4: Chapter 4: A Madman's Hunt - Under the Rules, All Are Ants

Yellow Hair and his group of five practically scrambled back to Luofeng Village on all fours.

As soon as they entered the village entrance, they collapsed next to a potion stall, their faces as pale as paper, still carrying the low-health status.

Some players saw this and immediately gathered around.

"Yellow Hair, who slashed you guys?"

"It couldn't be infighting within the Wild Wolf Gang, could it?"

"Holy crap, where's your High-quality Iron Sword?"

Yellow Hair was already fuming with rage; when asked, his eyes darted around, and he immediately began shouting at the top of his lungs.

"A hidden BOSS spawned on the earthen slope at the village entrance!"

This shout instantly stunned the dozens of surrounding players.

"Hidden BOSS?"

"For real?"

Yellow Hair clutched his chest, a lingering look of shock still on his face, but his words grew more and more exaggerated.

"Nonsense! I saw it with my own eyes!"

"A humanoid monster in tattered hemp clothes, looking like a vagrant, but he's actually a hidden BOSS!"

"One hit and you get reflected damage, losing half your health bar!"

"The five of us attacked together and almost got insta-killed!"

Skinny Monkey next to him quickly chimed in, "Right! That monster is definitely suspicious! One strike from my sword and my health bar hit rock bottom!"

Pockmark Face gritted his teeth and added, "And it definitely drops good stuff; I just saw High-quality Equipment drop on the ground!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of the surrounding players changed instantly.

High-quality Equipment!

It's only been three days since the server opened, and most newbies are still wearing the white gear given by the system; having even one piece of green gear could significantly boost mob-grinding efficiency.

Not to mention it's a hidden BOSS.

In 'miracle', such things often represent hidden rewards, rare equipment, or even quest lines.

"Where's the location?"

"The earthen slope at the village entrance?"

"Damn, why didn't you say so sooner!"

"Let's go take a look first!"

A crowd of players dispersed in a flurry, sprinting toward the village entrance.

Yellow Hair watched them Charge out, a glint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

Just because he couldn't beat him didn't mean others couldn't wear him down.

It would be best if everyone in Luofeng Village went to hack at him.

Kill that bastard!

On the earthen slope.

Lin Zhe still stood in the same spot.

The wind blew, and his hemp clothes swayed gently.

On the ground were several potions and copper coins dropped by Yellow Hair's group earlier.

He didn't pick them up, simply watching the dirt road in the distance quietly.

Before long, the first batch of players arrived.

A full dozen or so people.

There were Warriors, Mages, and novice Archers holding wooden bows.

They stood at a distance, staring at Lin Zhe with scrutinizing eyes.

"Is it him?"

"He looks way too ordinary."

"Is he really as weird as Yellow Hair said?"

"Humanoid monsters are eighty percent likely to be problematic."

One Level 1 novice Warrior, the boldest of them, bent down to pick up a stone and hurled it at Lin Zhe.

"Let's test him first!"

Whoosh!

The stone struck Lin Zhe's shoulder.

The next second.

Hum—

A faint golden light shield flashed for an instant.

Bang!

The stone seemed to be reflected by something, bouncing back and hitting the novice Warrior square in the face.

"Ah!"

He screamed and fell back onto his buttocks, his health bar overhead dropping a significant chunk.

Everyone around was stunned.

"Actual reflected damage?"

"Holy shit!"

"Even a stone counts as an attack?"

The novice Warrior clutched his nose and scrambled up, his face turning pale: "Damn, I actually lost health!"

Just as he finished speaking, a novice Mage nearby, refusing to believe it, raised a hand and cast the most basic Fireball.

"Let me try a skill!"

The small Fireball flew out and slammed into Lin Zhe's chest with a pop.

Hum!

Another layer of golden light rippled out.

Boom!

The Fireball exploded back along its original path; the Mage's chest shuddered, and he was blown back two steps, his health bar instantly losing nearly half.

"Damn! I only have 41 HP left!"

The crowd immediately fell into a commotion.

"Yellow Hair didn't lie!"

"This monster really has a shock reflection!"

"Hidden BOSS, it's definitely a hidden BOSS!"

But when it comes to players, the one thing they don't lack is stubbornness.

The stranger it is, the more people want to try.

Soon, more players reached the earthen slope.

Twenty.

Thirty.

Fifty.

The area around the slope was suddenly packed with people.

Some stood on tiptoe to look inside.

Others shouted from the back.

"Make way! Let me see what the BOSS looks like!"

"Has anyone dealt any damage yet?"

"Did anything drop?"

Lin Zhe stood in the center of the crowd's gaze, his expression unchanged.

But in his heart, he knew very well.

Yellow Hair and his group had completely fanned the flames.

But this was exactly what he wanted.

The more people who tried, the better he could figure out the current players' tactics.

At this moment, a Level 3 Archer drew his wooden bow and aimed cautiously for a long time.

"Ranged attacks won't be fully reflected, will they?"

Whoosh!

The arrow flew out.

Clang!

The moment it touched Lin Zhe, the arrow snapped as if it had hit an iron plate.

The Archer let out a muffled groan, his arm trembling; his health bar also dropped a chunk, and his face turned pale.

"I lost health too!"

Someone nearby was unconvinced: "If single attacks don't work, what about attacking together?"

