Chapter 340: I Hit You, So What? You Got a Problem With That?
Seeing the two patrol members with iron chains leave, Miller finally breathed a sigh of relief.
As he continued walking forward, he was mulling over a strategy in his mind—a clever trick he’d thought of.
“The rules for these two patrol members seem to be that you have to stop whatever you’re doing in front of them. That means I could…”
Miller figured he could use them to do his dirty work.
As long as he was being chased by something, he could find a way to lead the pursuer to these two patrol members, and they’d help him deal with the problem.
After all, in a place like this, Miller had some strength, but he wouldn’t dare claim he could fight anyone.
Forget fighting—sometimes when encountering powerful weird creatures, even escaping was questionable. His main strategy right now was playing it safe.
At times like this, it was good to think of another option in case danger struck.
Because this round’s rules clearly stated that chosen ones had to kill a weird creature identical to themselves.
If he couldn’t win by force, he’d have to use his wits.
Miller had rich experience clearing stages. He figured that based on how the weird tale world worked, normal methods probably wouldn’t work.
The free trading market’s management could help him deal with people selling fake goods.
So these two patrol members could help him deal with opponents he couldn’t beat—both were usable assets.
From the very beginning, Miller was a chosen one who was especially good at using NPCs.
Before Zhang Yangqing appeared, he was the textbook-level chosen one.
During the preparation period before entering this weird tale world, he’d considered recruiting followers after getting in, learning from the Dragon Kingdom Heavenly Master’s playstyle to increase his margin for error.
But he could never find suitable candidates. The ones he could beat weren’t anything special, didn’t seem very smart, and carried the risk of betrayal—bringing them along was worse than going alone.
For example, in this stage, bringing followers would be completely useless and would cost him a few hundred extra ghost coins in toll fees.
As for the ones he couldn’t beat—if he didn’t kill them, that was already generous. How would he dare recruit them as followers? That would be completely upside-down.
Some chosen ones made it through this stage with some scares—they heard the chain sounds and reacted in time, stopping what they were doing.
If they’d actually continued attacking, they might have been the ones to die.
Even some proud superhumans didn’t dare violate the rules when they saw these special weird creatures.
When they entered, both the expert teams and their own faction members told them to try not to think of themselves as superhumans and to follow the rules like ordinary chosen ones.
Watching this, Greco felt worried for his faction’s chosen one.
He figured that with Robert’s rebellious personality, he probably wouldn’t stop and would definitely get killed in this stage.
Because Robert’s whole thing this time was rebellion—whatever Greco said, Robert wouldn’t believe.
Facts proved he guessed right, but only half right.
Robert got hit, but didn’t get killed.
After violating the rules of the two iron-chain patrol members, a fight broke out.
Obviously, he couldn’t win. In less than five minutes, he was defeated and wounded.
Robert was far stronger than the Stick Kingdom superhuman—if he couldn’t win, couldn’t he at least run?
The two patrol members actually chased him all the way to a green light before stopping their attack.
Because the green light’s rule was that attacks were forbidden.
The patrol members glared at him viciously, then left the area.
This left Greco confused. He asked Sidney beside him, but Sidney was even more baffled.
At this hour, the Pope had already rested—they couldn’t disturb him, could they?
So they could only keep watching the big screen, wanting to see how Robert would fight next.
Actually, Sidney had a thought he didn’t voice.
He felt Robert wasn’t just being difficult—he was testing the combat power of every kind of weird creature in the weird tale world.
After all, Robert had too little experience. Taking the opportunity to test things wasn’t wrong.
Actually, Sidney was partially right.
If Zhang Yangqing saw this, he’d know Robert was trying to overtake on the curve.
He kept pushing himself into deadly situations to improve his abilities.
Because this weird tale had a special constitution with extremely strong recovery, the clever Robert deliberately went to get beaten up. As long as he wasn’t killed, he’d slowly learn from the strong ones’ methods and keep getting stronger.
Normally, taking this kind of beating would take ten days to half a month to recover.
This was a perfect opportunity—it just depended on whether the chosen ones thought of it.
Just now, Robert had taken a heavy blow from a patrol member, his abdomen nearly pierced through.
But in just the ten minutes he’d been resting, he’d already recovered.
The weird tale world was dangerous, but also an opportunity to grow stronger.
Just like some ordinary chosen ones who’d gained special abilities and powers in the weird tale world.
After coming out, even if those abilities disappeared, if they pursued cultivation, they’d get twice the result with half the effort because they had experience.
Abdul, the clearance player from the Turban Kingdom, found this feeling and had already stepped into the ranks of cultivators on Blue Star.
The only ones who truly didn’t need to cultivate were probably the Dragon Kingdom’s Heavenly Masters, because so far, no weird creature had been found that could push them to desperation.
But in front of him, weird creatures pushed to desperation were everywhere.
The bone-clawed weird creature before him sensed some danger.
When other chosen ones stepped into the streetlight’s illuminated area, the bone-clawed weird creature would first observe, then attack.
