Chapter 95: What Is There to Fear? [Thanks to Alliance Leaders Luofeng and Dingtian Nan!]

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Back when Ren Zhong made that “wrong remark” and was swiftly sanctioned by the hunters descending from above, it was because he had uttered too many “blasphemous” words in such a short span, surpassing the monitoring threshold of the “Net,” which led to the precise strike against him.

Ren Zhong had always been aware of the existence of things like the “Net,” but he couldn’t find anything about it online, nor was it convenient to ask directly.

Now, with Madafu personally informing him, his doubts were cleared.

Old Ma still believed in him.

Madafu said, “I’m not sure about your previous educational background, but your many speech habits are indeed somewhat unusual.”

Ren Zhong asked, “Earlier I said an idiom, ‘Time waits for no one,’ and today I mentioned other idioms. Is that why my threat index was raised?”

Madafu shook his head. “Your slightly odd manner of speaking is only one of the triggers, not the main cause. The Net’s monitoring system isn’t simple; it analyzes a person’s thinking through a weighted scoring method based on various long-term collected information.”

Ren Zhong: “It’s about thought.”

Madafu: “You could say that. Look, you’re showing distinctive speech patterns again. In short, your recent words and actions have repeatedly shown unusual signs, leading to continuous increases in your threat and rebellious indices. You’ve already crossed the first tier. In this situation, as your supervising town mayor, I could order the guards to kill you outright. That’s also part of my duty.”

Ren Zhong: “But you didn’t.”

Madafu smiled but didn’t seek credit, continuing, “Of course, these indices aren’t just rising; I vouched for you and have lowered several points already. If you don’t show obvious signs of suspicion going forward, the indices will gradually normalize. But if one day you cross the second tier, even I can’t save you.”

Ren Zhong nodded. “I understand. Thank you.”

Afterward, Madafu took Ren Zhong to the real interrogation room, where they exchanged words according to their prearranged script.

Ren Zhong left the town hall without incident.

On the way back to the small courtyard in Ma Xiaoling’s car, Ren Zhong had already come up with a new plan.

He began to reflect and decided that from now on, he would no longer easily reveal his revolutionary nature to outsiders.

Even if unwilling, he had to learn more about the others in this world in every respect.

He had to strengthen his disguise.

His external persona could be that of a lecherous old rogue, or a “normal” ruthless person clawing their way up selfishly at any cost—anything but a revolutionary with deep sympathy for the town’s underprivileged.

Ren Zhong had to cover his lofty ideals with a layer of filthy mud as camouflage.

For example, killing Lin Wang and eventually replacing Yang Bingzhong was actually an acceptable ambition.

Every professional team leader harbored such ambitions.

But if Ren Zhong revealed that his goal was to leverage the benefits of the Spark Resources Recycling Company to improve the lives of the town’s poor, his threat and rebellious indices would instantly skyrocket.

If he disguised his aim as mere ambition to usurp power—his dream being to replace Yang Bingzhong as the new exploiter over the town’s poor—he could rest easy.

...

Ren Zhong’s recent equipment modifications weren’t drastic, but because they involved many high-level components, Ju Qingmeng’s operating difficulty increased considerably.

Especially the Aiman Beast Alloy, which wasn’t even a finished product and required a smelting apparatus.

Ju Qingmeng only had a miniature experimental smelting device, no industrial-grade one, so she had to slowly melt and etch, then restore parts according to the blueprints.

She worked from morning until noon the next day before calling Ren Zhong to pick up the equipment.

Rummaging through her messy hair and slumping in the manager’s chair, Ju Qingmeng weakly waved her hand. “Ah, I can’t do it anymore. You have to give me a break. This past month has been even more exhausting than when I was studying.”

Ren Zhong laughed and nodded. “Thanks for your hard work. I won’t trouble you with anything for a while.”

Ju Qingmeng: “That’s great! I’ll take a day off tomorrow!”

“By the way.”

“What?”

“I owe you money. I’ll definitely pay you back. Whatever I promised, I’ll fulfill.”

“That’s not urgent. I’m patient with you. Alright, it’s late; I need a nap. You all were delayed by the morning hunt, so get going—don’t worry about me.”

Ren Zhong: “Okay, I’m off then.”

“Go ahead.”

After Ren Zhong left, Ju Qingmeng, pretending to sleep, opened her eyes again.

She felt something strange—the tone of Ren Zhong’s words was off.

He had a grudge against Lin Wang, but things weren’t bad enough to warrant this.

Why was he already making arrangements for his own affairs?

...

