A thunderous roar shattered the stillness as a burly man raised his spiked mace high overhead and brought it down like Mount Tai descending from the heavens. The black-clad man's eyes gleamed sharply. His sword, as agile as a dancing serpent, suddenly stiffened—then shot forward in a slow, deliberate thrust.
Clang—
The mace and sword collided with a deafening explosion. A violent shockwave burst outward, the force piercing ears like needles. Within a five-meter radius, all foliage was shredded into dust.
The spiked mace flew upward from the impact, while the black-clad man's sword snapped in two. He lunged toward the burly man, a flash of movement barely perceptible. When he landed, his body staggered and a mouthful of blood spilled from his lips. The burly man clutched his neck, but couldn't stop the flood of blood. His mouth gaped open, yet no sound emerged. The light quickly faded from his eyes.
Heavy footsteps echoed from the depths of the forest—more were coming. Even with little combat experience, Liu Weian could tell that at least a hundred people were on the move. The black-clad man's face darkened. He let out a strange birdcall, and the three remaining black-clad fighters faked an attack to repel their opponents before retreating into the forest. Naturally, their enemies gave chase.
Moments after both groups disappeared into the woods, another party burst through. Judging by their attire, they were comrades of the burly man. They didn't even glance at the corpses littering the forest floor, but rushed off toward the fading sounds of battle. Liu Weian roughly counted as they passed—at least 150 men.
Hardly had this group vanished when another arrived, smaller in number—around thirty men. They followed the previous group in silence, like shadows stalking prey.
Less than a minute later, yet another team appeared, fifty strong. Their uniforms matched, their movements were swift and disciplined, with a military sharpness. Not a single word passed between them; all communication was done with hand gestures.
Liu Weian clung tightly to the tree branch he'd been hiding on, barely daring to breathe. Though no words were spoken, the sheer presence of these men was like a blade pressing against his skin. Even fifteen meters high in the tree, he felt a chilling dread. None of these people were weak—judging by their murderous auras, he could imagine what would happen if he were discovered.
In the span of half an hour, seven or eight different groups swept through the area. Some had a dozen members; others, hundreds. The quiet forest now resembled a bustling marketplace. Among them, Liu Weian even recognized one familiar face—Sun Shouwu from the Sun family. Still, he didn't dare reveal himself.
Clearly, something major had occurred. Even without the full story, Liu Weian could infer that the black-clad fighters had stolen something significant—something that had everyone chasing after them. As for what the item was or whose it had been, that remained a mystery. Given the sudden influx of strangers in Stone City recently, and Sun Shouwu's constant coming and going, it was easy to guess that this item had been circulating for some time. Either it had changed hands multiple times, with each thief becoming prey to the next, or the person fleeing with it was incredibly skilled, managing to evade pursuit for weeks.
As these thoughts swirled in Liu Weian's mind, his gaze suddenly froze. Someone was approaching through the trees—but Liu Weian hadn't even noticed when they'd appeared. The man looked to be around twenty-five or twenty-six, with a handsome, chiseled face and a tall, commanding figure. A long spear was slung across his back, and the aura radiating from him was the strongest Liu Weian had ever felt.
The man passed the corpse of the black-clad fighter without pause, but stopped briefly at the body of the burly mace-wielder. He glanced at the pool of blood and murmured to himself, "Looks like that fight three days ago really did a number on you. Took just a fool like this to injure you... Heh, hang in there—"
Suddenly, he stopped and looked up sharply, his eyes like arrows locking onto Liu Weian's tree.
Terror surged through Liu Weian. He instinctively narrowed his eyes to slits and shifted his focus away, holding his breath. A chilling sense of death washed over him. His limbs were frozen, even a twitch of a finger was impossible. Overhead, a bird let out a panicked cry, flapping its wings in vain before crashing to the ground.
"So it was just a bird. Guess I'm losing it after half a month without sleep," the man chuckled to himself. He withdrew his gaze, and the next instant—vanished.
A cold sweat clung to Liu Weian's back. He hadn't even seen the man arrive—and now he didn't see him leave either.
After the spear-wielding man left, another thirty minutes passed in silence. No other groups showed up. Liu Weian knew it was time to go. If he waited until the cleanup crews returned, the forest would be crawling with eyes.
