Chapter 76

Just as Ma Le scanned the man, the man seemed to sense something and turned his head to look over. However, with Ma Le in the bustling crowd, the man couldn't immediately identify him.

"His perception is over 40 points!" Ma Le muttered. Previously, Zhao Renfan had warned him not to scan people in the real world if his perception was below 30. After entering Miracle City, Ma Le had specifically looked up relevant information. When using the Miracle Emblem to scan, if the scanned person's perception exceeds the scanner's by two times, the scanned person would notice.

Ma Le pulled Yu Xiaoning and slowly moved through the crowd, confirming that the man was no longer paying attention. He whispered to Yu Xiaoning, "You go first, leave as soon as possible. There might be danger soon!" Instead of being afraid, Yu Xiaoning looked excited and asked, "What's going on? Is that man a terrorist?" Ma Le shook his head and said, "I can't confirm yet, but he's definitely not one of us. He might be a wild superhuman like you! In any case, it's dangerous here. Leave quickly, and I'll contact you after it's over!" Yu Xiaoning nodded, her face still flushed with excitement.

After sending the dazed girl away, Ma Le began to secretly observe the man. In the real world, his perception was still over 40 points, so this guy was likely a mage or an assassin. Of course, he could also be a sniper, but in that case, Ma Le wouldn't have to worry, as a sniper's strength mostly lies in his gun, which would be almost useless in the real world.

The man seemed to be shopping as well. After looking around, he gave up on searching and continued with his business. Perhaps in his eyes, an adventurer with suppressed perception wasn't a threat.

Ma Le, however, didn't dare to be careless. He didn't know the man's strength and didn't want to act rashly. He needed to probe first. If he encountered an elite or even a champion-level strongman, he would be in serious trouble. Besides strength, the man's stance was also crucial. If they were from the same city, they could likely coexist peacefully, as not everyone was as extreme as Zhao Renfan. But if the man was from another city, a fight would likely ensue.

After some consideration, Ma Le decided to hide himself. He found a restroom, put the items he bought into his storage space, and then changed his appearance. Now, besides his original face, Ma Le had three other appearances to choose from. Besides the temporary appearance of Brad, he had permanently memorized two others: one was Anderson, who looked like Wah, and the second was Zhao Renfan.

Anderson's appearance was quite noticeable, having caused attention in 1984 Los Angeles. If he appeared in a Chinese city now, it would likely cause a commotion. Brad, being a white person, would also attract attention. In comparison, Zhao Renfan was the least conspicuous, so Ma Le changed into the appearance of the skinny surgeon. Additionally, changing into Zhao Renfan had another benefit. Zhao Renfan had family and friends, and not long after Ma Le absorbed him, a missing person notice appeared in the news. With so many days passed, the police were likely involved in the investigation. If Ma Le got into a conflict with the man, the man would remember Zhao Renfan's appearance. After the incident, Ma Le could change his face and escape, and the man's investigation of Zhao Renfan might draw the police's attention, leaving him no time to investigate Ma Le.

Zhao Renfan was small and thin, and when Ma Le changed into his appearance, his strength was reduced by 38%, leaving him with only about 40 points. Swinging his fists, Ma Le sighed. He should find an opportunity to absorb a strong, muscular man to minimize the strength reduction when in disguise.

Ma Le walked out of the restroom and immediately felt that everyone around him seemed much taller... The man was still picking out items at the counter. Ma Le hid in the crowd and approached him inconspicuously. His plan was to obtain a part of the man's tissue during the chaos, not necessarily blood or flesh, but hair would do. At least he could get some information about the man. As for the risk of exposure, even if the man was a champion, Ma Le didn't believe he would dare to act in such a public place.

Ma Le slowly approached the man. Although the man's perception was much higher, with Ma Le deliberately hiding his presence, the man didn't seem to notice. Finally, he was within ten meters of the man when a woman suddenly ran over and covered the man's eyes with her hands, "Guess who?" The man smiled happily, "Who else, my little liver?" "You're so cheesy!" The woman released her hands and playfully hit the man's chest. The man hugged her and laughed, "Look, which one do you think is suitable?" ...

Ma Le was momentarily stunned by this unexpected tender scene. He focused and saw that the man was at a jewelry counter, apparently choosing... an engagement ring?!

