Chapter 1 The Encounter

Shi Feng brushed past Nie Yan without noticing him.

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

Nie Yan followed Shi Feng, his eyes locked on the back of his heart.

His right-hand dagger moved like lightning, stabbing towards Shi Feng's back.

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

*Pfft*, the dagger easily tore through a wound, dealing 31 points of damage to Shi Feng. His defense was clearly not very high.

The stealth effects of both vanished simultaneously due to the attack and being attacked.

Shi Feng discovered Nie Yan and turned around, swinging his dagger.

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

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

"Vital attack!"

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

System: Vital attack completed, attack position deviated by 3%, causing additional attack check damage bonus.

Shi Feng's remaining 79 hit points were exhausted by Nie Yan in one go. As if seeing a ghost, his eyes were filled with disbelief as he fell to the ground.

The whole process took only a few seconds. Nie Yan was still at full health.

Nie Yan's lips curled slightly. Fighting a level-two newbie ranger was devoid of skill.

The two simultaneously returned to the spectator stands.

The seven hundred yuan in 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 footage they saw was after Shi Feng and Nie Yan's stealth skill effects disappeared. It was just a fleeting moment, and they couldn't see clearly what happened. In the blink of an eye, Shi Feng fell to the ground.

"He was so fast." Shi Feng recalled the previous exchange. Nie Yan only made a few simple movements, but they were fast to the extreme, a one-hit kill, striking directly at the vital point. Although virtual games have skills that regulate people's actions, reaction ability, attack awareness, and so on are all the player's own abilities. In reality, if Nie Yan had a knife in his hand, Shi Feng couldn't imagine what the consequences would be if the two fought.

Looking at Nie Yan, Shi Feng remembered the times when they used to make trouble for Nie Yan. Nie Yan was always obsequious and swallowed his anger. If Nie Yan had been pretending all along, that would be 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 admit defeat at this moment. The fact was right in front of him, and he had lost the courage to fight Nie Yan again.

Arrogant and domineering people are not scary. Their strong appearance is just a disguise for their weakness. Shi Feng is this kind of person, and what they fear most is the kind of person who is strong but unusually persevering.

Shi Feng thought of Lei Laosi, who ran a restaurant in Mentou Village. Lei Laosi was an honest man. There used to be a group of gangsters in this area who often went to his house to freeload and smash things, and Lei Laosi always swallowed his anger. That time, Shi Feng followed that group of people, more than a dozen of them, to Lei Laosi's restaurant to freeload, and they happened to run into Lei Laosi's daughter coming back. Lei Laosi was ugly, but his daughter was quite pretty, and a few of them couldn't help but touch Lei Laosi's daughter.

Lei Laosi begged for mercy, but those hooligans refused and began to strip Lei Laosi's daughter's clothes. In a fit of anger, Lei Laosi picked up a kitchen knife and砍倒 (kan dao - hacked down) three hooligans, who died on the spot. He also cut off Yin Laoda's arm with one slash, and was covered in blood, but calmly asked the customers next to him to call the police. Shi Feng was so scared that he almost wet his pants at the time.

Lei Laosi was sentenced to half a year for excessive defense, and later no one dared to make trouble at Lei Laosi's restaurant, and no one dared to touch Lei Laosi's daughter.

People who are patient are the most terrifying, because once they explode, they will show their ferocity and be more ruthless than anyone else. Thinking of that scene, Shi Feng felt a chill on his body.

After that incident, Shi Feng was really honest for a while, and later he followed Wei Kai. After today's incident, he only felt a jolt all over his body. If one day, they bullied Nie Yan so badly that he became anxious, would Nie Yan be like Lei Laosi, picking up a knife and slashing it hard on their necks?

"In the future, let's not provoke that guy, he's definitely not easy to deal with." Shi Feng said to the people next to him, this was a solemn warning.

"Shi Feng, you wouldn't be such a coward after losing a game, don't say I know you in the future!" A kid next to him cursed, and the others also showed contemptuous expressions.

