Chapter 172: Seeking Fortune in Danger

Wealth stirs men’s hearts.

A child carrying gold through a bustling market is, without a doubt, one of the most dangerous things imaginable.

When Li Ye acted as if he knew nothing about the Federation’s rules, He Xu and the others had their own ideas. Even simply befriending a Tier Seven Martial Artist would be beneficial for them.

But when Li Ye revealed a huge pile of high-grade Star Beads, even though He Xu said they couldn’t use high-grade Star Beads for their assignment, the thought of taking them for themselves inevitably crossed his mind.

After all, Li Ye knew nothing about the Federation and seemed so simple-minded. Tricking the Star Beads out of his hands would be all too easy.

But then Li Ye had casually slaughtered a Tier Seven Martial Artist as if squashing an ant. Not only did he feel no guilt, but he even tried to smash open the man’s head to see if there was a Star Bead inside…

This forced them to completely re-evaluate their relationship with Li Ye.

He killed at the slightest disagreement. If they touched his things, their own fragile bodies probably couldn’t withstand a few of his slaps.

In truth, the correct course of action was to report Li Ye’s situation and let the Federation handle it. That way, they wouldn’t have any trouble.

But handing him over to the Federation meant letting a fortune slip through their fingers.

This might be their only chance in this lifetime for Defying Fate. To say nothing of the numerous high-grade Star Beads, there were also the secrets Li Ye was hiding…

Fortune favors the bold!

He Xu took a deep breath. ‘First, I need to keep him stable,’ he thought.

…

“Huang, the law of the jungle is indeed the rule of survival in the Ruins,” He Xu said, looking at Li Ye with a heavy tone. “But people are social creatures. We live in a society. And since it is a society, it must have its own rules of operation. By following the rules, more people can survive. Otherwise, it would be just like the Ruins.”

“Xu is right. The rules of society protect the majority, allowing more people to survive,” the baby-faced young man explained. “Take us, for example. Individually, we probably couldn’t even defeat a single Tier Two Cloud Deer. But by joining forces and helping each other, we have a chance to kill a Tier Three Gale Fox. Do you understand this principle? Rules allow us to survive better and for a longer time. This is why we hunt Mutant Beasts and make them serve us, rather than them ruling over us…”

“Huang, to integrate into society, you must first learn to obey the rules and exercise self-control,” Rongrong earnestly warned. “Otherwise, what’s the difference between you and a Mutant Beast? Indulging yourself and doing whatever you please will get you killed.”

‘Rules and morals are just what the powerful use to bind you, just as you are now trying to use them to restrain me…’

Li Ye scoffed internally, his expression remaining blank. “So, following the rules helps me, breaking them will get me killed, and I need to control myself?”

“Yes, Huang. If you want to integrate into society, you must first learn to abide by its rules,” Rongrong said.

“Did he follow the rules?” Li Ye gestured toward Qiu Feipeng, whom he had just killed. “I felt that he wanted to kill me just now.”

“He…” He Xu was stunned. After a long pause, he said awkwardly, “In the Ruins, you don’t have to follow the rules.”

“Why?” Li Ye asked.

“Because the Federation’s reach doesn’t extend here,” He Xu said. “The Mutant Beasts are incredibly powerful. It’s normal to die here. No one would know if he was killed by a person or a Mutant Beast.”

“So, in places the Federation can’t control, you don’t have to follow the rules.” Li Ye nodded. “I get it. From now on, if someone wants to harm me, I’ll just bring them to the Ruins and kill them.”

‘What part of that did you get?!’

Everyone’s faces darkened.

“Huang, that’s not what I meant. Killing someone you run into in the Ruins won’t cause problems because it happens *in* the Ruins. But if you bring someone from the Federation to the Ruins, you’ll leave a lot of clues behind. Once someone investigates, the trouble will land on your head.”

He Xu explained dryly, “Besides, even if you kill someone in the Ruins, if the deceased is an important person, someone will investigate. Take Qiu Feipeng. He was a Tier Seven expert from the Shadow Guild. If he doesn’t return for a long time, the Shadow Guild will definitely investigate the cause of his death. During this period, everyone who entered the Ruins might be investigated by the Shadow Guild until they find the killer. Strictly speaking, by killing him, you’ve already caused trouble for us.”

“…” Li Ye glanced at Qiu Feipeng and fell silent.

Looking at Li Ye, He Xu sighed. “There are many ways to solve problems. You don’t always have to kill people.”

“To survive in the Ruins, you have to kill Mutant Beasts to eat their meat.” Li Ye turned back to He Xu, laying out the most fundamental truth for this deluded group. “If you don’t kill them, they might bite you back at any moment, just like you said the Shadow Guild will come looking for trouble with us. The best solution is to wipe out any group that is vengeful…”

SIGH!

The group exchanged glances.

‘It’s too difficult to change the mindset of someone who has survived in the Ruins for eighteen years.’

“Huang, eventually you’ll have to live in civilized society. You need to let go of your old ways,” He Xu sighed softly. “Regardless, from now on, whatever you do, you must consult me first, especially when you feel like killing someone.”

‘What a naive guy!’

Li Ye looked at him and gave a noncommittal nod. “Okay. From now on, I’ll get your permission before I kill anyone.”