But when Zhang Yangqing stepped into the streetlight’s illuminated area, the bone-clawed weird creature also first observed, then became confused—why did this one seem to have no weak points at all? There wasn’t even a hint of fear in his eyes.
When the opponent showed no fear, that unease and uncertainty reversed onto the bone-clawed weird creature instead.
She didn’t know why, but she kept feeling that this time she was doomed. Why wasn’t the opponent afraid of her?
But ever the professional, she decided to strike first—if she couldn’t win, she’d run.
Zhang Yangqing originally didn’t plan to lift a finger, because in this place, internal energy was hard to recover—use a little and it’s gone. Plus, he didn’t even have a heart.
But seeing her about to attack, he’d reluctantly kill her then.
Just at that moment, the sound of iron chains rang out, and two patrol members appeared.
Because the key trigger for their appearance was the bone-clawed weird creature about to be killed, or a chosen one about to escape.
The bone-clawed weird creature was about to die, so naturally they appeared.
But as luck would have it, they also arrived just as Zhang Yangqing burst out his aura.
The two patrol members directly felt that power that made even heaven and earth tremble.
The mysterious figure before them in the purple python robe had spiritual energy swirling around him, surrounded by the auspicious aura of the Four Saints.
That incomparable presence pressed down on them, and with one glance they knew the gap between them.
The most terrifying part was that this person in the purple python robe was already looking at them with displeasure.
It was that gaze that made them feel as if they’d been pulled up to the Cloud-Top Heavenly Palace, being judged by a deity.
That vast heavenly power—they’d never even seen it on their direct superiors.
What level of existence this person was, they couldn’t even imagine.
You had to understand—only the stronger you were, the more you could appreciate how strong Zhang Yangqing was.
In this area, they served as executioners. Anything that violated the rules would be punished by them.
Others who saw them knew what it meant to back off in the face of difficulty.
But this person before them could actually make them know what it meant to be stuck in a dilemma.
But since they’d come, how could they not do something?
They had rules to follow too.
So the two patrol members exchanged a glance, then struck without hesitation.
The sound of chains swinging rang out. While everyone was admiring their courage to attack Zhang Yangqing—
The next scene left countless audience members utterly baffled. The patrol members’ chains instantly pierced through the bone-clawed weird creature’s body, exploding a burst of black energy on her.
Seeing the iron chain constantly sliding through her chest, the bone-clawed weird creature stared wide-eyed at them, as if saying: “Are you two insane? I haven’t even made a move and you’re attacking me?”
The two patrol members didn’t care at all, as if expressing: “Obviously—if I don’t hit you, he’ll hit me, won’t he?”
So what? You got a problem with that?
We can’t handle this big shot from out of town—but we can’t handle you either?
Their logic was clear: their rule was that chosen ones couldn’t kill the bone-clawed weird creature in front of them.
As long as the chosen ones had the advantage, they’d appear.
But this chosen one’s advantage was too overwhelming, so they switched their approach.
As long as we kill the bone-clawed weird creature ourselves, then she doesn’t count as being killed by the chosen one.
That way, they wouldn’t have to act against Zhang Yangqing, nor face this powerful existence.
Thus, neither Zhang Yangqing nor the two patrol members violated any rules.
A world where only the bone-clawed weird creature got hurt emerged.
After doing all this, the two patrol members turned and ran. After all, with the bone-clawed weird creature dead, the conditions for their appearance wouldn’t trigger.
This scene—even Zhang Yangqing, with his rich weird tale world experience, didn’t understand it.
“Is the weird tale world this nice to chosen ones now? Sending people to help when you’re in danger?”
His words made quite a few audience members sweat.
You had to know, this stage really killed a lot of chosen ones.
If I hadn’t seen the other chosen ones’ big screens, I’d have believed your nonsense.
No matter what, Zhang Yangqing passed the streetlight area without any real danger.
On the way in, he’d basically dealt with everything he could. Going back, naturally there was no problem.
Zhang Yangqing walked forward a distance and noticed the streets ahead had more scattered lights.
Not only were there orderly arranged streetlights, but also drifting ghost fires.
“This should be the ghost market’s city center.”
Other chosen ones who’d passed were also arriving here one after another.
The timing was roughly between 11 and 12 o’clock.
This time period was right before the parade was about to appear.
Having arrived at different times, the chosen ones all had free time to first inquire about the situation here.
Only 62 chosen ones had made it through the streetlight area to get here.
The rest had either turned back or been buried in the streetlight area.
Those who could make it here already had pretty good judgment, or had gotten some intelligence from the free trading market.
Miller’s performance in this stage was indeed at his normal level.
When he got here, he noticed there were many stall vendors around, plus some pedestrians from who-knows-where.
These people seemed more mysterious. The biggest difference between them and the people in the free trading market was that they didn’t carry incense.
And the masks on their faces seemed more ferocious—several had red-faced masks with fangs.
Just looking at them made you feel they weren’t easy to mess with.
“So these are the assimilated ones? Or the ghost market’s original residents?”
Miller vaguely remembered that only the weird creatures under the streetlights and the staff here didn’t carry incense. That meant only outsiders needed incense.
