28: A minor punishment serves as a warning

Xu Le smiled.

This was a classic case of confusing cause and effect.

Previously, it was the other party who had begged to complete the trade, not him who had gone out of his way to seek it.

However, before he could get angry, Song Jie spoke first.

"This is a trade I made with two friends. If you still consider me your captain, then apologize to them."

The four of them looked at one another, muttering under their breaths, but not a single one of them spoke up.

Song Jie thought for a moment and tried a different approach: "I am the captain. That skill book belongs to me, and this piece of equipment belongs to you guys. Is that okay?"

The four of them remained silent.

Between skills and equipment, a skill book of the same level was definitely more valuable.

If sold, this skill would be worth nearly ten million; how much could the equipment be worth? At most, less than a million.

And it would still need to be split among the four of them, so they would get even less.

Song Jie took a deep breath and continued to persuade them: "For the next four monsters, I won't take any of the drops. Is that okay?"

After a long silence.

One of them muttered: "What if none of them drop anything?"

The others hummed in agreement: "Yeah! One bird in the forest versus four birds in the forest—how do you choose?"

"Then what do you want?" Song Jie's voice rose as he began to lose control.

The others lowered their heads, saying nothing and refusing to agree.

Curious, Xu Le used his "Divine Eye" and discovered that Song Jie was an SS-rank Protector Vajra, while the other four were all A-rank Professionals.

No wonder they refused to agree in their hearts yet didn't dare to argue verbally.

He looked at Song Jie with some curiosity.

Normally, their relationship seemed average, so how did an SS-rank Professional end up leading four A-rank Professionals?

Song Jie was already on the verge of an outburst. Feeling the scrutinizing gaze, he thought he was being pressured and asked again in a negotiating tone.

"This skill book belongs to me, and the subsequent items will go to you guys first."

"After all, this skill book is restricted to melee use anyway; you guys can't use it."

As soon as he finished speaking, the indistinct muttering started again.

"It can be sold for money."

"We agreed to split everything equally at the start."

"Not keeping your word."

"..."

They all kept their heads down, kicking stones on the ground with their toes, making it impossible to tell who was speaking.

It was also possible they were all speaking.

Song Jie suddenly laughed at himself. Thinking about his past persistence, he laughed louder and louder.

He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said to Xu Le, "Brother, can I use a promissory note for ten million Credits to redeem this skill book?"

"My name is Song Jie, an SS-rank Protector Vajra. I will definitely be able to pay you back within three years."

As he spoke, he took out a pen and paper to start writing the note, then bit his finger to press a bloody thumbprint on it before presenting it to Xu Le with both hands.

Xu Le looked back at Li Yang, who replied, "Brother Le, you were the one who took action, so you should be the one to decide."

He had wanted to decline the note, but having resolved to be loyal to Xu Le, he no longer made decisions on his own.

Xu Le nodded, took the note, and handed the skill book to Song Jie.

Song Jie immediately handed both the skill book and the equipment to the four people and then promptly left the party.

"Captain, what are you doing?"

"Song Jie, you promised not to abandon us during the exam. Are you going to go back on your word now?"

"Damn, this is the entrance exam! It affects our entire lives!"

"..."

The group tried to chase him, but Song Jie ran off without looking back.

Xu Le shook his head and tore the promissory note to pieces.

Trading one skill to witness such explosive drama—not a bad deal!

The four people looked at the scraps of paper on the ground, then stared at Xu Le as if he were an idiot.

Xu Le sneered, "The people who were just insulting me haven't stepped forward yet, and now you're looking at me with those eyes? Very brave!"

The four of them looked at each other. Already upset about being abandoned, they looked at the contracted beasts beside Xu Le and the heavy shield in Li Yang's hand, then snapped back angrily.

"We're looking down on you, so what?!"

"Then I'm going to beat you!"

Xu Le snapped his fingers.

Through the Mind Link, the Little Yellow Chicken sensed Xu Le's thoughts and flew to the side, looking disgruntled.

'Being too strong and getting sidelined... life is too hard for this Big Sister!'

The Little Black Snake, however, was trembling with excitement.

It was best at dealing with assassin-type monsters. It couldn't compare to Big Sister when facing large groups, and it couldn't even match the third one.

Even the fourth one could restore mana and health for everyone.

In comparison, despite its carefree nature, its heart felt a twinge of pain—it was actually the most useless one.

Whoosh!

Seeing the four of them enter its attack range, it immediately used its "Despair Strangulation" skill to tightly coil around one of them;

The half of its tail remaining outside whipped the second person into the air; this move was called "Golden Dragon Ascends to Heaven";

With a final roll, it used the "Elephant Swallowing" skill, opening its massive mouth and swallowing the person falling from the air into its stomach.

With one bound and one swallowed, it easily trapped two people.

In the past, it would have just hidden to the side and slowly digested its food.

But now, it was going to put in some effort! Roar... Its body, revealed in its original form, rolled several times as it continued to launch attacks against the remaining two.

Seeing that they had lost two teammates in less than two seconds, the remaining two didn't dare to fight back and turned tail to run.

The Light Mage was somewhat better, casting a shield and a "Light's Judgment" to attack Xu Le;

The Archer, however, didn't even look back and just kept charging forward.

Xu Le was speechless at the sight.

The Little Black Snake wouldn't be able to catch them.

The Little Dog's eyes darted around, and it used its "Call Friends and Companions" skill, summoning four Clones to give chase.

In less than five seconds, it dragged the two escapees back.

The two of them wailed and kowtowed repeatedly: "Don't kill me! Killing is against the law! At the very least, you'll be assigned to the Fallen Zone and enslaved for ten years, or even longer!"

"Go to the Fallen Zone? There's a benefit like that?" Xu Le said, pleasantly surprised.

The two of them broke down even further, screaming, "No! The city has good food, drinks, and the internet; the Fallen Zone has nothing, and you might even be corrupted into a Fiend..."

Xu Le was just teasing. If he could go to the Fallen Zone to farm monsters and level up openly, who would care about being a prisoner?

Seeing that the health bars of the two people—the one coiled and the one in the snake's belly—were nearly empty, he finally had the Little Black Snake release them.

The two of them were on the brink of death, but they didn't complain at all, forcing their bodies to beg for forgiveness.

"Watch yourselves next time."

Xu Le walked away, considering this a small punishment as a warning.

Only then did the four of them realize they had survived, and they hurriedly pulled out potions to restore their health.

"I'm going to report him! I'll sue him to death!"

The person who had been swallowed into the snake's belly was indignant, pulling out his phone to report to the Security Officer.

The other three shared the same hatred and also pulled out their phones, but unfortunately, there was no signal.

"Finish the exam first, then report him afterward! Make him pay for the potions and emotional distress!"

...Xu Le led Li Yang through a path of clearing monsters, and they soon reached the boundary of the Fourth Zone.

Seeing that it was getting late and the Fourth Zone was a swamp, they decided to set up their tent in a sheltered spot.

"Brother Le, you're actually carrying this kind of Divine Artifact?"

Li Yang was stunned. Although he knew Xu Le was steady, he didn't expect him to be steady enough to carry a tent with him.

"Should we set up the tent a bit further away? I'm afraid monsters might sneak over from the swamp."

"That's even better; we can get a few more points and experience." Xu Le didn't mind.