89: Chapter 89 I can't kill the villagers, but can I kill you?

Of course I'm guarding against you!

This was the truest thought in Chu Xuan's heart.

In this place, Chu Xuan was the only one who hadn't brought a newcomer. Although the others didn't say it, Chu Xuan could clearly feel that the glances they cast his way from time to time were a bit strange.

At this moment, as Xiao Zei's voice fell, the group continued their journey up the mountain, but Old Wu and the others all turned their heads in unison to look at Chu Xuan.

Wang Ruozi, walking beside him, subconsciously hid behind Chu Xuan to avoid their gazes.

Chu Xuan's expression remained unchanged, his heart devoid of fear.

According to Future Tang Zheng, everyone who came here would be suppressed to their Rank 1 state.

And based on their previous conversations, it seemed they had all intentionally developed specific attributes.

In that case, he, who had maxed out all attributes at Rank 1, held an Innate advantage here.

Specifically, his skill [Heart Bewitchment] had already been raised to Rank 2 through the Phantom Demon back when he was Rank 1.

He didn't think these people also had an S-Rank Specter inside them.

However, the fact that the System hadn't issued any tasks, as mentioned by these people, sparked some other thoughts in his mind.

Could it be because this was his own dream?

In a flash of thought, seeing the group still staring intently at him, Chu Xuan didn't have the intention of burning bridges just yet, and simply replied calmly, "One must always be on guard against others."

Xiao Zei's Face immediately darkened with displeasure. "Didn't your guide tell you the behavioral patterns of the villagers here and that you can't just kill them at will? Do you know the rules? You aren't holding that gun to guard against us, are you?"

After saying that, without waiting for Chu Xuan's response, he suddenly reached out and grabbed at the air. "Give it here!"

An amazing scene occurred!

The submachine gun in Chu Xuan's hand actually vanished into thin air and appeared in Xiao Zei's hand. He pointed the muzzle at Chu Xuan, grinning with a cold sneer. "Now, who do you need to guard against?"

"Watch out!" Fox suddenly cried out in alarm.

Xiao Zei looked slightly dazed, but at that moment, with a *clack-clack* sound of a bullet being chambered, a dark handgun was already pressed against his temple.

Simultaneously, Chu Xuan's cold voice slowly rang out: "I can't kill villagers, so can I kill you?"

The blood in Xiao Zei's body suddenly froze. Catching a glimpse of Chu Xuan beside him, his eyes were filled with disbelief. "How is this possible?"

But when he looked back at the 'Chu Xuan' he was aiming the submachine gun at, he was shocked to find that the 'Chu Xuan' in front of him distorted and vanished into nothingness.

As if realizing something, Xiao Zei suddenly snapped out of it. "An afterimage? No... that's not right! You're an Illusionist? Your skill is Heart Bewitchment! And... your Rank 1 state actually has 10 points in every attribute?"

As soon as Xiao Zei said this, the others all showed looks of astonishment.

Chu Xuan's expression was indifferent. "Heh, I'm just a newcomer who doesn't understand anything. Now, please answer me: Can I kill you?"

"Wait! It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding, I was just joking."

Xiao Zei raised both hands, slowly handing the submachine gun back to Chu Xuan with the muzzle pointing up, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.

"Little brother... no, Big Brother! Big Brother, of course you can kill me, but there's no need. You won't get any benefit from killing me. Put the gun down first; we're all on the same side."

Old Wu also spoke up at this time to mediate. "Little brother, Xiao Zei was indeed out of line, but he's right about one thing: we're all on the same side. If there's a conflict, we can talk it out slowly. You should put the gun down first."

"If I just let it go like this, wouldn't I lose a lot of Face?"

Chu Xuan reached out a hand to take the submachine gun, but the handgun's muzzle was still pressed against Xiao Zei's temple.

He knew well the principle that the kind are preyed upon. These people were not good sorts, and Xiao Zei's actions were likely intended as a test. If he acted weak and easy to talk to, they would likely walk all over him next.

"I saw you didn't have any spirit money when you got on the bus, and your attribute point increases weren't targeted. Something must have gone wrong with your guide, right?"

Xiao Zei forced a dry laugh, his lips twitching.

"How about this? I'll give you 10 spirit money as an apology. What do you think? That way, the next time you take the bus, you won't have to waste your own spirituality value. Also, I can recommend a place to exchange for spirit money..."

"No need."

Chu Xuan stared at the black-rimmed glasses on the bridge of Xiao Zei's nose. "Those glasses of yours are quite interesting. Why don't you use them as the item of apology instead?"

"No way!"

Xiao Zei reacted as if he had been triggered, a savage grin appearing on his Face. "If you want my glasses, then you might as well pull the trigger and see if you can actually kill me! You only have one chance. If I don't die, you definitely will!"

"Fine, I'll kill you right now."

Chu Xuan sneered. He could already sense the other's panic and cowardice from Xiao Zei's emotional fluctuations; he was clearly just bluffing.

A Rank 1 Thief's ability is to take a physical item from a target within a certain range without contact, with a 10-minute cooldown. I just want to see if you have some way to shorten the cooldown and steal my handgun again."

Realizing that everything had been seen through, Xiao Zei could no longer maintain his composure, and his expression became visibly frantic.

*Cough, cough!*

Old Wu gave a light cough. "How about this? Both of you take a step back. Xiao Zei, you pay fifty spirit money to this little brother, and we'll leave it at that."

"That's way too much..." Xiao Zei said, unwilling.

"Then settle it yourself. We're leaving."

Old Wu chuckled. "But I'm warning you, if you keep dawdling, the villagers here might not have much patience left."

In fact, only two minutes had passed since the dispute between Chu Xuan and Xiao Zei began, but now everyone had stopped to watch them.

Especially those villagers; although they didn't do anything, their fixed, staring eyes were still enough to make one's skin crawl.

"Fine, fifty it is!"

Xiao Zei hurriedly fished out five silver coins and handed them to Chu Xuan. Each coin was engraved with a '10'.

Chu Xuan took the spirit money and didn't press the matter further, silently withdrawing his handgun.

He never intended to actually take the other's life. After all, in [Future Tang Zheng's] hint, a Thief would steal a Buddhist Artifact today, which would be an act of breaking a taboo, causing the Great Buddha to appear and begin a massacre.

And the so-called Thief was likely this short man nicknamed Xiao Zei in front of him.

"One of the places in Haicheng to exchange spirit money is at a Bafang Pawnshop on the International Trade Center Commercial Street. After you go in, give the secret code 'The Heavenly King covers the Earth Tiger,' and then state that you need spirit money. You can exchange an equivalent amount of spirituality for spirit money of the same value."

Old Wu easily revealed such a location for Xiao Zei's sake; it seemed this wasn't much of a secret within their circle.

Next, the group continued forward.

However, in the glances Old Wu and the others occasionally cast at Chu Xuan, there was now a hint of wariness, no longer looking at him as they would a typical newcomer.

It was clear that the sharp edge Chu Xuan had just displayed made them unwilling to easily provoke him, at least in this place.

And although Xiao Zei occasionally showed Chu Xuan a friendly smile, as if the previous matter had truly been put behind them.

In this place where Ranks were suppressed, Chu Xuan, relying on his Rank 2 Heart Bewitchment skill, could clearly feel the uncontrollable hatred in the other's emotions.

Perhaps the other party was calculating how to retaliate once they left this place.

To this, Chu Xuan was completely indifferent.

Most of his attention was on the five spirit money coins in his hand. Looking at the prompt the System gave him at this time, he couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

This is... really damn shady!