The red-haired girl, now sitting in a corner, watched as the young man brutally assaulted the burly man. She wore an expression of relief after narrowly escaping danger.
Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she approached the young man.
"Hello, I'm Hongshang."
Chu Tian looked at the girl, and after finishing his pounding of the burly man, he clapped his hands and stood up.
"I'm Chu Tian, hello."
"Thank you for saving me..."
"No need to thank me, you helped me too. So, let's not talk about repaying with one's body or anything like that," Chu Tian replied, his comforting words taking an unexpectedly teasing tone.
Rolling her eyes, Hongshang retorted, "I wanted to ask if you feel any remorse about killing."
"Remorse? Killing is not something you should feel remorse about, is it?" Chu Tian was surprised and baffled by the girl's question. Just a moment ago, she seemed so timid, but now she was asking about killing with such bloodthirsty enthusiasm.
"Oh..." Hongshang gave a meaningful smile, then concentrated the flames into a dagger and efficiently sliced the burly man's throat. She then approached the trembling archer.
The archer's hands were already disabled, blood was flowing profusely from his severed wrists, and he had passed out.
"This..." Chu Tian was horrified by Hongshang's decisiveness, and his voice trembled as he asked, "Is it really necessary to do this?"
"Yes," Hongshang replied, standing over the archer's face, stepping on his neck. She said word by word, "Strike. While. It's. Hot."
Perhaps due to the lack of proper breathing, the archer's dirty face turned bright red, and he opened his mouth wide, but no air could flow in.
"That... " Chu Tian felt that his speech was becoming incoherent since he had met this girl. Both her brutally decisive actions and her straightforward demeanor left him gasping for words.
"What?" Hongshang turned her head, puzzled, to look at Chu Tian.
"Just be cautious... " Seeing that Hongshang still didn't get it, Chu Tian tried to remind her, gesturing to the sky and the ground.
"Oh..." Hongshang exclaimed, then Chu Tian heard a crisp cracking sound.
Chu Tian couldn't help but shiver.
"I was just a bit angry and didn't pay much attention to my clothes," Hongshang said as she pinched the edge of her garment and walked back to Chu Tian, her little face blushing.
Taking a closer look, Chu Tian realized that Hongshang was quite exquisite. She had a pair of graceful almond-shaped eyes, a small but straight nose, an assertive charm, clearly defined lips, and a slightly pointed chin.
The dirt and grime couldn't hide her delicate features, and her rosy cheeks only added to her cuteness.
"Ah... okay."
"Thank you for saving me... Even though I can't repay you with my body, if you ever have any difficulties, I'll definitely help you!" Hongshang said earnestly, her face gradually losing its blush.
"It's no big deal." Chu Tian laughed. "After all, you helped me during the test. We're even now."
As they were about to leave, Chu Tian noticed the three people lying on the ground. Although he knew he could be ruthless when necessary, compared to Hongshang, he seemed much gentler. Her actions were swift and lethal.
Seeing the three of them lying there, Chu Tian couldn't help but feel tempted. He wondered if they might have anything valuable on them. After all, looting from defeated foes was part of the fun of fighting monsters.
Although he had considered looting from the defeated foes, Chu Tian couldn't bring himself to do it. Regardless of their character or actions, these people were still human, and he found it difficult to harm another human being. In his previous life, he had been an upstanding citizen, and these moral values still held some sway over him.
Throughout the situation, Chu Tian was torn and hesitant. He felt that it was morally wrong to harm or kill others, even if they were engaging in wrongful activities.
Hongshang observed Chu Tian's changing expressions with curiosity, from his initial surprise to his later hesitation and even a hint of disgust. She was reminded of her childhood when her father took her on missions, and the memories made her smile.
"Don't feel sorry for these people. They've done more evil than you can imagine," Hongshang sighed and gave the corpse under her a kick. "You'll get used to it with time. After all, humans are just slightly more advanced animals."
Chu Tian rubbed his nose. "I feel like I've been scolded, but I can't find a reason to argue back."
Rolling her eyes, Hongshang finished her search and used fire to burn the bodies of the three men.
"Do you want their belongings? There's tens of thousands in money and some small items, but nothing too valuable," Hongshang said, sifting through the items scattered on the ground, most of which were standard equipment for mercenaries.
"No, thanks, it's too disgusting," Chu Tian shook his head vigorously. He was repulsed by the idea of using items from the deceased.
"I'm going to the black market. Would you like to come with me?" Hongshang didn't hesitate to put everything she found into her spatial backpack.
Chu Tian made a strange face as he contemplated it but eventually shook his head. "I think I'll pass."
"Alright, I'll rest for a bit and then head there. What about you?" Hongshang asked curiously. "Do you want to sit down and chat for a while?"
Chu Tian looked at the sky. It was still relatively early, and he decided to keep her company for a while, considering what she had just been through.
They ended up sitting together for two hours, chatting and getting to know each other better.
Eventually, Hongshang checked the time and sighed. "I have to go now, or I won't make it to the black market."
"Okay," Chu Tian stood up, feeling a bit reluctant to part ways. "I'll head back to the base."
They bid farewell and went their separate ways, each with their own destination in mind.
As Chu Tian returned to the training base, the night had fallen, and it was dark outside.
According to the arrangements for the training and testing rooms, Chu Tian found a room with more people and sat down. After a day and a night of testing and selling items, he was feeling exhausted, and soon, he fell into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile, a meeting was underway among the mid-level leaders of the mercenary group.
"Now, let's talk about the results of the mercenary test at the Third Base... Let's start with the first place in this test."
The speaker displayed Chu Tian's information on a large screen and revealed the test results.
The meeting room fell into silence.
"Incredible... He killed over two hundred captive beasts?"
"Is this information fake?"
"Could he be an imposter, a poacher?"
Various questions and discussions filled the room as the members of the meeting expressed their disbelief and suspicions.
"Everyone," a person standing at the front of the room knocked on the table. "Do you all remember the dimensional secret realm?"