Li Weixuan so he comes to rescue me, and you take the opportunity to go back and eliminate your real target?”

“Interesting… then why don’t you guess who my target is.”

The middle-aged man’s voice was suppressed, seemingly acknowledging Fu Qian’s speculation.

“It’s not very difficult to guess. First of all, we’ve split into three teams. You targeted me so quickly, which suggests that it’s highly likely that my target is in the same team as you. When you noticed I had left the group, you thought it was a good opportunity and followed me.”

“Apart from me, that team has another nine people. Judging by your performance, you’re clearly very skilled at stealth and assassination. You followed without even President Li Weixuan noticing.”

“Considering President Li Weixuan can’t possibly keep an eye on us all the time, you could have easily found an opportunity to kill with a single blow and then escaped. It wouldn’t have been much worse than the choice you’re making now.”

But you didn’t choose that, indicating that you lack confidence in killing your target with a single strike and worry that escaping from Li Weixuan if he showed up would be difficult, so you need more time to ensure the completion of your mission.”

“With your strength, in our team, who could make you unsure of a one-hit kill? Ji Liushuang or Yuan Xin?”

Fu Qian looked at the middle-aged man. The latter’s pupils clearly flickered the moment Ji Liushuang’s name was mentioned.

“I understand now, Ji Liushuang.”

Ha ha.

The middle-aged man laughed loudly.

“If it’s really as you said, then why do you think I want to kill Ji Liushuang?”

“That would be a bit difficult for me. That classmate Ji looks very distinguished; probably this is yet another corporate family feud or something similar.

Once it gets to these kinds of matters, the appearance of a dog-like assassin like you seems quite natural.”

Fu Qian’s face was expressionless. He really had no interest in these messed-up affairs, yet somehow they always found their way to him.

“You’re asking for death…”

Under Fu Qian’s continuous mockery, the middle-aged man finally lost his composure, uttering a typical line borne of embarrassed anger.

“Killing you myself and then triggering the Arrow Bell will do just as well.”

In the next moment, the middle-aged man’s figure flickered like lightning, suddenly appearing beside Fu Qian, and noiselessly unleashed a palm strike.

A terrifying aura of deadly intent instantly enveloped Fu Qian.

Ah, after all that this guy also turns out to be a hand-to-hand fighter.

Fu Qian sighed.

Wasting my precious time!

I was hoping one of these assassins would at least have a divine weapon that I could test against the barrier to see if it could inflict damage.

Disappointing.

Facing this terrifying strike, Fu Qian swiftly dodged to the side.

Since this guy hadn’t arrived during the barrier test earlier, he surely wasn’t aware that there would be an invisible obstacle here; it would be a waste not to use that.

This is also why I kept standing still.

Fu Qian’s evasive speed clearly surprised the middle-aged man, who hadn’t expected to be so cautious yet still misjudged the situation.

With his strike missing its mark and just as he thought to change tactics, he ran headlong into some kind of barrier.

What is this thing!

Looking at the empty space beside him, the middle-aged man was momentarily confused.

Before he could regain his senses, he felt a pain in his ribs. A red whip flashed by, spraying a mist of blood.

At the same time, a surge of irritability inexplicably rose in his heart.

There’s something strange about this whip!

The middle-aged man braced himself against the invisible barrier, evading the next two lashes, and the irritating feeling in his heart lessened slightly.

The wound on his ribs was minor; he needed to be careful not to be hit by the whip and try to fight at close quarters as much as possible…

Just as this thought crossed his mind, he saw Fu Qian’s face close at hand.

This guy actually gave up the advantage of ranged combat to engage in close quarters with me?

The middle-aged man was momentarily unable to understand Fu Qian’s actions, but then he felt a sharp pain in his ribs as if something had penetrated the wound, branching into countless fine threads that intertwined deeply with his internal organs.

The next moment, heat erupted violently, and amidst a sky filled with blood light, his body fell heavily to the ground.