Ma Le was still dazed when he heard the woman say, "It's just a wedding, a simple ring would do. Why go for such an expensive one?" The man laughed, "Even Xiao Wang bought a custom-made ring for his wedding. I'm already being cheap by coming here..." The woman said, "We can't compare to them. A cheaper one will do..." The man hugged her, "Xiaofang, don't worry. Even though I have no money or status now, I will make you the happiest woman one day, even if it costs me my life!" ...

To the average person, this might sound like a heartfelt vow, but as an adventurer, Ma Le understood that the man was truly risking his life to make this promise! The city battle system was almost omnipotent; if you were strong enough, you could gain invincible power and endless wealth. However, as the saying goes, "One general's success is built on the bones of many." Every glorious adventurer stood on a mountain of corpses. No adventurer dared to guarantee that they would be the one standing atop the mountain of corpses and not part of it...

Seeing this scene, Ma Le felt a lot. Adventurers also had families and loved ones. Before being summoned by the city battle system, they were ordinary people, working hard for their lives and worrying about their loved ones. They had their own joys and sorrows, their own daily lives. But after becoming adventurers, everything changed. The real world seemed less important, and their minds were filled with attributes, skills, and credit points. It was precisely at such times, when they were exhausted from battling in the mission worlds, that the warmth of home in the real world was what comforted them.

Ma Le's heart was no longer calm, and his hidden presence couldn't be maintained. The man immediately sensed the nearby strong presence, turned around, and protectively shielded his fiancée, looking at Ma Le with caution.

Ma Le had intended to explain himself, thinking that adventurers in the real world didn't need to be so hostile and paranoid. In this last sanctuary, they should sit down and talk. However, unexpectedly, the adventurer, upon seeing him, dropped his guard and looked shocked, "Death Doctor? You're still alive?" There was no hostility in his tone, only a sense of meeting an old friend.

Ma Le was taken aback but quickly realized that he was currently in Zhao Renfan's appearance. The "Death Doctor" must be Zhao Renfan's alias in the city battle system. It seemed this man knew Zhao Renfan.

Ma Le decided to play along, walking up familiarly and mimicking Zhao Renfan's tone, "Hmph! I won't die even if you do!" The man whispered something to his fiancée, who nodded and left obediently. The man gave Ma Le a nod, and they found a secluded corner. Along the way, Ma Le found an opportunity to take a strand of hair from the man's clothing, secretly tasting it to learn that the man's name was Li Xinlin. His attributes in the real world were not very high, leaning towards magic, with his highest spirit power at just over fifty points, indicating he was a veteran adventurer.

Once they were sure no one was paying attention, Li Xinlin lowered his voice, "Old Zhao, I heard about it. How did you survive?" Hearing him call him "Old Zhao," Ma Le was certain that Li Xinlin was familiar with Zhao Renfan in the real world. He decided to call him by his real name, "Old Li, what are you talking about? What happened?"

Li Xinlin looked surprised, "You're pretending to be confused? Don't hide it. This has been all over the high-level circles in Dark City and Miracle City!" Ma Le was even more puzzled. Zhao Renfan had been killed by him last week. What recent event could be related to him? He continued, "I really don't know. What happened?"

Li Xinlin looked at "Zhao Renfan" suspiciously, "Your exploration team was almost wiped out. How can you still be playing dumb with me?" Ma Le immediately understood. The exploration team was likely the small group of Xia Yingying, Jiang Dahua, and Zhao Renfan. Li Xinlin said they were almost wiped out? This piqued Ma Le's interest, "I really didn't know. I left the team last week. The old captain was gone, and following a woman didn't seem promising!"

"You're just being stubborn!" Li Xinlin teased, "Every time your queen glared at you, you wouldn't dare to say a word, and now you're bragging to me?" He looked deeply at Ma Le, nodded, and analyzed, "You left the team? That makes sense. During the last inter-city battle between Miracle City and Dark City, eighteen veteran adventurers from Miracle City were defeated by one person from Dark City. Your former exploration team was almost wiped out. Heavy Cannon and Rock were killed, Heavenly Melody defected to Dark City, and Hell Queen disappeared. The only one not mentioned was you, so you must have left the team..."