That afternoon, the team encountered an unexpected situation in the abandoned mine pit.

It wasn’t that they ran into a beast too strong to fight, but that they met another of the town’s three professional teams.

The encounter happened at a pit junction in the mid-to-upper area.

Both sides locked onto the same level-4 beast.

Each approached from opposite sides of the pit toward the same point, and just as they were about to attack, they noticed each other and simultaneously stopped, the atmosphere becoming tense.

The luminescent beast curled up deep inside the cave, unaware of the danger creeping near.

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Ren Zhong, who was alone, gestured a polite invitation and switched his communication channel to the Spark Resources designated professional team channel. “Captain Tang, please.”

He took the initiative to show goodwill, signaling no intention to snatch the beast.

The other side was one of the three top-level professional teams, on par with Lin Wang’s.

Their captain was Tang Shuying, a senior level-4 demolition expert.

Her team comprised two mech warriors, one dismantler, and one firearms specialist.

Her team’s makeup was similar to Zheng Tian’s, except they lacked a cyborg warrior.

Of course, the biggest difference was they were all level-4; if a fight broke out, one of their members could probably wipe out Ren Zhong’s entire squad.

Seeing Ren Zhong’s cooperation, the mature and curvaceous Tang Shuying gave a slight nod, somewhat pleased.

But she didn’t smile; instead, she coldly pointed ahead, signaling Ren Zhong’s team to leave.

Then she signaled her two mech warriors to advance.

One robust and one slender, each with a distinct combat style, the two level-4 mech warriors stepped forward, their exoskeletons buzzing with energy activation—they intended a direct assault.

Ren Zhong didn’t immediately turn and leave but kindly warned, “This long-necked beetle differs from ordinary eyeless underground insects. It has evolved powerful optical organs. You can see its segments indicate agility, coupled with its strong vision, it’s quite formidable in the dark. If you charge in, although you’ll win, you’ll use a lot of ammo and possibly damage your equipment. Even if defeated, its carcass will be too damaged, lowering its value.”

Tang Shuying frowned slightly.

But she said nothing, pulling a fingernail-sized spherical device from a thigh pocket and casually tossing it forward.

At the same time, she ordered, “Turn off optical night vision; keep only thermal and ultrasonic sensors active.”

Ren Zhong immediately relayed the order to his team.

In the next moment, a blinding flash lit up the cave where the level-4 long-necked beetle hid, and the two mech warriors charged in boldly.

The battle was straightforward, with no tricks or noteworthy moments.

The beetle’s powerful optical vision was its strength, but under tens of thousands of lumens of intense light, it was blinded; even covering its eyes was useless.

Accustomed to bioluminescence and optical vision, the level-4 beetle became clumsy in panic once it lost sight.

Within a dozen seconds, as the flash faded, Tang Shuying’s two team members subdued it with ease.

Compared to a normal fight, Tang Shuying’s team saved at least a hundred points in costs.

“No wonder you first gained Lin Wang’s recognition and now caught Mr. Yang’s eye. You really have something.”

Having received a favor from Ren Zhong, Tang Shuying’s attitude softened slightly, offering praise.

Ren Zhong responded politely, “I don’t deserve such praise.”

“You used to be on Lin Wang’s side. I disliked your kind. But now that we’re colleagues, we can talk more. Let me remind you, Lin Wang doesn’t see you as one of his own. Otherwise, with your skills, he would have taken you along this time when he went for big work.”

Tang Shuying added.

Ren Zhong caught a hidden meaning and lowered his voice: “Captain Tang seems resentful about not being chosen?”

Tang Shuying’s face darkened.

The burly mech warrior beside her spoke bluntly, “Going to the new mine for path clearing is a sweet deal, with chances to find mineral stones. One piece can fetch tens of thousands from Amethyst Mining. Mr. Yang didn’t ask others’ opinions and just handed the good job to Lin Wang. How could we not be resentful?”

Ren Zhong feigned surprise, “I see, so Lin Wang not taking me along was indeed harsh.”

Since the topic was open, Tang Shuying elaborated.

“Forget it, I’m not afraid Mr. Yang will hear. The truth is, the metal in the abandoned mine pit has greatly diminished; there’s no time for mineral stones to form. Even if some remain, they’re useless since the area is overrun by countless beasts. We can’t expect to find mineral stones here. We just blindly search for level-4 beasts to kill for some profits, often coming up empty. Meanwhile, over there, in half a month, their income equals what we make here in a year or so.”

Ren Zhong nodded, “That’s very regrettable.”