‘Get my permission?’

‘Am I supposed to be his accomplice now?!’

The corner of He Xu’s mouth twitched. Helplessly, he said, “Yes, get my permission.”

Seeing He Xu’s frustrated expression, Rongrong couldn’t help but chuckle. “Huang, don’t listen to his nonsense. Order in the Federation is very good; there’s rarely a need to kill anyone. Once you spend a few days in the Federation, you’ll definitely fall in love with it. With all your Star Beads, you could live a life above everyone else.”

“Why?” Li Ye asked. “These are just ordinary beads. They’re pretty, but you can’t eat them.”

“Star Beads are…” Rongrong started to explain, but then stopped herself. “This isn’t the place to talk. After we get to the Federation, I’ll explain it to you slowly.”

As she spoke, she picked an almost completely dim Star Bead from Li Ye’s hand. “Huang, we’ll consider this Gale Fox Star Bead a loan from you. We’ll pay you back in the future.”

He Xu glanced at Rongrong, looking like he wanted to say something, but he swallowed his words.

Rongrong continued, “Also, after we leave, try to avoid anyone else you meet. You know nothing about the Federation’s rules, so it’s easy for people to take advantage of you. Once they find out about you, even we won’t be able to help.”

“Okay.” Li Ye nodded and asked, “When will you be back?”

“Soon. Four hours at most,” He Xu said. “We’ll come back for you as soon as we turn in our mission. Just wait for us here. Don’t wander off.”

“Mm,” Li Ye nodded. He didn’t want to waste any more time with them. Rather than listen to them lecture about the Federation’s rules, it would be better to enter the Federation and see and learn for himself.

‘This world should have an internet. With the internet, you have everything.’

“Remember, don’t wander off. Wait for us to come back,” Rongrong urged.

“I know.” Li Ye smiled and nodded. “If you don’t come back, I’ll just find someone else.”

Hearing this, He Xu immediately grew anxious. “Don’t! We’ll definitely come back.”

“That’s right, we’ll definitely be back! You have to wait for us!” Rongrong said quickly. “Xu, let’s go. We need to hurry and turn in the mission.”

“Xu, do we still want the Black-winged Bat’s Star Bead?” the baby-faced young man asked.

“We’ll pick it up when we get back.” He Xu gritted his teeth. “A Black-winged Bat is not something we can handle. Taking it back would be too conspicuous. I’m trying to minimize the chances of exposing Huang.”

“If you want the Black-winged Bat’s Star Bead, I can collect it for you,” Li Ye said, looking at them and giving them a temptation they couldn’t refuse to come back for.

“Huang, don’t listen to their nonsense,” Rongrong said. “You killed the Black-winged Bat, so its Star Bead should be yours.”

“Those beads are too small. I don’t care for them.” Li Ye shook his head and smiled. “Actually, if you like these Star Beads, I could just give them to you…”

The breathing of He Xu, the baby-faced man, and the others instantly became ragged.

In the end, they managed to calm themselves. They reluctantly said goodbye to Li Ye and hurried back.

Li Ye followed them unhurriedly from behind.

His perception range of three hundred meters was enough for him to avoid any surrounding dangers without being discovered. Even though the rules of this world suppressed his Spiritual Power and Divine Power, his physical constitution remained at the peak of Martial Force.

A successful Time Traveler trusts no one and never puts all his eggs in one basket…

…

“Xu, with so many high-grade Star Beads in Huang’s hands, are we about to make it big?” said the baby-faced young man.

“Yes, this is our chance. We have to seize it,” He Xu said, looking around at the group. “Everyone keep your mouths shut. If anyone dares to leak information about Huang, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

“We get it, Xu,” another young man said.

“Xu, I think Huang is quite pitiful. Those Star Beads are all his…” Rongrong said with a frown.

“We’re not saying we’ll rob him of his Star Beads, but we helped him, so he should show some appreciation, right?” He Xu said. “Rongrong, Huang is clearly an experiment of the Federation Government. We’re taking a huge risk by helping him. On a smaller scale, if the Federation finds out, our futures will be ruined. On a larger scale, the Federation might even kill us to silence us because of him.”

“Exactly. He also killed Qiu Feipeng from the Shadow Guild, and now we have to figure out how to clean up his mess,” the baby-faced man said. “We also have to help him find a suitable identity in the Federation. Don’t we deserve a reward for all that?”

“But he saved our lives and even gave us a Gale Fox Star Bead, allowing us to pass our graduation trial with excellent results,” Rongrong said. “Without him, we would have already died under the siege of the Black-winged Bats.”

The group suddenly fell silent. They realized that, without noticing, they had completely overlooked the fact that Huang had saved their lives.

“Let’s just get him into the Federation first,” He Xu sighed. “We’ll take it one step at a time. No matter what, staying on good terms with him is only beneficial for us right now, with no downsides.”

“Yeah, we’ll listen to you,” the baby-faced young man said.

…

Heh!

Listening to their discussion about him, Li Ye let out a dry laugh. ‘In the end, they’re just a bunch of kids who haven’t been beaten down by society yet,’ he thought. ‘They really don’t know their own limits.’