Chapter 42: Lin Youwei in Danger, Lu Ming Steps In!

(Page 1/3)

Whoosh!

A white light descended as Lu Ming appeared in the City of Starlight.

As luck would have it, the moment he logged in, he ran into the person he least wanted to see: Zhan Shen, Yue!

Since the login location was randomized, Zhan Shen, Yue happened to have her back turned to him and did not notice Lu Ming behind her. At this moment, she was completely alone, without any high-level players protecting her. However, because this was a safe zone, Lu Ming could not take action against her.

Lu Ming chose to ignore her presence; his top priority was to leave the city and find Lin Youwei.

Just then, he overheard Zhan Shen, Yue speaking on a voice call. Her voice drifted toward him:

"Are you sure? Is it the female mage with the ID 'Rose' who is with Netherworld?"

"Good. Don't make any rash moves for now. Send me the coordinates; I'm on my way."

As soon as Zhan Shen, Yue hung up the call—

Swish!

A cold blade was suddenly pressed against her fair neck!

"Where is Lin Youwei?"

Zhan Shen, Yue did not turn around. By the sound of his voice, she already knew who held the blade. She drawled, "Is that how you ask for a favor?"

"I am not asking you," Lu Ming said sharply. "I will ask you one more time: where is Lin Youwei!"

Zhan Shen, Yue was not flustered in the slightest. She reached out and slowly pushed the blade away from her neck. She turned around, crossed her arms, and watched Lu Ming with a playful, cunning smile. "I've never looked at you this closely before. Your eyes are really beautiful!"

"Take off your mask and let me have a look. If you can please me, I'll tell you where she is. How about it?"

Lu Ming stepped closer, his eyes filled with infinite killing intent. As they locked eyes, for some reason, Zhan Shen, Yue suddenly grew flustered. Her expression shifted, and she looked away, unable to meet his gaze any longer. She dropped her hands awkwardly and stared elsewhere.

"Don't look at me like that, as if I owe you something!"

Lu Ming stared at her coldly. "Your guild, Zhan Shen, is ranked seventh on the Great Xia team rankings. Are your methods always this despicable?"

"I refused to join your guild, so you resort to using hostages to threaten me?"

"Heh, that makes sense. I've heard that your brother once murdered someone just to steal their girlfriend. Since he’s capable of such filth, what kind of good person could his sister be?"

"Shut up!" Zhan Shen, Yue glared at Lu Ming, her eyes slightly reddened.

(Page 2/3)

After a long silence, she finally spoke to him: "Follow me."

Without a word, she turned and walked away. Lu Ming followed without hesitation, his hand tightly gripping the Sword of the Brave, keeping exactly two steps behind her. This way, if she had an ambush prepared, he would be able to hold her hostage at a moment's notice.

Who wouldn't know how to take a hostage?

They left the City of Starlight through the east gate and headed straight for a ruined city in the suburbs. Inside, several figures were moving about. Seven or eight young men and women, all around level 30, were surrounding a solitary, defenseless girl. In the dead of night, their laughter sounded particularly grating.

"We’re just asking you to play with us for a while, that’s not an unreasonable request, is it?"

"A girl wandering out in the middle of the night—aren't you just looking for customers? Why act so righteous? It's not like we aren't going to pay you."

"You bitch! Don't you dare refuse us. It’s your honor that Brother Jie has taken a fancy to you!"

At this point, Zhan Shen, Yue glanced at the high-level Zhan Shen players lurking outside the ruins and said to Lu Ming, "My people were passing by and happened to see this. They recognized that the girl was someone close to you, so they told me."

Seeing that the girl being bullied was indeed Lin Youwei, Lu Ming’s eyes brimmed with murderous intent as he approached them.

He was blocked by Zhan Shen, Yue: "I’ll warn you first—those people are from the 'Dragon Soul' guild, ranked sixth on the Great Xia team rankings."

Lu Ming ignored her warning and stepped into the ruins.

The high-level Zhan Shen players waiting outside quickly gathered around Zhan Shen, Yue. "Miss, if you value this Netherworld so much, should we intervene and negotiate with the Dragon Soul people? Ask them to give us some face and let the girl go, as a favor to him?"

Zhan Shen, Yue crossed her arms, looking as if she had already seen through them. "Those scumbags from Dragon Soul? You want to reason with them? They won't give us the time of day."

"But even if Netherworld is strong, he’s only level 15. The Dragon Soul members are all level 30. If a fight breaks out, it won't be good for him!"

Zhan Shen, Yue watched Lu Ming’s back and pondered for a moment. "Let’s watch for now. If things take a turn for the worse, we’ll step in."

At the same time, as Lu Ming entered the ruins, the level 30 youths from the Dragon Soul guild noticed him. They looked him up and down, their eyes filled with curiosity or disdain.

"This kid looks familiar. I think I saw him with that Rose girl earlier. His strength seems decent, not like the typical Array Trickster."

As the level 31 female assassin, "Dragon Soul Little Demon," finished speaking, the level 32 archer, "Dragon Soul Burst," scoffed dismissively, "So, Little Demon, are you suggesting we should be worried about this level 15 Array Trickster kid?"

(Page 3/3)

As soon as he said this, the others couldn't help but laugh.

"I mean, he's just a level 15 Array Trickster. You don't need to be so nervous, right? If word got out, where would we put the face of Dragon Soul?"

Dragon Soul Burst called out to Lu Ming, "Oi, kid, our Brother Jie has taken a liking to your girlfriend. We're going to borrow her for a few days, and we'll return her when we're done."

Facing the leering, wretched group and seeing Lin Youwei huddled on the ground, sobbing in helplessness, memories flashed through Lu Ming’s mind—scenes from his past life where, because of his weakness, he was constantly trampled upon and bullied by the strong.

An even more intense killing intent erupted in his eyes.

"Do you think the weak deserve to be bullied by you?"

"Do you really think that just because you have a bit of strength, you can do whatever you want?"

The youths looked at each other, stunned.

"What nonsense is this brat spouting?"

"Trying to act tough in front of Dragon Soul?"

"What an ignorant little punk! Go, Baldy, teach him a lesson and show him exactly how much power our Dragon Soul has."

As he spoke, the level 30, fourth-tier bald warrior, "Dragon Soul World-Breaker," hoisted a glowing greatsword and marched menacingly toward Lu Ming.

Facing a fourth-tier warrior who was a full 15 levels higher than him, Lu Ming felt no fear. He stood still, his gaze as cold as if he were looking at a dead man.

Seeing that this level 15 Array Trickster didn't even think to retreat under these circumstances, the Dragon Soul players couldn't help but shake their heads and sigh.

"This kid is a hopeless romantic!"

"If you don't have the strength, don't find such a pretty girlfriend. You don't even understand the law of the jungle—why come to the Heavenly Abyss to show off your girl?"

"A fool who doesn't know his own limits. Remember not to be this stupid in your next life."

Just as they were already mourning for Lu Ming, he silently reached for the hilt of the sword on his back. He waited for the exact moment Dragon Soul World-Breaker stepped into his attack range.

*Slash!*

In the blink of an eye, a lightning-fast sword shadow pierced through Dragon Soul World-Breaker’s body.

The next second, a massive, blood-red damage number popped up above his head, shocking everyone present—

-5989!