Volume 1, Chapter 22: Ling Xin's Shock

"Who is it?"

Hardly had the words left their mouths when the two players, who had been acting quite arrogant, immediately tensed up, their expressions turning grave as they scanned their surroundings. If some unexpected interloper were to ruin their plans now, their efforts today would have been for nothing. Not only would they have wasted their time, but they would likely face the wrath of Wang Duojin—a man they considered a living Yama.

"The person you’re looking for!"

However, just as that cold voice rang out again, a sharp white flash streaked through the air. A terrifying damage number instantly erupted above the head of the warrior known as "Tang Seng Washes His Hair and Loves Pantene."

"-536!"

"What the hell? Ambush!"

The sudden attack terrified Tang Seng, sending him scrambling backward in a panic, wishing he had been born with extra legs to run faster. He was horrified—a single strike had shaved off half his health bar.

"-536!"

Before he could even take a few steps, another white flash tore through the air, cleaving into him. Before he could react, his health bar hit zero. He collapsed to the ground, his body dissolving into a gray light that floated upward.

He had been killed in just two hits?

The scene was so shocking that the one living person and the two souls present were left stunned, unable to process what had just happened. No one had expected an eight-level warrior to be insta-killed by a mere two strikes. Although "Tang Seng Washes His Hair and Loves Pantene" wasn't a knight, he was a shield warrior build. His defense was over sixty, and his health was nearly a thousand. Even an assassin of the same level would struggle to pull that off.

"Who... who are you?"

It took several seconds for the warrior known as "Goku Has Lost His Golden Staff" to regain his composure. When he saw Lin Yu standing not far away, he began to tremble uncontrollably, his legs feeling as heavy as lead, unable to move a single step. His attributes were nearly identical to Tang Seng's; if Lin Yu could kill the former in two hits, he could do the same to him.

"The man who is going to end you."

Lin Yu’s expression remained ice-cold. Without wasting a breath, he lunged forward, delivering two swift slashes before his opponent could even react.

"-540!"

"-540!"

As the damage numbers flashed, the player known as Goku followed in Tang Seng's footsteps, transforming into a soul drifting in mid-air. Seeing Lin Yu dispatch two level-eight warriors so quickly, Ling Xin was the most shocked of all. It felt like a dream. Was this really "Little Lin," the guy she remembered as being terrible at video games?

"Send a message to Wang Duojin. Tell him the person he’s looking for is waiting here for him," Lin Yu said coldly, ignoring the others and turning his icy gaze toward the two souls floating in mid-air, who were already terrified out of their wits. His goal today wasn't just to deal with these two small fries.

The two souls nodded frantically, terrified that a single wrong word would anger this living Yama. Meanwhile, they cursed Wang Duojin’s ancestors eighteen generations back. When Wang hired them, he’d claimed the target was a pushover and that they only needed to camp his corpse. Not only had they failed to camp the corpse, but they had also lost a level—it was a total disaster. More importantly, judging by Lin Yu's demeanor, he was clearly not someone to be trifled with.

...

"What, are you not planning to respawn? Are you dazzled by my handsome face?" After dealing with the two, Lin Yu looked at Ling Xin, who was still in her soul form, and gave a faint smile. It was clear she was too shocked to remember to respawn.

"..."

Hearing the reminder, Ling Xin finally snapped out of it and gave a mechanical nod, though her eyes remained filled with astonishment.

"Little Lin, you're way too strong! How did you kill a level-eight shield warrior in just two hits?"

Ling Xin, having respawned, was still reeling from the shock. She stared at Lin Yu excitedly. This kind of damage—surely even the top players on the leaderboard couldn't match it, right?

"Just lucky, I got a Bronze-tier weapon," Lin Yu replied with a shrug, making it sound trivial.

"Hiss! A Bronze-tier weapon... just lucky?"

Ling Xin rolled her eyes internally. You call getting Bronze-tier gear "just luck"? Suddenly, a thought occurred to her, and her gaze toward Lin Yu turned strange. Her voice trembled as she asked, "Little Lin, you aren't the one who got the first kill on the Ghost Scorpion King, are you?"

Because those who possessed Bronze-tier gear could be counted on one hand—they were all famous figures, with the exception of the anonymous player who had snagged the first kill on the Ghost Scorpion King. Since Lin Yu happened to have a piece of Bronze gear, it was hard not to connect the dots.

Lin Yu nodded noncommittally. Since he had chosen to reveal his strength today, he had no intention of hiding it.

"Hiss! Little Lin, you are absolutely insane!"

Seeing him admit it, Ling Xin couldn't help but let out a curse. She never imagined that the person she admired on the forums was right by her side.

"Don't be too surprised. There will be plenty more times to be shocked in the future," Lin Yu said, laughing nonchalantly.

"But Little Lin, are we really going to offend Wang Duojin? Even if you can crush him in the game, but..." Ling Xin’s brow furrowed, her words trailing off.

While she was shocked by his achievements, the game was just a game, and reality was different. Offending a wealthy second-generation heir like Wang Duojin because of a game wasn't a good idea, especially since his family was backed by the richest man in Qing City.

"Mad woman, if you're worried about trouble, you can quit now. I won't blame you; after all, this has nothing to do with you," Lin Yu said calmly. He didn't mean it as a reproach—everyone had their own concerns.

"Lin Yu, who are you looking down on? Do you think I'm afraid of something you dare to do?" Ling Xin retorted, though her tone softened.

Even if her language was a bit rough, hearing it felt like a warm sun shining through a bitter winter to Lin Yu. He looked at her with complex emotions. *You’re still the same as before, always willing to stand behind me.*

Though he was deeply moved, he quickly pulled himself together and smiled. "In that case, let’s wait for Wang Duojin and teach him a lesson he won’t forget!"

As he spoke, he looked at Ling Xin and whispered to himself, "Mad woman, don't worry. As long as I'm here in this life, I will never let you suffer the slightest harm again."