Chapter 1 The Beginning

Shi Feng brushed past Nie Yan without even noticing him.

"Damn it, where is that kid hiding?" Shi Feng muttered to himself, unaware that he had already been exposed.

Nie Yan followed behind Shi Feng, his gaze fixed on the back of Shi Feng's head.

His right-hand dagger moved as fast as lightning, stabbing towards Shi Feng's spine.

Shi Feng sensed something was wrong behind him, but it was too late. Nie Yan's dagger plunged into Shi Feng's back.

*Poof*, the dagger easily tore through the flesh, dealing 31 points of damage to Shi Feng, whose defense was clearly not very high.

The act of attacking and being attacked caused both of their Stealth effects to vanish simultaneously.

Shi Feng spotted Nie Yan, turning around to swing his dagger.

Nie Yan took a step back, and Shi Feng's dagger sliced past Nie Yan's cheek.

His dagger seemed to be a bit too short, but only by less than an inch.

"Vital Strike!"

Nie Yan's dagger flashed with a cold light, slashing across Shi Feng's neck.

System: Vital Strike executed, attack position off by 3%, causing additional attack roll damage bonus.

Shi Feng's remaining 79 health points were completely depleted by Nie Yan in one fell swoop. He looked as if he had seen a ghost, his eyes filled with disbelief as he collapsed to the ground.

The entire process only took a few seconds, and Nie Yan was still at full health.

Nie Yan curled his lips slightly. Fighting a level two newbie rogue was simply devoid of any skill.

The two of them returned to the spectator seats at the same time.

The seven hundred yuan from Shi Feng's card was automatically transferred to Nie Yan's account.

"Shi Feng, what happened?"

"Yeah, why did you come out so quickly?"

The group of guys surrounded Shi Feng and asked. The battle they had seen was only the moment when Shi Feng and Nie Yan's Stealth effects disappeared and they began to fight. It was such a fleeting moment, they couldn't see what was happening clearly. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng had fallen to the ground.

"He was so fast." Shi Feng recalled the fight just now. Nie Yan only made a few simple movements, but they were incredibly fast, and each attack was fatal, directly hitting vital points. Although virtual games regulated a player's actions, reaction speed, attack awareness, and so on, were all abilities of the player themselves. In reality, if Nie Yan had a knife in his hand, Shi Feng couldn't imagine what the consequences would be if they fought.

Looking at Nie Yan, Shi Feng recalled how they used to cause trouble for Nie Yan, and Nie Yan always acted meek and swallowed his anger. If Nie Yan had been pretending all along, it was too terrifying. Thinking of the dagger in Nie Yan's hand, Shi Feng felt a chill in his heart.

"I lost." Shi Feng didn't dare to deny it at this point. The facts were right in front of him, and he had lost the courage to face Nie Yan again.

Arrogant and domineering people were not scary. Their tough exterior was just a disguise for their weakness. Shi Feng was one of these people, and what they feared most was the kind of person who was strong but incredibly resilient.

Shi Feng thought of Lei Laosi, who ran a restaurant in Mentou Village. Lei Laosi was an honest man. A gang of thugs used to go to his restaurant to freeload and smash things, and Lei Laosi always swallowed his anger. One time, Shi Feng was with that gang, a group of more than ten people, going to Lei Laosi's restaurant to freeload when Lei Laosi's daughter happened to come home. Lei Laosi was ugly, but his daughter was quite pretty. Some of them couldn't help but get handsy with Lei Laosi's daughter.

Lei Laosi begged for mercy, but the thugs refused and began to strip Lei Laosi's daughter's clothes. In a fit of rage, Lei Laosi grabbed a kitchen knife and hacked down three thugs, killing them instantly. He also cut off Yin Laoda's arm with one strike. He was covered in blood, but calmly asked a customer nearby to call the police. Shi Feng was so scared at the time that he almost wet his pants.

Lei Laosi was sentenced to half a year for excessive self-defense. Afterward, no one dared to cause trouble at Lei Laosi's restaurant again, and no one dared to touch Lei Laosi's daughter.

People who endure are the most terrifying, because once they explode, they become ferocious and crueler than anyone else. Thinking of the scene at the time, Shi Feng felt a chill run down his spine.

After that incident, Shi Feng was honest for a while. Later, he started hanging out with Wei Kai. After what happened today, he felt a jolt of fear. If one day they pushed Nie Yan too far, would Nie Yan be like Lei Laosi, grabbing a knife and slashing it across their necks?

"Let's not provoke that guy in the future. That guy is definitely not easy to deal with," Shi Feng said to the people next to him, giving them a serious warning.

"Shi Feng, you're not going to chicken out just because you lost a match, are you? Don't say I know you in the future!" one of the guys next to him cursed. The others also showed expressions of disdain.

"I'll pay you back the money. Let's just forget about losing," Shi Feng said. He suddenly understood that although it felt good to bully others like they did, there would come a day when they would get their comeuppance, just like the Lei Laosi incident. Yin Laoda lost his arm and couldn't be a boss anymore, so he had to collect scraps for a living. The three thugs who were hacked down were even killed.

"Get lost."

