Chapter 73: The Blade Arm

Ye Da halted his steps, and asked a question in return.

“A master-servant contract?”

“Yes!” Li Zhi’s excitement was palpable now that Ye Da finally responded. “That’s right, a contract where you are the master and I am the servant! If we sign it, I won’t be able to betray you.”

“Apparently, this contract was originally created for wanderers whose treehouses had been destroyed. If they didn’t want to sleep outside at night, they had to find another player and beg to become a lodger.”

“But some lodgers ended up killing their hosts and taking over, so the contract was invented.”

“I know you won’t let me go, so…”

“Compared to dying, I think becoming a servant isn’t so bad. I trust you won’t treat me poorly, right?”

“Hmm…”

Ye Da considered for a moment. If Li Zhi’s words were true, it might not be a bad idea. After all, having witnessed the second layer of this world, Ye Da realized that building a village alone would be nearly impossible. If this world allowed for the construction of villages, he wouldn’t mind starting to gather villagers right away.

But he was puzzled by something, so—

He stroked his chin and asked, “How did you know about this?”

Everyone had only arrived in this world three days ago.

In these three days, most players were busy surviving, gathering resources, and fighting nightmares at night. There was no time to research such things.

So—

Ye Da was really curious how this Guangzhi knew about it.

“A friend of mine has the power of prophecy.”

Li Zhi answered, then pointed at a tree that towered above the others in the forest. “Boss, we’re here.”

“Alright.”

Ye Da responded and followed Li Zhi into the shadowy woods.

Though the trees were similar, Ye Da could confirm this forest was not the same as the one where he was born.

Moreover—

The strangest thing was, Ye Da had just analyzed this area with his analysis glasses, but couldn’t find Li Zhi’s treehouse.

Even after Li Zhi pointed out its location, he still couldn’t detect it.

This meant—

The Mist World, or rather this novice forest, was protecting players!

It didn’t allow analysis or foresight to harm players, so Ye Da couldn’t discover Li Zhi’s treehouse.

And the treehouse’s exterior was truly indistinguishable. Its door looked exactly like the tree bark, save for a thin seam, and the handle was a branch with green leaves growing from it.

At first glance, anyone would think it was just a branch, never a door handle.

So—

If you weren’t the owner, finding a door fused with the trunk amid the endless forest was like searching for a needle in a haystack!

“Ee-yay!”

Li Zhi pushed open the treehouse door. “Boss, please come in.”

“Bang!”

Li Zhi tossed the wood aside, and Ye Da took the opportunity to look around inside.

Ye Da glanced around.

Li Zhi’s treehouse was a level-one treehouse. Besides a door and a fire pit, there weren’t any actual upgrades!

“Boss, you must be thirsty?”

As Ye Da explored, Li Zhi suddenly patted his shoulder. “Have some water!”

“Alright!”

Ye Da turned.

But instead of accepting Li Zhi’s water, he scattered a handful of sand at him!

“Swish!”

Li Zhi was caught off guard, crying out.

Ye Da quickly retreated several steps, opening up the distance between them!

When Ye Da steadied himself and looked at Li Zhi, the wolfish ambition was clear!

Li Zhi’s right arm had transformed into a blade, as if it grew from beneath his skin and pierced right through the flesh.

If one word could describe it, it would be mantis arm.

Just like a mantis, he had mutated to possess hand-blades!

Li Zhi’s ability, as expected, was melee-related—blade arm!

“When did you figure it out?”

Li Zhi kept blinking, not daring to rub his eyes for fear Ye Da would attack if he closed them.

Ye Da sneered. “Since you mentioned the master-servant contract!”

“I forgot to tell you, my ability is to analyze the existence of things, like treasure chests, monster levels, or whether there’s danger ahead.”

“But I couldn’t analyze the location of your treehouse, which means the Mist World has a protection mechanism for novice players!”

“Yet you claim there’s a master-servant contract, something that breaks fairness?”

“I saw these two rules conflicting, so I started doubting your motives! That’s why I’ve been wary of you from the start, and you really did attack!”

“Hah!”

Li Zhi sneered, begrudgingly praising Ye Da, “Clever.”

“I really did plan to use the contract to lower your guard, then ambush you!”

“But it’s not because I can’t beat you, rather—”

“I just didn’t want you to suffer too much before you died!”

“Hahaha!”

Li Zhi suddenly tore off his shirt.

The next moment.

Both his arms turned into blades, making him look like a humanoid mantis!

It seemed Li Zhi, relying on a girlfriend with ranged abilities, had killed quite a few monsters. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have evolved into a first-tier Iron Warrior.

But—

He thought being a first-tier Iron Warrior would let him roam freely in the novice forest.

He was sorely mistaken!!

“Clang!”

Li Zhi swung the twin blades on his arms, slashing at Ye Da!

Though he had weapons, he lacked any technique.

To put it bluntly—

His strength was on par with a madman waving two knives, just hacking wildly!

Ye Da, having learned some martial arts, easily blocked Li Zhi’s blades with his petrified right arm. When their arms struck, a crisp metallic clang rang out!

Then—

Ye Da unleashed a fierce Tiger’s Heart Punch, his petrified left fist landing hard on Li Zhi’s chest.

Li Zhi was sent flying, coughing up blood!

“Pfft!”

He flew like a shrimp and crashed to the ground!

Clutching his shattered ribs, he wheezed like a broken bellows.

“Huff!”

“Huff… huff! How… how is this possible…”

Li Zhi, like a beast beaten and stripped of its spirit, became a cowering dog, unable to meet Ye Da’s gaze!

“How is it impossible?”

Ye Da glanced at the scratch on his stone skin—not shallow.

Clearly, blade arm was sharp.

Unfortunately—

Li Zhi couldn’t wield it properly, treating the blades as kitchen knives and flailing wildly, so his defeat wasn’t unjust.