Chapter 54: The Escape of the Wild NPC

Stuck behind the car, the bearded man who was about to make a covert escape stared at Yenir with a trembling, mournful expression.

Damn it—why didn’t I run faster? I was clearly seen!

“What did you see?”

“Huh? Are you one of the awakened?”

Ignoring the kneeling crowd, Yenir strode straight up to the man and effortlessly picked up the guy who barely stood 1.5 meters tall.

Sensing only a faint ripple of spiritual energy from him, Yenir couldn’t help but be surprised.

It was so weak that if it weren’t for his strong psychic power, he might not have noticed it at all.

Such a feeble spiritual ripple—it might not even qualify as a 0th-level ability.

Dangling in mid-air, the bearded man’s heart skipped a beat as he stared at Yenir in terror, as if a terrible secret had been uncovered.

“No… I’m not…”

“You must be mistaken!”

Behind him, several survivors who knew the man well turned in surprise toward the sound.

Awakened? No, this rat-like man was as ordinary as any other, just another captive hauled in by the boss.

“Pull up your personal info.”

In a low voice, Yenir spoke, and a dagger manipulated by his psychic power instantly pressed against the man’s eyeball.

He didn’t like wasting time. Confronted with this sneaky, clearly off fellow, he had plenty of ways to make him talk.

Swallowing hard, the rat-man desperately tilted his head upward, trying to escape the sharp blade.

Cursing silently, he felt that he was utterly doomed.

“Can you go somewhere else?!”

“I… I can’t say here!”

“I know where they’ve stashed the stolen loot!”

Yenir’s eyes flickered at the rat-man’s odd claim, and he simply carried him in the direction indicated.

……

Before a mound disguised with green canvas, Yenir watched him calmly:

“Three seconds.”

The countdown began. Facing Yenir’s emotionless gaze, the rat-man managed a bitter laugh and reluctantly displayed his info panel.

It was clear—this young man was an unflinching killer, a devil who spared no lives.

He was reluctant to show it.

A few seconds later, after a rapid scan of his info, Yenir’s gaze suddenly hardened.

He had considered many possibilities.

Maybe the rat-man was a 0th-level awakened one with some detection ability, or perhaps he’d seen him before.

But Yenir never expected that this guy was neither awakened nor even human—he was an NPC!

An NPC that had escaped from a dungeon!

“Name: Li Dafu (Zombie Siege Dungeon)”

“Level: 0”

“Talents: Money Sense, Shady Merchant, Greed for Gold”

“Money Sense (No level): Grants its user the ability to detect any target’s ‘wallet’ without their knowledge.”

“Shady Merchant (D-level): You can raise your selling or buying price by 10% during a transaction without the other party noticing until it’s completed.”

“Greed for Gold (B-level): During a transaction, you can pocket 5% of the amount, an effect that bypasses any trading rules.”

Incredible.

Yenir thought he had seen many bizarre things in his past life, but he never imagined encountering a wild NPC in reality!

“How did you escape?! Do you have intelligence?!”

Noticing Yenir’s astonishment, Li Dafu shrank his head and replied in a low voice:

“Um, Sir…”

“I really don’t know!”

“I just remember that once, after a dungeon cleared, I tried to grab someone’s stuff and ended up stumbling out.”

“Then I just kept walking until I ran into that group.”

Faced with this new world, Li Dafu was just as bewildered. He had always played the role of a small merchant in the dungeon, supplying ammo and potions to the awakened. The outside world had never even crossed his mind.

The city besieged by zombies in the dungeon had been his entire world.

Swallowing his shock, Yenir scrutinized the short, bearded guy before him, feeling that the situation was extremely strange.

When a dungeon ended, all its instances were reset—a rule as unyielding as iron.

Yet he never imagined that in just two days he’d encounter a self-aware Li Zhiping—a Li Dafu on the run!

Furrowing his brow, Yenir finally reached a very tentative conclusion after a moment’s thought.

He’d heard of the Zombie Siege Dungeon—a low-level instance perfect for fledgling awakened ones battling zombies. Dubbed the ‘Newbie Training Ground’, it had likely been reset hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of times over the decades.

Considering the Li Zhiping incident, perhaps Li Dafu had broken free due to an error during one of the resets, stumbling out with a mind of his own!

The conclusion was reached, yet Yenir couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

“Sir… Sir, could you let me go?”

Cowering, Li Dafu looked at Yenir with a mix of fear and anxiety. Having spent all his time in low-level dungeons, Yenir was the strongest awakened he’d ever seen—an unflinching killer. He definitely didn’t want to stick around.

“Leave?”

Coming back to his senses, Yenir glared at Li Dafu in his grasp, and a sudden thought struck him.

Three trading skills… all of which were impossible for an awakened to have. In a sense, this rat-man was nothing short of a bug in the system!

If he could put this guy to use in trading…

Without hesitation, after a brief moment of thought, Yenir quickly scanned the trading channel for a Contract Scroll.

The Contract Scroll, as its name implies, is normally used by the awakened to control humans or special mutant beasts. But with its high price, few were willing to part with one.

