Chapter 5: Run...?

I'm being followed.

It couldn't possibly be some girl secretly in love with me, could it?

Even if it's a girl, being able to track someone like me, with level 12 stealth skills in the wilderness, means she's no amateur.

"You've been following me for quite a while," Lu Meng slowly stood up, "What's your business?"

But aside from Lu Meng's voice, there was no sign of anything unusual in the ruins around him, and naturally, no one responded.

Lu Meng muttered to himself, "Could it be my imagination?"

Still, no response.

"Seems I've been a little too tense lately. I'll have to relax when I get back..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Lu Meng suddenly bolted!

At that moment, a muscular man emerged from the ruins in the distance, shouting, "Don't run, kid!"

The man was Song Chai.

Originally, according to his plan, although He Sun had spoken mysteriously, Song Chai had no intention of personally tailing a scavenger—someone he could easily send a lackey to follow instead.

But, one, this kid seemed to have connections with the West Town Tavern, especially with Wei Hong, and two, He Xun insisted he seize the opportunity. Once Lu Meng escaped into the wilderness, finding him again would be difficult.

After losing several rounds in a game, feeling frustrated, he figured it was a good opportunity to vent his anger.

Song Chai had planned to wait for Lu Meng to go a bit further before taking action, because if he fled back to the West Town Tavern, it wouldn't be as easy to handle.

In terms of game stats, including perception and stealth, his attributes and skill levels far surpassed those of a regular scavenger.

And as the leader of the Wugeng Gang, he was considered a "warrior."

A warrior, which, for players, was an evaluation given only after reaching level 20 in practical combat.

Song Chai was confident he wouldn't be discovered by Lu Meng, so he originally thought Lu Meng was just pretending to be followed and was amused, looking forward to seeing the scavenger put on a silly show, imagining the surprised expression when he suddenly appeared.

But he didn't expect that Lu Meng was indeed acting—but only to deceive him.

The scavenger had somehow realized he was being followed, then predicted Song Chai's psychology, taking the opportunity to run.

The timing was critical. This scavenger seemed very familiar with the terrain, and in the moment Song Chai hesitated, he had already opened a distance of several meters.

Song Chai hurried to catch up.

At this point, threats were useless. Judging by their reactions, neither side was naive enough to think they could resolve this through conversation.

Besides, chatting was He Xun's job—Song Chai's task was to beat the scavenger who had been toying with him!

Lu Meng had noticed the danger in time. At this point, the West Town Tavern was not far away, and if he ran at full speed, he could still make it back to Wei Hong's side.

But Lu Meng didn't choose to escape to the West Town Tavern.

Of course not—he was an official envoy of headquarters, and if he couldn't even handle a small-time thug from a peripheral station, his cover would be blown!

Besides, Lu Meng was completely unruffled. He had been this high-profile for months, so being targeted was only natural.

If he didn't fear the thief stealing, it was because he feared the thief coveting. With someone actively coming forward, it was actually an opportunity for Lu Meng.

If hiding could solve the problem, then that would be ideal.

But unfortunately, trouble came looking for him.

Lu Meng quickly assessed the size of the incoming foe and the expensive leather jacket he was wearing, realizing that this enemy wasn't some petty scavenger he could easily dispose of.

He had already anticipated this situation back at the tavern and made preparations.

It was difficult to obtain lethal poison these days, but there were substitutes.

The medicine he had applied to some of his crossbow bolts earlier was an anticoagulant from a medical module. It could prevent blood clotting and was used in clinical settings to prevent thrombosis and avoid complications like heart attacks after surgery.

But in a different scenario, it could be a lethal poison!

There were types of snake venom that had anticoagulant properties, capable of causing massive internal bleeding in a bitten person, leading to shock and death.

Normally, with Lu Meng's medical knowledge at level 0, he wouldn't have been able to distinguish the properties of the medication in the module.

At most, he could only follow the process with a one-click, foolproof operation.

But in his previous life, he had actually remembered these little game tricks.

It seemed that the attribute panel wasn't all-powerful—it couldn't reflect "previous life memories" and "game experience," which were implicit attributes.

Lu Meng drew a miniature crossbow bolt and loaded it onto his hand crossbow, then stopped running and turned around to aim at the muscular man, Song Chai.

All of this happened in an instant. By the time Song Chai realized Lu Meng was aiming at him, Lu Meng was already within range.

The hand crossbow Lu Meng held had a black bow and a silver trigger, engraved with intricate patterns, clearly valuable.

The crossbow bolt in the wooden carved slot glinted with a dangerous light, aimed directly at Song Chai.

Crap! Song Chai was startled. He had never heard that this scavenger was also a crossbowman.

He Xun misled me!

As soon as Lu Meng pulled the trigger, Song Chai couldn't dodge in time and could only crouch, using his arm to protect his face and vital organs, hoping his tough physique would absorb the impact.

