Chapter Twelve: The True Player

"Xiaobai, use your skill!"
At that moment, a sudden series of loud crashes erupted behind him.
Crack, crack, crack...
"Damn it!"
Xiao Zhang’s expression changed, and he hurled himself to the side.
The tree he’d been using as a shield crashed to the ground.
The giant red dog barreled straight at him, lunging fiercely where Xiao Zhang lay. He felt as if several layers of skin had been stripped from his body.
Just then, Jiang Xiaobai suddenly opened its mouth and spat out a golden chain, which wrapped itself around the red dog.
Xiao Zhang only had time to curse inwardly: Damn it, Xiaobai, I’m still here!
Bang! The chain caught Xiao Zhang along with the red dog.
He felt his body lifted off the ground, then a wrenching sensation, as if his soul were being torn apart.
Prompt: Pet Jiang Xiaobai has activated “Spiritual Chain” skill, soul effect triggered, lasting five seconds—
Xiao Zhang was bewildered. Soul effect? Suddenly, he felt as if his soul had left his body, completely unable to move.
Now it was all up to Xiaobai—quick, finish it off!
But when he looked toward Jiang Xiaobai, Xiao Zhang nearly spat blood.
Apparently, after using its skill, Jiang Xiaobai had exhausted its mana; its body wobbled, rapidly shrank, turned cute again, and flopped to the ground.
Jiang Xiaobai: “Ying ying ying~”
Xiao Zhang: “I’ve really been screwed by the dog this time.” Last year I bought a watch and it was the same!
Watching the chain binding himself and the red dog begin to snap, Xiao Zhang was helpless. Damn it!
Whoosh!
A sharp sound split the air.
A wooden stick fell from the sky, piercing straight through the red dog’s head and nailing it firmly to the ground.

Xiao Zhang’s eyes widened in astonishment as the red dog instantly transformed into a beam of light and vanished...
Just then, on the map, two green dots were rapidly approaching!
“Huh? There’s another player here?” A somewhat familiar voice called from nearby.
What caught Xiao Zhang’s attention most were the sticks strapped to the person’s back. One stick alone had slain a monster—if they threw them all at once...
Looking closely, Xiao Zhang realized it was the middle-aged man from before.
“How come there’s another player here?” A woman emerged from behind the man.
“How should I know? This new server opening has brought all sorts of oddities, and several high-priced slots bought by the organization have already been lost. The leader said he’d demand a refund from those guys when we get back.” The man’s voice was rough.
“You know nothing.” The woman curled her lip disdainfully. “You’re not the only ones who bought the last slots. Several big shots from the public side are here.”
“Fine, you’re amazing, alright?” The middle-aged man walked over to Xiao Zhang and pulled the stick from the red dog’s corpse, returning it to his back.
Then, seeing Xiao Zhang’s tattered clothing and bloodied state, he asked, “Who are you?”
Listening to their conversation, Xiao Zhang had a rough idea of the situation; it seemed they’d just arrived as well.
Organization?
Leader?
Could it be there was a plan behind all this?
He noticed the middle-aged man didn’t recognize him. How could that be? They’d chatted before—even if he didn’t recall him clearly, he should have some impression.
But the look in his eyes was that of a stranger.
“Are they real players? The so-called Descenders?” Xiao Zhang’s cautious instincts saved him yet again.
He replied with a helpless look, “Brother, I don’t know what went wrong this time. The big shot who brought me here died for no reason.”
“Hahahahaha~” The woman cackled. “See? Another organization testing the waters. How could we be so lucky as to meet an Awakened?”
“Huh? Is that your pet?” Her gaze landed on Jiang Xiaobai, surprised. “A humanoid pet? That’s rare!” She picked Jiang Xiaobai up as she spoke.
The middle-aged man glanced at Xiao Zhang’s sorry state and chuckled, “Little brother, you’re a newbie, aren’t you?”
A flood of thoughts flashed through Xiao Zhang’s mind. Damn, are they planning to fleece me? “Yeah, I just got here.”

“Newbie?” The man spoke as he drew a stick from his back.
“Alright, alright, stop scaring the kid. He might be the big shot’s little brother.”
The woman pinched Xiao Zhang’s cheek with two fingers. “It’s fine if you’re new, I’ll look after you! Haha... How interesting. But are you just a little bug in this world?”
Xiao Zhang watched as she drew a dagger and traced it lightly across his face. “So, little brother, are you really a novice, or is that big shot pretending to be weak?”
He quickly turned his head and shrank back. “I’m really a newbie~~”
The man and woman froze, then glanced at each other as if questioning whether he was telling the truth.
Feigning panic, Xiao Zhang took a beginner healing pill from his inventory and, under their scrutiny, swallowed it, then took out two more to offer the woman.
Truthfully, Xiao Zhang already felt mostly recovered, but he decided to play it up so as not to reveal he wasn’t a player. These two were likely the “Hunters” Mo Kuang had mentioned.
He noticed their eyes were filled with disdain at the sight of the pills.
Just then the woman nodded to the man. “Kid, nobody’s going to fight you for those pills, but your pet is cute—how about selling it to me?”
“No way, sister. My pet’s already bound to me!” Xiao Zhang quickly hugged Jiang Xiaobai.
“Really?” She nearly pressed her face to his as she spoke. “Alright, I won’t take what belongs to someone else.”
But the killing intent just now made Xiao Zhang’s heart tremble.
“Enough, Lilia! Is teasing newbies really so entertaining?”
The middle-aged man finally lost patience and strode over, staring at Xiao Zhang coldly, “Kid, come with us. If things go well, we might recruit you as a trainee for our organization.”
“Your pet seems to need rest. Why not put it in your pet space?”
Xiao Zhang hesitated before replying, “I want it to walk a bit more.”
“Huh?” The woman called Lilia was startled for a moment, then relaxed. “Forgot you’re a newbie. But if a bound pet dies, it’ll be a hassle.”
Pet space? Why don’t I have one?
Is it the warehouse? Xiao Zhang tried, and managed to store Jiang Xiaobai inside.