Chapter 25: The Cunning Old Village Chief!

Lin Tianhao equipped the Eye of Purity and felt the world suddenly become extraordinarily clear.

Five hundred meters away, a mosquito was in flight — and Lin Tianhao could actually make out the veins on its wings with perfect clarity.

This feeling… absolutely incredible!

Archers had extremely high demands for precision, and the Eye of Purity was a perfect match for Lin Tianhao.

Not just at this stage of the game — even in the late game, or even in the era of the Great Calamity.

The Eye of Purity would remain a ridiculously overpowered piece of equipment.

"Adventurer, was it you who killed Wang San and Wang Si?"

The Old Village Chief's eyes carried a peculiar glint.

Lin Tianhao had anticipated being found out after submitting the quest, so he didn't deny it.

"Yes."

The Old Village Chief's expression grew increasingly cryptic. "Do you know that Wang San and Wang Si are both disciples of Wang the Blacksmith? If he finds out you killed them, he will definitely come after you."

Lin Tianhao feigned alarm. "Old Village Chief, what should I do? Maybe I should just skip the exit-village quest — let me leave the novice village right now."

The Old Village Chief waved a hand and smiled. "No need to worry. Wang the Blacksmith may be formidable, but within this novice village, I'm still the one who calls the shots."

He then continued, "That said, Wang the Blacksmith harbors wolfish ambitions and cannot be left unchecked. I've learned he's been getting close to the old drunkard at the tavern lately — that old drunkard often goes out into the wilds to find ore for him."

Lin Tianhao raised an eyebrow. It seemed a new quest was on the way.

"Old Village Chief, what do you need me to do?"

The Old Village Chief wore the expression of a teacher pleased with a promising student. "Simple — cut off his left and right arms. Go and kill the old drunkard."

"Ding. The Old Village Chief has issued you a quest."

"Quest Objective: Kill the Old Drunkard."

"Quest Penalty: None."

"Quest Reward: Unknown."

Lin Tianhao expressed some concern. "Old Village Chief, with my current strength, killing the old drunkard — wouldn't that be a bit too difficult?"

The Old Village Chief nodded. "That old drunkard does have some tricks up his sleeve."

"However, he's a chronic drunk. If you can slip something into his wine jar, it might produce an unexpected effect."

Hearing this, Lin Tianhao looked troubled. "I won't hide it from you, Chief — I don't have any poison."

The Old Village Chief hesitated for a moment, then produced a small vial.

"This is a Datura concoction I've been collecting for a long time. It's colorless and odorless. As long as you put it in the old drunkard's wine, he'll never notice."

"Once poisoned, the old drunkard's combat power will drop by at least half."

Lin Tianhao took the Datura concoction, a smile spreading across his face. "Good. I will not let you down — I'll kill the old drunkard."

With that, Lin Tianhao turned to leave immediately.

But just then, the Old Village Chief suddenly called out to him.

"Snow Emperor!"

Again, he used his name directly — not "adventurer."

"You killed Wang San and Wang Si. So tell me — do you know who killed Elforis?"

Lin Tianhao raised an eyebrow.

Sure enough, the Old Village Chief was suspicious of him.

"I don't know. Shortly after Shadow Slayer and I killed Wang San and Wang Si, I heard the notification that Elforis had been slain."

"Oh, I see."

The Old Village Chief revealed a meaningful smile.

Lin Tianhao knew that a few words would never be enough to earn the Old Village Chief's trust.

But that didn't matter.

Because even if the Old Village Chief was suspicious, he would only suspect that Lin Tianhao had some kind of deal with Wang the Blacksmith.

After all, the only one who could threaten his position as village chief was Wang the Blacksmith.

As for Lin Tianhao himself —

No matter how capable Lin Tianhao was, so what?

He would still have to head to the Main City eventually. He couldn't stay in the novice village forever.

What the Old Village Chief didn't know, however, was that Lin Tianhao had other options.

* * *

Leaving the novice village, Lin Tianhao sent Shadow Slayer a message. The two had added each other as friends when they completed their transaction earlier.

It was only now that Lin Tianhao noticed.

Futu Dunshan had actually sent him over a dozen messages.

"Snow Emperor, sir, I'm willing to offer two hundred million — just come, and you'll be the guild master of Futu Guild."

"Snow Emperor, sir, are you there? When are you coming to the Main City? Bring me along — we can talk price."

"Snow Emperor, sir…"

Lin Tianhao had been busy with his own affairs, so his messages had been set to Do Not Disturb.

Regardless, Futu Dunshan was his first business partner.

Lin Tianhao replied with a single line: Messages on Do Not Disturb, I'm busy.

Then he followed the location Shadow Slayer had sent him.

At this point, Shadow Slayer was grinding against Level 10 Twisted Treants above his level.

Spotting Lin Tianhao's arrival, he finished off the Treant in front of him and walked over.

"Shadow Slayer, what follow-up quest did the Old Village Chief give you?"

Shadow Slayer knew he was already in the same boat as Lin Tianhao, so he spoke plainly.

"The Old Village Chief told me to go protect the old drunkard at the tavern."

Hearing this, Lin Tianhao's eyes narrowed. "Today the Old Village Chief also gave me a quest — to go and kill the old drunkard."

"How can that be?"

Shadow Slayer was baffled.

One was told to protect, the other to kill — it was clearly contradictory.

But Lin Tianhao already had a theory forming in his mind.

The Old Village Chief was obviously trying to frame someone.

As for the reason —

It likely had everything to do with the Datura concoction.

If his deduction was correct —

The Datura concoction didn't belong to the Old Village Chief at all. He had stolen it from Wang the Blacksmith.

He was sending Lin Tianhao to poison and kill the old drunkard, while sending Shadow Slayer to rescue him.

As long as Shadow Slayer could stall Lin Tianhao for a moment, the old drunkard could escape.

"Your quest must have both high rewards and heavy penalties, right?" Lin Tianhao asked.

Shadow Slayer nodded. "Yes."

"We killed Wang San and Wang Si together earlier, so the Old Village Chief knows we're a team. That's why he gave you this quest. It's a transparent scheme — an open trap."

Shadow Slayer thought it over briefly and caught on to something, prompting him to ask:

"From the way you're talking, the Old Village Chief's real goal isn't for you to kill — it's for me to save?"

Lin Tianhao nodded. "More or less. The Old Village Chief is trying to win someone's loyalty."

"How so?"

"He gave me a poison and told me to use it on the old drunkard. If my guess is right, that poison is something unique to Wang the Blacksmith."

"Once I poison him and you save him, a rift will form between the old drunkard and Wang the Blacksmith."

Shadow Slayer was taken aback. "Sowing discord?"

"That's what it looks like. My quest has no penalty and an unknown reward."

"But your quest has high rewards and heavy penalties — the Old Village Chief must have assumed I'd help you."

Shadow Slayer drew a sharp breath, genuinely astonished. "I never would have imagined — the Old Village Chief of a novice village could be this calculating."

Lin Tianhao chuckled. "In this game, NPCs aren't your ordinary AI."

"So what are you planning to do?" Shadow Slayer asked.

"Play along with the Old Village Chief's plan," Lin Tianhao said with a grin.

"Like I said — it's an open trap. If I kill the old drunkard, I'm the one who screws you over."

"Besides, within the novice village, the Old Village Chief clearly holds more power. If the old drunkard dies, this entire storyline might disappear."