Nie Yan ignored Shi Feng and the others. He looked at the matches on the field. Tang Yao and Wei Kai's match had reached the second round. Because it was a flat terrain, Tang Yao lost all his advantages and was killed by Wei Kai's sword.

One match after another was played. After ten matches, Tang Yao won two matches, and Wei Kai won eight matches. Tang Yao lost one thousand two hundred.

"Damn it, that Wei Kai kid also learned a new skill, Berserker's Anti-Magic Aura. It's really depressing to fight," Tang Yao said, feeling dejected. Anti-Magic Aura could increase a player's magic resistance. With Anti-Magic Aura, a Berserker was simply the bane of magic users.

"Actually, Anti-Magic Aura only reduces a little bit of damage. In PvP, an arcane mage first needs to be fast, second needs to have stable output, and third needs to have quick reactions. Also, your timing for casting spells during the fight was also wrong," Nie Yan said. In terms of strength, Tang Yao's arcane mage was much stronger than Wei Kai's Berserker. The reason Tang Yao lost wasn't that Wei Kai's skill was that much better than Tang Yao's, but because arcane mages were more demanding of skill. A skilled arcane mage could easily kill a Berserker of the same level, while a bad arcane mage could be easily killed by a Berserker of the same level. Heavy armor melee classes like Berserkers didn't require too much skill.

"I didn't expect you to know so much," Tang Yao said admiringly. He thought about it carefully, and what Nie Yan said made a lot of sense.

Over there, Wei Kai and the others pushed the door open and came in. Shi Feng followed behind them, looking at Nie Yan with a complicated expression.

"Young Master Tang, your friend is getting more and more promising. He even defeated Shi Feng," Wei Kai said, looking at Nie Yan with his slender eyes narrowed. All along, Nie Yan had been an honest pushover. Today, he was indeed very different from the past. His expression and temperament had changed greatly.

Wei Kai switched the video on the big screen to the scene where Nie Yan defeated Shi Feng just now, and then played it back in slow motion. The entire battle was completed in three seconds, and Nie Yan's movements were so perfect that they were flawless.

Tang Yao watched the video and looked at Nie Yan in disbelief. When did this brother of his become so strong?

"You fought Shi Feng just now?" Tang Yao was still a little unwilling to believe that the person in the video was Nie Yan.

"I just played a little bit. He's too weak," Nie Yan replied nonchalantly.

Wei Kai winked at the young man in the floral shirt next to him.

Nie Yan saw all of this. That person was called Li Yang, and he was Wei Kai's lackey.

"Kid, don't be too arrogant. Do you believe I'll smack you?" Li Yang came up and kicked Nie Yan. Although he was a year or two younger than Nie Yan, he was bigger and sturdier.

Nie Yan was a little short, and he was also very thin due to malnutrition.

Nie Yan smiled coldly, dodged Li Yang's right foot, and stomped down on Li Yang's left ankle. He was no longer the boy who was bullied by others.

His strength was no less than that of an ordinary level two Sanda athlete, and he was more than capable of dealing with a few small thugs, it was just that his physical strength was still a little weak.

Ouch, Li Yang let out a shrill scream and staggered backward.

This scream made everyone present shiver.

It was this ruthlessness. Shi Feng thought of Lei Laosi. He suddenly felt that being a good student in school was such a happy thing.

"Looking for death." A few people behind Wei Kai wanted to rush up and beat Nie Yan, but Wei Kai stopped them.

Li Yang's actions just now were just Wei Kai's test. He was also surprised that Nie Yan, who had always been meek and timid, actually had such skills. He had only seen a few people with such fast movements. Fighting was not something that could be improved in two or three days, it required long-term training to slowly improve. Could it be that Nie Yan's timidity in the past was all an act?

Today's Nie Yan just didn't seem right.

Wei Kai didn't look at Li Yang, who was hugging his leg and screaming. He walked up to Nie Yan and said, "Young Master Nie, are you interested in playing a game?" He changed the way he addressed Nie Yan. Having been in society for so long, he knew which people he could move and which people he couldn't. Nie Yan's show of strength just now had completely shocked him.

"It wouldn't hurt to play a game or two, but I won't play if the stakes are too low," Nie Yan thought, a little surprised. Wei Kai was quite a character. Many cunning underworld bosses showed amazing talent at a very young age. He heard that Wei Kai had been quite successful in his previous life, until he committed a major crime and disappeared.

"One thousand yuan per game. I have three thousand here," Wei Kai said, taking out all his money.

"That's not fair. A level three Berserker is fighting a level two Gale Thief. Don't you think you're bullying him too much?" Tang Yao said, dissatisfied. There was a level difference of one, and heavy armor melee classes were fighting light armor melee classes. The difference in strength was obvious.

"Three thousand yuan per game," Nie Yan interrupted Tang Yao and said to Wei Kai.

"Okay, I'll play along," Wei Kai said. He didn't believe that a level two Gale Thief could turn the tables.

"Nie Yan, you're crazy!" Tang Yao said anxiously. A level two Gale Thief against a level three Berserker, only a heaven-defying expert could win. Otherwise, it was a game that was destined to be lost.

