The soul-wrenching pain surged like a tidal wave.
Ren Zhong, who was asleep, suddenly opened his eyes.
As his body consciousness restored clarity, the pain crashed over him like a terrifying storm.
Ren Zhong clutched his head.
Cold sweat burst from his cheeks, then trickled down his temples like springs.
He knew that the aftereffects of the overdose stimulant were coming.
The intense pain inside his skull was continuously intensifying.
When the pain reaches a certain extreme, his body will inevitably trigger a self-protective mechanism, known as shock, followed by death.
Almost no normal person can withstand such excruciating pain.
But he’s Ren Zhong, the one who took a world-changing ambition last night, who has personally experienced the pain of bodily death many times, who fell repeatedly in hell-level deathmatches in virtual reality training with over-the-limit brain reaction index just last night.
He withstood the extreme difficulty that the system warned about in its entirety.
At this subtle moment, what first came to Ren Zhong’s mind was the books he had read as a teenager.
Some can remain unmoved like a mountain while flames scorch their bodies until death.
Some can clench their teeth and remain silent as bamboo sticks pierce their fingers.
Ren Zhong’s thoughts gradually became clear.
Since he knew the end of this pain was inevitably death, what was there to fear?
He even managed to raise his wrist to glance at his wrist watch.
When I fell asleep last night, it was 2:19 AM.
Did I really sleep for eight hours?
Sun Miao clearly said one would die in about six hours, yet I lived two hours longer?
It must be that the forced hypnosis from the wrist watch overtook the aftereffects of the stimulant.
This means that, unbeknownst to himself, his body endured two hours of brain-eating pain of thousands of ants in these two hours.
The depth of this forced hypnosis is even deeper than the backlash of the stimulant.
No wonder Bei Lihui never woke up before he died, and no wonder he wreaked havoc in the room and Lin Wang and the others had no reaction, and also no wonder there are night watchmen in the world.
Ren Zhong checked the balance on the wrist watch.
Another type of pain somewhat suppressed the physical agony momentarily.
After a night’s sleep, the Fourth Level wrist watch issued a salary.
The account balance had increased from 3.36 last night to 53.36.
This means that wearing the Fourth Level wrist watch to sleep entitles one to a daily quota salary of 50 points.
If it had increased by only 1 point, then bringing 4.36 into the grave would be acceptable.
But now, as he was near death, he didn’t have the chance to spend over fifty bucks.
Just then, a commotion erupted outside his room.
The alloy door was blasted open from outside.
Heavy footsteps echoed up the staircase.
In the blink of an eye, five people stood in the room on the second floor.
It was Lin Wang and his four other team members.
Lin Wang didn’t rage, he simply looked down at Ren Zhong lying on the bed, his gaze sweeping over the Fourth Level wrist watch on his hand.
As the enemy had arrived, Ren Zhong endured the pain and rose to his full height, hands behind his back, taking a glance around the room.
His face remained pale, cold sweat continued to pour, and his clothes were already soaked through, but he still managed his expression perfectly.
"You came much later than I expected. Do it."
Lin Wang finally spoke, "You killed my man, and you think you can die so easily? No way."
Ren Zhong grinned, "Oh? But didn’t you also kill my people?"
Lin Wang: "Where’s the evidence?"
The man beside Lin Wang sneered, "They were nothing but tools, were they even people?"
Ren Zhong turned his head to look at the man and retorted, "And how good are you really?"
The next instant, Lin Wang acted.
He reached out, grabbing Ren Zhong’s collar.
From Lin Wang’s simple combat suit came the humming sound of energy activation, then he hovered in mid-air like a hunter.
The window was shattered, and Lin Wang dragged Ren Zhong out of the prefab building and continued upwards.
Ren Zhong’s feet touched the ground again; this time he was standing on the rooftop of his prefab building’s second floor.
The other four followed by leaping up, landing behind the two of them.
Ren Zhong looked down and saw that the alley below was packed with people who came to watch.
More people were arriving from a distance.
The area was so crowded that people started to climb the rooftops across the street to take a better look.
At the forefront below Ren Zhong’s building stood the portly old man, Ma Dafu.
