The atmosphere in the courtyard of the Tongzi Building was somewhat heavy.
Eight corpses were laid out on the ground. Each bore hideous knife wounds or puncture holes on their chests, abdomens, or throats.
Boss Hong stared silently at the lifeless bodies. When he looked up, his face twisted with ferocity. "Eight of our brothers are dead. All young, strong men. The Ren Sheng Group... Good. Very good..."
He swept his gaze around the courtyard. "Is anyone else hurt?"
The crowd exchanged glances before breaking into a chaotic clamor.
"No, no one else."
"It seems like the only ones who died were the brothers whose doors were broken."
"And Shijima and Shang Village. They were on Night Patrol tonight."
From the chaotic voices, Feng Yin deduced the true purpose of the night raid: to assassinate their members and thin their numbers. The attackers had specifically targeted those with broken doors first. No wonder someone had entered his room, too.
He wondered how the unlucky bastard who sneaked into his room seemed to have only just noticed him, considering the number of casualties meant the assassins had been at work for quite a while.
He recalled the scene from earlier. After he sat up, the man in black had clearly been startled. It was as if Feng Yin had appeared out of thin air.
Feng Yin silently glanced at the back of his right hand. Although the special mark wasn't emitting any red light, it still had a distinct dark red outline in his eyes. He vaguely sensed that the man in black's inability to see him was highly likely connected to him entering the game.
He wondered what state his body was actually in when he fell asleep and entered the game. Did his entire person simply vanish, or did something else happen? Unfortunately, until he could get his hands on some recording equipment, he would never know for sure. He also had no way of finding someone trustworthy to help him verify it.
Regardless, for now, it seemed to be a good thing.
At the same time, a lingering sense of fear crept up on him. Thank goodness he happened to enter that game tonight. If this night raid had happened a few days ago... He had been so exhausted from working as a porter and practicing his swordsmanship every day that he had been sleeping like a log. Had they attacked then, he would surely be dead right now. From now on, he absolutely had to sleep in a room with a locking door!
Nearby, upon hearing his subordinates' reports, Boss Hong couldn't help but shoot another glance at Feng Yin. "You've got good luck, kid. It's a good thing you were awake, or you'd definitely be a corpse right now, too."
Seizing the opportunity, Feng Yin immediately said, "Brother Hong, speaking of which, could you arrange a room with a lock for me? Or at least have my door fixed? Otherwise, I won't even dare to sleep."
Boss Hong waved his hand, looking irritated. "Fine, I got it. The brothers who died all had broken doors. But Shijima and Shang Village had good doors. If you don't mind the bad luck, you can move into one of their rooms tonight."
Feng Yin nodded immediately. "Sure."
Having no more time to deal with Feng Yin, Boss Hong turned back to the crowd with a fiery expression and shouted, "Damn it all! Are we just going to let those bastards from the Ren Sheng Group walk all over us? Tell me, can we?!"
"No!"
"Let's go kill them!"
"Wipe them out tonight!"
"I'm going to avenge Shimada!"
Amidst the furious uproar, Feng Yin noticed an agile figure appear at the courtyard gates. It was Xie Yanran, wielding her Soft Sword. In her left hand, she held the limp, lifeless body of a man in black.
Upon entering the courtyard and seeing Boss Hong rallying his men for revenge, she shouted coldly, "What are you all yelling about? What's the point of going over there now!"
Even coming from a woman, her reprimand struck like a thunderbolt, instantly stunning the crowd into silence.
Boss Hong looked at Xie Yanran. "Old Xie, are we just supposed to ignore the fact that they're shitting on our heads? I just lost eight brothers!"
"What good will going there do?" Xie Yanran retorted coldly. "If they really did this, they'll be heavily prepared. A direct assault will cost us more than half our brothers. If both sides suffer heavy casualties, we'll just be handing an advantage to the other factions."
Taking a deep breath, Boss Hong spoke in a low voice. "Then what do you suggest we do, Old Xie? I'll listen to you."
"What else can we do? Get a good night's rest, regain your strength, and set up guards. We will plan our next move tomorrow," Xie Yanran said calmly.
Boss Hong gritted his teeth. "Fine, we'll do it your way."
Xie Yanran seemed to command quite a bit of prestige. With her speaking up, everyone—save for a few who were particularly close to the deceased—calmed down.
Then, Xie Yanran casually tossed the black-clad corpse she was carrying into the center of the courtyard. "Two rats split up and ran. I only caught one.
"Take a look at this guy and see if he's from the Ren Sheng Group."
A few members with good memories immediately gathered around, inspecting the body under the bright lights of the courtyard.
At this moment, Xie Yanran spotted Feng Yin in the crowd. She raised an eyebrow and asked with concern, "Feng Yin, are you alright on your end? I remember your room doesn't have a door."
Before Feng Yin could reply, Boss Hong chimed in first. "Let me tell you, this kid really has guts. He actually managed to kill one of them. No wonder you were willing to accept him as a disciple on behalf of your master."
"Oh!?" Startled, Xie Yanran quickly pressed, "Feng Yin, how did you manage that?"
"Ah, I was just lucky, and I'm stronger than him..." Feng Yin briefly repeated the same excuse he had given Boss Hong. He explained that he had ambushed the assassin, knocked away his weapon, and then forcefully snapped his neck during the ensuing grapple. There was no need to overexplain in this kind of situation. The more he said, the more likely he was to make a mistake.
After listening to his account, Xie Yanran gave him a thoughtful look. "I knew you were strong, but I didn't expect you to be that strong. I suppose you can consider yourself lucky." Her expression then turned serious. "In the future, if an enemy is armed and you are bare-handed, run if you can. Don't try to fight back."
Xie Yanran's concern wasn't feigned. After all, she had personally discovered Feng Yin's potential as an Innate Martial Artist and had accepted him as a disciple in her master's stead. She already viewed Feng Yin as her own junior martial brother. Furthermore, the boy's facial features somewhat resembled what her old junior brother might look like fully grown, making her project her fondness for the latter onto him.
Seeing the genuine care in Xie Yanran's eyes, Feng Yin felt a slight warmth in his heart and nodded. "Understood. I'll be more careful from now on."
Xie Yanran patted his shoulder. "Go get some rest. We'll talk about the rest tomorrow." With that, she turned back to join Boss Hong to begin arranging the cleanup.
Half an hour later.
After all the fuss, Feng Yin finally returned to his room. However, this time, it was no longer the empty, dilapidated room at the end of the first floor with its broken door and shattered windows. Instead, it was a relatively well-furnished room on the third floor. Not only could the door and windows be shut, but it even had some tattered curtains to ensure a bit of privacy. There was even a desk piled with clothes in the room. Of course, his sleeping spot remained a simple wooden board.
This room had belonged to one of the two dead Night Patrol members. Now, with the approval of Boss Hong and Xie Yanran, Feng Yin had conveniently moved in.
Feng Yin tidied up a bit and laid his own blanket out on the wooden board. He had no interest in sleeping in another man's bed, especially not one belonging to a man who rarely bathed.
Then, having finally settled down, he immediately opened his Armor interface and looked at the spoils he hadn't had a chance to study since waking up earlier tonight.
Engraving—Wolf's Badge!
***