Lu Ran was deep in thought when suddenly, an assassin closed in—but his target wasn’t Lu Ran.
The man moved with terrifying speed, appearing almost instantly in front of Qin Wuyao, his dagger leveled at her.
“Little girl,” he sneered, “I’d advise you not to touch that communicator.”
Qin Wuyao had been raising her wrist, about to alert the Qin family, but the assassin’s threat froze her in place.
“One more move toward that communicator, and I’ll slit your throat right now,” the man said coldly.
The lead assassin and his other companion strode over, their expressions grim.
Qin Wuyao’s delicate brows furrowed. “Did the Liang family send you without even telling you who I am? My father is Qin Lie. If you dare lay a hand on me, have you considered the consequences?”
The name Qin Lie carried weight.
The three assassins exchanged uneasy glances.
The lead youth studied Qin Wuyao for a moment before letting out a derisive laugh. “So what if you’re Qin Lie’s daughter? Kill you out here, and who’s to say it was us? The global data integration has its perks—bodies disappear so easily now.”
Qin Wuyao’s heart sank. Even invoking her father’s name hadn’t worked.
She still didn’t know how Lu Ran had managed to clear the dungeon earlier, but against three high-level assassins? Their chances were slim.
She, Qin Wuyao, was going to die here too.
With that, the lead assassin raised his dagger, ready to strike Lu Ran down first.
But just then, Lu Ran suddenly shouted, “Wait!”
The assassin paused, eyeing him suspiciously. “Trying to play tricks? Don’t bother offering us a bribe. It’s not about loyalty—it’s just that killing you means everything on you becomes ours. The Liang family only wants that one piece of equipment you’re carrying.”
Lu Ran shook his head. “This might be the wilderness, but someone could still pass by. If you kill us here and get spotted, you’ll regret it. Me? Fine. But Qin Wuyao is Qin Lie’s daughter.”
The assassin frowned, glancing around warily. “Enough nonsense. There’s no one else here!”
Lu Ran pressed on. “What I mean is, we could go to White Tiger Gully up ahead. It’s completely deserted—no one would ever find our bodies there. Plus, the reason Wuyao and I came here is because of this Rift Contract in my hand. The marked location is inside the gully. Kill us, and you can run the Rift Dungeon afterward. Why pass up free loot?”
The assassin’s eyes gleamed with sudden interest.
He spotted the Rift Contract map in Lu Ran’s hand, though without being in a party, he couldn’t see its details.
The other two assassins chuckled.
“Kid’s got a death wish, picking his own grave,” one said. “Don’t think this changes anything, though.”
Still, the idea was tempting.
White Tiger Gully was remote, perfect for covering up a murder.
And a free Rift Dungeon run? That was just icing on the cake.
“Lead the way,” the assassin growled. “Or we do this right now.”
“Sure, let’s go.” Lu Ran nodded, satisfied.
His plan was simple: kill these three.
But assassins were fast.
Out here in the open, even if he spammed undead summons and corpse explosions, they’d likely escape.
But in White Tiger Gully?
They’d have nowhere to run.
Beside him, Qin Wuyao was utterly bewildered. Instead of trying to escape, Lu Ran was leading their killers deeper into the gully? That place was a death trap!
Terrified, she pressed close to Lu Ran, gripping his arm, her face pale.
She’d always been clever, but she’d grown up in the city’s affluent district. Yesterday, she’d just awakened her class. Today, she was in the deadly wilderness, facing certain doom.
The fear in her heart was overwhelming.
Sensing her distress, Lu Ran gave her cold hand a reassuring pat before stepping forward toward White Tiger Gully.
The three assassins flanked them—two on either side, one behind.
Any Phantom Monarch Butterflies they encountered were swiftly cut down.
“Damn, you guys are strong,” Lu Ran remarked casually. “Even Phantom Monarch Butterflies get one-shot. You must be pretty high-level, huh?”
“Obviously,” one assassin bragged. “All three of us are Level 18. A measly Level 13 butterfly doesn’t stand a chance.”
“Level 18…” Lu Ran murmured to himself.
Good. The level gap wasn’t too wide.
This could work.
Qin Wuyao, however, felt her stomach drop further.
Three Level 18 assassins against a Level 5 and a Level 8?
This was a slaughter.
White Tiger Gully was deep, narrow, and winding—impossible to climb out of.
It was infested with Level 15 Blaze-Tail Tigers, their most distinctive feature the flickering flames at the tips of their tails. Their fur was striped yellow and white, with white dominating—hence the gully’s name.
As they advanced, the assassins dispatched any tigers in their path.
Interestingly, the Level 15 tigers took two or three hits to kill, even with skills.
This gave Lu Ran a clearer sense of their gear and overall strength.
“Are we there yet? Where’s the spot?” the assassins demanded impatiently.
“Right here,” Lu Ran said, pointing to a side path.
The path was short—barely twenty meters—and most importantly, a dead end.
The perfect place for an ambush.
“It’s in there?” The assassins’ eyes lit up.
Find the spot, kill the kids, loot the bodies, then run the Rift Dungeon.
Flawless.
They marched into the side path without hesitation, surprising even Lu Ran.
He’d expected to need a plan to lure them in, but they’d walked right in—probably confident that even if he and Qin Wuyao tried to run, the respawned Blaze-Tail Tigers in the gully would stop them.
Well, that made things easier.
Without hesitation, Lu Ran raised his staff.
Boom!
Two clouds of dark mist materialized, solidifying into skeletal warriors.
The assassins blinked in surprise. Qin Wuyao stared, baffled.
“What’s this? Trying to fight back before you die?” One of the assassins burst out laughing, eyeing the skeletons with amusement.
An Level 8 summoner’s skeletons only had half his stats.
They’d be one-shotted.
The other two assassins smirked.
“That’s the idea,” Lu Ran said flatly. “But not to fight you—to kill you.”
The assassins roared with laughter.
Even Qin Wuyao wondered if despair had driven Lu Ran mad.
“Kid, did you skip class or something?”
“You know how big the gap is between different levels?”
“You? Kill the three of us? Hah!”
Ignoring their taunts, Lu Ran tightened his grip on Qin Wuyao’s hand and pulled her back a few steps.
With his other hand, he drove his staff into the ground.
Time to summon more undead.