Near Ma Dafu, there was a relatively empty space where only one valiant, armored woman stood beside him, likely his daughter, the town guard captain Ma Xiaoling.
Slightly further back in the crowd, Ju Qingmeng, Sun Miao, and others of high status in the town also stood.
These two each gazed at him with different complex expressions.
Ju Qingmeng’s eyes carried the fury of betrayal.
Sun Miao’s eyes held relief, along with a trace of regret.
Ren Zhong hadn’t expected so many to come to witness his death.
He subconsciously thought of some indelible pictures from history books.
The stimulant was once again stimulating his brain, making Ren Zhong burst into laughter.
All men must die, either lightly like a feather or heavily like a mountain.
Dying with so many watching was the highest tribute to the ideals he just established.
After laughing, Ren Zhong bowed his head to Ma Dafu, "Mayor Ma, why have you only now caught me?"
Ma Dafu sighed, "When the news first came yesterday, I was a bit reluctant to believe it. Fifteen minutes ago, I finally confirmed. Mr. Ren, your deception fooled me so terribly. I don’t understand, why this time..."
Ma Dafu didn’t finish his sentence.
His regret probably lay in not understanding why it was impossible for a Survey Officer to come to Starfire Town this time.
He didn’t want ordinary wastelanders to find out about this.
Ren Zhong obtained the information he wanted.
Then he turned to Lin Wang and asked, "Why are there so many people here?"
Lin Wang: "Because I watched the surveillance video and knew it was you. I raised the bounty to one hundred points this morning."
"Did anyone get the bounty?"
Below, Ma Dafu replied, "I discovered your hiding spot."
Ren Zhong was taken aback.
He thought, Lin Wang woke at six, surely he confirmed first through the video that the perpetrator was human and not a Ruined Beast, then he would tell Ma Dafu.
Yet Ma Dafu waited until 10:15 before issuing the arrest warrant and immediately identified his identity and location using high-tech methods.
This showed that Bei Lihui’s status was nothing special either.
"So, Lin Wang, what exactly do you want to do? I suggest you act quickly, or you might lose your chance."
Lin Wang slowly pulled out a finger-length knife and, with a snap, kicked at Ren Zhong’s leg crook.
He wanted Ren Zhong to kneel.
But Ren Zhong merely staggered forward a step, still standing firm.
Ren Zhong also understood his intent.
As one of the three professional leaders in the town, having a core member of his subordinate wastelander team killed by an affiliated member undermined Lin Wang’s authority.
He wanted Ren Zhong to die in the most humiliating and painful way under the watchful eyes of all.
Since death was so commonplace, most wastelanders did not fear it; Lin Wang had to make the other wastelanders feel a terror that sprung from their very core.
He wanted to make a killing a deterrent.
"Damn! Got some guts, huh?"
Another professional team member behind them suddenly drew his sword, intending to slash at Ren Zhong’s legs from behind directly.
At this moment, Ju Qingmeng, who was below, finally spoke.
Lin Wang and his team immediately halted their movements.
Ju Qingmeng might have been disgraced, but that was only compared to the Advanced Citizens.
In Starfire Town, she was the unequivocal head of the Military Weapon Store, and as a Second Level Citizen, Lin Wang and others, who were still wastelanders, couldn’t afford to provoke her.
They didn’t dare disobey her words.
"Manager Ju, what is it you need?"
Lin Wang respectfully bowed low and asked.
Ju Qingmeng didn’t even glance at Lin Wang, staring solely and intensely at Ren Zhong.
"Why did you deceive me? What did I do to deserve this? Is this funny to you? Interesting? Did you really just want to cheat me out of some equipment, Ren Zhong! You must give me an explanation!"
Her voice trembled slightly.
She didn’t care about Bei Lihui’s death, nor did she care about Ren Zhong impersonating a Survey Officer.
What truly enraged her was the lingering feelings from last night.
She couldn’t believe the man who touched her soul like that turned out to be a lowly fraud.
Ren Zhong faced her gaze, yet remained speechless for a long time.
He could understand Ju Qingmeng’s fury.
But he didn’t feel much shame.
He simply took a deep breath and resolutely said, "I didn’t deceive you. What I promised, I will accomplish."