"Everyone, don't rush to make a move. You have four choices right now!" Zhang Chulan, who was searching the back mountain for traces of Feng Baobao, unexpectedly came across Lu Linglong and another person being surrounded. After barely rescuing Lu Linglong, he spoke to the enemies surrounding him from the shadows.
"Four choices?"
"One, you let go of the girl and leave now; two, you continue attacking us; three, you take the girl and leave; or four, you kill the girl right now…" Zhang Chulan said calmly.
"A little brat playing mind games... We have a fifth choice: you take the girl and leave first, and we'll hold off the pursuers!" said Tu Junfang, the leader of the group.
However, while rescuing her earlier, Zhang Chulan had already extracted some of the Zhijin's blood, and with his lightning technique, he could locate her at any time. Anyone who tried to leave with Zhijin would face Zhang Chulan's attack.
These opponents were high on offense but had a low defense, and not many of them could withstand his lightning strikes as Lin Jiu had. So, they hesitated.
"Hey, listen to reason, and you'll stay safe! Brother Zhang has thought this through, so let's leave!"
Tu Junfang said as he led his people away.
"Whew! Looks like things are resolved for now," Zhang Chulan sighed in relief.
"Wait! Seems like someone doesn't want us to leave," Tu Junfang remarked, eyeing a young man blocking the path ahead.
"There's nothing to discuss, let's kill them!"
A fat man from the group, frustrated at being forced to abandon his prey, was now enraged at the obstruction in his way.
As Zhang Chulan and Lu Linglong retrieved Zhijin, they noticed the sudden development.
"Brother Red!"
"Die! Next time, grow eyes in the back of your head!"
The angry fat man charged at Lin Jiu.
Against opponents like these, Lin Jiu didn't need to hold back. He shifted his body slightly, rotating his hips and legs, and delivered a powerful side kick to the fat man's bloated stomach.
The fat man, who had been charging aggressively, suddenly appeared near Zhang Chulan and the others, clutching his stomach with blood on his hands and blood pouring from his mouth. He wouldn't survive.
Without pausing, Lin Jiu advanced on the remaining enemies, wielding his sword, [Dawn Shadow]. These opponents were no different from the cannon fodder at the front mountain, except they were more obedient and had been brought along.
"Quick! Create some distance!"
A one-eyed woman, her vision blurred, found herself flanked by Lin Jiu on her blind side. In one swift strike, he killed her.
Meanwhile, another opponent, dressed in a blue short-sleeve shirt and holding a short iron spike, distanced himself from Lin Jiu and hurled the spike charged with energy.
Lin Jiu easily dodged the attack. If he could evade Zhang Chulan's lightning palm, a thrown weapon was no threat.
Tu Junfang, now enveloped in dark grey energy, was advancing. If Lin Jiu didn't deal with the iron spike-thrower soon, things could get troublesome.
Lin Jiu quickly pulled out his gun, [Flame Sun], and fired five shots at the spike-thrower.
The successive explosions slowed Tu Junfang's approach, wary that Lin Jiu might suddenly target him. The explosions left the ground scorched, and the spike-thrower, missing an arm and with burns on his body, lay on the ground screaming in agony.
"That thing is a grenade launcher!"
Zhang Chulan swallowed nervously, amazed by the firepower.
"No wonder the authorities call him an exemplary youth! I love it!"
Tu Junfang remained cautious. The explosion was powerful, but the bullets were slow enough to dodge. Lin Jiu didn't expect the gun made by a Taisho-era gunsmith to have fast bullet speed anyway.
Another enemy, a red-haired, red-jacketed man with shifty eyes, saw that only two of them were left fighting. After a moment of hesitation, he turned and fled into the forest.
Lin Jiu, however, valued the moving 0.2% world source in front of him far more than the escaping target. Letting him go was fine—it saved Lin Jiu the trouble.
Now only Tu Junfang remained. Lin Jiu activated his ability, [Dark Scout], to scan Tu Junfang's stats.
[Corpse Demon: Tu Junfang]
HP: 100%
Strength: 15
Agility: 14
Endurance: 14
Intelligence: 17
Charisma: 6
Skill 1: Qi Refining Lv. 30 (Active): Circulates Qi according to certain patterns, enhancing physical abilities. Strength +3, Agility +2. (Duration: until Qi runs out).
Skill 2: Three-Corpse Manifestation Lv. 30 (Active): Summons three unique corpse demons: Pengju, Pengjiao, and Pengzhi. Contact with these triggers ???
Skill 3: Poisonous Corpse Lv. 28 (Active): Summons an enhanced Pengju that leaps forward, knocking back enemies, and then burrows into the ground, hitting nearby enemies for 2 seconds.
???
Tu Junfang, covered in dark grey Qi, was now in front of Lin Jiu, aiming a knife hand strike at Lin Jiu's head.
Lin Jiu tucked away his gun, tilted his head to dodge the strike, and thrust his sword at Tu Junfang's heart.
Tu Junfang quickly retreated, pulling back his hand. He wouldn't risk trading his life for an arm.
"A youngster like you with this kind of skill…"
Lin Jiu wasn't about to let Tu Junfang finish. He lunged forward, slashing at his throat.
Tu Junfang dodged, lowering his body and sweeping at Lin Jiu with a Qi-enhanced leg.
Lin Jiu rotated his wrist, reversing his sword grip, and slashed at Tu Junfang's head.
Tu Junfang rolled on the ground, narrowly avoiding the strike. Lin Jiu followed up with a kick aimed at his face.
Unable to dodge, Tu Junfang crossed his arms, reinforced with Qi, and blocked the kick, skidding back through the dirt.
"This guy's strong! He's holding his own against Brother Red!"
Zhang Chulan marveled from a distance, impressed by Tu Junfang's strength.
"You don't know who that is, do you? Tu Junfang, one of the 'Three-Corpse Masters,' a top-tier figure in the Outcast world!"
Lu Linglong explained, entering commentator mode to give Zhang Chulan an idea of how powerful Lin Jiu's opponent was.
Tu Junfang, covered in dirt, stood up and looked at Lin Jiu with a serious expression.
"Ah…"
Tu Junfang sighed, as black smoke, made of tiny black dots, began to rise from his forehead, spreading over his body.
The smoke condensed into three strange figures in front of him.
The Upper Corpse Pengju looked like a combination of a fly, mosquito, and dragonfly, flying in front of Tu Junfang. The Lower Corpse Pengjiao was a half-human figure crawling like a horror movie creature. And the Middle Corpse Pengzhi resembled a puddle of sludge with a terrifying face.