Each scroll was worth 2000 points and could only be used on targets of a lower level—it was truly a luxury item.

But…

Charging 10% for two-way trades plus pocketing an extra 5%, this rat-man could save Yenir a fortune! He could easily make a killing just by reselling goods through him!

Half a minute later, Yenir bought the lowest-level Contract Scroll at a fixed price from an awakened trader.

Staring at the parchment scroll in his hand, Yenir winced at the cost.

2400 points—that’s enough to buy an apartment or hire dozens of elite soldiers to fight by your side.

“Sign the contract.”

In a gentler tone, Yenir shook the Contract Scroll in his hand, signaling Li Dafu to agree to the terms.

Yet, given the peculiar nature of this guy, he wasn’t entirely confident the contract would stick.

Looking at the contract in Yenir’s hand, Li Dafu, though clueless about its details, instinctively sensed that signing it meant he truly wouldn’t be able to escape.

All he could do was sigh under Yenir’s smiling yet unmistakably threatening gaze.

“Ding! Li Dafu has agreed to sign the contract. Opening squad panel.”

“D-Level Squad Panel:”

“Leader: Yenir (Second Tier, Beginner)”

“Member (Servant): Li Dafu (No Level, Loyalty 60/100)”

“Under the master-servant contract, you gain access to squad voice chat. Within a 30-kilometer range, you can contact your teammates (servants) and even forcibly eliminate them if necessary.”

“Note: Your servant’s loyalty is too low—dropping below 60 may allow them to escape.”

Could it really be signed?

Seeing the contract successfully signed, Yenir couldn’t help but exhale in relief.

Yet, glancing at Li Dafu’s meager 60 loyalty points, Yenir was somewhat speechless. It seemed Li Dafu was only complying through fear—his mind full of thoughts about escaping.

Unperturbed, Yenir released the rat-man and said in a gentle tone:

“From now on, you’re with me. Consider us teammates.”

Listening to Yenir’s amiable tone, Li Dafu’s gloomy expression masked his inner fury. Teammates? It was clearly a master-servant contract! Those imposing words ‘forcible elimination’ were crystal clear—if he tried to run, Yenir would kill him without hesitation!

Pitiful indeed—ever since emerging from the dungeon, he’d encountered nothing but bandits and bullies!

Noticing Li Dafu’s low morale, Yenir raised an eyebrow and simply pulled aside the green oilcloth.

He casually scanned it.

Hmm—there was a piece of armor-like white equipment, a pile of low-tier junk materials, and a bloodstained ID Card. It seemed worth around 1,000 to 2,000 points.

Though not valuable to Yenir, to those highwaymen it was a fortune.

Even a typical First-Tier awakened might never amass so much in a lifetime.

Looking at the stack of ID Cards, Yenir realized that this group had likely killed many survivors.

“All of these are for you.”

“Also, use my Credit Points to purchase supplies.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Yenir immediately transferred his over 20,000 Credit Points to Li Dafu, signaling him to buy supplies.

Leaving aside the remaining 15% of the transaction—which still totaled several thousand points—not to mention the hefty cut his skills would nab during sales.

Most importantly, Yenir noticed that all of Li Dafu’s talents were money-related. Throwing cash at him would surely boost his loyalty.

Sure enough.

The lecherous-looking Li Dafu was taken aback before staring at Yenir in stunned disbelief.

When he first saw Yenir, he wanted to bolt—just because of Yenir’s ‘enormous’ wealth! Though he didn’t understand how awakened strength was measured, he was sure money equaled power.

Realizing the importance of Credit Points, when he saw that Yenir had transferred all his Credit Points, he was not only shocked but also strangely moved.

“You… you really trust me that much?!”

“All of this… is for me to use?!”

Astonished, Li Dafu jumped high, his eyes lighting up at the sight of his newfound fortune.

In the dungeon, he was infamous as a money-grubbing glutton. Faced with this wealth, he felt as if he were about to faint.

Yenir chuckled lightly—indeed, it worked.

“Of course it’s for you. But I’ll decide what to purchase.”

“Besides, after each successful trade, you can keep 5% of the money as your ‘salary’.”

Aware of Li Dafu’s nature, Yenir knew exactly how to boost his enthusiasm. With the master-servant contract signed, betrayal wasn’t a worry.

Eagerly nodding, Li Dafu, like a money-crazed fiend, pounced on the scattered supplies, rolling around in joy.

“Master! You are the most generous master in the world!”

“Rest assured! I will guard your… wealth with my life!”

“Ding! Servant Li Dafu’s loyalty has increased—now at 61.”

Yenir: ….

……

At the border between Tianfeng and Zhenjiang.

With Li Dafu in tow, Yenir exhaled softly as he gazed at the dungeon entrance not far off.

This was once a thermal power plant, and after the apocalypse, it had become a medium-level dungeon. As he recalled, clearing this dungeon guaranteed at least two blue-tier items!

High risk and high reward—in this medium-level dungeon, which required a minimum of Second Tier entry, only elite awakened would dare to challenge it.

“Ding! Dungeon area reached: Death Factory (Difficulty B-level)”

“Enter?”

“Yes!”