Once, I wanted to be a good person

'Hunter?'

Fang Ze's eyes narrowed slightly as he observed the three people's attire and their cautious movements.

It seemed... unproblematic?

As he thought this, he said, "I am an investigator from the Qingshan City Investigation Bureau. I came to Bluewater Forest to track down a fugitive."

Upon hearing Fang Ze speak, the three exchanged glances, then used the moonlight to examine the uniform on Fang Ze's body.

After a moment, as if recognizing the uniform on Fang Ze, the three visibly relaxed.

The taller man scratched his head and then, with a flattering smile, said to Fang Ze, "So you are an official from the Investigation Bureau. I'm terribly sorry for the disturbance."

At this, he looked at the nutshells thrown on the ground, then took down a wild rabbit from his back and said, "Meeting is fate. Look, it's just mealtime. If you don't mind, shall we have something to eat together?"

As he spoke, he showed the still warm wild rabbit, "We just happened to catch two rabbits. We're in for a treat tonight."

Fang Ze glanced at him, then at the wild rabbit in his hands, a deep gleam flickering in his eyes.

After a moment, he smiled and said, "Sure. I wasn't quite full tonight."

Upon the agreement of Fang Ze, in the darkness, a hint of delight flashed through the three's eyes...

Indeed... they are untrained Awakeners, too naive...

Lacking even a bit of suspicion towards ordinary people.

Before an Awakener strengthens their physique, they are still flesh and blood.

An ordinary person's spear could easily pierce through them!

By then, they wouldn't even have the chance to use their Awakening Ability...

So, by allowing the three to come close and finding the right opportunity, even an Awakener could be taken down in one strike.

They had killed many Awakeners using this method...

All the while pondering, the three quietly closed in.

But as the three drew near, Fang Ze was also quietly observing them.

From the very beginning when he met them, Fang Ze had never trusted them.

Although their attire, demeanor, and conversation all seemed fine,

but... no matter what, it was too coincidental.

He had been escaping alone without encountering anyone, and as soon as he stopped to rest, he met local hunters who even invited him to eat?

Fang Ze, who had downloaded anti-scam apps, was a modern, savvy young man not easily fooled.

However, although he knew there was something off about them, Fang Ze was somewhat unable to figure out their identities.

Initially, Fang Ze thought they were from the Security Bureau or a pursuit team from the Investigation Bureau.

But observing closely, he felt something was amiss.

Although the three were well equipped, two in close combat and one in ranged,

neither their stance nor their aura or actions carried the official organizations' air of 'being in the right.'

So... who were they exactly?

Because he couldn't figure out their identities and worried that if he tried to run now, they could still catch up, making them harder to deal with later,

Fang Ze hadn't just turned and left; he planned to feign compliance and interact with them first to see what would happen.

Of course, since it's risky to stand beneath the wall about to fall, he was also urging Stick One and Stick Two to hurry back in his mind.

Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire

Thus, the four people, each with their own schemes, slowly approached. Then they finally saw each other clearly.

Upon seeing Fang Ze, the three sized him up and, confirming he was the target, felt even more at ease.

'Sir, don't worry. I'm cleaning the rabbit right now, and we'll eat soon.'"

As he spoke, the tall one swept the ground with his foot, sat down right there, then took the wild rabbit and pulled out a dagger from his waist to start skinning.

As he was skinning, he gestured towards the direction opposite Fang Ze and then instructed the short one, "Old Six, go gather some firewood, set up the frame."

The shorter one smiled in agreement and then walked towards there.

Fang Ze became even more convinced that these three were problematic: clearly, they were blocking his retreat...

As he was thinking this, the tall woman among the three glanced at him and then said to the tall man, "Brother, I'm going to rest for a bit over there."

After speaking, she walked to the other side of the clearing below a tree, sat down, and held her bow and arrows, closing her eyes as if to rest.

With the three standing in a triangular position, the situation had them enclosed, yet the target showed no reaction, relaxing their minds even more.

The target was indeed a novice, completely unaware of the abnormality.

They had even noticed that when the three initially approached, the target was a bit cautious. But now that they had separated, the target seemed more relaxed.

Clearly, he had been worried about them being in a group initially because, in case of a conflict, it would be difficult to handle. Now that they were separated, he felt fearless as an Awakener.

This made them want to laugh even more.

Indeed, so naive...

Meanwhile, Fang Ze, appearing genuinely oblivious to the danger,

dragged his chair and luggage over to the tall man, then squatted down and curiously asked, "What's Bluewater City like? Is it fun?"

Hearing the target's question, the tall one, while continuing to skin with his dagger, grinned and responded, "Fun, of course it's fun."