“Alright, let’s keep moving. Choose your direction. Hope we don’t meet again this afternoon; I’d hate to keep stealing your kills.”

“Okay, see you.”

After parting ways and walking back-to-back, Eu Youning complained, “Damn, just having a tough fist isn’t impressive. So arrogant. Damn!”

Ren Zhong understood the frustration.

Actually, they had noticed the mutated long-necked beetle yesterday but refrained from acting out of caution.

This morning, while idle, Ren Zhong and Zheng Tian researched a lot and devised a battle plan, even investing twenty points upfront to buy a flash bomb.

But in the end, their prey was stolen, rendering their preparations useless.

Ren Zhong waved it off, “No problem. At least Captain Tang generously shared a lot of information.”

Eu Youning: “What use is information if it’s just because Brother Ren saved them money? Just talking a bit and returning a favor. Tch.”

Ren Zhong didn’t reply.

What Eu Youning saw as useless, Ren Zhong found valuable.

He keenly noticed that both mineral stones and star source injection fluid share the character “source.”

The star source injection fluid’s production capacity is extremely low; mineral stones are also scarce and valuable.

Amethyst Mining’s forced buyback price is tens of thousands per piece—so what’s the finished product’s value? What is it?

Could it be that mineral stones are the core raw material for the star source injection fluid?

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Though the reasoning was somewhat tenuous, Ren Zhong’s intuition told him it was possible.

At the same time, he learned how other professional teams scavenge beasts in the abandoned mine pit.

There was no special technology involved—just accumulated long-term experience.

They recorded on their 3D maps the points where they had previously encountered level-4 beasts.

In subsequent hunts, they repeatedly swept these points periodically according to the information collected.

They never pondered or understood why level-4 beasts appeared repeatedly at specific locations.

They only cared about the results.

Their method was clumsy and inefficient, slowly expanding their search area.

But Ren Zhong was different.

He saw through appearances to the essence, having preliminarily grasped the whole picture from clues.

For example, before they first reached the long-necked beetle’s cave yesterday, no one had been there.

Ren Zhong had predicted with over 80% probability that there was a small geomagnetic node here based on his progressively refined magnetic line network model.

He led the team to check, and sure enough, they found something valuable.

“No worries, we’ll move on to the next target. Lin Wang returns in five days. Starting today, all money we earn will be used to upgrade your equipment.”

“Really?”

“Have I ever lied?”

Eu Youning and Zheng Tian cheered together, “Yeah!”

...

Day 45.

3 p.m.

Edge of the abandoned mine pit.

Beside the armored Qingfeng heavy truck.

Lin Wang and Bei Lihui’s blue jet skis stood quietly.

Lin Wang, clad in a seemingly lightweight but high-performance blue level-4 exoskeleton, stood with hands behind his back on the truck’s left side.

Bei Lihui, bearing a new large scar on his face, held a gun on the right side.

The exoskeleton showed crisscrossing scars—some from burns, some from cuts, others from blunt force dents.

Even the helmet’s visor had spiderweb cracks about the size of a palm.

Clearly, before returning to Spark Town, Lin Wang had endured a fierce battle.

Another team member, Sima Wan, watched from a mountain about 500 meters away.

Lin Wang’s face no longer bore any trace of calmness or amiability.

His pale features were dark and brooding, as if dripping with menace.

Bei Lihui repeatedly wiped his Scorpio-191, his gaze brimming with ruthless killing intent.

Lin Wang had no intention of continuing to play along with Ren Zhong.

He had returned with a clear murderous purpose.

He hadn’t rested in Spark Town or replenished equipment at the arms market.

He hadn’t reported to Yang Bingzhong but came straight to the abandoned mine pit on his jet ski.

He didn’t intend to give Ren Zhong any chance to sense the abnormality and escape; he wanted to kill Ren Zhong and his team on the spot.

Ren Zhong, Zheng Tian, Ju Qingmeng, Yang Bingzhong, Madafu... everyone had guessed wrong.

It wasn’t Ren Zhong’s judgment that erred; many things had happened that morning, utterly changing Lin Wang’s decision and reducing the original six-member team to only three returning.

Of course, Ren Zhong, ever the pessimist, had already prepared for the worst.

You can dodge the first, but not the fifteenth day.

It was just a matter of the curtain falling early on the dagger’s reveal.

If he dies, he dies a hero a few seconds later—what’s there to fear?

[PS: Recently, daily and monthly recommendation votes have dipped a bit, though I’ve been updating vigorously. Today’s another 10,000 words. Please support with recommendation and monthly votes! Many thanks!]

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