Chapter 72: This Woman Cannot Be Kept

Li Zhi had not even recovered from the shock of Ye Da transforming the leaf into a bow when he saw an arrow—a green arrow—fly past him and bury itself in the very center of Lin Yamei’s throat. He couldn’t tell whether the shooter had aimed for her neck or simply missed his target. All he knew was that Lin Yamei clasped her hands to the arrow still quivering in her neck, her face utterly incredulous.

She seemed unable to believe Ye Da would act so decisively, unable to believe Li Zhi would not try to save her, and most of all, unable to believe that her fate was sealed so abruptly. How could this be possible? Was she not the chosen one? Among a thousand, she was the rare magician, a master of ranged attacks. In this game, she was supposed to be the chosen, the strongest player. How could she die so easily?

Lin Yamei simply could not accept it.

Yet, as her vision blurred and her life force ebbed rapidly, until she could no longer stand and instead collapsed toward Ye Da, she finally parted her lips to speak. But the arrow had pierced her windpipe. No words came. Her head struck the earth.

She was dead.

Ye Da exhaled heavily. In his hand, the bow vanished—not because he wished to dismiss it, but because the act of transforming his energy into an arrow had drained nearly all his mental strength. The moment the arrow was released, he felt the world spin around him, dizzy and faint.

He could not maintain the bow any longer and let it fade away.

So this was the price of wielding the psychic bow? With his current energy reserves at the first stage of Black Iron, he could only fire a single arrow?

Yet, he could not deny—the psychic arrow possessed incredible power and accuracy, sharp and formidable. Its stealth surpassed all other ranged weapons, except perhaps firearms.

With this weapon, Ye Da finally held some measure of self-preservation in this world.

“Yamei!” The crew-cut man only now awoke from his stupor, rushing to embrace his girlfriend. But Lin Yamei, apart from the blood pouring from her throat, was limp and lifeless.

Ye Da watched the man, uneasy. In his current state, he could no longer use the psychic bow—was he now forced into close combat? If only he hadn’t thrown away his axe! In close quarters, the longer the reach, the greater the strength; an axe extended his arm by thirty centimeters, instantly boosting his fighting power.

Moreover, he had no idea what abilities the other possessed—a dangerous unknown.

Ye Da kept a close eye on his opponent, waiting to see how he would react before making his move. Perhaps the man was impulsive and liked to boast. If he tried to intimidate Ye Da by displaying his ability, it would be a way to boost his own morale and suppress Ye Da’s.

Yet, to Ye Da’s surprise, the man knelt directly before him.

“I—I’m sorry!” he stammered. “I’ll return everything to you, all of it! I wasn’t the one who ruined the banana trees in the grove—it was all Lin Yamei, all her doing! It has nothing to do with me, please, let me go. I promise I won’t seek revenge!”

Ye Da scrutinized the man and quickly understood. He was afraid of the psychic bow.

And after losing his girlfriend, he didn’t react with anger or flight, but instead begged for mercy. This showed the man was calculating and dangerous.

Against such a person, Ye Da could not show weakness or let him suspect the bow was unusable. He would need to project even more authority, creating pressure.

“Let you go? Fine!” Ye Da curled his lips into a cold smile. “Hand over all the materials and supplies that woman collected, and I’ll consider sparing you.”

“Thank you… thank you, master.” Li Zhi thanked him profusely, then cautiously stood and pointed in a direction. “Our treehouse is fifteen kilometers from here. If you don’t mind, I can take you there.”

“Very well.” Ye Da nodded. “But first, pick up my axe and the timber.”

“Did you hear me?” Ye Da’s voice carried a commanding weight.

Li Zhi nodded repeatedly and hurried to retrieve Ye Da’s axe, placing it two meters away before moving to gather the wood hidden in the blade grass.

The reason Li Zhi complied so readily was Ye Da’s apparent indifference—the ease with which he had killed someone, and his lack of concern about sending Li Zhi to fetch his own weapon. He seemed unconcerned Li Zhi might attack him, which made Li Zhi even more apprehensive.

This implied Ye Da’s true weapon was not the axe; otherwise, he would never so casually let his opponent handle it, unless he felt no threat from losing it.

The more nonchalant Ye Da appeared, the more cautious Li Zhi became.

“Ow! Damn, it hurts!” Li Zhi cursed as he dragged the timber from the blade grass. “Damn woman, why hide it here? Damn, it stings!”

Although Ye Da’s backpack was already full, he ordered Li Zhi, “Carry four logs and follow me.”

By making Li Zhi bear the heavy load, he ensured the man’s hands would be occupied and unable to attempt any surprise attack—a double benefit.

“Ah… yes, yes.” Li Zhi had wanted to plead for mercy, but upon seeing Ye Da’s cold gaze, he quickly shouldered the timber and followed Ye Da toward his own treehouse.

Along the way, Li Zhi tried to make conversation. “Sir, may I ask your name? I’m Li Zhi—Li as in ‘plum,’ Zhi as in ‘ambition.’ I came to this world with my girlfriend, right after we… well, I still don’t know how we got here—it just happened suddenly.”

“And after killing monsters, I noticed people awaken special abilities. My girlfriend got fire powers—she could throw fireballs. Compared to her, my ability is pretty ordinary.”

“What about you, sir? Is your ability archery? Where do you keep your bow, or does it appear when you need it? Archers are so cool, it’s enviable…”

Li Zhi kept fishing for information, but Ye Da never replied nor showed any interest in chatting. He simply listened in silence.

Eventually, Li Zhi grew bored, and they neared the treehouse. Yet, he still did not know Ye Da’s name or ability. If it came to a fight, it would be extremely dangerous.

Li Zhi did not want to lose everything he had painstakingly gathered. So, he decided to take a risk and offered, “Sir, I know you don’t trust me. How about I sign a master-servant contract and become your subordinate?”