The ghost market was shrouded in darkness year-round, so no one knew what it actually looked like.
But none of that mattered. Miller’s approach was similar to other chosen ones—first check how much incense he had left, then start looking for information about the parade.
Next was looking for the ox-head and horse-face people, plus the smiling face and crying face masks.
Their goals were clear—find intelligence.
There was a small detail here: when Miller was asking for information, he met a person with a black ghost-face mask. This person was very easy to talk to and didn’t want Miller’s money.
He told Miller a lot about this place.
After listening, Miller chose to deliberately forget everything he’d said.
He’d said a lot, and it sounded very kind.
But the ghost market had its rules. From Rule 8, Miller deduced that only information obtained through transactions was the most accurate, because no one dared sell fake information. Once you took money and sold fake information, you’d definitely be punished by the trading market’s management.
The staff here all had formidable combat power—no one wanted trouble.
But with someone who didn’t take money—if he told you fake information, he bore no responsibility, since he hadn’t violated any rules.
Not taking money meant it wasn’t a transaction.
He even tricked Miller, saying he could blend into the parade and get unexpected rewards that way.
Hearing that, Miller almost laughed. The parade sounded dangerous at first mention—did this guy think he was an idiot?
Information was the cheapest thing here, only about a hundred or so—the chosen ones could still afford it.
As for the items here, they were even more expensive than the free trading market. Miller saw a heavy ruler weapon with a seller asking 100,000 ghost coins.
That made even Miller flinch. A hundred thousand ghost coins? You want me to work at the grocery store for two months?
And that was assuming sufficient stock and the boss not coming back.
Actually, the grocery store’s items had a limit too. If you couldn’t find goods to restock, it was impossible for chosen ones to earn enough to buy items and clear the stage.
But these weren’t the concerns of the chosen ones at the ghost market’s crossroads.
These chosen ones were all thinking about how to pass.
Before the parade arrived, quite a few chosen ones still obtained intelligence.
Rahman didn’t perform well this round, but his experience remained, plus he had some luck.
He met a passerby with a wild boar mask. After he sucked up to him, the wild boar mask passerby took his money and said: “You’re an outsider, right? Just say what you want to know—I’m in a hurry.”
When this guy spoke, a whistling sound came from the mask’s nostrils. He seemed full of energy—pretty strong.
Others at least had better attitudes after taking money.
This one still felt a bit arrogant even after taking money.
But even so, Rahman was grateful—as long as he told him information, he didn’t care about the rest.
Ordinary people who roamed the weird tale world, even if they had some strength now, didn’t dare show any dissatisfaction toward the original residents here.
Rahman asked the questions he wanted to know, to see what the guy could answer.
The wild boar mask passerby thought for a moment, then said: “The parade’s main purpose is sacrifice. They pour fine offerings into the river. They’re strange—I don’t know what god they’re sacrificing to. The ox-head and horse-face are underworld officers.
I heard that after their last mission out, they never came back—probably ran into trouble. But I think you’d better not contact the underworld officers. The biggest building here is the Hall of Yama—go straight from here and you’ll reach it, but don’t try to go inside.
People with smiling and crying masks? I’m not too sure about that—there are all kinds of masks here after all.”
Hearing the wild boar mask passerby’s information, Rahman was overwhelmed with gratitude.
Finally, someone who could provide valuable intelligence.
After thanking him repeatedly, the wild boar mask passerby left the area, disappearing into the endless night.
His clearance speed this round was slow, but his luck was good—he quickly found someone who could answer questions.
So he had some understanding of the upcoming parade, unlike other chosen ones facing the unknown and needing to react on the spot.
“But what exactly are the people with smiling and crying masks? And why would someone look exactly like me—could these two be connected?”
Because the people mentioned in the past two days’ rules had no news and hadn’t been triggered.
This left Rahman temporarily unable to find a way to deal with them.
And he didn’t have as much incense as other chosen ones. He’d have to speed up the pace and leave as fast as possible, or he might trigger the instant-death buff.
Although the rules didn’t state it clearly, once the incense burned out, the death buff on his body would keep stacking.
As long as he was heavily contaminated, he’d just drop dead.
If lightly contaminated, resting for a day might be enough.
Feeling that time was about right, the chosen ones didn’t dare keep looking for intelligence elsewhere. They could only come to the crossroads one after another and wait for the parade to arrive.
Otherwise, if they missed the parade, they’d have to wait another day.
But then something strange happened.
The surrounding atmosphere was already incredibly eerie. In the sunless ghost market, endless darkness from all directions shrouded the entire world, filling people with fear.
It was filled with murkiness everywhere. The streetlights weren’t that bright either—very dim, just more numerous than elsewhere.
Ghost fires drifted about from time to time, but the people nearby seemed used to it. The chosen ones had seen everything—naturally they wouldn’t worry themselves sick over such a small matter.
But the problem was, as the time approached 12 o’clock, masked mysterious people kept gathering in the crossroads area. They stood by the roadside holding things, as if waiting for the parade to arrive.
This eerie scene made some chosen ones more alert—it seemed something dangerous was coming.
