'Huh? What's going on?'
In the woods, Tang Wen constantly scanned his surroundings, occasionally glancing back.
'Why do I have such an uneasy feeling today? My attributes have improved. The prey should be the ones feeling uneasy.' He grew suspicious.
Hooked Nose, who had been tailing him, confirmed his direction of travel before quietly slipping away and heading to the outskirts of the Scavenger settlement.
Hooked Nose spoke to several sallow-faced, barely-clothed Scavengers.
"Kill a young lad, and it's half a catty of rice per person. If you want in, step forward. I need five... no, eight. I need eight!" He remembered the long blade on Tang Wen's back and the fact that he was just as tall as himself. To be safe, he decided to spend four catties of rice to hire eight men.
'Eight against one. How could they possibly lose?'
As for himself, he certainly wasn't going to risk his own life.
Deep in the forest.
After scattering roasted sweet potatoes as bait, Tang Wen began to test his newly enhanced abilities.
SWOOSH!
He threw a Flying Locust Stone with all his might.
WHACK!
The stone struck a tree trunk. The thick bark cracked, and the trunk shuddered slightly.
Tang Wen walked over and saw an egg-sized dent in the tree. The wood around the dent was fractured in a spiderweb pattern.
'Isn't this a little exaggerated?' He couldn't help but click his tongue.
Within a few dozen paces, the stone had smashed through the bark and dented the trunk.
'If that hit a person, wouldn't it break at least a couple of bones?'
'And what if it hit the head?'
'My Flying Locust Stone Skill hasn't even been upgraded. Could a simple increase in my personal attributes make it this much stronger?'
Suddenly, a bird flew past.
Tang Wen drew his blade in an instant.
The dagger shot out like an arrow. WHACK! It pinned the passing Red-beaked Sparrow to a tree.
[Skill: Flying Knife Skill, Mastery (3→5/3000)]
Two experience points. Better than nothing.
The dagger sank more than ten centimeters into the wood.
If the target had been a person, that single strike would have been fatal.
"Little Tang's Flying Blade never misses!"
After a few tests, Tang Wen looked at the "Body: 2.1" information on his attribute panel and began to understand.
1.1 → 2.1. His Physical Attribute had nearly doubled, but his actual power had increased by more than double.
After all, explosive power was a product of strength and speed. With both his strength and speed doubled, his explosive power would be nearly four times what it was before.
And both the Flying Locust Stone and Flying Knife Skill were heavily dependent on explosive power.
'Huh?'
'No, wait!'
He remembered the sudden sense of unease from before. His own Essence Attribute was 2.05, so his perception and other similar abilities must have increased significantly as well.
'So, was that feeling of unease a kind of warning?'
It sounded a little far-fetched, but Tang Wen would rather believe it than not.
There was no shortage of meat or grain at home for now; hunting wasn't urgent.
At this thought, Tang Wen shouldered his basket, found a thick tree, and scrambled up it with his hands and feet.
In the forest, his line of sight was obstructed. Even from his perch in the tree, he couldn't spot anything out of the ordinary at first.
But as a Hunter, he had plenty of patience.
Time trickled by, and the sun climbed higher in the sky.
Suddenly, Tang Wen heard the sound of footsteps.
He concealed himself and peered quietly in the direction of the sound.
He saw a group of ragged Scavengers, holding sharp bamboo poles over two meters long, creeping into the forest.
There were eight of them in total. The one in the lead was stockier and carried a blade, while the other seven each held a long, sharpened bamboo pole!
Some of them were looking around, while others were staring at the tracks on the ground.
"Is this the right way? You sure we didn't get it wrong?"
"Who cares if it's wrong? If we don't find him by noon, I'm heading back."
"This forest is huge. Who knows where the guy is?"
"..."
Tang Wen slowed his breathing, his eyes filled with suspicion. 'These Scavengers are looking for someone? Could they be after me?'
Just then, the Scavenger with the long blade spoke up. "All of you, keep it down! We took his rice, so we have to find the guy. Split up and search, two to a team. If you find him, shout out!"
"Alright."
The replies were scattered and listless as the group began to split into pairs.
