Chapter 10

Remember when he was leaving, his father had particularly told him... to come back early and not to walk at night or anything like that. At the time, he didn't take it seriously, thinking, "I'm a grown man, why worry about this?"

It was one thing to be cautious in the wilderness, but in his own village? Did he need to worry about such things?

Even if he got drunk and slept on the street, it wouldn't matter. At worst, he'd be found the next day and get a beating from his father.

"Who are you... outsiders?"

Instinctively, he said that, and then he felt a sense of impending doom. Sure enough, as soon as he finished speaking, the sharp object pressing against his waist increased its pressure, and his mouth, which he wanted to scream from, was tightly covered.

It's over. If only he had listened to his father, he wouldn't be in this mess now!

"Who is it?!" A startled cry suddenly rang out.

Amidst the chaos and the despair of the blacksmith's apprentice, the hand covering his mouth suddenly loosened. Instinctively, he shouted loudly.

"Help! Murder!"

The once quiet village instantly came to life. When the blacksmith's apprentice came to his senses, he couldn't help but rub his eyes, as if he had seen something wrong.

"Is there a problem?" Zheng Chen wrapped the short knife in his hand with a cloth and looked up to ask.

"Uh... no." The blacksmith's apprentice quickly shifted his gaze from Zheng Chen's expressionless face to the attackers on the ground. "They... are dead?"

Zheng Chen shook his head and examined the players. They were in a strange state of unconsciousness. He hadn't used lethal force, just enough to incapacitate them. He didn't want to kill them, having seen players disappear in a flash of light when they died before.

It seemed to be a forced logout?

If he killed them, it might be the same.

Soon, villagers arrived, some with torches, some with oil lamps... and some even with flashlights... Zheng Chen was no longer surprised by this.

With the crisis over, the blacksmith's apprentice's mind cleared. He looked at Zheng Chen strangely, as his appearance was too coincidental.

"I'll treat you to a drink as an apology for this incident." Before the blacksmith's apprentice could voice his doubts, Zheng Chen said.

"..." Damn, is this what my father meant by being honest? I'll have to talk to him when I get back! Watching Zheng Chen leave, the blacksmith's apprentice's mouth twitched. Maybe his father knew what was going on; he'd ask him when he got back.

The next day, Zheng Chen went to Ping Shizhi's pharmacy, which was usually open early but was still closed.

"How did you know I live here?"

Caught at his doorstep, Ping Shizhi was surprised to see him. He hadn't told Zheng Chen where he lived, except for the pharmacy.

"You're the village chief."

"Hmm, I see." Ping Shizhi stroked his beard. "I was just joking, and you took it seriously."

"No one said the village chief can't have a side job."

"Cough, let's not talk about that." Ping Shizhi cleared his throat. "You did well last night, but don't use that method again."

The villagers had enough time to piece together what happened. Zheng Chen's methods weren't exactly honorable, but they were effective.

"Alright."

Ping Shizhi's tense face relaxed slightly. "Although I say that, it's best if it doesn't happen again..."

"Difficult!" This was clearly an ideal situation, and he didn't have much hope.

"Yes... things won't be peaceful here anymore." Ping Shizhi's smile faded, and he said solemnly, "Can I ask you to do one more thing?"

"What?"

"Dealing with the outsiders who committed murder is tricky." Ping Shizhi was conflicted. "The outsiders you caught last night have been interrogated, but they are stubborn. They enter a long-term 'unconscious' state when tortured and haven't woken up yet."

"Nothing found?" Zheng Chen asked. He could guess why the players killed, but he couldn't say it outright...

"There is one thing. The outsiders caught were ordinary people but showed an abnormal lack of fear of death."

"Alright, tell me what you want me to do." For the players, this world was just a 'game,' so they naturally lacked a fear of death.

Ping Shizhi pondered for a moment and began to explain.

The interrogation last night wasn't entirely fruitless. These outsiders weren't the ones who committed the murders; they were just following orders.