"I will pay you back the money, let's just forget about the loss." Shi Feng said, he suddenly understood that although it was pleasant to bully others like them, sooner or later, what goes around comes around. Just like Lei Laosi's incident, Yin Laoda lost his hand and couldn't be the boss anymore, so he could only pick up trash for a living. The three hooligans who were砍倒 (kan dao - hacked down) even lost their lives.

"Go to hell, get out."

Nie Yan ignored Shi Feng and the others and looked at the competition on the field. Tang Yao and Wei Kai's competition had reached the second game. Because it was flat terrain, Tang Yao lost all his advantages and was砍杀 (kan sha - hacked to death) by Wei Kai's sword.

One game after another, after ten games, Tang Yao won two games, and Wei Kai won eight games. Tang Yao lost one thousand two.

"Damn, that brat Wei Kai also learned a new skill, Berserker's Anti-Magic Aura, it's really depressing to fight." Tang Yao said, feeling depressed. Anti-Magic Aura can increase the player's magic resistance. With the Anti-Magic Aura, a berserker is simply the nemesis of mages.

"Actually, Anti-Magic Aura only reduces a little bit of damage. In PK, the arcane mage must first have fast footwork, secondly, stable output, and thirdly, quick reaction. Moreover, your timing of releasing magic during the fight is also wrong." Nie Yan said. In terms of strength, Tang Yao's arcane mage is much stronger than Wei Kai's berserker. The reason why Tang Yao lost is not because Wei Kai's skills are much higher than Tang Yao's, but because the arcane mage is more technically demanding. A skilled arcane mage can easily kill a berserker of the same level, while a technically poor arcane mage can be easily砍杀 (kan sha - hacked to death) by a berserker of the same level. Heavy-armored melee classes like the berserker don't require too much operation.

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

Wei Kai and others pushed the door and came over, Shi Feng followed behind them, looking at Nie Yan with a somewhat complicated expression.

"Young Master Tang, your brother is getting more and more promising, he even defeated Shi Feng." Wei Kai's narrow willow eyes looked at Nie Yan with a narrow smile. All along, Nie Yan had been an honest pushover. Today, he was indeed different from the past. Both his expression and temperament had undergone great changes.

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

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

"You fought Shi Feng just now?" Tang Yao still couldn't quite believe that the person in the video was Nie Yan.

"Just played a little, he's too weak." Nie Yan answered without regard for anyone else.

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

All of this fell into Nie Yan's eyes. That person was called Li Yang, and he was Wei Kai's follower.

"Kid, don't be too arrogant, believe it or not, I'll smack you." Li Yang came up and kicked Nie Yan. Although he was one or two years younger than Nie Yan, he was taller and stronger than Nie Yan.

Nie Yan was really a bit short, and he was thin due to malnutrition.

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

His strength was no less than that of an ordinary second-level Sanda athlete, except that his physical strength was a bit weak. Dealing with a few small gangsters was more than enough.

*Aww*, Li Yang let out a shrill scream and staggered out.

This scream made everyone present feel a chill in their hearts.

It was this ruthlessness that reminded Shi Feng of Lei Laosi. He suddenly felt how happy it was to be a good student in school.

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

Li Yang's actions just now were just Wei Kai's test. He was also surprised that Nie Yan, who had always been obsequious, timid and afraid of things, actually had such skills. He had only seen a few people with such fast movements. Fighting is not something that can be improved in two or three days, it takes a long time of training to slowly improve. Could it be that Nie Yan's previous timidity was all pretended?

Today's Nie Yan was just not right no matter how you looked at it.

Wei Kai didn't look at Li Yang, who was hugging his leg and screaming, and walked up to Nie Yan and said, "Nie Shao, are you interested in playing a game?" He changed his address to Nie Yan. After being in society for so long, he knew which people he could touch and which people he couldn't. Nie Yan had just revealed a hand, completely shocking him.

"It's okay to play a game or two, but I won't play if the stakes are too small." Nie Yan couldn't help but be surprised. Wei Kai was quite a character. Many cunning underworld bosses showed amazing talent when they were very young. He heard that in his previous life, Wei Kai was quite successful for a while, until he committed a major crime and disappeared.

"One thousand per game, I have three thousand here." Wei Kai said, he took out all the money he had.

