3: Chapter 3: Seeking revenge backfires, leaving everyone with almost no health.

Yellow Hair was carried back to Luofeng Village by two of his teammates.

All the way back, his left arm throbbed with pain, and he kept cursing under his breath.

"Damn it, a lousy refugee NPC dared to play dirty with me!"

"Once my health is full, I'll hack him until his account is deleted!"

In front of the potion stall at the village entrance, his two teammates hurriedly poured two bottles of the cheapest Basic Health Potions down his throat.

Yellow Hair leaned against a wooden post, gasping for air, his face turning from green to white.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

Who was he?

A squad leader of the Wild Wolf Gang in Luofeng Village!

Usually, he was the one bullying others—stealing mobs, blocking roads, and collecting tolls.

When did it become a lousy NPC's turn to shock him into this pathetic state?

The two tall, thin guys beside him were still softly trying to persuade him.

"Brother Huang, maybe just forget it. That thing is really a bit eerie."

"Yeah, that move just now was too ridiculous. I suspect it's a hidden monster."

"A hidden monster?" Yellow Hair suddenly looked up, his eyes full of fire. "A hidden monster is even more of a reason to kill it! Killing it will definitely drop something good!"

He pushed the two of them aside and gritted his teeth as he stood up straight.

"If you two trash are afraid, I'm not."

"If I can't hack it down alone, then I'll just call more people!"

After saying that, he directly opened the guild channel.

[Wild Wolf Gang Squad Channel]

Yellow Hair: "A special humanoid monster spawned on the dirt slope at the village entrance. It has damage reflection and is suspected to be a hidden BOSS. Four people who can fight, come now!"

Wild Dog: "Really a BOSS?"

Blackie: "What does it drop?"

Skinny Monkey: "What level is it?"

Yellow Hair gritted his teeth and quickly replied: "Stop the nonsense! Three people have already tried it; there's definitely something wrong with it. Let's go together and instant-kill it!"

In less than two minutes, four members of the Wild Wolf Gang rushed over from the village.

All of them were Level 3.

All of them were equipped with the High-quality Iron Swords given by the system.

One was as strong as a bull, one was as thin as a bamboo pole, one had a face full of pockmarks, and another had a face full of scarred flesh.

As soon as they arrived, they saw Yellow Hair's miserable appearance, which hadn't fully recovered yet.

The burly man was stunned for a moment: "Brother Huang, were you really beaten by a wild monster?"

Yellow Hair's face darkened: "It wasn't a wild monster, it was a refugee NPC."

The four of them were stunned at first, then they all burst out laughing.

"An NPC?"

"Hahaha, Brother Huang, are you kidding me?"

"A refugee beat you into this state?"

Yellow Hair's face turned black, and he growled: "What the hell are you laughing at! That thing is weird; it reflects damage as soon as you touch it!"

Pockmark Face didn't care; instead, he licked his lips.

"Isn't that even better?"

"A monster like that clearly hides a quest or equipment."

"If the five of us hack at it together, I don't believe it can reflect everything back!"

The scarred-faced man also sneered: "Right, it's just a lousy NPC. No matter how ridiculous the system is, it's impossible for a refugee in a beginner village to be invincible, right?"

Hearing this, the fire in Yellow Hair's heart flared up again.

That's right.

Earlier, he had acted alone, which is why he suffered.

This time, with five people attacking together, what was there to fear!

"Let's go!"

Yellow Hair lifted the iron sword in his hand, his teeth gnashing.

"If I don't hack it to pieces today, I'll write my name backward!"

The five of them, cursing and swearing, headed straight for the dirt slope at the village entrance.

On the way, several novice players who had just left the village saw their formation and made way for them.

"Who is the Wild Wolf Gang going to mess with now?"

"Didn't Yellow Hair just run back with low health?"

"It seems they're going to get revenge on an NPC."

"An NPC? What's the situation?"

The discussions continued.

Yellow Hair heard them and felt even more humiliated, so his pace quickened.

Soon, they reached the dirt slope.

As the wind blew, yellow dust flew into the air.

Lin Zhe was still standing in the same spot.

Still in those coarse sackcloth clothes covered in patches.

Still with that overly calm expression.

It was as if he hadn't moved from beginning to end.

The moment he saw Lin Zhe, Yellow Hair's eyes turned red.

"It's him!"

"Damn it, stop playing dead!"

The burly man hefted his iron sword and let out a sneer: "Isn't this just an ordinary refugee?"

Skinny Monkey also curled his lip: "Brother Huang, you weren't bitten by a rabbit earlier and blamed it on the NPC, were you?"

Yellow Hair shouted angrily: "Enough talk! Everyone, hack him!"

Lin Zhe looked up and glanced at them.

His gaze was very indifferent.

And very cold.

He naturally recognized Yellow Hair.

It was the person who had almost hacked him to the point of deletion earlier.

Only now, he was no longer that refugee who could only wait for death.

The five men charged up with their swords, their footsteps making thumping sounds on the dirt slope.

As Yellow Hair charged, he shouted ferociously.

"Hack him for me!"

"Hack him until his account is deleted!"

"Whoever grabs the loot gets to keep it!"

Five figures instantly pounced close.

Five iron swords were raised simultaneously.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Cold light flashed as they all slashed down toward Lin Zhe's body!

The next second.

Hum—

A pale golden light shield suddenly exploded outward from around Lin Zhe!

The light wasn't particularly dazzling.

But it carried a cold sense of rules that made one's scalp tingle.

The moment the five iron swords touched the light shield, the counter-shock force roared back like a mountain flood!

Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Ah—!"

The five of them screamed in pain almost simultaneously.

Yellow Hair was the most miserable.

He had just refilled his health, and his base health wasn't high to begin with. This counter-shock hit him right in the chest, and he was sent flying three or four meters away like he'd been struck by a heavy hammer, his back slamming hard against a rock on the dirt slope.

His health bar plummeted on the spot!

110!

49!

12!

Only a sliver of health remained!

The other four weren't doing any better.

The burly man's hand holding the sword went numb, the skin between his thumb and index finger split open, and his health bar dropped a huge chunk, leaving only about twenty points.

Skinny Monkey was shaken so hard his legs went weak, and he fell to his knees, his face deathly pale.

Pockmark Face had it even worse; he rolled twice on the ground, his mouth full of dirt, and his health bar was down to single digits.

The High-quality Iron Sword in the scarred-faced man's hand flew out of his grip and landed in a nearby pile of dirt. He hadn't even managed to crawl up before he started shivering.

For a moment, the dirt slope was filled with screams of agony.

"Holy shit! What the hell was that!"

"My health! My health bar is at the bottom!"

"Heal! Quick, heal!"

Yellow Hair scrambled to fumble for the health potions in his backpack.

But as soon as he looked up, he froze again.

It wasn't just his iron sword that had dropped.

The counter-shock just now was so violent that even several loosely placed potion bottles in their backpacks had popped out, scattering on the ground with a clinking sound.

Several High-quality Iron Swords, a few Basic Health Potions, and a dozen or so copper coins were scattered all over the ground.

The five of them were instantly dumbfounded.

That was just one sword strike, for god's sake!

No, that's not right.

They hadn't even managed to take a single point of health from Lin Zhe!

Instead, they were the ones who had been beaten to a pulp!

Lin Zhe still stood in his original spot.

The hem of his clothes only swayed slightly in the wind.

Forget being injured.

He hadn't even taken half a step back.

Yellow Hair's throat felt dry, and a chill ran down his back.

This time, he saw it clearly.

It was no coincidence at all.

This refugee NPC really had damage reflection!

And it was area-of-effect damage reflection!

Whoever hacks him gets crippled!

The burly man was the first to break, his voice changing pitch.

"Brother Huang! This isn't a monster, this is a fucking trap!"

Skinny Monkey clutched his chest and crawled up, his face white as paper: "Go! Let's go! One more hit and we're really going to die and go back to the respawn point!"

Pockmark Face didn't even dare to pick up the potions on the ground; he turned and started crawling away.

The scarred-faced man was even more direct; he didn't even want his iron sword anymore and took off running.

Yellow Hair gritted his teeth, wanting to say something tough.

But when he met Lin Zhe's eyes—so calm they didn't have a single ripple of emotion—the last bit of courage in his heart shattered with a snap.

He suddenly had a feeling.

If he took one more step closer...

...he really would die.

"Run!"

Yellow Hair let out a hoarse roar.

The five of them no longer cared about guild reputation or seeking revenge; they scrambled and crawled as they fled toward the village.

One of them even lost a shoe while running.

Some looked back while running, fearing that Lin Zhe would chase after them.

But Lin Zhe didn't move at all.

He just stood on the dirt slope, watching the miserable retreating backs of the five men, his gaze growing colder and colder.

Right then.

A system notification sounded in his mind.

[Ding! The host has successfully intimidated a group of players.]

[Ding! Detected that the host has completed their first multi-person counter-measure.]

[New Permission Unlocked: Player Information View]

The next second.

Lin Zhe's vision brightened slightly.

Above the head of the fleeing Yellow Hair in the distance, a string of clear information suddenly emerged.

[Player: Yellow Hair One-Slash]

[Affiliated Guild: Wild Wolf Gang]

[Level: 3]

[Class: Warrior]

[Health: 12/120]

[Status: Heavily Injured, Terrified]

[Backpack Items: Basic Health Potion ×2, Wild Rabbit Skin ×6, Copper Coin ×37, Crude Wolf Fang ×1]

It wasn't just Yellow Hair.

The information of the other four people beside him also appeared.

ID, Guild, Level, Health, Class, Backpack.

Everything was clear as day.

Lin Zhe's eyes flickered slightly.

This permission was very practical.

From now on, he could see right through who was a player, which guild they belonged to, and what items they were carrying.

This was no longer as simple as being passively attacked.

He was starting to seize the initiative.

Although he still couldn't actively attack players for now...

...at the very least, he could tell at a glance who was an enemy, who had value, who could be used, and who should be guarded against.

Below the dirt slope, Yellow Hair and the others were still desperately fleeing toward the village.

They looked as pathetic as five stray dogs.

Lin Zhe withdrew his gaze and looked down at the iron swords, potions, and copper coins scattered on the ground.

The wind blew over, kicking up a thin layer of dust.

He slowly narrowed his eyes.

Wild Wolf Gang.

He would remember them.