As soon as the words fell, three players attacked at the same time.

A sword, a Fireball, and a wooden arrow.

All slammed toward Lin Zhe together.

Hum!

The golden light shield lit up again!

Bang bang bang!

The three screamed simultaneously.

The Swordsman's hand split open, the Mage's hair was charred black by his own Fireball, and the Archer was knocked onto his buttocks by the shock.

Their health bars dropped in unison.

The surroundings were immediately filled with sounds of "Holy shit."

"You really can't even touch him!"

"What kind of bullshit setting is this?"

"How can something like this spawn in a beginner village?"

"Could it be that whoever kills him first gets the first kill?"

Upon hearing "first kill," some people were immediately tempted again.

A Level 1 Assassin gritted his teeth and circled to the side, hoping to get close and land a finishing blow amidst the chaos.

"Let's risk it!"

He was fast; his dagger flashed, stabbing directly toward Lin Zhe's waist.

Pfft!

The dagger had just touched the edge of his clothes.

Boom!

The reflective force exploded back violently!

The Assassin didn't even manage a full groan before his health bar was emptied; he turned into a beam of white light and instantly flew back to the respawn point.

The entire scene went silent for a moment.

The next second, it completely erupted.

"Insta-killed!"

"A Level 1 was reflected to death instantly!"

"How the hell are we supposed to fight this!"

"I'll fight anyone who says this isn't a BOSS!"

On the outskirts of the slope, several players who had just arrived happened to see this scene and all instinctively stopped in their tracks.

Some were excited.

Some were terrified.

Others had already started secretly recording.

Lin Zhe saw all of this, his gaze remaining calm throughout.

At the same time, player information panels kept popping up before his eyes.

[Player: Chaotic Slashing Dagger]

[Level: 1]

[Class: Assassin]

[Status: Deceased]

[Player: Mage God in Training]

[Level: 2]

[Class: Mage]

[Health Points: 41/95]

[Inventory Items: Basic Mana Potion x2...]

[Player: Bow Drawn to Full Moon]

[Level: 3]

[Class: Archer]

[Health Points: 58/130]

[Affiliated Guild: None]

Information lines swept past rapidly.

Lin Zhe's heart grew even calmer.

Player levels.

Classes.

Health points.

Inventories.

These things were all very useful to him now.

At least in the future, he could see at a glance who he could provoke, who had resources, and who had a guild backing them.

Meanwhile, on the players' side, the discussion had turned into utter chaos.

Someone shouted: "Stop attacking! Go back and post in the channel first!"

Someone shouted: "This is definitely a rare elite monster with a special attack mechanic!"

Someone else was even more outrageous: "I feel like this isn't a monster, but a hidden quest NPC! Whoever triggers it will soar!"

Soon, the Luofeng Village local channel began to be flooded with messages.

"A humanoid BOSS with reflected damage has appeared on the earthen slope at the village entrance!"

"Whoever hits it loses health; a Level 1 Assassin was just insta-killed back to town!"

"Asking if this is actually a monster or an NPC?"

"Yellow Hair said killing it drops High-quality Equipment, is it true?"

"Anyone want to party up? Four looking for one to test the waters!"

"Stop trying, even the Mage's Fireball was reflected!"

The channel scrolled rapidly.

Message after message popped up.

"I suspect it's a prerequisite for a hidden class!"

"It's possible! A special unit like this wouldn't be placed here for nothing!"

"Maybe whoever can withstand the reflected damage gets the reward!"

"Come quickly, dozens of people are gathered at the village entrance!"

Some players even posted coordinates directly in the channel, calling more people to come and see.

Luofeng Village became completely bustling.

Newbies kept running out of the village.

And low-health players kept running back cursing to buy potions.

Coming and going, it was like a market fair.

And Lin Zhe stood right in the center of this commotion.

Whoever tried, lost health.

Whoever didn't believe it, met with misfortune.

A novice Priest with a wooden staff tried a normal attack, only to be shocked down to a sliver of health, so scared he downed two potions on the spot.

A Level 2 Warrior, refusing to back down, used Charge to pounce, only to hit the light shield and be sent flying backward, lying on the ground for a long time unable to get up.

Another Mage, refusing to accept fate, hid over ten meters away to sneak a Fireball, but was still shocked into a disheveled state.

The more they tried, the more the spectating players grew fearful.

The more fearful they were, the more bizarre the rumors in the channel became.

"This is definitely no ordinary BOSS!"

"I bet fifty copper coins that this is the server's first hidden unit!"

"Did the GM spawn a late-game monster in the beginner village?"

"Whoever can figure out the mechanics will soar!"

Yellow Hair cowered behind the crowd, feeling a bit better as he watched players howling from the reflected damage.

It wasn't that he was bad.

It was that this thing was too weird.

But soon, his face darkened again.

Because up until now, Lin Zhe hadn't even moved a step.

From beginning to end, it was the players themselves charging in to their doom.

While Lin Zhe simply stood there.

Quietly.

Indifferently.

As if watching a play.

On the earthen slope, the setting sun slowly descended.

Lin Zhe glanced at the constantly refreshing channel messages, then at the surrounding players who both wanted to attack and were afraid to, the corner of his mouth twitching ever so slightly.

Very good.

From this moment on, the entire Luofeng Village would remember him.