These people were clearly from powerful factions. This was not something he could afford to get involved in. Just witnessing it was already more luck than he deserved. Not every spectacle was meant for everyone to see—and those who grew too greedy often ended up dead.
Just as Liu Weian was about to climb down, yet another figure appeared—this time not from the forest's depths, but from its edge. What caught Liu Weian's attention wasn't the direction, but the identity.
It was him—the black-clad man who had killed the burly mace-wielder.
But now, all the previous ferocity was gone. His steps were shaky, his body unsteady—clearly severely injured. The broken sword had been replaced with a new one, but he looked as though he were barely holding himself together through sheer willpower.
When he reached the base of Liu Weian's tree, he collapsed to the ground with a thud, leaning against the trunk and gasping for breath. His eyes were glazed and his voice mumbled:
"Where... is the backup master sent... I can't hold on... If I die... but the item..."
The words were barely audible. Only the silence of the forest made them understandable. Liu Weian noticed that the man's left hand was clutching his chest—not due to a wound, but likely to protect something.
It had to be valuable.
A single thought sparked in Liu Weian's mind—and instantly spread like wildfire: What if I took it?
So many people were chasing him for it—it couldn't be ordinary. If he obtained it... what then?
Normally, he would never dare. But with the black-clad man so weak, courage surged.
No risk, no reward.
The urgency of the situation made Liu Weian decide in an instant. He readied his bow. As his eyes snapped open, the arrow shot out like a falling star.
The black-clad man jerked upright, his bleary gaze suddenly sharp. The arrow was already overhead. Incredibly, his hand flicked up, his sword darted like a serpent—flash.
Clang!The arrow shattered mid-air.
But as he half-stood, a second arrow pierced through his skull, clean through the crown of his head.
"Double Shot..." he murmured, eyes filled with unwillingness. Then the light vanished, and he fell.
Liu Weian rushed down from the tree and searched the body. He found a stone-like object clutched to the man's chest, and a small pouch of gold coins. That was it. No space ring. Nothing else. He searched thoroughly—clearly, this was what everyone wanted.
He shoved the object into his own space ring, spared a reluctant glance at the discarded weapons, and hurried off in a direction no one had traveled.
Two or three minutes after he left, five or six more black-clad figures arrived. Seeing the body, their faces twisted. One of them knelt down, searched quickly, and then hissed through clenched teeth:
"He's still warm. Find the thief. Now!"
After them, the spear-wielding young man reappeared. He looked at the corpse, then at the arrow still embedded in the man's skull. Lifting his head, he stared straight at Liu Weian's former hiding spot. A flicker of regret crossed his face—then he vanished again.
Soon after, more groups arrived. The once-quiet forest erupted again as search parties flooded in, fanning out.
Liu Weian's luck held. If he had returned the same way, he would've walked straight into them. But he got lost—completely missed the search zones—and stumbled back to Stone City around 2 a.m.
The streets were deserted. All the shops were closed except for those under the Top Ten Trade Unions. Big corporations really did run twenty-four-seven.
He packed the mysterious stone and his collected Strength Seeds into a delivery box. With so many people hunting that item, it was too dangerous to keep it in the game. He sent it to the real world.
The courier companies didn't care what you shipped—meat, plants, weapons, poisons—as long as you paid. That was how expensive and dangerous items like Strength Seeds could be mailed without incident.
Of course, the trade unions guarded their reputations fiercely. Most had centuries of trust behind them.
Liu Weian had gathered a good amount of Strength Seeds—five or six hundred in total. Most came from Rotting Corpses, only a few from Walkers. Still, it was a nice haul. The courier charged 12 gold coins for the delivery, which made his heart ache.
Exhausted from the night, he logged out after getting the receipt.
He removed the VR helmet. Zhao Nan'nan and her daughter were asleep nearby, their breathing steady and soft. Little Zhao Xin, who usually kicked her blanket off and rolled around noisily, was unusually quiet tonight.
Liu Weian closed his eyes. Images of the black-clad man and the mysterious stone played through his mind. His body was tired—but his mind raced. What exactly was that stone? Something to eat? To play with? A rare treasure?
It couldn't be just an ornamental rock like Tianhuang stone—no way so many powerful clans would fight over that.
His thoughts drifted.
Eventually, he fell asleep.