Black-on-Black Crime (4)

The skill that Chen Zixuan had just used was precisely the first one he learned at level 3—【Night Raid】.

In addition to allowing for short-distance teleportation and making the next melee attack a critical strike, this skill had another powerful effect: when used in a nighttime environment, it granted a 2-second invisibility state.

After Chen Zixuan leveled the skill up to Lv.2, the invisibility duration extended by 0.5 seconds, making it 2.5 seconds.

Don’t underestimate this 0.5 seconds; all of Chen Zixuan’s current skills were instant cast, with no delay or casting time. In those 0.5 additional seconds, he had enough time to fully unleash an entire set of skill damage.

【Night Raid】 chained into 【Wound Tear】 to close in instantly, followed by a basic attack for critical damage, then immediately a strengthened 【Blood Drain】, and finally pulling back to use 【Silverflash Pierce】 for the finishing blow.

This single skill combo allowed Chen Zixuan to deal over 3,000 mixed damage within two seconds.

Combining physical crit, magic crit, and the true damage finish, having such a burst on the third day after the game’s server launch was simply unimaginable.

Originally, Chen Zixuan had chosen to target his greatest threat first—the current leader of the Scythe Gang, grey—planning to take the initiative, eliminate him with a single combo, and then deal with the other seven Scythe Gang members.

The plan was solid, but the finale turned out to have a little unexpected twist.

What Chen Zixuan hadn’t foreseen was just how weak Grey was. He only needed one slash—before he could even follow up with other skills, grey was already collapsing to the ground.

Though Grey still had a sliver of HP left, that single strike from Chen Zixuan had already inflicted 【Wound Tear】’s bleed effect.

After two or three seconds, a synthesized female system voice chimed at Chen Zixuan’s ear.

“System prompt: You have slain a red-named NPC. Scythe Gang favorability -1000; you are now in a wanted state.”

Simultaneously, his experience bar shot up significantly.

Red-named NPCs—those who attack other players. The system voice further confirmed Chen Zixuan’s suspicions.

Even if he had played by the rules, completed Grey’s quest by killing Austin, the Hammer Gang boss, and recovered the stolen goods, the Scythe Gang would still have turned on him.

This quest fundamentally had no rules—or rather, just like its name, “criminals preying on criminals” was the very rule.

It was brutal, but also realistic.

Even in the real world outside the game, Chen Zixuan had experienced such things more than once, so he was already used to it.

Rather than waiting for the Scythe Gang to stab him in the back, it was better to strike first and eliminate them all—to cut off any future trouble.

In any case, killing red-named NPCs incurred no system penalties, nor would the guards pursue him. A mere Scythe Gang wasn’t even worth Chen Zixuan’s attention.

Casting a brief, indifferent glance at Grey’s corpse beneath his feet, Chen Zixuan felt rather satisfied.

Just killing one NPC netted him over 90 experience points—his bar filled by nearly a tenth. This was much faster than grinding water ghosts for levels.

Next, he swept his gaze maliciously across the remaining crowd, his bloodstained black short blade almost blending with the darkness of the alley. Though invisible, a chilling murderous aura still radiated from it.

Because the alleyway was so dim, even though the seven Scythe Gang thugs had somewhat adapted to the darkness, they could only vaguely make out a blurry shadow.

Despite holding sharp scythes in their hands, not one of them dared to approach.

Except for certain nocturnal creatures, humans—NPCs or players—had their vision greatly limited without a light source. But Chen Zixuan did not share this weakness. In fact, thanks to the special mechanics of his skills, his power peaked only in the dark.

Naturally, Chen Zixuan wouldn’t let such a good opportunity slip by. 【Reinforced: Claw (Left)】 activated, and, accompanied by a wrenching pain, the girl’s left hand instantly transformed into a slender claw.

Her previously fragile nails became as tough as steel, even faintly gleaming with a knife-like edge.

For the next 60 seconds, her left hand would possess attack power equal to a weapon’s—not to mention armor penetration or other bonuses, but it included a powerful active skill, 【Eviscerate】, making it more or less an even trade.

Her left hand’s five fingers fanned out, her right hand raising the short blade in reverse grip; the girl with silver hair walked toward the crowd in the alley, a hostile expression on her face.

“Brothers, kill her!”

A panicked shout rang out.

What followed was a chaotic thumping of footsteps, like a rainstorm.

There was the muffled sound of blades slicing flesh, two metallic clashing noises, and then little else but agonized cries, screams, and the dull thuds of bodies hitting the ground.

In Loren’s royal city, there were thousands of such alleys.

Every night, countless crimes silently unfolded in these passageways.

Two or three minutes later, a petite silhouette wrapped in a black cloak slowly stepped out from the alley.

Just a few minutes earlier, she had entered it in the same manner—except she’d gone in with someone else. But now, she walked out alone.

“Turn left, go straight 200 meters, then turn right at the second intersection…”

Muttering to herself, Chen Zixuan walked through street after street. Though Grey hadn’t lied to him, the directions he’d given were far too vague, and every street in the Main City had a different appearance, so Chen Zixuan had to look while moving.

Finally, after a few minutes, a brightly-lit two-story building appeared before his eyes.

“So this is Austin’s casino?”

Though there was no sign at the door, the noisy shouts and sounds of dice colliding inside made Chen Zixuan confident he’d found the right place.

“System prompt: You have unlocked a new map, 【Austin’s Casino】!”

As if to confirm his speculation, the system voice sounded right at that moment.

“It’s so noisy inside—there must be a lot of people. Rushing in to kill doesn’t seem ideal. Better to scout first.”

Stepping up the stone steps, Chen Zixuan pushed open the double wooden doors and entered against the blinding light.

“Hey! What do you want? No unidentified persons allowed inside!”

The moment he walked in, Chen Zixuan drew the stares of many. A bouncer about 1.85 meters tall with a tattooed shoulder immediately strode over with a scowl. His demeanor was downright rude, nothing like how one ought to treat a guest; raising a hairy, massive hand, he tried to shove Chen Zixuan outside.

Is this alright?

No, it isn’t.

(Three more chapters coming tonight)

New Names, locations, skills and Techniques List:

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep