Chapter 87: The Insidious Player

“We have two people, you know!”

Long Yi stared hard at Ye Da, trying to catch a flicker of fear in his eyes. Yet Ye Da’s gaze brimmed with confidence, and the mountain valley strewn with insect corpses only made Long Yi—who had intended to speak harshly—moderate his tone somewhat.

“You’re not wrong,” Long Yi said. “It was wrong of us to abandon our comrade, and most of the insects in this valley were indeed slain by you. So it wouldn’t be right for us to claim all the credit.”

“How about this…” Long Yi continued, “You return my comrade’s belongings, and as for the spoils from the medicinal fields, we split them equally among the three of us. What do you say?”

“I say no,” Ye Da replied with a cold sneer, drawing out his psionic bow. “Get out!”

With a single, simple word, Long Yi’s expression frosted over. He was truly angered.

Long Yi hadn’t expected that, even after he’d conceded this much, the man before him would remain so unyielding.

“You’re asking for death!” Long Yi was never someone easy to deal with—just cautious and cowardly by nature. When faced with danger, his instinct was to flee, not fight.

But that didn’t mean he lacked strength. Now, he was a second-tier Black Iron Warrior, while the man before him, no matter how formidable, could at most be at the peak of tier one.

After all, Long Yi had a whole team to help him level up. The man before him was alone—not even a small squad to support him. How could he possibly match Long Yi’s pace?

“Roar!!”

Long Yi exchanged a glance with Skinny Monkey, then opened his mouth and unleashed an angry roar at Ye Da. Countless spores erupted from his throat, scattering like dandelion seeds—but all drifting toward Ye Da.

Even if he had a bow, so what? Let him taste the power of explosive spores!

Whoosh!

Ye Da wasted no time with Long Yi. He simply released the bowstring of his psionic bow. This time, he didn’t use a stone arrow, but the most powerful psionic arrow!

Bang!

Bang! Bang!

The psionic arrow pierced through the spores, triggering a chain of explosions. Yet the arrow was so swift that the detonations lagged behind by a fraction of a second—barely a tenth—but it was still too slow to catch the arrow’s velocity.

So, Long Yi watched helplessly as the psionic arrow cut through the spore bombs, igniting countless bursts. Yet not a single spore managed to hinder the arrow, not even enough to nudge its trajectory by a hair’s breadth.

Long Yi could only watch as the psionic arrow streaked toward him.

It was too fast—so fast he couldn’t react at all.

Thunk!

The arrow struck dead center on Long Yi’s forehead. In the instant his skull absorbed the brutal impact, Long Yi felt a strange relief.

Because he believed his skull could withstand the blow. He’d be injured, certainly, but at least he wouldn’t die.

As long as he survived… as long as he had time… he and Skinny Monkey still had a chance to turn the tide.

Crack!

But just as the thought flashed through his mind, he heard a crisp sound—the shattering of bone—echoing within his skull.

It was like a hard plastic cup breaking, and his vision flooded with crimson, as blood from his forehead spilled into his eyes.

Am I dying?

I still have so much money left unspent, so many materials unused.

Damn it, I was killed by a player—why, how could this happen?!

In his final moments, Long Yi’s heart was filled with endless regret and bitterness. But it was all too late. The name that ranked second on the rookie leaderboard dimmed, just like the flame of his life, extinguished in an instant.

“Still want to fight?”

Ye Da fixed his gaze on Skinny Monkey, his voice icy.

He kept his psionic bow at the ready, but made no move to summon another psionic arrow. After two battles, Ye Da’s mental strength was nearly depleted. At this point, he could barely muster the will to conjure even a stone arrow.

If he could, he genuinely didn't want to fight anymore.

Thud!

Skinny Monkey was clever. The moment Long Yi died, Skinny Monkey dropped to his knees without hesitation.

“No more fighting, brother, I won’t fight anymore.” He begged, kneeling. “Everything here is yours. I’ll leave right now! I’ll get out this instant!”

“Leave your backpack, and you can go,” Ye Da replied.

Skinny Monkey nodded desperately, reaching behind to unfasten his pack, moving slowly so as not to provoke an attack.

Ye Da watched Skinny Monkey closely, but also edged toward a beast core in the valley.

As soon as he reached it, Ye Da snatched up the beast core, replenishing his depleted mental energy.

Heh!

Skinny Monkey’s eyes lit up as Ye Da lowered his gaze to grasp the beast core. Opportunity had arrived!

He’d been waiting for a chance to strike at Ye Da, and now was the moment.

But just as Skinny Monkey raised his hand, preparing to throw his hooked weapon—

Whoosh!

Ye Da’s psionic arrow fired first, streaking toward him.

Skinny Monkey’s eyes widened in disbelief, unable to comprehend why Ye Da acted so suddenly.

But he had no time to ask. Ye Da’s arrow blasted through his skull in a single shot.

“Trying to ambush me!”

Ye Da sneered, lowering his psionic bow. “Not a chance!”

The reason he spoke so confidently was simple: he had already seen, through his analytical glasses, Skinny Monkey’s profile.

[Sinister Player: Scout profession, a sharp claw hidden behind his back!]

At the time, Ye Da’s mental energy was completely spent—even forming a stone skin was difficult. He wasn’t about to risk a direct confrontation with Skinny Monkey, especially since the scout’s agility was high and he carried a ranged weapon.

So, Ye Da bluffed Skinny Monkey, then seized the chance to replenish with the beast core.

He knew full well that the moment he bowed his head to absorb the beast core, Skinny Monkey would make his move.

Thus, Ye Da chose to strike first the instant he reached for the beast core—eliminating Skinny Monkey.

Not a chance.