"I only have one thousand four hundred here. Lend me one thousand six hundred," Nie Yan said with a chuckle.

"Damn it, even if you lose, you'll have to make me lose money too," Tang Yao muttered angrily.

"I'll pay you back when we get back," Nie Yan said. Although Tang Yao's father was rich, Tang Yao didn't have much pocket money, and he earned it all by doing part-time jobs. Modern high-end elites basically educated their children this way, to be self-reliant.

"Bullshit. Losing is losing. Who wants you to pay me back?" Tang Yao swiped his card and transferred one thousand six hundred to Nie Yan.

"Thanks," Nie Yan said. Tang Yao was the kind of person who was harsh on the outside but soft on the inside. If Nie Yan lost, Tang Yao definitely wouldn't ask him for the one thousand six hundred.

In his previous life, Nie Yan received too many favors from Tang Yao, but Tang Yao never thought of asking Nie Yan to repay him. That was what true brothers were.

"Help Li Yang up. Let's go," Wei Kai said. The group walked toward another compartment in the private room.

"How did Nie Yan suddenly become so good at fighting? Damn it, it hurts so much. Next time, I'll definitely find someone to beat this son of a bitch to death," Li Yang said, sitting on the sofa and pulling up his pants leg. There was a large bruise on it.

"Save it. He didn't use much strength, otherwise your leg would have been broken long ago. Remember this for me in the future. No one is to provoke Nie Yan. Stay far away from him when you see him. Don't blame me for being impolite if anyone brings me trouble!" Wei Kai said. The school had courses in taekwondo, boxing, fighting, and so on. He could tell that Nie Yan had used standard fighting moves just now, but they were more ruthless than the fighting moves taught in school. He aimed for fatal moves with every strike. Just what kind of person was this kid?

Thinking of Nie Yan's timid appearance in the past, this guy was very deep, able to hide for so long. Wei Kai felt a chill in his heart.

"Are we just going to let this go?" Li Yang asked unwillingly.

"Then what else can we do? Can you beat him? Go to taekwondo class in the future, so you won't lose so badly!" Wei Kai said.

"Boss, it's about to start," a young man next to him said.

Wei Kai put on his helmet.

In another compartment, Tang Yao looked Nie Yan up and down, and then said after a long time, "I was stupid just now. I forgot to ask. Kid, you're doing well. When did you become so strong? You took down Li Yang in one move."

"I've been practicing at home for a while. It's more than enough to deal with them," Nie Yan said. The strength of this body was too weak, otherwise his strength would be more than just this. Li Yang and those other small gangsters were just embroidered pillows. Wei Kai was a little stronger, but he was no match for him either.

"You've really made me look at you in a new light. I'm still wondering if you're the Nie Yan I've known since I was a kid," Tang Yao said with a lot of emotion.

"No matter how I change, you'll always be my brother," Nie Yan said. In his previous life, even in his most frustrated moments, Tang Yao had always treated him like a brother. A long road tests a horse's strength, and a long time reveals a person's heart.

"Just for that, we'll go back and have a good drink," Tang Yao punched Nie Yan's shoulder and said.

"Wei Kai is already waiting inside."

"Are you confident at all?" Tang Yao asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, just watch. You're not worried that I won't be able to pay you back the one thousand six, are you?" Nie Yan said with a smile.

"Get lost. Money is just a bastard. It's no big deal if you lose. You don't have much pocket money every month. If you lose one thousand four, you'll have to eat instant noodles for a month, right?"

"He's just a level three Berserker. Watch how I play him to death!" Nie Yan said with a confident smile.

"Okay, kid, you're getting more and more arrogant," Tang Yao said with a smile and a curse.

The two put on their helmets and entered the game.

When Nie Yan appeared again, it was in a grassland terrain, an endless green field, with dense grass about knee-high.

What bad luck, it's a grassland terrain, Nie Yan thought with a frown. However, even on the plains, he had his own set of tactics. The green background of the grassland created good conditions for a thief's Stealth, the only drawback being that the dense green grass on the ground would expose the thief's movements.

"It's a flat terrain. If you think it's unfair, you can change the terrain," Wei Kai said. There was a lot of randomness in playing just one match. Different terrains were suitable for different classes. The grassland terrain was suitable for a head-on warrior class like a Berserker.

Although Wei Kai was just a gangster, he was also open and honest.

"It doesn't matter. Grassland terrain is fine," Nie Yan said, holding the dagger in his reverse grip and entering Stealth. He had changed his opinion of Wei Kai quite a bit.

A breeze blew past, and the grass fell in one direction. Nie Yan's figure slowly disappeared.

Did Nie Yan really have such great skills? Wei Kai calmed down, and his expression became serious, because he observed intently but couldn't find Nie Yan's location. He couldn't find any abnormalities in the grass on the ground either.

Nie Yan was indeed a bit skillful. Wei Kai held his greatsword and slowly approached. The closer he got, the easier it would be to find Nie Yan.

Nie Yan's footsteps followed the direction of the wind, constantly switching steps. Even when stepping on the grass, the direction of the grass falling was the same as the direction of the wind.