He planned to rush forward and finish him off once Lu Meng was reloading!

Whoosh!

There was no intense pain as expected. Song Chai raised his head, only to see a short crossbow bolt fall beside him.

The gleam of the fine steel arrowhead seemed to mock him.

This guy can't even shoot properly! By the time Song Chai reacted, Lu Meng had already sprinted another ten meters.

Again, played for a fool, Song Chai was burning with rage, drawing his machete and continuing the chase.

He had originally wanted to capture Lu Meng alive as He Xun instructed, but now he just wanted to chop this annoying scavenger into pieces!

Lu Meng continued running. Of course, he couldn't shoot arrows, as his attribute panel still showed "None" under the "Combat (Ranged) Skills" section.

But it wouldn't be like this for long; after shooting a few more, it would appear.

The crossbow arrows he had just used weren't "poisoned arrows" coated with anti-coagulation agents. A beginner with no experience would never hit anything on their first shot. He was practicing with regular bolts to avoid wasting the potion.

Besides, the reason Lu Meng could bluff Song Chai, aside from using his subconscious reactions, was because of the crossbow's appearance, which had been given to him by Wei Hong.

Though it showed up as a "junk crossbow" in Lu Meng's attribute panel, not even qualifying as the lowest-tier "toothpick crossbow," its craftsmanship was surprisingly exquisite and looked very dangerous.

When Song Chai entered range, Lu Meng used the same tactic again, shooting a few arrows. Though none hit, they managed to slightly slow Song Chai down.

This hand crossbow had a maximum range of 30 meters, with an effective range of about 20 meters. After each shot, Lu Meng had to keep running to change position.

Even though Lu Meng knew the terrain well, Song Chai's speed was still faster than his. When he realized the bolts weren't a real threat, Song Chai simply ignored them and kept charging toward him.

Lu Meng needed to accelerate while running away, and the distance between them slowly shrank.

Once Song Chai caught up, Lu Meng's chances of survival would be slim.

However, Lu Meng wasn't panicking because...

[Ranged Skill: Crossbow 0→1 (Beginner)]

He had finally mastered it.

Lu Meng swapped to a "poisoned arrow" and shot Song Chai in the arm, causing him to grimace in pain and curse loudly.

It wasn't enough yet. The anti-coagulation agent would take time to take effect.

The potion on his arm would only slow him down; it wouldn't spread throughout his entire body just yet.

He needed to aim for a critical spot.

Lu Meng stopped, steadied the crossbow on his arm, and his body seemed to merge with the mechanism. He smoothly loaded a bolt, no longer awkward as when he first used it.

He pulled the trigger, and this time, the bolt grazed the edge of Song Chai's shoulder.

Song Chai couldn't help but laugh. After all his probing, he had figured out this scavenger's weaknesses. Not only could he not shoot, but his crossbow was also more for show. Even if he got hit by luck, it would only cause a scratch.

He had grown tired of this child's game of chase. Now, he just wanted to catch Lu Meng as quickly as possible and punish him, like he did with all the beggars who dared to defy him: breaking limbs and tearing them apart, making him pay for trying to outsmart him.

With one missed shot, Lu Meng didn't run off as before. He stayed where he was, took a deep breath, and focused, calming his racing heartbeat in a matter of seconds.

In Song Chai's eyes, it looked like Lu Meng had given up, standing still like an idiot.

20 meters, 15 meters, 10 meters… the distance between them was closing fast, and Lu Meng's situation was growing more dangerous.

But this also meant his chances of hitting would get higher!

Loading, aiming.

[Basic Attribute: Perception 7→8]

The most important skill of a hunter isn't to kill the prey, but to find it and lock onto it.

Focusing entirely on aiming at the enemy with the crossbow was also the best way to train his perception attribute.

5 meters… Pull the trigger.

Song Chai suddenly rolled to the side.

He was cautious and didn't foolishly become a target for Lu Meng.

Close combat was his domain!

Even just crashing into him would be enough to crush this scavenger to pieces.

But as Song Chai got up, what met his eyes was the cold gleam of an arrowhead.

The bolt was still in the crossbow, and was not yet released.

Lu Meng had merely pretended to pull the trigger, a real feint.

Now, his eyes were colder than the bolt itself.

Whoosh!

[Ranged Skill: Crossbow 1→2 (Beginner)]

The bolt pierced through Song Chai's leather armor and sank into his side.

Such a large target, and at such close range, combined with the speed of Song Chai charging toward him, missing was impossible.

Song Chai grunted in pain but still raised his knife to strike at Lu Meng, his face contorted with rage.

A few crossbow bolts wouldn't be a problem. He hadn't expected to get hit for real, and that stung his pride a bit.

Then, he saw Lu Meng take a step back, and his slash missed.

Huh? When did this scavenger get so fast?

Song Chai reached out with his big hand to grab Lu Meng, but his vision suddenly blurred, and he collapsed, his face twisted in pain.