"Hold on. Let me tell you what he looks like again. He's a young lad, wearing a few layers of burlap, carrying a basket on his back, and holding a long blade..."
Tang Wen's vigilance shot to its peak. 'A young lad, burlap clothes, a basket, a long blade... isn't that fucking me?'
'Could there really be someone else dressed exactly the same in this forest?'
'Impossible!'
'So my premonition was right. Someone really is out to get me?'
...
Tang Wen felt both relieved and terrified, his mind a jumble.
'What should I do?'
'There are eight of them.'
'Run?'
'They haven't found me yet, anyway!'
'No...'
'I can't!'
'They were clearly hired by someone specifically to find me.'
'If I don't get to the bottom of this, I'll have to sleep with one eye open from now on!'
'But who is it?'
'Who did I piss off?'
'Who wants to kill me?'
'Damn it!'
'What kind of world is this!'
Crouching in the tree, Tang Wen thought back on everything that had happened since he'd transmigrated, but he couldn't figure it out.
'I have to get to the bottom of this!' He felt a fire of irritation kindle in his heart.
In a moment, the group had split into pairs.
Stones, dagger, long blade. Tang Wen checked his weapons; everything was in order. He took a deep breath and looked toward a pair searching nearby.
'If I can't avoid it, then I'll face it!'
Avoiding their line of sight, he slipped quietly down the other side of the tree and quickly circled around behind them.
"Who's there?" A Scavenger turned his head.
WHOOSH!
The first thing he saw was a long blade, its spine descending with heavy, whistling force.
The Scavenger who turned didn't even make a sound before collapsing bonelessly to the ground.
"Don't move. If you don't want to die, don't make a sound!" The long blade flipped around and pressed against the other man's neck. "Scream, and you're dead!"
"I won't, I won't scream."
He stared at his companion, whose neck was bent at a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree angle, swallowed hard, and felt his legs go weak.
"Were you looking for me?"
"Y-Yes, sir."
"Why were you looking for me? Are you sure it was me?"
"I-I don't know. Someone gave us rice and told us to find you. Said if we killed you, we'd each get a catty of rice."
Hearing this price, Tang Wen couldn't help but feel a little dazed.
'My life is only worth eight catties of rice?'
"Have you seen me before?"
"N-No."
"Then how were you sure you were looking for me?" It was his first time interrogating someone, so Tang Wen's questions were a bit muddled.
"The man said he saw you enter this forest alone."
"What if there were other people?"
"Then... kill... kill them all..."
THUD!
After saying this, the man dropped to his knees and begged for mercy.
Tang Wen sneered. "Tell me about the person who hired you. What does he look like, and where is he now?"
"He's waiting on the path at the edge of the forest, waiting for us, waiting..."
Tang Wen understood. "Waiting for you to bring back my head?"
"The body. It's the body."
"Shit! Pretty professional of them..." Tang Wen cursed.
"He's here! Help me!" The man on the ground suddenly shouted, reaching out to grab Tang Wen's leg to trip him.
But he was too slow and too weak. Tang Wen smoothly drew his dagger and sliced it across his throat.
SCHLICK!
The sensation from the blade was strange, like cutting through several tough ropes.
Blood sprayed!
There was no time for reflection. Someone in the distance had spotted Tang Wen.
Several Scavengers shouted and charged toward him.
Tang Wen also accelerated, charging toward them.
Soon, the distance was close enough!
SWOOSH, SWOOSH, SWOOSH...
He launched a volley of Flying Locust Stones, aiming for their eyes and throats.
"Agh!"
"Argh, agh!"
The accuracy of the Flying Locust Stones was such that not even the most agile Red-beaked Sparrow could dodge them, let alone these Scavengers who had long suffered from hunger and starvation!
The four charging men all fell to the ground. The two lucky ones were still able to writhe, clutching their eyes.
The other two had their larynxes crushed and collapsed face-first onto the ground, their lives slowly fading.
Not far away, the lead Scavenger, along with one of his men, came charging over, yelling.
After charging for a moment, their vision blurred. The next thing they knew, they saw four of their companions simultaneously lose their ability to fight. The yelling stopped, and they screeched to a halt!
The two of them exchanged a look as if they'd seen a ghost, then turned and ran.
Tang Wen: ...