30 The Fire Died

"Me!" 

"Me!"

"Me!"

Other than Niu Niu, the others were eager and determined to take the second route.

Fang Yue suggested playing rock-paper-scissors to determine the winner who would be taking the second route.

The winner happily grabbed the torch and went looking for another patrol team. Since the torch was lit using his Lifespan, he ran as fast as he could.

Compared to staying back to potentially fight a Wicked, lighting the torch with his Lifespan was not a serious challenge.

On top of that, informing other teams of a potential encounter with a Wicked was considered a meritorious act, thus he would be given a relevant reward.

Without Shi Wuliao and one of the party members, only four of them remained.

The only torch of the team was with Niu Niu.

Niu Niu looked excited as he was eager to encounter a Wicked. Starting from last night, other than taking his meals and answering nature's call, Niu Niu spent all his time in the game and practiced his punches.

The marks left on the sturdy stone back at the village guards' yard were the evidence of his hard work.

If it was not for his Lifespan, he would have prefered to stay back to train instead of taking the mission.

His Control of 3 had risen to 3.7 after practicing punching for one day one night. The speed of his growth was the envy of the other reserved members. Even the coach looked at him differently.

If he was in a martial arts school or a sect, he would have been considered a martial art genius.

Niu Niu understood that other than his hard work, he relied on his talent [Superstrength].

He actually did not reveal everything about his [Superstrength]. [Superstrength] did not just grant him extra 2 points in Control, but it also increased his growth speed. It was considered a growth-type talent with a promising future.

"Everyone has their own secrets." Niu Niu looked at Fang Yue in a challenging manner. "It's like how no one knows how Brother Night was able to walk in the rain at night."

Fang Yue's punch at the sturdy rock made Niu Niu reel, but Niu Niu was not deterred. He believed as long as he had enough time, he would be able to surpass Fang Yue.

Now, he wanted to kill the Wicked before Fang Yue had the chance to show off again. He truly wanted to demonstrate his improvement and growth.

With that in mind, Niu Niu desired to light up the torch to locate the Wicked, but a strong hand held him back and lowered the torch.

"Wait!"

"Brother Night! We've got an advantage here! The enemy is in the dark. If we don't light up the torch, how are we going to locate the Wicked?!"

Fang Yue looked at Niu Niu and said in a heavy tone, "Wait!"

The moment his voice subsided, Fang Yue stared in the direction where his teammate had run off to with the torch. The guy had run for almost a hundred plus meters, so he was still visible to Fang Yue and the party because he held the torch.

Niu Niu was confused but did not try to argue. Instead, he glanced at the other two members of his party.

The two of them stayed behind Fang Yue like kittens asking for protection. They sensed Niu Niu's gaze at them and immediately revealed an embarrassed look with a mix of flattery.

The two of them could not be considered combatants at all. In fact, they did not focus on combat either; they were just normal players.

They spent a whole day in the village yesterday, and all they did was mow the villagers' lawn, feed the chickens on the farm, and had generally been progressing towards a peaceful way.

However, they were unable to come up with a clear direction even after a day. They had no talent or direction and needed more Lifespan to stay in the game. Therefore, they searched around the village and tried to seize opportunities.

Unfortunately, time could not wait for them. Their Lifespan was running low, making them as nervous as ants on a hot pan. They asked for Niu Niu's help and eventually got into the mission.

Frankly speaking, the two of them would only drag the team back.

Other than Niu Niu, even Fang Yue knew that his teammates were a burden, but it could not be helped because he had taken their money, thus he had to deliver.

Since the two teammates became Fang Yue's boss, it would not be appropriate for him to leave them behind.

Of course, he would focus on keeping himself safe if things went south. He used his teammates to test out his theory in order to guarantee his own safety.

The only regrettable thing was that Fang Yue had accepted the job at a lower price because he had not been sure if his [Night Breathing] was able to fully heal him earlier.

If he asked for more now, it would make him a dishonest person. A ruined reputation would make it difficult for him to do business with the noobs in the future.

As for Shi Wuliao's offer of 10,000 per Wicked, Fang Yue did not expect such a figure at all.

If there was a Wicked and Fang Yue was able to kill it, why would he give the kill to someone else? It was not good business, but due to his earlier injuries, he did not plan to take the job and did not go into details.

While Fang Yue was pondering all this in his head, the teammate with the torch had run more than 200 meters and arrived at the first intersection.

According to the planned route, he would have to turn left at the first intersection, and after that, Fang Yue would not be able to see the torch anymore.

"It seems like the Wicked isn't near."

Right when Fang Yue came up with the conclusion and decided to turn away, the torch that the guy held suddenly died out.

Fang Yue's heart skipped a beat. He concentrated and tried to see what had happened, but the guy had gone too far beyond his sight.

Judging from the movement of the light, the torch must have fallen on the ground. Then, Fang Yue vaguely saw two figures moving.

The torch had gone out without the Human Soul Fire as fuel. 

As that particular area plunged into darkness, Niu Niu and the others stared in that direction in shock.

The moment they focused on the spot, a heart wrenching scream sounded and echoed throughout the street.

The scream only lasted for a few seconds before it went silent.

Everyone knew that the guy must be dead.

The scream reminded them of the gory death of Brother Yong and his team, and everyone quivered unconsciously.

Thud!

A player behind Fang Yue fell on his knees.

Fang Yue turned around to see the guy terrified out of his wits while his body was shaking. Meanwhile, the other guy looked blank and emotionless as if his soul had been sucked out of him.

Fang Yue was surprised. "What happened to him?"

"He went offline," Niu Niu said softly, "I saw how it's like. When a player goes offline, they look like a soulless corpse. Brother Night, let's leave them behind. The Wicked is in front of us, so let's take it down!"

Fang Yue frowned. 'Take it down? We don't even know what level the Wicked is and you want us to just go in and engage?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?'

"No. We still don't know what the Wicked is capable of. Let's go to the Chen residence and ask for backup."

The only option left was the Chen residence.

Given his friendship with Chen Mu, he might be able to steal a kill when Chen Mu engaged the Wicked.

With that in mind, Fang Yue reached out to the Human Soul Fire Torch in Niu Niu's hand, but he felt resistance. He shot Niu Niu a strange look. 

Niu Niu held the torch tightly and said with a smile, "Brother Night, it's not time yet. I'll hold the torch for now."

Niu Niu was not stupid. Before the guy got attacked, he already sensed that something was not right with Fang Yue's decision.

He finally understood why.

Fang Yue knew that the Wicked might be nearby and was using his teammates to test out his theory and possibly locate the Wicked.

However, Niu Niu did not want to be cannon fodder or a stepping stone. Therefore, he had to think for himself and take action for his own benefit instead of listening to Fang Yue's orders blindly.

Niu Niu cherished his life. He knew he would never get this lucky opportunity again if he started over. After all, it would be difficult for him to regain his current achievements.