It seemed that killing could give them some benefits, which made the situation complicated. If possible, Ping Shizhi didn't want the villagers and outsiders to have a serious conflict.

Because they feared no death, they could do many terrible things without hesitation. Once a conflict arose, the village would suffer the most. It was necessary to give the outsiders a warning, something to make them think twice. They might not fear death, but they didn't want to die easily.

The families of the victims needed an explanation. With no trace of the real culprits, the captured outsiders would have to take the blame.

Ping Shizhi wanted Zheng Chen to stage an attack during the public trial of these outsiders. If similar incidents happened again, he should act without hesitation.

Since the interrogation wouldn't reveal anything, it was too easy to escalate tensions if the village took action against the outsiders.

"Of course, this isn't for free. The families of the victims have pooled money to pay for the lives of the outsiders."

To buy the lives of the outsiders.

Whether it was for venting or to hide the truth, Zheng Chen accepted the task.

But the commission seemed to be Ping Shizhi's idea. Was this the same kind-hearted old man who believed in the Hippocratic Oath?

As if reading Zheng Chen's thoughts, Ping Shizhi continued, "I'm the village chief."

A good village chief, Zheng Chen thought. His methods might not be the best, but they were good for the village's stability.

Soon, the news of the public trial of the 'murdering' outsiders spread through the village. The players in the village had a new topic to discuss, and the streets became lively as they gathered to read the notices.

"Someone really did it." The players couldn't help but discuss the notices. In the real world, the Second World had been open for a short time, and many strategy guides had already been posted.

One of the most important topics for all players was how to level up quickly!

The most common way was through rigorous training to increase attributes and gain experience. Another way was to kill living beings. For example, a level one player killing chickens would gain a small amount of experience, but after reaching level two, the experience gained would be much less. By level three, killing chickens would yield no experience at all.

Killing could level up, so some players thought of killing people... After all, they were just NPCs in a game, right?

When this post was made, players split into two camps: those who agreed and those who were against it. This game world was too realistic, and most players couldn't accept the idea of killing people.

Killing small animals was one thing, but killing people... It felt too guilty to do it for no reason.

Besides these methods, there was another way to gain experience quickly: exploration. Discovering unknown NPCs, unknown equipment, and unknown maps could all yield experience, but this was only useful for the first person to do it.

Finally, the classic method: fighting bosses!

This world had many powerful creatures. Some players in big cities had seen a dragon flying overhead...

"Whatever, but to be caught by NPCs is embarrassing. What time is 'noon and three quarters'?" A player looking at the notice asked, confused.

"Who knows... 'noon' is an old way of measuring time from before the old era."

"What's the point of asking here? Go to the forum and ask for an explanation."

"What time is 'noon and three quarters'?"

After reading the notice, Zheng Chen found Ping Shizhi.

"...There's a school in the village. How about I talk to the teacher and let you attend for free?"

"No time." School? Zheng Chen had passed by it before. It was full of toddlers. Should he join them?

"Young people should read more. Just wait at the market before lunch." Ping Shizhi turned and walked into his house, took out a cloth bag, and handed it to Zheng Chen. "Your payment."

Inside was the agreed-upon medicine, a gold coin, and a few silver coins...

This world had a diverse culture. Although many regions used currency, for those who traveled frequently, standard gold and silver coins were the best choice.

Each place had its own exchange rate. After staying in one place for a while, you could exchange the local paper money back into gold or silver coins when you left.

For the average villager, the amount Zheng Chen held was a significant sum.

After accepting the payment, Zheng Chen began to prepare. Perhaps the captured players were just following orders, but they had to take the blame now. They were just unlucky.

Curiosity is a natural human trait. Before the trial, the interrogation site was already crowded. The villagers were considerate and didn't throw rotten vegetables or eggs at the captured players. Many players mixed in the crowd, watching the captives with a sense of curiosity, their mouths gagged with cloth.