"That's not fair, a level-three berserker against a level-two Gale Thief, don't you think that's too much bullying?" Tang Yao said dissatisfiedly. The level difference was one level, and a heavy-armored melee against a light-armored melee, the advantage was obvious.

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

"Okay, I'll play." 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, unless it was a heaven-defying expert, it was a sure loss.

"I only have one thousand four here, lend me one thousand six." Nie Yan smiled.

"Damn, even if you lose, you still have to drag me down with you." 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 it was all earned from part-time jobs. Modern high-end elites basically educate their children in this way, to be self-reliant.

"Bullshit, if you lose, you lose, who wants you to pay it back." Tang Yao swiped his card and transferred one thousand six to Nie Yan.

"Thanks." Nie Yan said. Tang Yao was the kind of person who had a sharp tongue but a soft heart. If Nie Yan lost, Tang Yao would definitely not ask him for this one thousand six.

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. This was true brotherhood.

"Help Li Yang up, let's go." Wei Kai said, and a group of people walked towards another compartment in the box.

"Why did Nie Yan suddenly become so good at fighting? Damn, it hurts so much, next time I must find someone to beat this little bastard to death." Li Yang sat on the sofa, lifted his trousers, and there was a large bruise on it.

"Save it, he didn't use much force, otherwise your leg would have been broken long ago. Remember this for me in the future, don't provoke Nie Yan, stay far away from him when you see him. If anyone causes me trouble, don't blame me for being rude!" Wei Kai said. There were courses in Taekwondo, boxing, fighting, etc. taught in the school. He could see that Nie Yan's fighting moves just now were standard fighting moves, but they were more ruthless than the fighting moves taught in the school. His moves were all deadly. Who exactly was this kid?

Thinking of Nie Yan's previous obsequious appearance, this guy's mind was deep enough to hide for so long. Wei Kai felt a chill in his heart.

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

"Then what else? Can you beat him? Go to Taekwondo class in the future, and 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 good, when did you become so strong, you knocked Li Yang down with one move."

"I practiced at home for a while, it's more than enough to deal with them." Nie Yan said, this body's strength was too weak, otherwise his strength would not be just this much. Li Yang and these small混混 (hun hun - gangsters) were just embroidered pillows. Only Wei Kai was slightly more powerful, but he was not his opponent either.

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

"No matter how I change, you're still my brother." Nie Yan said. In his previous life, even when he was at his lowest point, Tang Yao always treated him as a brother. A long road tests a horse's strength, as time reveals a person's heart.

"Just for that sentence, let's 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?" Tang Yao asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, just watch, you're not worried that I can't pay you back that one thousand six, are you?" Nie Yan joked with a smile.

"Go to hell, money is a bastard, it's not a big deal to lose it, you don't have much pocket money every month, if you lose one thousand four, you'll have to eat泡饭 (pao fan - rice porridge) for a month, right?"

"A level-three berserker is nothing, watch how I play him to death!" Nie Yan said confidently with a smile.

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

The two put on their helmets and entered the game.

When Nie Yan appeared again, it was a prairie terrain, an endless green field, and the dense grass was about knee-high.

What bad luck, it's a grassland terrain. Nie Yan frowned and thought, but even on the plains, he had his own set of tactics. The green background of the grassland created good conditions for the thief's stealth. The only disadvantage was that the dense grass on the ground would expose the thief's whereabouts.

"It's a flat terrain, if you think it's unfair, you can change the terrain." Wei Kai said. If you only play one game, there is a lot of randomness. Different terrains are suitable for different professions. Grassland terrain is suitable for berserkers, who are head-on charging warrior professions.

Although Wei Kai was just a混混 (hun hun - gangster), he was also straightforward.

"It doesn't matter, grassland terrain is fine." Nie Yan held the dagger in his backhand and entered a stealth state. His opinion of Wei Kai had changed a lot.

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

Does Nie Yan have such great ability? Wei Kai calmed down, his expression became serious, because he concentrated on observing, but could not find Nie Yan's location, and could not find any abnormality in the grass on the ground.

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

Nie Yan's footsteps, following the direction of the wind, constantly switched steps. Even if he stepped on the grass, the direction of the grass's fall was consistent with the direction of the wind.