'Our Bluewater City is a city of flowers. Now, in June, it's exactly the season when hundreds of flowers are in bloom. So, it's really beautiful to go flower watching."

"Is that so?" Fang Ze grew even more curious.

He leaned in closer and then asked, "Then after I catch this fugitive, I might come to visit your city if it's all right."

"At that time, you guys need to be my guides and show me around."

Hearing the target's words and feeling the target's growing trust in him, the tall man gripped the dagger in his hand even tighter.

While calculating the distance, he smiled and said, "Of course. No problem! If the chief comes, you must find me!"

Fang Ze responded, "No problem. I will definitely impose on you then."

Fang Ze, as if trusting him, moved closer again.

Meanwhile, the hand holding the dagger tightened its grip, and his body tensed up even more.

'Closer…'

'Much closer…'

'Just a bit closer. One pounce, one stab! The target won't even have time to react before I finish him off!'

Just as he thought this, suddenly, he heard a light "eh" from the target, "Eh? Didn't your companion go the other way? How did they come out from there?"

Hearing the target's words, the tall man reflexively looked in the direction indicated by the target's finger.

At that moment, his heart was filled with irritation: Damn Old Six, why come out when I have such a good opportunity? Don't fucking blow our cover!

As he was swearing, his head just turned.

But … in the dark forest, there was no one.

That instant, the tall man's mind went blank, instinctively feeling something was wrong!

But it was too late!

He heard the "whoosh whoosh" of wind sound by his ears, accompanied by the sound. With a "crack!" a crisp sound, wood chips flew, blood splattered, and his head was forcefully smashed to the ground!

At that moment, all he saw was darkness before his eyes, his head buzzing, and he fell headlong to the ground.

He struggled to get up, but before his hands could even reach the ground, he felt a cold iron spear pierce through his chest, nailing him harshly to the ground!

'This… is this my iron spear?'

'When, when did…'

He incredulously tried to lift his head to look in the direction of the spear.

But as soon as he lifted his head halfway, all the strength was drawn out of him, and finally… his head heavily fell, no longer able to lift…

Unsure whether it was because it was his first time killing someone or because he had been too nervous and exerted too much force,

Fang Ze gripped the iron spear in his hands tightly, his heart thumping wildly, gasping for air, feeling numbness all over his body, all the muscles he had exerted ached fiercely.

Everything had happened very suddenly. When the tall man was knocked down by Fang Ze with a chair, and then speared to death, the tall woman and the short one nearby were just starting to react.

Their faces filled with astonishment, disbelief.

Then the short one bellowed, charging towards Fang Ze.

While the tall woman also leaped up, grabbed an arrow with feathers from behind her, drew the bow, and readied to shoot.

Seeing the two react this way, Fang Ze dared not dawdle any longer.

"Ah!" he roared, pulling out the iron spear with his hands.

Then he recalled the martial skill of the Shadow Warrior he had practiced many times, called "Throwing Stick," using his whole body's muscles, legs engaged his waist, waist his back, back his shoulders, shoulders his elbows!

His muscles twisted into a steel lock then he fiercely hurled the iron spear at the tall woman.

"Swoosh!" With the added power of the skill, the iron spear flew towards the woman with a piercing sound!

The tall woman was startled and quickly dodged, retracting her bow.

Only a "thud!" resounded as the iron spear embedded itself deeply into a tree.

The tall woman looked at Fang Ze in astonishment, disbelief written all over her face, "You're not an ordinary Awakener! You've actually practiced Martial Skills?!"

Hearing the woman's exclamation, the short one was also shocked.

An Awakener who had practiced Martial Skills versus one who hadn't, their combat strength was entirely incomparable.

For a moment, their hearts drummed with fear, and their actions began to hesitate.

But just then, Fang Ze seemed to finally recover from the numbness of killing, regaining his composure.

Ignoring the pause in their actions, he coldly looked at them, emotionlessly spat out a word, "Kill!"

Hearing the target's word, in that moment, the tall woman and the short man felt a great unease well up inside them.

They always felt like a great danger was about to fall upon them.

And before they could react, suddenly, the shadows of two giant Shadow Warriors appeared behind them, like demons, clad in black, emotionless as they lifted huge sticks and with a "bang!" smashed them down…

The two only felt an endless black shadow enveloping them.

'Never thought we'd die here.'

'Lord Golden Fox, the information you gave... it was inaccurate!'

Following their last thoughts, dust flew, blood splattered…

Five minutes later, Fang Ze, pale-faced, glanced at the three slightly mangled corpses nearby, then began to search through the items extracted by the Shadow Warriors from their bodies…